Continental Warriors Yoo Ma

Jean Bro naturally disagreed.

In his view, the key to solving problems is to learn scientific knowledge, study the basic laws of the world's operation, and summarize them to form a set of effective methods.The same goes for improving artillery accuracy.

Instead of spending a lot of effort casting runes that consume rare magic metals on the body of the gun, and then having to hold a complicated prayer ceremony before each battle, it is better to study geometry and mathematics and improve the artillery manual to be more convenient and affordable.

Because of their different ideas, Jean Bro and Oli Longbeard became less and less speculative as they chatted, and in the end it even got to the point of scratching and arguing.Fortunately, Jean Bro is not a person who likes to use violence to solve problems.The dwarf of the Longbeard clan was also worried about hurting his beard in the fight.

So what if you beat that chicken-thin human until his nose was bruised and his face was swollen?If you lose a beard, you will lose a lot.

In the end, the two sides did not become one in the physical sense.Then some good people proposed to have a showdown at the poker table to resolve conflicts.Then there was the scene Ma Youfu saw.

Ma Youfu didn't know what game they were playing.However, judging from the expressions of the two of them and the reactions of the people around them, it was obvious that the game was in a desperate state.

Seeing the most influential lord coming, Jean Bro and Oli Longbeard, who realized that they might not be able to win the game, simply threw down the cards and came to Ma Youfu.

"The mountains greet you, Lord Marquis." The dwarf said, shaking his snow-white beard. "You already know the dispute between me and Mr. Jean. Which side do you think holds the truth? Please don't put me off, Longbeard I hate ambiguous phrases! If you can't give me a convincing answer, I can't stay in Rouen and serve you!"

"My lord, you already know the matter, maybe you can give a fair judgment." Jean Bro said.

His attitude was less stubborn and earnest than that of the dwarves.However, as a senior member of Ma Youfu's camp—although he has only been working for more than a year, and he is an important talent who has made great achievements, if he is disappointed, it will also have a rather adverse impact.

As a time traveler, relying on his own experience and cognition, Ma Youfu naturally believed that Jean Bro was right.After all, science and technology are the primary productive forces. This sentence has made my ears callous since I was a child.

But this is a fantasy world. As a spellcaster, Ma Youfu knows very well how unimaginable things extraordinary power can do.

Even if artillery technology is developed to the level of World War II, the hit rate is still a matter of probability.Only when electronic technology develops greatly and precision-guided weapons are manufactured, can it be possible to hit wherever you point and hit with every shot.

As for this whole set of functions that require a complete high-tech industrial system, a channeling spell may be able to replace it.

Ma Youfu thought about it and said, "Practice is the only criterion for testing the truth. Which of the two theories is more correct can only be proved by facts. I propose to hold a gunnery competition, how about it?"

"agree."

"I have no opinion."

The two nodded at the same time, and the matter was settled.

A week later, the gunnery competition began.

The rules of the game are that each side operates ten cannons and uses solid iron bullets to see who can destroy the most targets within a quarter of an hour.

In this way, the concepts of both parties can be tested, which one can better enhance the comprehensive combat capability of the artillery unit.It is more convincing than simply comparing artillery accuracy.

In Europe in this era, Ma Youfu's professional artillery unit is still the only one.When other lords want to use artillery on the battlefield, they often hire artillery craftsmen and technicians temporarily to operate it.Not only can Ouli build cannons himself, he was also hired by Italian nobles to take his family members to serve as guest artillerymen in the army.It is said that the results of the battle have been outstanding, and it is no wonder that he is full of confidence in front of the number one artillery expert in France.

The artillery used by both sides is the six-pound cavalry gun in Ma Youfu's army. They have been checked in advance to ensure that the performance of each gun is almost the same.During the one-week preparation time, Jean Bro specially selected the ten best artillery groups from the artillery unit, and then conducted assault training.

And Ouli, after engraving the runes to improve the accuracy of the cannon, prayed to the ancestors every day and offered sacrifices such as fine wine to increase the magic power stored in the runes.

The game was held outside Rouen, in an open area on the banks of the Seine.Two target arrays were set up 600 meters away from the artillery position.There are six hundred scarecrows in each target array, forming a rectangular square array of thirty by twenty.

Many people know that the artillery unit of the Marquis of Lamanche has amazing lethality on the battlefield and is almost invincible.But there are not many people who can witness the power of artillery.So there are quite a lot of civilians who came to watch the game today out of curiosity.Ma Youfu looked at the crowd of spectators, and even regretted that he hadn't organized it earlier and sold tickets to make a fortune.

In addition to civilians, soldiers who have no missions are also required to come to watch the game.In this important historical period of transition from cold weapons to hot weapons, Ma Youfu hopes that his troops will have a deeper understanding of artillery.Especially those newly recruited soldiers should see for themselves the power of these new weapons.

There is nothing to say about the course of the game.The 15 minutes of gunfire and smoke filled the air quickly passed.

According to the final statistics, Jean Bro's artillery team destroyed a total of 430 scarecrows.Oli Longbeard's artillery team consumed one-eighth of Jean Bro's shells, and destroyed one hundred and five scarecrows.

The two people who learned the result quarreled again in front of Ma Youfu.

"It's not fair, Lord Marquis! I only have five rune mages under my command, and I can't find enough manpower to operate ten cannons in a short period of time! Moreover, it is a delicate job to carve runes on the cannon body, and it took me a lot of money In four days, our training time was more than half less than that of our opponents!"

"Isn't this the disadvantage of magic? A person with a foundation in mathematics can become a qualified gunner after three months of training. And a mage—even the lowest-level mage apprentice is only one in thousands of people. Rare talents. Not to mention, engraving runes requires an additional consumption of rare magic metals such as Mithril, which is an expensive expense."

Just looking at the killing effect, Ori's rune cannon does have its unique advantages.But considering the cost-effective ratio, it is clear that Jean Bro's idea is better.

Therefore, Ma Youfu judged that Jean Broux won.

Seeing the dejected look of the long-bearded dwarf, Ma Youfu comforted him: "Mr. Ouli, although your rune cannon cannot be popularized on a large scale, it can also meet some special combat needs, which is quite valuable."

Ouli shook his head and said with a frustrated face: "No, my artillery should not only be useful in specific occasions, but a new weapon that can dominate the battlefield!"

He bowed to Ma Youfu, and said again: "Master Marquis, I have no objection to the result of today's competition. It's a pity that I can't play for you. I want to return to my hometown and devote myself to improving the rune artillery."

Ah this...

The technical talent that Wei Laxin had worked so hard to recruit was hit hard by the outcome of a game, and she wanted to leave with a bucket.

Ma Youfu didn't want the duck with its beak to fly away.He persuaded: "Mr. Ollie, although in the field of artillery, your rune artillery is not practical enough for the time being, but your talent for making armor and weapons is obvious to all. Jean Bro is only specialized in artillery, but you are All-rounder in the metal industry!"

"But……"

Ouli's attitude softened a bit, but the dwarf's stubborn temper still prevented him from changing his mind easily.

"Mr. Ouli, I have something I want you to take a look at. If you still want to leave later, then I won't stop you."

He took the dwarf back to Rouen, and in the study of the mansion, he took out a book with "The Encyclopedia of Armor" on the cover and handed it to the dwarf.

This book was bought by Ma Youfu from the system store before, and it has been lying in the dimensional bag for a long time and eating ashes.Now it finally comes in handy.

Ouli flipped through a page casually. At first glance, he was a little careless, but as he read deeper, his expression became more and more focused.After about 10 minutes, the dwarf finally couldn't help it, grabbed Ma Youfu's hand, and said eagerly: "My lord, why is there a blacked-out part of the book, and the key content is actually hidden? It's like holding a wine barrel but not It's like you can't unplug it, it's unbearable!"

Chapter Three Hundred and Eight

This is naturally Ma Youfu's handwriting.

This "Armor Encyclopedia" is produced by the system anyway, and contains many "black technology" treasure books, how could it be shown to outsiders casually.

If Ouli Changxu wanted to really learn some knowledge from the book, he had to be Ma Youfu's cattle and horses for more than ten years, helping the lord to build feudal "Rome" quickly and economically.

Seeing that Ma Youfu was silent, Ouli, who was stubborn and irritable but not stupid, vaguely guessed what the other party was thinking.The desire for new knowledge immediately overwhelmed the little disappointment in my heart.He grabbed his beard and said: "I swear by the glory of my ancestors and my beard, Lord Marquis, I am willing to serve you for 80 years in exchange for the knowledge in the book!"

"80 years?" Youfu Ma was stunned.Then I remembered that 80 years is not an unacceptable time in terms of the lifespan of a dwarf.When Ouli ended his labor contract with Ma Youfu, he was only 130 years old, and he was in his prime.

"So, of course I welcome it." Ma Youfu nodded immediately, for fear that the other party would regret it.

The dwarf was serious in his work, and signed a contract with Ma Youfu, bound by the power of his ancestor's oath.According to the contract, Ouli led the entire Longbeard clan to serve Ma Youfu for 80 years.Of course, Ma Youfu also had to give no less than the average salary of other nobles for hiring dwarves, and guarantee the legal rights of the Longbeard clan.

"My lord, I'll write a letter and let the people prepare to move."

Ouli took over the "Armor Encyclopedia" happily. He turned the page, and saw that Ma Youfu waved his hand, and all the parts that were blacked out disappeared.

Although it was only a small spell, Ma Youfu's performance of lifting weights lightly gave Oli a new understanding of the strength of this human lord.

"As soon as your people arrive, you must immediately start optimizing the armor industry. There is a lot of knowledge recorded in the "Armor Encyclopedia", including methods for improving hydraulic forging hammers. There are many rivers in Normandy, and hydraulic workshops can be built on a large scale to quickly forge steel. Plates. There is also the improvement of the blast furnace, which can also be referenced from the book..."

Improvement and large-scale construction of water conservancy workshops and blast furnaces are only to solve the problem of the production of steel plates, and by the way, greatly reduce the cost of raw materials.To make the basic plate into armor, craftsmen still need to hammer it out one by one. This cannot be solved simply by relying on the word "industrialization", and can only be done step by step.

"The book systematically summarizes the knowledge of heat treatment processes such as annealing, tempering, cooking, normalizing, and carburizing, and also records various types of plate armor. I need you to summarize, integrate, and innovate these contents, Then design three new sets of armor. One is the cavalry armor, the total cost should be controlled at forty livres, the whole body is protected, and the defense power should be comparable to the refined plate armor produced in Milan. The second is the infantry armor, the total cost is Within ten livres, the armor is required to cover three-quarters of the front, and the defense is twice that of the iron armor. The third type is the breastplate, equipped for light scouts and non-front-line combatants, and the cost is less than five livres."

After Ma Youfu gave the technical indicators, the rest was for the technicians.It will be at least half a year before the Crusaders are formed and assembled. I hope that my army will have enough high-quality armor and weapons to use by then.

After receiving Ouli's allegiance, the next day, Ma Youfu called the Brothers Bro and Ouli together and announced the establishment of the Ministry of Military Industry.Ouli is the director of the Ordnance Department, responsible for the forging of armor and cold weapons.Gaspar Bro served as Director of the Artillery Department, taking over his brother's work and continuing to develop and manufacture artillery.And Jean Bro, who is better at firearms research than his younger brother, served as the director of the Firearms Department, and took over the important task of developing new firearms from Ma Youfu.

The Brow Brothers have completely resigned from their military positions and transformed into professional military R&D talents. This will also prevent the Brow family from being too closely linked with the military and making it difficult to check and balance.

As for the Minister of Military Industry, Vera will be in charge.

It's not that Ma Youfu was blown into the pillow wind and nepotism.With the management and financial management skills demonstrated by the dark elf girl, it is perfect for this position.

Ma Youfu wrote a booklet "Organization and Management in Production" based on his experience and knowledge as a worker before time travel, and handed it to Vera, hoping that she could introduce advanced management techniques into each workshop to improve efficiency.

"I didn't expect the first department I formed to be the Military Industry Department. I wanted to go farming, but I didn't expect to have to be a war madman..." After explaining to the officers of the Military Industry Department, Ma Youfu laughed at himself, and then set off Go to Paris.

In the week that Oli Longbeard and Jean Broux were preparing for the artillery competition, the letters from the Pope and Charles VII arrived in Rouen successively.

The Pope was overjoyed by Ma Youfu's letter, and immediately agreed to him, calling on other countries to join the Crusade.Of course, the Pope selectively ignored Ma Youfu's tactful request for church funding in the letter.

Leaving aside the preparations for the Crusade in other countries, for France, the Pope sent a special envoy to cheer for Ma Youfu to boost his momentum.

The envoy was Donatello, who had just completed his investigation at Mont Saint-Michel.

He came to Rouen with the Pope's personal reply and handed it to Ma Youfu, and then the two were ready to leave for Paris.

Charles VII was also very enthusiastic about the crusade - at least on the surface.

In order to discuss various matters concerning the establishment of the Crusade, he immediately decided to hold a large-scale imperial meeting, calling all the important bishops, lords, and big businessmen from all over the country to Paris to discuss a charter for the formation of the Crusade. Then work together to contribute to the great cause of the crusade against the heretics.

However, in Charles VII's reply to Ma Youfu, he revealed some real thoughts.

Facing France, which was in disrepair after the war, Charles VII was not very interested in sending troops across the sea to conquer new territories.The reason why he showed a strong attitude of supporting the Crusaders was mainly to divert trouble and solve the problem of wool soldiers.

Originally, there were more than 2 free mercenaries operating in France.After the Battle of Paris, due to Charles VII's attack on the Duke of Orleans, the number of woolen soldiers who joined the army during the war and plundered in their free time increased sharply to more than 5000.

A considerable part of them were originally English soldiers stationed in Bordeaux and other places.However, after England handed over the territory of the Principality of Aquitaine, many soldiers lost their income and had no travel expenses to return to England, so they simply fell grass on the spot and started cutting trails.

These skilled and well-organized military groups caused serious damage to France, so that production and life after the war were difficult to recover for a long time.

Charles VII must solve these serious problems as soon as possible.

In mid-November, the Marquis Mahouf of La Manche and Donatello, the special envoy of the Holy See, set off from Rouen to the south for Paris to attend the imperial meeting held at the end of the month.

This time, Ma Youfu did not choose to take a boat, but went south by land, passing through the Earl of Beaumont, and headed for Paris.He mainly wanted to drop by to see how the fiefdom was after this period of governance.

After field inspection, Ma Youfu found that the situation was neither good nor bad.

The management of most villages is still chaotic, and life is still difficult. Fortunately, Ma Youfu exempted this year's tax, and thanks to the operation of the Northern France Trading Company, after the autumn harvest, a large number of cheap grains from the Baltic Sea coast entered the market, so food and clothing It can still be maintained, and there is no famine.

Towns fared better.Because it was incorporated into the North France-Lowland economic circle, industry and commerce recovered rapidly, and merchants and craftsmen had some good hopes for the future.

The biggest trouble at the moment is the wool soldiers.

The border management of the government in this era is basically non-existent. Those free mercenaries roaring around on horseback, making every lord feel troubled.

Although there were not many wool soldiers who dared to enter Normandy to plunder due to the prestige of the Marquis of La Manche on the battlefield, they still caused considerable losses.

It took three days for everyone to arrive at the southern border of the Earl of Beaumont.As long as you cross the Seine River from here, Paris is only a straight-line distance of more than 30 kilometers.

"My lord, it's almost dark. I suggest that after crossing the river, we should rest in Montfort for the night. The woolen soldiers have been rampant recently. Even the suburbs of Paris have been looted. It is not suitable to travel at night," said a guard.

Monfort is a village with a small population, adjacent to the Rambouillet forest. There is a castle in the village, which once belonged to the Monfort family, but it has been destroyed by the English, and now only a ruined wall remains.In fact, there are castles built by this family all over France, and there are also many villages called Montfort.It's just that the once prominent family has long since disappeared in France, but it has spread in England.

Ma Youfu rode forward while listening to Donatello talking about the ancestors of the Montfort family, participating in the Albi Crusade, and crusade against the heresy of the Cathars.

Suddenly, the sound of horseshoes came from a distance.The guards around Ma Youfu became nervous, with their right hands on their waists, ready to draw their swords at any time.

When they got close, they saw the mark of the Marquis of Lamanche painted on the other party's burqa, and someone shouted: "It's my own!"

The cavalryman was covered in blood, his left arm was hit by an arrow, and he was drooping weakly. A large piece of the armor on his chest was dented, and his condition was quite miserable.

"My lord... Montfort was looted by the woolen soldiers, and many people died. The Zpissico knight led us to rescue, but we were defeated. Now we retreat to the forest of Rambouillet..."

As the cavalryman talked, his body began to sway, and when he was about to fall to the ground, a priest accompanying Donatello hurriedly made a move and threw a "cure serious injury" magic spell.

The injury finally stabilized. Ma Youfu wanted the cavalry to rest, but the opponent gritted his teeth and insisted on leading the way.

Soon, under his leadership, Ma Youfu found Zpisko in the forest.