Hearing Alexander's angry rebuke, Xiao Chang and Xiao Che exchanged bewildered glances.
Romans?
But for now, they could only wait for Xiao Chan's reinforcements.
Those twenty thousand ranged troops and the last ten ballistae, originally intended for the mountain pass, were on their way.
They had figured out the patterns of the "sorcery iron spheres." As long as the ballistae kept moving, there was a chance to penetrate the front ranks of the Great Qian army.
If even this couldn't change the tide of battle, they would have to sound the retreat.
Liang Xiao, calmly directing the battle, also noticed the enemy's offensive weakening but didn't let his guard down. Instead, he notified the Shadow Guards, "Prepare to ignite at any moment!"
The Shadow Guards beside the Divine Might Cannons were also waiting.
As autumn arrived, the hot water cooled quickly, and the cannon barrels, having cooled naturally, required less cold water to fire now.
They could still fire!
They had immense faith in the information provided by Liang Xiao: the Divine Might Cannons could fire forty to fifty rounds a day without issue, as long as the barrels were properly cooled.
The power of the Divine Might Cannons had already brought tangible benefits to the Great Qian army.
Similarly, Liang Xiao was steadfast in his resolve. Even though the Divine Might Cannons were still in the development phase, another twenty must be rushed to Jiangnan to minimize casualties among the soldiers!
The city walls of Jiaozhou and Daliang both required the Divine Might Cannons to break through. No matter how powerful the mangonels were, their effectiveness was ultimately limited.
If mangonels were truly invincible and omnipotent, the Song Dynasty's Diaoyucheng and Xiangyang would not have endured protracted sieges, nor would they have been subsequently rendered obsolete by firearms.
In contrast, Liang Xiao had also observed that trebuchets and ballistae, when well-protected, were excellent choices for field battles to eliminate heavily armored enemy soldiers.
However, even powerful mangonels could only kill zero to ten men per shot, depending on accuracy, enemy density, and the fact that the projectiles, following a more pronounced parabolic trajectory than cannonballs, rarely continued to roll and cause further casualties, often embedding only a few feet or inches into the ground.
If he hadn't timely ordered the Divine Might Cannons to destroy the enemy ballistae moments ago, the Great Qian army would have certainly lost over a hundred heavily armored soldiers, potentially leading to a breach of the defenses in a small area, harming the spearmen and archers.
"Marshal! Enemy reinforcements have arrived from the east!"
The scout's urgent report invigorated Liang Xiao. He immediately ordered the Divine Might Cannons to move towards the high ground in the east.
The enemy might be bringing more ballistae to pierce the Great Qian's layered defenses, and they must be destroyed quickly!
"Marshal! Our Luzhou troops are en route to reinforce us, bringing a total of ten mangonels and ten bed crossbows!"
Another report arrived from a scout in the northwest. Liang Xiao smiled with satisfaction.
Relying solely on ten Divine Might Cannons wouldn't be enough to rapidly crush the enemy; more ranged weapons were needed.
As expected, with the appearance of the Jiaozhou forces from the east, Liang Xiao, with his exceptional eyesight, spotted ten ballistae being transported to the battlefield under the protection of heavy shields, with troops primarily composed of archers surrounding them.
"Another fierce battle, all troops prepare!"
Upon receiving the order, the various units that were retreating to rest immediately took their positions, shaking off their fatigue and forming a firm line of defense.
Simultaneously, the Divine Might Cannons began loading ammunition, with Liang Xiao personally adjusting their angles.
These artillery Shadow Guards had undergone some firing training and could estimate the landing points of the shells, but their accuracy still paled in comparison to Liang Xiao's. Therefore, they unconditionally followed the angles adjusted by Liang Xiao.
The young lord in brocade robes, Xiao Chan, finally joined the battlefield with his twenty thousand ranged troops and was placed under Xiao Che's command.
Xiao Che was both surprised and delighted. He immediately ordered the heavy shield soldiers to protect these ranged troops and deploy them into battle.
"The enemy's momentum is waning; this is an excellent opportunity for our army to display its might. We must not allow them any respite!"
As Xiao Che's military orders spread, the allied forces of Jiaozhou quickly mobilized.
"Fire!"
Liang Xiao, his gaze fixed on the distant formation of ballistae, gave the order. The ten Divine Might Cannons fired in unison.
After deafening roars and screams, two ballistae were destroyed on the spot, horrifying the approaching Jiaozhou forces!
"Cavalry, advance!"
Liang Xiao's command was followed by five thousand cavalry, who swiftly emerged from the flank and charged towards the ballistae.
Under no circumstances would the Great Qian army allow the ballistae to destroy their frontline defenses.
It was at this moment that Alexander realized how foolish a decision it was to have diverted his cavalry to tie down the Great Qian forces at the mountain pass.
There was no cavalry left to counter this Great Qian iron cavalry!
Interfered with by the Great Qian cavalry, the ballistae were forced to temporarily withdraw to avoid being destroyed.
This time, it was the Great Qian cavalry using their mobility advantage to harass the enemy ballistae.
Meanwhile, the power of the longbows, Great Qian bows, and Shenbi bows from the Jiaozhou allied forces' archers had limited effect on the Great Qian army, which was almost entirely armored.
Especially the Great Qian cavalry, whose cotton armor was specially made, incorporating steel within. It was essentially a layer of steel armor placed in the middle of cotton armor, combining the resilience and hardness of both. As long as it wasn't a midsummer battlefield, it could be extremely effective.
These Great Qian cavalrymen, equipped with wooden shields reinforced with iron sheets and studs, could largely ignore the ordinary crossbow bolts from Jiaozhou, and were specifically tasked with harassing the ballistae.
The heavily armored soldiers could only prevent the Great Qian cavalry from directly charging the ballistae but were powerless to stop the harassment from arrows and crossbows once the cavalry closed in.
The ballista crews were forced to move the ballistae towards the center of their formation, creating another window of opportunity for the Divine Might Cannons to fire.
During the fierce engagement, ten more cannon shots echoed from afar, and the Divine Might Cannons destroyed another ballista.
The Jiaozhou allied forces had only seven ballistae remaining!
Facing the disadvantage in range, Xiao Che and Alexander were helpless, only able to pray that those sorcery iron spheres would not strike the ballistae again.
They also knew that the giant shields in front of the ballistae were too conspicuous, providing a clear target for the enemy.
However, without these giant shields, the ballista crews would be even less able to withstand the longbows and Shenbi bows, making the trade-off unfavorable.
"The enemy hasn't thrown their legendary 'Heavenly Thunder.' Could those sorcery iron spheres be related to Heavenly Thunder?" Alexander suddenly recalled something and asked urgently.
"Highly likely!" Xiao Chang and Xiao Che exclaimed with dawning comprehension, but their faces immediately fell into dejection.
What use was knowing this if they couldn't replicate it!
But at least they knew now!
"When we return to Jiaozhou, I will mobilize the entire kingdom to research these sorcery iron spheres!" Xiao Chang gritted his teeth.
Liang Xiao's consistent ability to produce strange and new devices in every major campaign had instilled a sense of dread in him.
They could only strive to imitate and improve their military equipment.
Liang Xiao, commanding the battle from afar, looked at the dishevelled and fleeing Jiaozhou allied forces with satisfaction.
These weapons had saved the Great Qian from suffering too many casualties.
The development of ancient weaponry involved both inevitability and chance. However, a truly epoch-making weapon often required decades, even centuries, of refinement before it could emerge.
For example, the longbow began its development in the 13th century and underwent over two hundred years of improvement.
He had already done his best to equip the Great Qian with weapons leading their contemporaries. For even more advanced weaponry, they would have to rely on the Ministry of Works for further research and development. And beyond that, the support of an Industrial Revolution would be needed.
However, in this field battle, with forty thousand against one hundred thousand, a significant numerical disadvantage, Liang Xiao still dared not let his guard down.
The Great Qian's bows and crossbows continued to rain fire, suppressing enemy firepower and simultaneously dissecting the battlefield, achieving significant results.
This was Liang Xiao's command: the enemy must not be allowed to form a cohesive offensive.
On the Jiaozhou allied forces' side, only the heavy infantry and heavy shield soldiers dared to approach the battlefield. Even the archers in the rear had to carry shields, severely restricting their offensive capabilities.
Yet, shields could still be pierced by longbows, and at closer range, Great Qian bows could pierce shields even more easily than longbows!
In the northwest of the battlefield, shouts finally began to echo.
"Marshal! Our reinforcements have arrived!"