Cao Cao looked at Guo Jia and couldn't help laughing: "The emperor once said that Cao Cao will be here, and I think we will change it to, if we want Cao Zhang, Cao Zhang will be here!"
Guo Jia looked at Cao Cao and smiled: "It seems that Sikong understands Master Ziwen better."
Cao Cao ordered his servants: "Go and invite him in quickly."
Not long after the servants left, they arrived with Cao Zhang and Ma Chao, both of them holding several large scrolls of paper in their hands.
Cao Zhang respectfully saluted Cao Cao: "Greetings to my father!"
Ma Chao also stepped forward and saluted Cao Cao: "Greetings to Sikong!"
Then the two of them saluted each other with Guo Jia.
Cao Cao looked Ma Chao up and down and asked Cao Zhang, "Ziwen, who is this?"
"He is Ma Chao, Ma Mengqi, the eldest son of Ma Teng, the governor of Yongzhou, and he is also my sworn brother. I brought him here to pay homage to his father today!" Cao Zhang introduced Ma Chao to Cao Cao.
Cao Cao looked Ma Chao up and down and praised him repeatedly: "I have long heard that Ma Chao's son is very brave. When I saw him today, he is indeed very handsome."
Ma Chao thanked Cao Cao: "Thank you Sikong for the compliment."
"Father, Brother Meng Qi has made great contributions in this battle against Li Jue, so I specially applied to the Governor of Ma to invite him to Xudu as an official. In the future, he can also help my father conquer the princes. I will take him to see my father today, I also hope that my father can arrange a proper position for Brother Meng Qi."
"Since Meng Qi is your sworn brother, it is most appropriate for me to be by your side. As for the specific position, you should consider it and tell me. I will submit it with Xun Lingjun later and ask the emperor for approval!" Cao Cao nodded and agreed to Cao Zhang's request. .
"Thank you, father!" "Thank you Sikong!" Cao Zhang and Ma Chao thanked Cao Cao together.
Cao Cao looked at Cao Zhang and smiled and said: "Your sworn brother has already arranged his position. Tell me what your purpose is in coming to see me."
"My father is wise, and I really can't hide anything from you. Military Advisor Guo is also here. I came here today to show my father some new weapons that I came up with on my way back from Chang'an."
"New weapon?" Cao Cao's eyes lit up after hearing this, thinking that Cao Zhang did not disappoint him and once again brought him a surprise.
"Yes, but we have just designed a prototype now. Please let your father take a look first." Cao Zhang said, unrolling the paper roll in his hand, and Ma Chao grabbed one side and showed it to Cao Cao.
Cao Cao and Guo Jia stepped forward to look at the structural diagram of a crossbow arrow presented on the drawing.
Both Cao Cao and Guo Jia showed great interest in the weapons drawn on the drawings. They watched every detail carefully.
Cao Zhang introduced them in detail: "This is the blueprint of the Divine Arm Bow. It can shoot arrows farther and more accurately, which is a huge advantage for our army."
The Divine Arm Bow is a crossbow invented during the Northern Song Dynasty. Its range can reach more than 240 steps, far exceeding the range of any current bow and arrow. It is the standard weapon of crossbowmen in the Northern Song Dynasty army.
Through constant recollection and some of his own imagination, Cao Zhang tried to draw the design of the divine arm bow.
Cao Cao's eyes shone with excitement, and he was obviously full of expectations for the potential of this new weapon.
Seeing that the two of them had finished reading, Cao Zhang put away the drawing of the divine arm bow and unfolded another drawing. This time it showed a kind of catapult.
Cao Zhang introduced: "I named this trebuchet the Boulder Cannon. I added some devices during the design to better utilize the principle of lever counterweight, making the stone projectiles thrown larger and with a longer range. , if used in actual siege operations, it can achieve greater lethality."
Historically, it took the Mongols six years to successfully attack Xiangyang. This new type of trebuchet played an important role on the battlefield. Because its two inventors were both Hui people from the Western Regions, this weapon was It was named Huihui Cannon or Western Region Cannon.
Cao Zhang had seen photos of Hui Hui Pao in many documents and tried to draw them.
Guo Jia looked at the "Big Stone Cannon" and his eyes widened in surprise. He knew very well that if this kind of catapult was put into battle, it would greatly increase the chance of winning in the future siege of cities and territories.
Cao Cao's eyes also shone with light as he fell into deep thought.
Finally, Cao Zhang opened the third drawing, showing a large bed crossbow.
"This is one of my proudest achievements, the three-bow bed crossbow. He combined three large bows, which required thirty people to draw. It could fire multiple arrows at the same time. The arrows used hard wood as arrow shafts. Using iron pieces as feathers, it is extremely lethal and can deal with large-scale enemy attacks."
"And it can also be used to attack cities. When fired at close range, the arrows can be nailed directly into the city wall, and our soldiers can climb up the ladder formed by the arrows." Cao Zhang said proudly.
What he took out was a large-scale destructive weapon that also appeared in the Song Dynasty like the divine bow and crossbow.
These three weapons were determined and carefully drawn after repeated research on his way back from Chang'an.
Both Cao Cao and Guo Jia were attracted by these innovative designs, and they both saw how important these three weapons were to improving Cao's army's combat effectiveness.
Cao Zhang continued to say to Cao Cao: "Father, I would like to apply to you to make these weapons and test them in the army. If they can be successful, they can be put into our army and form a certain number and scale, which will greatly enhance our combat effectiveness. "
After hearing Cao Zhang's words, Cao Cao slowly calmed down the excitement on his face and turned to worry: "Although these weapons are powerful, their production and use require a lot of resources and craftsmen, which is difficult to handle."
Guo Jia immediately understood what Cao Cao was thinking and comforted him: "Sikong, are you worried that making these weapons will consume a lot of materials and money? I think the Cao Gong Paper and the Thousand Character Classic have been released in the past few months. The income should be enough to support this experiment."
"The experiment is successful. The funds required for large-scale promotion cannot be supported by just selling Cao's official paper!" Cao Cao sighed softly. He was very aware of the power of these weapons, but without enough funds, no matter how good it was, The weapons are also difficult to exert their power.
"Father is rightly worried. My son also thought that manufacturing these weapons would cost a lot of money, so I came up with several money-making plans for my father's approval!" Cao Zhang was well prepared and immediately proposed his own solution.
Cao Cao and Guo Jia looked at each other, with uncontrollable smiles on their faces: Cao Zhang was always impeccable in his work, could come up with new weapon designs, and could also immediately solve financial problems. He really kept surprising them. !
"If you have any ways to make money, tell me!" Cao Cao couldn't help but urge Cao Zhang...
