193: Chapter 193 Hot Air Balloon Reconnaissance of Enemy Situation

In just three days, the steam tractor arrived at Shangjun, pulling six carriages ahead of the main force.

However, after reaching Shangjun, the steam tractor did not stop; it continued north until it reached the Yellow River Crossing.

Meng Tian had long since arranged for a large number of ferry boats and tower ships here. Under the labor of the soldiers, five tons of mortar shells were transported across the Yellow River to the opposite bank.

Meng Tian gazed curiously at the massive steam tractor.

Although he had learned about the steam tractor through letters long ago, this was the first time he had seen it in person.

He found it hard to imagine that this steam tractor possessed such immense power, pulling so many supplies and people while traveling so fast that it outpaced the main army by such a distance.

And this was just a steam tractor; a train would be even more formidable.

Trains have even greater transport capacity and, with the help of iron rails, their transport speed is even faster.

In just over a day, a vast amount of war materiel and daily necessities could be transported from Xianyang to Shangjun.

If they relied on human labor for transport, it would take more than ten days!

Even with a forced march, the main army led by Zhao Fusu had only covered a hundred and fifty kilometers in three days.

It would take at least another seven days to reach the Yellow River Crossing!

Zhao Fusu also knew the main army's progress was relatively slow, so he had the Hot Air Balloons transported to the front line ahead of time to conduct reconnaissance on the enemy.

Gongshu Chou and a group of elders from the Gongshu Family sat in the carriages and were the first to arrive at the Yellow River Crossing.

The group was shocked by the speed of the steam tractor.

Following Zhao Fusu's orders, they were to use the Hot Air Balloons to scout the positions of the Xiongnu people on the grasslands.

They would use a free-flight method to scout the locations of the Xiongnu Tribes from a high altitude.

The winds on the grasslands are quite strong, so allowing a Hot Air Balloon to fly freely requires the operators to have high-level flight knowledge.

In high winds, it is easy to lose one's direction, especially in the sky where the vast, boundless grasslands offer few landmarks.

Without navigation and positioning systems, it is very easy to get lost.

They might not even know where they have flown to.

Gongshu Chou and the others operated the Hot Air Balloons personally, not only because they were familiar with their performance but also because they were well advanced in years and felt they had lived long enough.

If an accident really happened, their deaths would be of little consequence.

Under Meng Tian's curious gaze, they watched as Gongshu Chou waited for a southerly wind before launching the Hot Air Balloon.

Driven by the south wind, the Hot Air Balloon flew from south to north.

Because of friction with objects on the earth's surface, ground-level winds are slower and more turbulent compared to those above five hundred meters.

Above 500 meters, due to the lack of surface friction, the wind speed is higher and more stable than near the ground. Upon reaching an altitude of 1,000 meters, the wind speed becomes even faster and more stable.

Gongshu Chou looked at the direction indicator placed on the Hot Air Balloon's basket; its red arrow pointed north, so the balloon was flying northward.

Gongshu Chou had specifically chosen a launch site close to Yinshan Mountain and waited for the wind to blow specifically toward Yinshan Mountain before launching.

As the Hot Air Balloon climbed to an altitude of a thousand meters and flew rapidly toward Yinshan Mountain, Gongshu Chou used a telescope to observe the mountain range.

He saw that on the flat areas washed by the rivers of Yinshan Mountain, a large number of circular tents had been set up along the water's edge.

Gongshu Chou estimated the number of people based on those circular tents.

A small circular tent usually accommodates ten people.

These densely packed circular tents were crowded together, stretching forward continuously.

Gongshu Chou couldn't count them all, but he estimated there were over ten thousand tents.

The population exceeded a hundred thousand people!

He immediately wrote this intelligence on paper and had a carrier pigeon send the message back to Meng Tian, who would then relay it to Zhao Fusu.

When Meng Tian received the message from Gongshu Chou, he frowned inwardly.

It was abnormal for so many tents to be gathered so densely.

Nomadic people are different from agrarian people; they do not settle permanently. Within their grazing range, they herd wherever the grass grows lushly.

Their population density is not as high as that of agrarian people, and they generally do not live in large clusters.

Except for the Royal Court guards who protect the Royal Court at all times, the other tribes graze separately when there is no war.

When a mobilization is required, the tribal chieftains send out riders to notify everyone.

The Xiongnu people are a nation of soldiers.

Once they mount a horse and grip a blade, they are cavalrymen.

Since everyone rides horses, it is relatively easy for them to gather together.

The fact that the Xiongnu were gathered so densely indicated that they intended to head south.

However, beyond the Xiongnu's expectations, the Qin Army had once again crossed Yangshan Mountain, pointing their swords at the Yinshan Mountain region occupied by the Xiongnu.

While Gongshu Chou was observing the Xiongnu tents below, some Xiongnu people also spotted the Hot Air Balloon high in the sky, and they were all incredibly shocked.

They even noticed that there appeared to be people inside the Hot Air Balloon's basket.

Some fierce Xiongnu drew their bows and notched arrows, intending to use their arrows to shoot down the Hot Air Balloon.

However, the Hot Air Balloon was at an altitude of over a thousand meters.

Unless someone like Guo Jing were there, it would be impossible to hit the Hot Air Balloon.

Gongshu Chou constantly paid attention to the wind direction.

It could be said that a Hot Air Balloon is an aircraft that truly flies by riding the wind.

Gongshu Chou needed to constantly find southerly winds to keep the Hot Air Balloon flying northward.

He needed to get a general understanding of the distribution of tribes on the grasslands.

The Hot Air Balloon could fly about 40-50 kilometers in an hour.

This speed was very fast.

The Hot Air Balloon soon crossed Yinshan Mountain and flew toward Mobei.

Gongshu Chou had no positioning system, so he could only estimate his location based on flight time.

To increase endurance, Gongshu Chou carried a large number of LPG cylinders, enough to support twenty hours of flight.

According to the water clock, after flying for five or six hours, the wind direction changed drastically.

The south wind turned into a north wind.

Gongshu Chou had no choice but to return.

He gained a lot from this flight.

Besides scouting the Xiongnu's deployments at Yinshan Mountain, he also discovered that a large number of Xiongnu Tribes had appeared deep within Mobei.

It was conceivable that if the Xiongnu Royal Court were defeated, these Xiongnu Tribes would flee even deeper into Mobei.

Gongshu Chou shook his head inwardly.

After suffering two major losses in a row, the Xiongnu had also learned their lesson.

They had made arrangements in advance, migrating a large number of tribes and livestock to Mobei.

Even if the Great Qin defeated the Xiongnu Royal Court, the spoils of war would be far less than the previous two times.

However, Gongshu Chou was only responsible for reconnaissance; he knew nothing of the matters of war.

He reported all the intelligence he had gathered to Meng Tian.

And Meng Tian relayed the news to Zhao Fusu via carrier pigeon.