The sun blazed fiercely as Xiulote, wearing a lightweight robe, passed through the alley where clothes were hung to dry, headed toward the north gate of the Wooden Fort. Bertade donned his Leather Armor again, summoned Coles and other guards, and followed closely behind His Highness. Along the way, samurai continuously saluted, shouting "Your Highness" and "Holy Eagle Head Warrior."
The Wooden Fort was limited in size, so the Young Commander had recently established a new camp outside the north gate for the research and developnt of siege machinery, which also served as a support for defense. As he stepped into the camp, the busy craftsn saluted in turn, each presenting their latest progress.
The Light Catapult was about two and a half ters tall, and its rotating barrel was correspondingly shortened. It had a triangular stable support at its base, with a width of less than two ters and a length just over two ters. Generally, it was a proportionally scaled-down version of the Human-Powered Catapult Type One, with the overall weight being only about four or five tenths of the original. As such, it could be carried by several civilians and easily loaded onto a large boat and transported to the opposite side of the Lerma River.
Xiulote stood by quietly observing. The craftsn quickly secured the Light Catapult to the ground, taking only a quarter of an hour. Then, they loaded a pumpkin-sized paper ball filled with ten kilograms of sand into the pouch on the long axis of the barrel. Six or seven gunners took their places, grasping the ropes connected to the short axle with both hands, looking towards His Highness not far away.
With a wave of His Highness’ large hand and a command, the gunners shouted in unison, pulling forcefully. The tip of the barrel rose, and the paper ball instantly reached a height of four ters, then was thrown at a slightly inclined angle, tracing a long parabola, and landing beyond the 120-step mark.
Xiulote personally went to check the landing spot of the paper ball, morized it, then ordered everyone to continue. The more than ten-kilogram paper balls traced varying arcs, with the range remaining stable between 110 and 140 steps. The Young Commander pondered for a mont, then used a wooden stick to draw the parabola on the ground, calculating the height of the paper ball’s flight.
A mont later, Xiulote erased the drawings on the muddy ground with his foot, nodding slightly in satisfaction. As long as the Light Catapult could be advanced within ninety steps of the city wall, the Paper Fireballs could be thrown onto the six-ter-high walls. At this distance, as long as the operators wore sturdy Leather Armor and helts, the enemy’s stone bows and arrows could not cause serious injury. The only problem was that the accuracy could not be guaranteed, and the landing points were all up to divine blessing.
The Young Commander praised the craftsn a few tis, ordering them to accelerate production. He then turned his attention to the Light Shield Car.
The front end of the Light Shield Car was a thick wooden board used as a shield, the middle was a small wooden platform for Archers to stand and shoot, the rear end was a long wooden handle for pushing, and at the very bottom were two simple wooden wheels. The front wooden shield was finger-thick, about two ters wide, and about the height of a person. The upper part of the wooden shield had three shooting openings, which could simultaneously protect three Longbow Warriors shooting. The long handles had four grips, and by bending their bodies slightly, two people could push the manned shield car forward.
Overall, this type of Light Shield Car was essentially a two-wheeled cart loaded with shields.
The Shield Car was a long-established siege weapon. Even a hundred years later, in the face of light cannon fire, the Heavy Shield Car still perford reasonably well. The Tarasco people had neither heavy crossbows nor firearms, so the front of the Light Shield Car did not need to be reinforced with leather or tal, nor needed to be filled with bulletproof mud.
Xiulote took out a Longbow and shot several tis from forty steps away. Afterwards, he carefully examined the depth to which the War Arrows penetrated the wood, nodding in approval.
"Mass produce the shield cars, the shields do not need to be so thick, they can be slightly simplified. I will allocate a batch of captive civilians here, we must produce at least two hundred cars within a month!"
Upon hearing this, the head of the craftsn knelt on the ground, nodding in agreent.
Lastly, Xiulote checked the replica Water Gate. The wooden Water Gate was only half completed, and its thickness was increased according to the standard design. He first let the samurai chop at it with Bronze Axes, and the dull "dut dut" sound followed. After a while, the Young Commander slightly shook his head. Then, he had the samurai take out chisels and Stone Hamrs to destroy key joints, calculating the ti in his mind, yet still shaking his head repeatedly.
After a mont of contemplation, the Young Commander called over the steward of the Gunpowder, giving a few instructions. Soon, the Gunpowder Craftsn brought hundreds of kilograms of well-preserved Gunpowder, sealed it beside the Water Gate, and carefully ignited the long fuse before quickly running away.
After a long mont, under the tense gaze of everyone, a loud "boom" of an explosion suddenly occurred, shattering wood and mud flying about. Fierce flas rose from the exploded Water Gate, sending plus of black smoke into the air. The heat wave swept over, bringing a pungent sll, forcing everyone to step back. The fiery blaze of the explosion continued for a full quarter hour, finally beginning to diminish.
Two quarters of an hour later, Xiulote called over five brave Samurai, instructing them to wear water-soaked Cotton Armor and wield huge Stone Hamrs to approach. The "bang bang" of loud impacts was followed by the "snap crack" of breaking sounds, as the still burning wooden door abruptly completely fractured, then collapsed into pieces.
Seeing this, Xiulote let out a hearty laugh. As he watched the charred wood pieces flying about and sparks scattering, he finally felt sowhat confident! Behind him, Bertade also displayed a joyful smile.
The five samurai then reported back. Their faces were blackened with soot, and even their hair had been singed by the flas. The Young Commander loudly praised them a few tis, then instructed the samurai to rest in the southern Wooden Fort. Afterward, he turned around, gazing towards the southern bank of the Rivermouth Fortress, his thoughts drifting far away.
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