When the news that Zhou Mu was re-established reached Jiangxia, Zhu Kui was discussing with Zhang Hong and Jiang Wan on the school grounds about the paper armor.
This was proposed by Zhu Kui. Since the new white paper was produced, the papermaking workshop has not stopped innovating.
Don't seek the best, just seek better. These are the words Zhu Kui left when he inspected the workshop one day.
Soon after, someone increased the consistency of the pulp, resulting in thick paper. This paper was dry and wrinkled, not soft at all, only better than bark, could be rolled, and difficult to tear.
This was ridiculed by the paper-making workers in the same place. This kind of paper was worse than the previous Caihou paper for writing.
However, after Zhu Kui saw the thick paper, he suddenly remembered that there seemed to be a kind of armor in history called paper armor. It was said that it was effective in preventing bows and arrows. In addition, it was cheap and easy to popularize. It can be made into light armor and is better than leather armor. It's a good deal, and the performance difference is only a few cents.
You must know that in the Han Dynasty, even the main soldiers of the imperial court only wore armor of very long lengths. Only elites like Cao Cao's tiger and leopard cavalry, Liu Bei's white-eared soldiers, etc. had armor to wear. The average soldier only wore a set of common clothes.
On the school field, there were Zhu Kui, Jiang Wan, and Zhang Hong, and next to them were Zhou Tai, Gan Ning, Wang Cheng and other brother generals. In front of them was a row of human-shaped corks wrapped in soap cloth.
At this time, the bodyguard Erhu commanded several other guards and played with several human figures made of cork.
The first three cork figures were put on a pair of armor. This was an ordinary piece of iron armor that a centurion could usually wear. The last three cork figures were also put on a pair of armor, but Zhu Kui had just made them. The paper nails have a bright appearance.
After being appointed as the prefect of Jiangxia, a large number of craftsmen were naturally transferred from Moling, and the focus of business gradually shifted to Jiangxia.
After several guards dressed the human cork, Erhu stepped forward to inspect it personally, then trotted back and reported that everything was ready.
"Today, let's take a look at the defensive power of this new paper armor." After the paper armor was built, it has not been officially tested. To be honest, Zhu Kui was still looking forward to it. After all, it would have a great impact on the future military strength. Great impact.
"First test the bow and arrow, use a stone bow, aim at the iron armor and paper armor from left to right, taking forty steps, fifty steps, and sixty steps as the calculation."
After hearing the lord's instructions, there were already prepared guards behind them who were good at shooting. They stepped out. Six of them had six bows. They drew their bows and set arrows. They formed a trapezoid shape at different distances and were ready to shoot.
In ancient times, a stone bow weighed fifty kilograms, which was different from the one hundred kilograms of stone used for grain and rice, and required greater strength.
When ordinary armies recruit archers, they usually take the test of seven or eight small bows.
Zhu Kui's personal bodyguards were all recruited upon call. They were young, strong, and powerful. They then cultivated the four skills of knife, spear, sword, and bow, as well as the use of crossbows. They learned all the basics first, then divided their interests and strengths, and then became proficient in other skills. .
The guards who came out were all experts in archery. They raised two-stone and three-stone bows. They were sent out to the military camp without saying a word, so they could accompany the archers in the name.
As for forty steps, it means twenty meters, thirty meters, or forty meters. This is the most powerful distance for a bow and arrow. Generally speaking, if there is no armor at this distance, it will be absolutely heartbreaking to shoot over it.
After Zhu Kui signaled, Erhu waved his hand and gave the order.
"Puff..." six times.
The six strong archers all shot long arrows and hit the target.
Several people came forward to inspect, and at first glance, they found that the centurion-level armor had been shot through at a range of 40 steps, with more than half an inch penetrated. At 50 steps, a small hole was shot through, less than half an inch. Sixty steps later, the arrow fell to the ground, and a piece of the armor was dented in the center, but it did not penetrate.
Zhu Kui's leader has always paid attention to well-equipped equipment, and has always attracted skilled blacksmiths, such as the Wu brothers, who have always been raised with high wages.
When they went north to the Yellow Turbans and west to Liangzhou, all the personal guards they brought were equipped with a suit of armor like this. During the two expeditions, only one-third of the personal guards they took away died, and most of them returned with only injuries. Later, they looked for elite young men to replace them.
superior.….
Up to now, there are still 118 old brothers from Gaojiazhai who fought with him in the Northern War against the Yellow Turbans, and 118 people are still serving him. Those who can't go to battle return home to support him.
Everyone was looking at the paper armor. On the two corks at fifty and sixty steps, the arrows only hung diagonally and were not penetrated at all. The inner layer of paper was covered with paper. However, although the arrows penetrated through the paper at forty steps, they could not penetrate half an inch into the wood.
.
One look at the ability to defend against bows and arrows, and you have an idea of it.
The generals and others had already begun to discuss slightly.
Zhu Kui smiled and told them to be calm, and then the crossbow machine was tested. The same three people fired at one hundred steps, one hundred ten steps, and one hundred and twenty steps. This was the most powerful crossbow machine.
Strong distance.
After the same six "pop" sounds, when I went up to look again, the result was not much different from that of a bow and arrow. Two of the iron armors hit two and one fell; while one of the paper armors hit two.
In other words, when it comes to defensive crossbows, paper armor is half as good as iron armor. If the arrow is shot at the same distance and the arrow enters the body too small, the serious injury rate is lower than that of iron armor. As long as it does not directly hit the vital point, it is only injured.
This is already remarkable, especially when the cost is several times different.
Historically, the "New Book of Tang" records that during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, Xu Shang defended Puzhou with thousands of soldiers. The armor was made of folded paper and could not be penetrated by powerful arrows, which shows its flexibility and safety.
If the entire army is equipped with this kind of paper armor and rushes into formation, then there will be basically no threat from the rain of arrows peeled off in front of the formation, which will greatly enhance the morale of the soldiers in the charge.
Suddenly all the generals were in an uproar, looking at each other in disbelief, but the facts were before their eyes.
Even Zhang Hong and Jiang Wan looked moved. Although they didn't know the battle formation, they also knew how powerful this armor was.
"Brother, this paper armor is so powerful, how effective is it in frontal slashing? If it is comparable to iron armor, wouldn't iron armor be eliminated?" Gan Ning asked excitedly.
"Then try slashing with a long knife!" Zhu Kui continued to give instructions.
The same six people, after hearing the lord's order, put down their crossbows, picked up their long knives, came to the cork dummy, shouted twice, and slashed three times.
Suddenly, there was a ding-ding-pop-pop sound, and both of them were armor-pierced.
Checking again, I saw obvious knife marks on the soft wood on the paper armor side, but they were not very deep, between half an inch and one inch. The iron armor was also ripped, but the knife marks were much shallower, less than half an inch.
The result is obvious. In close combat, paper armor is inferior.
Gan Ning looked disappointed. Zhu Kui was about to explain, but Wang Cheng thought for a moment and said: "Fighting on the battlefield, how can it be the same as performing, where you accumulate strength before killing? In other words, you can basically withstand several swords."
Of course, the cavalry is not among them!"
That's right, with the impact of the horse and a stab from the spear, no matter how well-armored you are, you will die.
As soon as this was said, everyone felt that it made sense, but they didn't know the specific output and price.
"Lord, how much does this paper armor cost? How many can it be made? Can it be equipped for the entire army?" Zhang Hong and Jiang Wan looked at each other and asked lightly.
The two got along well with each other under Zhu Kui. Jiang Wan was young and had five years of education, while Zhang Hong was already thirty years old and had superior experience and knowledge, so he was treated with respect as an elder.
"The price of this armor is about a piece of Shu brocade, which is a quarter of the iron armor. The craftsmanship is hand-made. The paper is beaten on a wheel, folded into three inches thick, and four nails are hammered into each square inch. Then it is cut into armor and stuffed with silk. Cloth, cotton, etc. can be used to save winter clothes. With the current number of craftsmen, we can make five hundred sets per month. In the future, if there are more craftsmen, we may be able to make a thousand sets per month."
"I originally wanted to equip the whole army." Zhu Kui laughed and said: "And this armor has another advantage, but it can be directly removed from the paper armor, and then re-cooked and remade. Therefore, every time there is a war, the battle You can exchange the old one for a new one later.”
In fact, the first half of this process is exactly the same as papermaking, which is made from bark, hemp, rags, fishnets, etc. The reason why papermaking is expensive is because in the later stage, the surface of the paper must be smooth, impervious to water, and suitable for writing.
However, paper armor is not needed, as roughness and toughness are valuable, and it can be made by mixing it with cloth, processing and beating it until it is soft, with four nails per square inch, and soaked in tung oil.
The most important thing is that these can be recycled and recycled, which greatly reduces future consumption and costs. With modern assembly lines and recycling ideas, you can get twice the result with half the effort.
But I heard Zhang Hong praising: "My lord, now the farmland needs to be cultivated and the army needs weapons. Whether it is weapons or farm tools, a lot of iron tools are needed. Now using this paper armor can reduce the iron material by 40%. It's true." Great kindness!"
Others also praised him repeatedly, and Zhu Kui looked up to the sky and laughed, saying: "That's what I meant!"
The popularization of paper armor also has the advantage of making the wearer feel a sense of security, and can even produce a strange spiritual effect.
When the same soldiers meet on the battlefield: "I have armor, my defense is higher than yours, I'm not afraid of you." Therefore, they will be more fierce.
At that time, at the rank of captain, Zhu Kui still planned to use armor made of fine iron. After all, reaching the rank of captain, he was already a rare warrior and could not be lost casually.