"Chief Engineer Mi, is the outer layer of this fortress covered with dirt?" After he observed, he suddenly asked.

"Yes, it's dirt." After being stunned for a moment, Misu immediately replied, "After our experience in Europe, brick and stone buildings will have debris flying everywhere under the bombardment of cannons, and it is easy to cause additional damage to the defenders. So, we applied our experience to these bastions, covering the outer layer with a thick layer of dirt, because the soil can absorb the damage of the shells. However, rest assured, the foundation of the bastion is strong, and the main trunk is built of reinforced masonry, so there is absolutely no doubt about its sturdiness. ”

Isn't there any doubt about the sturdiness...... Although the other party said so conclusively, the prince still doubted it.

But he didn't know how to refute the other party's words, so he had to continue to observe with the binoculars.

The front slope of the fort is sloping, and behind it is a covered walkway. The connected trenches were also sloping, with the inner moat walls and the parapet outside the moats. Beneath the bastion buildings there are also small ground fortifications with eye-catching designs and roofs, slender exterior fortifications that divide a wide trench between the front and main trenches, and a deep recessed walkway between the inner and perimeter walls.

The grand fortress in front of him is like a giant beast entrenched in the horizon, although it looks magnificent, but I don't know if it is strong outside or really powerful.

Let's put it into practice...... I don't see the technology, but I can see the results. The thought suddenly flashed through the prince's mind.

"Uncle, are there any cannons here that haven't been put on the fort?" He suddenly looked at Xu Housheng, the minister next to him, who had not spoken.

"This fortress, the rated gun position is one hundred and eighty-four, but now there are only more than ninety of them, and there are more than forty cannons that have not been hoisted in the construction site, and there are dozens of cannons in the gap - hey, there is no way, although these fortresses are prioritized to replenish cannons, but there are too many places that need cannons everywhere, so I have to slowly add ......"

When he said this, Gong Xiang blinked, as if he finally understood something, "The prince means ......"

"Yes, uncle." The prince nodded, "The child doesn't know what kind of work and construction, so he has to look at the result." After all, I built the fortress for defense, so wouldn't it be nice to see if it turned out? ”

Gongxiang hesitated for a moment, but finally smiled and agreed to the prince's opinion. Then, he turned his head to look at Misu, "Chief Engineer Mi, you send someone to inform the garrison here, and then tell them to bombard the fortress with cannons!" ”

Bombardment of the fortress with cannons?

When Misu reacted, the hot blood surged upward, and her face turned a little red.

These fortresses were all designed and built by him, and they were built bit by bit, and they were completely the crystallization of his hard work, but the crown prince actually said that he would use cannons to bombard, which was really difficult for him to accept.

"Lord Duke, the construction of these bastions cost a lot of money, and it took a lot of our energy. It is used to defend against enemy attacks, not to bombard oneself. There are standards for the acceptance of the project, and we have passed these acceptance standards, and now we are verifying the project by shelling, which is simply ......"

He wanted to say, "It's just a joke," but he endured it. "It took a lot of effort to build the fortress, and if something went wrong during the shelling, it would take a lot of money and manpower to rebuild it......

"I'm not asking them to keep shelling, it's just a few rounds of shelling to test." Before Xu Housheng could speak, the prince snatched the conversation, "Chief Engineer Mi, since you are very confident in your fortress, you don't have to be afraid to verify it with shelling, right?" If you can't even defend yourself against the shelling of your own people, then what is the value of this fortress? What's the point of spending so much money on the state? As for the damage, if the damage is not big during the shelling, anyway, the workers and materials have not been evacuated yet, so it is time to repair it quickly. ”

If the damage is really severe, the consequences are more than that.

Seeing that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and Lord Duke had already made a decision, Misu didn't dare to insist on his opinion anymore, so he had to shake his head gently, "Your Royal Highness the Prince, since this is your order, then I can only obey it." I hope you will be satisfied with the explosion scene that follows. ”

Then, under the order of the minister, an attendant who followed him walked out of the pavilion and ran down the mountain.

Because this fortress has just been built, the real garrison has not yet been completed, let alone settled, but because it is a large construction site, there are always guards stationed here, and they will obey the orders of the minister.

Soon there was a commotion at the foot of the mountain, and the commander of the garrison, after confirming it, carried out the orders of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and the Minister of Works, gathered all his soldiers, and then they pulled a cannon out of the sheltered shed and pushed it towards the outside of the fortress.

"His Royal Highness the Prince, the artillery they pushed out are all field guns with relatively small calibers, and the large city defense artillery is too heavy and requires special equipment to transport and lift, so it is really inconvenient to move...... "The engineer explained softly to the prince.

"It doesn't matter. Uncle, I'm just going to test it and see how it works. The prince waved his hand.

Come to think of it, this fortress is deep inland, with the national situation and border situation of the Han Dynasty, no one should be able to slowly transport the giant siege artillery to the front line of the fortress, at most it is just some field artillery, and the test is enough.

The prince looked with great interest at the fortress and the army below, and the soldiers in neat uniforms pushed their cannons towards the fortress under his orders, as if he were commanding a war—which greatly satisfied the prince's heart.

Suddenly, a question suddenly occurred to him.

"Uncle, this fortress lies at the bottom of the valley and can hold the main road, of course, it is excellent, but ...... If someone takes advantage of this kind of terrain to push the cannon up the mountain and bombard it violently, wouldn't it be very dangerous and can only be beaten passively? ”

Hearing this question, Gongxiang was slightly surprised. He didn't expect that his nephew had never been on the battlefield before, but he actually relied on his own guess to think of a military problem, and this issue was indeed very important.

However, as professionals, he and the engineers had certainly considered all aspects of the fort before building it, so of course it would not be difficult to do so.

"His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is really clear. However, I had already taken precautions against this beforehand. He walked unhurriedly to the prince's side, "When we were choosing a site for the fortress, we deliberately surveyed every mountain next to it and calculated the range of the cannon on the mountain, so please rest assured that even if the vast majority of the peaks are captured, they will not threaten the safety of the fortress." In addition......"

He stretched out his hand and pointed to one of the tallest peaks in the distance. "In addition, on the commanding heights of that mountain, we also designed a fort, after the fort was built, it could be used as horns and cover each other with the fortress. Moreover, there are grain and water reserves on the fort, which can last for a long time in wartime. If the invading enemy cannot get local supplies, the logistics of transporting from thousands of miles away are too much, and they will not have to retreat in front of the fortress for long. ”

After hearing his uncle's explanation, the prince relaxed.

At this time, the cannon had slowly pushed under the bastion.

"Your Royal Highness the Crown Prince, if it was in wartime, they would not have been able to come to the fortress so easily." At this time, in order to highlight the advantages of his design, Misu suddenly spoke, "No matter which side the enemy attacks from, they will be subjected to concentrated fire from the fortress and the frontal wall, as well as from the ground, and they will not think of hitting the fortress without paying huge losses. ”

As he spoke, he pointed and pointed, and under his guidance, the prince could almost see clearly. It turned out that the strange inner and outer walls were all very doorways, and under the guidance of the muzzles, every enemy army that could reach the front of the fortress would be covered by artillery fire from several directions.

And the outer walls, hidden in the depths, were defended by trenches and positions under the fortress.

Even a layman can feel the power.

These Westerners really have some ways, so let's see how well this fortress can defend against artillery fire.

Under the command of the banner on the hill, more than a dozen field guns stopped their gun carriages one after another, and then raised their muzzles, aiming at the outer walls of the bastion and the protruding fortress.

"Bang!" "Bang!" "Bang!"

The cannon suddenly rang out at the same time, and the whole earth seemed to tremble, and smoke poured out of the cannon, and finally enveloped the entire position. Even standing far away, the prince could feel the deafening roar.

The cannonballs in the barrel flew out and slammed into the fortress with terrifying momentum at great speed. Under the continuous bombardment of the cannons, the fortress seemed to be shaking, dusty, and smoky, and it was impossible to see the condition of the exterior walls.

After several rounds of bombardment, the prince felt that it was almost enough, so he made a gesture to his uncle, and under the order of the minister, a banner was raised again on the mountain, and the shelling below soon stopped.

When the smoke and dust around the fortress cleared, the prince picked up the telescope again and looked down.

After a long period of shelling, the thick soil covered by the outside of the fortress was scattered a lot in the places where the shells were concentrated, and in some places even the masonry inside was faintly exposed, but the general structure was still well maintained. The gun emplacements on the wall had been blasted away by one or two, but they were still largely able to fight back.

Obviously, under this level of attack, the bastion is able to maintain its defensive capabilities and can counterattack the enemy, inflicting heavy damage on the enemy.

You can rest assured that the state's money is not spent in vain. Sure enough, you have to practice to know the result......