Inheriting a Taoist temple, the story begins with Wu Zetian offering incense.

Chapter 398 The First Shot of the Later Zhou Dynasty! [Seeking Monthly Tickets]

Early in the morning, Zhou Yi had just gotten up when he saw Li Qingzhao arrive, fiddling with the barrel of a mortar, which startled Zhou Yi.
"What are you doing? Are you going to bombard Hunyuan Palace?"

Upon seeing the Book of Changes, a bright smile immediately spread across Li Qingzhao's beautiful face:

"I wanted to take a selfie at the entrance of the Wenxuan King's Hall, but unfortunately the angle wasn't easy to find. The 60mm mortar is still too small. Next time I'll try the 200mm one; its power will definitely be enormous."

Without saying a word, Zhou Yi put away the mortar to prevent the girl from causing a terrorist attack.

This 60mm mortar was a simplified version created by Emperor Huizong of Tang (Zhao Ji) by copying the original design. The base was an iron plate, and there was a support leg on each side of the barrel. The angle of the support leg could be adjusted to change the elevation angle of the mortar and achieve different attack distances.

The base is inlaid with a round bubble level that Zhouyi bought wholesale online, used to adjust the level... These things cost 1.7 yuan each online, ridiculously cheap.

Aside from the leveling bubble, which requires some technical skill, the entire mortar mount can be described as rudimentary, even simpler than the hand-rolled barrels found in the Middle East. However, the structure is quite reasonable, and the materials used in all aspects are very solid, making it a decent weapon for attacking fortified positions.

Li Qingzhao turned on the flashlight on her phone and shone it inside the cannon barrel. She saw a nail-like object standing upright in the middle and asked curiously:

"what is that?"

"The firing pin, when it strikes the base of the shell, triggers the combustion of the gunpowder, generating a large amount of heat, which causes the air to expand rapidly. Then the shell is propelled out by the air pressure, and based on its spindle-shaped shape and tail fins, it uses inertia to fly to the enemy's position."

Although Zhou Yi had never operated a mortar before, he had done a lot of research during this period and had become very familiar with its firing principle.

Li Qingzhao's eyes lit up:
"Is all this knowledge that can be learned from books?"

Zhou Yi put down the mortar and said:
"It's not just these things. If you can integrate knowledge, you can create more than just cannons. You can also use them to improve people's livelihoods, benefit the masses, and free them from suffering."

Before the workers arrived, Zhou Yi planned to move the shells and mortars to Haotian Palace to avoid people thinking he was dealing in weapons.

Just as he was busy, a figure flashed by from the God of Wealth Temple next door, and Guo Rong arrived at Hunyuan Palace.

Seeing that Zhou Yi and Li Qingzhao were busy, he quickly came to lend a hand, and then brought up the matter of the thwarted attack on Laiyuan County. Li Qingzhao, who was busy moving cannonballs, immediately said:
"Your Majesty, take these mortars with you. We need to test them in actual combat. Just remember to record videos, and we'll see if we can make any further improvements."

The last time we tested the explosive charge as a landmine, it was done in the Later Zhou world. Now that the mortar is new, we naturally need to have the God of Wealth do a buyer's show to see how the explosion effect and flight trajectory are. If it's not good, we can continue to make adjustments.

Guo Rong was troubled by this matter, and when he heard that Li Qingzhao was going to give him a powerful weapon, he was extremely excited:
"Can this thing even reach the city walls?"

Zhou Yi laughed:

"It can hit the top of the mountain without any problem. The range of the mortar is not far, but the parabola is particularly high. It can even hit the reverse slope of the mountain. It is a powerful weapon for attacking strongholds."

Guo Rong was completely relieved. He counted the cannons: five cannons and fifty shells. If they bombarded the city wall in turn, they could definitely clear it out. As long as Wang Yansheng could climb onto the city wall, even if Laiyuan County summoned Gao Da, Wang Yansheng would tear off his ears and serve them as a snack.

There was no need to move these cannonballs and cannons to the Haotian Palace. The three of them moved them directly to the entrance of the God of Wealth Palace. Guo Rong didn't even have time for breakfast before hurriedly taking them back, ready to show the soldiers what they were made of.

Back in the world of the Later Zhou Dynasty, Wang Yansheng, who was about to use a drone to hurl insults, saw Guo Rong return and assumed that even the gods couldn't do anything about it.
"Your Majesty, I intend to lead a suicide squad to climb to the top of the city wall and fight those Khitan traitors to the death."

Guo Rong waved his hand casually and said:

"No need for that. The gods have already bestowed upon us siege weapons. Order the soldiers to prepare food and drink. Once you have eaten and drunk your fill, I will lead you to capture Laiyuan County and annihilate all the Khitans and Shatuo people within the city!"

Wang Yansheng then noticed the wooden box that Guo Rong had brought:

"What is this?"

Guo Rong used a tablet to demonstrate the explosion effect and flight trajectory of a 60mm mortar, which made Wang Yansheng's eyes light up:

"Your Majesty, may I be allowed to fire the first shot?"

Guo Rong, a former soldier, also had an inexplicable fondness for weapons:
"You get in line at the back, I'm going to fire the first shot and have a good time."

Operating a mortar is very simple. Just position it and put the shells into the barrel. After every ten shells, clean the barrel to prevent any residue from causing the shells to not flow smoothly and potentially explode.

Wang Pu, considering himself a scholar, originally disdained the idea of ​​attacking cities, but after watching the video, he became eager to try, stroking his beard and saying:
"When I was studying hard at home, I could easily lift a hundred-pound stone lock and wield Guan Yu's broadsword with skill. Unfortunately, I was misled by the scholar's cap and became a useless scholar who only knew how to talk big... Your Majesty, may I fire a cannon?"

Looking at Wang Pu's thin body, Wang Yansheng said with dissatisfaction:

"You, a hundred-pound stone lock? Get in line behind me, or I'll drag you out of the city by the ear for a drink."

As the saying goes, "When a scholar meets a soldier, reason is useless." Although Wang Pu was eloquent and articulate in front of Guo Rong, he was at a loss when facing a warrior like Wang Yansheng. He quickly smiled obsequiously and said, "Please, General, leave me one or two cannonballs. I am willing to exchange them for military merits!"

Other civil officials, seeing this, also came over, wanting to experience it themselves. Only Pan Mei didn't join in the fun. He obediently trained the troops and inspected the weapons, preparing for the upcoming siege.

Soon, the troops finished their rest and regrouping. Squads of armored warriors, wielding broadswords and carrying ladders on their shoulders, prepared to storm the city walls and become the first to scale the walls.

Wang Yansheng led his personal guards to carry the boxes to a small, gentle slope outside Laiyuan City. It was about a mile from the city gate, and from this high vantage point, they could easily attack the city.

Pan Mei led his troops into battle formation, picked up a walkie-talkie, and said:

"Your Majesty, we are ready and can begin at any time."

Wang Yansheng operated the drone and saw that the city walls of Laiyuan County were full of arrogant Khitan troops... Now is a critical period for the city's defense. The Khitans do not trust the Han people in the city and plan to defend the city alone.

But that's good, at least we don't have to worry about accidental injury.

Guo Rong moved a gun mount out and began adjusting the angle.

Previously, when Emperor Huizong of Song tested the projectiles, he used duds with stones added to test the projectile distance at various angles. Although it was only a rough estimate, it already provided a good reference.

Guo Rong adjusted the angle to a suitable distance and planned to fire a test shot first, and also use the drone to check the explosion effect.

With the gun mount in place, he took a shell out of the box, pointed to the top, and said:

"The fuse is in here. Time is of the essence, so they only made a contact fuse over there, which means that the shell ignites itself after it hits the ground using its own inertia. It's a very outdated detonation method in Xianchang, but it's a very advanced technology for us."

Wang Yansheng squatted down to examine it for a moment, then asked Guo Rong:
"If there is no cannon barrel and only cannonballs are left, can the cannonballs be detonated by smashing them on the ground?"

Guo Rongsheng, fearing he might do something reckless, reminded him:

"It's possible, but that would only blow you to pieces first."

Wang Yansheng, however, had his own ideas:

"Your Majesty, could you please send me a cannonball? If one day I am besieged and unable to serve the court, I will detonate it on impact, taking a few with me in my dying moments..."

Before he could finish speaking, Guo Rong kicked him.
"Go away, what nonsense are you spouting so early in the morning? With divine protection, why are you still contemplating such a tragic scene? Isn't that slapping the immortals in the face? Let me explain the key points to you first. There is a procedure for using this thing, and it must be strictly followed."

He explained the pre-launch checks, such as whether the gun barrel was clean, whether the spirit level was in place, and whether the angle was correct. Once everything was ready, he picked up the shell, placed it at the muzzle, and told everyone to keep their distance.
"Alright, the drone is ready to monitor and check the impact point of the shells. This way, we'll know exactly how to adjust the angle for the second shot."

When the drone flew over Laiyuan County, Guo Rong let go of it.

The shell landed at the bottom of the cannon barrel, the gunpowder was ignited by the firing pin, and in less than a breath, the spindle-shaped shell shot out of the barrel with a "whoosh", flew into the sky with a sharp whistle, and then spun and fell rapidly, landing steadily in the training ground inside the city.

"boom!!!!!!!"

With a deafening explosion, more than a dozen Khitans who were gathering in the training ground were killed, and many more were injured. Within the blast radius, there were many more severed limbs and blood splattered onto the faces of the surrounding Khitans, leaving them stunned and bewildered. Several of them knelt down and kowtowed to the sky, thinking they had offended the gods.

Outside the city, Guo Rong watched the explosion through a drone and grinned from ear to ear:

"This power is really good, it's a pity they didn't gather enough people, otherwise the destructive effect would be even more terrifying."

He began adjusting the angle of the cannon barrel based on the impact point of the shells, while Wang Pu paced anxiously beside him.
"Your Majesty, shouldn't it be my turn to make this move?"

Guo Rong explained to him in a very serious tone:
"That last shot was a test firing, mainly to test the angle, so it doesn't count. The shot I'm about to fire will be the first one."

Wang Pu: ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
No, you're the emperor now, why are you still cheating like this?
They promised one gift per person, but they're renege on that promise. Is it really necessary to go this far?

Guo Rong readjusted the angle, picked up another cannonball, and with the previous one as a reference, this one landed directly on the city wall, blowing a Khitan general and a group of his personal guards to pieces.

Those on the city wall only heard a sharp whistle getting closer and closer, and then the defending general was turned into a pile of minced meat. Terrified, they threw down their weapons and ran down the city wall, having no will to resist.

Wang Yansheng keenly noticed this and shouted into the walkie-talkie to Pan Mei:

"Old Pan, attack the city before the Khitans surrender!"

(End of this chapter)