In early March, the coldest weather has passed. Although the streams are still frozen and the forests are still covered with snow, hard-working farmers have begun to cultivate the land that has been frozen for a winter, and businessmen have already started to work on the muddy roads after the winter snow melted.

On travel.

The pace of warm spring is unstoppable.

Earl Wells has spent half of the winter in the small canyon in the mountains. As the cold winter passes and early spring arrives, he must devote more time and energy to the world outside the canyon.

Especially after the iron cannon delivered by the weapons workshop yesterday exploded again, he lost the last of his persistence.

Squatting down and stroking the thin cracks on the iron cannon, Art shook his head and said to the dejected head of the weapons workshop, Gloland, next to him: "Forget it, if the iron cannon really cannot be cast, we will use

Make it made of copper. Although the cost is much higher, at least you don't have to endure the pain of failure anymore. You apply to the Government Affairs Bureau and let the European Commercial Bank urgently purchase 3,000 pounds of copper materials. The cost will be allocated by the Military Affairs Bureau. As for this scrap cannon and the remaining ones

The pig iron is all cast into iron bullets and sent here for loading and storage."

"We are about to set up a specialized team and need a lot of new weapons and equipment."

............

"The Grenadier Company? And it mainly draws personnel from our baggage department?"

Beiguan Army Fort, the official headquarters of the Wells Corps' Baggage Department. Rogge, the deputy minister of the Corps' Baggage Department, who had just finished the first long-distance field training in the spring, was called over by the Corps Deputy Minister Angus before he could change his sweat-stained military uniform.

.

"This is the military order just issued by your lord. Lord Odo went to Bona City last week to inspect the Western Territory Garrison. The affairs of the baggage department were handed over to you, so I called you over to discuss." Angus handed over a copy of Art.

The personally signed military order was handed to Rogge.

Rogge received the military order without reading it carefully and replied: "We will definitely obey your military order, but Sir Angus, what kind of soldier is this grenadier? What do we need to do?"

The Welsh Army has a trebuchet team, but it is not a full-time organization. Since the Welsh Army mainly engages in field operations and rarely attacks fortresses, and the trebuchets are large and inconvenient to transport, they are often transported by the craftsmen and baggage trains of the baggage team before the war.

The soldiers made it temporarily, and after use, most of the important parts were removed, and the remaining wood was used for other purposes.

Therefore, the baggage troops also worked part-time as the trebuchet troops.

"The specific staff establishment, weapons allocation and combat mode staff have just made a preliminary plan, which was submitted to your Excellency yesterday. Your Majesty means to start the establishment first, and the specific plan still needs to be perfected."

"The preliminary plan is that the grenadiers are a company-level combat unit of the legion. There will be one company captain, with you as the company captain, and two company deputy captains, respectively, a squad leader from the Earl's Guard and Smith, the deputy captain of the crossbow unit. Company

There are three flag teams, each with three squadrons, and each squadron has three grenade groups, a total of twenty-seven groups. Each grenade group is equipped with four grenadiers specifically responsible for operation and two assisting and

Lightly-armored soldiers who guard in times of war.”

"In addition, your new team has a very special mission, so the legion will specially assign inspectors within you."

"Let's talk about combat attributes."

"Each grenade group is equipped with a small counterweight trebuchet and a two-wheeled carriage specially used to transport the trebuchet and projectiles."

Before Rogge could react, he wondered: "A small counterweighted trebuchet? Can it still be transported by carriage? How useful can a trebuchet be? Can a trebuchet operated by four soldiers break through the city wall? Can it kill the enemy?"

In Rogge's opinion, the power of the trebuchet comes from the weight of the thrown stones. The heavier the stone, the greater the power. Of course, the trebuchet that throws these heavy stones will be larger, and the soldiers who operate the trebuchet will be bigger.

Need more.

From the trebuchets that can be pulled by horse-drawn carriages, you can imagine how powerful they are.

Only a handful of people know about the fruits of more than half a year of hard work in the Weapons Research Laboratory, and obviously the Deputy Minister of Transport and Transport, who is on the second line of the combat force, does not belong to that handful.

Art had already designated this veteran baggage soldier who had joined the team during the patrol team as the chief officer of the new army, so he had no intention of hiding it.

"What I'm going to say next is the top secret of the legion. You must keep it strictly confidential, otherwise military law will severely punish you."

Words like "top secret" and "severe military action" obviously made this old baggage soldier a little nervous, especially in the context of the last legion purge, which saw many baggage officers and soldiers beheaded and the baggage minister Spencer was implicated and punished.

Rogge rubbed his palms and then stood upright.

"You don't have to be nervous. Since the Lord has appointed you to be the leader of this new team, you will definitely be the new one." Angus comforted him.

"Do you remember the lightning strike at Valley Wood Castle last year?"

The big explosion that occurred near the wooden castle last year, the government claimed afterwards that the explosion was caused by a lightning strike. Although people who did not know the reason were a little confused, it seemed that there was really no such force other than thunder.

fear.

"Yes, sir, Lord Dennis told everyone that it was an accidental lightning strike." Rogge looked convinced.

Angus stood up and smiled, "The lightning strike was announced to the outside world. In fact, the real cause was the accidental explosion of a new weapon developed by the Lord himself."

Rogge was stunned for a moment, and his eyes gradually widened.

"A new weapon? A new weapon that can make the entire courtyard fly into the sky?"

Angus nodded, "Yes, last year the Legion secretly established a weapons research laboratory. This new weapon turned into a more powerful thing in the laboratory. It was made of pig iron and shaped like a

Stone bullets are ignited by fire and thrown out. Each iron bullet can collapse a stone house, and the new team you are about to form will use this weapon."

As a mid-level and high-level officer in the legion, Rogge had heard about the weapons research laboratory that was just established last year. He had a heavy supply soldier who was a blacksmith apprentice and was transferred there.

However, the special department belonging to the legion disappeared from everyone's sight just after it was established, and the blacksmith apprentice never appeared again.

"An iron ball that can collapse a stone house?"

"It didn't collapse, it exploded." Angus corrected.

Rogge couldn't imagine it yet.

"Let me ask you, sir, to sign a warrant for you three new officers, so that you can go to the weapons research room to see it in person. Since those things will be used by you in the future, you should know about them in advance."

............

In the southern part of Tyniec County, on the east side of the wilderness, there is a valley called the Wild Wolf Valley.

Eight years ago, the Earl of Wales, who was an ordinary hunter at the time, led an old guy to harvest the first pot of gold using a trap here.

Eight years later, the valley once again welcomed a special team accompanied by loud noises every day.

At the entrance of the Wild Wolf Valley, the place where the trap was set eight years ago has now become a wooden fence. A wooden sentry tower has been built on both sides of the fence near the hillside. There are five full-armed soldiers in each sentry tower.

Armed sentries guarded the gates, and a barrage of horses was set up in front of the gate under the wall.

These soldiers are not ordinary people. They are Earl's Guards drawn from the Earl of Wales's Guards. Within this barrier, there are four five-man squads with the same identity. They have set up open posts and hidden sentries at several important passways.

In the wasteland outside the pass wall, there is another team that is responsible for guarding the perimeter. They are the Cavalry Company of the Wells Regiment stationed in the wasteland.

Inside the wall, and three miles further into the valley, there is an open area where more than twenty military tents and more than a hundred soldiers are stationed.

Fifteen four-wheeled carriages were parked two hundred steps outside the camp area, and fifteen small counterweight trebuchets were lined up more than ten steps in front of the carriages.

Two hundred paces away from the other end of the trebuchet, a group of soldiers were repairing a "city wall" that had just been blown up.

Several officers wearing armor and carrying short swords at their waists were discussing in front of a certain trebuchet.

"My Lord Smith, it turns out that you are also the adjutant of the crossbow unit. You usually command the archers to throw the gun with such high accuracy. Why can't you do it with this trebuchet?"

"Look, it took more than twenty rounds of iron bullets to hit the city wall. Those iron bullets are not stones. They are very precious. They can withstand your torture!"

Rogge, the newly appointed captain of the grenade company, looked at the dwindling ammunition in the wooden box behind the trebuchet, and his heart was bleeding. He also looked at those in the weapons laboratory behind the trebuchet who were responsible for instructing the new team to use new weapons.

The guy who shook his head and sighed felt even more ashamed.

"Can you blame me? It's not like you haven't seen how timid those grenadiers are. It's the first time for everyone to see such a terrifying weapon. Not to mention the power of the explosion, it can blow your ears.

The deafening loud noise is frightening."

The newly formed grenadiers are mainly the strongest baggage troops from the baggage department, and then there are the archers drawn from the crossbow corps and a small number of combat soldiers. These people do not lack courage, but they face new things, especially those with loud noise and terror.

With explosive weapons, these people really didn't dare to be brave for a moment.

Hearing this, Roger unconsciously rubbed his ears.

The grenadier company was established less than a month ago. In the first half month, they just used stone bullets to practice throwing accuracy. Under the training of Smith, who was a crossbowman, those former baggage soldiers who had experience in operating trebuchets only used

It took two weeks to successfully complete the loading and movement, enter the battlefield, quickly assemble, load and prepare, and finally successfully project the stone bombs to the target location.

But last week, after the regimental commander personally ordered the delivery of a hundred iron bullets, the training suddenly did not go smoothly.

At first, people from the weapons research laboratory came in person to teach how to use this new weapon.

During the first demonstration, several soldiers were so frightened that they collapsed to the ground, and one guy even peed his pants.

After being beaten with sticks for two days, most people were finally able to let go of their hands that were covering their ears.

The people in the weapons research laboratory taught each other step by step for five days, and finally trained a group of grassroots officers who dared to take action.

But the results of today's first practical training once again made everyone in the laboratory feel cold.
Chapter completed!