Fu Xuan realized that they had been talking for a long time, and he had been standing at the door, and hurriedly said: "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm really slow to treat Brother Cao, Brother Cao, please come into the house, the wine and food are ready, after eating, let's continue to talk." ”

This time, Ma Jun really didn't refuse again, and he also wanted to know how to improve the trebuchet.

Cao Liang entered the house without giving up.

Ma Jun's house looked very simple from the outside, and when he entered the house, Cao Liang found that it was even more shabby, not to mention that it was more than ordinary official eunuchs, or richer ordinary people, I am afraid they are all stronger than him.

In the matter, he is a fifth-grade official, with a rank of 1,000 stones, and Cao Liang's period gate governor is two grades lower than him, with a rank of 600 stones. Qianshi sounds like a lot, but in fact there are not much, 90 yuan a month, half money and half grain, barely enough to support the family.

Ma Jun and Cao Liang's family are different, after all, Cao Yan has Tinghou's food in addition to Yulu, while Ma Jun is all pointing to the meager Dai Lu to support the family.

In addition, if Ma Jun has a little spare money, he has gone to engage in invention research, this machinery manufacturing, but it is all money-burning things, for decades, Ma Jun has smashed most of the money here, so he is poor.

After Zhishi, there was only one-third of Yulu, and life was even more difficult, Luoyang was not easy to live in, Ma Jun simply sold the house in Luoyang City, and built more than a dozen thatched houses in Beibi Mountain, chatting about the wind and rain.

Cao Liang looked at the four walls of Ma Jun's house, and was amazed, when an official got this hanging sample, there was really no one.

As for the Ma family's food, it is also very vulgar, brown rice porridge, pickled vegetables, hard cakes, rare is that there is wine, it is estimated that it is also home-brewed rice wine, and it tastes a little sour.

The stomach spoiled by the food of later generations made Cao Liang have an instinctive rejection of the food of this era, but fortunately, the living conditions in the Gaoling Marquis Mansion are not bad, and he is slowly adapting.

But Ma Jun's family wine and food, Cao Liang really didn't dare to compliment, reluctantly drank a small half bowl of porridge, he didn't move the chopsticks, as for the wine, Cao Liang only took a sip, it was so sour and refreshing, he didn't dare to touch it again.

Ma Jun, on the other hand, drank a few large bowls by himself, and his face was full of intoxication.

Fu Xuan said: "Mr. Ma loves wine and is obsessed, and he must drink several buckets every day, but because his family is poor, he can't afford to buy good wine in the market, so he brews his own rice wine and drinks it, and Brother Cao is probably not used to drinking it." ”

Cao Liang chuckled, saying that he didn't care, but his heart was deeply touched.

A scientific and technological inventor like Ma Jun, in later generations, is simply a treasure of the country, but in this era, he was abandoned by the imperial court, and his life was so poor.

Ma Jun is also a person who has been an official for decades, and Ma Jun is also a person who has been appreciated by the emperor, and he still lives so hard, and those talented people who are buried in the mountains and wilderness and mixed in the market are even more bleak.

This cannot but be said to be the sorrow of an era, talented people do not have the stage to display their talents, and in the end they can only be annihilated in the long river of history.

And in order to survive, those who have the talent for invention and creation have to give up their ideals, and instead sharpen their heads to drill into the official career, like Ma Jun, who has insisted on his invention and creation for decades, is already very rare.

Cao Liang was thoughtful, and his mood was a little heavier.

The meal was eaten quickly, and after removing the cups and bowls, Ma Jun looked at Cao Liang with slanted eyes, as if waiting for his explanation.

Cao Liang didn't hide it, and directly spread Ma Jun's drawing on the table, and said: "According to Mr. Ma's design, the weight of the stone to reach thirty catties is already the theoretical limit, and the damage to the rammed earth city wall is acceptable. ”

The relationship between the catapult and the city wall can also be explained by the relationship between the spear and the shield, the early catapult was small in size and light in stone, and it was difficult to destroy even the rammed earth city wall. However, with the development of catapult technology, the weight of the catapult has gradually increased, and the threat to the city wall has also increased.

Ma Jun's chain of thunderbolts, although much more advanced than the trebuchets used by the Wei army today, could achieve bursts, increasing the density of attacks and making the defenders tired of defending.

However, the fundamental problem has not been solved, due to the limited weight of the stone, the damage to the city wall is not enough, this chain of thunderbolts, can hardly be called a siege weapon.

Ma Jun pondered for a long time and said, "Raise the ...... of stone throwing weight, nor ...... Not impossible, but ...... But bigger trebuchets need to be built, more ...... More manpower ......"

Building taller and larger trebuchets has not been unthinkable before, but the huge trebuchet not only consumes an astonishing amount of wood, but is also too bulky to move at all, and the number of people dragging hands has to be increased at least two or three times, so it is very difficult to ensure that such a large crowd can be used at the same time.

Therefore, the larger the volume of the trebuchet, the more difficult it is to operate, and the accuracy of shooting is also very poor.

Cao Liang said: "Larger trebuchets must have more problems, the problem of coordination and unification of the hand, the problem of hit accuracy, the problem of fuselage protection, the problem of maneuverability, etc., if these problems are not solved, even if the trebuchet is made is useless." ”

Ma Jun fell into deep thought, these problems pointed out by Cao Liang are all problems faced by large trebuchets, and a single problem of hitting accuracy cannot be solved, and this trebuchet is a waste product.

"In your opinion, the ...... How to fix it? Ma Jun said sincerely.

Cao Liang smiled indifferently, and did not speak, but picked up a pen and revised it on Ma Jun's drawings.

Fu Xuan was shocked, this drawing was Ma Jun's painstaking work, Cao Liang altered it at will, wouldn't it change this drawing beyond recognition and completely ruined it, Fu Xuan hurriedly stopped and said: "Brother Cao, don't ...... it"

Ma Jun stretched out his hand and grabbed Fu Xuan, signaling him not to interrupt Cao Liang's movements.

Perhaps in Ma Jun's view, since Cao Liang can point out the mistakes of his design drawings, there must be a way to correct them, and since this drawing has defects, it is naturally not precious.

Ma Jun faintly still has a little expectation, he has worked hard all his life to design trebuchets, and he feels that he has entered a bottleneck, and he really expects Cao Liang to give him an unexpected surprise.