219: Chapter 219 Set up the mortar here!

Qing Ying's gaze couldn't help but turn toward Tian Ju.

Despite his dissatisfaction with the Qin people, he had to admire their variety of combat tactics; with just a small display of skill, they had caused the Right Great Danghu and the White Sheep King to suffer such a massive loss.

It was no wonder they could occupy the Central Plains, while his own people were the losers, driven out of that region.

"This is only the beginning."

Tian Ju said, "This is just an appetizer His Majesty the Head of State prepared for them!"

"His Majesty the Head of State!"

Qing Ying, Chi Yan, Lie Yun, and the other leaders were stunned; this wasn't the first time they had heard this title.

They grew increasingly curious about the Paramount Leader mentioned by Tian Ju and Lu Jia.

When General Jin saw the White Sheep King's cavalry bypassing the pitfall area and chasing after them, he quickly turned his horse and fled back.

"Don't run if you have the guts!"

The White Sheep King's cavalrymen, seeing their comrades' tragic deaths, gritted their teeth, wanting to avenge them.

General Jin, leading the way, looked back with a mysterious smile.

The expression of a Thousand-Rider Commander of the White Sheep King, who was leading the charge, changed as he had a bad premonition.

“Neigh!”

The mournful cries of horses rang out once again.

"Damn it!"

The White Sheep King's expression was very ugly; from the sound alone, he knew his frontline cavalry had been schemed against by the enemy again.

Sure enough, horse after horse raised their front and back hooves high, and those hooves were covered in blood.

Upon closer inspection, one could see bloody holes pierced into the horses' hooves.

"It's caltrops!"

The White Sheep King's expression was incredibly grim. This was solid proof; the Qinglan Tribe indeed had a person from the Central Plains as a military strategist, and the Qinglan Tribe might have even defected to the Qin Army!

Otherwise, where would they have gotten so many caltrops!

"Swish, swish, swish! Swish, swish, swish!"

Waves of arrow rain swept in. Taking advantage of the moment the Right Great Danghu and the White Sheep King's cavalry were obstructed, General Jin and his men frantically fired arrows at the enemy.

"Aaaah!"

Screams of agony rang out continuously.

The Right Great Danghu's expression was the worst of all, as it was his cavalry charging at the very front.

With two attacks obstructed, his cavalry unit had lost over two thousand men!

The White Sheep King's expression wasn't much better; his cavalry unit had also lost nearly a thousand men.

Happiness doesn't disappear, it only transfers; the faces of Qing Ying, Chi Yan, Lie Yun, and the other leaders were filled with joy.

Just as Qing Ying was about to lead the main force to charge and kill, Tian Ju stopped him again.

If Qing Ying had any dissatisfaction with Tian Ju before, after seeing Tian Ju's terrifying command ability, he couldn't help but feel admiration.

The other leaders felt the same; they all looked at Tian Ju, wondering what he was going to do.

"Give me the binoculars."

Tian Ju said to his guard.

Under the curious gazes of Qing Ying, Chi Yan, Lie Yun, Jin Tu, and the others, they saw one of Tian Ju's guards hand him a strange, double-barreled object.

They watched as Tian Ju took the strange object, placed it before his eyes, and gazed at the distant enemy.

They were standing on high ground, overlooking a flat Gobi desert, which allowed them to see a great distance.

Tian Ju searched using the binoculars.

To catch the bandits, first catch their leader.

According to the Paramount Leader's instructions, the best way to reduce one's own losses was to destroy the enemy's command center.

Finding the enemy's command center was also very simple.

The ones responsible for the attack were the vanguard, while the enemy generals were usually in the center army, commanding the cavalry units.

Tian Ju searched through the center army with his binoculars and finally found the heavily protected Right Great Danghu and the White Sheep King.

"Zhuzi, Zhuzi!"

Tian Ju shouted loudly.

"Thousand-Rider Commander!"

Zhuzi came to Tian Ju's side. Tian Ju pointed into the distance and said, "Look at that position in the center army. Those two big men riding black-headed horses—one of them has gold in his braids."

As Tian Ju spoke, he handed him the binoculars.

After taking the binoculars, Zhuzi began to search.

"Do you see them?"

Tian Ju asked.

"I see them."

The White Sheep King had gold in his braids, which glinted in the sunlight, making it quite easy to lock onto his position.

"How far are they from us?"

Tian Ju's expression turned cold as he inquired.

Following what Zhao Fusu had taught, Zhuzi made a Buddha-worshiping gesture with his left hand.

He kept his arm and head still, then closed his right eye and opened his left; he noticed the position of his left palm changed relative to the target, creating a horizontal distance.

Next, he began to estimate the angle this distance occupied in his field of vision.

Generally, the field of vision could be roughly divided into 10 equal parts, each being about 6 degrees.

A person's monocular horizontal field of vision is about 60 degrees.

According to the empirical formula, distance equals the target's length multiplied by one hundred, then divided by the angle occupied.

Zhuzi's target object for measurement was a Xiongnu warhorse.

The Xiongnu warhorse was a native horse of the Xiongnu plateau.

It was not tall; an adult Xiongnu horse stood between 160 and 170 centimeters tall and weighed between 267 and 370 kilograms.

Xiongnu horses could endure the sweltering heat and insects of summer and the -40°C cold of winter; their powerful rear hooves could shatter the skull of a fox or wolf.

Their bodies were thickset, their limbs were solid and powerful, their constitution was rugged and sturdy, and their endurance was exceptionally outstanding.

A Xiongnu horse was 1.33 meters long.

The length of ten Xiongnu horses was 13 meters.

After opening and closing his eyes, Zhuzi estimated the shifting angle to be about 0.5 degrees.

The distance was 13 multiplied by 100 divided by 0.5, which equaled 2,600 meters.

The White Sheep King was approximately 2,600 meters away from them.

Before the existence of precise measuring instruments, Zhao Fusu's method was only a rough way to measure distance.

Its accuracy was affected by various factors, such as the observer's vision, arm length, and ability to estimate angles.

In practical application, accuracy needed to be improved through repeated practice and accumulated experience.

Zhao Fusu had included Zhuzi in the artillery team he sent out this time, and Tian Ju had called for Zhuzi directly because Zhuzi's range-finding ability was the best among all the artillerymen.

His shelling was also the most accurate.

"Can the mortar hit them?"

Tian Ju asked after seeing Zhuzi calculate the distance.

"Two thousand six hundred meters—it's within the bombardment range!"

Zhuzi replied.

"Good!"

Tian Ju was greatly excited.

"Can you take out the White Sheep King and the Right Great Danghu for me within three shots?"

Tian Ju said.

"I'll do my best."

Zhuzi also knew how precious the mortar shells were.

He hadn't had many opportunities to practice; asking him to take out the White Sheep King and the Right Great Danghu within three shots put a lot of pressure on him.

Zhuzi swallowed hard.

He shouted to his artillery team, "Set up the mortar right here!"