Chapter 107: Trench

"The Divine Machine Battalion is truly worthy of being an elite force." Meng Yifan was filled with deep emotion. Just moments ago, the Divine Machine Battalion had been under bombardment from Rockets and landmines, yet they had managed to respond in their haste, and in less than three seconds, fifty or sixty cannonballs had accurately struck the small hill.

From this, one could see that the soldiers of the Divine Machine Battalion were well-trained, their reaction speed was extremely fast, and their cannon accuracy was also very high.

"We absolutely cannot engage the Divine Machine Battalion head-on." Meng Yifan knew deep down that the shooting proficiency of his one thousand new recruits was far inferior to the Divine Machine Battalion, and his Elm Cannons were also inferior to the Shenwu Great General Cannon. If he still chose to clash head-on, that would be courting death.

Even if the soldiers had high Loyalty and were not afraid of death, and even if they luckily won this battle, those one thousand new recruits would suffer heavy casualties; this was not the result Meng Yifan wanted.

"We must utilize the advantages of the Elm Cannons being light and flexible, firing a shot and then changing locations. We must absolutely not stay in one place; we must eliminate the Divine Machine Battalion while on the move."

Meng Yifan frowned and pondered. The Thousand-man Unit of the Divine Machine Battalion put immense pressure on him; he had to come up with a clever method to allow his soldiers to move quickly and safely.

However, the area outside Luolong County was almost completely flat, lacking even small hills. Trying to fire a shot and change locations under the enemy's artillery fire was not that easy.

"Ah! Using a Trench will work." Meng Yifan had a flash of inspiration, thinking of Trenches and Lanes; this way, the soldiers could quickly shift positions within the trenches.

Moreover, the Shenwu Great General Cannon was a muzzle-loading cannon, suitable for direct fire and high-angle fire, and could also perform minor downward fire, but it was very inconvenient to operate.

Soldiers hiding inside the trenches could effectively avoid the bombardment of the Divine Machine Battalion's cannons, while the Elm Cannons of Meng Yifan's soldiers could be mounted on the edge of the trenches to bombard the Divine Machine Battalion opposite them.

As long as the operation was proper, it could form a situation where the enemy could not hit us, but we could hit the enemy; this way, this battle would be easy to fight.

Thinking of this, Meng Yifan was incredibly excited. The more he calculated, the more he felt that the Trench held great promise for defeating the Divine Machine Battalion.

Especially in the world of the Great Wu Heavenly Dynasty, Trenches had never appeared before; this time, it would surely make the Divine Machine Battalion suffer a huge loss.

The large-scale application of trenches was during the First World War. The seemingly simple trench was actually a genius invention; it only required earthwork to significantly increase the battlefield survival rate of soldiers and effectively strike the enemy.

"To dig a good trench, it will take at least an hour. We must first delay the advance speed of the Divine Machine Battalion; it would be best to destroy some of the Divine Machine Battalion's cannons on the road."

"Using the Congreve Rocket Launcher will be intercepted by that Divine Machine Battalion commander. It is better to use landmines, but using a fuse to detonate them will make a hissing sound."

"That Divine Machine Battalion commander's ears are like a radar; he can hear the sound of the fuse burning. With his skills, he would definitely be able to cut the fuse in advance. What should I do?" Meng Yifan pondered a countermeasure.

"If only there were remote detonation devices from Earth, pressing a button from afar could detonate the landmines, guaranteeing that the Divine Machine Battalion would be left clueless."

Meng Yifan shook his head, knowing this was wishful thinking. With the current technological level of the Great Wu Heavenly Dynasty, wanting to build a remote detonation device would require at least a dozen years of technological development.

"With the current technological level, how should I detonate the landmines?" Meng Yifan thought for a moment and came up with a method that might work.

Meng Yifan's idea was very simple: the original landmines were detonated by fuses, which made noise, so he would switch to using incense sticks to detonate them. By simply increasing or decreasing the length of the incense stick, he could control the detonation time; this could also be considered a very primitive timed detonation device.

Meng Yifan brought Meng Qingshan and the others back to Luolong County and told Meng Dayong about the intelligence regarding the Divine Machine Battalion.

Meng Dayong also felt it was very tricky. He had served as a soldier in the Divine Machine Battalion, so he naturally knew that the Divine Machine Battalion was an elite force with extremely formidable combat power.

Meng Yifan explained his battle plan. Meng Dayong and the others looked at Meng Yifan in surprise. The method of using incense sticks to detonate landmines was nothing strange, but the idea of digging a Trench was too magical.

Meng Dayong was a veteran who had been on the battlefield. When Meng Yifan explained the concept of digging a trench, Meng Dayong's eyes lit up, feeling that this method of digging a trench had great potential.

"Wonderful, Yifan, this method will definitely work." Meng Dayong looked at Meng Yifan with pleasant surprise. When he learned that the Thousand-man Unit of the Divine Machine Battalion was coming to suppress the rebellion, Meng Dayong had been worried, feeling that there was no chance of winning by pitting one thousand new recruits against the elite force of the Divine Machine Battalion.

But if they dug trenches, the soldiers could not only avoid the bombardment of the Divine Machine Battalion's cannons but also maneuver quickly and use the Elm Cannons to bombard the Divine Machine Battalion. In this way, it was truly possible to defeat the Divine Machine Battalion.

"Brother Meng, you are truly a genius to be able to think of such a good method as digging a trench." Meng Qingshan and the other youths looked at Meng Yifan with admiration, which made Meng Yifan feel somewhat embarrassed.

This god-tier operation of digging trenches appeared during the First World War on Earth and was not Meng Yifan's invention at all, but there was no way to explain this, so he could only accept being a genius.

"Father, you lead the men to dig trenches outside the city. Just dig them 1.5 meters wide and 1.6 meters deep. Dig them longer and connect them with Lanes inside. Cover the top of the trenches with boards first, and cover the very top with Yellow soil. This time, we will catch the Divine Machine Battalion off guard," Meng Yifan said.

Meng Dayong nodded. One thousand new recruits plus the able-bodied men in the Labor Camp could dig the trenches in sections. It would take about an hour to finish digging the trenches, but delaying the Divine Machine Battalion for an hour was not an easy task either.

Meng Yifan shouldered a new Multi-tube Rocket Launcher and two Gunpowder Barrels filled with iron scraps, ready to set off.

Brothers fight tigers together, and fathers and sons go into battle together. Meng Dayong was worried about Meng Yifan going to intercept the Divine Machine Battalion alone. Although he knew Meng Yifan was very fast, artillery fire was ruthless; if covered by massive artillery bombardment, Meng Yifan would also find it hard to escape death.

Meng Dayong said, "Yifan, digging trenches is simple. Let Meng Yitong and the others watch over it. I will go with you to intercept the Divine Machine Battalion."

"Lord Meng, I am also a Second Grade Martial Artist. I can not only manufacture cannons but also shoot very accurately. I will go with you," Wang Dachui also volunteered to fight.

Meng Yifan thought for a moment and agreed. The three of them were all Second Grade Martial Artists, fast and strong. Each carried two barrels of Black Powder, carried shovels, and the Congreve Rocket Launcher, and set off.

Time was limited. Only two Multi-tube Rocket Launchers had been produced. One had already been damaged on that small hill, and now only one remained in the city, which Meng Yifan carried on his shoulder.

Meng Dayong and Wang Dachui carried single-tube Rocket Launchers and some Rockets, which would allow for sustained combat.

The Manufacturing Department established by Meng Yifan had been working overtime to produce weapons and equipment during this period. Twenty-three single-tube Congreve Rocket Launchers had been produced, one hundred and twenty Elm Cannons had been produced, and a batch of matching Explosive Shells had also been produced.

Although the ammunition was not very sufficient, it was barely enough to deal with the one thousand men of the Divine Machine Battalion outside the city.