The crossbow bolts successfully penetrated the oak board that was a little thicker than the wooden shield, and the person operating the crossbow was only a seven-year-old child.
Both Gould and Jevlo were aware of its powerful combat capabilities, but they had no clear idea of how to make good use of it.
The crossbow test was successful, and all fired crossbow arrows were collected afterwards.
It's late at night, the cold wind is blowing outside, and the coldness of early winter has descended on Roseburg.
Most residents have extinguished their oil lamps, and families gather together to rest.
In the blacksmith shop, wooden boards were temporarily erected to protect from the wind. Under the illumination of a few oil lamps, the blacksmith shop looked brighter.
Klavasen sat on the ground. He put the crossbow with its string unstrung aside, and a sack full of arrows was placed casually beside him.
Five crossbow arrows were placed randomly on the gravel ground, and their condition was obviously a little bad.
"Rurik, our weapons are too powerful, and all these arrows are bent. Look, this one even broke the shaft."
Rurik, who was sitting cross-legged, was not surprised. He bowed his body and observed the bent arrow clusters and the cross section of the arrow shaft with the help of the flame of the oil lamp.
"Can it only be used once? Maybe that's a good thing too."
"A good thing?!" Klavasen wondered: "The five arrows you asked me to make were all damaged. Hunters with bows will recycle their own arrows, but it's a good thing for you, all of them were damaged."
Rurik could understand the dissatisfaction in Klavasen's words. He explained patiently: "You see, the arrow is either bent or broken, so that the enemy cannot use it again."
"That's it? Do you think the enemy will have a chance to possess our weapons?!"
"Isn't that possible?!"
Klavasen immediately smiled disdainfully and said: "How is it possible?! Only us Russians in this world have mastered this weapon, and you are its inventor. In the years to come, only we will use crossbows to deprive the enemy of their lives. Son."
He was not surprised that Rurik could say such a thing. There are indeed many people with limited vision who think that after possessing a powerful weapon, they can always control the power of the strong.
For example, if you build a powerful armored fleet and look at its terrifying caliber, who can doubt that it is not powerful enough? Therefore, it is the strongest. The owner of the fleet did not expect or bother to understand the enemy's progress and ambitions.
Rurik never thought that the steel-armed crossbow he made was eternal, and he did not expect to be able to persuade Klavasen to view this matter dialectically.
After all, the problem now is that there is only one crossbow. Only when it has a sufficient number can it truly show its power. The so-called quantitative change makes qualitative change.
Rurik talked eloquently: "We can't think that the enemy is stupid. It's always right to be careful. I think arrows can only be used once, which is also an advantage. After all, we need arrows to complete the killing. As long as we can To accomplish this purpose, we can obviously use strange things to make arrows. For example, stones."
"Stone?" Clava heard this with great refreshment.
"Yes. Like using glass."
"Glass? Can it also be used to make arrows? Do you want me to stretch it into the shape of a whole arrow?" As he said that, Klavason imagined a magical picture in his mind. The so-called crossbow would shoot the same Transparent cylinder.
Rurik explained: "Made an arrowhead out of glass, tied it with a stick and a hemp rope, and finally glued two pieces of feathers on it."
"But can such an arrow penetrate wood?"
"This...I'm afraid it won't happen. However, it can still penetrate the deer's fur. The arrow will definitely shatter the deer's body, so the deer will die. If we shoot at the enemy, the enemy who is hit by the arrow will never survive. possible."
"But an arrow with an iron head can clearly penetrate a wooden board." Klavasen said regretfully.
"Don't you think the cost of using iron arrowheads is too high? Compared with smelting iron, we can make glassware faster. You know, many hunters just use obsidian to make arrowheads. What is obsidian? It is a kind of glass .So, do you think glass arrows are bad?”
Klavasen shrugged: "Who knows? In my opinion, the best arrow must be made of smoldering steel." As he said, he played with the bent arrow: "I just made it with the most common iron. They, the arrowheads were struck very long at your request. I prefer glassware made into cups, but I'd rather use iron for the arrowheads. Bronze might work too..."
"I want all three of these!" Rurik said decisively.
"You want them all?"
"Yes!" Rurik's attitude was extremely determined: "Listen, Klavasen! I am not a hunter, and I don't want to be a hunter. I don't need to reuse arrows, because these arrows themselves are a consumable. The only thing here is The only thing that can be used repeatedly is the crossbow. No matter how the arrow is made, its beauty is limited to the moment it kills the enemy. If it cannot kill the enemy, it is the worst arrow."
"Oh? You think so?"
"Of course." As he said that, Rurik rushed to Klavasen and looked into the old guy's eyes: "Listen, I need more crossbows, maybe a hundred. I have to organize a group of crossbows. A team that mainly uses crossbows, organize them, shoot arrows at the same time, and shoot the charging enemies on a large scale. What I want is the maximum number of kills, not the maximum reuse of arrows. You understand me Do you mean it?"
Klavason understood a little bit, and he hurriedly asked: "Rurik, how many crossbows do you need for the next step?"
Rurik glanced at the crossbow placed aside, and then said: "At least ten, let's start making them now."
"Where are the arrows?"
"I want you to make arrows with glass arrowheads, and since you insist on using iron, do it."
Klavason nodded: "Okay, maybe we should talk about the price now. You know, the bow arm we used was supposed to be a steel sword."
"A crossbow costs sixty silver coins, one price!" Rurik said decisively.
"make a deal!"
"An iron-tipped sword and a silver coin!"
"make a deal!"
"Then keep doing it! I'll give you ten days to make them all." Rurik said excitedly.
Klavasen, who was originally very happy, immediately panicked: "My master, are you really in trouble? The first crossbow, we clearly..."
"Shut up! You already have a successful experience. It will be very slow to make a second one. Maybe your blacksmith alliance should have a meeting, and maybe you can share the money with your guys."
"Bah!" Klavason stopped on the spot: "My agreement with them does not include crossbows. I will delay other people's orders for steel swords. Rurik, I will take care of your business!"
"That's right." Rurik smiled and said comfortingly: "I will come every afternoon in the future, and I will arrange some friends to help you. Oh, no! We should help ourselves."
In this way, Rurik took out a huge order of nearly eight pounds of silver coins. The order included nine winch steel-arm crossbows and 200 crossbow arrows.
The price of the crossbow body has also been clarified. Since its arms are made into steel swords, the simple price is the same as that of the steel sword, which is sixty silver coins.
If Clavason was expected to make a batch of crossbow arrows alone while building the crossbow, he would only have one pair of hands and would not be able to complete everything in a short time.
Rurik only requested that fifty iron-tipped crossbow arrows must be made, and these arrows must undergo smoldering carburization and quenching surface hardening. The purpose of this is to allow the arrow shaft to be broken casually and the arrowheads to remain intact. Because as long as there is an iron arrow with a sleeve and a piece of wood inserted into it, it is another crossbow arrow.
As for the lack of tail feathers? It doesn't matter. Anyway, at a shooting distance of thirty or forty meters, the tail feathers of the arrow have little effect.
In the afternoon of the next day, Rurik took the guys as promised and ran to Klavassen's blacksmith shop.
Boys and girls all know the power of the crossbow. They never imagined that they would have the opportunity to participate in its production. Not to mention how happy they are to be selected!
Fisk, Kanuf, Carlotta, Ella, and nearly twenty boys and girls.
The scene of a large group of children, led by Rurik, suddenly appearing in Klavassen's blacksmith shop was more than abrupt.
After all, children are also a kind of labor force.
Seeing Rurik's attention and cooperation, Klavasen, who originally felt a lot of pressure, felt much better.
For Rurik, the total number of children receiving military and sports training on hand has exceeded three hundred. Even if they are children, their number multiplied by three hundred is a terrifying appetite.
More than a month has passed, including those little girls from Melalen who begged, and their physical fitness has now completely surpassed that of their peers from other tribes. Boys and girls ate wheat cakes and fish, and they had to work a certain amount to make up for their food consumption.
A number of longhouses specially designed for servants to stay are being constructed rapidly, and more leather and linen clothing are also being sewn. On the surface, Rurik has to pay for these things, but in reality, the real payers are the servants.
Rurik had already begun to order some children to pick up dead branches in the forest to prepare firewood for winter heating.
There are also children holding axes, carefully cutting down some small trees, and then cutting the fallen trees into sections. The children worked very hard because they knew that the firewood was the key to keeping themselves and their sisters from freezing to death in winter.
Rurik selected his most trusted companions and servants to participate in the making of the crossbow. For these people, he is at ease!
Even though Rurik determined that the Rus could not expect to maintain military superiority with just one weapon, if a certain weapon could bring a huge advantage to the tribe, then information on secret weapons, enemies or even allies, would be better left out much later. learn. In other words, when the tribe has better things, it is also excellent to sell the obsolete old weapons to allies at high prices.
What is father's fleet doing?
Could it be that they had to deal with a lot of things and delayed their return date? They won't be returning until November, right? By that time, the sea had begun to freeze on a large scale.
Rurik was a little worried about his father Otto, but he also had a hunch that the Ross fleet would definitely return in the cold wind by the end of October at the latest, such as around October 25th in the Julian calendar.
But God was unfavorable, and in mid-October, a snowstorm hit Roseburg!
The blizzard was a disaster, with the cold wind blowing away the thatch from some family longhouses and knocking down some pine trees. Thanks to the protection of the hills on both sides of the fjord, the wind in the fjord is actually not very strong, but the sea is really rough.
At the same time as the waves, there were still fine snowflakes like knives.
The snowstorm that lasted for two days was over, and the appearance of the whole world changed drastically.
Some elderly tribesmen froze to death in their homes due to the sudden severe cold, while more people hid in their longhouses and started the winter in advance.
Of course, there is also a group of hunters who are eager to try. Because of the great success of last winter's hunting, this group of hunters began to sharpen their blades, eager to go to the north, to the end of the human world, and to find deer herders to plunder.
It was because of this blizzard that it really caused some trouble for Clavarson.
Rurik made an agreement with the big businessman Gould. In exchange for losing the bet, Gould would do more for Rurik. Rurik did not make any excessive demands. He just asked for speeding up the construction of the servants' longhouse and, most importantly, sending manpower to dig and move the iron ore.
Rurik indeed asked Gould to send someone to help him make more crossbows, so the blacksmith did not have to waste time mining the blacksmith stone himself. Someone would do it for him. The time saved by the blacksmith was what Rurik wanted. Best help.
The snow has stopped, and the temperature is obviously not going to go back to what it was before.
Fishermen who went fishing began to report a terrible thing, that is, ice floes began to form on the sea surface.
It's been this long, why haven't the leader's Sorgon fleet returned yet? The left-behind tribesmen could no longer remain optimistic, and one or two of them became worried.
Rurik's worries grew day by day, but all ten crossbows were completed in only seven days.
In the blacksmith shop, all crossbows are arranged in a matrix on the ground.
The calluses on Klavason's hands are very scary, and his unkempt beard and damaged cowhide apron make the blacksmith look very punk.
Opposite this deep old guy were the excited looks of more than twenty children.
"Is there still an experiment next?" Klavasen asked Rurik.
"Yes! This time, we have to play a new trick."
After that, Rurik shouted: "Fisk, Kanuf, take the brothers and pick up the crossbow. Well... and Carlotta, Ella, you come too."
"Me?" Carlotta asked excitedly and cautiously: "Rurik, I am a woman, can I also control it?"
"Don't you think you are worthy? You are the commander of the Valkyrie Legion." Rurik put on a cold face, obviously criticizing Carlotta's words.
"Okay. Ella, let's come too." Carlotta made a determined decision and picked up a relatively heavy steel-armed crossbow.
A group of children wearing fur coats and fur hats stood in the snow. The thick clothes they put on could almost perfectly withstand the low temperature of minus 20 degrees Celsius.
Compared with some children in the tribe, the people of Rurik also pursue the best warmth in clothing. Therefore, Rurik had to pay a fee in advance to purchase and customize clothes, and he paid the money decisively.
Buying clothes can be said to be a very correct investment!
A snowstorm killed more than thirty people, most of whom were congenitally weak. And Rurik's guys and servants are all healthy.
Another wooden target was erected on the snow. Twenty children stood in the snow and rehearsed the so-called "Russian Arrow Array" at Rurik's request.
Ten children holding crossbows had firm eyes. About thirty meters in front of them stood a wooden target that was equivalent to three strong men fighting in a row.
Rurik pulled out his dagger, and with the fog of speech, he shouted with the sword: "Brothers! The best way to use the crossbow is to concentrate! Imagine that we are an army, we are the first to launch the attack before the Russian army fights head-on. The power of attack.”
As he spoke, his sword pointed directly at the target: "Think about it, that's not a piece of wood, but the approaching Danish army! That's the most hateful enemy, brothers, shoot them with your weapons!"
A few words inspired everyone's fighting spirit.
For example, Fisker, for example, Carlotta.
Rurik was the selective crossbow experimenter, and the twenty people present had relatives and friends who died at the hands of the Danish army. Especially Carlotta and Ella, Rurik knew that they were extremely eager for revenge.
Poor Carlotta, she was so weak. Rurik hoped that the weapons he developed would let this girl, and even all the Ostarans, know that even if only weak women were left in the tribe, they could use specific weapons to take revenge.
"Everyone! Half-kneeling!"
"Left elbow to left knee!"
"Aim the crosshair at the target! Steady!"
For a moment, Rurik had a strong illusion, as if his men were not holding crossbows at all, but rifles.
ah! Perhaps within a distance of thirty meters, the heavy iron-tipped arrow fired by the crossbow is as powerful as a small-caliber bullet. No! Even a little more intense.
Seeing that they were basically ready, Rurik shouted and ordered: "Launch!"
Because of the recoil caused by the heavy arrow, the very light children, who had to work hard to shoot from the kneeling position, almost fell to the ground.
But the results of the shooting were stunningly beautiful!
In one volley, all ten crossbow arrows hit the target, or in other words, they were embedded in or penetrated the wooden target.
There were three holes in the target, and it was obvious that the crossbow arrows had penetrated it. The other seven branches are all embedded crookedly.
"Well done, brothers and sisters. Keep winding up and fire again when you're ready."
A weak girl who almost died from a leg injury can now easily kill enemies relying on the weapons in her hands. Carlotta looked at her younger sister's more petite appearance. Even such a weaker child could control such a weapon.
In fact, Ella used all her strength to barely level the crossbow. Fortunately, thanks to the ratchet winch, she can still string her crossbow at just seven years old.
I have to say that winding up the string was really a grinding process, but the second round of volleys caused some powerful damage to the wooden target. Everyone felt that their efforts were worth it.
What's even crazier is that after five rounds of volleys, the target has been completely broken into pieces, and its remaining value is nothing more than throwing it into a bonfire as fuel.
Children with a little common sense already realize what this means. Because the planks of the wooden target itself can be used for shipbuilding, the ten children's volley completely destroyed the planks. If the target was an enemy ship, wouldn't it mean that the enemy ship was destroyed and people were killed?
If the target is a deer, after a salvo, the deer will be killed instantly.
The children realized that their shooting was very accurate. They boasted that they could not hit the wooden target with an ordinary bow at such a distance, but with a crossbow, precise shooting turned out to be so accurate.
In fact, the distance that most steel-arm crossbows can accurately shoot is only about fifty meters. Only short and thick crossbow arrows within this distance can fly stably and have the ability to smash wooden boards, that is, smash the enemy's wooden shields flatly.
As for exceeding this distance, it is better to use projectile woodworking to throw light arrows.
Originally, the Rus and even other Viking tribes did not like to use bows and arrows in war in this era. The reason is that bone arrowheads and inferior oak single bows cannot cause serious damage to armored enemies. It's not that the Vikings in this time and space didn't know how to use bows and arrows, it was just that they hadn't yet mastered the technology to make powerful bows and arrows.
However, there will be longbows, and so will cavalry. Those descendants of Danes who immigrated to the Brittany region of France were not only good at archery, but also built heavy cavalry. It was this same group of people who went to the Holy Land and brought Eastern crossbow technology back to Europe, and developed the steel-arm crossbow and put it into the war.
If all this is destined to be a historical necessity, the Russians, under the leadership of Rurik, brought crossbow technology and usage routines to Europe five hundred years ahead of schedule.
Its method of use, or the "Russian Arrow Array" named after Rurik, is a line array. But this routine was often used by Easterners as early as a thousand years ago.
Afterwards, Rurik also organized his men to try three-stage attacks, four-stage attacks, and even five-stage attacks.
He even tried the so-called team of five people, with one shooter dedicated to shooting, and the other four people's job was to string and arrow, a so-called round-shooting tactic.
In the snow, Rurik began to practice his "Ross Arrow Formation" endlessly, and his men also had a great time. In the snow, boys and girls continued their daily military physical training, the boys continued to fight, and the girls continued to shoot arrows.
Finally, Rurik brought the crossbow to the hillside of the training ground.
Here he finally began to train his boys and girls, the so-called infantry phalanx of the Ross tribe.
His idea is very simple. In the so-called future war, the Ross tribe's infantry tactics must have two axes.
First, the archers take the lead in throwing arrows, and then the crossbow shoots heavy arrows directly.
Second, the crossbowmen retreated, and the Ross sword and shieldmen formed a dense formation and advanced towards the enemies who had been hit by arrows.
Rurik's training plan surprised coaches Yevlo and Frazier. Although the initial training attempts showed that the archer and sword and shield player cooperated very poorly, after some running-in, the situation also improved.
Especially the so-called arrow formation!
"Rurik, girls, it's better to retreat. It's best if your men are all men. Ah, in my opinion, you don't have to think too much about the situation when the enemy rushes in front of your army, because your crossbow has already shot Most of the charging enemies." Yevlo suppressed his inner excitement. Rurik once again showed his great ambition. As a loyal servant, Yevlo felt that the only thing he could repay was the boys who worked hard to train Ross. The swordsmanship, especially the instruction of Rurik, made him an excellent warrior before he reached adulthood.
