Spears and shields have always been an eternal theme in war.
But when Fei Qian looked at the tablets preserved by Huang Chengyan, it seemed that the "spear", that is, the scroll of arms, was now richer, and the "shield" part, which was the protective armor scroll, was
It seems slightly thinner.
Of course, this is only in Fei Qian's eyes. In the eyes of others, the Armor Scroll is still extremely rich, with details ranging from the materials used to the armor to its production methods.
According to the records of the Armor Scroll, armor is mostly made of cowhide and painted on it, and only those containing metals such as copper and iron can be called armor. The composition of armor is explained in detail, and even the pressing and weaving of armor pieces are explained in detail.
There are clear instructions...
There are two types of armor popular in the Han Dynasty, one is "zha armor" and the other is "fish scale armor". Both of them have iron plates, but the former has slightly less and the latter has slightly more.
"Zhajia" is generally used by ordinary soldiers. The lowest-grade ones are made of large pieces of zhao fixedly and braided like a large vest, and are connected with laces at the shoulders and armpits. They only serve the purpose of
It has the function of protecting the chest and back. The more advanced version adds a row of medium-sized armor pieces to protect the waist span, and adds shawls on both shoulders.
The "fish scale armor" only became popular in the late Western Han Dynasty and continued until the Eastern Han Dynasty. Since it is called fish scales, it is naturally made of small pieces of iron, and it only protects fewer parts than the "fish scale armor"
"Zhajia" came with the addition of "basin collar" to protect the neck, "blade" to protect the arms, "magpie tail" and "leg skirt" to protect the legs, etc.
Of course, the production process and cost of "fish scale armor" are much more than that of "zha armor", and generally only senior generals will own it.
And then next...
There is no more.
No chain mail, no plate armor...
Although these also belong to the category of heavy armor, at least in Huang Chengyan's letter, Fei Qian did not see it.
After all, there are many such things in various movies, TV shows, and even games in later generations, and Fei Qian is more or less familiar with them. For example, plate armor is indeed a model of armor. At that time, European aristocratic knights wore it like an iron
It looks like a can, and it is said that even the lead bullets of a matchlock gun may not be able to penetrate it.
However, both of these seem to have higher metallurgical process requirements, and it makes sense that they did not exist in the Eastern Han Dynasty. But is there anything that can be simplified a little, so that this kind of armor with relatively higher protective power can appear earlier? And
Or is the cost lower?
Thinking of this, Fei Qian said to Huang Chengyan: "Master Yuezhang, do you know if there is any technology for making iron wire or iron sheets now?"
"Iron wire or iron sheet?" Huang Chengyan had seen before that Fei Qian was thinking about something, but Fei Qian must not have taken the wrong aim, so he answered, "Iron sheets are generally forged, what about iron wire?
Are you talking about short wire or long wire? If it's short, it's usually forged directly, while if it's long, it's made of iron bars that are overheated and then drawn."
Huang Chengyan is quite familiar with the art of making tools.
"It all relies on manpower?" In this way, whether it is forging or pulling, the Han Dynasty now relies mainly on manpower. If it is all based on manpower, the output will not be high. After all, if a person has strength, he can't
It's impossible to work around the clock, right?
"What do you think of your good son-in-law?" Huang Chengyan also asked with interest. Huang Chengyan was quite satisfied with Fei Qian, who often came up with some ideas. After all, this was why he made up his mind so quickly and was willing to marry Huang Yueying.
One of the reasons for Feiqian.
"It's hard to say at the moment, why don't we go to the workshop and have a look?" Fei Qian felt that he had some vague thoughts, but it was hard to describe, so he suggested.
After all, let’s take a look at how iron wire was made in the Han Dynasty. If the production can be increased, there will naturally be some improvement plans that can be used. After all, the most important thing about armor is that it is limited in the complexity of production. If it can be simplified
Or save some labor, then you can reduce costs...
As soon as she heard that she was going to the workshop, Huang Yueying, who was originally obedient at the side, couldn't sit still and looked at Huang Chengyan with big blinking eyes.
Huang Chengyan took one look and knew what Huang Yueying was thinking. He coughed and blinked towards Fei Qian without saying anything. After all, Huang Yueying was married now, and the Huang family could not have the final say on some things.
Do you want to read Fei Qian’s opinion?
Huang Yueying immediately understood what her father meant, turned around, and gently pulled Fei Qian's sleeve.
Fei Qian, who was still immersed in thoughts about how to improve the armor, turned his head and saw Huang Yueying's pitiful eyes. He felt his heart soften and said to Huang Chengyan: "This... Mr. Yue Ying, why don't Yueying... come too?"
Go?"
"Haha, okay, together, together!" Huang Chengyan saw Fei Qian paying so much attention to Huang Yueying's emotions, and as a father, he was naturally happy.
When he arrived at the workshop, Huang Chengyan found a craftsman and asked him to demonstrate the process of forging iron sheets and making wire.
It is said that the Huang family has a lot of craftsmen, and Huang Chengyan didn't go out of his way to choose one. It seemed like he could do such a thing just by randomly pulling in anyone...
The iron piece is similar to Fei Qian's impression. After heating, it will jingle for a while and it will be fine.
However, pulling iron wire is obviously much more complicated. First, knock out a very thin iron piece, then use large iron scissors to cut it into thinner iron strips, heat it again until it turns red, and pass it through the iron with holes while it is hot.
Board, use pliers to pull...
It is labor-intensive and has too much instability.
Fei Qian somewhat understands why there are no chain armors and plate armors like those in Europe. According to the current metallurgical conditions, it is too time-consuming and manpower-consuming to make a set of chain armors or plate armors.
You can make dozens or even dozens of other types of "Zhajia"...
The problem now is that manpower is too difficult to guarantee. A craftsman cannot continuously swing a hammer for more than an hour, and then he must take a rest. A person's physical strength is limited at the end of the day. Even if the working hours are extended, the output will be the same.
A restricted quota cannot make a big breakthrough, so the only way to increase output is to use external forces...
Among all external forces, the most cheap and stable is water power.
Fei Qian turned his attention to the water saw that he had built with Huang's craftsmen before. The more he looked at it, the more he realized that the working principles were actually the same. Forging is a repeated operation up and down, and drawing is a repeated operation horizontally. These are all
It can be mechanically converted from hydraulic circular motion...
The only difference is that forging requires high-speed striking, while drawing requires stable force, and these can all be achieved with the same thing...
