What is a ballista?

What you are seeing is something like this:

It has a sturdy support, with the main beam placed on top. At the front end of the beam, on either side, are two torsion spring sets. Each spring set drives a crossbow arm, and at the end of each arm is a bowstring. In the center of the bowstring is a woven net bag to hold the projectile. The upper side of the crossbeam has a dovetail-shaped slot. A slider with a long guide rail can slide back and forth along the slot. Behind the slider is an ingenious firing mechanism that can easily lock and release the bowstring. At the end of the crossbeam is a winch. The operator can turn the handle and drag the slider through ropes. When the firing mechanism locks the bowstring and pulls it back, the weapon is ready to fire. To make operating the winch less strenuous, ratchets are installed on both sides of the crossbeam. This allows the bow to be drawn in stages and also allows for adjustment of the weapon's launching power to achieve the required range.

In this time and space, everyone is quite unfamiliar with the power of ballistae. This land has not yet utilized torsion spring mechanics. Bows and crossbows that use the elastic force of deformation and trebuchets that use gravity are the mainstream. But Ye Tao clearly knows how effective ballistae are as weapons. This weapon, invented by the ancient Greeks but brought to prominence by the Romans, profoundly influenced some things in this world. The balance of power in infantry formations changed with the advent of the ballista. The status of craftsmen improved due to the ballista’s complex and precise manufacturing process. In 270 BC, the Egyptian Ptolemaic dynasty developed a calculation method for "ballistae firing stone projectiles, where the diameter of the torsion spring should be 1.1 times the square root of the projectile's weight." In the process of this calculation, humanity was first required to find the cube root of a value...

The ballista that Ye Tao has created is a model designed by modern weapon enthusiasts and experts in various fields, according to historical records and the latest achievements in modern mechanics, elastic dynamics, and so on. It is designed to launch projectiles weighing ten kilograms. At this level, this design is almost impeccable. At least in this time and space, it would be too lacking in theoretical basis to modify this design. Ye Tao could certainly make ballistae with longer range, heavier projectiles, and greater power. But right now, they are defending a city after all, and their materials are limited, and the scope of application is also limited. This model is sufficient.

"Move it to the city wall and test fire it," Ye Tao said, dusting off the wood shavings from his body. This time, he really opened a door, and a new type of long-range projectile weapon was born.

Ballistae are not the longest-range weapons that can be found in this time and space. The Shenbi Bow (divine arm bow) specially supplied to the Blood Kirin Army by the Ye Family Workshop alone can achieve a maximum range of one thousand five hundred paces. Of course, there is not much power at that range.

Nor are ballistae the most powerful. Compared to trebuchets, ballistae do not have an advantage in power.

But ballistae are very accurate. Unlike the giant arrows fired by the Shenbi Bow, which are greatly affected by the wind. Nor are they like trebuchets, where no one expects them to hit where they aim. Even the most carefully designed trebuchet can only guarantee a smaller spread range. After all, the net used to sling the stones is really unreliable. Several rounds of test firing were conducted on the city wall, aimed at the open space outside the city, allowing everyone to fully appreciate the special features of this weapon.

The maximum range is slightly higher than eight hundred paces, which is already enough to bring all the Western Ling's trebuchets within range. And the accuracy is amazing. When fixed at a range of six hundred paces, the impact points of three consecutive projectiles were no more than two paces apart. This kind of accuracy is simply sensational.

"Okay, let's finalize the design. I've left the blueprints in the workshop, and everyone has watched me make it once. Let's start work," Ye Tao said, very satisfied with his achievements, and immediately issued an order for mass production. In White Stone City, the materials used to make torsion springs do not seem to be a problem. White Stone City actually has about two hundred bundles of ox tendons stored. That is enough to manufacture more than two hundred ballistae.

After inquiring, it was learned that it is a customary practice for various cities in Dongping to store ox tendons. Because ox tendons are the best material for binding prisoners and securing loads on carts during long-distance transportation, they are much more reliable than ropes. In many cities, the slaughter of cattle must be supervised by government officials, who then collect the usable tendons. However, there are no clear regulations regarding subsequent use. As a result, more and more ox tendons have been accumulated. Cities with developed commerce can sell the ox tendons to merchants for use, but for small cities like White Stone City, accumulating these things is just a routine.

But at this moment, these things that everyone originally disliked for taking up space have become treasures.

Until evening, the Western Ling army besieging the city was unable to launch another offensive. From noon until evening, except for the soldiers who were transferred to work in the workshop, the entire Blood Kirin Army finally had a fairly adequate rest after the recent close and almost frantic battles. And even in this situation, the qualities they displayed were praised by military officers familiar with military affairs, such as Yu Kang. In less than an hour, the Blood Kirin Army deployed the heavy infantry stationed on the four city walls, leaving a considerable number of reserves, and assigned them to the four city walls. They reported to the officers in charge of each area and accepted command. At the same time, the accommodation, food, camp guard duty, cleaning and patrolling of roads leading to the battle locations, camp fire prevention and evacuation routes in case of emergency, and even the preparation of supplies, personnel, and routes for a forced breakout with important personnel in the event of the city being breached, were all completed. When the two flag teams of heavy weapons, six flag teams of heavy infantry, and four flag teams of archers reported their respective preparations to Qiu Haohui on time, and then Qiu Haohui reported to Yu Kang and Pan Xiangmin and requested further instructions, Yu Kang and Pan Xiangmin were stunned. Yu Kang and Pan Xiangmin followed Qiu Haohui to the Blood Kirin Army's temporary camp. The entire camp was quiet. Most of the soldiers were either sleeping or sitting in separate courtyards, with the Go boards for the marching game open on the ground, competing against each other.

"To allow the soldiers to rest well, the Blood Kirin Army's regulations state that during rest periods, unless there is an emergency military situation or an order from a superior officer, there is no need to salute when encountering officers inspecting the camp. Otherwise, everyone would have to jump up repeatedly, and they wouldn't be able to completely relax," Qiu Haohui explained, then pointed to the lightly armored soldiers stationed at intervals and added, "The soldiers on duty change shifts every hour. Although it's a bit cumbersome, if the time is too long, just standing there won't have the effect of guarding..."

Yu Kang was extremely surprised. Ordinary Dongping armies, even the Imperial Guards, did not have so many meticulous rules. And these rules were all accurate and appropriate. In fact, these were gradually summarized and improved by the Blood Kirin Army from its establishment to the present, in countless drills of different scales. In the Blood Kirin Army, almost everyone has had the experience of raiding or being raided. Everyone has stood guard. There have also been quite a few sentries who have been taken down by the enemy's scouts during drills. Even the soldiers playing and resting in the courtyard must have their armor and weapons placed where they can be immediately obtained. Some flag teams even maintain an additional half-shift in the barracks, with someone awake at all times, paying attention to the surrounding situation, but such excessive vigilance is not advocated by everyone.

Since standing on the cruel stage of the battlefield, the Blood Kirin Army has eliminated a total of more than 20,000 enemies, and is not far from 30,000, but has only lost less than 1,000 people. More than half of these 1,000 people were injured and can continue to fight after recovery. The soldiers of the Blood Kirin Army have reason to be proud and to despise the enemy. Although the real battlefield is cruel and people really die, whether it is individual skills, qualities, equipment, all the way to overall cooperation, and the army's management and command system, the Blood Kirin Army is more than one level ahead of this era. In the eyes of most people, the battle with the Western Ling army is simply not up to par compared to their internal drills.

"Why are the soldiers all playing the marching game?" Pan Xiangmin asked strangely.

"Our army was formed because of the marching game," Qiu Haohui explained with a smile about the composition of the Two Armies' Review Office and the origins of the military officers at all levels in the army, and then said, "Under the Two Armies' Review Office, there is no one who doesn't know how to play the marching game. According to the ranking of the Yizhan Lou (Game Battle Tower) members, forty-four of the top 100 in battle points are in the army. We also encourage everyone to play chess more and use their brains more. Although in wartime, the command of the big direction relies on a few people, as long as a battle occurs, even if it is two or three people, the teams can form tactics and cooperate. In the melee that the officers can't take care of, soldiers who can use their brains are far more useful than soldiers who only know how to work hard."

Yu Kang nodded, roughly looked at the Blood Kirin Army's camp, and listened to Qiu Haohui's explanation, which made him feel very benefited. And he also began to understand why the Blood Kirin Army's combat power was so amazing, which was not just because of their luxurious equipment. This army, almost from the moment it was born, the constantly enriched and improved rules determined that this army was bound to win.