Pioneer Lord: Starting From Daily Intelligence

Chapter 743: Chapter 72: Manor System and Hesse Holy Flame Gunpowder Academy (2)

War Car Fort, in simpler terms, is the Empire’s war chariot corps. It’s a perfect combination of the Empire’s warhorses and Dwarf technology.

Once, war chariots were a commonly used horse-drawn chariot by the followers of the Human Emperor Redema. These huge, cumbersome chariots with appearances resembling castles were dragged by strong warhorses, fully loaded with human warriors armed with crossbows, poised for battle. Despite their positions being replaced by steam tanks, clad in iron armor and spewing smoke with the advancement of time and technology, the scarcity of the latter keeps these horse-drawn chariots active on the Empire’s frontline, playing the role of mobile fortresses.

Oliver introduced in detail, ”Currently, our territory’s war chariots still require two warhorses to drag them, and inside their sturdy cabins can accommodate up to six soldiers, who are usually crossbowmen, firearms soldiers, and warriors with halberds, while firearms soldiers will be equipped with the powerful weapons developed by the Gunpowder Academy, such as repeating firearms.”

”But in addition to fully armed soldiers, a war chariot can also carry other terrifying weapons capable of causing massive casualties, such as cannons. The Cannon of War Car Fort is such an outstanding military artillery unit. Simply put, it’s a huge chariot with four sides of cabins dragged by two strong warhorses, loaded with a cannon and four fully armed, gleaming soldiers. It can follow the Knight Legion at a faster pace, providing powerful fire support to the frontlines.”

”Moreover, War Car Forts are all heavy units, with even the warhorses dragging them clad in heavy horse armor, making them very strong and resilient. Even if surrounded or bombarded by artillery, they won’t easily fall. Currently, we have already constructed two Hesse War Car Forts. Given time, we will upgrade all cannons to powerful War Car Fort Cannons. Of course, this cost is substantial, as each cannon costs 370 Golden Crowns to upgrade to a War Car Fort Cannon.”

Su Li greatly appreciates this heavy-duty style, as every aspect of the Empire showcases a thick sense of heavy industry, with even the artillery being very tough and as hard to damage as steel.

If the cavalry corps has 8 such Empire War Car Forts, charging alongside the cavalry to provide accompanying fire support, it would undoubtedly offer significant combat strength support to the Hesse Territory’s corps.

So the upgrade cost of 370 Golden Crowns is indeed expensive, but the expense is worth it.

Su Li decisively replied, ”Don’t hesitate to spend money, it’s quite normal for a War Car Fort to cost seven to eight hundred Golden Crowns altogether. Where are the cheap critical military assets? I hope we can build at least 4 War Car Fort Cannons before the war with the Blue Mirror Territory, and then, in the siege of Blue Mirror Castle, be able to deploy a dozen ordinary cannons.”

Any knight’s castle is very difficult to attack, and when climbing the ladders, even the elite knights become very vulnerable. Once their heads are pierced, the elite knights will die instantly.

Therefore, if artillery can bombard, Su Li naturally hopes to use artillery as much as possible to blast away instead of sacrificing soldiers’ lives in a direct assault.

Oliver said very seriously, ”Lord, I hope you have a relatively correct understanding of the power of artillery. Do not overestimate the power of artillery. Since the Dwarves invented artillery, thousands of years have passed, but countless wars within these thousands of years have repeatedly revealed a reality: that artillery’s destructive power on solid military fortifications is negligible. Even if you exhausted the lifespan of the cannon barrels, it may hardly inflict any effective damage on a castle meticulously constructed by an engineer.”

”Since the day artillery was born, its primary purpose has been to harm people. Without a doubt, victory in war is always determined by the knights’ bravery and resolute faith!”

Su Li’s eyes brightened, having not expected to hear this familiar theory in this world.

It seems that as long as a force has a long history of warfare and thousands of years of civilization, there is a common consensus—human talent is the key factor in determining the outcome of war.

In fact, the low destructiveness of artillery on city walls is a matter that has been proven by numerous historical examples both ancient and modern. Whether it was the Turkish Army attacking Constantinople or the Ming army entering Korea, even with relentless artillery bombardment, it was almost impossible to breach the walls. Even during World War II and wars like the Soviet forces attacking smaller territories, the ferocious artillery and aerial bombings had little effective impact on intact military fortresses and sturdy defensive structures; the main damage inflicted was on the personnel inside the fortifications. Soldiers could dig shallow trenches in the mud and hide in foxholes, effectively resisting gunpowder harm even when a shell exploded a few meters away. Leaving aside whether the blast shock could kill the soldiers inside, at the very least, the shell’s damage did not extend beyond a few meters in the mud and could not destroy that foxhole.

Therefore, when facing more solid fortresses, it is almost impossible to smash a castle using gunpowder. Even to bomb a barrack would require an incredible number of shells. A large and sturdy barracks is much bigger than a community at least, requiring dozens of shells or even aerial bombs to cover it.

Su Li had to ask, ”What about the destructiveness of relentless artillery bombardment on the defending army?”

Oliver did not directly reply but instead asked, ”Lord, do you know the lifespan of a cannon barrel?”