Chapter 126 The Development of Science and Technology: Light and Heavy Throwing Guns
The weather was clear and cloudless, with a cool breeze and a slight chill. It was a perfect day for work.
When Shulot walked out of the gorgeous main hall, noise and bustle came from all directions. He heard fierce arguments, coordinated shouts, and the sound of tools cutting wood. The air was filled with the smell of wood and leather.
The young man looked around, and saw that the palace of Prince Texcoco had completely changed. The beautiful garden had been leveled, and work tables and equipment were placed; the exquisite houses had been renovated, and various raw materials and tools were piled up;
Pit for drying wood and earthen kilns for firing utensils were also built here; the only thing that remained unchanged was probably the toilet covered with hay and plaster, and maybe you could try to pile up saltpeter.
Shulot strode forward. Along the way, everyone bowed their heads and saluted. The young man waved his hand, indicating to the craftsmen to continue. He had already told everyone that they should put the work at hand first and there was no need to pay homage. At this time, in the divine place, the craftsmen
They were shuttled back and forth, sweating profusely. The warriors were wearing strong armor and were heavily guarded. Everything was running efficiently.
The center of the Divine Inspiration Institute is the main hall where he works. The other areas are divided into north and south. The inner layer to the north is used for military technology research, and the outer layer to the south is for civilian technology improvements.
After a while, Shulot came to the weapons research area in the northeast. A master carpenter wearing a simple robe was busy attentively.
He operated a large bow with a bow arm, placed a short, thick arrow with two feathers on the arrow path in the center of the bow arm, then pulled the bow string forcefully, fixed it on the slot behind the bow arm, and finally flattened the bow string.
Bow, aim at the human-shaped straw target thirty steps away, and pull the trigger under the bow arm. With a "buzz" sound, the short and thick arrow traces a slightly shaking trajectory and pierces the left shoulder of the human-shaped straw target.
, nearly half of it penetrates deeply.
Shulot watched the master carpenter's operation and nodded slightly.
"Kushinji, you did a good job! You are worthy of being a family of craftsmen passed down in the name of carpenters."
Hearing the sound not far away, the master carpenter Ku Xinji turned around. He was tall and strong, with an old and serious face, without a trace of smile. His hair had already turned gray, and his movements looked more like a man who had aged.
The samurai had obviously received orthodox samurai education.
Seeing His Highness, Kuxinji simply performed the courtesy of a warrior. Then he replied loudly, with dissatisfaction in his voice.
"Your Highness, how does this crossbow you are talking about keep its shooting stable? In order to shoot the arrow flat, it can only use two unstable arrows. The arrow body is thick and short, and it has already deflected like this at a distance of thirty steps!
How can you say that the shooting range is hundreds of steps?"
Facing the imposing master carpenter, Xiulote was speechless. How could he remember the specific crossbow design clearly?
Yes, this is the most important research project in the weapons area, the crossbow. And Kushinki is the main person in charge of weapons research.
In the Nahua language, Cushingi means professional carpenter. This is an inherited honorary title recognized by the royal family. The craftsman family in the capital continues from generation to generation, and only carpenters with important status and superb skills in the main branch of the family
Only a master can inherit this name.
As a master carpenter, Cushingi originally worked in the craftsmanship center and had a respected status. Since he was a child, he had surpassed Kuod, the old carpenter of the family branch. As a result, Kuoid returned with the king this time, and because he was in charge of the development of the longbow, he became the master of the longbow.
He became the director of craftsmen, and even the master craftsmen are under management.
Looking at the proud face of his old brother, Kuxinji couldn't help but sigh. Just as Shulot was setting up a new craftsman center, he took the initiative to apply to join. The master carpenter came to join. The young man was overjoyed and took up the important task of weapons research.
Leave it all to him.
Current weapons research includes: the development of wooden crossbows, the improvement of spears and throwing guns, the research of burning rockets, and the trial production of gunpowder on Tianhuo Island.
It only took Kushinki two days to modify the production process of the three-meter bronze spear.
The spear head of the bronze spear weighs about half a kilogram and has blades on both sides. The outside of the spur can be chopped a little. The difficulty of the spear body lies in the wood processing. The hardwood is used as the pole, which has low elasticity and is easy to break. It needs to be soaked in oil to increase the rigidity. The spear body
Every time the length of the body increases by one meter, the difficulty of processing increases exponentially, and the labor cost also increases rapidly.
Based on the alliance's current productivity and battlefield needs, a three-meter spear is sufficient.
Later, the master carpenter improved the javelin into two types, heavy and light, in accordance with Xiulote's requirements. However, the so-called light and heavy here are only relative terms, and the overall javelin is heavier.
The boy's inspiration naturally came from the ancient Roman legions who were good at using javelins.
The length of the light throwing gun is between 1.5 to 2 meters and the diameter is about 3 centimeters. It uses flint as the tip and is assisted by a spear throwing device. The shooting distance is between 20 and 30 steps. It focuses on killing lightly armored militiamen or carrying out attacks.
Tactical harassment. It is low in cost and will be widely deployed on lightly armored javelin skirmishers.
The length of the heavy-duty throwing gun is one meter to one and a half meters, thicker and heavier, with an extremely sharp obsidian as the tip of the gun. The optimal shooting distance should be within twenty steps. Xiulote considered casting a lead ball on the front end of the throwing gun to increase the length of the gun.
Throwing spear weight and shooting power. In future planning, every Mexican warrior should have two heavy throwing spears inserted inside the shield. Facing the enemy warrior phalanx in cotton armor and leather armor, throw two first at close range.
Throw the javelins together in a round, then charge and engage in battle.
Hulot tested the power of the heavy javelin: it could shoot through the leather armor within twenty steps, immediately rendering the target incapacitated. Or it could be pierced on the shield, forcing the opposing warrior to abandon the shield. Once enough metal was available, he could completely defeat the Roman legions.
Get closer.
As for the flaming rockets, they were prepared for the water war against the Tarascans, and are still just concepts. Craftsmen are testing different burning materials while waiting for the production of gunpowder.
The boy's idea came from the Battle of Tangdao in the Song and Jin Dynasties. The power of early gunpowder was more focused on combustion rather than explosion. Gunpowder wrapped in paper tubes was tied to arrow shafts and used to propel arrows and set fire to burn enemy wooden ships. It should be
A relatively stable and reliable naval warfare plan that has also been tested in actual combat.
When the purity and power of gunpowder are further improved, a simple copper-hooked wooden cannon can be put on the agenda. And with sufficient copper ore, you can try to make a more difficult bronze cannon. As for the more difficult matchlock gun, there are still
It takes a long time and technological progress.
Shulot's thoughts returned from the detailed plan. The current focus of weapons is the research and mass production of crossbows.
The young man has investigated the legions directly under the royal family and found that there are always only a few warriors who can skillfully use bows and arrows. Only a few thousand bow warriors can be recruited out of 50,000 people. After all, the practice of longbows takes several years, and long-range strikes must be quickly increased.
In addition to recruiting tribal hunters who are good at shooting, they can only rely on crossbows that are easy to operate and aim.
A week ago, Hurot briefly described the concept and structure of the crossbow to Kushinki: a crossbow arm is added to the bow. The front end of the crossbow arm fixes the bow body, leaving a groove-shaped arrow path for arrow clusters in the middle, and the crossbow is installed at the rear end.
Machine. The upper part of the crossbow machine is the hook for hanging the string, and the lower end is the connected trigger, which controls the release of the string.
This was the young man's understanding of crossbows. Everything else had to be explored by the master carpenter himself. Kuxinji held a breath in his heart and worked day and night. In just a few days, he had made a simple wooden crossbow into shape, but
This kind of weapon seems far less than Kuod's longbow.
Facing the dissatisfied master craftsman who asked the question, Shulot was speechless. He took the simple wooden crossbow from Kuxinji and looked at it carefully.
The curved length of the crossbow arm is about 1.5 meters, and it is also made of a single wood. The boy smelled it and it should be fir. The bow string is about 1.23 meters, feels rough, and is made of silk and linen fabric. The groove-shaped arrow is
It is horizontal, so only the left and right crossbow arrows can be installed. The wooden crossbow bears huge force, and it seems that the hook has been slightly deformed.
Hulot tried to string it again. The pulling force of this simple wooden crossbow was only about ninety pounds, which was not as good as the Mexican longbow that had been improved to more than one hundred pounds, but it was still stronger than the Tlaxcala bow.
Then, the boy aimed at the human-shaped straw target thirty steps away and pulled the trigger. This time, the crossbow arrow drew a downward trajectory and pierced into the right leg of the straw target. Next to him, Kushinki's face darkened, and he was a sharpshooter.
Bertard raised the corners of his mouth.
Watching this scene, Shulot fell into deep thought. Facing the familiar crossbow, he closed his eyes and began to think of the vague details in his memory, from museums to film and television works, to the books he had read. Everyone was silent and silent.
Lu looked forward to it with expectation and awe, waiting for His Highness to communicate with the gods and once again receive "divine revelation" from heaven.
After a long time, the young man finally opened his eyes. He looked at the master carpenter, his eyes were clear and bright, and he smiled slightly.
