"The Minister is ashamed. Please punish me, Your Majesty!"
After the martial arts demonstration, Li Junxian and Su Dingfang came to Li Shimin at the same time to ask for forgiveness. Although they were tied, they were defeated too thoroughly.
"My two beloved ministers, there is no need to apologize. Today was just a demonstration." Li Shimin said with a smile on his face. Being able to obtain such a peerless battle formation today really made him feel very happy. He knew that infantry had a natural disadvantage when facing cavalry, but the Macedonian phalanx was able to fight to a draw with cavalry of the same number. This was simply an unexpected surprise.
"My two beloved ministers, what do you think of this phalanx?" Li Shimin turned to Li Jing and Su Dingfang and asked.
Hou Junji shook his head and said, "Your Majesty, this phalanx has a single formation. Its advantages are obvious, but its disadvantages are also serious. Once the flanks and rear wings of this phalanx are broken, we will lose everything."
Hou Junji could naturally see that the spears used by the Macedonian phalanx were too long and difficult to turn around. Once they were broken, the consequences would be disastrous.
Li Jing shook his head and said, "It is precisely because the formation is single that it is easy to train. And on the battlefield, there will naturally be cavalry to protect the flanks and rear wings."
The attacking power of the Macedonian phalanx was too great. On the battlefield, the Tang dynasty also paid attention to cooperation, but it was only the cooperation of a small group of people. There had never been a phalanx like the Macedonian phalanx, where the whole army became a group. The power that erupted from that was too great.
Li Shimin nodded. He had seen the power of the Macedonian phalanx with his own eyes and immediately believed what Meton said about how powerful the Alexander Empire was.
Hou Junji retorted, "The spear soldiers carry too much weight and move slowly. The battlefield is constantly changing. How can they take care of everything? Once they are defeated, the consequences will be unimaginable."
Li Shimin suddenly fell into a dilemma. On the one hand, he was really tempted by the powerful attacking power of the Macedonian phalanx. On the other hand, he was worried that it would be defeated like the Macedonian phalanx in history.
Seeing this, Meton bowed and said, "Your Majesty, this matter is very easy to solve. As the saying goes, if you attack for a long time, you will definitely lose. Although the Macedonian phalanx formation was powerful, it was also a fact that their movements were slow and inflexible. But let's change our perspective. What if we use the Macedonian formation for defense? "
"Defense?" Everyone frowned and looked at Meton in surprise.
Meton turned to Li Junxian and cupped his hands, "General Li, on the battlefield, General Su has formed the Macedonian phalanx into a circular formation and is waiting for reinforcements. Do you have the confidence to break through?"
Li Junxian subconsciously turned his head to look at the forest of spears that still stood proudly on the training ground. He could not help but say with lingering fear, "With the same number of troops, even if the cavalry went all out, they would not be able to break through this formation."
Regarding this point, even Li Shimin and Hou Junji could not help but nod. Once the Macedonian phalanx was formed, it was like a huge hedgehog, making it impossible for people to attack.
Li Jing's eyes flashed. He vaguely guessed Meton's plan, but he did not point it out. Instead, he looked at Meton with interest, wanting to see Meton's ability.
Meton took a deep breath and said, "As the saying goes, before the troops and horses move, the provisions should move first. The soldiers of the Tang dynasty have traveled thousands of miles to fight, so the provisions are the most important thing. If the troops transporting the provisions are trained according to the Macedonian phalanx, once the Tuyuhun attack the provisions, everyone will hold a spear and form a Macedonian phalanx. Even if the Tuyuhun's cavalry attack the provisions, they will definitely break their heads and bleed to ensure that the provisions will not be lost. "
As soon as Meton's voice fell, everyone's hearts were suddenly enlightened. Sure enough, the School of Mo was best at keeping guard. This way, the defense of the troops escorting the provisions would be greatly improved, and the risk of losing the provisions would be greatly reduced. Even if they were really surrounded, they would be able to barely protect themselves.
Li Shimin was so excited that he could not control himself. In this era, the importance of provisions was self-evident. Since ancient times, many wars had been lost because of provisions. The Battle of Changping, the Battle of Julu, the Battle of Guandu, these lessons could be found everywhere in history. As an emperor, Li Shimin naturally knew the importance of provisions.
Moreover, in the Western Regions, the transportation of provisions was difficult. Once the provisions were lost, it was almost impossible to replenish them. If not for this, Li Shimin would not have issued bonds to build a brick road to Longyou when the country's strength was not sufficient.
"This old subject thinks that this is a good idea." Li Jing nodded in praise.
In this way, the circular Macedonian phalanx would be able to defend the same place. In this way, the weakness of the Macedonian phalanx would be perfectly solved. It would become a perfect defensive force.
Hou Junji still shook his head and said, "In this way, the troops escorting the provisions can only passively take a beating. As long as the mounted cavalry constantly harasses them, even the strongest defensive line would not be able to hold."
Although Hou Junji was nitpicking, he had also pointed out the greatest weakness of all infantry. When facing cavalry, they could only be on the defensive. As the saying went, if one stayed on the defensive for too long, they would definitely lose. This was indeed the greatest taboo of infantry.
Meton immediately revealed his trademark honest smile and said, "Minister Hou is right. We can only passively take a beating. Naturally, we cannot do that. Thus, this little one did not come here today to bring another weapon. It just so happens to be able to solve the current situation of the troops passively taking a beating."
"Oh!" Li Shimin was instantly interested. Meton's gift of the Macedonian phalanx had already made him extremely happy. Furthermore, any item that Meton had given him had never disappointed him. He could not help but look forward to it.
Meton cupped his hands towards Pande and said, "Eunuch Pande, please return the item that this little one brought."
Pande nodded and waved his hand. Very quickly, two eunuchs carried a box and placed it in front of everyone. Meton bent over and opened the box. Immediately, a crossbow appeared in front of everyone.
"A crossbow?" Li Jing's heart skipped a beat.
Crossbows were indeed a powerful weapon for infantry. However, crossbows that had a long range were extremely heavy and required many people to operate. If it was an ordinary crossbow, it would not be as fast and convenient as a bow and arrow.
"Minister's crossbow is not an ordinary crossbow. It is called the Divine Arm Crossbow. This crossbow is very simple to operate. The Minister has added mohist mechanisms to it. Only one person can easily load it. Most importantly, this crossbow has an effective range of four hundred paces."
"Three hundred paces!" Everyone was shocked. They all looked at Meton in disbelief. It must be known that the range of a bow and arrow in this era was no more than a hundred paces. The true killing power of a bow and arrow was no more than fifty paces. A range of four hundred paces was enough to change the situation of an entire war.
Li Shimin took a step forward and looked at Meton with a ferocious expression. He said word by word, "Are you sure it's three hundred paces?"
Meton suddenly looked innocent. He pointed at the crossbow at his feet and said, "This crossbow is right here. Your Majesty will know once you try it."
Li Shimin could not wait to pick up the crossbow. Under Meton's instructions, he easily loaded an arrow.
"This is the crosshair. Your Majesty, you only need to aim this crosshair at the target and pull the trigger." Meton reminded.
Unfortunately, Li Shimin's mind was filled with the idea of a range of four hundred paces. He did not care about this. He immediately picked up the crossbow and pulled the trigger at the training ground.
"Buzz!"
When everyone present heard the sound, they could feel the powerful attack power of the crossbow. In an instant, the arrow whizzed out without anyone noticing.
Li Shimin held the crossbow and pointed in the direction of the arrow. He ordered Li Junxian, "Go and check the range."
"Yes!"
Li Junxian accepted the order and immediately galloped away on his horse.
Soon, Li Junxian rode back with the crossbow in his hand. He was ecstatic as he said to Li Shimin, "Your Majesty, there are a total of three hundred and twenty paces."
"Three hundred and twenty paces!" Li Shimin gasped. The range of the Godarm Crossbow was actually several times that of a normal bow and arrow.
Li Shimin loaded the crossbow again and pulled the trigger. The maximum range of the crossbow could reach four hundred paces. The Godarm Crossbow's lethality was great. The crossbow that Meton used for practice was not sharpened at all. Instead, it could be nailed to a tree within two hundred paces.
Compared to a normal bow and arrow, the crossbow was easier to operate. Secondly, it saved energy. Shooting an arrow depended on the strength of the arm. A normal archer had to rest after shooting the arrow fifteen times in a row. Otherwise, the muscles would be damaged. However, for a crossbow soldier, as long as they could load the arrow and pull the trigger, they would be able to shoot continuously. Li Shimin fired more than ten arrows in a row and did not feel tired at all.
Moreover, the Godarm Crossbow could be operated by one person. It had a long range and could completely crush an archer.
Li Jing also sighed and said, "Everyone knows that the School of Mo is good at defense. I did not expect that the School of Mo is also unique in the art of attack."
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