Chapter 87

In the Great Wei, there were two institutions that Zhao Hongrun had once been quite interested in.

One was the Armament Bureau under the Ministry of War, responsible for forging all the weapons and armor needed by the Great Wei army; the other was the Metallurgy Bureau under the Ministry of Works, responsible for iron smelting and machinery production.

It's no exaggeration to say that the Armament Bureau and the Metallurgy Bureau possessed the most advanced technology in the Great Wei. Note: There is actually another bureau called the Internal Metallurgy Bureau under the Office of the Imperial Attendants, but it is not introduced here.

The difference between the Armament Bureau and the Metallurgy Bureau lies in the fact that the Armament Bureau's technology is geared towards military use, while the Metallurgy Bureau's technology is geared towards non-military use. Zhao Hongrun once used a special white wax during the imperial examination to catch cheating, which was made by the skilled craftsmen of the Metallurgy Bureau.

Logically, Zhao Hongrun should have transported these war chariots to the Armament Bureau, as the craftsmen there were more skilled at transforming such war chariots into powerful weapons of war. Unfortunately, there was a widespread rumor in the Ministry of War that Zhao Hongrun had insulted the ministry, so the officials there did not look at him kindly.

Therefore, Zhao Hongrun could only transport these war chariots to the Metallurgy Bureau under the Ministry of Works, and ask the skilled craftsmen he had dealt with before to transform the war chariots into weapons of war that met his requirements.

Like the Armament Bureau, the head of the Metallurgy Bureau is also called the Bureau Chief, a position equivalent to a departmental director, held by an official in the Ministry of Works who possesses multiple skills.

The current Bureau Chief of the Metallurgy Bureau is Wang Fu, who has had many dealings with Zhao Hongrun and his guards, and can be considered a relatively familiar person.

When he heard that Zhao Hongrun had transported over two hundred war chariots to the Metallurgy Bureau, Bureau Chief Wang Fu immediately came out to greet him.

After all, Wang Fu had already heard the news that the court was planning to wage war on the State of Chu, and that the eighth prince, Zhao Hongrun, who had facilitated this, was going to the front lines himself. Therefore, he guessed that these war chariots would likely be used on the Ying River battlefield.

"Your Highness, the Eighth Prince... Oh, no, now you should be addressed as Prince Su."

In the courtyard of the Metallurgy Bureau, Wang Fu greeted Zhao Hongrun with a smile.

"Hehehe." Zhao Hongrun smiled and returned the greeting, walking alongside Wang Fu and said with a smile, "Old Wang, I've brought you another business deal... Do a good job, and the labor and materials will be reimbursed by the Ministry of Revenue."

Wang Fu smiled humbly.

There was no choice, as the Ministry of Works was at the bottom of the six ministries, and the Metallurgy Bureau was far inferior to the Armament Bureau under the Ministry of War. To be honest, its position was quite awkward.

Although the Metallurgy Bureau possessed various technologies, in the eyes of most people, its main function was to smelt iron and forge iron ingots that met the Armament Bureau's requirements, which were then handed over to the Armament Bureau for weapon production.

In short, the current Metallurgy Bureau was purely a subordinate to the Armament Bureau.

How many people knew that the Metallurgy Bureau was also responsible for manufacturing measuring tools, and even the large tools used by the Ministry of Revenue to smelt and cast national currency, which were also produced by the Metallurgy Bureau?

Wang Fu circled a war chariot a few times, carefully inspecting it, and then hesitantly said to Zhao Hongrun, "Prince Su, do you plan to use these war chariots against the Chu army? However, as far as I know, both the Ministry of War and the emperor have long abandoned the use of war chariots..."

Indeed, the Great Wei had long abandoned the use of war chariots, and this was not a recent development. During the reign of the previous emperor, when the State of Han in the north began to heavily invest in cavalry as the main force on the battlefield, the war chariots of Wei were already obsolete, relegated to gathering dust in the Ministry of War's warehouses.

At one time, the Great Wei had thousands of war chariots, but now, the Ministry of War's warehouses contained only a few hundred, and these were used only for hunting in the spring and autumn seasons, not on the battlefield.

After all, the devastating defeat at Shangdang several decades ago saw the Great Wei's war chariots, once considered a powerful weapon, utterly routed by the cavalry of Han, losing their helmets and armor in a humiliating defeat.

Although the Wei people generally did not want to admit it, they had to acknowledge that against the cavalry of Han, the Great Wei's war chariots were virtually powerless.

"I know what you mean, Lord Wang." Zhao Hongrun smiled, patted the wheel of a war chariot, and shook his head. "These war chariots are indeed useless against the cavalry of Han, but the State of Chu... has many infantry and naval troops. Using these to deal with the Chu infantry disembarking from their ships can still be effective."

Wang Fu thought about the situation in Chu and nodded. "That's true. ... How does Prince Su plan to modify them?"

Zhao Hongrun looked at the war chariot in front of him and pondered.

The history of war chariots evolved from a single shaft, two wheels, and a square carriage to the final form of a four-horse chariot, known as the "four-horse war chariot."

Considering the mobility of war chariots, they generally carried three to five armored soldiers. The middle person was responsible for driving, known as the charioteer, while one to two soldiers on the left were responsible for long-range attacks, known as the archers. One to two soldiers on the right were responsible for close combat and protecting their companions, known as the right-hand warriors.

The charioteer was usually the squad leader, commanding the other four armored soldiers.

Five soldiers per chariot was the limit.

It was said that the Great Wei had once experimented with six-horse and eight-horse chariots, which could carry ten armored soldiers, but in practice, these chariots were less effective than the four-horse chariots, often encountering various problems such as broken axles and wooden wheels, and difficulty in coordinating the horses.

Thus, the six-horse and eight-horse chariots were quickly abandoned, leaving only the four-horse chariots, which were eventually replaced by cavalry.

Because of this, the four-horse chariots had been developed to their utmost by the skilled craftsmen of the Great Wei. For example, iron plates were once embedded in the axles, and the axles were wrapped in iron, but these were later replaced with hard wood that was repeatedly soaked in oil and dried to increase its flexibility.

The iron smelting technology of the Great Wei was still insufficient... Unfortunately, I only know the general direction, not the specifics, which is a pity...

"First, remove the blades on the sides of the wheels."

Zhao Hongrun pointed to the blades on the outside of the war chariot's wheels.

It cannot be denied that these blades, installed on the outside of the war chariot's wheels, were undoubtedly effective in killing enemy soldiers on the battlefield, but their weaknesses were also obvious.

"By the way, install a shield on the outside of the wheels."

Zhao Hongrun kicked the wheel of the war chariot. The spoked wheels were once the greatest weakness of the Great Wei's war chariots, exploited by the cavalry of Han.

These cavalrymen would accurately throw their long spears into the spokes of the war chariots while galloping, causing the chariots to overturn due to inertia, allowing the Han cavalry to easily defeat thousands of Wei war chariots.

Initially, Zhao Hongrun considered using solid wooden wheels, but upon reflection, such wheels would be too heavy to support the weight of the war chariot, reducing its mobility. Therefore, he decided to install a shield on the outside of the wheels to cover the inner wheels and prevent this weakness from being exploited.

"Install two more wheels at the front."

"... Yes, that's what I mean. The horses only pull the chariot, they don't need to carry the weight..."

"No, no, no, I mean a four-wheeled chariot, not four wheels under the carriage. Install two wheels in front of the horses... Yes, in front, and install another carriage there. That's the charioteer's position, and leave another position to protect the charioteer..."

"Raise the rear carriage, hmm, try to reduce the weight, just raise it... That's the archer's position."

Following Zhao Hongrun's instructions, Bureau Chief Wang Fu immediately called the skilled craftsmen of the Metallurgy Bureau to modify one of the war chariots.

After half an hour, the preliminary modifications to the war chariot made Bureau Chief Wang Fu feel uneasy.

First, the modified war chariot had two carriages, the front one lower and the rear one higher. The front carriage was for the charioteer and the right-hand warrior, while the rear carriage was for the archer.

Second, this was a four-wheeled chariot, with the horses seemingly hidden. In front of them, Zhao Hongrun ordered the removal of another carriage and the integration of its base with this chariot, reinforcing the front to give the chariot some ramming capability.

Bureau Chief Wang Fu's eyebrows twitched, and he could not help but remind Zhao Hongrun, "Prince Su, such modifications will greatly affect the speed of the war chariot... and make it difficult to turn. Moreover, the horses will likely struggle with the weight of the chariot..."

At this moment, Zhao Hongrun was instructing the craftsmen to install dense blades on the front of the war chariot. Hearing Bureau Chief Wang Fu's reminder, he smiled and said, "I understand your concern, Lord Wang. I don't need this chariot to be fast. I only need it to strike fear into the enemy soldiers facing it..."

Bureau Chief Wang Fu glanced at the terrifying blades on the front of the modified war chariot, and his eyes twitched.

Seeing Wang Fu's puzzled and hesitant expression, Zhao Hongrun did not elaborate. After all, most of the cavalry in the world at that time were light cavalry, and Zhao Hongrun intended to use these modified war chariots as "heavy cavalry," or rather, a rudimentary tank prototype.

Yes, Zhao Hongrun did not need these war chariots to be fast. He only needed them to have the ability to break through the Chu infantry formations, or to crush ordinary infantry, instilling psychological fear in the enemy.

As for killing the enemy, the Shuishui Camp had cavalry, the dominant force on the battlefield, so there was no need to go to such lengths.

If not for the limitations of power, Zhao Hongrun would have transformed the war chariots into impregnable fortresses. After all, the Chu army was primarily composed of infantry, so there was no need to worry about mobility.

"Rest assured, I only plan to use these war chariots once..."

Zhao Hongrun smiled to dispel Bureau Chief Wang Fu's concerns. "Just modify them as I instructed."

Use them once... Does Prince Su plan to win the battle in one go?

Bureau Chief Wang Fu looked at Zhao Hongrun with a mix of hope and doubt, but ultimately nodded in agreement.

"... I understand."

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