The Tang Empire held a large-scale artillery exercise at this time to show off its muscles and let the affiliated countries know how powerful and invincible the Tang Empire was.
In order to create a better experience, not only did they build a luxurious ten-story concrete viewing platform, but they also prepared a sufficient number of binoculars.
In addition, there were many delicious snacks and wine on every table on the viewing platform. Of course, there was also tea. If the envoys were hungry or thirsty, they could enjoy it at any time.
After all the envoys were in place, the preparations for the exercise officially began. Two thousand infantrymen of the Dragon Warrior Army placed dummies and horses made of various materials to play the role of the enemy in a certain position. Then, they slowly retreated and moved on to the next position.
"Wow, so many scarecrows, wooden dummies, paper horses, and stone dummies."
"Are these all targets? They'll be targets for the artillery. "
"The Tang Empire is rich. They actually prepared thousands of well-made targets. Can't they just draw a circle?"
The envoys picked up the binoculars and saw that the small black dots in the distance were dummies and horses. It was obvious that they were left as targets for the artillery.
They had already learned about the artillery from the officials of the Tang Empire. They knew that the artillery could shoot targets thousands of steps away. However, they could only imagine all of this. They could not form an intuitive impression. They had to see the artillery exercise in person to form a real intuitive impression.
"Everyone, the sand table is here."
Li An arrived late, bringing with him a dozen subordinates who were carrying a huge sand table.
This sand table was made by Ang Lee after a long time. It was divided into nine large pieces. After piecing them together, they formed a huge model of the sand table.
Each of the nine small pieces was three feet square. When all of them were put together, they formed a big thing that was about ten feet in length and width.
There were all kinds of terrains on this sand table. All of them were made according to a fixed ratio, which reflected the terrain of the drill ground in front of them.
In addition to the terrain, there were also a large number of well-made models on the sand table. There were rows of cannons, cavalry, infantry, and a target area filled with enemy troops. Even the viewing platform of the ten-story building was on the sand table.
Through this sand table, every place in the drill ground could be seen very clearly. It was easier to understand the situation of the entire drill ground.
"Sand table, this is a sand table? What a wonderful thing! "
"The entire drill ground can be seen. It's much clearer than a map."
"The Tang Empire is indeed the Tang Empire. They actually thought of making such a wonderful thing."
After Ang Lee pushed out the sand table, the envoys of various countries all gathered around and pointed at it. They were full of endless respect for the Tang Empire.
"Assistant Minister Li, what is this sand table? Why don't you tell us about it? "
An official of the Tang Empire asked.
Ang Lee nodded with a smile and said, "Everyone, please take a look. Now, all the places in the drill ground have been reduced to this small area. So, as long as you command this sand table, you can control the entire drill ground. Today, the drill will go like this. There are eight artillery brigades here. They will first fire continuously at area No. 1 to annihilate 1,000 enemy troops in area No. 1. Then, they will quickly adjust the muzzles to annihilate area No. 2 in the distance and wipe out 2,000 enemy troops there. Finally, the cavalry and infantry will launch a charge to occupy area No. 1 and area No. 2 and capture the remaining enemy troops."
Listening to Ang Lee's explanation and looking at the sand table and model in front of them, the steps of the drill quickly formed in everyone's minds. They could even imagine the scenes in the drill.
"Pass my order. The drill will begin immediately. Everyone, go back to your seats."
Ang Lee ordered loudly.
"Dong, dong, dong …"
With the beating of the war drums, it indicated the beginning of the drill. The envoys of various countries returned to their seats and picked up the binoculars in their hands, ready to watch the artillery drill of the Tang Empire.
Several miles away from the viewing platform, eight artillery brigades were arranged in eight neat rows according to the order of their organization. 400 cannons and more than 2,000 artillery soldiers stood there majestically.
After hearing the rumbling of the war drums, the soldiers of the artillery brigade knew that the drill was about to begin, so they immediately began to prepare according to the steps of the rehearsal a few days ago.
The 1st Artillery Brigade began to prepare first. After the shells of the 1st Artillery Brigade were stuffed into the cannons, the 2nd Artillery Brigade began to prepare, and so on until the 8th Artillery Brigade.
In this way, they could maintain continuous firepower and create continuous rumbling sounds, which would leave a deep impression on the envoys of various countries.
"Boom, boom, boom …"
The firework shells of the 1st Artillery Brigade first fell into the enemy group and smashed a large number of scarecrows with violent explosions, causing exclamations on the viewing platform.
Li Yanchong and Li Huaijie looked at each other, and the snacks in their hands involuntarily fell to the ground. They were both veterans who had been on the battlefield for a long time and had personally killed more enemies than they could count with two hands. But when they saw the great power of the artillery group firing, they were still frightened.
"Boom, boom, boom …"
The firing of the artillery did not stop because of their shock. The artillery brigades continued to saturate the target area according to the steps of the drill.
Each of the eight artillery brigades fired five rounds of firework shells, and then adjusted the muzzles to bombard targets farther away.
Four hundred cannons, each firing five cannons, a total of two thousand cannons, with an imposing manner that blotted out the sky and covered the earth, bombarding more than a thousand targets in the first area into pieces. The ground was also densely packed with small craters, dust and smoke drifting in the air.
After the 2,000 rounds were fired, the eight artillery brigades quickly adjusted the angle of the muzzles and concentrated their firepower on the second area. The amount of firepower in this area was 4,000 rounds of firework shells, and each cannon fired 10 rounds.
Just as the rumbling of the artillery fire was heard, the envoys of various countries on the viewing platform were no longer calm. They talked about the power of the artillery, and all of them were full of horror and fear.
This was an artillery drill. In the future, if an army encountered the artillery unit of the Tang dynasty, they would inevitably be blown to pieces like the dummies on the drill field.
"Brother Huaijie, the power of these artillery is really great. And it can even shoot the shells more than 1,000 steps away. If an army encountered the artillery unit of the Tang dynasty on the battlefield, it would be a disaster!"
Li Yanchong came to his senses and looked at Li Huaijie beside him, his face full of shock and astonishment.
Li Huaijie was observing the area bombed by the artillery with a 50x telescope. When he heard Li Yanchong's words, he quickly let go of the telescope and looked at Li Yanchong. He agreed and said, "Brother Yanchong is right. The firepower of these artillery units is really too powerful. These artillery units alone are enough to rival 100,000 cavalrymen! In the future, who can defeat the Tang dynasty? "
"Fortunately, the artillery units are pulled by horses, so they can't move as fast as cavalrymen. If they can't defeat the enemy, they can only run away. In case of a surprise attack from behind, the cavalry can also destroy these artillery units."
After analyzing for a long time, Li Yanchong finally found the weakness of the artillery units, which was that they were not as mobile as cavalrymen. Once the cavalrymen approached them, they would lose the ability to resist.
"Brother Yanchong is right. However, these artillery units are the treasures of the Tang dynasty. How can they fight the enemy alone? They must cooperate with the infantry and cavalry. In this way, with the elite infantry and cavalry of the Tang dynasty protecting them, the cavalrymen can't get close to these artillery units at all. They can only be beaten passively."
Li Huaijie had also analyzed this situation, but he soon denied his opinion. He believed that the Tang dynasty would pay special attention to the artillery units and would not let them stay in a dangerous place alone.
In the current exercise, one thousand cavalrymen and two thousand infantrymen were protecting the two sides of the artillery. In future large-scale battles, it was very likely that there would be more infantrymen protecting the artillery. Therefore, it was very difficult to send elite cavalrymen to sneak attack the artillery.
While Li Huaijie and Li Yanchong were carefully analyzing the combat power of the artillery units of the Tang dynasty, Li Ya 'er was fiddling with various binoculars and watching the lively scene in the drill ground.
"Big Brother, Big Brother, these binoculars are very fun. Can you give me a few more?"
Li Ya 'er had enough fun. She ran to Ang Lee and asked.
"Naughty girl, don't worry. Big Brother will give you as many as you want."
Ang Lee smiled and agreed readily.
"Big Brother, Prince Guichang also needs a lot of binoculars. You should also prepare some for him!"
Li Ya 'er asked for it for Zhao Yefu.
"Got it. Big Brother won't treat Prince Guichang badly. Go and eat some snacks!"
Ang Lee smiled and sent Li Ya 'er away.
At this moment, some of the envoys were eating snacks, some were watching the drill ground with binoculars, some were studying the sand table, and of course, some were just watching the fun, just like Li Ya 'er.
Six thousand fireworks were expensive, and Li An felt his heart ache when he used them all at once. However, this was the Emperor's order, and it was to display the strength of the Great Tang Empire. Therefore, no matter how expensive it was, it was worth it.
After all the cannonballs were fired, the 1,000 Dragonwarrior Cavalrymen and 2,000 Infantrymen immediately roared as they charged towards the first and second regions to occupy them. At the same time, the cannoneers immediately tied the barrels of their cannons to their horses and charged with the Infantrymen.
"Oh, oh, oh …"
After occupying the position, the infantry and cavalry all cheered. At this point, the artillery exercise had come to an end, and the spectators on the viewing platform entered a heated discussion about the Great Tang artillery exercise, each expressing their own opinions about it.
"Ladies and gentlemen, please listen to me."
Ang Lee interrupted the envoys and said loudly, "The Tang dynasty has always hoped to have friendly relations with all countries and exchange what they need. Since all of you are loyal to the Tang dynasty, the Tang dynasty will definitely protect you. In the future, if someone dares to attack your cities, the Tang Empire will not sit idly by. The Tang dynasty will tell the invaders with fierce artillery fire that invading the subordinate countries of the Tang dynasty is declaring war on the Tang Empire. Those who offend the authority of the Tang dynasty will be killed, no matter how far they are."
"Those who offend the authority of the Tang dynasty will be killed, no matter how far they are."
"Those who offend the authority of the Tang dynasty will be killed, no matter how far they are."
"Those who offend the authority of the Tang dynasty will be killed, no matter how far they are."
Dozens of officials of the Tang dynasty and hundreds of soldiers of the Tang dynasty began to shout in unison, shocking all the envoys present. In order to express their loyalty, many envoys also shouted together. Even the conceited Li Yanchong and Li Huaijie had to shout the slogan, lest they were seen by the officials of the Tang dynasty and passed to Li Longji's ears.
"Ladies and gentlemen, the artillery drill is over, and all the participating troops are returning to the camp. Finally, the Tang dynasty's troops will show the newly developed armored artillery vehicles to broaden your horizons."
Li An shouted loudly and signaled to his subordinates with his eyes.
His subordinates understood and immediately waved the red flag. The captain standing in the distance understood the flag signal with his binoculars and immediately ordered the armored artillery vehicles to appear as the final performance of the drill.
"Rumble …"
Soon, the armored monster with black smoke appeared. Because it was too far away, they could only see a small black dot. Many envoys immediately picked up their binoculars and looked into the distance.
"My goodness, this armored artillery vehicle runs faster than a horse."
"Not only is it fast, but it's also covered in iron armor. I'm afraid it's invulnerable!"
"Look, there seems to be a cannon on it."
All the envoys were stunned.
"Boom, boom, boom …"
While the armored artillery vehicle was moving fast, it fired a projectile straight ahead and blew up a cloud of smoke and dust.
In fact, the armored artillery vehicles that Li An had developed could not aim effectively while moving, but there was no problem for them to fire. After all, it was just to show off their power and not to be used as a target. As long as the shells could hit the ground a thousand steps ahead, it would be fine.
"It's really equipped with a cannon!"
"How can it be called an armored artillery vehicle if it's not equipped with a cannon?"
"It's amazing. If this iron lump appears on the battlefield, I'm afraid that no one can beat it!"
Not only were the envoys surprised, but many officials of the Tang dynasty also exclaimed. The armored artillery vehicle had been successfully developed for several days, but this was the first time it was displayed in public. It was also the first time for many officials of the Tang dynasty to see it.
As the armored artillery vehicle moved forward quickly, it kept firing projectiles straight ahead. At the same time, it also smashed and flattened the obstacles deliberately set up on the road to show its powerful combat strength in all aspects.
Astonishment, horror, and stupefaction. All kinds of strange expressions hung on the faces of the envoys. The artillery exercise just now had already shocked the envoys, but the appearance of this armored artillery vehicle at this moment made the envoys feel even more terrified.
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