Below the reading platform, all the soldiers of the Six Guards stood proudly below the platform. Each of them looked at Li Shimin with excited eyes.
At this moment, the Tang Dynasty was no longer as weak as it was when it was just founded. In recent years, the Tang Dynasty's national strength had increased, and it had defeated the Eastern Turks, the overlords of the grasslands. The momentum of the entire military had reached its peak.
Many soldiers of the Tang Dynasty did not care about the Tuyuhun at all. In this Western Expedition, from the generals to the soldiers, they were full of confidence that they would win.
Li Shimin looked at the strong soldiers and said heroically, "The Tuyuhun has repeatedly violated the border and committed a lot of blood in the Tang Dynasty, but they did not repent. Today, I am a benevolent and righteous army to seek justice for the people of the Tang Dynasty."
"Seek justice, seek justice!" Tens of thousands of soldiers shouted in unison.
Li Shimin nodded with satisfaction and shouted, "In three days, you can set out. The Tang Dynasty will win this Western Expedition."
"The Tang Dynasty will win! The Tang Dynasty will win!" All the soldiers shouted in unison, and their momentum shook the sky.
A group of generals also nodded, especially the Macedonian phalanx and the three-section attack of the Holy Arm Crossbow, which made the generals more confident.
No one realized that under the subtle influence of the Mo Family, the balance of victory in this war had quietly shifted to the Tang Dynasty's side.
However, as the initiator, Meton did not feel much pride. Instead, he calmly prepared for the exercise of the Firearms Supervisor.
In the valley of the West Mountain.
Tender green grass sprouts had just emerged. The whole valley was full of green mountains and clear water, which was very pleasant. However, in this beautiful scenery, a section of the city wall suddenly appeared in front of everyone.
"This is the city wall you want to build."
Li Jing looked at the city wall in front of him curiously. When Meton borrowed people from him, it happened that Qin Huaiyu and the other two refused to be disciplined and were very troublesome. He took the opportunity to send the centurions led by Qin Huaiyu and the other two. Who would have thought that such a high city wall could be built in such a short time?
"The city wall is twenty feet high and ten feet wide. Due to the limited time, I only built two hundred steps," Meton said regretfully.
Li Shimin's face twitched, and he looked at Meton angrily. The twenty feet high city wall was comparable to the city wall of a county. This guy built two hundred steps. God knows how much money he spent.
Cheng Yaojin clicked his tongue and said, "With such a high wall, I'm afraid even a catapult would not be able to blast it open. Why did I hear that this was built by my stinky brat, brick by brick!"
.. Li Jing's face immediately became awkward. He looked up at the sky and didn't say anything.
Meton quickly changed the topic... "Brother Cheng's selfless help will be repaid in the future. Today, I invited you all here to show you the power of ballistics."
"This is Zu Mingjun, a classmate of the Minister. Ballistics was created by him." Meton pointed at Zu Mingjun and introduced him.
"This commoner Zu Mingjun greets the Emperor and all the ministers." Zu Mingjun said in fear and trepidation. He couldn't help but look at Meton with gratitude. If it wasn't for Meton inviting him to the Firearms Division, he wouldn't have had the chance to show off in front of Li Shimin.
"The descendant of the Zu Clan is indeed knowledgeable!" Li Shimin praised.
"I'm just a junior. I don't dare to ruin the reputation of my ancestors." Zu Mingjun said with a red face.
Li Shimin nodded and said, "Let's begin! Let us see what's so special about the mathematics that even the Mo Clan and Zu Clan praised. "
"Yes!" Zu Mingjun took a deep breath. He bowed and began to adjust the angle of the cannon.
Meton pointed at a dummy on the wall and said, "Reporting to Your Majesty, please take a look. If this is the enemy commander, and it's three hundred steps away from the trebuchet, we can use ballistics to accurately hit it and execute the decapitation operation."
"Decapitation operation?" Li Shimin's eyes flashed. Although this was the first time he had heard of this term, he instantly understood the meaning behind it. He had once led the elite Black Armored Army to capture Dou Jiande in a single day. Wasn't that a decapitation operation? It was also the so-called 'to catch bandits, first catch the ringleader'?
The group of generals also fell into deep thought. Li Jing's heart was moved. Perhaps this decapitation operation could be recorded in his military book.
"Fire!" Zu Mingjun calculated the trajectory and a huge stone egg flew out. Under everyone's gaze, it accurately hit the dummy on the wall.
"So accurate?" Li Shimin was shocked.
The eyes of the other generals lit up. Such a precise strike was one of a kind. In the past, the trebuchets could be said to be blind, relying on luck.
Hou Junji waved his hand and said nonchalantly, "What's the use of a single shot? As long as the enemy commander isn't stupid, he'll definitely be able to dodge it. Isn't it just a matter of using a few more trebuchets and firing at the same time?"
Many of the generals agreed. Although these generals held high positions, most of them were born in the wilderness. How could they care about such intricate playthings? They were simply unwilling to spend too much effort in this area. To them, it was just a matter of throwing out a few more stone eggs.
Meton was not surprised in the slightest. Instead, he ordered the cavalry to change the stone egg to a black lump of metal.
"I wonder if the enemy commander will be able to dodge it this time," Meton said confidently.
"Gunpowder weapon!"
Everyone's heart trembled. They immediately knew that this was a gunpowder weapon from the Firearms Surveillance Bureau. The explosion at the back of the mountain of Xuandu Temple was extremely tragic. Although Li Shimin had ordered the news to be sealed, as a general of the Tang dynasty, he had naturally heard of the situation.
"Your Majesty!" Cheng Yaojin couldn't help but move closer to Li Shimin to protect him.
"It's fine!" Li Shimin waved his hand.
"Generals, don't panic. No matter how dangerous it is, as long as we follow the rules, it will be very safe," Merton said.
Li Shimin nodded. He had seen the Firearms Surveillance Bureau's memorial. Meton had already explained the fire prevention steps to him in the memorial. He wasn't worried at all because he couldn't think of any possibility of an accident.
Meton took out a match and carefully lit the long fuse of the gunpowder.
"Shoot again!" Zu Mingjun suddenly shouted.
Almost following the trajectory of the previous shot, the gunpowder bullet left behind a trail of sparks and hit the dummy's position again.
"It's really accurate!" After two consecutive hits, everyone's attention to ballistics immediately increased.
But this wasn't the end. Accompanied by a loud boom, a huge flame suddenly erupted from the wall, and a thick black smoke rose into the air.
"This!"
The generals suddenly felt a chill run down their spines. They couldn't help but think about it from another perspective. They couldn't think of anyone who could survive this destructive power. If they were in the dummy's position, they probably wouldn't be able to survive.
"So this is a gunpowder weapon!"
Li Shimin's eyes were fixed on the soaring flames. He was shocked. Such a weapon might have subverted his previous understanding of war.
For the first time, Li Jing's expression changed. This time, if he didn't revise his military strategy book, he would probably have to rewrite it.
"From now on, no matter how high one's martial arts skills are, they will be like paper in the face of such a powerful weapon." The generals who were famous for their bravery couldn't help but sigh. Since ancient times, peerless generals could easily take the head of a general in an army of thousands. But from now on, this kind of phenomenon would probably not happen again.
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