Chapter 298: Is the Thunderbolt Car worthy of being used for fraud? The most powerful weapon in history, let's give Yuan the old thief a surprise!
Can you break the earth mountain without a Thunderbolt car?
Be it Liu Bei, Pang Tong and others, they all looked at Xiao Fang in surprise.

Pang Tong had made it very clear that the only way to break the Wei army's earthen hill was to use catapults to blow it down.

Ordinary catapults, however, could not shake the earthen hill, no matter in terms of bombardment power or hit rate.

The reason Cao Cao was able to destroy Yuan Shao’s earthen hill in the Battle of Guandu was because of the Thunderbolt Chariot presented by Liu Ye.

Facts have also proved that in the world today, only this more advanced and improved catapult has the ability to demolish earthen mountains.

Xiao Fang actually said that he could break Yuan Shao’s earthen hill without the Thunderbolt Chariot?
These words were somewhat self-contradictory, making Lao Liu, Pang Tong and others confused.

"Prime Minister, I just don't understand. Without this Thunderbolt Chariot, how could we have destroyed Yuan Laogou's earthen hill?"

"We can't just blow it down with one breath each, can we?"

Even Zhang Fei heard the contradiction in Xiao Fang's words and was the first to shout.

Liu Bei and everyone else looked at Xiao Fang with curiosity, wanting to see what explanation he could give.

However, Xiao Fang gestured to Xu Chu.

Xu Chu understood and quickly placed a scroll he had prepared in advance on Liu Bei's desk.

"Jinglue, you..."

Liu Bei became more and more confused and looked up at Xiao Fang.

Xiao Fang stood up and walked forward, slowly unfolding the scroll.

Pictures after pictures appeared before Liu Bei's eyes.

The picture looked like some kind of weapon. At first glance, I seemed to have seen it somewhere, but I couldn't remember where it was.

Everyone was curious and gathered around, staring at each other, unable to figure out what was painted on Xiao Fang's scroll.

"Trebuchet!"

Pang Tong's eyes lit up and he looked up at Liu Bei:
"My lord, these drawings look very much like the construction drawings of a trebuchet!"

Trebuchet?
Liu Bei widened his eyes and looked at it carefully. The more he looked at it, the more it looked like a catapult.

However, this catapult seemed quite different from the one they knew.

More complex, more sophisticated, and seemingly larger in size.

"Jinglue, is this how you build the Thunderbolt Car?"

Liu Bei suddenly guessed something, and quickly raised his head, looking at Xiao Fang with surprise.

This powerful strategist of his knows almost everything. Since he was able to create a repeating crossbow before, it seems reasonable for him to have figured out how to build a thunderbolt chariot now.

"What I presented is indeed a catapult, but it is not a thunder chariot, but a ..."

Xiao Fang said half of his words, hesitated for a moment, and then changed his words:

"I named it the Hanwei Cannon!"

This thing is actually called Huihui Cannon.

This thing can be said to be the most powerful weapon in the era of cold weapons.

It was with this thing that the Mongolian army blew up the city of Xiangyang, which had been defended for decades, and broke through the Jianghan defenses on which the Southern Song Dynasty depended for its survival, thus declaring the demise of the Southern Song Dynasty.

Xiao Fang has been a human being in two lives. Just as he knows the power of the repeating crossbow, he naturally knows the power of this cannon.

But he was not a technical person after all, so like the cannon and the repeating crossbow, he only remembered the general design concept but had only a vague understanding of the specific construction details.

Therefore, after he conquered Jingzhou that year, he informed Huang Yueying of the design inspiration of the crossbow and Huihui cannon and entrusted her to study the design.

Before capturing Xuzhou, Huang Yueying gave him the design of the repeating crossbow, and he secretly built a repeating crossbow battalion and defeated Yuan's Youyan cavalry.

Two months ago, Huang Yueying drew up the design of this Hui cannon and asked someone to send it to him in Shouchun.

Xiao Fang had a premonition at the time that when he went north to recover the Central Plains and fight a decisive battle with Yuan Shao, the cannon would be useful when attacking cities and seizing territories, so he brought the design with him.

Not wanting Yuan Shao to repeat the same trick he used against Cao Cao, he wanted to use the earthen hill to deal with Liu Bei. This time the returning cannon came in handy.

However, the name of Huihui Cannon was difficult to explain, so Xiao Fangfang had an idea and named it "Hanwei Cannon".

The meaning is self-evident. It represents the mighty power of the Han Dynasty and its invincibility.

"Hanwei Cannon?"

Liu Bei listened to this unheard-of name, looked down at the complex and sophisticated construction drawings, his eyes full of amazement.

"This item, like the crossbow, is my inspiration, obtained through the detailed research of Miss Huang."

"Although we don't have the Thunderbolt Chariot, we can build this Hanwei Cannon, which can also destroy Yuan Shao's earthen hill!"

Xiao Fang explained to Lao Liu the origin of the construction plan.

Liu Bei was greatly encouraged, and the suspicion in his eyes instantly turned into surprise.

With the "previous example" of the repeating crossbow, the power of the Hanwei Cannon is naturally extraordinary!
"Prime Minister, can this thing really destroy Old Dog Yuan's earthen mountain?"

Zhang Fei was dizzy after seeing these complicated construction drawings, and couldn't help but feel a little suspicious.

Xiao Fang's face was full of confidence, and he smiled faintly:
"Don't worry, Yide. My Hanwei Cannon is no match for Liu Ye's Thunderbolt Chariot. Not to mention knocking down Yuan Shao's few earthen hills, even breaking through the walls of Xuchang is no problem!"

This statement came out.

There was a great deal of shock in the big tent, and everyone gasped and stared in amazement.

Although the trebuchet is powerful, its power is limited after all. Since ancient times, there has never been a precedent of a trebuchet being used to blow down a city wall.

Even the famous Thunderbolt Chariot could only knock down a few earthen hills.

Xiao Fang actually dared to declare that his Hanwei Cannon could even knock down a fortress like Xuchang!
What kind of devastating siege weapon is this?

Everyone, including Old Liu, was shocked. "Okay, I'll believe whatever you say, Prime Minister. If you say this thing can collapse Old Yuan's earthen hill, then it can definitely collapse it!"

After taking a deep breath, Zhang Fei nodded firmly with certainty.

But then he changed the subject and scratched the back of his head and said:

"But Prime Minister, what do you mean by 'touching porcelain'? I don't quite understand."

Zhang Fei's eyes widened as he looked at Xiao Fang in confusion.

"Cough cough~~"

Xiao Fang smiled and turned his gaze to Liu Bei:

"Your Majesty, there is no time to lose. Summon all the artillerymen in the army and work day and night to build this Hanwei cannon."

"But it's best not to build it inside the fortress. We should try to give Yuan Shao a surprise."

Liu Bei had no doubts and said with a smile:
"Okay, let's follow Jinglue's plan!"

"Follow my order, mobilize all the artisans, set up an artisan camp in Xiangcheng, and work day and night to secretly build the Hanwei Cannon!"

An imperial decree was issued and thousands of craftsmen were immediately summoned.

A craftsman camp was also built in Xiangcheng. Countless logs were transported into the city, and they began to build the Hanwei Cannon according to the construction drawings provided by Xiao Fang.

While the Chu army was "secretly" building secret weapons, the Wei army was "blatantly" building earthen hills right under the noses of the Chu army.

Within ten days, nearly thirty earthen hills had risen from the ground, stretching across the Chu camp's fortress.

Following Yuan Shao's order, nearly 8,000 Wei army archers were transferred to Tushan.

Everything was ready, and Yuan Shao, accompanied by Guo Tu and others, rode his horse and arrived at the front line.

Yuan Shao, dragging his fat body "corrupted" by alcohol and sex, climbed up the hill with the help of Guo Tu, panting.

Looking down from a high place, the strength of the Chu army's fortifications can be seen at a glance.

Even the number of tents and war horses of the Chu army inside the fort could be counted clearly.

At this time, Liu Bei had obviously judged his intention to build a hill of earth and had taken precautionary measures in advance.

The vast majority of the Chu army had already raised their shields and hid under the walls, ready to deal with the overwhelming rain of arrows.

"Liu Bei is so prepared, it seems he knows the purpose of our building the earthen hill."

Ju Su pointed at the Chu camp from afar and said.

Guo Tu, however, looked at him with sarcasm and sneered:
"Isn't Xiao Fang a very smart man? With his intelligence, it would be strange if he couldn't figure out what we want to do."

"What a pity! Even if he knew our intentions, what can he do?"

"He couldn't build a thunder chariot for the big-eared thief, so he could only let Liu Bei and his soldiers hold up a few more shields."

Yuan Shao stroked his thin beard, and a hint of sarcasm appeared on the corner of his mouth:

"Pass on my order, and order all the archers on the hills to shoot hard at me!"

"I want to let Liu Bei know what will happen if he challenges me!"

The order was passed down and the war drums sounded.

On each hill, more than 8,000 archers drew their bows and aimed their arrows at the Chu camp.

The next moment, arrows rained down.

Eight thousand arrows, as dense as locusts, attacked the Chu camp from above.

Arrows rained down.

Although the Chu army was well prepared, everyone held a shield and most of the soldiers had hidden against the walls, some were unfortunately hit by arrows.

Scattered screams were heard in the Chu camp.

Compared with the 80,000 Chu troops, the casualties of just a dozen people can be said to be insignificant.

After all, Yuan Shao's purpose in building the earthen hill was not to rely on archers to inflict heavy damage on the Chu army.

The purpose is to suppress.

Eight thousand archers kept their eyes on the Chu camp at all times, but as soon as they saw any blind Chu soldier show his face, more than a hundred arrows would whiz away.

Yuan Shao's intention was to suppress the Chu army under shields and walls at all times, day and night, making them curl up and dare not move, with their nerves tense at all times, shrouded in the shadow of death.

If this continues, even the most elite legion will be unable to endure the mental torture and its morale will collapse.

Yuan Shao’s ultimate goal was to crush the morale of the Chu army.

So after a round of volleys, the Wei troops on the hills began to shoot indiscriminately, specifically targeting the Chu troops that showed up.

"Liu Bei, I want to see how long you can hold on!"

Yuan Shao stroked his thin beard with a mocking sneer on his lips, enjoying the ridiculous sight of the Chu army being suppressed into a turtle.

"According to my calculations, within twenty days, the morale of the Chu army will be severely damaged."

"At that time, Liu Bei had only two choices: either abandon Xiangcheng and retreat south, or send someone to ask for peace with the king."

"The king took this opportunity to take back the eldest son. The time for father and son to be reunited is not far away."

Guo Tu was full of confidence and drew up a blueprint for Yuan Shao.

Yuan Shao laughed loudly, turned around, leisurely walked down the hill, and returned to the camp.

(End of this chapter)