The weight of the tiger squat cannon is relatively light, the total weight is only thirty or forty catties, and two people can carry it everywhere. The Napoleonic cannon was much heavier, and with the gun carriage, a cannon was more than a thousand pounds. When maneuvering on the plains, several horses are used to drag them.

However, no matter how heavy the Napoleon cannon is, it is not a problem for Chen Cheng. Cannons were taken out and placed on positions, and wooden crates containing ammunition packs and shells were placed behind the ramparts. This kind of miracle-like thing did not arouse the amazement of the people on the side, because they had seen it many times.

If it weren't for all kinds of unreasonable places, how could Ma Chao and even Lu Bu be so easily convinced of Chen Cheng?

The soldiers of the artillery battalion rushed up and, according to the previous training, loaded the twelve cannons. Napoleon's guns were fierce, using 2.5 pounds of propellant packs and 11 pounds of shells, which were extremely simple to manufacture and use. It has an effective range of more than 1,000 meters, and its accuracy is also very impressive, claiming to be able to hit the gate of a barn at a distance of 500 meters.

Now these terrible weapons were deployed only one hundred and fifty paces from the city walls, that is, more than two hundred meters, and it was no different from firing a pistol at the enemy's chest.

"First test shot!"

At the loud command of the gun commander, the gunpowder pack was ignited, the solid powder turned into gas in a thousandth of a second, the volume expanded tens of thousands of times, and the chemical energy was converted into kinetic energy. The artillery carriage shook backwards, and the shells had turned into black dots and slammed into the city gates.

"Click!"

A large hole was smashed into the thick copper-clad gate, and the defenders in the cave fell to the ground screaming. It's not because his luck is bad, the bad luck has been smashed into meat sauce by cannonballs, and he died of anger before he even had time to make a sound. The only thing that can scream is because of being pierced by flying wood chips.

At such a close distance, there was no need for a test firing at all. After the first cannon fired, the remaining eleven cannons fired a salvo, and the city gate and the defenders behind it were blown to pieces with an earth-shattering sound. This kind of power not only shocked the defenders in the city, but also the soldiers and horses of the attacking side.

Although the reputation of the Tiger Squat Cannon was also shocking before, it was still an infantry cannon after all, it was used for close combat, the charge was not much, and the power was just ordinary, so how could it compare to the earth-shaking when the Napoleon cannon salvo was fired? Even Ma Chao and other people who had seen the power of Napoleon's cannon suddenly became heavy in their breathing.

"With this kind of weapon, where will there be any need for brave generals in the future?" Ma Chao suddenly had deep doubts, "Then what's the point of us working so hard to train our martial arts?" ”

Chen Cheng didn't have such feelings as Ma Chao, he already knew that even if his martial arts were ten times stronger, he would not be able to stop the cannon. Besides, the power of this smoothbore cannon is like this, and the mobility is also very bad, and it can also hit fixed targets. With a wave of his hand, he ordered, "Enter the city!" ”

The defenders of the city were frightened by the power of the artillery, and when they saw the enemy rushing up, they did not dare to resist, threw away their weapons, took off their armor, and ran home. In this day and age, as soon as the city gates are breached, most armies will collapse instantly.

Only on rare occasions were the defenders able to engage in street battles with the attackers under the command of their generals, and they were almost completely wiped out. Of course, before the advent of artillery, it was difficult to conquer the city. As long as the defenders are a little more firm and have enough food and grass, they can hold on for a long time.

Zhao Si took the lead in rushing in with the trapping camp, first seized the head of the city, and then set up the tiger squat cannon, preparing to suppress the resistance in the city. However, he still thought too much, Zhongmu at this time was not Stalingrad in World War II, and the soldiers and civilians in the city did not have the spirit of fighting to the death.

The soldiers threw away their weapons and fled back to their homes, except for more than a hundred who had nowhere to go and retreated to the county office. But what's the use of returning to the county office? The tall and thick city wall can't be defended, can the wall of the county government be defended?

Without pushing the tiger squat cannon over, the soldiers of the infantry battalion had already entered the county government and captured the county order alive.

Chen Cheng put away the twelve Napoleonic cannons and ammunition boxes, and then led his troops into Zhongmu City. Pang De came forward to report: "General, the county order has been caught, do you want to bring it over?" ”

Chen Cheng smiled and said, "What did you bring here for?" The county commander and the county lieutenant were beheaded, and the remaining officials and soldiers, along with their families, were sent to the Western Regions. Now the textile mills need more and more cotton, and the Western Regions is short of manpower. ”

"No!"

This time, Chen Cheng did not plan to retreat to Guanzhong again, but to gain a firm foothold in Yanzhou. If you want to gain a foothold in Yanzhou, you must get the locals to cooperate, at least not on a large scale. Originally, he wanted Cao Cao to eliminate the scholars and heroes of Yanzhou, but who knew that Chen Gong would actually think of such a way to take refuge in Yuan Shao?

Now more than half of the scholars and Haoqiang have survived, and the matter has come to this point, so Chen Cheng has no choice but to start the purge by himself. Moving the local heroes to other places is actually a tradition of the Western Han Dynasty. Every time the emperor died, a new city would be built and all the powerful people in the world would be relocated.

It was by this means that the Western Han Dynasty was able to flourish and maintain considerable vitality for a long time. It is for this purpose that this time the troops are not rushing forward like the last time, but steadily and steadily. Every time he conquers a place, he will move all the local scholars and heroes, and then send those who come out of the new-style school to preside over the work in the local area.

After nesting in Guanzhong for so long, in addition to developing the economy and armaments, he also trained many middle and low-level officials, just so that they could come to the place where they were defeated. Without the local powerful organization, Yanzhou should not be able to make any waves.

When Chen Cheng blasted open the gate of Zhongmu City with a cannon, Yuan Shao was meeting Cao Cao in Changyi. The two have been close friends for many years, and then they each dominated one side, and there have been both cooperation and confrontation for several years. They are all ambitious and unwilling to be inferior, if it weren't for the jackals, tigers and leopards around them, these two would have turned against each other a long time ago.

Cao Cao was originally Yuan Shao's younger brother, but later his wings hardened and he became an ally. Now that Cao Cao's family is under Yuan Shao's control, whether he is a younger brother or an ally is a confused account. Yuan Shao naturally wanted Cao Cao to continue to be his thug, but the question is, can a person who is as talented as Cao Cao be willing to live under Yuan Shao?

Outside the city of Changyi, a column of soldiers and horses was laid out, and the strong crossbowmen and halberd warriors of Jizhou beat Gongsun Zhan's white horse Yicong to the ground, and he was already a well-known strong soldier in the world. Cao Cao's tiger and leopard riders are not vegetarians, although there are only a few thousand riders, but they are also armor soldiers.

"Mengde, long time no see!"

Yuan Shao sat on the chair under the umbrella canopy, didn't get up, and said to Cao Cao who walked up to him with a smile: "Do you remember the conversation we had when we were in Luoyang?" ”

Cao Cao casually sat down opposite Yuan Shao, with a smile on his face, and said, "We talked a lot when we were in Luoyang, I don't know which sentence you were referring to." ”

Yuan Shao said with a smile: "When I was in Luoyang, Meng De, you asked me, if there is disharmony, how should I deal with myself. Why, have you forgotten all the words of the past? ”

Cao Cao laughed twice and said, "How can you forget?" At the beginning, you replied: When the south is based on Hebei, the north is blocked by the Yan Dynasty, and the people of the desert are fighting for the world in the south, can you help? Now Your Excellency has done it! ”

Yuan Shao laughed and asked, "I have already fulfilled all my words that day, but I don't know where Meng De's words are?" ”

Cao Cao laughed a few times and said: "I am the intelligence of the world, and I can do everything with the Tao!" ”

Yuan Shao originally wanted to strike a blow to Cao Cao's arrogance first, paving the way for the next subjugation of the other party, but he didn't expect that Cao Mengde didn't seem to take his previous defeat in Yanzhou to heart at all. Yuan Benchu couldn't help but be surprised, looking at Cao Apu, who had a calm expression and a natural attitude in front of him, he felt a little speechless.

He pondered for a moment, and decided to get straight to the point, go straight to the point, and no longer play those false tricks, "Meng De, Chen Gong has now taken refuge under my door, Yanzhou should belong to my Yuan Shao, you can lead the troops back to Yuzhou." ”

Cao Cao laughed, and Yuan Shao said angrily, "Why is Meng De laughing? ”

"The beginning, the beginning, is it by the benefit of the tongue to take the world?" Cao Cao leaned back on the chair, stretched out his hand and pointed to the soldiers and horses behind him, and said: "I took these many soldiers with me just to catch Chen Gong and other rebels, so I will be ashamed!" If you still have some old feelings at your feet, you will hand over Chen Gong. The land and city of Yanzhou are bounded by the places they occupy, so it will not hurt the harmony of our two families. ”

Yuan Shao said categorically: "It is absolutely impossible to hand over Chen Palace, this matter has to be mentioned again!" ”

Cao Cao smiled: "Then the matter of dividing Yanzhou equally, did you agree to it?" ”

Yuan Shao snorted and sneered: "Meng De, several sons of your family are still guests in Yecheng, don't you want to meet them?" Why don't you go back to Hebei with me and reunite with your family? ”

Cao Cao said calmly: "You and I used to be like brothers, my son is also your son, they have your father to take care of them in Yecheng, what can I worry about?" In this way, if you give me the head of Chen Palace, I will withdraw thirty miles back, and all the cities within these thirty miles will belong to you Yuan Shao, how about it? ”

Yuan Shao pondered for a moment, then shook his head and said, "How could I, Yuan Ben, kill my subordinates for the sake of land?" ”

Cao Cao said disapprenousively: "Chen Gongtai is just a thief who betrays his master, when did he become a courtier in Jizhou?" He betrayed me Cao Cao first, and then betrayed Chen Cheng not long ago, and I don't know when he will betray you Yuan Shao! ”

Yuan Shao said unhappily: "Hugh has to say such words to sow discord again!" Now Cheng Yu is still unwilling to surrender, and there is Liu Bei in Xuzhou to deal with, and Meng De will do it himself! ”

"Okay, I'll deal with the imperial court soldiers and horses in the west myself, and Liu Bei in the east will be handed over to Ben Chu!"

In a few words, the sphere of influence has been divided. It's not how much they have feelings for each other, but the situation dictates that they have no choice but to do so. Although there have been open and secret fights between the two, they both know that now is not the time to turn their faces and make a move. It's never too late to address other threats on the side before making plans.