Father may be coming back soon.
A huge fleet returned with a large amount of food? Now Rurik hopes that those people will come back later so that he can have enough time to make the crossbow. And this is the "new trick" Rurik gave his father Otto.
In this time and space, compared to other weapons, the steel-arm crossbow can be described as truly high-tech!
This is not only its creative weaponization ideas, but also the very magical selection of materials. The most wonderful thing about it is that it is a real machine.
Its energy storage part is a bent steel piece.
Mild steel is by no means a good elastic material, in fact it is very bad. Perhaps silicon steel, which is very elastic, is more suitable for those who bear steel arms.
The current situation is that the Ross tribe's production of low carbon steel is already an epoch-making achievement. As for making silicon steel, that is more difficult than making a steam engine!
At least low carbon steel requires a huge amount of force to break. Rurik doesn't believe it can be done by manpower alone.
The weight of such a bow arm can exceed one thousand, but its draw length is destined not to be very long.
The length of the original steel sword's blade was two-thirds of a standard stika, about seventy centimeters. After some forging processing, it was transformed into a slightly bent steel arm of about fifty centimeters.
This object is placed on the ground. At first glance, it does look like a bow.
It took a lot of effort from Klavason just to finish it, but he still had to make more parts under Rurik's supervision.
A piece of dry oak that was intended to be the rough rib of the ship would be turned into the crossbow's most critical wooden stock.
To process it properly would really test Klavasen's woodworking skills.
Because dried oak is the most cost-effective hard wood that people could find in ancient times. Just like Spain and Portugal in history, the most critical wood for the huge and sturdy Galenic ships was oak. The reinforced oak planks were hard enough to withstand the impact of solid cannonballs from the 17th century to a certain extent.
Clavarson manipulates steel scrapers to shape the wood into specifically shaped pallets.
Because of Rurik's interest, he felt that after all he wanted to make a launcher for a long-range weapon that could be aimed and fired, so naturally it had to be shaped like a firearm. He even thought about the possibility of installing a bayonet on the completed crossbow. After thinking about it, he still felt that his fantastic idea was wrong.
The crossbow naturally has limitations, it just needs to do its job well.
At first glance, the special-shaped wooden stock looks like an integral wooden stock for a bolt-action rifle, especially the special-shaped right-angled triangle shoulder stock. The original intention of this design is to try to disperse the recoil after the firearm is fired. Of course, the arrow fired by the crossbow will also produce a certain amount of recoil. Rurik estimated that due to his stubborn design requirements, the recoil may be very low.
Clavarson's iron chisel began to cut holes in the wooden supports.
A receiving slot to accommodate the bow arm is completed first, followed by holes for the fixed hemp rope to be wrapped around, and space to accommodate the crossbow system.
The final finish on the wooden support was a straight ravine carved by Klavasen. This gully is the arrow trough.
When Klavasen personally placed the steel arm into the receiving groove, he fixed it tightly with hemp rope, and used rosin to strengthen the stability. Although the crossbow system has not yet been produced, the prototype of the crossbow has appeared so far.
Putting the wooden box filled with sticky rosin aside, Klavasen sat casually on the ground, holding the strange object he had completed in his rough hands.
He said excitedly: "Rurik, I understand now."
"What do you understand?" asked Rurik, who was sitting on a wooden block with calluses on his hands.
"I already know exactly how your weapon is supposed to work. When I complete the final mechanism, I just hang the hemp string on the mechanism. I place the arrow in the groove and I can fire it whenever I want. , that is, when to launch.”
"That's it." Rurik was overjoyed, and it was not in vain that he spent two consecutive afternoons in Klavassen's blacksmith shop explaining and guiding.
Rurik, who was in high spirits, immediately asked his manservant: "Kamne, do you understand?"
"I..." The boy Kamne didn't know clearly, and he didn't dare to claim to be clear, so his words became hesitant.
"It's okay. When it's ready, I can let you try it. Listen! I think this thing could easily kill a bear."
As soon as he finished speaking, Kamne's spirit immediately became excited, and his originally twinkling eyes suddenly became resolute.
"Master, are you telling the truth? Killing a bear easily?!"
"Of course." Rurik was a little surprised. I wonder if his words can inspire this child's fighting spirit?
Kamni looked at the unfinished crossbow beside him with enthusiastic eyes, chewed his half-lost baby teeth and said: "If I can use this weapon, I will shoot every bear I see. I will give it to my Parents take revenge!”
Hearing this, Rurik suddenly remembered that this child had become an orphan because his parents were killed by bears.
"You will." Rurik stretched out his hand and covered the head of his manservant: "In the future, you must make more weapons like this and shoot more bears. Our Ross tribe should hunt bears. The best warriors must be Wear a bearskin hat."
Kamni was so happy to hear that he felt that his master was like a brother. And his own "revenge" begins with the unfinished crossbow.
So for this crossbow, all that's left is to build the trigger system.
Even though Klavason claimed to be an expert in making metal tools, Rurik really didn't dare to overestimate this man's strength. Do you expect this old guy to properly make more sophisticated devices? Rurik probably can't.
To have a trigger system, it must be simple and reliable. The most important thing is that the Ross blacksmith in this time and space can make it relatively easily.
What Rurik could think of was Qin Nu's set of classic triggers.
After all, it’s so classic that it actually only has three parts and two metal latches, and the material used is bronze.
Even if its structure is simple and reliable, the molten metal needed to be poured is easy to make, but the clay mold for pouring bronze water cannot be made by Klavasen based only on the rough drawings drawn by Rurik.
Still a very simple principle, Klavasen cannot think of something he has never seen.
Qin Nu's trigger system is as simple as it gets, but the mechanics involved are anything but simple.
Among the previous helpers, the calluses on Rurik's hands caused by holding the sword became thicker, and his nails were often filled with mud.
This time, it was Rurik's turn to make clay molds under Klavassin's guidance.
On the afternoon of the third day, the finished clay mold with iron ore powder added was burned into a hardened mold similar to a crucible in the furnace. There are three such hardened mud membranes, which are successively poured with hot and glowing bronze water!
The next time is the cooling of the bronze water.
Each component and the pin were completed. After they were polished brightly by Klavassen's sharpening stone, Rurik did not forget to remind the old blacksmith to chamfer the parts.
ah! Rurik has such a habit.
Any workpiece must be chamfered, so as not to harm other workpieces or the workers themselves.
The installation of the crossbow system went smoothly, and the three components fit perfectly.
However, the crossbow system made by Rurik does not have the so-called Wangshan, or in other words, the aiming system does not need Wangshan from the beginning.
Because there is also a small carbon steel sheet that will be knocked out. Its original function is to slightly catch the arrow placed in the arrow slot.
The so-called aiming system needs to be made on this carbon steel sheet.
Rurik wants to make aiming holes and crosshairs on it, so-called more reliable mechanical sighting. Rurik even envisioned installing a ruler system to assist shooters in attacking long-distance targets.
As the last bronze pin was hammered in, Klavasen looked at the "staggered bow" in hand. He was already trying it with great enthusiasm!
Although he knew that this thing would require some additional parts, and special arrows that could be fired. It wasn't even on the bow string, but Klavason already felt a powerful force.
"Rurik, tell me, when we finish it, it will really be possible..." Klavasen pointed to the installed trigger: "You can shoot an arrow by pulling here?"
"What else?" Rurik pointed at Kamne casually: "He can shoot a bear with this. We don't have bears here. Alas! When I finish it, you can find a wooden board as a target. I dare say Kamne The arrow that is shot will penetrate that wooden board.”
These words made the tired Klavasen extremely excited, just like last year when he learned for the first time that he could create the strongest and brightest sword through some special processing.
But who would have thought that the bright white sword embryo without an edge would now become the power source of a very special "cross bow"?
Five whole days! The steel-arm crossbow can finally be said to be completed. As far as its appearance is concerned, Rurik is quite satisfied.
In the past few days, Rurik received military training in the morning, changed into sweaty clothes in the afternoon, and went straight to Klavassen's blacksmith shop.
All the boys were asking about the new weapons that their boss was going to make, and Rurik had no intention of just making the weapons, because after the crossbow was completed, it would need to be equipped for his men to participate in training.
Especially the girls!
Rurik learned some information from Yevlo. The so-called girls have been training for too long, and their arms may be stronger than men. That would be very unlovable.
Besides, they are women after all. Due to their body structure, perhaps they should wear special protective gear when shooting arrows, otherwise the rebounding bow string will cause accidental damage to their bodies.
Compared with the damage caused by the explosive bow, Rurik really did not want them to become the legendary "Scythian Amazon female warriors", so-called actively harming their bodies for the convenience of archery.
In the past few days, at the training ground on the hill, Rurik had indeed become a bit more barbaric to others.
Even Fisk felt that the sword-holding movements of the boss, who was two years younger than him, had become obviously more aggressive. During training, Fisk wanted to launch the most brutal counterattack, but due to the opponent's identity, he could only serve as a sparring partner. Fisk could only parry the critical blows from the Rurik wooden sword, but that was all. He vented his frustration on the other children.
Therefore, in the eyes of the boys, Fisk's behavior was clearly that he wanted to be the best fighter.
The crossbow is finally finished, and even the matching stubby arrows are finished.
New weapons must pass testing to prove their excellence.
Since there was only one prototype crossbow, it was obviously not meant to be tested in public.
Rurik found two important audiences this time, namely Gould and Jevlo. Secondly, there are girls like Rumia Carlotta.
Some of them are his friends, and some are his women.
Rurik felt it was most appropriate to show the power of new weapons to these caring people.
Moreover, the shooter he chose was none other than Kamne, who was aspiring to hunt bears.
In fact, just the unique appearance of the crossbow has captured the appetite of onlookers.
Rurik stood with Klavason with great confidence. At this time, Gould came with a big belly. Gould was eager to find out something about the current situation.
"Rurik, are you really going to let that child manipulate your what?"
"It's a staggered bow."
"Okay. Crossbow! Do you think this thing is really good at hunting bears? Rurik, I don't think you've ever seen a bear!"
Rurik was about to respond to the question "I've seen it before", but then he thought about how he could have seen a bear since he had never even left the small area of Rossburg.
He immediately asked, "Then let me ask you, if the arrows fired by my staggered bow can penetrate the wooden target, can it hunt bears?"
"This...should be okay." Gould raised his fat face and stared at the boy Kamne's still thin body and the so-called staggered bow that was almost two-thirds of the boy's height. He couldn't help but feel doubtful. . "The child's arrow shot through the wooden planks? I don't believe it! Rurik, those wooden planks were originally used for shipbuilding. They are very hard, even close to the hardness of stone."
"Really? We can bet." Rurik narrowed his eyes deliberately.
"A bet? What? Money? A pound of gold?"
"Gold?" Rurik smiled and shook his head.
"Then what's the bet?"
Rurik thought for a while and said: "Okay! Let's bet gold! I bet that the arrow fired by Kamne can penetrate the wooden board. You obviously bet that he cannot penetrate the wood. You win. I will give you a pound of gold, settled with ten pounds of silver coins. If I win, all your men who know how to make bows will start making staggered bows according to my requirements."
Gould felt that Rurik's proposal was so inexplicable that for a moment he felt that he would definitely lose.
Now Kamne juggles her master's trust with her own desire to hunt bears. Even if the master said that if he shoots at a huge target that is equivalent to two men standing with shields about thirty meters away, the arrow will penetrate the target. Kamni has not yet shot the arrow, so he has no confidence at all.
Seeing that his valet was almost ready, Rurik suddenly shouted: "Kamne! Go ahead and do it! Prove me your strength!"
Kamne looked at Rurik again with determination in his eyes and began his great action.
In front of everyone, there was a strange tool that was covered with hemp rope and seemed to have no meaning lying on the ground. Kamne picked it up and started to use it.
What is this?
It is actually a winch system.
That's right, in fact, the steel-arm crossbow developed by Rurik is actually a winch crossbow.
If the shooter is a strong man, he can put on gloves and pull the hemp rope bow string to the trigger slot. However, Kamne is just a relatively thin child of seven years old, and he has no ability to string the string with his bare hands.
This situation requires the participation of a winch.
With the help of Rurik, Klavason cast a bronze gear, its teeth were polished and polished, and combined with other parts to form a simple ratchet system.
The crossbow was laid flat on the ground. Kamni fastened the winch on the shoulder rest and hooked the two hooks on the straightened hemp rope bowstring.
The child sat on the ground and kept turning the wrench, and the bowstring was getting closer to the trigger slot.
"Is winding so slow?" Gould, who felt that he was going to lose for a moment, felt that he could win.
Rurik said casually: "It is indeed slow to wind. You should see a child winding it. You should also understand that the fact that it is difficult to wind must mean that it is very powerful."
After hearing such an explanation, Gould's newly raised hopes were dashed again.
After wasting a while, Kamne completed the winding work. He then carefully inserted the short and thick crossbow arrow into the arrow slot, and was gently fixed by the carbon steel piece at the end.
Compared with other bows, the so-called staggered bow is a bit heavy.
Rurik never expected a child to be able to shoot with it, so a wooden stake with a sharpened head was smashed into the gravel and used as a stand!
Kamni set him up with some effort, and then began to take aim.
The boy's thin cheek was pressed against the wooden support. He squinted his left eye and stared at the crosshair with his right eye, and aimed the crosshair at the huge wooden target.
"Three dots make a line, three dots make a line." Kamne muttered silently. His hand also touched the trigger, but he lacked the courage to press it.
He was waiting for an order.
Seeing that he was ready, Rurik shouted: "Launch!"
Kamni was determined, and he tightened his grip on the trigger.
A strong recoil force acted on its shoulder, and almost instantly, there was a loud noise from the target, as if something was broken.
All the onlookers' eyes widened, even Rurik's.
Before the crossbow fired an arrow, Rurik could only estimate its power. The results of the experiment are extremely terrifying! The wooden target was not only penetrated, but also had a big hole!
A large number of sharp wood fragments bloomed towards the back of the board. As for the short and thick arrows, it seemed that they flew to the sandy ground not far behind the target.
Gould was shocked: "I...I lost! Rurik, your people really...really succeeded! Your weapons..."
Rurik was so happy that he ignored Gould and shouted with all his strength: "Kamne! Keep firing! Shoot out all your arrows!"
As for Kamni, he was not aware of what the "broken planks" looked like, but now it was like this. Not only did the arrow cut a hole in the oak plank that was supposed to be used as a ship, but after it penetrated it, it escaped a certain amount. distance.
Can a bow and arrow be so powerful?
"Damn it! If my father had such a weapon, the bear would be the one who died!"
Thinking of the tragedy that had happened to him, he cried bitterly, but in Rurik's opinion, his manservant was moved to tears.
Kamne used the ratchet winch to string the powerful staggered bow as usual. Although the process was slow, the power of the arrows was real.
After that, there were four more successful shots, with short and thick crossbow arrows that had been hardened and randomly attached with two pieces of wild goose feathers, all of which penetrated the wooden target.
The experiment came to an end, and everyone ran to the target. The happiest person here was undoubtedly the shooter Kamni. The others looked at the outcome in front of them in astonishment.
In fact, the wooden target is only about two centimeters thick. It is not a particularly high-quality ship floor. However, the bows and arrows owned by the Russians are shot against this kind of wooden board. At most, the arrow cluster slightly protrudes from the other end of the wooden board with a sharp point. That's all.
"You lose." Rurik tugged on Gould's shirt.
"Yes! I lost. With your crossbow, all the wooden bows in the past were just firewood!" Gould stamped his foot. After seeing the five holes in the wooden target clearly, the old guy fully realized the crossbow. of strong tactical value.
Because the wooden ribs of ordinary transport ships are often only as thick as a finger, although warships are thicker, they can probably be penetrated by such weapons.
What does that mean? The ship was destroyed and everyone died!
Gould's eyes were as wide as bells. He looked at the smiling Rurik and said tremblingly: "You won. I like your new weapon very much. Korsboge? It's really the best weapon I have ever seen." !I guess I have to help you make it.”
Rurik nodded with satisfaction; "Of course. What I want is your promise. We have to make it clear first. I allow you to make it for our Ross tribe, but don't think about selling it secretly! I am Those who trust you don’t trust other merchants. If... this kind of weapon falls into the hands of the Danes, we will suffer!"
"Yes!" Gould hurriedly bowed and said: "If I disobey your decision, you can punish me. My family is in the Ross tribe. I dare to use the honor of my family as a guarantee. I am only loyal to you. Oh, how I long to see more miracles in my lifetime!”
Rurik laughed: "Okay! You will see. The experiment was a great success. I think I should immediately instruct your people to make me a stelkorsboge (steel-arm crossbow). In the future, it must be our Rus A necessary weapon for the tribe’s army.”
