Daming: The system rejected my request for salted fish

Chapter 1305

"Fourth Brother, are these the artillerymen in your army?"

The reason Wei Wu asked this question was because he saw the mortar barrels and supports that those people were holding.

In response to Wei Wu's question, Zhu Di nodded affirmatively, then turned and pointed to the soldiers carrying mortars, saying:

"That's right, the hundred men in front carrying firearms are all the artillerymen in our army."

At this point, Zhu Di pointed to the people behind the gunners and then beckoned to one of them.

As that person stepped out of the queue, Zhu Di continued his introduction to Wei Wu.

"The people behind are not gunners; they are responsible for carrying shells for the gunners, since shells are somewhat dangerous."

"If we use a handcart to transport them, they might explode from a slight bump, so we have to arrange for people to carry the shells on their backs."

Carrying artillery shells on his back?

Upon hearing Zhu Di's explanation, Wei Wu was somewhat bewildered. There was no doubt that cannonballs were indeed very dangerous.

Moreover, although the grassland is flat, it is not as smooth as a cement road, and there are bound to be potholes on the grass.

If a flatbed cart is used for transportation, and the wheels get stuck in a pit, causing the shell to collide with something, it might explode on the spot.

But is it safe to carry it on someone's back? What if one of them falls? Wouldn't an explosion still occur?

Moreover, the probability of danger is greater with more than two hundred people than with just a few carts.

Just as Wei Wu was wondering why Zhu Di would make such an arrangement, the man carrying the cannonballs also came over.

At the same time, Zhu Di spoke again:

"Mortars are indeed very powerful, but transporting the shells is too troublesome, so I came up with this idea out of necessity."

As they were talking, the man carrying the cannonballs turned around at Zhu Di's signal, revealing the bamboo basket on his back.

Zhu Di pointed to the bamboo basket on the man's back and continued to explain to Wei Wu:

“Shells might explode if they are bumped, so I had these bamboo baskets woven to prevent accidents.”

Upon hearing Zhu Di's words, Wei Wu immediately looked at the bamboo basket and realized that it was not a traditional bamboo basket.

It is not empty inside; instead, several partitions are woven from bamboo inside the basket to separate the space.

The middle section has a slightly wider vertical space, with three horizontal gaps on the left and right sides, forming an overall shape resembling the Chinese character "非" (fei).

Each slot contained a shell, and a bamboo basket could hold a total of six shells, all of which were secured with thin hemp rope.

As Wei Wu examined the strange basket, Zhu Di continued to explain its purpose.

"This bamboo basket can prevent the shells from bumping into each other, and each shell is fixed to the basket with a rope."

“Even if the person carrying the basket accidentally falls, these shells won’t fall out, and I’ve also prepared a basket lid.”

"As long as the lid of the basket is closed, the toughness and elasticity of the bamboo strips will prevent the shell from detonating even if the basket is turned upside down and there is a slight impact."

After hearing Zhu Di's description, Wei Wu had to admit that although this method was quite tiring, it was indeed a relatively safe measure.

However, looking at the rows of people carrying baskets behind him, Wei Wu couldn't help but laugh.

"Each person carries six shells, and there are over two hundred people here. Good heavens, that's a total of twelve hundred shells. This is clearing out the stock!"

"It seems that you, Fourth Brother, are really planning to completely raze the Northern Yuan army's camp to the ground!"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Di casually waved his hand and replied with a smile:

"It's not so bad as to raze it to the ground, but it's certainly a big surprise for the Northern Yuan army."

"It's getting late, so let's set off now to deliver a surprise to the Northern Yuan army!"

After Zhu Di finished speaking, Wei Wu echoed him, and then the two of them laughed at the same time.

Meanwhile, just as Wei Wu and his men set off, the lights were still on in the main tent of the Northern Yuan army.

Two people were sitting in the tent: a monk in a black robe and a burly, fit man in tight-fitting clothes.

At this moment, the two men were sitting face to face at a low table in the middle of the military tent, their brows furrowed so deeply they almost met.

Indeed, the monk in the black robe is none other than Yao Guangxiao, the current National Preceptor of the Northern Yuan Dynasty.

The burly man in tight-fitting clothes who spoke was the highest-ranking general of the Northern Yuan army, in full charge of this campaign against the Ming Dynasty.

It is now late at night, and as the two highest-ranking officers in the military, they should be enjoying a good night's sleep.

Unfortunately, after the Battle of Beiping Pass, the Northern Yuan army was utterly defeated by Zhu Di's new firearms and had no choice but to retreat.

Neither of them slept well during this period; every time they closed their eyes, they heard that terrifying explosion.

So even though it was late at night, the two could only discuss how to deal with those cannons in the main tent with worried expressions.

After a brief silence, the burly man in tight-fitting clothes spoke first:

"Grand Preceptor, have the men you sent out brought back any news? What exactly is that kind of explosive cannon?"

Upon hearing this, Yao Guangxiao sighed softly and slowly shook his head, saying:

"The person hasn't returned yet; it will probably take a few more days!"

In fact, Yao Guangxiao was also somewhat helpless. He had received news a long time ago that the Ming army had been equipped with new firearms.

However, the Ming army kept the news about the new firearms very tightly under wraps, and he was unable to obtain detailed intelligence.

Before the battle at Beiping Pass, Yao Guangxiao never expected that the Ming Dynasty could produce such cannons that could make shells explode.

Unlike ordinary exploding shells, the explosive power of this shell can only be described as earth-shattering.

A shell exploded, killing all the soldiers within a radius of three zhang (approximately 10 meters). The casualties were so great that Yao Guangxiao felt powerless to face them.

So after retreating, Yao Guangxiao immediately sent people to investigate information about this kind of firearm, but so far no news has come back.

In truth, it was also his own doing. The last time there was a major upheaval on the border of Shanxi, it enraged Zhu Yuanzhang.

All the military camps and garrisons of the Ming Dynasty were thoroughly investigated several times, and all those with problems were removed.

As a result, almost all the people he had previously placed under his protection were eliminated, and even those who were left out dared not have any connection with him.

Yao Guangxiao said he would need a few more days, but in reality he was already certain that no news would come back.