Fang Guang traveled through time and naturally knew that the sharpest weapon in the world was gunpowder.
But first of all, it was not easy to collect gunpowder, and the smelting technology of the Eastern Han Dynasty could not carry overly sharp firearms.
In Fang Guang's mind, earthen grenades like the Fuhuolei were inferior to the powerful crossbows that appeared in the Song Dynasty.
The people of the Song Dynasty were weak in martial arts, but they were forced to specialize in crossbows compared to the Liao, Jin and Mongolian cavalry.
Zhuge Liang, don't you want to compete with him for a while? Fang Guang wants to see whether the prime minister's repeating crossbow is better, or his giant bed crossbow that can penetrate eight cows, or the divine arm crossbow with one hand!
Smelting technology is temporarily limited by ore and money, so Fang Guang can still make a crude version of the crossbow.
More importantly, since the mass production of crossbow arrows in the Qin Dynasty, it was not until this time in Dongjun that standardized manufacturing of crossbow arrows appeared again in the world.
The weapons workshop affiliated to the Tianzi Department was not far from the paper mill. Fang Guang and his party rushed here. They were still a few hundred steps away from the workshop when they heard the sound of tinkling inside the workshop.
Fang Guang took the lead and strode into the workshop. As soon as he entered the door, he saw Han Hao with an angry look on his face. In front of him, several Dong'a blacksmiths were kneeling on the ground, talking and explaining with their strokes.
"You can't make what Mr. Datong wants? The craftsmen are different, and what you make is hundreds of millimeters different?"
"This, this workshop is a labor of love. That day, when I showed you the construction drawings, didn't everyone pat their chests and say that this thing is safe?"
"What's wrong? The grain and rice from my government office have been moved back to my home, and now I can't do it anymore. How dare you even defraud the government's money?"
Han Hao clenched his fists and made a sound like thunder. Among the dozens of blacksmiths kneeling on the ground, the boldest one couldn't help but explain.
"Sir, it's not that we don't try our best. Your Majesty, all the parts must be the same. It's just that my fire head doesn't have the same temperature every time, and when it bends, the curvature is different."
"This thing is even more complicated than the curved shaft plow you asked me to make. It has a total of forty-three parts. Even though I, Wang Hu, have been working hard for several hours, I can't put it together."
"Return the grain and rice to your lord, and we will accept the punishment. Can we not do this anymore?"
The bold blacksmith who spoke seemed to be the leader of all blacksmiths. What he said immediately aroused the resonance of his companions.
"Ahem"
Fang Guang coughed twice, and slowly walked in with Xu Shu and the Tianzi Department students.
Although he was young, he was highly respected by all the people in Dong'a for his barrel carts and curved shaft plows. When they saw Mr. Fang coming, the blacksmiths all bowed their heads and knelt in worship, and no one dared to say anything more.
"Why? You can't make it. That's right. It's hard to temper the pig iron and make a knife. I asked you to make a crossbow. I thought it was too simple!"
Fang Guang smiled bitterly, looked at the weapons workshop, where the crossbow parts were piled on the floor, and shook his head slightly.
Fang Guang didn't even need to measure the dimensions. He glanced at them and saw that the tolerances of these parts were all terrifying. It seemed that the foundation was not strong and the high end was unstable. Even in the late Han Dynasty, the same principle was true.
"Sir, we have tried our best. This big thing can barely get out of the way. For the small one, just making the mold has used up countless iron materials. It is too difficult!"
It was Wang Huzi, the head of the blacksmith, who boldly opened his mouth to explain, and Fang Guang nodded lightly.
From a technical point of view, it is true that the portable divine arm crossbow is more difficult than the bed crossbow.
"Do it slowly. When I explore the Yanzhou iron ore and coal mines and use the blast furnace to quench the iron, it won't be difficult to make a divine arm bow!"
"It's just a little bit worse, but it's not completely unusable. Yuan Zhi, what are you doing standing still? Come and help me. There are more than a dozen sets of parts here. Pick out a few sets and you'll always be able to use them."
Fang Guang weighed the parts in his hands, frowned and said slowly.
He drew two pages of pictures, just like a cook trying to untie an ox. The structure of the crossbow was already clear to his mind.
The principal greeted him, and Xu Shu and dozens of students rushed to Fang Guang's side.
Following Fang Guang's order, everyone placed the crossbow machine on the base. The bed crossbow was divided into several grades, distinguished by pulling force.
What Fang Guang made was a mediocre four-bow crossbow. Although it was not as powerful as the eight-oxen crossbow, this crossbow was placed on top of the city, and its range and power were far greater than the crossbows used by the Han army.
Fang Guang weighed the parts in his hands, his movements were familiar and quick, as if he knew how to make a living as a blacksmith when he was in the Yellow Turban Army.
"This thing is embedded on the base. Be careful, it must fit tightly."
"It is important to make sure that the twisting shaft is tight, otherwise the tendons will not be strong enough and the range will be less than a hundred steps!"
"The machine teeth must be strong. If you cannot hold the center of the crossbow machine, it will hurt people!"
Fang Guangkou said that the students from Cangting were all children of farmers and had been familiar with the work since childhood. Wherever Mr. Datong pointed, the students rushed to pick up the parts Mr. Datong liked.
With only forty-three parts, it took Dongjun County Magistrate a full hour and a half, with sweat dripping from his tired brow, to put together the first bed crossbow in the world.
Xu Shu stood next to Fang Guang and watched everyone doing things. For the first time, he couldn't do anything to help him.
The longer he stayed with Fang Guang, the more he felt that the county magistrate born into the Yellow Turban Colonel was unfathomable!
The broadness of Fang Guang's pattern is for all the people of the world, and the subtle and profound aspects are all kinds of strange weapons and arrows.
In the bow and arrow workshop, there is a bed crossbow that is half a person's height, placed in the middle of the workshop.
Two different kinds of arrows, one is about seven feet long and as tall as an ordinary person, the other is more than a foot long, more than twenty arrows are placed in one place, the arrows are shining with a faint cold light.
"Datong, this is the bed crossbow. Although it looks powerful, is it too bulky?"
"When approaching battle, the situation changes rapidly. How can this thing keep up with the army?"
Taishi Ci looked at the huge object in front of him and couldn't help but touch it gently with his hands. In the distance, several Cangting students were placing a straw man covered in cowhide to test the power of the crossbow.
"Ziyi, this thing is for placing on top of the city to defend the city. There is no need to move around with the army!"
"This Dong'a City, with so many workshops and so many students, is all my hard work. If we don't guard it more strictly, how can I feel at ease?"
"Yuanzhi, ask them to keep the target farther away. This long arrow can penetrate the wall and pierce it. It's only two hundred steps away. Who can't be seen?"
"Four hundred steps, all four hundred steps. When others saw it, they thought I, Fang Guang, had made a useless crossbow!"
When Dong Jun Ling spoke, he unconsciously took on the tone of later film and television works.
When Xu Shu heard the four hundred steps, he took a deep breath and quickly gestured for the students to move the straw man farther away.
While everyone was busy, they moved the straw man to the farthest end of the school grounds and pressed it against the earth wall.
Fang Guang knew that the top-notch eight-oxen crossbow equipped by the Song army could shoot nearly 600 steps.
His four-bow crossbow was limited by craftsmanship and the tendon was not the best, so it only had a range of about 450 steps.
The governor of a county, together with Xu Shu, personally placed the arrow in the slot.
Taishi Ci pulled the winch, and the clattering sound made everyone's breathing become heavier.
"put!"
Following Fang Guang's shout, a thick crossbow arrow shot out like a meteor, piercing the cowhide on the straw man's body and piercing half an inch of the earthen wall.
The body trembles and makes a humming sound, which makes people feel heart-stopping!