"Fortunately, there are two springs on the hill, which saves us a lot of time. It will take us two days at most to complete all the fortifications!" Wang Wenzuo's voice was hoarse, and the firelight shook, reflecting the resolute lines on his face. , Marching, fighting and labor are like sharp chisels, peeling away weakness and vanity, leaving only strength and tenacity.
"Thank you for your hard work, Sanlang!" Liu An walked to the wooden wall and lowered his voice: "Is your secret weapon ready?"
"The samples are ready!"
"Okay, let's go take a look!"
The curtain was lifted, revealing what was underneath. This strange machine looked thick at the front and thin at the back when viewed from the side, like a scorpion lying on the ground. The oak and steel shone with a dark red luster under the reflection of the firelight. , as if there is life surging in it. Liu An approached this strange machine and tried his best to compare it with the thing that destroyed the Baekje rafts in his memory, but it was difficult to find similarities. In the end, he gave up the effort: "Sanlang, it seems to be a little bit different from the last time. Isn’t it different?”
"Last time it was improvised, this time it's a serious one!" Wang Wenzuo patted the bracket twice with a smile: "Wu Lang, can you practice it for a while?"
"Okay, let's practice!" Liu An nodded with interest,
The two soldiers walked to the machine and began to turn the wooden handle at the tail. Liu An noticed the slow rotation of the crossbow arm. The teeth-searing creaking sound was accompanied by crisp metal collisions. Finally, the crossbow arm was retracted. It was so tight that a click was heard in the end. The soldier let go of the handle, put a short rod about half a meter long into the slide rail, and stuck the crossbow string into the groove at the tail of the short rod.
"Captain, everything is ready!"
Wang Wenzuo walked to the tail of the machine and lifted it from the bracket. Liu An was surprised to find that Wang Wenzuo could easily turn it up, down, left and right by himself. Finally, he aimed at the target about thirty meters away - a With the helmet hanging on the wooden wall, he pushed the trigger next to the slide rail hard, and only heard a muffled sound. The crossbow arm rebounded at an alarming speed and hit the leather-wrapped crossbar.
"Come on, let's go over and take a look!"
The short mark nailed the helmet through and penetrated deeply into the log. Liu An grabbed the handle of the mark and pulled it out hard, but it did not move at all. He couldn't help but secretly gasp. It was obvious that no matter how good the armor and shield were, they were as fragile as paper in front of this thing.
"Sanlang, what's the name of this thing?"
"Scorpion! What do you think of this name?"
Liu An nodded. He had to admit that the name was very appropriate: this machine was as accurate and deadly as a poisonous scorpion. Maybe the bed crossbow is more powerful and has a longer range, but the bed crossbow requires more operators, takes up more space, is very difficult to move, and is difficult to aim and shoot at individual targets. This thing only requires two people to operate it. It is easy to rotate and aim, and it is more accurate. It can exert terrifying lethality when hidden behind trenches and barriers.
"Are you hiding an evil spirit in this thing?" Liu An patted the handle and asked in a joking tone: "Otherwise, why would it be so scary?"
"All the secrets are here!" Wang Wenzuo put the torch close to the crossbow arm: "Have you seen the thick rope inside? It is made of horsehair, hair, tendons and burlap. When you turn the crossbow arm, it will be Tighten it, just like the bow arm of a bed crossbow, it can accumulate huge power, and as long as you loosen it, the arrow or lead bullet can be ejected."
The mysterious machine created by Wang Wenzuo is a torsion spring crossbow. This weapon invented by ancient Greek scientists may be the most terrifying projectile weapon in the cold weapon era. As we all know, the power of a crossbow comes from the potential energy stored in the elastic deformation of the bow arm. In order to improve the power of the crossbow, people continue to increase the length of the crossbow and improve the material of the crossbow arm, but both have limits. As the The continuous improvement of armor and shield manufacturing technology soon exceeded the upper limit of what a single soldier could achieve with a crossbow. Under the pressure of war, the craftsmen of Dionysus, the tyrant of Syracuse in ancient Greece, adopted the latest achievement of scientists at the time - a torsion spring: that is, using the torsion generated by two bundles of horsehair, hemp rope or animal tendon to drive the crossbow The arms move the bow string to fire arrows or projectiles. Compared with the crossbow arm, the torsion spring group rebounds much faster, and the fired arrows are not only enough to penetrate shields and armor, but can even break civil fortifications. After adopting ratchets, triggers, and turning machines, its loading and firing speed and accuracy can be compared with individual crossbows. It is also lighter than bed crossbows and easy to carry after disassembly. The legions of the late Roman Republic carried a considerable number of them. This weapon serves as field suppressive fire.
"How many 'Scorpions' are there in total?" Liu An asked in a low voice.
"The materials and parts I have on hand can make at least twenty units!" Wang Wenzuo replied: "But assembly and debugging will still take time!"
"Very good, leave all the things at hand to others and concentrate on getting this thing done!" Liu An's cheeks turned red, as if he had a fever: "Can we survive on Erzagang this time?" , Just look at this thing!”
Zhouliucheng (also known as Zhouzhou Roucheng).
"Look, this is the finest silk, coming from Yangzhou in the Tang Dynasty!" The elder brother picked up the robe and showed it to her: "Come, touch it!"
Gui Shiyun touched it, and the material was as soft as her brother said, flowing through her fingertips. She had never worn such good clothes before, and she suddenly felt a little scared and withdrew her hand: "Where did this clothes come from! "
"This is specially prepared for you!" Onishiro Fuxin said with a smile. Few people can see such a relaxed smile on his face: "The best Yangzhou silk, water red, just suits you. There is also gold Wearing a crown and all kinds of precious stones and jewelry, you must be more beautiful than everyone else tonight, so that His Highness Feng can’t take his eyes off you!”
"Your Highness Feng?" Gui Shiyun opened her mouth. This name was not unfamiliar to her. As a member of the Baekje royal family, Oni Shiyun knew the situation of the royal family very well. Among the many sons of King Uiji, Buyeo Bongjang, who was sent to Japan as a hostage when he was young, was a marginalized person. However, after the capital of Baekje was captured by the Tang army, almost all King Uiji and his sons were brought back to China. In the Tang Dynasty, Fuyu Fengzhang became one of the few choices for those who wanted to restore the country.
"Yes!" Onimuro Fukunobu showed a proud smile: "Tonight I will lead everyone to welcome His Highness Feng. He will become the new King of Baekje, and you will become his queen!"
"Yes, but I heard that the Japanese king has betrothed your daughter to His Highness Feng as his wife!"
"The king has more than one wife!" Onimuro Fukunobu's eyes flashed with fanaticism: "One day, the new king on the throne must have the blood of our family!"
