In the blink of an eye, the team led by Zhang Lixin took root in the area of Shengxian Village in Mancheng County for more than a month, especially half a month after the initial preparations were launched here, and many people's nervous hearts gradually relaxed.

In the eyes of most people: If there is no news of the official army coming to encircle and suppress for half a month, it means that the pressure of encirclement and suppression is not imminent, and as long as the entire team is temporarily dormant and does not expand the scope of the big eaters, perhaps at least the whole spring will have more time to prepare for war.

Before the spring ploughing season, the whole team was once again fully armed with more resources than before, and the weight-counterweight trebuchets for small field use were also made of better timber and thoroughly improved with the help of higher-skilled craftsmen. It can be operated by eight people together, and the weight counterweight is also increased compared to the past: it has been proved in practice that in the case of projecting too many times or too long, it is completely possible to use the horizontal bar perpendicular to the catapult arm, and the pry upward after the horizontal bar, to divide the eight people into two rows and use the weight and weight pressure to press down the trebuchet, but the position of the height difference is not the same.

In this way, even if the catapult arm is not too long for the sake of convenience, it can accurately throw about 200 pieces of 6 taels of lead bullets to a distance of about 100 meters, and the eight catapults of the entire team can throw at least 1,600 pieces of 200 grams of lead bullets at a time, and the effective strike protection is not too sophisticated opponents.

As for projection at a longer distance, under Zhang Lixin's test and analysis, it is obvious that there will be various problems with efficiency and accuracy, which is not as good as using artillery to fire lead.

In the actual combat drill and confrontation exercise, Zhang Lixin also found that because the available manpower still seems a little too thin in the real sense of the frontal conflict, it is not right to distinguish between the arms of the army too clearly. In situations where trebuchets are needed, or in the preceding phase of tactical preparation, it is advisable to devote all available personnel to the operation of the weight-counterweight trebuchet. The operation requirements of the artillery are slightly higher, even if it is the simplest direct shot, there are some requirements for the source of troops. However, it is a waste to have a reliable fighter who can perform a front-line confrontation as a mere contributor to a loader or trebuchet.

After the arrival of February in early spring, the team entered the stage of joint tactical drill and test during normal training, and through this coordinated exercise, Zhang Lixin found many problems. Some of my previous thoughts obviously did not take into account the huge psychological pressure that the rear curved shooting arms may bring to the front-line personnel. Even if the coordination distance is reduced to a distance of about forty or fifty meters, it is obviously not possible to control the error even less. For for some lethality at this distance, the lead and hot ash thrown are too frightening ...

However, Zhang Lixin, who has a more acute understanding of firearms and tactical systems, still seems to have thought of something before some other people in the team during the drill test: "The coordinated distance of the infantry artillery of about ten meters is too dangerous even if it is too dangerous at a distance of about forty or fifty meters." So, can it be? The trebuchet throws at a distance between fifteen and twenty-five meters, whichever is twenty meters. The personnel hid on the periphery of the phalanx, only about five meters away from the point where the trebuchet was powered. Then we threw the wood-husked terracotta-skinned pillars filled with cotton and gunpowder that went out sideways, and scrambled to break them apart in predetermined positions. A dedicated flamethrower at a position of about five meters is in a position to play a greater role? ”

When Zhang Lixin said this opinion, some people wondered why he didn't use things like fierce fire oil or oil, but Li Yi understood this question when he just had a question: although the current team has good materials, oil is still too expensive to obtain, and the effect may not be very good. It's easy to understand why the clay shell was wrapped around hollow wooden pillars: just in case the opponent used a fire attack or something like that might bring a hidden danger to the whole team. Even if a roll of cotton covered with gunpowder is different from a thunderbolt, it is obviously too much of a hidden danger.

Of course, this also extends to the fact that the team can also perform this tactic at a distance of about thirty or forty meters outside the formation, first throwing a trapped roll of gunpowder cotton columns, a wooden shell on the outside, and a clay shell for added security; Then, at this distance, Zhang Lixin and a few others who can be more proficient in opening five bucket bows shoot five taels or ten taels of torches and heavy arrows. Although the accuracy may not be very good, shooting at a distance of about thirty or forty meters is not inferior to an obvious target like an arrow target, if you still feel unsafe, at such a distance, many beginners who are not familiar with bows and arrows can also cover the target with a guide rocket of about one or two buckets. Of course, at a distance of about sixty or seventy meters or even eighty to a hundred meters, it is not a layman archer or even a few people such as Zhang Lixin who are fully sure that they are responsible for ignition. It is difficult to estimate the impact of wind resistance on throwing too large and too small an object with too little density. At that distance, it is clear that it is still hot mud-coated lead bullets and ash bottle bullets that may be more effective? With this kind of sketching, the team took turns to take time during the day to once again cooperate with the craftsman team to start a busy battle preparation.

Soon, the busy day of spring plowing and farming finally came, and Zhang Lixin took part of the day to take turns to carry out collective work to help the villagers who had taken up a lot of labor due to conscription. However, the general principle is that soldiers from the same village should not be busy with the land in their own village, let alone their own land, and they must help each other in different villages. Moreover, it is necessary to avoid the situation of "busy at home" as much as possible.

In this regard: Wang Wei, who had worked under Zhang Lixin in Dengzhou and Fuzhou before, was really puzzled: "Didn't the general say in the past: I don't think I am optimistic about working together in the countryside in ancient times, and I don't agree with the public ownership of land and the communization of villages? Think Juntian can't shake the principle of private ownership? However, as soon as such a question was raised, Wang Wei seemed to feel a little reckless.

Zhang Lixin will not shy away from this: "I just said that I am not optimistic about this mechanism, not that it cannot be implemented in all places." Although most normal people are more motivated to work for themselves than to work for others or for everyone, it cannot be ruled out that there may be such well-managed village community units that can operate effectively under the premise of being able to expand and develop, rather than restricting expansion and development. Moreover, today we are not an organization of economic life like a common people's folk village community. If the officers and men of the new-type army regard their own interests as the foundation everywhere, they are unwilling to help others, are unwilling to do farm work and other old professions, and do not have the habit of helping others. So the subtext is: It is not far from the mediocre army that prides itself on being a military master and has selfish interests, and it will be like those mediocre officers and soldiers who make trouble and roar at every turn? The practical effect of our evening political missions, and the change in the thinking of some people, have to be tested in this way... ”