Preparations and Departure
On the Drill Ground, 3,000 soldiers of the Heavy Crossbow unit were unloading parts from the packhorses. Victor squinted as he watched the soldiers skillfully assemble the triple-bow Bed Crossbow —the latest design from the Royal Armory Bureau. The composite bow arms were made of Iron Birch Wood, a specialty of Iron Birch Territory, laminated with cow horn. The creaking sound of the winch reminded him of a replica of the Song Dynasty crossbow he had heard about in a museum in his previous life.
"Each Bed Crossbow is equipped with thirty armor-piercing arrows and twenty Fire Oil." The commander of the Heavy Crossbow unit was a one-armed soldier, his iron hook prosthetic leg striking the crossbow mechanism. "But sir, according to my understanding of the Second Legion's organization, we lack enough heavy shield bearers to cover our flanks."
Victor crouched down and stroked the positioning stakes of the Bed Crossbow's base. "So the plan is to use wagons to form a wagon formation to act as a shield." He picked up a charcoal pencil and drew the formation on the ground. "The double-decker wagons are arranged alternately, and the ruts are filled with caltrops. The crossbowmen will fire in three shifts within the wagon formation, while the Bed Crossbow will be responsible for suppressing the enemy's Heavy Cavalry."
"I've seen similar battles before," the commander suddenly thought of something.
"It's Volume 3 of the Kingdom War History, the military textbook of the Raine Kingdom." He ran his iron hook through the snow.
It seems that the development of war technology can also have a convergence effect. The chariot formation that Victor used came from Li Ling's Battle of Junji Mountain, which he had learned in his previous life. At that time, Li Ling used this tactic to fight against the Xiongnu army and achieved great results.
The afternoon sunlight that pierced through the dark clouds of the Northlands when Sun Wenjie was consulting the "Biography of the Xiongnu" in the library in his previous life has been providing Victor with various kinds of help ever since.
"That's not important," Victor said, getting up and brushing the snow off his knees. "I need you to complete the shooting parameters calculations in the next two days, especially the elevation adjustment for armored warhorses."
As Victor walked through the bustling Workshop district, Baron Brown's laughter came from behind the grain stacks. "When did our esteemed Acting Legion Commander become a carpenter?" The old fox from the Northlands was peeling an apple with a dagger, the peel hanging down on his mink-trimmed sleeve.
"It's better than some people being busy sneaking sips of their military-grade ale." Victor glanced at the ale stain on the sole of his boot. "Where's the wet firewood I asked you to prepare?"
"Five hundred cartloads of birch bark, all submerged in the Ice Wind River." Brown twirled his dagger, the cold glint reflecting his cunning eyes. "But if we really do as you say, spreading wet firewood outside the cart array to create smoke... that method reminds me of the way caravans guard against bandits."
Victor's heart skipped a beat again. The Dunhuang murals he had seen in his previous life flashed through his mind, the defensive circles formed by oxcarts used by Silk Road merchants —they were strikingly similar to the tactical concept he was using now. "As long as it works." He snatched the apple the other man had peeled and took a bite. "When the army marches the day after tomorrow, I want to see your Light Cavalry waiting on both flanks of the wagon formation."
At midnight, Victor, wrapped in a bearskin cloak, inspected the vehicle assembly area.
The bright moon hung above the smoke from the blacksmith's shop. Victor bent down and tapped the iron hoops on the wagon's armor, sparks hissing as they hit the frozen leather. "Add two more cross braces here," he said, carving marks on the elm armor with his scabbard. "The axles should be covered with sheet metal up to the hubs."
"Sir, this will consume forty catties of wrought iron..." The blacksmith chief wiped the sweat from his forehead, the flames from the furnace dancing on the scars on his face.
"Go to the quartermaster to get it. I've already made arrangements." Victor lifted his visor and exhaled white breath. Memories of visiting the Qi Jiguang Memorial Hall in his previous life suddenly flashed back—the restored models of the anti-Japanese wagon fort overlapped with the scene before him.
On the other side, craftsmen were installing retractable protective plates on the cart, a design inspired by Song Dynasty war chariots—the outer side was covered with raw cowhide soaked in mud, and the inner side was reinforced with iron bars. Memories of ancient weapon restoration projects he had visited in his previous life kept flooding back, and he couldn't help but personally adjust the hinge angle. "This way, the protective plate can be extended by fifteen degrees, giving the crossbow a wider firing arc."
"Sir!" Jackson's gruff roar shook the snow off the roof. "The Third Crossbow Team and the Fourth Vehicle Team are arguing!"
At the scene of the argument, the freckled crossbow captain was grabbing the wheelwright by the collar. "You raised the base three inches, and my elevation gauge is all messed up!"
"As requested by the adults, we need to raise the anti-slip base!" the wheelwright said, waving his tools.
Victor drew his sword and cut the rope between the two. "Change the Bed Crossbow base to a movable support!" He drew an adjustable height structure on the ground with the tip of his sword. "Add gears and latches here so that the level can be adjusted at any time."
This is the improved solution that Number One just called upon the Calculation Module to provide. It also comes from Victor's memories from his previous life. In the past few days, the Calculation Module has been calculating the usage plan of the vehicle formation and the structure of the vehicles, striving for the optimal solution.
The crowd fell silent. The crossbow captain crouched down to examine the sword marks on the snow more closely. "Like the regulating mechanism of Catapult... but more sophisticated."
"I'll give you one night to modify it." As Victor sheathed his sword, a saying that circulated online in his previous life came to mind, "The wisdom of the cold weapon era is often underestimated by modern people."
Finally, the chariot formation was completed, Victor climbed the newly built watchtower. Nearly six hundred modified chariots were lined up end to end, forming a circular defensive line with a diameter of one mile. The gaps between the chariots were supported by barbed chevaux-de-frise, and the ground was scattered with triangular iron nails—an inspiration from the caltrop tactics used by the Han Dynasty against the Xiongnu.
"What else is missing?" Count Colt appeared out of nowhere, draped in a black fox fur cloak, the sapphire on his scepter gleaming coldly in the torchlight.
"We lack time." Victor pointed to the pale dawn in the east. "If possible, I really want the Heavy Crossbow units and wagon formations to have a proper drill."
The governor's laughter was very loud. "I've bought you three days. The Second Legion must depart tomorrow. Just improvise. I believe you can handle it." He suddenly lowered his voice, "Do you know why I chose you as bait?"
"Because the Second Legion is 'plump' enough." Victor smirked. "Compared to ordinary legions, we just finished off the right flank, and the legion has a large number of warhorses and packhorses, plus me, a newly promoted viscount—enough to drive wolves mad."
"Clever." Count Colt tapped the wooden railing lightly with his scepter.
On the morning of September 5th, the Second Legion was fully prepared for battle. Victor looked at the large number of chariots and transport vehicles in the legion before him. Memories from his past life wove together in his mind: the coordinated chariot and cavalry tactics of Emperor Wu of Han's expedition to the northern deserts, the overlapping formation tactics of the Southern Song Dynasty against the Jin army, all of which now transformed into the iron hoops on the chariot formation and the gears of the crossbows.
Victor nodded to the standard-bearer, who immediately waved the signal flag in his hand, and the drummers began to beat the drums. The Second Legion marched north like a moving city wall, with a large number of vehicles and horses making the entire legion's marching formation extremely robust.