Chapter 127 The Development of Science and Technology: Three Types of Han Crossbows
Shulot thought for a long time before finally realizing: he had confused the Eastern crossbow and the European crossbow.
However, in the history of the East and the West, the designs of the two are completely different, and they cannot even be called "crossbows" at the same time. They have also moved towards different battlefield positions.
The Eastern Crossbow is an enhanced upgrade of the long-distance battle bow. It has a large bow body, large draw force, and large draw distance. It uses a slender crossbow arrow that is similar to an arrow. It has a specialized aiming structure. It is an enlarged version of the bow in terms of range and power. Han Dynasty
Many crossbows in the Tang Dynasty could even be used as war bows after removing the crossbow arms.
From a tactical point of view, from the Qin Dynasty's military formations that unified the six kingdoms to the Han Dynasty's crossbow formations to conquer the Huns in the north, the Eastern crossbows were extremely offensive long-distance weapons and were widely used in military formations on vast terrains. By the Song Dynasty, heavy-duty crossbows
The crossbow has reached its peak development and has become the only weapon to restrain heavy armored cavalry in field battles.
"Well, for example, the divine arm crossbow definitely exists but its craftsmanship has been lost." The young man yearned in his heart and shook his head slightly.
The European crossbow is a crossbow that focuses on short-range armor-breaking. It has a shorter bow body, the same high pulling force, and a short draw distance. It uses thick, short and heavy crossbow arrows. The aiming structure has not yet become popular in this era, and its effective flat shooting range is only
Within seventy steps. In order to increase the pulling force, European crossbows first used steel sheets to store energy. In order to pull the string, a special mechanical winding structure was invented. Its trigger is also different from the Eastern crossbow.
From the perspective of tactical application, European crossbows are widely used in city defense battles with castles as the core. Their main battlefield positioning is as a defensive armor-piercing weapon, used for shooting at close range to occupy terrain. Its shape has a relatively long bow.
Small, the draw distance is shortened, and the reduced shooting power is used in exchange for more troop deployment in the unit distance, which is very suitable for the limited space of the castle.
In this era, European heavy-duty steel crossbows were wound with mechanical winches. Their rate of fire was extremely slow and their pulling force was over a thousand pounds. They had no armor to defend within twenty steps. They were extremely powerful in breaking armor and had enough impact to injure knights in plate armor. They were very
In line with the characteristics of city defense warfare.
Xiulote shook his head again. The heavy steel crossbow was still too far away. At this time, the transmission efficiency of the steel sheet material was relatively low, which would consume a lot of energy. Relatively speaking, the medium-sized wooden crossbow was more practical, with the same poundage.
The transfer efficiency is much higher.
Thinking of this, Shulot smiled slightly at the master carpenter with bright eyes.
Then, he waved to the warrior commander and made a writing gesture. Bertard nodded knowingly, took a wooden board and a newly made charcoal pencil, and handed them to His Highness. The boy's physics knowledge was still there, so he casually
Xing sat cross-legged on the ground, doing quick deductions and drawings.
Seeing this scene, the master carpenter Ku Xinji was stunned for a moment. He leaned over curiously and saw that His Highness was writing unknown strange symbols, "m", "v" and "g". The horizontal pattern was like a priest's heavenly book.
Then draw a rising and falling parabola, marked "h" and "D". Finally, there are various downward curves with "F" and "L" marked on both ends, and use charcoal to smear the shadow area in the curve.
.These graphics are like abstract eyes of gods, looking at him with dark eyes.
Kuhinji's eyes were dull and blank. Surprise finally replaced seriousness, appearing on his old face. Then, he looked at Bertard solemnly, quietly pointed at His Highness, and then pointed at the soul stored in the myth.
heart.
Bertard nodded seriously, pointed to his heart, and then nodded again. He indicated that everything was normal, that this was His Highness's daily operation, and that it was "divine revelation" rather than "evil".
Of course, if you were an ordinary civilian without such a lofty identity and status, and you made rash inventions and creations, showing characteristics that were different from ordinary people, you would probably be sent to a altar for sacrifice.
Shulot was so focused that he didn't notice the silent conversation beside him. He first calculated the potential energy of the bow, the kinetic energy of the arrow, and the momentum of the arrow. Then he estimated the farthest shot at a forty-five-degree angle at different muzzle velocities.
distance. Finally, the kinetic energy of the arrow as the pull force changes was evaluated.
After the calculation, the boy had a deeper understanding of Eastern crossbows and European crossbows.
The shooting of long-range weapons is a process in which the potential energy of the bow is converted into the kinetic energy of the arrow. Energy is the product of force and distance. The kinetic energy of the arrow is determined by both the pulling force and the drawing distance. It is the integral of the pulling force and the drawing distance during the release process.
The lethality of an arrow depends on momentum, which is the deformation after the collision between the arrow and the target. When the lethality of the arrow increases at a constant rate, the demand for kinetic energy will increase squarely, causing the volume of the crossbow body to expand sharply, and eventually develop into a giant bed.
Crossbow. Increasing the weight of the arrow and increasing the momentum under the same kinetic energy are the most common ways to increase the lethality.
Among them, the pulling force is the so-called poundage. The type of crossbow determines the changing effect of the pulling force. The pulling force of the bow body and the crossbow body is usually at different speeds. When the bow string is released, it gradually decreases as the drawing distance decreases.
attenuation.
The Mexican longbow currently used by the Alliance is a straight-draw bow, which has a relatively large draw force attenuation and the simplest craftsmanship. Advanced recurve bows can store a large amount of elastic potential energy in advance, the draw force curve is flatter, and more kinetic energy is transmitted
.
Oriental recurve bows are often compound bows, using hard bow tips at both ends to balance the tension curve. The best bow tips are open bows and clear bows, with large recurves, large draw lengths, and large draw forces.
It pursues extreme energy transfer, does not hesitate to produce vibrations in the bow body, and sacrifices long-distance stability in order to pursue a one-hit kill that can penetrate armor at close range.
What is even more outrageous is that the tension curve of a modern pulley bow is almost a horizontal line with constant tension. The energy storage under the same tension and draw distance is fully twice that of a straight-pull bow.
Thinking of this, Shulot nodded slightly and shook his head. Only when there is a large amount of horns and tendons can we consider the production of compound crossbows. Pulley crossbows are far away and impractical. Wait until technology develops to efficient steelmaking and precision machinery.
At that time, it was already the age of gunpowder weapons.
The draw length is the distance over which the draw force acts. It is another important factor that determines the kinetic energy of the arrow, but it is often overlooked. Due to the rapid attenuation of the draw force when the crossbow is released, increasing the draw length can effectively increase the integral area of force and distance.
, the growth of kinetic energy will exceed linearity. In other words, long draw length will greatly improve the function of the arrow.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! The young man recalled the images in his memory and pondered silently.
Let’s take the example of the Qing bow left in the photo. The bow string drawn by the archer can reach the other shoulder, and the draw distance is the entire arm plus the width of the body. According to the theory that the arm span is the same as the height, the draw length of the Qing bow can even reach one meter.
Above. The kinetic energy brought by this draw distance is terrifying. Coupled with the momentum killing of heavy arrows, heavy armor can be broken within fifty steps.
The draw distance of the bow is between 90 centimeters and one meter, which is used to compensate for the lower energy storage of the bamboo body, which can also achieve good results. The English longbow in the oil painting can only draw to the cheek, and the Tang Dynasty longbow in the mural
Samurai shooting is similar, with a draw distance of about 80 centimeters. This is often said to be the sound of strings heard by ear. The Turkish bow is also at this draw length level, but uses a high-strength composite bow body to maintain the draw force.
Reduced the length of the bow.
Further down, there are only American hunting bows with a draw length of 70 centimeters and small draw lengths, as well as smaller cavalry bows. These bows are usually used for hunting, and their damage to armored warriors is very limited.
Xiulote thought of the captured Tlaxcala bow. Its draw length was also within this range, so it was less powerful. As for the shorter and weaker primitive bow, it was a weapon of tribal hunters. It was not suitable for Mexican leather warriors.
The threat is negligible unless it is a marksman who can shoot in the eye within thirty steps.
Corresponding to the bow, it is the draw length of the crossbow, which can be judged by the distance between the string position of the crossbow machine and the crossbow body.
In the murals of the Han Dynasty, the arm-stretched crossbow was strung with one hand, reaching half of the arm, and the draw distance was about 40-50 centimeters. The strung-stretched crossbow was strung with both feet, exerting force with both arms, and stretched to the end of the thigh.
The young man estimated that the draw distance is at least 70-80 centimeters. As for the waist-tension crossbow with the strongest draw force, the crossbow body is unusually wide. It requires a strong crossbowman to sit on the ground and use all his strength to wind it like a rowing machine until it is pulled.
The knee and draw distance should also be 40-60 centimeters.
Hulot then thought of war scenes in European oil paintings. He was deeply impressed by the crossbowmen in them.
These European crossbowmen are tall and slender, but they often hold a crossbow that is only strung halfway up the arm, and the draw length should be within 30 centimeters. The European steel crossbow has a very large draw force, but the draw length is extremely short, and the kinetic energy it can transmit is actually
Limited. The kinetic energy that can be transmitted by a 160-pound long-draw length longbow and an 800-pound short-draw steel crossbow is very similar in the test. It’s just that the heavy arrow momentum of the steel crossbow is excellent and it can break armor very well in short distances.
In general, the development of Eastern crossbows has taken a full three thousand years, with more mature technology and more efficient structures. They are the absolute main force in the history of Chinese wars. The development time of Western crossbows is shorter, and they were influenced by the church in the middle.
Continuous suppression is only used as an auxiliary to defend and break armor in war.
In fact, large-scale crossbow warriors were also a weapon used by the Celestial Dynasties in the past dynasties to face heavy armored cavalry. From the Qin and Han Dynasties to the Tang and Song Dynasties, their development was far more advanced and mature than that of Europe at the same time, and their range and power were much stronger.
Xiulote thought for a moment and then decided to adopt the development route of the Eastern crossbow. Based on the pictures in his mind and the current level of craftsmanship, he decided to copy the usage specifications of the Han crossbow and establish three categories: arm-tension crossbow, kick-tension crossbow and waist-tension crossbow.
Level crossbow warrior system.
The young man turned over the wooden board full of formulas and curves, and then used black charcoal to carefully draw the rough shapes of the three crossbows and the cocking movements of the warriors on the back.
Xiulote scribbled and corrected it. It took him a while to finish it, and he sighed with satisfaction.
Then, the young man raised his head slightly and looked at the distant sky in the west. He crossed the ocean and thousands of years, recalling the vast and vast all-out war between Han and Hungary, and the subsequent decisive battle between Han and Hungary, with a complicated and emotional smile. These detailed memories are all
It comes from this, but I didn't expect it to be used here.
Everyone waited for a long time before His Highness finally stood up. He put down the wooden board full of strange pictures and symbols, picked up the simple wooden crossbow, and smiled confidently again.
"Kushinji, come here."
Shulot waved to the master carpenter who was not far away, and then pointed to the picture on the wooden board. The master carpenter looked at it carefully for a moment to make sure that His Highness had returned to normal. Then he came closer and looked at the mysterious wooden board.
"The problem with stable shooting is that I forgot about it at the beginning. You shouldn't use thick and short arrows. They should be similar to feather arrows, just a little shorter, which is better for flying. Then, the position of the crossbow arm groove is slightly tightened, and the arrow
The feathers are slightly clamped. In this way, although the arrow will be slightly blocked when sliding, the trajectory will be more stable after shooting."
Kushinji thought for a moment and nodded. Long arrows fly easily, and increased friction fixes the track. Although he could not explain the root cause of these principles in life, he still had practical experience and understanding.
Then, Shulot talked about the very important sighting device in the Han crossbow, Wangshan.
"A long erected bar should be installed on the crossbow machine. The side is used to assist aiming and determine the accuracy of the shooting target. At the same time, five large scales are carved on it, each scale is divided into two and a half degrees. This way the aiming direction can be determined
, clarify the specific shooting angle.”
When he arrived here, Kuxinji pondered for a while. He looked at the figure drawn by His Highness, found a piece of wood, and carved the angles into equal parts. Then, he placed the piece of wood in front of the crossbow and gestured for a moment, and finally he suddenly understood.
"Your Highness has a good idea!" The master carpenter's admiration was just a brief sentence. Then he continued to ask a new question.
"Speaking of this crossbow machine, it can hook the bowstring and wait for the right time to launch. It's a really good idea!
However, this small part bears a huge force, but after shooting dozens of arrows, it began to deform, especially the part where the bottom latch and the crossbow arm are combined. It is easy to be damaged, and I have already repaired it once. Such a fragile weapon, in
How can we last on the battlefield?"
As he said that, Kuxinji pointed to the lower end of the crossbow. The position where it was fixed by the crossbow arm had obvious wear and deformation. This was just a light wooden crossbow.
Xiulote was silent. He thought of the crossbow machine unearthed in the Han Dynasty. On the one hand, it was made of bronze, and on the other hand, it seemed to have a special box. The young man thought about the principle, analyzed it and gave detailed suggestions.
"The crossbow can be made of tough and wear-resistant sandalwood or ironwood, or strong antlers. When there is enough bronze, I will give you a batch of specially made durable bronze crossbows.
At the same time, a wooden box is installed on the outside of the crossbow machine, so that the latch first passes through the wooden box and then snaps into the hole on the crossbow arm. This outer box can fix the latch and prevent shaking from affecting accuracy during shooting. There is a gap between the crossbow arm and the latch.
The stress is distributed to the outer box and the latch, which makes it more durable. By the way, the latch is very small and can be replaced with a copper pin. In the future, the wooden box will also be replaced with a copper box."
Shulot added thoughtfully.
The invention of the outer box is a huge progress for the Han crossbow. First, it stabilizes the crossbow machine and fixes it at three points, which increases the accuracy. Secondly, it disperses the force from a single point to multiple points, so that the pulling force of the crossbow can be doubled and the service life is greatly increased.
Improvement. From then on, strong crossbows became popular and became the standard equipment of the Han army.
After hearing His Highness's suggestion, the master carpenter thought for a while, made gestures on the outside of the crossbow, and then nodded slowly.
"It makes sense. This should be able to be used for a long time! I will make one today and try it out. But how do we make the range and power of the crossbow exceed that of the longbow?"
Hearing this, Shulot smiled knowingly. Kuhinji's heart was to surpass Kuod. The young man nodded and pointed at the crossbow body with his finger.
"The power of the crossbow comes from the tension of the crossbow body and the draw distance of the bow string. The cocking and shooting have been divided into two independent parts by the crossbow machine. Therefore, there is no need for a continuous supply of power when cocking, and the explosive whole body can be used
Power. In other words, you can make the crossbow body thicker, thicker, or even longer to exponentially increase the shooting power!"
Shulot paused, and when he saw the master carpenter's look of enlightenment, he spoke again without giving him a chance to ask questions.
"Kushinji, look, these are three different shapes of crossbows I designed.
The first type is a crossbow that is strung with the arm, that is, an arm-loaded crossbow. You should have heard that I proposed a new unit of tension when making the longbow, pounds. You need to refer to this picture to make the actual object, which is roughly the same as today's wooden crossbow.
of enhancement.
The draw force of the arm-opening crossbow needs to reach 150 to 200 pounds. The draw length of the crossbow is more than half an arm's length. The maximum throwing distance is 130 steps. The range of the flat shot needs to reach 80 or 90 steps, and it can damage within 80 steps.
To the leather-armored warrior. Generally speaking, the power of the arm-arm crossbow should be slightly stronger than that of the longbow. Each arrow fired is about the time it takes for the longbow to shoot four arrows."
Seeing the surprised look in the master carpenter's eyes, Shulot laughed lightly. This was just the beginning.
"Then there is the crossbow that is strung with the foot, that is, the crossbow. Its crossbow body needs to be further thickened and stretched by the stringer. The pulling force needs to reach 250 to 400 pounds, and the maximum semi-inclined throw must be one hundred and sixty.
One hundred and ten steps should be taken to shoot horizontally. In this way, shooting at a slightly elevated angle can completely break through the leather armor within a hundred steps.
This kind of crossbow will become the main long-range weapon, and I will form a large-scale crossbow warrior. You need to make a plan for mass production and simplify every step. It is best to have a uniform size to facilitate the angle of collective shooting.
master.
Also, when stringing this kind of crossbow, you need to step on the bow with both feet, use the strength of your upper waist and legs to pull the string to the end of the thigh. Its draw length is half longer than that of the armband crossbow, and you need to wrap two strings in the middle of the crossbow body.
The layer of hemp wire acts as a buffer to prevent the crossbow body from being damaged by stepping on the string when stringing. There should be an auxiliary stringing device, probably like this..."
While Hulot explained in detail, he added marks on the drawings on the wooden board to remind Kuhinji of the details that needed to be paid attention to. Unlike the Warring States Period, the Han Dynasty's Zhangzhang crossbow was not equipped with an anklet. The shooter directly stepped on the bow arm to wind it.
You can use your feet to exert greater strength.
"The last type is a crossbow that is stringed with waist and legs, that is, a waist-tension crossbow. In addition to being thickened, its crossbow body can be further lengthened and can exceed that of a longbow. The draw force of this heavy crossbow is between 500 and 700 pounds.
, the draw length is similar to that of an arm-loaded crossbow, estimated to be a little more than half a meter. Such a heavy crossbow usually requires the assistance of equipment and multiple people to cock it together. Its projectile range is about 200 steps, and an extremely strong arrow shaft must be used.
When this kind of crossbow is cocked, you need to sit on the ground and use all your strength like a rowing boat. When shooting, you need to use your shoulders to hold it, because the back force is very strong to prevent violent shaking. Its damage is mainly based on projectiles.
Go to a very high place and then drop it diagonally to pin the enemy to the ground at the landing point. Only extremely strong warriors can use it, so it won't make too many, and is only used for ultra-long-distance morale blows and formation disruption.
"
The young man secretly imagined that in the Han Dynasty, one stone weighed a little more than 30 kilograms, nearly 70 pounds. Seven to ten stones would be an amazingly powerful waist-opening crossbow. The highest ten-stone, 700-pound heavy wooden crossbow would also be called the Dahuang Crossbow.
Above two hundred steps, only absolute warriors or coordinated teams can use it.
The rhubarb crossbow was also specially designed to have a longer draw length, specifically for sniping at enemy commanders. The Han army had sniped at the leader of the Huns more than once during the Northern Expedition, so there should be some way to increase the accuracy of long-distance shooting.
Shulot thought hard for a while, and then sighed longingly. Due to the advantage of two to three times the draw length, and the lower transmission loss of wood than medieval steel, a waist-tension crossbow of the same poundage is far more powerful than a pulley-strung crossbow.
Steel crossbows can pose a fatal threat to heavily armored targets.
In fact, as long as there are enough heavy crossbow warriors, they can effectively kill the European heavy armored cavalry. Under intensive long-distance shooting, the cavalry will be continuously hit, losing their horses and lives. And within more than ten steps, the cavalry can be reached
The strong impact brought by close-range shooting can cause damage to the terrifying plate armor knight. Of course, the most effective armor-breaking weapon is a firearm.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! For the Mexicans, these three types of Han crossbows are within the scope of production allowed by technology. It just depends on how much it costs and how much it requires.
Can copper mines be popularized on a large scale?
As for the more powerful bed crossbow, according to Song Dynasty records, it was 20-30 stones. The length of the crossbow arm should be more than two meters, and the draw distance is actually 1-3 meters. Even the crossbow machine is 30-40 centimeters long, and the arrows are as long as two
The javelin has a shooting distance of 1-2 miles. This weapon is already a piece of equipment for long-distance siege attacks and is completely beyond the current technical capabilities.
Shulot closed his eyes forcefully and opened them again. He retracted his thoughts and returned from the long river of history. He no longer thought about it, he just missed the old dreams like water and imagined the colorful fallen flowers.
Then, the young man looked at the master carpenter. Kuxinji was completely immersed in the huge power of the crossbow. He looked at the pictures on the wooden board and kept making gestures with his hands. After a while, he came back to his senses.
, looked at His Highness dissatisfied.
"Your Highness, what is the specific arm length of this waist-opening crossbow? Can the crossbow really withstand such a strong force?"
Shulot was stunned again. He thought for a while and made sure that all the ink in his belly had been removed, so he gave vague instructions.
"It's definitely possible. As for the specific shape, it's nothing more than lengthening, thickening, strengthening, and using better materials. I've pointed out the most difficult direction for you, and you have to figure out the rest. You are the best
Excellent carpenter masters, you must believe in your own abilities! By the way, give priority to trial production of the Zhangzhang Crossbow. I will come over to check it out after the New Year's ceremony.
This coronation war after the autumn harvest will never be safe if there are hundreds of crossbows in full swing! Kuxinji, the great cause of the alliance depends on you!"
Leaving a last word of encouragement, the young man stood on tiptoe, smiled and patted the master carpenter on the shoulder. Then, before the other party continued to ask questions, he turned around majestically and walked away quickly. Bertard followed silently with a calm face.
Next, Shulot will check out the strengthened military equipment, cloth armor and rattan armor. There are also improved folk technologies, including block printing, paper improvement, charcoal firing, glass manufacturing, brick kiln construction... This is the rapid development of technology.
The eve of development is the history that he single-handedly promoted!
Behind him, Ku Xinji raised his head again at some point and stared at His Royal Highness in the distance. After a long time, the master carpenter looked at the sky. The sun god had ascended to the highest throne, and his light was falling on the world.
"Is there really a divine revelation in this world? Is the distant Sun God really paying attention to the world?"
After thinking absentmindedly for a moment, Kuxinji silently lowered his head again. He concentrated on the trial production of the crossbow. The breeze blew in the courtyard, bringing with it the fragrance of wood. Soon, the lost history will reappear again!
