Chapter 47: Drills are Like the Battlefield

"This, why is it so long?"

A group of people stared in astonishment.

Liu Zheng gave a faint smile. This thing had truly never appeared in ancient Huaxia. Because this was called a Rodok Spear! It was a weapon that appeared in "Mount & Blade," a medieval European game that Liu Zheng quite liked in his later life. And this spear used by Rhodok veteran spearmen was a beast with a length of 245!

This kind of spearman was absolutely the nightmare of cavalry!

And in a place like Liangzhou, cavalry were the most numerous. This was also the capital upon which Liangzhou prided itself before the world. Therefore, even those Scattered Soldiers were all cavalry!

Cavalry had strong mobility and strong impact; large-scale cavalry expeditions were truly terrifying scenes. In ancient times, apart from crossbowmen paired with spearmen, there was basically nothing that could restrain cavalry.

However, spearmen were different.

In Liu Zheng's impression, Rhodok spearmen, under specific combat environments and in sufficient scale, had extremely strong lethality against cavalry!

Especially with the coordination of Rhodok crossbowmen and spearmen, it was simply a nightmare for other troop types. In such a situation, perhaps only Shield Soldiers could put up a fight, but to break through this formation would also require extremely heavy casualties.

As for cavalry?

Heh, they wouldn't even be able to get close before being wiped out!

Therefore, after discovering the situation where Liangzhou had many cavalry, Liu Zheng had been considering this matter. He had wanted to build his own spear and crossbow array, but he had been thinking about developing Yinzhou first, so he hadn't implemented it.

He hadn't expected this day to come so quickly.

This could already be considered a real war!

"Just build them according to this ratio!"

Liu Zheng didn't offer much explanation and gave the order directly.

Although these Rodok spears were very heavy, fortunately, the Yinzhou Army were all fitness fanatics, so using these spears was not strenuous for them.

"Yes!"

Having finished giving instructions here.

Liu Zheng didn't stop and went straight to the Weaponry Workshop!

"Young Master!"

In the Shen Gong Workshop, the Weaponry Workshop was a new department, but it was the workshop Liu Zheng valued the most. There was no other reason; if one wanted to survive in these chaotic times, how could one do it without weapons?

The person in charge of the Weaponry Workshop was a cousin of Wei Tiezhu named Wei Chengjian. Unlike his cousin, this Wei Chengjian had studied in a Private School since he was young, had a flexible mind, and could be considered a rare talent in the Shen Gong Workshop.

Liu Zheng laughed and said, "Is the task I gave you prepared properly?"

Wei Chengjian's spirits lifted: "Young Master, according to your blueprints, one thousand Divine Arm Crossbows have already been produced! And tens of thousands of Crossbow Bolts!"

Liu Zheng was overjoyed to hear this.

Wei Chengjian immediately sent men to bring over the finished Divine Arm Crossbows. Everyone clicked their tongues in wonder. When the Weaponry Workshop was first established, this was the first task Liu Zheng had given Wei Chengjian!

Divine Arm Crossbow!

It could be considered the most formidable single-soldier crossbow in ancient Huaxia. In global history, the crossbows that were generally worth mentioning were those ballistae that required several people to operate. Yet, this was the only one for a single soldier! It was evident how important a position the Divine Arm Crossbow occupied in the history of ancient warfare. This super-powerful single-soldier crossbow was invented during the Song Dynasty.

The bow body was three feet three inches long, the string was two feet five inches long, and the maximum range could reach three hundred and forty paces, capable of penetrating heavy armor!

Most importantly, this type of crossbow could be operated by one person, which was more reliable than Liu Zheng's Shen Nu Spear Array!

"Young Master, is this a single-soldier crossbow?"

"Haha, Young Master, Yinzhou doesn't need to defend the city, what do we need these crossbows for?"

"Liangzhou cavalry are the best under heaven; there is no enemy we cannot crush! We don't need crossbows!"

Seeing that the Divine Arm Crossbows were finished, Liu Zheng immediately called for Qin Zhangfeng, intending to equip one thousand men with them. Who would have thought that these one thousand cavalrymen, upon seeing the crossbows, would one after another show expressions of disdain.

This was the arrogance of the Liangzhou people.

They prided themselves on the strong impact of their cavalry and would not prepare other troop types at all.

Upon hearing that they were to be changed from cavalry to crossbowmen, many were displeased and refused one after another.

Qin Zhangfeng shouted: "Are you all going to defy military orders?"

The crowd was in an uproar.

"Counselor Qin, we men of Liangzhou fight on horseback and die on horseback!"

"How could we be willing to be those cowardly crossbowmen?"

"Exactly!"

The group was filled with righteous indignation.

Liu Zheng was left between laughter and tears, and Qin Zhangfeng also looked on helplessly. What could he say to such hot-blooded men?

"You all think crossbowmen are not important?"

Liu Zheng sneered.

The soldiers nodded one after another: "That's something only those southern barbarians play with!"

"Our Liangzhou Elite Cavalry doesn't need it!"

Liu Zheng nodded: "Good! Then shall we have a sparring match?"

The one thousand soldiers expressed they had no objections.

"Young Master..."

Qin Zhangfeng reminded him in a low voice: "I also feel that these crossbowmen are of no great use..."

In this great Northwest of Liangzhou, wars were all large-scale and open; cavalry charged and broke through enemy lines. Except for when defending a city, where crossbowmen were needed, they weren't used much at other times.

He felt that although Liu Zheng was capable, he ultimately did not understand military affairs.

"Enough nonsense. One thousand men, split into two teams, one attacking and one defending! If my side wins, you will obediently change to crossbowmen for me! If I lose, then I will never mention the matter of crossbowmen again, how about that?"

Liu Zheng looked at the group and said.

The crowd responded one after another.

One thousand people were divided into two camps. When Liu Zheng was making the weapons, he naturally also prepared some props specifically for daily training, which were distributed to everyone.

Clearly, those five hundred Cavalry were brimming with fighting spirit.

Meanwhile, those here who had been assigned the Divine Arm Crossbow and Long Spear were all like frost-bitten eggplants, unable to muster any energy.

The two camps were pulled into the valley of the Shen Gong Workshop, each one mile apart.

"Get your spirits up!"

Qin Zhangfeng led the Cavalry, and Liu Zheng led his Spear and Divine Crossbow Formation; seeing the group acting somewhat listless, Liu Zheng shouted angrily: "An exercise is a battlefield; the winner of this exercise will be rewarded with ten silver each!"

"If anyone slacks off, they will be dealt with by military law!"

Upon hearing this, everyone's spirits were lifted.

"Spearmen in front, form a fan shape!"

"Split into two teams!"

"Crossbowmen three feet behind, split into three teams, fire in sequence!"

"Do not charge, remember, maintain the formation, do not charge!"

At this moment, at Liu Zheng's command, war horses neighed in unison in the valley; Qin Zhangfeng shouted "Kill!" with excitement, and the Cavalry, holding wooden swords and sabers, kicked their horses' bellies hard and galloped forward with a momentum like a rainbow. This gave the five hundred soldiers on Liu Zheng's side quite a scare. They had all originally been Cavalry, and for a moment, being without horses beneath them, they were still a bit unaccustomed to it, and the formation nearly fell into chaos.

"Steady!"

Liu Zheng shouted sharply.

The hearts of the crowd steadied slightly.

Seeing that the Cavalry had already galloped out more than seven hundred paces, Liu Zheng waved his arm and shouted: "Crossbowmen, fire!"

Although the Crossbow Bolts in the hands of the Crossbowmen were not real, they were crafted from solid wood; while the range was somewhat affected, they still flew very fast.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

Ten thousand arrows were fired at once.

The Cavalry raised their weapons to block, and just then, Liu Zheng continued to shout: "Spearmen, attack!"

"Kill!"

During the first charge, the formation was still a bit messy, but during the second charge, the Spearmen maintained the fan shape.

They were surprised to discover that under the pressure of the Crossbow Bolts in the air and their own extra-long spears, the Cavalry, despite their seemingly fierce momentum, were killed and forced back before they could even reach them.

"Kill!"

Qin Zhangfeng's face darkened; he reorganized his troops and charged again.

But the result was still the same...

The five hundred Cavalry were beaten black and blue today.

Everyone was stunned.

This invincible Cavalry of Liangzhou had actually been countered just like that?

"How is it?"

Liu Zheng laughed in wild delight.

The one thousand soldiers shouted in succession that the Viscount was mighty.

Now, no one had any more objections to being changed into Crossbowmen.

"Zhangfeng, over these next few days, have the three thousand Garrison take turns coming here to train in this formation; how Yinzhou fares this time depends on you all."

Liu Zheng instructed Qin Zhangfeng.

"Yes!"

Returning to the County Marquis Mansion.

Liu Zheng saw Shen Xing running over in a panic.

"What is it?"

Shen Xing sighed: "Viscount, the Scouts of the mansion have already found out clearly that those bandits are indeed a group of Scattered Soldiers, not one thousand in number, but five thousand! The one Chen Kui hired this time is the former Deputy Commander of Liangzhou, known as the Bitter-Faced Yama, Luo Xiongchao!"

"What?"

Liu Zheng's face changed drastically upon hearing this.

……

At this time.

Yangzhou Prefecture.

There was music and dancing, the sound of strings and bamboo, and the atmosphere was boisterous with wine.

"Master Chen, what a brilliant plan!"

Lu Zhengyi was overjoyed, his whole body reeking of alcohol.

Chen Kui also downed a cup and sneered coldly: "Let's see how that greenhorn handles this? The Iron Mine, will he take it or not!"

Everyone laughed out loud.

If he takes it, it will be Liu Zheng's death day!

Five thousand mercenaries alone are not something the Yinzhou Prefecture can withstand.

If he doesn't take it?

If he doesn't take it, one can use soft tactics to kill, taking it slow! First, ruin the reputation of your Yinzhou Prefecture; who would dare come to Yinzhou to do business? Then, cut off all your paths of retreat.

Catching a turtle in a jar.

"The Liu Family father and son have harmed me deeply! This time I will make them wish they were dead!"

Chen Kui was extremely arrogant.

Lu Zhengyi also laughed along.

At this moment, a woman's scream rang out at the banquet. Lu Zhengyi couldn't help but look over, only to see the burly Luo Xiongchao at the table tearing the clothes off a maid, leaving her exposed, while several mercenary captains nearby were also enjoying themselves; the scene was extremely indecent.

"This..."

Lu Zhengyi's face darkened; he wanted to say that this was the County Marquis Mansion, how could they be so dissolute?

But seeing the fierce and imposing manner of Luo Xiongchao, he swallowed those words back down.

Chen Kui laughed and said, "Rest assured, Lord Lu. Once matters here are concluded, they will naturally depart and will not cause Yangzhou a shred of trouble! Haha, just think of the Shen Gong Workshop in Yinzhou; what we have paid out these past few days is nothing compared to that, is it?"

"Good, good, good! That is good, that is good!"

Lu Zhengyi shook his head, thinking to himself that these past few days, this group of undisciplined mercenaries had been seizing women and committing all sorts of crimes, turning Yangzhou into a foul mess—was that not trouble?

But hearing "Shen Gong Workshop," he could not help but feel greedy again.

It was said to be a place that could churn out silver!

"Lord Lu, victory is at hand, let us drink a large cup!"

"Good!"

……

"What did you say?"

"Five thousand?"

Liu Zheng was startled.

Shen Xing nodded with a bitter smile, and everyone's brows furrowed once more.

Seven days' time, five thousand bandit soldiers.

Behind them were also three thousand Garrison troops from Yangzhou; this time, Yinzhou seemed truly trapped in a desperate situation.

Unexpectedly, Liu Zheng burst into loud laughter: "Good, good, good! Heaven is helping me!"