Shulot thought for a long time before finally realizing: he had confused the Eastern crossbow and the European crossbow.
However, in the history of the East and the West, the designs of the two are completely different, and they cannot even be called "crossbows" at the same time. They have also moved towards different battlefield positions.
The Eastern Crossbow is an enhanced upgrade of the long-distance combat bow. It has a large bow body, large draw force, and large draw distance. It uses a crossbow arrow that is slender and similar to an arrow. It has a specialized aiming structure. It is an enlarged version of the bow in terms of range and power. Many crossbows in the Han and Tang Dynasties could even be used as war bows after removing the crossbow arms.
From a tactical perspective, from the Qin Dynasty's military formations that unified the six kingdoms to the Han Dynasty's crossbow formations to conquer the Huns in the north, the Eastern crossbows were extremely offensive long-range weapons and were widely used in military formations on vast terrains. By the Song Dynasty, heavy crossbows reached their peak and became the only weapon to restrain heavy armored cavalry in field battles.
"Well, for example, the divine arm crossbow definitely exists but its craftsmanship has been lost." The young man yearned in his heart and shook his head slightly.
The European crossbow is a crossbow that focuses on short-range armor-breaking. It has a shorter bow body, the same high pulling force, and a short draw distance. It uses thick, short and heavy crossbow arrows. The aiming structure has not yet become popular in this era, and its effective flat shooting range is only Within 100 meters. In order to increase the pulling force, European crossbows first use steel sheets to store energy. In order to pull the winding, a special mechanical winding structure was invented. Its trigger is also different from the Oriental Crossbow.
From the perspective of tactical application, European crossbows are widely used in city defense battles with castles as the core. The main battlefield positioning is as a defensive armor-piercing weapon, used for shooting at close range to occupy terrain. Its shape has a smaller bow and shorter draw distance. It uses reduced shooting power in exchange for more troop deployment at a unit distance, which is very suitable for the limited space of the castle.
In this era, European heavy-duty steel crossbows were wound with mechanical winches. Their rate of fire was extremely slow, and their pulling force was as high as two thousand to four thousand pounds. They had no armor to defend within thirty meters, and their impact was enough to kill knights in plate armor, which was also suitable for city defense warfare. specialty.
Shulot shook his head again. The heavy steel crossbow was still too far away. At this time, the transmission efficiency of the steel sheet material is relatively low and a lot of energy will be lost. Relatively speaking, the medium-sized wooden crossbow is more practical, and the transfer efficiency is much higher under the same poundage.
Thinking of this, Shulot smiled slightly at the master carpenter with bright eyes.
Then, he waved to the warrior commander and made a writing gesture. Bertard nodded knowingly, took the wooden board and the newly made charcoal, and handed them to His Highness. The boy's physics knowledge was still there, so he casually sat cross-legged on the ground, doing quick deductions and drawings.
Seeing this scene, the master carpenter Ku Xinji was stunned for a moment. He leaned over curiously and saw that His Highness was writing unknown strange symbols, "m", "v" and "g". The horizontal pattern was like a priest's holy book. Then draw a rising and falling parabola and mark "h" and "D". Finally, there are various downward curves with "F" and "L" marked on both ends, and the shadow area in the curve is painted with charcoal. These shapes were like abstract eyes of gods, looking at him with dark eyes.
Kuhinji's eyes were dull and confused. Surprise finally replaced seriousness and appeared on his old face. Then, he looked at Bertard solemnly, pointed to His Highness quietly, and then pointed to the heart where the soul is stored in the myth.
Bertard nodded seriously, pointed to his heart, and then nodded again. He indicated that everything was normal, that this was His Highness's daily operation, and that it was "divine revelation" rather than "evil".
Of course, if you were an ordinary civilian without such a lofty identity and status, and you rashly invent and create, showing characteristics that are different from ordinary people, the result would be to be sent to the altar of sacrifice.
Shulot was so focused that he didn't notice the silent conversation beside him. He first calculated the potential energy of the bow, the kinetic energy of the arrow, and the momentum of the arrow. Then the maximum shooting distance at a 45-degree angle was estimated at different muzzle velocities. Finally, arrow kinetic energy as pull force changes was evaluated.
After calculation, the boy had a deeper understanding of Eastern crossbows and European crossbows.
The shooting of long-range weapons is the process of converting the potential energy of the bow into the kinetic energy of the arrow. Energy is the product of force and distance. The kinetic energy of the arrow is determined by both the pulling force and the drawing distance. It is the integral of the pulling force and the drawing distance during the release process.
The lethality of an arrow depends on momentum, the deformation of the arrow upon collision with the target. When the lethality of arrows increases at a constant rate, the demand for kinetic energy will increase squarely, causing the size of the crossbow body to expand dramatically, eventually developing into a giant bed crossbow. Increasing arrow weight and increasing momentum under the same kinetic energy are the most common ways to increase lethality.
Among them, the pulling force is the so-called poundage. The type of crossbow determines the changing effect of the draw force. The pulling force of the bow body and the crossbow body is usually at different speeds. When the bow string is released, it gradually decreases as the drawing distance decreases.
The Mexican longbow currently used by the alliance is a straight-draw bow. Its draw force attenuation is relatively large and the craftsmanship is the simplest. Advanced recurve bows can store a large amount of elastic potential energy in advance, the tension curve is flatter, and more kinetic energy is transmitted.
Oriental recurve bows are also often compound bows, with hard tips at both ends to balance the draw curve. What achieves the ultimate in bow tip is the Ming bow and the Qing bow, with large recurve, large draw distance and large draw force. It pursues extreme energy transfer, does not hesitate to produce vibrations in the bow body, and sacrifices long-distance stability in order to pursue a one-hit kill that breaks armor at close range.
What is even more outrageous is that the tension curve of a modern pulley bow is almost a horizontal line with constant tension. The energy storage at the same tension and draw distance is fully twice that of a straight-pull bow.
Thinking of this, Shulot nodded slightly and shook his head. Only when there is a large amount of horns and tendons can we consider the production of compound crossbows. The pulley crossbow is far away and impractical. By the time technology developed to efficient steelmaking and precision machinery, it was already the age of gunpowder weapons.
Draw length is the distance over which the pulling force acts. It is another important factor that determines the kinetic energy of the arrow, but it is often overlooked. Due to the rapid attenuation of the draw force when the crossbow is released, increasing the draw length can effectively increase the integral area of force and distance, and the growth of kinetic energy will exceed linearity. In other words, a long draw length will greatly improve the functionality of your arrow.
The young man recalled the images in his memory and pondered silently.
Let’s take the Qing bow preserved in the photo as an example. The bow string drawn by the archer can reach the other shoulder, and the draw distance is the entire arm plus body width. According to the theory that arm span is the same as height, the draw distance of the Qing Bow can even reach more than one meter. The kinetic energy brought by this draw distance is terrifying. Coupled with the momentum killing of heavy arrows, it can break heavy armor within a hundred meters.
The draw distance of the bow is between 90 centimeters and one meter, which is used to compensate for the lower energy storage of the bamboo body, and can also achieve good results. The English longbowman in the oil painting can only draw it to the cheek, which is similar to the longbow warrior of the Tang Dynasty in the mural. The draw distance is about 80 centimeters. This is often said to be the sound of strings. The Turkish bow is also at this draw length level, but uses a high-strength composite bow body to reduce the length of the bow while maintaining the draw force.
Further down, the only ones with a draw length of 70 centimeters are American hunting bows with small draw lengths and smaller cavalry bows. These bows are usually used for hunting, and their damage to armored warriors is very limited.
Shulot thought of the captured Tlaxcala bow. Its draw length was also within this range, so it was less powerful. As for the shorter and weaker primitive bow, it is the weapon of tribal hunters. The threat to the Mexican leather warriors is negligible, unless it is a marksman who can shoot in the eye within tens of meters.
Corresponding to the bow, it is the draw length of the crossbow, which can be judged by the distance between the string position of the crossbow machine and the crossbow body.
In the murals of the Han Dynasty, the arm-stretched crossbow was cocked with one hand, reaching more than half of the arm, and the draw distance was about 40-50 centimeters. To wind the crossbow, step on it with both feet and apply force with both arms to stretch it to the end of the thigh. The boy estimated that the draw distance was at least 70-80 centimeters. As for the waist-opening crossbow with the strongest pulling power, the crossbow body is unusually wide. It requires a strong crossbowman to sit on the ground, use all his strength, and wind the string like a rowing machine until it is pulled past the knees. The pulling distance should also be 40-60 centimeters.
Hulot then thought of war scenes in European oil paintings. He was impressed by the crossbowmen among them.
These European crossbowmen are slender, but often hold a crossbow that is only strung to half the arm, and the draw length should be within 30 centimeters. The European steel crossbow has a huge pulling force, but a very short drawing distance, and the kinetic energy it can transmit is actually limited. The kinetic energy transmitted by a 160-pound long-draw longbow and an 800-pound short-draw steel crossbow was very similar in the test. It's just that the heavy arrows of the steel crossbow have excellent momentum and can break armor extremely well in short distances.
In general, the development of Eastern crossbows has gone through three thousand years. The technology is more mature and the structure is more efficient. It is the absolute main force in the history of Chinese wars. The development time of Western crossbows was relatively short, and they were continuously suppressed by the church. They were only used as an auxiliary to defend and break armor in war.
In fact, large-scale crossbow warriors were also a powerful weapon for the Chinese dynasties in the past dynasties to face heavy armored cavalry. From the Qin and Han Dynasties to the Tang and Song Dynasties, their development was far more advanced and mature than that of Europe at the same time, and their range and power were much stronger.
Shulot thought for a moment and then decided to adopt the development route of the Eastern Crossbow. Based on the pictures in his mind and the current level of craftsmanship, he decided to copy the usage specifications of Han crossbows and establish a three-level crossbow warrior system of arm-opening crossbows, kick-opening crossbows and waist-opening crossbows.
The young man turned over the wooden board full of formulas and curves, and then used black charcoal to carefully draw the rough shapes of the three crossbows and the cocking movements of the warriors on the back.
Xiulote scribbled and corrected it. It took him a while to finish it, and he sighed with satisfaction.
Then, the young man raised his head slightly and looked at the distant sky in the west. He crossed oceans and thousands of years, recalling the vast and vast all-out war between Han and Hungary, and the subsequent decisive battle between Han and Hungary, with a complicated and emotional smile. These detailed memories all come from here, but I didn’t expect them to be used here.
Everyone waited for a long time before His Highness finally stood up. He put down the wooden board full of strange pictures and symbols, picked up the simple wooden crossbow, and smiled confidently again.
"Kushinki, come here."
Shulot waved to the master carpenter not far away, and then pointed to the picture on the wooden board. The master carpenter looked at him vigilantly for a moment to make sure that His Highness had returned to normal. He then came closer and looked at the mysterious wooden board.
"I forgot about the problem of stable shooting at the beginning. You shouldn't use thick and short arrows, they should be similar to feather arrows, just a little shorter, which is easier for flying. Then, the position of the crossbow arm groove is slightly tightened, and the arrow The feathers are slightly clamped. In this way, although the arrow will be slightly blocked when sliding, the trajectory after shooting will be more stable."
Kushinki thought for a moment and nodded. Long arrows fly easily, and increased friction fixes the trajectory. Although he could not explain the reasons for these principles in life, he still had practical experience and understanding.
Then, Shulot talked about the very important sighting device in the Han crossbow, Wangshan.
"A long erected bar should be installed on the crossbow machine. The side is used to assist aiming and determine the accuracy of the shooting target. At the same time, five large scales are carved on it, each scale is divided into two and a half degrees. This way the aiming direction can be determined , clarify the specific shooting angle.”
Once here, Kushinki thought for a while. He looked at the figure drawn by His Highness, found a piece of wood, and carved equal angles on it. Then, he put the wooden stick in front of the crossbow and gestured for a moment, and finally realized it.
"Your Highness has a good idea!" The master carpenter's praise was just a brief sentence. Immediately, he continued to ask new questions.
"Speaking of this crossbow machine, it can hook the bowstring and wait for the right time to launch. It's a really good idea!
However, this small part bears a huge force, but after shooting dozens of arrows, it begins to deform, especially the part where the bottom latch and the crossbow arm are combined. It's easily damaged here, I've already patched it once. How can such a fragile weapon last on the battlefield? "
As he spoke, Kuxinji pointed to the lower end of the crossbow. The position fixed by the crossbow arm had obvious wear and deformation. This was only a light wooden crossbow.
Shulot was silent. He thought of the crossbow machine unearthed in the Han Dynasty. On the one hand, it was made of bronze, and on the other hand, it seemed to have a special box. The young man thought about the principles and gave detailed suggestions after analysis.
"The crossbow can be made of tough and wear-resistant sandalwood or ironwood, or strong antlers. When there is enough bronze, I will give you a batch of specially made durable bronze crossbows.
At the same time, install a wooden box on the outside of the crossbow machine, let the latch pass through the wooden box first, and then snap into the hole on the crossbow arm. This kind of outer box can keep the latch fixed and prevent shaking from affecting accuracy when shooting. The force between the crossbow arm and the bolt is distributed to the outer box and the bolt, making it more durable. By the way, the pins are small and can be replaced with copper pins. In the future, the wooden box will also be replaced by a copper box. "
Shulot added thoughtfully.
The invention of the outer box was a huge progress for the Han crossbow. First, the crossbow machine is stabilized and fixed at three points to increase accuracy. Secondly, by dispersing the force from a single point to multiple points, the pulling force of the crossbow can be doubled and the service life is also greatly improved. From then on, the strong crossbow became popular and became the standard equipment of the Han army.
After hearing His Highness's suggestion, the master carpenter thought for a moment, made some gestures around the crossbow, and then nodded slowly.
"It makes sense. This should be able to be used for a long time! I will make one today and try it out. But how do we make the range and power of the crossbow exceed that of the longbow?"
Hearing this, Shulot smiled knowingly. What Kushinji wanted to do most was to surpass Kuod. The young man nodded and pointed at the crossbow body.
"The power of the crossbow comes from the tension of the crossbow body and the draw distance of the bow string. The cocking and shooting have been divided into two independent parts by the crossbow machine. Therefore, there is no need for a continuous supply of power when cocking, and the explosive whole body can be used Power. In other words, you can make the crossbow body thicker, thicker, or even longer to exponentially increase the shooting power!"
Shulot paused, and when he saw the master carpenter's expression of enlightenment, he spoke again without giving him a chance to ask questions.
"Kushinji, look, these are three different shapes of crossbows I designed.
The first type is a crossbow that is strung with the arm, that is, an arm-loaded crossbow. You may have heard that I came up with a new unit of draw weight, the pound, when making longbows. You need to refer to this picture to make a real object, which is roughly the enhancement of today's wooden crossbow.
The draw force of the arm-opening crossbow needs to be 150 to 200 pounds. The draw length of the crossbow is more than half an arm's length. The maximum throwing distance is 300 meters. The horizontal shooting range needs to be at least 180 meters, and it can damage within 150 meters. To the leather warrior. Generally speaking, the power of the arm-opening crossbow should be slightly stronger than that of the longbow. Each arrow shot takes about as long as four arrows with a long bow. "
Seeing the surprised look in Master Carpenter's eyes, Shulot laughed lightly. This was just the beginning.
"Then there is the crossbow that is strung with the foot, that is, the crossbow. Its crossbow body needs to be further thickened, the pulling force needs to reach 280 to 400 pounds, the maximum semi-inclined throw must be 400 meters, and the flat shot must be 220 meters. Ten meters. Shooting at such a slight elevation can completely break through the leather armor at a height of 250 meters.
This kind of crossbow will become the main long-range weapon, and I will form a large-scale army of crossbow warriors. You need to plan for batch manufacturing and simplify every step. It is best to have a uniform size to facilitate the angle control during group shooting.
Also, when stringing this kind of crossbow, you need to step on the bow with both feet, and use the strength of your upper waist and legs to pull the string to the end of the thigh. Its draw length is half longer than that of an armband crossbow. At the same time, you need to wrap two layers of silk and linen in the middle of the crossbow body as a buffer to prevent the crossbow body from being damaged by stepping on the string. There should be an auxiliary winding device, something like this..."
While Hulot explained in detail, he added marks on the drawings on the wooden boards to remind Kushinki of the details that needed attention. Different from the Warring States Period, the Qianzhang crossbow of the Han Dynasty was not equipped with an anklet. The archer directly stepped on the bow arm to wind it, so that he could exert more force with his feet.
"The last type is a crossbow that is stringed with waist and legs, that is, a waist-tension crossbow. In addition to the thickening, its crossbow body can be further lengthened and can exceed that of a longbow. The draw force of this heavy crossbow is between 500 and 700 pounds. , the draw length is similar to that of an arm-open crossbow, estimated to be slightly more than half a meter. Its projectile range is more than 400 meters, and can usually reach 500 meters.
When this kind of crossbow is cocked, you need to sit on the ground and use all your strength like rowing. When shooting, you need to hold it with your shoulder, because the back force is very strong to prevent violent shaking. Its damage is mainly caused by projectiles. It rises to a very high place and then falls diagonally, which can pin the enemy to the ground at the landing point. Only extremely strong warriors can use it, so you won't build too many, just for ultra-long-range morale blows and formation disruption. "
The young man secretly imagined that one stone in the Han Dynasty weighed slightly more than 30 kilograms, nearly 70 pounds. Seven to ten stones is a waist-opening crossbow with astonishing power. The highest ten-stone, 700-pound heavy wooden crossbow, also known as the Big Yellow Crossbow, has a range of more than 500 meters. This is the limit of use by a single soldier, and only belongs to absolute warriors.
The Rhubarb Crossbow will also be specially designed to have a longer draw length, specifically used for sniping at enemy commanders. The Han army sniped at the Xiongnu leader more than once during the Northern Expedition. There should be some way to increase the accuracy of long-distance shooting.
Shulot thought hard for a while, and then sighed longingly. Due to the advantage of two to three times the draw length, the kinetic energy transfer of a 500-700 pound waist tension crossbow will be approximately equal to that of a 2000-3000 pound steel crossbow, which can pose a fatal threat to heavily armored targets.
In fact, a thousand warriors with crossbows at their backs can completely restrain hundreds of European heavy armored cavalry. Under intensive long-range shooting, the cavalry will be hit continuously and lose their horses and lives. And a close shot within a hundred meters is enough to kill a plate armor knight. Although the crossbow bolts may not necessarily penetrate the high-quality polished plate armor, the kinetic energy of the continuous impact is enough to cause the knight to suffer fractures all over his body and completely lose his combat ability.
For the Mexicans, these three types of Chinese crossbows are within the scope of production allowed by technology. It just depends on how much it costs, how much copper ore it needs to consume, and whether it can be popularized on a large scale.
As for the more powerful crossbow, according to Song Dynasty records, it cost 20-30 stones. The arm of the crossbow should be more than two meters long, and the draw distance is actually 1-3 meters. Even the crossbow machine is 30-40 centimeters long. The arrows are like two-meter javelins, and the shooting distance is 1-2 miles. This kind of weapon is already a long-distance siege equipment, completely beyond the current technical capabilities.
Shulot closed his eyes hard and opened them again. He retracted his thoughts and returned from the long river of history. He no longer thought about it. He just missed the old dreams like water and imagined the colorful fallen flowers.
Then, the young man looked at the master carpenter. Kuxinji has been completely addicted to the huge power of the waist-opening crossbow. He looked at the pictures on the wooden board and kept making gestures with his hands. After a while, he came back to his senses and looked at His Highness dissatisfied.
"Your Highness, what is the specific arm length of this waist-opening crossbow? Can the crossbow really withstand such a strong force?"
Shulot was stunned again. He thought for a while and made sure that all the ink in his belly had been removed, so he gave vague instructions.
"It's definitely possible. As for the specific shape, it's nothing more than lengthening, thickening, strengthening, and using better materials. I've pointed out the most difficult direction for you, and you have to figure out the rest. You are the most Excellent carpenter masters, you must believe in your own abilities! By the way, give priority to trial production of the Zhangzhang Crossbow. I will come over to check it out after the New Year's ceremony.
This post-Autumn Harvest coronation war will never be safe if there are hundreds of crossbows in full swing! Kushinki, the great cause of the Alliance depends on you! "
Leaving a final word of encouragement, the young man stood on tiptoe, smiled and patted the master carpenter on the shoulder. Then, before the other party continued to ask questions, he turned around majestically and walked away quickly. Bertard followed silently with a calm face.
Next, Shulot wanted to check out the enhanced military equipment, cloth armor and rattan armor. There are also improved folk technologies, including woodblock printing, paper improvement, charcoal firing, glass manufacturing, brick kiln construction... This is the eve of the rapid development of science and technology, and it is the history that he single-handedly promoted!
Behind him, Ku Xinji raised his head again at some point and stared at His Highness in the distance. After a long time, the master carpenter looked at the sky. The sun god had ascended to the highest throne, and his light was shining down on the world.
"Is there really a divine revelation in this world? Is the distant Sun God really paying attention to the world?"
After thinking for a moment, Ku Xinji silently lowered his head again. He concentrated on it and began the trial production of the crossbow. The breeze blows in the courtyard, bringing the fragrance of wood. Soon, lost history will be repeated again.
