Two hundred and ninetieth eight chapters bed crossbow
Shen Bing's transformation was actually based on the Qin army's own situation.
First of all, the proportion of crossbows used by the Qin army is quite large. Although only 30% of the regular Qin army is crossbowmen, the amount of crossbow equipment is as high as 80%.
Basically, except for infantry who use long weapons and are inconvenient to use crossbows, all other arms are equipped with crossbows.
For example, when a sword and shield player is not charging into battle or standing in the front row, he only needs to put his sword and shield on his back, take out a bow and arrow from the quiver, and transform into an archer.
For example, cavalry and chariots, bows and arrows, and arm-mounted crossbows are all indispensable equipment.
In other words, Shen Bing's change would involve upgrading 80% of his troops.
Although this bow has few upgrades, the arrows have also been changed to iron...
Previously, it was more difficult to make arrows out of bronze...Bronze is brittle, hard and easy to break, making it difficult to forge, especially when making arrow cluster tips.
Iron is different after being transformed. Its unique toughness and sharpness are not only easy to make, but its penetrating power and lethality are much stronger than bronze arrows.
So Shen Bing's move instantly upgraded the army's crossbows, which are long-range equipment, to a higher level.
The reason why Qian knows this is because he has tried to do this before.
In fact, he was not the only one. During the Warring States Period, many people tried to add a kick ring to the front end of the crossbow so that the crossbowman could stand and fight.
Unfortunately, it is almost impossible to do it under the previous conditions:
Both iron and bronze are brittle and easy to break. If a step ring is added to the front end of the crossbow arm, and the crossbow is constantly moving with tens or even hundreds of kilograms of force, the step ring will break within a few openings.
Therefore, it was not that the people of Qin did not think of adding a pedal ring, but that there were no necessary conditions.
It was not until Shen Bing refined new iron that this modification became possible.
There is no need for any testing or improvement on the arrows, just use the molds used to make bronze arrows.
Because it is obvious that it was feasible to use bronze arrowheads before, but now it is naturally feasible to replace them with stronger iron arrowheads, so there is no risk in mass production.
Before the transformation of the crossbow entered mass production, Shen Bing still maintained a cautious attitude and produced a few prototypes for verification.
Then I discovered that there was indeed something wrong.
Qin crossbows can be roughly divided into three types: 200 Qin Jin, 300 Qin Jin, and 350 Qin Jin.
The reason why there are these three types is because each soldier has different strengths and can fire different crossbows.
200 Qin Jin is usually used by recruits with no combat experience.
The reason why "usually" is used is because some powerful Qin soldiers who can fire a crossbow worth 300 Qin Jin or even 350 Qin Jin will be deployed to another team.
From this we can see that 200 jin is the minimum requirement.
This requirement is not high. 200 kilograms is converted into the modern weight unit of 101 kilograms. It is not difficult for ordinary adults to carry a hundred kilograms on their backs.
But if the weight is increased to 150 kilograms or even 177 kilograms, it will be difficult for thin people.
In ancient times, people had poor food, especially when they were in their teens and had little training when they joined the army, so most of them were in the ranks that could only afford 200 jin.
But this is not absolute. After joining the army and practicing for a few months, your waist strength will become stronger and stronger, so you will be transferred to the hands of elite crossbows that can fire 300 Qin Jin or even 350 Qin Jin...
These crossbow firing weights are not the maximum weight. You must know that you are in a state of tension during combat, and you fire it again and again. When your muscles are tired, you will be really weak.
In this regard, the situation of the Liang Army is much better than that of other armies.
The reason is that most of the Daliang Army soldiers were trained by the Jiangjun of the State of Wei and were selected by Shen Bing. Shen Bing then used modern fitness theories to train, such as squats, which focus on training the buttocks, legs, and waist strength.
Therefore, most of the crossbowmen of the Liang Army were concentrated in the 300 Qin Jin and 350 Qin Jin crossbow teams. There were less than 500 people using the 200 Qin Jin crossbows, and a considerable part of them were new recruits from the Chu State.
The problem with the crossbow is that there is no problem with the 200-pound crossbow using the pedal ring... When using the pedal ring, you can only use one foot.
However, if the 300-pound and 350-pound crossbows use a round pedal ring, it will be difficult to fire the crossbow... Originally, the crossbow was fired with both feet, but now using one foot, there will inevitably be a loss of strength.
So Shen Bing changed the circular pedal ring into a triangle.
That is to say, it is wider at the bottom and narrower at the top, and your feet can just fit into the pedal ring to open the crossbow.
In addition, because these crossbows used to be fired by stepping on the crossbow bow, now they are fired by stepping on the pedal ring, which will slightly lengthen the distance...
This has little effect on soldiers who are taller and have sufficient strength, but if they are short of height and have just passed the strength limit, it will be difficult for them to fire a crossbow as before.
This problem is not difficult to solve. Just adjust the crossbowman down one level. For example, if you can't open 350 Qinjin, adjust it to 300 Qinjin.
If you can't even fire a 200-pound crossbow, you can only join the archers. If that doesn't work, join the trap team.
After I made a few new crossbows and tried firing them a few times, I couldn't help but praise them repeatedly:
"General, although this crossbow has the same range as the original crossbow, its rate of fire is much faster."
"What's more important is that soldiers can stand up to the enemy and are no longer passively controlled as in the past."
"Especially when facing the Huns cavalry, it benefits a lot."
"My subordinates think this method is very good. We can equip the entire army and use our strength to fight against the Huns!"
What I have to say is.
In the past, if a group of crossbowmen encountered enemy cavalry, they would basically have to wait for death.
Preparing for war?
Preparing for war means having to sit on the ground and fire the crossbow.
Isn't that just waiting for the enemy to ride a war horse and trample it into mud?
In particular, the Huns' cavalry came and went like the wind, and they didn't even bother to use their swords and guns.
Escape?
How can one escape faster than the Hun cavalry?
Now with this kick ring, although he is still at a disadvantage against the Hun cavalry alone, at least he is not as helpless as before.
Crossbowmen can adopt a guerrilla approach to attack the enemy, disperse their formations, and then maneuver to avoid enemy cavalry. When they are free, they can fire crossbows to kill enemy cavalry, and so on.
After seeing that there were no problems, Shen Bing ordered:
"Just make it like this."
"All crossbows must be modified within one month."
"In addition, all the arrows have been changed to iron."
Benhe responded, and then ordered the blacksmiths to start work.
At this time, the iron smelting workshop had expanded to have twenty blast furnaces, and it was foreseeable that these blast furnaces were not enough.
Because it is obvious that after the crossbow and arrows are modified, they should be the sharp weapons and spears that can stop the cavalry.
In addition, it is time to develop bed crossbows that are used to prevent enemies from charging in batches... In the past, bronze was relatively brittle, so it was not practical to use it to make a whole bronze arrow, and there were not such strong crossbows that could launch it.
But Shen Bing has smelted new iron, coupled with the knowledge and mechanical knowledge he possesses, making a powerful bed crossbow is not a piece of cake?!