Volume 3: The Land of Jingchu Chapter 255: Qi-Driven Crossbow
Bai Tu handed the crossbow to Gan Ning and asked him to try it himself - it was obvious that the judgment of the general was the most important in this regard.
Gan Ning pulled the crossbow string...and felt: loose!
It was hung on the mechanism very easily, but...how can I shoot an arrow with such a loose string?
"Turn the hand-cranked winch on the side." Bai Tu reminded.
Only then did Gan Ning discover that there was actually something like a winch, also made of metal.
After turning, the crossbow string tightened little by little, and even drove the metal bearings installed at the ends of the two bow arms, bending the bow arms a little bit...
After about three and a half turns, there was a "click" sound and the hand-cranked winch was stuck. Bai Tu indicated that he could try shooting outwards. Someone had already placed a straw man outside the main hall door - from Gan Ning's position closest to Bai Tu, which was also the position closest to the inside, it was probably nearly three hundred and fifty steps away!
It is also enough to test Gan Ning's shooting accuracy...
Gan Ning shot an arrow at the straw man. The crisp sound of the mechanism ejecting and the sound of the crossbow arrow cutting through the air was so pleasant to the ear. Then... with a "puff" sound, the leather-wrapped straw man was shot through completely - the killing distance was half as far as that of the Divine Arm Bow.
"The strength that Xingba just used can be achieved by ordinary Ji-zao soldiers, right?" Bai Tu asked.
"Practice using the techniques of the arm and back muscles when exerting force, and make the winch bigger, and there should be no problem," said Gan Ning.
Huang Yueying also wrote down this improvement suggestion.
The reason why the same amount of force can shoot farther is essentially because this crossbow separates the pulling of the string from the winding. Originally, the force of the crossbow was when the string was pulled apart, but now it is wound up little by little through the capstan. With the same amount of force, the latter has a longer force time and does more work, so the potential energy stored is naturally stronger...
"This is just the normal mode. Look at the socket at the back... plug the 'Qi Machine' in and try it." Bai Tu said.
Upon hearing this, Gan Ning looked at the tiny hole on the back of the crossbow, then looked at the rod-shaped part of the Qi machine. After inserting it, it was stuck exactly.
"The true energy has been exhausted just now and needs to be refilled...pay attention to the refilling speed and its endurance limit." Bai Tu reminded.
After Gan Ning refilled it, he "stimulated" the red part according to Bai Tu's instructions, and saw... the capstan was quickly wound up under the push of the Qi machine, and this time it turned a full five times - before, Gan Ning only used the strength of an ordinary soldier, so after it got stuck for the first time, he did not continue to wind it up, and it actually did not reach its limit.
Gan Ning knew without trying that this crossbow was not only more powerful, but... the stringing speed was even faster than a normal shortbow!
Not only does it increase power and rate of fire, it also means "saving crossbows" - after the crossbow string is pulled, it can maintain a taut state without consuming any effort, so it can be prepared in advance, but it will easily wear out if it is too long.
This crossbow, which separates the pulling and winding of the string, only requires the string to be pulled onto the mechanism. The string is very loose and does not cause any extra burden. With the assistance of the Qi machine, the string can be quickly wound up before shooting, and there is no need to keep it taut for a long time.
This time the distance was still three hundred and fifty steps, but new arrows were used - the crossbow arrows that were equipped with the Qi machine mode were also particularly heavy. Not only was there a small section of metal arrow shaft at the end of the arrow head, there was even a metal tail fin at the end of the arrow shaft.
An arrow was shot out. The officials of the General's Mansion who were sitting on both sides of the trajectory felt sad and sweaty when they heard the arrow whistling. If they did not trust Gan Ning's archery skills, they would have wanted to hide...
Even though the straw man was wearing iron armor - that is, the inner armor of the infantry armor... he was still pierced by an arrow, and the arrow head came out directly from his back!
In terms of range, 350 steps is already the "limit". To break this limit, one can only find a way to improve the aerodynamics of the arrow. Otherwise, at a longer distance , no matter how strong the force is, the trajectory will be extremely deviated.
The dragon tongue bow mounted on Lu Bu's armor previously had a range of only 500 steps, or about 500 to 600 meters, when it was in the gold and jade era.
Of course, Lu Bu's armor is now equipped with a special new bow, as well as a "divine power mode" that transcends gold and jade, and the range of the white map is not clear.
As for the second-generation Shenbi crossbow, when using the Zhenqi machine, it is paired with heavy arrows to "suppress" the trajectory, while also enhancing the lethality!
"After fully charging once, it can probably shoot five arrows. An ordinary gilded warrior needs to take a break after charging two or three times. The maximum number of times a day is about ten... Well, if it is only equipped to warriors, it should be enough." Gan Ning said after weighing it.
With the chaos of war, the proportion of gilded generals increased significantly. In the army under the General's Mansion, the ratio of gilded to wood and stone almost reached "1:6" or "1:7".
Unfortunately, unless the Wood and Stone Warrior is particularly good at Qi, he cannot charge the Qi machine and needs the help of the Gilded Warrior to charge.
That is to say, in a battle, an ordinary general can use the second-generation crossbow to shoot five extremely powerful armor-piercing arrows, and then he has to manually string the bow and shoot normally.
"That's right. Larger Qi machines are more difficult to fire and the ratios are more difficult to master. These are the difficulties that the Pangsi tribe is currently working on." Bai Tu said.
In fact, even now, although there are considerable constraints, if the five "burst shots" are used properly, the effect will be significant!
Especially using the Qi machine to string the arrow, which is faster than pulling a short bow. If you are skilled, you can almost shoot five arrows in a row.
Pang Tong, who invented the Qi machine, was amazing, but Huang Yueying was able to design a valve-like structure so quickly to achieve Qi drive after learning about the Qi machine. She is indeed a genius in mechanical engineering!
Of course, if we want to mass produce it, not to mention whether the materials and assembly lines can keep up, the nutrition of the Gilded Warrior cannot withstand such an injection!
So in general, there is still a lot to be improved in the Qi machine, and it is just the beginning...
In the short term, the repeating crossbow is the cheapest and has the greatest hope of being equipped to the entire army, and the first generation of the magic arm crossbow can only be equipped to the elite troops first.
"Well... I recognize your skills, which have the effect of 'ten thousand enemies'." Gan Ning turned his head and said to Huang Yueying.
But they found that... when everyone's attention was attracted by the second-generation Shenbi crossbow, Huang Yueying lifted her veil again and was putting a small cake into her mouth.
Seeing Gan Ning talking to her, Huang Yueying put down her veil without embarrassment, straightened it and nodded - as if time had just stopped for her.
Gan Ning: ...
The staff who had originally wanted to persuade Bai Tu to withdraw Huang Yueying's appointment were helpless at this time - let alone other things, just talking about this crossbow and the so-called second-generation divine arm crossbow, if it was really designed by Huang Yueying, how would they impeach her? If anyone dared to speak, Bai Tu would just say "You can do it" and push him against the wall.
However, thinking that Huang Yueying's duty was not just simple on the surface, but would also bring more far-reaching "negative effects", Zhang Zhao stood up and said, "Miss Huang's attainments in mechanical engineering are indeed amazing. On behalf of the people of the world and the soldiers in the army, I deeply thank Miss Huang for her magical skills. But... Lord, if all the women in Yangzhou and even the world learn from Miss Huang in the future, what should we do?"
He first praised Huang Yueying, and then turned to look at Bai Tu.
"If that's the case, then we should be worried about those evil spirits. If there were thousands and tens of thousands of Huang Jijius in the world, there would be no need to worry about the world being in turmoil." Bai Tu said with a smile.
Zhang Zhao also found a loophole in his words, so he added: "What I mean is that other women don't have the ability of Miss Huang, but if they also want to dare to be in public..."
"Huh? I'm not going to appoint any woman I see as the high priest... What on earth are you talking about, Zi Bu?" Bai Tu said in a tone of "You're so illogical".
"No, no, no, my lord... I mean, although they don't have Miss Huang's ability, they can still do other things, such as..."
"For example, textile factories? Well, judging from the statistics of the Ministry of Households, the proportion of female workers employed in workshops is indeed gradually increasing... But this is also a good thing. The commission system also allows people to have extra income and reduces their burden." Bai Tu said.
Because the workshops also had a "head tax" for their employees, the Ministry of Household Affairs kept records of the gender ratio of employees in the workshops.
"Your Highness is saying..."
"Is Zi Bu trying to ban female workers? I can't think of any plausible reason." Bai Tu asked back.
When they heard that female workers were banned, many people looked at Zhang Zhao. Nowadays, many wealthy families in Yangzhou had workshop "businesses". Although they were not pillars and could not shake the idea of land-based economy, they were still considerable industries.
Zhang Zhao was also confused by Bai Tu. Why did he want to ban female workers for no reason when he was clearly considering the moral standards?
In fact, productivity was still insufficient. As textile factories, they only spun yarn and hemp. Cotton planting had not yet begun in the Eastern Han Dynasty. Moreover, the cotton that could be truly spun on a large scale was still in the Golden State. Even the fiber thickness of the Kushan (Indian) cotton varieties made it difficult to use textile machines for large-scale spinning.
Moreover, when most of the people's manpower is still tied up in the land, no matter how much the productivity is improved, it will be limited, so generally speaking, high-yield crops are still necessary - Gan Ning suddenly felt that Bai Tu was looking at him eagerly again.
Gan Ning: ???
"What I mean is... I am worried that it would be too unfair for Miss Huang to be on duty in the Ministry of Works." Zhang Zhao said with genuine grievance.
The customs of the Eastern Han Dynasty did not directly oppress women as they did after the rise of Neo-Confucianism a thousand years later.
Although there are differences between men and women, even in the eyes of conservatives like Zhang Zhao, what is important is the impact on women's reputation, rather than fundamentally believing that women cannot obtain a higher status and must be vassals of men .
So after seeing Huang Yueying's concrete achievements, they were speechless...
After all...the Eastern Han Dynasty was a country where foreign relatives and eunuchs took turns in power.
"Feeling wronged?" Bai Tu looked at Huang Yueying's position, then at Zhang Zhao's position.
His eyes seemed to say, Huang Jijiu is sitting much closer than you... right? Zhang Zhubu.
Zhang Zhao's face flushed at Bai Tu's look, and he said angrily, "I am worried that Miss Huang's husband's family might have bad thoughts about her working in the Ministry of Works all day!"
That’s right, Zhang Zhao didn’t look down on women, nor did he have any opinion about Huang Yueying herself. He was just worried that if Huang Yueying was used as a “role model”, it would destroy the current mainstream family model of “men farming and women weaving” in the opposition and “men working outside and women staying at home” in the city.
Vision determines... He has great confidence in this long-term stable model, and has a deep fear of destroying this model.
I am not worried about the decline of men’s status, but I am worried about the collapse of the entire social model…
Bai Tu did not have such worries, but said: "Huang Jijiu is still unmarried, and if you ask me... if any man has a prejudice against Huang Jijiu's work in the Ministry of Works and his contribution to the General's Mansion and the people of the world, then that man is not worthy of marrying our Huang Jijiu.
This also applies to the female workers in other workshops... I understand what Zibu means, but in this regard, I think Huang Jijiu has set a good example. If it were me, I would only be proud of Huang Jijiu!"
After Bai Tu finished speaking, he found that the scene was a little cold...
Hmm? I guess I shouldn't give this example? It's like I really want to be like that!
Huang Yueying, who had been very calm when she (blatantly) stole the cakes before, was also startled at this moment, and said with some trepidation: "My lord, I am not married yet!"
I'm not married yet, so don't have any ideas!
