"But Brother Youcai, after listening to your explanation, I also think that this kind of chariot is quite wonderful. It will greatly reduce the difficulty of breaking the city when attacking the city. But why has no one ever seen it used?"

Zhuge Liang tilted his head and said with a confused look.

This is a more difficult question to explain.

If this "Linchong Lu Gongche" had been invented and manufactured during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the wall advantage of the defenders would be greatly reduced. As long as it falls into the hands of a powerful country that has thoughts about other countries, there is a high probability that it will require mass manufacturing investment.

of the battlefield.

But now, hundreds of years later in the Eastern Han Dynasty, such chariots have not been seen on the battlefield.

Moreover, in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, and even in the war history before the Tang Dynasty, there are no records of such chariots, which also illustrates some problems.

"Maybe... it's been lost."

Wu Liang thought for a while and expressed his guess.

As far as he knows, there are very few records about Lu Ban in official history. The siege-related equipment he manufactured is best known to the archaeological community in later generations as the "cloud ladder".

And even this historical record related to Lu Ban actually comes from the biography of another master craftsman, "Mozi".

This historical data tells that during the Warring States Period, the King of Chu was preparing to attack the Song Dynasty, so Lu Ban designed and manufactured a siege equipment called a "cloud ladder" for the King of Chu. After Mozi got the news, he immediately went to the Chu Kingdom to dissuade him.

Both the King of Chu and Lu Ban were reluctant to give up their newly built siege equipment. They wanted to test its power when attacking the Song Dynasty. How could they give up so easily?

So Mozi took off his clothes, built a city wall, used wood chips as weapons, and asked Luban and him to conduct drills on behalf of the offensive and defensive sides respectively. Luban used different methods to attack the city many times, but was blocked by Mozi many times. Luban's attack

The city's equipment has been exhausted, but Mozi's defense methods are more than enough.

In the end, the King of Chu felt that there was no guarantee of victory even with Lu Ban's siege equipment, so he decided to give up the attack on Song.

Although this historical material only mentions "cloud ladders", it does not mention other siege equipment.

But when Mozi and Lu Ban were practicing fighting, Lu Ban used a variety of different siege methods. He had to admit defeat after exhausting all the siege equipment.

If you think about it more deeply.

It can be inferred that the siege equipment invented by Lu Ban should not be the only "cloud ladder", otherwise Mozi and he would not have had to practice many times.

And because of Mozi's obstruction, these siege equipment may not have ever been used on the battlefield.

Maybe this is the reason why "Linchong Lu Gongche" was lost?

After all, according to historical records, Lu Ban came to Chu State around 450 BC and died in 444 BC. He only stayed in Chu State for 6 years at most.

In just 6 years, Lu Ban first designed and manufactured siege equipment for the King of Chu, but was defeated by Mozi in a literary fight before the attack was launched.

Then, as Sun Ye said, because the apprentice of the craftsman who learned the "Gongshu Jing" brought trouble to the world, the reputation of the craftsman plummeted, and the king of Chu became suspicious of him and gradually became alienated.

In this case, the King of Chu was worried about being harmed by the "Gongshu Jing", so he probably would not use the siege equipment designed and manufactured by Lu Ban.

In the end, Lu Ban became disheartened and jumped off the wall of Ying City.

And the siege equipment he designed and manufactured for the King of Chu during his lifetime could only be buried with him and lost in the dust of history.

Perhaps...this is the reason why "Linchong Lu Gongche" appeared here thousands of years in advance.

Speculating on these things in his mind, Wu Liang suddenly felt a trace of sadness.

He felt Lu Ban's sadness and regret when he jumped off the city wall.

It is a kind of reluctance and grievance similar to "how to be bright when you are born good". Without the appearance of Mozi, Lu Ban's life might have been more exciting, at least he would not have ended up in such a tragic end...

"You are also a descendant of a craftsman?"

After listening to Wu Liang's words, Sun Ye looked at him in surprise and couldn't help but ask.

"No, just a brief introduction."

Wu Liang came back to his senses, smiled and said.

"Your Excellency is too humble. If you hadn't explained the purpose of this object in such detail, even I wouldn't have realized that this is actually a siege tank."

Sun Ye obviously didn't believe Wu Liang's words, and frowned and said, "It's impossible for ordinary people to have such knowledge. If you only know a little bit, wouldn't it mean that I know nothing about it?"

"Mr. Sun, you don't have to belittle yourself. I just have more knowledge. To be honest with Mr. Sun, although I can see the use of this thing, I don't have the ability to make it. Therefore, I am an amateur and can only be regarded as an amateur at best."

Talking on paper."

Wu Liang shook his head slightly, and then suddenly thought of something. He looked at Sun Ye and asked, "Speaking of which, Mr. Sun is an expert in this field. Even if he has never seen this kind of chariot before, he should be able to draw it after observing it now."

Produce the manufacturing drawings and copy the essence of them without missing a beat, right?"

"this……"

Sun Ye was stunned for a moment when he was asked, and then looked at the "Linchong Lu Gongcha" before saying, "If the manufacturing of this chariot does not require the blessing of the ancestor's unique skills, I can give it a try. I think it shouldn't be too difficult.

"

"Then there is Mr. Laosun."

Wu Liang looked happy, and immediately turned back to Ji and said, "Old sir, why don't you quickly take out a piece of silk and ask Mr. Sun to draw the manufacturing drawings of this kind of chariot for us?"

"Here we go!"

Yu Jima ran over and offered the silk cloth to Sun Ye. At the same time, he also stuffed the charcoal pens commonly used by the Hu army into Sun Ye's hands when entering the tomb.

"?"

Sun Ye was stunned again, obviously confused about Wu Liang's routine.

"Don't worry, Mr. Sun. I also have my sincere admiration and respect for Gongshuban, the founder of craftsmanship."

Wu Liang said with a smile, "If I hadn't discovered that someone had entered the Gongshu Tomb before, I'm afraid his old man had been harmed. I would not have entered the tomb under any circumstances. You can rest assured that once it is confirmed that Gongshu Ban's old man is safe and sound.

, we immediately retreated, never destroying any plants or trees, but having said that... Since we have already come in, is it not too much for him to learn one or two skills? I think he originally designed and manufactured these things.

His original intention is also to benefit the world, and what we have to do is to do everything possible to make these things designed and manufactured by him reappear in the world, so that the world can admire them, instead of teaching his works to be buried forever.

Slowly being forgotten by the world in the torrent of history, this way he has lived up to his hard work, what do you think?"

"I think... I don't quite understand these big principles you mentioned, but as a descendant of a master craftsman, what I happiest about is that the things I made are reused by people and fully exert their due effects. If I can only let go

If it is gathering dust in a corner, it means that what I made is just a failure and not worth mentioning."

After listening to Wu Liang's words, Sun Ye actually let out a sigh of relief, and finally nodded and said, "Okay, if you just need me to help you draw the drawings, I will do it, but please remember your promise. Once it is confirmed that the ancestor is safe and sound, I will do it."

, you must retreat immediately and never allow any plants or trees in the grave to be destroyed."

"This is natural, we are not grave robbers."

Wu Liang raised his lips and smiled.

Now I have something to give to Boss Cao when I go back.

Next, Boss Cao's main goal is to expand the territory, and expanding the territory will inevitably require attacking the city. At this time, if Boss Cao is presented with an extremely detailed manufacturing drawing of the "Linchong Lu Gongche", it will naturally be possible to a certain extent.

Reducing the difficulty of conquering cities and territories is naturally another great achievement.

In contrast, although gold is directly related to the issue of food and wages, as years of war have led to a decline in social productivity, extremely serious inflation has occurred in this era, and even the purchasing power of gold has continued to decline.

In addition, Wu Liang has already launched a "field farming system" pilot in Yongqiu, and with the income of "Cao's Salt Company" as an auxiliary, it is expected that the results will show up in half a year at most. By then, as long as Boss Cao's territory is stable

If the "farming system" is implemented on a large scale, gold will become less important than before.

on the contrary.

Tactical instruments like the "Linchong Lu Gongche" that can directly influence the battle situation will soon show their effectiveness, allowing Boss Cao to expand and consolidate his sphere of influence at a faster speed.

Based on Wu Liang's understanding of Boss Cao, if he were asked to choose only one thing between "Ten Thousand Catties of Gold" and "Linchong Lu Gong Car Manufacturing Drawings", he would definitely choose the latter without hesitation.

After all, food and wages are renewable resources that are produced every year. If you can't buy them, you can still rob them. If you can't rob them, he won't even mind eating human flesh.

However, this type of tactical siege equipment, which is far ahead of the times in this era, cannot be produced by just a little thought. If you miss this village, you will not have this shop.

This is also the "transformation path" that Wu Liang has planned long ago.

Wu Liang started the "farming system" and the "salt trade" in order to divert Boss Cao's attention and tell him that food and salary could be raised in other ways instead of just watching the Hu soldiers robbing tombs every day.

After all, there are only so many ancient tombs in the world, and not all of them are as rich as Han tombs.

Just like this time, it is unlikely that Wu Liang will bring back as much gold as before.

This kind of "start high and go low" situation can easily lead to Boss Cao's favorable impression of him to decline, and he may even start to doubt whether he still needs to exist, and thus gradually no longer rely on him.

If it reaches this point, Wu Liang will start to consider his own situation.

After all, he and the Hu army can definitely be regarded as a black spot in Boss Cao's life. The historical article that exposed the actions of "Captain Touching Gold" and "General Faqiu" became Yuan Shao's

The excuse to attack Boss Cao made Boss Cao the target of criticism from all the noble families in the world.

What adults pay attention to is the balance of interests.

When the birds are gone, the good bow is hidden.

If one day Boss Cao feels that the existence of Wu Liang and the Hu army has caused more harm than good, he will also make a choice without hesitation given his character.

Wu Liang will never wait for that day to come.

While the "farming system" and "salt trade" solved Boss Cao's food and salary problem to a certain extent, he wanted to quietly change his position with the Hu army.

He and the Hu army will no longer be shady "grave robbers", but the official "professional archaeological team" of the Cao Wei Empire!

What he and the Hu army can bring back to Boss Cao will no longer be gold and treasures, but knowledge and technology that can change the world one after another discovered through archaeological excavations!
To be continued...