Chapter 1466: Chapter 1467: Catapult
Xiao Changyi said nothing.
An Jing asked, "Do we know exactly how many troops there are?"
Liu Buli replied, "The spy only discovered that the Chilin army has set up camp thirty li from Jingye City. Their numbers are large, and more people arrive daily, likely gathering from different places before attacking us."
Pause, Liu Buli added with a solemn face, "Their 650,000 troops were defeated, so this time, there are likely more troops."
Only then did Xiao Changyi say, "Strengthen the vigilance and inform all soldiers to be ready for battle at any moment."
"Yes, Great General!"
After Liu Buli left, An Jing frowned and said, "Husband, this is going to be another tough battle."
Without waiting for Xiao Changyi to speak, An Jing continued, "However, fortunately, we are defending the city, which gives us a great advantage."
Then, An Jing sighed and said, "Our explosives aren’t developed yet. If they were, we might avoid this battle, but now, it’s probably unavoidable."
Xiao Changyi said, "Focus on making the explosives and leave the city’s defense to me." For now, they would remain at Jingye City until An Jing developed the explosives and then make further plans.
"Alright." An Jing thought the same. Right now, the urgent task was not only to defend Jingye City but also to develop the explosives. Clear division of labor was essential to accomplish both.
They continued eating.
But An Jing couldn’t help but think about the city’s defense, and then suddenly, her eyes lit up, "Husband!"
Xiao Changyi rarely chuckled, "Have you thought of another good idea?"
An Jing immediately smiled too, "You know me best, my husband~" She then restrained her smile a bit and said seriously, "Your defense equipment is too outdated. I’ve thought of something that can help us defend the city better."
Xiao Changyi cooperatively asked, "What is it?"
"A catapult."
"A catapult..." Just from the name, Xiao Changyi somewhat understood, his cold eyes flashing slightly.
"It’s a vehicle for hurling stones. In ancient warfare in my former world, this was used to defend cities. Imagine, if the stones are big and sharp, thrown from the city walls with the vehicle, they could definitely cause severe losses to the attacking force."
As she spoke, An Jing stopped eating, simply put down her bowl and chopsticks, walked to the writing desk on the other side of the room, picked up a pen, and drew a simple catapult.
Once drawn, An Jing pointed it out to Xiao Changyi, "Husband, look, this is a catapult. Place a large stone on it, and when a few people pull down quickly here, the stone will be launched out."
The catapult uses the principle of leverage.
The battle where Chilin wants to take back Jingye City is inevitable. At this moment, An Jing wanted to defend Jingye City, to minimize the casualties among the Xiyun soldiers.
Xiao Changyi took the blueprint, examining it carefully while saying, "I will give orders right away, have people make more of these, conveniently, there are many trees beside the city in the mountains."
An Jing said, "We don’t know when they will attack the city, but preparing early can’t be wrong."
"Yes." Xiao Changyi agreed.
He quickly went out, instructed Meng Zhuqing standing at the door to take the blueprint to Xilin City and bring some carpenters to make the catapults, and ordered Qin Yi to lead some men to the mountain to cut down trees.
Then, Xiao Changyi instructed Qin Er to take people to transport stones to the city walls.
After giving all the instructions, Xiao Changyi looked past, without glancing at Tobanya guarding the door, and returned to the room to have lunch with An Jing.