sovbooks Chapter 39 Battlefield Weapon
Chapter 39 Battlefield Weapon
Fifty paces is indeed somewhat of a waste for a crossbow that can hit a target from a hundred paces away.
Li Zhao nodded, knowing that Ma Jun was telling the truth. Although the Zhuge Repeating Crossbow was famous in history, its actual combat effectiveness has always been questionable, mainly due to its insufficient range and lethality, making it more of a close-combat defensive weapon.
But what he wanted was a weapon of mass destruction that could change the rules of the battlefield.
"Master Ma, what if I could provide you with the best steel?" Li Zhao suddenly said.
"The best steel?" Ma Jun was taken aback.
Iron smelting technology in this era was relatively backward, with most iron being pig iron or wrought iron. Steel was extremely rare and precious, and was usually only used to forge precious swords and knives.
Li Zhao did not explain, but instead took out a dark metal ingot from his sleeve and handed it to Ma Jun.
This is a sample of high-carbon steel that he redeemed using the system's in-game store. Although it's not much, it's enough for his experiments.
Ma Jun took the steel ingot and felt its weight. He took out a small hammer he always carried and tapped it lightly.
"bite--"
A clear and melodious metallic sound rang out.
Ma Jun's eyes lit up instantly. He scratched the steel ingot with his fingernail, but couldn't even leave a mark.
"Fine steel! Absolutely superb steel!" Ma Jun exclaimed, his beard trembling with excitement. "My lord, where...where did you get this?"
"You don't need to worry about that," Li Zhao said calmly. "I only want to ask you, if we use this kind of steel to make the core components, can we solve the problems of jamming and tension?"
"Yes! Absolutely!" Ma Jun said confidently. "With this kind of fine steel, I'm confident I can double the tension of the bowstring! The effective range will be at least eighty paces! Penetrating double-layered leather armor will be a piece of cake!"
"Great!" Li Zhao exclaimed joyfully. "Master Ma, you can use all the resources in this armory. I need you to build me one hundred of these repeating crossbows within a month!"
"Yes! I will certainly live up to your trust, my lord!" Ma Jun seemed to have become ten years younger, full of energy.
For the next month, the armory went into a frenzy of overtime work.
Li Zhao used the system shop to continuously exchange for high-carbon steel and other urgently needed raw materials. Although it cost a lot of points (exchanged from food), it was all worth it for this powerful weapon.
Ma Jun and his apprentices worked tirelessly, day and night, to overcome the challenges. They improved the design of the ratchet, optimized the structure of the arrow casket, and even invented a small hydraulic forging hammer, which greatly improved the forging efficiency of steel.
Finally, on the last day of the deadline, the first batch of one hundred improved "Qingzhou Repeating Crossbows" were produced.
……
A vacant lot behind the armory was temporarily set up as a testing ground.
One hundred carefully selected soldiers, each carrying a brand-new Qingzhou repeating crossbow, stood in neat square formation.
Eighty paces away opposite them stood one hundred straw men. Each straw man was clad in double-layered cowhide armor captured from Cao Cao's army.
Li Zhao led a group of generals, including Liu Bei, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun, and Taishi Ci, to the testing ground.
Everyone was filled with curiosity about this new weapon on which their lord had placed high hopes.
"Brother, this thing looks like a fire poker, is it really that amazing?" Zhang Fei stared at the repeating crossbow for a long time, but couldn't figure out what it was all about.
"Yide, stop talking nonsense!" Liu Bei scolded. "Anything produced by our lord is bound to be of the highest quality."
Guan Yu stroked his long beard, his phoenix eyes slightly narrowed: "I'd like to see if this repeating crossbow can compare to the Qingzhou broadsword in my hand."
Li Zhao smiled, offered no further explanation, and directly gave the order:
"Ziyi, you give it a try."
Taishi Ci was recognized as the best archer in the army, so having him test the shooting was the most convincing way to do so.
"promise!"
Taishi Ci stepped forward and took a repeating crossbow. He weighed it in his hand and felt that it was a bit heavier than a regular crossbow, but still within an acceptable range.
Following Ma Jun's instructions, he inserted the wooden box filled with ten short arrows into the crossbow, then leveled the crossbow and aimed at a straw man a hundred paces away.
"Ready—Fire!"
Taishi Ci took a deep breath and pulled the lever sharply.
"collapse!"
A sharp, resonant sound rang out as the bowstring vibrated. A short arrow shot out like a meteor, striking the straw man squarely in the chest.
Before anyone could see clearly, Taishi Ci quickly pulled the lever.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!..."
A series of rapid bowstring twanged, like popping beans.
In the blink of an eye, ten short arrows were unleashed.
The scarecrow opposite instantly turned into a hedgehog, its leather armor riddled with holes from countless arrows.
"Such a fast rate of fire!" Zhao Yun couldn't help but exclaim.
"Go and take a look," Li Zhao instructed.
Several guards ran over and carried the straw man back.
The crowd gathered around to examine it closely.
All ten short arrows pierced through the double-layered leather armor and embedded themselves deeply into the straw man's body. Some even went through the straw man, with the arrowheads protruding from its back.
"hiss--"
A collective gasp filled the air.
Guan Yu and Zhang Fei exchanged a glance, both seeing the shock in each other's eyes.
They were all fierce generals capable of defeating ten thousand men, so they naturally knew what this meant.
At a distance of eighty paces, ten shots fired in quick succession can penetrate double layers of leather armor. If those shots hit a person, wouldn't they be riddled with holes?
Even if they were highly skilled in martial arts, they would probably find it difficult to escape unscathed from such a dense rain of arrows.
"This...this is simply a divine artifact!" Taishi Ci stroked the repeating crossbow in his hand, unable to put it down.
He imagined what it would be like if a crossbow unit of several thousand men were on the battlefield, facing an enemy cavalry charge.
That was nothing short of a massacre!
"My lord, if we can equip our army with this in large quantities, how can we not secure the world!" Liu Bei's voice trembled with excitement.
Li Zhao nodded in satisfaction as he looked at the shocked expressions on everyone's faces.
This is the effect he wanted.
"This weapon is good, but it also has its limitations," Li Zhao calmly analyzed. "Its range is not as good as that of a crossbow, and it consumes a lot of arrows. If it cannot be used in large numbers, it is easy for enemy cavalry to rush it in the field."
"Therefore, I do not intend to equip the entire army with this."
Li Zhao turned around and glanced at the generals.
"I want to establish a dedicated 'Divine Machine Battalion'."
"The number of men is tentatively set at three thousand. They will all be strong, quick-witted soldiers. Each man will be equipped with a Qingzhou repeating crossbow, a ring-pommel sword, and a round shield."
"Train them rigorously in peacetime, and use them as surprise troops in wartime. They may ambush on the flanks or hide within the enemy lines. At the crucial moment, they will deliver a fatal blow to the enemy!"
The generals were filled with excitement and responded in unison.
"Ziyi," Li Zhao called out Taishi Ci's name.
"Your subordinate is here!"
"This Divine Machine Battalion is now under your command. I need you to get them into combat-ready form within three months!"
"Yes, sir! I will certainly not fail in my mission! If I fail to complete the training in three months, I am willing to offer my head!" Taishi Ci excitedly made this pledge.
After arranging all this, Li Zhao whispered to Xu Shu beside him:
"Yuanzhi, this Qingzhou Repeating Crossbow is a top secret of our army. No one except the soldiers of the Shenji Battalion is allowed to handle it privately. The secrecy at the armory must also be strengthened. We must not allow the blueprints and the actual crossbow to fall into the hands of the enemy."