In the early morning, the gentle breeze of late spring gently blew the young leaves holding the dew, and the sunlight dimly enveloped this fertile soil, and it seemed that it did not wake up either.
Ying Zheng sat at the desk, stretched and yawned.
Last night, Princess Hu Yu shouted that she wanted to play Xuanyuan Sword again. Ying Zheng said that he would make a replica of the golden sword for her and give her a high-quality flying crossbow, so he finally coaxed Princess Hu Yu to sleep.
Before Hu Yu woke up in the morning, Ying Zheng came to the study alone.
"Zhao Gao, how is the porcelain matter? How is the progress these days?" Ying Zheng asked.
Zhao Gao leaned over and said: "Back to the king, the progress is very fast. It is estimated that the first batch of goods will be completed in a day or two. When they are ready, they can be sent to Qi and Yan."
"So fast..." Ying Zheng said in surprise.
It had only been four days since the last time Jing Fan brought porcelain.
"The king's craftsmen are treasures, more precious than anything else." Zhao Gao said with a smile.
"Haha, yes." Ying Zheng said happily, "Today I will go to Jingyao with my friends to take a look."
"Yes, Your Majesty." Zhao Gao responded.
Ying Zheng took Zhao Gao, called Li Si, and went out of the west city gate to Jing Kiln.
Different from last time, the craftsmen of Jing Kiln were all in high spirits and in good order. It was obvious that Jing Fan or Li Si had given them some training during this period.
Ying Zheng told the craftsmen to do their own thing, leaving Jing Fan alone in the house.
"I heard that your progress is very fast." Ying Zheng got straight to the point and asked directly.
Jing Fan cupped his hands and said, "Back to the king, since the craftsmen have returned to Jing Kiln, naturally everything is going on quickly and the quality is guaranteed."
Ying Zheng nodded with satisfaction and said, "Take me to see it later."
"Yes, Your Majesty," Jing Fan said, "But I want to show you two things first."
"Oh? What is it?" Ying Zheng thought there was some new style of porcelain.
"The king will understand when he sees it." Jing Fan gave up and turned around and walked out.
Ying Zheng smiled bitterly, shook his head, and looked at Li Si again.
Li Si still looked as if nothing had happened, but his eyes fell on Zhao Gao.
Not long after, Jing Fan came back with a few people.
Four people followed Jing Fan carrying something similar to a loom. Behind them, two people followed behind carrying a smaller wooden frame.
When he saw what the four people in front of him were carrying, Ying Zheng stood up and stared directly at the object they were carrying, because it was nothing else but equipment for making a flying crossbow.
"Your Majesty, the equipment for making flying crossbows has been imitated. Please take a look at it." Jing Fan smiled.
Ying Zheng didn't say anything. He walked quickly to the equipment, squatted down, stroked it and looked at it carefully.
Seeing Ying Zheng's serious look, Jing Fan's smile grew wider, but he didn't disturb him again.
After carefully looking around every corner of the equipment, Ying Zheng turned his eyes away, looked at Jing Fan with a smile and said, "It looks good, how about the flying crossbow made by this flying crossbow machine? "
Jing Fan turned around, took a flying crossbow from another craftsman, handed it directly to Ying Zheng, and said, "Please take a look at it, Your Majesty."
Ying Zheng took the flying crossbow and looked it over and over.
"It looks very similar. Come on, let's give it a try." Ying Zheng said.
Ying Zheng took the flying crossbow and walked out the door, followed by Li Si, Jing Fan and others.
Jing Fan guided them to an open space, and saw two shooting targets tied up and down on the trees near the wall in the distance. It seemed to be the target area for testing the flying crossbow.
Ying Zheng loaded a crossbow arrow, raised his hand and aimed briefly, and the crossbow arrow flew out at an extremely fast speed.
There was a soft sound, and the crossbow arrow hit the target about an inch below the target.
"Haha, not bad, more accurate than a bow and arrow." Ying Zheng knew how good his shooting skills were, and he was quite satisfied with his results.
"Your Majesty," Jing Fan cupped his hands and said, "I made a total of five flying crossbows, and each flying crossbow made two flying crossbows. Now there are a total of ten flying crossbows available. If the king wants to test it, why not Get some archers to test fire for easy debugging.”
Ying Zheng looked surprised. Five of these flying crossbows were actually built, and ten flying crossbows were produced!
Before Ying Zheng could say anything, Li Si said from the side: "That's good. Why don't we find some Meng family sergeants who guard Jing Kiln, and see what the sergeants think of Fei Nu."
Ying Zheng nodded and signaled Zhao Gao to find some archers.
Not long after, Zhao Gao came to the shooting range with more than twenty sergeants, and Jing Fan also sent people to bring all the flying crossbows.
After all the sergeants saluted Ying Zheng, they formed groups of five to test-fire the flying crossbows.
Some of these sergeants are specialized archers and some are ordinary infantrymen, but even the sergeants who have just joined the army have better shooting skills than Ying Zheng.
The shooting range is not very far. In the first round, the crossbow arrows hit the target circle without any deviation, but the position from the center was slightly different.
After the test firing, the sergeant handed the flying crossbow to the other sergeants. After standing behind, they started whispering to each other.
All the sergeants had completed the test firing, and only a few sergeants who had never touched a crossbow missed the target.
The leading sergeant leaned towards Ying Zheng and said with his hands in his hands: "I am reporting to the King that all the sergeants have completed the test firing."
Ying Zheng nodded and asked, "How do the crossbows you tested compare with those currently in the army?"
The sergeant major handed the flying crossbow to Zhao Gao and said: "Back to the king, the crossbows currently used in the army are superior compared to other countries, but compared to bows and arrows, they have a shorter range and less lethality. And it can only shoot straight. If the enemy's front row uses a shield to block it, the crossbow arrows will be of no use. And such a crossbow arrow has longer arrows, faster speed, and presumably a longer range. It's far away, and the accuracy is also better by more than one point."
Ying Zheng took the flying crossbow from Zhao Gao and said, "The name of this crossbow is called flying crossbow. How do you think it compares with bows and arrows?"
The sergeant major thought for a while and said: "Your Majesty, if we want to compare, it is better to go to a more spacious enemy and use superior bows and arrows to compare with them."
"That's a good suggestion." Ying Zheng said with a smile, "Let your soldiers prepare and let's go outside to compare."
"Yes, Your Majesty." The sergeant major held his hands, and then led more than twenty sergeants out of the gate.
Ying Zheng, Li Si, Zhao Gao, Jing Fan and others also followed the sergeants behind. Jing Fan also brought some craftsmen, some with flying crossbows and some with arrows.
Arriving at the foot of a hillside, the sergeants made some temporary targets, varying in distance and height.
Ying Zheng did not let the craftsmen come forward, and handed over all the flying crossbows to the sergeants. After all, this was a contest of weapons, not a competition between men.
The sergeants participating in the test were divided into two groups, the ones on the left holding bows and arrows, and the ones on the right holding flying crossbows.
The sergeants guarding the Jing Kiln were all members of the Meng Family Army's Guards. They were well-trained and well-equipped, and the bows and arrows they were equipped with were all hard bows with a long range.
The first is the comparison of accuracy. The distance between the targets shot by both sides is almost the same, and the size of the bullseye is also almost the same.
The order to fire arrows was given by Zhao Gao, and there were soldiers near the target watching the results.
Following Zhao Gao's loud shout, two rows of arrows shot out.
The sergeants who participated in the test firing were all top-notch archers, and the results were not unexpected. When shooting at a short distance, both sides hit the bullseye. However, the arrows took longer to reach the bullseye on the side of the crossbow than on the side of the bow. A little early.
The first round of testing was pretty much the same.
Below is a longer range shot.
After the bow and arrow are shot, they are all thrown, so they are always slower than the crossbow before hitting the target, and the further away from the target, the longer it takes to run.
In terms of accuracy, there is still almost no difference, but it is the first time for the sergeants to use flying crossbows. These sergeants are not very familiar with flying crossbows, and the longbow is indeed an inseparable partner for them.
After shooting at the target, Ying Zheng ordered the sergeants to perform mounted shooting again, but this time, the advantage of the flying crossbow was clearly revealed.
Mounted archery requires both hands to control the horse, and both hands are needed to draw a bow and shoot an arrow. When an archer releases his hands from the reins during mounted archery, he needs to have a strong sense of balance and quite proficient riding and archery skills.
The advantage of the flying crossbow is that after loading the arrow, it can be fired with one hand, and the accuracy is not greatly affected. Moreover, it can also be fired using the throwing technique, and the range is no better than that of the bow and arrow. Inferior, but you must know that the bows and arrows used by the Meng family army are the best bows and arrows in the Qin Dynasty, and their performance is far better than ordinary bows and arrows.
After several rounds of shooting, the teams on both sides returned to their positions and counted the number of targets, bows, arrows, and flying crossbows. But in the process of team formation, the status of the two teams was different.
The team using flying crossbows were in high spirits, and they were all talking about the new crossbow arrows.
Looking at the team using bows and arrows, everyone is breathing deeply, some are shaking their wrists, some are rubbing their arms, and they all look tired.
This scene was naturally seen by Ying Zheng, Li Si and others, including the sergeant major.
Ying Zheng said nothing and sat on the horse, seemingly deep in thought.
Li Si said to the sergeant major: "Ask the sergeants, which one is better than the bow and arrow?"
The sergeant major bowed his hands respectfully and said: "Master Li, there is no need to ask. We have already made plans in our minds. Although this bow and arrow are easy to use, it is not as light as the flying crossbow. If the brothers can use the flying crossbow as smoothly as the bow and arrow, it must be more accurate." It will be higher.”
"If it were up to you to choose on the battlefield, which one would you choose to kill the enemy?" Li Si asked.
"Of course it's a flying crossbow." The sergeant major replied without thinking.
"Do you think it's feasible to replace all the bows and arrows in the army with flying crossbows?" Li Si asked again.
The sergeant major thought for a moment, but at this moment, Ying Zheng also turned his attention to the sergeant major. It seemed that what he had just been thinking about was the question Li Si asked.
"I am in a humble position, so I dare not speak nonsense about such a big thing." The sergeant major paused and said, "But if all my brothers are equipped with flying crossbows, I think they will be very happy."
Although the sergeant major's voice was not loud, it was enough for the sergeants to hear.
There were voices of approval from behind, including the sergeants who used bows and arrows just now. Out of curiosity, they kept communicating with the sergeants who used flying crossbows.
Ying Zheng dismounted, came to the sergeant major, and said with a smile: "I have heard what you said. In this case, I will seriously consider this matter. However, today's matter about the flying crossbow will be put aside for the time being. Don't publicize it to the outside world. After you change your guard and go back, tell Meng Tian to come to the palace tomorrow to find me."
The sergeant major knew the importance of keeping secrets. After saluting, he went to arrange things among the sergeants.
Ying Zheng brought Li Si, Jing Fan and others back to the hall of Jingyao with a smile on his face.
As soon as he entered the door, Ying Zheng saw the flying crossbow machine again, and he liked it from the bottom of his heart.
However, he also saw a similar object not far from the flying crossbow, but it was more than half smaller than the flying crossbow.
"What is this?" Ying Zheng's attention had been on the flying crossbow just now, and he didn't think of asking Jing Fan until now.
"Back to the king, this is a tool for making arrows." Jing Fan cupped his hands and said, "It is also made according to the records of the scroll. The arrows we shot just now are from such crossbow machines. The arrows of these crossbows are The specifications are exactly the same, and they are neater than hand-made arrows, which can improve the accuracy of shooting. They are also more numerous than manual production, and can be replenished faster for the army's consumption."
Ying Zheng's eyes shone, and he leaned down again and looked at the crossbow machine carefully.
Jing Fan added: "The arrows we used for test shooting just now were coated with the paint that the king ordered us to imitate. According to Mr. Li, with that paint, even if the arrows are not polished for a hundred years, they will be useless." It will still be razor-sharp and won’t rust at all.”
Ying Zheng raised his head, his eyes widened with an expression of disbelief: "Could it be...?"
Jing Fan smiled and said, "Back to the king, those paints have also been imitated."
Ying Zheng pinched the back of his hand, which hurt a little, and then looked at Li Si.
Li Si smiled knowingly and did not avoid Ying Zheng's gaze this time.
