Shulot quickly approached and took a closer look. The cloth-covered paper armor in front of me is brown-grey, with a layer of cloth inside and outside, as thick as half a palm. It feels soft and solid, and you can vaguely smell the fragrance of the paper.
The young man then looked expectantly at the paper armor master Matlar.
"How effective is this paper armor? How much does it cost? Is it easy to maintain?"
Telal also stroked the paper armor with his hand and explained with a smile.
"According to His Highness's instructions, I used the cloth as the base, layered it with about fifty pieces of non-sexual and extremely soft paper, then added corn mortar to glue it together, pasted on a layer of cloth, and then hammered it with a stone hammer to compact it into a layer. Layers. Then stack fifty sheets of paper and a layer of cloth again, and continue to thicken and strengthen... This paper armor has four layers."
With that said, the armor master first swung his obsidian war stick. The sharp blade could only cut through the first layer of paper armor, and the second layer penetrated halfway. The full swing of the bronze ax can cut through three to four floors, but does no harm to the wooden frame below the fourth floor. Only the full thrust of the bronze spear could penetrate the four layers, leaving shallow marks on the wooden frame. The close-range shot of the Tlaxcala bow can only break through two layers, and the impact kinetic energy is completely absorbed by the paper.
Demonstrating the defensive effect when dry, Marater pondered deeply and then evaluated.
"This kind of paper armor is quite light, and its defense depends on two points. First, naturally, the more layers there are, the stronger the defense. When stacked to more than six layers, it can even be compared with cloth-covered copper armor! It's just that it's too thick. , the movement will be seriously affected. Secondly, if the paper armor absorbs water, its defense will be doubled and it will be invulnerable to an axe!"
With that said, the master armor maker asked his apprentice to bring a large bucket of water and pour it evenly on the paper armor. The paper nails quickly absorbed water and became completely soft, with the tentacles becoming moist. Later, Shulot personally swung the copper ax to strike. The armor was soft and unstretched, and could not be cut at all. He replaced it with a copper spear and could only penetrate a little.
Seeing this scene, the young man finally nodded with satisfaction.
Maratelle smiled and continued the introduction.
"Your Highness, this kind of cloth-covered paper armor is not difficult to make. Apprentices can also participate in the production. However, the amount of paper required is huge, and making and hammering is quite labor-intensive. Maintenance and repair are easy, just add paper and cloth-covered gluing. Usually it is necessary Pay attention to fire prevention, and you don’t have to worry during the rainy season.”
Shulot thought again, his eyes shining brightly.
With the development of papermaking technology, paper armor began to be used on a large scale during the Tang and Song Dynasties, and became the standard armor for local armies in the Song Dynasty. In this era, most of the lower-level soldiers of the Ming army were also equipped with paper armor, especially the navy army.
In fact, the paper armor doubles its defense when exposed to water, making it very suitable as a standard equipment for naval forces. In Mexico's long rainy season, paper armor can also give full play to its advantages, and there is no need to worry about rust like metal armor. Well, you may need to pay attention to pest control.
Technically speaking, paper nails are almost not difficult to manufacture. As long as there are sufficient raw materials and manpower, they can be manufactured on a large scale. The positioning of this kind of armor is actually quite similar to cotton armor. It's just that in this era of low productivity, the cultivation and output of cotton were limited after all. Cotton cloth also circulated in Central American society as currency, but it was not as easy to obtain as the raw materials for papermaking.
Commonly used raw materials for papermaking include bamboo, reeds, bark, long grass, and jute. They do not need to occupy cultivated land. They can also rely on manpower recruitment during slack periods, giving full play to the manpower advantages of the Mexican Union.
After repeated consideration, Shulot made a decision and made paper armor a permanent stock, popularizing it in the longbow militia and spear militia that were about to be formed, and also used it to strengthen the naval army.
"Maratel, this kind of armor is positioned to be popularized on a large scale and used to arm thousands of elite militiamen. Similar to standard cotton armor, paper armor can effectively resist the samurai's war club in a battle. That's it! I only need the cheapest two types: two layers of paper armor to arm the elite militia, and one layer of paper armor to arm the navy.
Following this idea, you should be prepared to sort out the methods of making paper nails in detail. Soon, I will establish a special workshop, recruit hundreds of craftsmen, and produce paper nails in large quantities. You can recommend a workshop leader! "
Shulot ordered seriously.
Marlater thought for a moment, bowed his head respectfully and accepted the order. He also needs to develop new armor, which will push the great disciple who has been following him all the way to this position. Thinking of this, the armor master smiled, and the scars on his face shook happily.
Then, he stood up and moved to a pair of finely woven green-brown rattan armor, and introduced it with a smile again.
"Your Highness, this is the vine armor made according to your wishes. The alliance has a tradition of using ivy to make shields, and there are some old vines in the inventory. I used old vines to weave this vine armor. It took a long time, and it was the most difficult part. That’s the treatment of the joints. Fortunately, the finished product is very light, difficult to penetrate with sticks and axes, and has excellent defense!"
As he spoke, Maratel slashed and struck with the obsidian war stick, leaving the vine armor unscathed. Then use a copper ax to chop carefully, leaving some scratches on the rattan armor. Finally, he stabbed with a copper spear. The tip of the spear penetrated a little through the natural gaps in the rattan armor and did no harm to the rattan armor itself.
Shulot looked closer and saw that the rattan armor was very finely woven, and the natural gaps between the rattans were only as big as a grain of rice. The master armor maker's swing brought a breeze, and a faint smell of fish oil rushed towards him. It had obviously been soaked in oil for a long time.
The young man watched for a moment and asked with keen doubts.
"Maratel, why don't you use the copper ax to chop with all your strength? Also, how does this kind of armor protect against bows and arrows?"
The armor master smiled awkwardly, thought for a moment, and explained truthfully.
"Your Highness, this vine armor is different from other armors. The defense relies entirely on the material of the entire old vine. Once cut off with great force, this vine armor is almost impossible to repair. There are not so many old vines in stock, and the new vines need to be soaked in oil. One year..."
After hearing this, Shulot thought for a moment and sighed slightly.
The defensive power of rattan armor is between that of iron armor and leather armor. Excellent rattan armor is actually no less than iron armor. However, throughout the history of the Celestial Dynasty, rattan armor was only popular among the southwest frontiers and naval forces, and was later even replaced by paper armor and cloth-faced armor. Naturally, it had irreparable flaws.
In practical applications, the most fatal flaw of rattan armor is not that it is afraid of fire, but that it is difficult to maintain. Damage to armor during combat was common. After a battle, the iron plates of the pierced armor and scale armor need to be replaced, the iron rings need to be repaired for the chain mail armor, and the materials of the paper armor and cloth armor need to be refilled, except for the rattan armor. Its defense relies entirely on the old vine's own material. Once broken, it can only be remade.
The production of rattan armor takes a very long time. Ivy needs to be soaked in water for half a month, dried for a few days, and soaked in oil for a year. After weaving into nails, the surface needs to be hardened, which is very labor-intensive. At the same time, the sturdiness of the vine is directly proportional to the age of the vine. New vines are brittle and easy to break, while old vines are tough and wear-resistant, but the raw materials are rare.
In addition, there are natural gaps in the rattan armor, so its defense against bows and arrows is very low. Tough old vines are not easy to bend, so most vine armors do not have movable joints. When worn on the body, they look like a large vest, which looks quite ancient.
Seeing His Highness's increasingly gloomy expression, Maratel felt a chill in his heart and quickly stepped forward to remedy the situation.
"Your Highness, actually, the Alliance has a lot of experience in using ivy. In my opinion, it is actually very suitable for making shields and helmets."
With that said, the armor master took out a helmet woven from old vines and handed it to His Highness respectfully.
Shulot took the vine helmet and stroked its tough surface. He tested it several times with a copper axe, and it was indeed extremely strong. Then, the young man tried to put the rattan helmet on his head, and the size was just right. This kind of helmet is extremely lightweight and much more comfortable than the animal-shaped wooden helmet. It also has breathable pores on it, which can effectively dissipate heat and ventilation.
Shulot remembered the wooden helmet he wore during his last expedition. He was sweating like rain when it was hot. Then he felt the comfort of the rattan helmet, so he nodded slowly.
Maratel smiled slightly and once again demonstrated the shield's defense to His Highness.
As a combat consumable, rattan cards can be woven from easily available new rattan. As a shield, the natural gaps in the shield are no longer weaknesses.
The armor master first stabbed the copper spear vigorously. The bronze spear pierced the shield, but was stuck in the shield and could not be pulled out.
"In this case, the opposing warrior can only give up his weapon, and our warrior must give up his shield."
Speaking of this, Maratelle smiled. Then, he fired a bow and arrow at the shield. The arrow inserted into the gap of the shield and also absorbed its kinetic energy.
Seeing this, the young man nodded slightly. Compared with rattan armor, rattan armor is indeed cheaper and more practical. The buffering power of this kind of shield can also effectively defend against primary firearms. No wonder it was fully popularized in the Ming and Qing dynasties.
Shulot thought for a while and gave serious instructions again.
"Maratel, in this case, the rattan armor will be put on hold for now. Please sort out the manufacturing methods of rattan helmets and rattan plates and recommend a person in charge. Next, I will also equip the new army on a large scale. There is no need to use all old rattan helmets for rattan helmets. , similar to the shield, it maintains a certain degree of defense while being cheap and popular first!”
The armor master once again accepted the order with a smile. This time, it was time to consider supporting his filial second apprentice.
The young man thought in his mind and summarized his experience in choosing military equipment.
Just like the power of a ranged weapon is the product of draw force and draw distance. The power of weapons and equipment is also the product of the power of a single piece of equipment and the total number of equipment. And numerical superiority is the most important decisive effect of weapons.
In 1441, the lowest price for a set of Milan full-body plate armor was 72 livres of silver coins, which was already half cheaper than two hundred years ago. The annual maintenance cost of a set of plate armor also requires at least a dozen silver coins. This kind of expensive equipment can only be afforded by the landed aristocrats with more than 200 acres in the long term.
Compared with expensive plate armor, ordinary leather armor of the same period cost only 1-2 silver coins. Since there was no need to worry about rust, maintenance costs were also extremely low.
If a knight in plate armor leads fifty light cavalry in civilian clothes and fights against the same number of knights in leather armor with the same martial arts skills, the result of the fight will be that the knight in plate armor fights dozens of enemies alone. Then the knight lost his horse and exhausted his strength. He was pushed to the ground by many enemies and stabbed to death with daggers.
In complex actual battles, this limiting assumption does not make much sense. It just illustrates a point: a real commander cannot put the quality of equipment first and ignore the quantity of equipment.
For the empire, military strength is a competition of national strength. Behind every legion is the huge manpower and material resources that support the legion. The quantity of the legion's equipment will be determined by both manufacturing and maintenance costs. Manufacturing costs determine the scale of production. Maintenance costs will continue to consume the empire's finances. Both consume national power at the same time. Without a strong empire and without the millions of people and craftsmen behind the legions, the military system cannot be sustained.
This is also the reason why cloth-covered iron armor replaced pierced armor and scale armor. It was cheap to make and low to maintain. The popularity of paper nails and cotton nails is also here.
At this point, Shulot has a comprehensive equipment plan for the next new army.
These elite militiamen will be armed with bronze spears, rattan shields or long bows, wearing rattan helmets and thick paper armor. The defense power of their equipment will be infinitely close to that of ordinary warriors, but the cost of establishment and daily maintenance will be greatly reduced. With the help of new weapons and equipment and new tactics, elite militiamen will truly enter the stage of history. With their huge numbers, they will change the direction of the war and even the pattern of the entire society.
Finally, in the continuous war, a new class is about to rise!
Shulot looked into the distance with emotion. In the sky, birds from the north are migrating south to spend the warm winter here. At the highest point, an eagle spreads its wings and flies high, looking at the vast land. Under the eagle, there is a flock of flying geese and countless flapping birds, flying majestically across the world!
