Li Daozong simply tried it himself. The crossbow was indeed less powerful than he imagined, but it was not too small. A soldier would probably have to pull it four or five times at most before it could be pulled open.
But when they tested its power next, its power surprised Li Daozong and others. Wooden boards several inches thick could be penetrated directly, and ordinary shields or armors could not block its power at all.
Even His Highness's newly developed steel armor obviously cannot stop its power at all.
When the double crossbow and the class crossbow were taken out, the two of them were completely speechless. The double crossbow was actually the medium-sized bed crossbow that Li Ke had used in Nanyang before, and the class crossbow was a large bed crossbow. This thing There was also one in the Tang Dynasty, but the structure and volume of the Tang Dynasty were definitely bigger and bulkier than this one!
Because these bed crossbows adopt modular design and assembly, in addition, some of its important non-elastic structural parts are made of fine steel castings. If wood is used, the wood required must be very thick, but precision Steel doesn't require such heavy wood.
So its size looks very delicate.
But the power of this thing can be seen just by looking at the arrow shaft that is almost as thick as an adult's wrist.
"It seems we don't have any use for these things." Li Daozong asked with a wry smile.
"His Highness said that the main task this time is to test these weapons, and the other is to test a brand-new combat method." He Jin added.
"What kind of tactics?" Li Daozong and the others looked at each other.
"Fire coverage." He Jin said.
Fire coverage? !
"His Highness said, it is said that Qin's crossbows are famous all over the world, so the Tang Dynasty cannot lag behind, so the number of crossbows in the Tang Dynasty must keep up. Whether it is siege or field operations, we can use arrows to cover the enemy." He Jin He spoke.
Li Daozong and An Xinggui were speechless. Well...fire coverage...this word is really appropriate. If the number of arrows is enough, especially if they are all iron arrows, it will be really difficult for the enemy to hold them back. Disaster.
"In addition, the Ordnance Institute has actually researched a lot of ordnance. His Highness asked you to test them all, such as the brand new counterweight trebuchet." He Jin said.
"Counterweight trebuchet? What's the difference from the previous trebuchet?" Li Daozong and the others were a little curious, and they naturally knew about the trebuchet.
Trebuchets were first recorded in the Zhou Dynasty. They have been used in sieges in all dynasties in China. By the Tang Dynasty, trebuchet technology had become very mature.
The so-called counterweight trebuchet is actually a return cannon from the Yuan Dynasty. It is not much different from the original trebuchet, except that the original trebuchet is equipped with a mesh for placing stones on the head of a long pole. When the weight falls, throw the stone at the head of the long pole away.
The counterweight trebuchet develops two ropes at the head of the long pole. The ropes are connected to a mesh bag, and the bag is placed in a groove.
In this case, when the counterweight falls, the stones inside the baguette will extend the length of the rope again on the length of the long pole, allowing it to move farther, and the centrifugal force it will receive will be greater, and the power of the throw will be greater The distance is naturally greater.
"In addition, there are brand-new iron caltrops to prevent cavalry from rushing into battle." He Jin asked someone to take out a bag of special things from the warehouse and handed them to the two generals.
When he took this thing into his hand, Li Daozong felt a chill all over his body. Iron caltrops have been around since ancient times. This thing was probably invented during the Warring States Period, but His Highness's one is obviously longer, and it will obviously be more powerful. There is a hole reserved in the middle, and the rope has been passed through it, making it easy to arrange and collect.
This thing has been a weapon of defense since ancient times, but in fact, although it has a small reputation in history, the main reason is... poor and can't afford it.
Iron weapons were used in too many places in ancient times. At most, they were used in some important cities or defensive positions to prevent cavalry attacks. However, field troops could not afford to carry them.
If the quantity of this thing is small, it will not be of much use. If the quantity is large, so many iron tools might as well be used to make armor.
But this thing is not difficult at all for Li Ke now.
Including the rope used for the link, Li Ke, can be directly connected with iron wire. After the steam engine was developed, the difficulty of making iron wire plummeted.
"Can Your Highness provide this in large quantities?" An Xinggui was a little curious. Although arrows consume iron, they are important strategic equipment after all. But this iron caltrop, its defensive purpose and required dosage are different from those of arrows. In comparison, the price/performance ratio is not high.
But when it comes to defending against cavalry, it's really invincible.
"Of course, except for the transportation trouble, everything else is not a problem." He Jin nodded.
"If this is the case, then the Western Turks and the like are not our opponents at all." An Xinggui couldn't help but said, if the number of these things is really enough, the Turkic cavalry will not be a concern, and they can find their Position, sprinkle a lot of this stuff on their important escape routes in advance, and the opponent will be the turtle in the urn.
Although the grassland is indeed vast, except for a small number of grasslands where you can run around as you please, most of the other grasslands are not really open to large groups of cavalry.
"The things will be handed over to the two generals. The next thing is the two generals' business."
After Li Daozong and An Xinggui took over all the supplies, they were deeply impressed by Datang's current strength.
"To be honest, I still can't understand how His Highness managed to conjure these things. Doesn't it only take three years? Is there such a big change in three years?" An Xinggui, who has been living in a cold place for a long time, State, he really can't understand these changes.
Li Daozong's experience was more profound. Three years seemed to be a short time, but thinking about the changes in Xizhou, Li Daozong shook his head: "Three years have changed a lot."
"But since His Highness has provided so many weapons, I think our large army does not need to come over. What do you think? Just sending three thousand people to defend the city is enough."
"I think there is no problem." An Xinggui said simply, "If we are just to defend the city, five thousand people are enough, and we don't even need to dispatch five thousand people. Two thousand people are enough at a time. Test what His Highness said, what fire coverage feels like."
"Okay. Anyway, we can contact the army at the rear at any time." Li Daozong nodded.
