Chapter 725 Thunder Car

More than ten miles outside Chang'an City, on a flat ground, thousands of Liangzhou troops gathered together, surrounding a wooden cart, watching curiously and discussing in low voices.

"What is this?"

"I don't know. It is said that it was a new type of chariot developed by Mr. Ziyang from Jizhou and specially sent to Chang'an."

"Chariot? Can this chariot carry people?"

This "chariot" surrounded by people is different from the chariots used in ordinary chariot battles. The chariot is pulled by several horses. There is space in the car for three warriors, one to control the horse and one to hold the halberd. , the other holds a bow and arrow.

But this chariot has no empty seats at all. Instead, a huge log extends out, like a big spoon, resting on the wooden frame.

Ma Teng frowned and stared at the chariot in front of him, with a strange look on his face.

"General, what is this Thunderbolt car designed by Liu Ziyang? What is it for?"

Ma Teng has been fighting in the northwest of Yongliang all his life. Let alone chariot battles and infantry battles, he has basically been fighting on horseback his whole life. Of course, this kind of chariot is unheard of.

Liu Ye smiled and said, "Brother Shoucheng, you will know later."

Ma Teng didn't know about Thunderbolt Cars, but Liu Ye certainly knew. During the Battle of Guandu, Yuan Shao raised a tower high with oars, and rain of arrows covered Cao's army camp. Cao's soldiers could only hold up their shields when walking in the camp, and they were miserable. It was Liu Ye who developed the thunderbolt car and smashed the oars.

Catapults have a long history, and the Thunderbolt Chariot developed by Liu Ye is definitely an epoch-making work.

Four soldiers came with the Pili Chariot. They had learned how to operate the Pili Chariot, so they were sent here by Liu Ye.

"Are you all proficient in operating the Thunderbolt Chariot?" Liu Ye asked the four soldiers.

The leader clasped his fists and said with certainty: "General, please rest assured, Mr. Ziyang has already taught us how to operate the Thunderbolt Car. We have practiced carefully every day, and we are already confident."

Liu Ye nodded with satisfaction and said to Ma Teng, Fazhen and others: "Brother Shoucheng, Master Fa, we will step back for now and watch Liu Ziyang's Thunderbolt Car."

"Haha, okay, Huainan Liu Ziyang is a famous person. Although Famou is old, he has heard about it." Fazhen stroked his beard with a smile, looked at the Pili car, and concentrated on it.

But Ma Teng still looked down on the Pili Chariot and muttered: "It's just a wooden chariot. How can it be compared to my Liangzhou Iron Cavalry?"

Liu Ye didn't speak, he just looked at Pili Che with a smile.

Seeing the general watching in person, the four slingers were a little nervous, but after all, they had been trained for a long time. They took a few deep breaths and quickly calmed down.

The commanding slinger shouted: "Adjust the elements!"

The other slinger seemed to be the one in charge of the projectile. He began to adjust the rope and length of the Thunderbolt Cart. He narrowed his eyes slightly and stared in front of him. After a while, he stopped.

"Reload."

The remaining two slingers grabbed a stone weighing about twenty kilograms and smashed it into the stone arm.

"Prepare - test firing."

At the command of the corps commander, the two slingers who had previously moved the stone tightened the rope on the stone arm, dragged it backwards hard, and then released it.

Whoosh!

More than twenty kilograms of stone bullets flew out, casting a black shadow towards the ground, and then fell quickly, hitting the ground hard. The stone bullet landed suddenly with a huge impact, immediately making a pit on the ground, and the soil flew everywhere.

The surrounding Liangzhou soldiers were all amazed, while Ma Teng frowned and said, "Isn't this too inaccurate?"

"Haha, it was just a test launch." Liu Ye said with a smile.

Sure enough, dozens of straw men were set up about a hundred and fifty steps away, and the stone bullet just landed on the east side of the straw men. The slinger adjusted his thunderbolt again and then loaded a stone bomb.

"put!"

Whoosh!

This time, a stone bullet weighing more than thirty kilograms was used. It was more powerful than before, and it landed accurately among the straw men. The stone bomb weighing more than 30 kilograms crashed to the ground, causing dirt to fly everywhere and the straw men to twist and turn.

"put!"

Another stone bullet fell from the sky, and this time it happened to hit a straw man by accident. The whole straw man was smashed to pieces in an instant, and sawdust and straw flew everywhere.

"If this stone bullet lands on a human body, wouldn't it be smashed into a pulp?"

Fazhen was amazed and worried: "It's just that this thunderbolt car is too overbearing, I'm afraid it will harm Tianhe."

"What harms Tianhe? What the Master said is ridiculous."

After Ma Teng witnessed the power of the Thunderbolt Chariot with his own eyes, he was uncharacteristically uncharacteristic. His eyes were bright and he said: "It would be terrible if the golden juice is poured on people, but it is a weapon for defending the city. This Thunderbolt Chariot is used to attack the city."

Ma Teng seemed to have imagined in his mind a scene of hundreds of Thunderbolt vehicles aiming at a city and bombing them indiscriminately. Thousands of stone bullets fell from the sky and smashed the city.

"General! This thing must be mass-produced." Ma Teng said with an eager expression: "If we use this thing to attack a city, no matter what kind of fortified city it is, I'm afraid it can be conquered."

"Um."

Liu Ye nodded slowly, turned to Fa Zhen and said, "Master Fa Zhen, you have personally urged us to build three hundred Pili chariots. Our army will attack Sichuan this time. There are many fortified cities and passes in Bashu, so we will definitely use them."

Fazhen lowered his head and said: "General, please rest assured. A certain migrant worker will be able to build a Thunderbolt Chariot within five days. However, the road to Sichuan is difficult and dangerous. Should our army wait until they arrive in Hanzhong before building a Thunderbolt Chariot?"

"It doesn't matter. The Pili car that Ziyang is studying can be disassembled. When the time comes, just install it on the car and pull it over." Liu Ye explained.

"So that's it. I'm going to mobilize civilians to build a thunderbolt car."

Fa Zhen immediately mobilized 20,000 civilians from around Chang'an City to cut down the trees around Chang'an City to make Thunderbolt Chariots. The people in Guanzhong respected Liu Ye, so after hearing that this was Liu Ye's order, everyone was very motivated, not to mention Liu Ye. Also paid wages.

Before the Ming Dynasty, the court recruited civilian husbands without paying them, and they only provided food. This is called "corvee". According to Qin law, adult men must perform corvee for four months every year as part of taxation, so most people are not very motivated.

Liu Ye, on the other hand, stipulated that food should be subsidized to the people at the rate of one stone per month, so the people were very motivated. Fazhen even expressed emotion: "A general has shown compassion for the people, which has never been seen in history."

With the concerted efforts of the people, 300 Pili carts were quickly built, split into countless parts, placed on wooden carts, and pulled to Hanzhong.

Liu Ye, on the other hand, personally commanded the 50,000 cavalrymen in Guanzhong and marched towards Yangping Pass in a mighty manner.