The military general Meng Tian was a hot-tempered person, and he glared angrily: "Your Majesty, in the opinion of the ministers, we should send heavy troops to the north to fight against the Huns, raise the prestige of our country, protect my people, and defend my homeland." ”

Meng Yi frowned and thought for a while: "Your Majesty, I agree with my brother's opinion. The six countries have been peaceful, the people are stable, and it is time to settle the general account with the Xiongnu. ”

"Well, that's what I mean. Qin Shi Huang was also a little excited, "Then let's have a good meeting with the Huns' cavalry for a while! Meng Tian, Meng Xingyuan obeyed the order." ”

Meng Tian immediately knelt on the ground, and Meng Xingyuan also knelt down in his way.

Qin Shi Huang continued: "Meng Tian, I have appointed you as the generalissimo of the army, commanding an army of 300,000 and going north to destroy the Xiongnu. Meng Xingyuan, I appointed you as the deputy marshal of the army and helped Marshal Meng lead the troops north. I hope that the two of you will cooperate sincerely, be loyal to the country, and keep our Daqin side safe. Meng Yi, you continue to stay in the palace and provide logistical support for the two generals, there must be no mistake. “

Meng Tian turned his head and looked Meng Xingyuan, a hairy boy in his early twenties, up and down, with a puzzled expression.

"General Meng, let me introduce you, this is Mr. Meng Xingyuan, he is a master. You two need to be closer. Obviously, Qin Shi Huang also saw Meng Tian's thoughts.

"Your Majesty," Meng Xingyuan said, "the minister has something to ask for. The minister asked to go on the expedition in 100 days......"

Meng Tian rudely interrupted him: "In a hundred days, if you are afraid, don't go north." I can kill the Huns by myself, leaving nothing behind. “

"Sir, why do you want to go on the expedition in a hundred days?" asked Qin Shi Huang.

"Because the minister has to build a batch of equipment within a hundred days to deal with the cavalry of the Huns. Meng Xingyuan explained, "We all know that the combat effectiveness of the Xiongnu cavalry is much higher than that of our infantry. If we fight hard, we will definitely lose a lot. If you use the tools of the ministers, it will be much easier to deal with the cavalry of the Huns, and it will also greatly reduce the casualties of our officers and soldiers. ”

"It is a glorious thing for a great husband to die for his country. Meng Tian said in a rough voice, "If you are afraid of death, you don't have to go to the battlefield." ”

General Meng's words were wrong. We are not afraid to die in battle. But we can't call our soldiers to unnecessary casualties, can we?"

"Mr. Meng is right. Then I will grant it, and in a hundred days I will see you off. Moreover, within these 100 days, all the craftsmen in Xianyang City will be sent by you. Then, he said to Zhao Haide: "I order you to return to the barracks immediately to spread my will, and within 100 days, the whole army will be clear of the wilderness, and you will not be allowed to leave the station." In 100 days, I will annihilate all the enemies!"

Meng Tian was very unhappy, he thought to himself: What can a milky boy have the ability to become my adjutant. He was about to say something, but he saw his brother shaking his head slightly at himself, and he barely suppressed the anger in his chest.

That night, Meng Xingyuan talked with the two brothers, Meng Tian and Meng Yi, for a whole night. No one knew the content of their conversation, but from that night on, Meng Tian's attitude towards Meng Xingyuan became very respectful, and he had to discuss everything with Meng Xingyuan.

Within 100 days, Meng Xingyuan gathered all the craftsmen in Xianyang and the surrounding area to rush to make the weapons and utensils needed day and night. He mainly made a large number of chariots, iron nails, iron chains, iron armor, bows and arrows, iron horseshoes, tripping horse nails, and so on.

At that time, the weapons and equipment of the Qin Dynasty were in the stage of transition from bronze weapons to iron weapons. Although before the unification of the Six Kingdoms, Qin was in the west, and the mining and smelting technology of steel was very backward, but after the unification of the Six Kingdoms, Qin Shi Huang seized the steel weapons of the Six Kingdoms, and also obtained advanced smelting technology, and updated his weapons and equipment.

According to the "Records of the First Emperor of Qin", after completing the unification of the six countries, Qin Shi Huang "collected the soldiers of the world, gathered Xianyang, and sold them as bells, twelve golden people, weighing thousands of stones." This also shows from the side that most of the army's weapons and equipment at that time were already made of iron.

Needless to say, the role of iron armor and iron horseshoe is to protect soldiers and horseshoe. The tripping horse nail is the "iron thistle", this thing is cleverly designed, no matter how you throw it on the ground, there will always be an iron nail pointing straight to the sky, and a horse without an iron horseshoe will be pricked if you step on it.

The Huns grew up on horseback, and they were able to shoot arrows with bows on galloping horses. However, the soldiers of the Qin State did not have such ability, so Meng Xingyuan decided to mass-produce bows and arrows. Bows and arrows were fired at longer ranges, faster speeds, and with greater force, to compensate for the lack of accuracy and consistency in the design of the Qin soldiers.

He combined his experience with bows and arrows in college, which was the bow and arrow of the 21st century, and discussed with the craftsmen for a few days to improve the bows and arrows that were being used by the Qin army.

As we all know, the bow and arrow can be divided into three parts: arm, bow, and machine. After Meng Xingyuan's refinement, the bow and arrow used mulberry wood as the "arm", about 140 cm long, and the outer leather strip was wrapped. This increases the elasticity and extends the range. There is a card slot in the front part of the "arm", which can jam the "bow" and then tie it with a leather strip. In this way, the bow arm and the bow are only one body, and will not be loosened by the reaction force of pulling the string and shooting the arrow. In addition, the bow arm is also carved with a concave arrow path, just like the elongated barrel of a sniper rifle, which can effectively increase the stability of the arrow after it is fired, thereby improving the accuracy of shooting.

The back of the bow arm is a set of precision components cast in bronze and the most important part of the bow and arrow - the bow machine. It is composed of three parts: "Wangshan", "Hanging Knife" and "Cow". The lookout is an aiming device, 8 centimeters high, and the suspension knife, which can be understood as the trigger of a modern firearm, is 10 centimeters long. When the string is wound, the archer pulls the string backwards and reaches the lookout mountain, which moves back until the ox is reset. The ox bears the tooth force on the top, and the hanging knife is under the sword, and the bow and arrow enter the state of preparation. When fired, the archer pulled the hanging sword, and the ox loosened and sank. Without the support of the teeth, the force sinks, and the bowstring will shoot the bow and arrows.

Such a device, in addition to reducing "misfire" and accidental damage, will also reduce the vibration during launch and improve the hit rate. The soldiers loved it.

At the same time, Meng Xingyuan and the craftsmen also made improvements to the arrowheads: the double-winged arrowheads were changed to three-edged arrowheads. Because the shape of the triangular arrowhead is similar to the arc of modern bullets, it is not only reduced by the influence of wind, stable in flight, but also greatly enhances penetration.

Meng Xingyuan handed over the bow and arrow and the three-edged arrowhead to Qin Shi Huang for test shooting. Qin Shi Huang first studied it carefully, and then hesitated to launch it once, hitting the target 500 steps away (six feet in the Qin period, one foot is about 23 centimeters, one step is 1.38 meters, and 500 steps is about 700 meters). Qin Shi Huang applauded loudly and ordered to seize the time and vigorously produce.

The chariot made by Meng Xingyuan was not the same as the one that drove four horses and three armor soldiers like before. He designed the chariot more like a large wheelbarrow. Two thick wooden poles were used as handles, and it took four soldiers to work together to push them. With closed carriages and huge wheels inverted with finger-thick nails, the whole chariot looked like a square hedgehog.

Many people didn't understand why they designed it like this, so they came to ask Meng Xingyuan and Meng Tian, and they both laughed and didn't say anything.

A hundred days passed in a blink of an eye, and it was the day when the Qin army set out on the expedition. It was a sunny and breezy day. Qin Shi Huang stood on a high place, looking down on his army. The military appearance is serious, the flag is fluttering, the spirit of the war horse, and the armor is bright and the sword is cold.

Cattle and sheep were slaughtered, and sacrifices were made to the heavens and the earth and their ancestors in front of the procession, praying for blessings for a smooth march and a victorious return - this is called "martyrdom". Meng Tian personally poured the blood of cattle and sheep on his weapons, war drums, flags, etc.—this is called "provocation". Immediately after the sacrifice, the beef and mutton were cooked and distributed to the soldiers to eat. These meats are called "gizzard meat".

Qin Shi Huang looked at the team in front of him, remembering that he had been fighting horses for half his life, not only was he arrogant, but he shouted: "Bring the wine!" He took the wine jar and poured it full for Meng Tian, Meng Xingyuan and other generals with his own hands, and also poured a bowl for himself.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this expedition is to drive out the Huns and protect my homeland. I believe that under the leadership of Meng Tian and Meng Xingyuan, you will defeat the Xiongnu and return home with a great victory. !"

The people drank all the wine in their hands and threw the empty bowl to the ground. The sound of "crackling, crackling" rang out.

"The minister will not fail in his mission!"

"Yes, I'm here waiting for your good news!"

"Let's go!" Meng Tian shouted. The drums of war beat and the trumpets sounded. The neat procession moved in an orderly manner.

"Huns, your good days are over. Meng Xingyuan said silently in his heart.