Chapter 166 Siege Weapons and the Southern Kingdom

The sun was blazing hot. Xiuluot, wearing a light robe, walked through the aisle where clothes were hung out to dry and headed for the north gate of the wooden fort. Bertard put on his leather armor again, called Coles and other guards, and followed His Highness. Along the way, the warriors saluted one after another, shouting "Your Highness" and "Sacred Eagle Warrior Captain".

The area of ​​the wooden fort was limited, so the young commander set up a new camp outside the north gate for the development of siege equipment and as a support for defense. When he entered the camp, the busy craftsmen saluted together and showed the latest progress one by one.

The light trebuchet is about two and a half meters high, and the rotating gun tip is also shortened accordingly. Its bottom is a triangular stable bracket, with a bottom width of less than two meters and a bottom length of just over two meters. Generally speaking, it is a proportionally reduced version of the human trebuchet, and the overall weight is only one-fourth or one-fifth of the original. Therefore, it can be carried by several civilians, and can also be easily loaded onto a large boat and transported to the other side of the Leman River.

Xiuluot stood still and watched. The craftsmen quickly fixed the light catapult to the ground in less than a quarter of an hour. Then, they installed a pumpkin-sized paper ball on the bullet pocket of the long axis of the cannon, which was filled with ten kilograms of sand. Then, six or seven gunners took their positions, holding the rope connecting the short axis with both hands, and looked at His Highness not far away.

His Highness waved his hand and gave an order. The gunners shouted in unison and pulled hard. The top of the cannon rose, and the paper ball instantly reached a height of four meters, and then was thrown out at a slightly oblique angle, drawing an elongated parabola and landing outside the 120-step mark.

Xiuluot went over to check it himself, remembering the landing point of the paper ball, and then ordered everyone to continue. The paper ball weighing more than ten kilograms drew a series of changing arcs, and the range was stable between 110 and 140 steps. The young commander pondered for a while, then used a wooden stick to draw a parabola on the ground to calculate the height of the paper ball.

After a moment, Xiu Luote wiped the picture on the mud with his foot and nodded slightly satisfied. As long as the light catapult is brought within ninety steps of the city wall, the paper fireball can be thrown onto the six-meter city wall. At this distance, as long as the operator wears solid leather armor and helmets, the enemy's stone-throwing bows and arrows cannot cause serious damage. The only problem is that the accuracy cannot be controlled, and the landing point depends entirely on God's blessing.

The young commander praised several words and ordered the craftsmen to speed up the production. He then looked at the light shield cart.

The front of the light shield cart is a thick wooden board used as a shield, the middle is a small wooden platform for archers to stand and shoot, the rear end is a long wooden handle for people to push, and the bottom is two simple wooden wheels. The large wooden shield at the front is as thick as a finger, about two meters wide, and about one person high. Three shooting holes are left on the upper part of the wooden shield, which means that three longbow warriors can be protected from shooting at the same time. There are four long wooden handles, and two people can push the manned shield cart forward by half-bending their bodies.

Overall, this light shield cart is a two-wheeled cart loaded with shields.

Shield carts are a long-standing siege weapon. Even a hundred years later, heavy shield carts can still perform well in the face of light artillery fire. The Tarasco people had no heavy crossbows or firearms, so the front end of the light shield cart did not need to be reinforced with leather or metal, nor did it need to be filled with bulletproof soil.

Xiuluot took out his longbow and shot several times at a distance of forty steps. Then, he carefully checked the depth of the war arrows into the wood and nodded.

"To manufacture a large number of shield carts, the shields do not need to be so thick, and they can be slightly simplified. I will allocate a group of captured civilians to come over, and at least two hundred vehicles must be built within a month!"

Hearing this, the chief craftsman knelt down and nodded in response.

Xiuluot finally checked the imitation water gate. The wooden water gate was only half completed, and the thickness was thickened according to the universal shape. He first asked the warriors to chop the front with a copper axe, and a dull "dudu" sound followed. After a long while, the young man shook his head slightly. Then, he asked the warriors to take out the stone chisel and hammer and destroy the key nodes. He calculated the time in his mind and shook his head.

The young commander thought for a moment, then called the gunpowder manager and gave him a few instructions. Soon, the gunpowder craftsmen took hundreds of pounds of well-preserved gunpowder, sealed it beside the water gate, carefully ignited the long fuse, and ran away quickly.

After a long moment, under the tense attention of everyone, there was a sudden "boom" explosion, and the broken wood and soil flew everywhere. The raging flames rose from the burst water gate, and black smoke drifted all over the sky. The heat wave swept in, with a pungent smell, and everyone had to step back. The bursting burning lasted for a full quarter of an hour, and the fire gradually subsided.

After another quarter of an hour, Xiu Luote called five brave warriors and asked them to wear water-soaked cotton armor and hold huge stone hammers to come forward. With a loud bang and a crackling sound, the still burning wooden door suddenly broke completely, and then shattered to the ground.

Seeing this, Xu Luote laughed out loud. He looked at the charred wood pieces flying and the sparks scattered, and finally felt a little confident! Behind him, Bertard also showed a happy smile.

The five warriors immediately reported back. Their faces were blackened by the smoke, and even their hair was burned by the flames. The young commander praised loudly for a few words, and then asked the warriors to go to the wooden fort in the south to rest. Then, he turned around and looked at the south bank of the estuary fortress, his thoughts drifting far away.

"It will take two weeks for the naval division to return, bringing reinforcements and food, as well as the latest information from the capital. The southern army must have set out, and I don’t know what the situation is now."

Xuluot’s eyes went all the way south, across the mighty Leman River, across the unknown lake area, to the center of the southern kingdom.

Golden sunlight shone from the sky, and the Patzcuaro Lake was shimmering with brilliant waves. On the beautiful lake, hundreds of canoes came from villages all over the lake area, continuously transporting the collected food and militia. Then, the huge group of boats was divided into two teams, one to the north and the other to the south.

The sun fell on people's faces, illuminating different expressions. The Tarasco warriors in charge shouted and urged the sailors and militia to speed up, with a serious and indifferent expression. Hearing the order, the rowing sailors rowed hard, their faces full of unconcealable fatigue. They were recruited by the kingdom and had been busy for a whole month, carrying tens of thousands of troops and accompanying food supplies.

The militia on the boat held the newly issued bronze spears, their faces full of uneasiness about the unknown war and worries about the future of the village. The kingdom issued a strict conscription order, and the lake area near the capital was urgently mobilized. They had to abandon the fields that had just been sown, follow the fierce warriors, and board the boat that was going to an unknown destination.

"Where do you think we are going to fight? When can we go home?" Taking advantage of the inattention of the supervising warriors, the turbaned Wezti asked in a low voice.

On the swaying boat, the young militiamen all looked confused. Chihuaco, an old militiaman in his forties, took out the yellowed cloth bag, took a deep breath of the aroma of the herbs with his nose, and a satisfied smile appeared on his face. Then, his expression became calm and he answered in the same low voice.

"We go to the north and fight with the Mexica's detachment. There are not many enemies there, and the stone fortress is very hard, which is better than going to the south. As for coming back, it will take at least a year!"

"A year?!" The turbaned Wezti screamed, attracting the fierce eyes of the supervising warriors. The militiamen bowed their heads and shut up at the same time, like obedient turkeys. After a while, the warriors' sight shifted, and Wezti spoke again in a low voice.

"In more than a month, pumpkins will be harvested, and then there will be corn and beans. We can't rely on the women and children at home alone. Do we really have to go out for a year this time?"

The old militiaman Chihuaco sneered, took another sip of the herb, and then slowly said.

"Are you still thinking about the fields and harvests at home? Survive first! Militiamen like us are just firewood on the battlefield. The warriors don't care about the lives of militiamen, they will just throw us to the place where we are most likely to die. If you are captured by the cruel Mexica jaguar, you can wait to be cut open and sacrificed to the gods!"

Hearing the name of the Mexica jaguar, the young militiamen trembled all over. Those terrifying figures wearing animal helmets and yellow leather armor have been circulating in the kingdom for a long time, and their images are equivalent to the evil demons in the legend of the western volcano.

After a long while, Wezti asked tremblingly.

"We have the blessing of the Sun God, the Earth Goddess and the Moon Goddess! We should be able to win this battle, right?"

Many young militiamen looked at Chihuaco, the only old militiaman in the village who survived the previous war.

Chihuaco sighed and carefully put away the herbal bag in his hand. This is his treasure, which can keep him calm on the battlefield and find the most suitable escape route. The old militiaman stood up, looked at the huge fleets in the north and south, then looked at the clear sky, and sighed deeply again.

"Alas! The pumpkins have only been planted for a short time, and the masters have mobilized so many militiamen, and they can't even take care of this year's harvest. Look at the expressions of these warriors, they are no different from dying. This battle, I don't think it will be a sure thing!"

The sighs of the militiamen dissipated into the wind, and the sound gradually became inaudible. But the breeze never stops, it drifts across the busy Patzcuaro Lake and enters the rich and solid copper city of Qincongcan. It blew over thousands of craftsmen making weapons, passed over thousands of warriors holding copper axes, and then passed through hundreds of nobles who were whispering, and finally came to the religious center of the city, the magnificent circular pyramid, the "House of Wind" Akata.

The five circular Akata pyramids are tens of meters high, made of granite of different sizes as the main material, and then bonded with corn mortar, like a sacred mountain standing on earth. The five pyramids are arranged roughly in a keyhole shape, and their rear ends are stepped pyramid platforms, connected by stone steps to facilitate the priests to move back and forth.

These platforms extend and converge to form a large platform that is simple and solemn. On the upper and lower sides of the large platform are built complex stone long houses, which are the sanctuaries where the kingdom's priests live.

Each pyramid has a core stone pile in the center, and then it is thickened layer by layer on the outside. The outermost layer is decorated with spiral, circular, square and other stone slabs, on which exquisite murals of gods are engraved. The upper end of the pyramid is painted with the marks of different gods, surrounded by bright patterns, paying tribute to the five gods who rule the world.

The three Akatas in the center are the tallest and most magnificent. Together with the base of the mound, they are 40 to 50 meters high, symbolizing the thrones of the three main gods in the world. They represent the supreme and bright sun god Kurikaveri, the benevolent and protective earth mother goddess Kweravaperi, and the moon goddess Haratanna who controls life and death.

Above the Akatas are temples dedicated to gods, and statues made of pure gold, similar to the great temples in the lake capital. But unlike the great temples, these temples contain many relics of former kings and nobles, and even some dried bodies, like tombs on the ground, praying for eternal life after death. This is somewhat similar to ancient Egypt.

At this moment, huge bonfires were lit in front of the five temples on Yacata. The blazing sacred fires were burning day and night, and these flames could be seen in the ninety-one towns and villages in the Patzcuaro Lake area, which represented the highest war mobilization!

Under the magnificent temple, hundreds of priests of all levels were busy in front of the circular pyramid, building a solemn altar. They were going to hold a large prayer ceremony, using the captured Mexica sacrifices, seeking divine prophecies from the gods, and praying for victory in the war.

Near the sacred "House of the Wind" Yacata is the lofty royal palace, the "Palace of the Wind" Yacatas built on the hills. Yacatas is several stories high, surrounded by more than a dozen connected stone buildings. These stone buildings are stationed with loyal royal warriors and store tributes from various city-states. There is also a trophy hut on the outermost side, which stores the heads of enemies killed in battle and the weapons of these brave opponents. In the corner of the hut, several black short knives flashed cold light.

From a distance, the Palace of Winds, which symbolizes royal power, has been expanded many times and is now as high as the House of Winds, which symbolizes divine power. On the observation platform in front of the palace, King Suanga of Tarasco was wearing yellow clothes, a heavy feather crown, and gold and bronze ornaments, like a messenger of the gods on earth.

The supreme king lowered his head slightly, with a thoughtful light in his eyes. He did not pay attention to the soothing prayers of the priests, but looked solemnly at the several Mexican longbows in front of him and the matching bronze arrows scattered on the ground.

These powerful weapons were seized from the battlefields of the north and south at the same time. They are like messengers of the moon goddess, making the brave warriors of the kingdom die easily!

The last day of the year was quite busy, and I also checked some foreign materials on the Qincongcan ruins. The author wishes everyone a happy New Year's Day, all your wishes come true, and peace and health! 2020 is finally over, and the new year will have a brand new beginning, come on!