Starting with helping Zhao Kai ascend the throne in the snow

Time passed slowly, and it wasn't until around four in the morning that Pan Yang led a group of villagers to assemble the equipment unloaded from the carriages. The materials from dozens of carriages were used to assemble eight huge frames.

These shelves in front of them are Shen Qing's secret weapons for dealing with the Chi Yue Tiger Tribe tonight: the trebuchet, the pinnacle of the catapult series.

The trebuchet was the pinnacle of catapult technology, capable of launching 300-pound stones over 350 meters, demonstrating its immense power. In Shen Qing's previous life, the Southern Song Dynasty held out for six years in Xiangyang, leaving hundreds of thousands of Mongol troops helpless. However, after the Mongols commissioned Persian craftsmen to create the trebuchet, Xiangyang fell instantly. Subsequently, the Mongols, relying on the trebuchet, swept through all the cities of the Southern Song Dynasty, ultimately destroying the regime.

Shen Qing was once awestruck by the trebuchet after a chance encounter with it, and thus spent considerable time figuring out its construction and operating principles. Compared to traditional human-powered catapults, the trebuchet boldly employed a counterweight system, which not only ensured accuracy but also greatly improved efficiency. Therefore, in order to deal with the Chi Yue Tiger tribe, Shen Qing had several simplified versions of the trebuchet replicated.

Compared to the fortified cities of the Southern Song Dynasty, the camp of the Chi Yuehu tribe was utterly insignificant. Moreover, Shen Qing's purpose in making the trebuchet was not to launch huge stone projectiles, but to launch the wine that Yang Long had previously found in the city.

After the previous invasion of 60,000 barbarian tribes was deterred by the plague, the wine and liquor found in Kuaiji City were left unused, which led to Shen Qing's current plan.

After the five trebuchets were set up, Pan Yang directed everyone to install the counterweights. Then, he used a winch to pull down the launch bar. Next, he had someone load a stone of equal weight to the wine jar onto the launch bar, adjusted its position towards the barbarian camp, and began test firing.

The trebuchet could launch a 300-pound stone projectile 350 meters away, while the wine jar weighed only about 50 pounds, so it could be launched even further. The orientation and distance needed to be calibrated.

With Pan Yang's command, accompanied by the creaking sound of the launching rod, a 50-pound stone ball pierced the sky and flew towards the barbarian army camp where bonfires burned in Ershilibao.

The next second, the stone flew over the main body of the barbarian camp and landed just before it left the camp with a dull thud, immediately eliciting gasps from the barbarian patrol soldiers.

After receiving the results of the test launch, Pan Yang and his team immediately readjusted the launching angle and replaced the stones with an equal weight of liquor.

"Everyone, listen up! Launch all the wine jars into the barbarian camp as quickly as possible!" Pan Yang suppressed his excitement and immediately gave the order in a deep voice. Whether they could defeat the Chi Yue Tiger Tribe tonight depended on him. He knew Shen Qing had entrusted him with this important task, and he needed to perform well to live up to Shen Qing's trust.

Upon receiving the order, the local militia immediately began firing. After the trebuchet was equipped with a winch, its firing efficiency was much higher than that of the traditional man-made catapult, firing once per minute, which was five times more efficient than the traditional man-made catapult.

Soon, jars of wine were thrown into the barbarian army camp. As the wine broke and spilled, the entire camp was filled with the aroma of wine.

The loud noise caused by the trebuchet quickly alerted Chi Hu. After noticing the unusual situation in the camp, he immediately arranged for people to be on guard and defend, but for a while he could not find the enemy's movements. Countless barbarian soldiers were awakened and rushed out of their tents in a panic, causing great chaos in the camp.

In the snowy world, the catapults were still man-made catapults that could only launch projectiles a few hundred meters away. But the trebuchets that Shen Qing made, which could launch projectiles a few hundred meters away, were a complete dimensional reduction attack for the Chi Yue Tiger Tribe, leaving them no time to react.

Soon, hundreds of jars of wine were thrown into the barbarian camp. At this moment, the camp was filled with the aroma of wine. Some barbarian soldiers who loved wine even secretly tasted the wine that had been spilled in the camp and found it to be very delicious.

Just then, objects trailing flames rapidly approached from the sky, drawing surprised pointing and whispering among the barbarian soldiers. The flames drew ever closer, landing on the camp in the blink of an eye. As the burning jars shattered, countless flames, carried by the flaming liquid, quickly ignited everything within the camp. It turned out that to ensure the barbarian camp could be ignited, the last two volleys of burning jars contained collected "fierce oil," a natural petroleum. Compared to the liquid, fierce oil was far more difficult to extinguish.

With the previous wine as a prelude, and 16 jars of burning oil falling into the camp, the entire barbarian camp instantly turned into a sea of ​​fire. Countless barbarian soldiers cried out in agony as they were burned, frantically beating their burning clothes and running around, which only ignited even more areas.

"Pass on my order: shoot those soldiers on fire." The moment Chi Hu saw the camp on fire, he realized something was terribly wrong, but it was too late. The wine from before, combined with the burning and fleeing soldiers, had set most of the camp ablaze.

Although Chi Hu's orders were timely, the camp was completely out of control due to the obstruction of countless soldiers and the continuous spread of the fire. The flames were mercilessly devouring everything around them, and the towering heat made it difficult to approach. The entire Twenty Mile Fort was shrouded in a sea of ​​fire.

The towering fire that ignited at Twenty Mile Fort was like a beacon in the pitch-black night, illuminating everything around it. Upon seeing this, the troops from Kuaiji City outside Twenty Mile Fort all knew that their opportunity had arrived.

Hong Biao and other cavalrymen from the Xuanyuan family, hundreds of local militiamen from Panyang, and hundreds of warriors led by Han Shengxuan all rushed towards the barbarian army camp in an instant.

"Enemy attack..."

"They killed the barbarians..."

Just as Chi Hu and his soldiers had barely escaped the sea of ​​fire, countless shouts of battle erupted from the east and west, clashing and attacking him simultaneously.

"Follow me and retreat south." Upon hearing this, Chi Hu's eyes widened in fury, but he could only grit his teeth and swallow the words.

The army had just been engulfed in flames, and fewer than four thousand soldiers managed to escape with him from the inferno. Most were disarmed, many even losing their weapons. Such a routed force, ambushed, was utterly ineffective. Who knew how many enemies lurked in the darkness? If they didn't escape quickly, they risked being surrounded and dying there. Chi Hu still had many ambitions to fulfill and was unwilling to perish here.

Enemies were attacking from the east and west, and the north led to the depths of Yuezhou. Therefore, Chi Hu chose to flee south towards Baiyue. Little did he know that this was exactly what Xuan Yuan Qingfeng wanted.

Just as the fire broke out at Twenty Mile Fort, Hama and the other surrendered soldiers of the Li Yue tribe tried to rush over, but were stopped by Xuan Yuan Qingfeng, who said domineeringly, "Stop right there! Anyone who moves without my order will be killed."

Everyone loves to fight when things are going well. When the barbarian army's camp is on fire and attacked, they will definitely panic. It is also a good opportunity to gain merits. However, Xuan Yuan Qingfeng insists on holding back and preventing everyone from taking revenge, which makes them very dissatisfied.

"Lord Hama, what do you suggest we do?"

"Lord Hama, we will all listen to you..."

The group of barbarian soldiers, unwilling to accept defeat, all turned their gazes toward Hama.

"Lord Xuanyuan, shall we not attack?" Hama asked Xuanyuan Qingfeng in a deep voice upon seeing this.

"The time is not yet ripe." Xuan Yuan Qingfeng said without turning his head, his gaze fixed on the official road in the distance.

Hama was taken aback for a moment upon hearing this, then turned around to calm everyone down. If he hadn't seen the relationship between Xuan Yuan Qingfeng and Shen Qing in the prefectural governor's mansion before, and if he hadn't received Li Ying's instructions, he wouldn't have suppressed his temper and obediently listened to them.

At the same time, he had also made a plan in mind. If they did not achieve anything tonight, it would mean that the people of Liyang did not trust them. At that time, he would find a suitable opportunity to persuade Li Ying to escape together.