Chapter 70 The Secret Weapon of the Otomo Family
"Kill the enemies!" As the samurai of the Otomo family raised his sword and shouted, the hundreds of foot soldiers in front of them rushed forward desperately as if they were stabbed by the sword. They did not dare to hesitate at all, because if they ran slowly they would be chopped to death by the samurai, and their families would also be disgraced and would be pointed at and bullied by the villagers.

"Shoot them!" In the stone tower, Yi Yujing, who held military power for the first time, did not panic, but gave orders calmly according to the situation. However, only his wife holding a naginata beside him knew how excited he was at this moment and how long he had been waiting for this opportunity.

Yu, release your brilliance to the fullest and pursue the glory that belongs to you. I will protect your life, Mieko thought resolutely as she held the naginata tightly.

There are 150 crossbowmen, but only 50 are stationed at the city gate because there won't be enough space for more than that. After all, they can't all be archers, and the wall of Onimaruyama Castle is not that wide. There are only those who can do close combat in the front and ranged combat in the back, so the rest are spread across the walls on both sides to prevent anyone from attacking the city from both sides.

But the volley of fifty crossbowmen was not bad either. A black rain of arrows fell, and the foot soldiers crowded in the mountain road immediately howled in pain.

However, whether it was Yan Xu who was watching from afar or Yi Yujing who was watching closely, they both clearly discovered that the effect was not that good.

First, the power of the light crossbow begins to weaken significantly when its range exceeds thirty meters. Second, all the foot soldiers of the Otomo family are wearing armor, especially the bamboo hat that was ridiculed by Yan Xu, which actually plays a good role.

The Japanese foot soldiers were small and thin, and their wide hats were enough to cover their entire bodies. The shape and sway of the hats made it difficult for stray arrows to hit them. When they charged with their heads down, they could block most of the arrows, and the remaining parts were blocked by arrows in their vital parts such as their abdomens, so most of the arrows hit their limbs, which were not easily fatal. Only a few unlucky ones were shot dead on the spot.

The crossbowmen immediately reloaded their crossbows, and because the mountain road was steep, they still had time to fire a second round.

The second round of shooting was much more effective. The iron arrowheads were sharper, enough to penetrate the bamboo hat and the abdomen within the effective range. Even if they could not cause fatal injuries, they would make the foot soldiers lose their combat effectiveness. After all, few people would dare to move with a chopstick stuck in their body, and this was definitely not good news for the enemy.

Even the Moroboshi family was unable to treat all the wounded, let alone the Otomo family. Generally speaking, they were just thrown into a corner of the camp, and whether they could survive depended entirely on luck, so it was considered good if half of these injured foot soldiers could survive.

After completing two rounds of shooting, the crossbowmen retreated and concentrated on the two stone towers on the left and right to block the enemy with cross-fire. Then the armed foot soldiers and hatamoto stepped forward to prepare for the battle.

However, Yan Xu was amazed at the Otomo family's method of siege. They actually planned to climb up by nailing long bamboos with crossbeams on them?

How much do they look down on him and the Onimaruyama Castle he built?

In fact, the Otomo family had no choice. On this broken mountain road, it was difficult to get up the siege equipment, let alone the bamboo shields they were used to. Even if they were brought up, they could easily be destroyed by fire attacks or rolling stones, so they could only fight with all their might.

Spears were difficult to use during sieges because they were out of reach and not flexible enough, so the foot soldiers put on katana, which they seldom used to use on a daily basis, biting the blade with their teeth and desperately climbed up the bamboo pole. Because of their thin bodies, they looked like they were in the Planet of the Apes.

Although it looked funny, the foot soldiers defending the city had no intention of showing mercy. The bamboo spears they were equipped with were not as long as the lances equipped by the foot soldiers of the Otomo clan, but they were more useful when standing on the city wall and stabbing down. Occasionally, if there were any omissions, the knife-wielding hatamoto would use their quick, accurate and ruthless blades to eliminate them. Not to mention that the stone towers on both sides were constantly shooting deadly crossbows, and the speed of clearing the invaders was astonishingly fast. Even the attacking foot soldiers of the Otomo clan did not realize how many of them had died in such a short time.

"Take the hatamoto and bring the firearms. Be careful." Otomo Munemori saw it clearly from the foot of the mountain. He was silent for a moment and did not mention the matter of withdrawing the siege foot soldiers because almost all of them were dead. He did not expect the efficiency of the Moroboshi family to be so high. He thought it was just a simple test. Who would want to die so quickly? There was no time to withdraw, so he said to the personal guard. "Hey!" The guard knew the importance of firearms to the Otomo family in this war, nodded carefully, and then took the two teams of hatamoto back to the camp.

Yan Xu originally thought that the Otomo family did not have firearms, but in fact they did. It’s just that firearms are difficult to make and expensive, so there are not many of them. In addition, the island is humid and they are transported by sea, so they are easily affected by moisture and rust. It would be troublesome if they were soaked in sea water. Therefore, Otomo Munemori carefully sealed the firearms and preserved them, and would not use them easily. But now is the time to use them, otherwise he must be prepared to put everyone in.

Yan Xu, who had been paying attention to the siege, did not notice the changes in the Otomo army. By the time he discovered it, it was too late. The firearms had already been transported from the camp to the army and were being distributed and used. He immediately smashed the fence in annoyance, because what he feared most was firearms.

As a modern man, Yan Xu is naturally very clear about the power of firearms, but it is precisely because he is clear about it that he is afraid of it.

The problem is that he lives in the safest country, and there will be another severe crackdown soon. If he dares to touch this thing, he will be ready to go in and start a sewing machine.

Of course, there are still many hunting rifles among the people, and you can get them by spending some money, but the role of a few hunting rifles is minimal. It would be a big trouble if someone reported it. After all, he is not buying just one or two.

As for buying abroad, let's not talk about how an ordinary person like him would find the means to do so. Just because of his skin color, it would be very dangerous for him to be exposed to such things. He might even be arrested for attempting to launch a terrorist attack.

For various reasons, Yan Xu has never touched firearms in the modern world. However, the fire extinguisher Tiger Crouching Cannon he brought back this time was an attempt to produce firearms in the name of handicrafts.

Unfortunately, the chance of him going in and operating a sewing machine is still too high. After all, he knows how strict gun control will be in twenty years. The BB bullet toy guns sold on the streets now will become a major arms smuggling case in twenty years.

Therefore, he has been hesitant and wants to wait until the second world is opened to see the situation. As long as he is not in his own world, he is still very courageous.

After careful observation, Yan Xu found that the situation was not as bad as he thought. Not only was Japan a resource-poor island country, but its terrain was also not suitable for the transportation of large-caliber artillery, which could cause any army to collapse. Therefore, Otomo Munemori's secret weapon was the big gun, a small handheld artillery.

There is no handheld cannon, so the so-called big barrel is just a modified matchlock gun. The caliber is large, but if it is fully loaded with gunpowder, it is enough to send any fool who dares to shoot to hell. Therefore, it is mainly used to launch a kind of oversized arrow called stick fire arrow. Of course, it can also be used to launch shotgun shells. Anyway, smoothbore guns are not picky at all.

The stick fire arrow is made by mounting a heavy arrow head and wide feathers on a wooden stick, which is then inserted into the muzzle of a gun. It has considerable lethality and is used to destroy enemy ships in naval battles. It can also be used for sieges if replaced with a shotgun.

Not many people can stand up after being hit by shotgun shells. It is a powerful weapon for siege, so Otomo Munemori is full of confidence this time.

(End of this chapter)