For several days, Zhang Jun locked himself in the signing room of the Governor's Mansion, and he saw no one except the craftsman who would be the prisoner, and devoted himself to the development and design of the Divine Arm Crossbow. Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 ｉｎfo

At this time, a large table was placed in the center of the room, Zhang Jun, Suo Sanjie, Li Fugui and the old craftsman Zheng Adazai plus Zhao Desheng, a craftsman who was said to be a master of bow making, the five of them sat around the table, discussing something fiercely.

After a long time, a few people rested, the maid came in to serve tea, Zhang Jun picked up a cup and drank it one by one, stretched out his hand and signaled: "You are also invited." ”

The other four picked up their teacups and took a careful sip.

At this time, Zheng Ada, an old craftsman who served as the deputy commander of the general, opened his mouth and asked: "Dadu Governor, the crossbow machine has been declining day by day, if it is not for a few craftsmen who will repair and manufacture it, it is basically difficult to see a crossbow machine in the north." This means that this thing is being discarded, so why do you have to build a god arm crossbow? ”

Indeed, what Zheng Adaa said is the truth, the crossbow machine is being eliminated, and in the north, except for Liangzhou, which inherited the Jin Dynasty, is still deployed in the army (the crossbow battalion of the Chinese army), it is almost impossible to see it in other places. Looking at the whole of China, in addition to Liangzhou, there are only the Eastern Jin Dynasty that is still using crossbow machines.

However, in Zhang Jun's view, the abandonment of the crossbow machine is not the survival of the fittest caused by the progress of the times, but the technological regression caused by the invasion of nomads.

In fact, the technical development of crossbows has reached a peak in the Han Dynasty, and since then, in the entire Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties era, from a technical point of view, the manufacturing process of crossbows has not changed significantly in this period, whether it is Cao Wei's military industry department - Shang Fang, or Shu Han's ordnance manufacturing institute - Zhongzuo Department, the crossbow machines manufactured are all following the old system of the Han Dynasty, and there is no innovation.

In addition, after the fall of the Western Jin Dynasty, the Xiongnu, Xianbei, Xia, Di, Xia and other ethnic minorities successively entered the Central Plains, they were mainly nomadic herdsmen, good at riding and shooting, and the traditional long-range weapons used were bows and arrows. On the battlefield of war at this time, the northern land was crisscrossed by fierce cavalry with bows and prancing horses. As for the crossbow machine, which can kill the enemy with the touch of a finger, it has to be said that it is a sad and fortunate thing that only cowards can use as a profane tool.

The sad thing is that the crossbow withdrew from the war, but fortunately Hu Lu did not use it to conquer Jiangnan. If the Hu people master this technology, I am afraid that the Han people will be wiped out!

At the same time, the greatly improved equipment of the cavalry was also one of the reasons why the crossbow machine was abandoned. The first is that stirrups were widely used, making cavalry more flexible and capable of performing complex tactical maneuvers on horseback; The extensive use of armor has strengthened the protection of war horses. As a result, the heavy cavalry with heavy armor has become the mainstream of the times, and good protection allows the knights to charge against the rain of arrows without worrying about injury, so since the Western Han Dynasty, the strong crossbow infantry that has been dominant on the battlefield - the material officer is unheard, and it is inevitable that it will gradually disappear.

The Han Dynasty called the infantry "caiguan", which means "the one with the strength" or "the one with the strength of the force". Infantry crossbowmen are known as "material officers and soldiers", and they are the elite of the infantry. As the saying goes, "the strength of the material officer can step on the strong crossbow, so it is said to be tense." (In the Han Dynasty, the strong crossbow could not be opened due to the lack of strength, so they all used the foot pedal to pull the string)

During the reign of Emperor Wen of the Western Han Dynasty, Chao Cuo once wrote a masterpiece on the art of war, "Words and Soldiers", which pushed the ancient art of war to a new peak.

In the article, he pointed out that the Han army was compared with the Xiongnu: the Xiongnu were good at cavalry shooting, and the Han army was good at foot combat; The Xiongnu had strong individual capabilities, and the Han army had superior weapons and cluster combat effectiveness.

Chao Cuo first listed the three advantages of the Xiongnu people, and said: "Today, the Xiongnu terrain skills are different from those of China. Up and down the mountain, in and out of the stream, China's muffle and also; The dangerous road is overwhelming, and galloping and shooting, China's riding and also; Wind and rain fatigue, hunger and thirst are not sleepy, the Chinese people are also with the long skills of the Huns. ”

Later, he discussed the advantages of the Chinese: "If the plain of Ruofu changes places, light chariots and sudden rides, the Huns are easy to scratch; The crossbow halberd shoots far away, and the bow of the Huns is also Funengge; Sharp blades, mixed in length and short, crossbows come and go, and the soldiers of the Huns can be in front of them; If the material official is hairy, and the arrow is the same, then the Huns' leather and wood are recommended to be supported by Fu Neng; Dismount and fight, the sword and halberd are connected, and they are thin, so the foot of the Huns can be given, and this China's long skill is also. ”

In the end, he concluded: "From this point of view, the Xiongnu's long skills are three, and China's long skills are five. ”

It is not difficult to see from the above paragraph that the advantages of the Chinese army are greater, and three of its five advantages are related to crossbows, so to speak, the crossbow machine is one of the most important advanced weapons since the Han Dynasty, but it is a pity that it disappeared after the fall of the Jin Dynasty, and it was not until the Song Dynasty that it regained its glory.

Zhang Jun faced Zheng Ada's question, and after pondering for a moment, he replied: "I have heard that Liu Yao, the emperor of the Xiongnu Han Kingdom, also asked this question back then, and he said that the crossbow machine was late, and the enemy was only one or two shots, so it was not convenient to fight. As he spoke, he smiled disdainfully, and continued: "Hu Er'an knows my Chinese wisdom? Non-bow crossbows are not easy to fight, and generals do not know how to use crossbows. ”

Suo Sanjie also nodded approvingly when he heard this: "Hu'er is good at riding and shooting, and he really doesn't like to use crossbow machines. However, Wu Daliang's crossbow army is also declining, and the crossbow battalion of the Chinese army is the only unit with crossbows, but it is very stiff in terms of tactics, like chicken ribs······ What is the opinion of the Grand Governor? ”

Zhang Jun said: "The crossbow army is different from the short soldiers, when it becomes an independent army, and the arrows are injected in wartime, there is no standing soldier in front of it, and there is no horizontal formation. Repeat to the formation in Zhang, shoot outside the formation, reincarnation, Zhang and comeback, shoot and re-enter, then the crossbow is silent, the enemy is not thin! ”

This argument was loud, and the other four people here did not understand military affairs, but after making up the picture described by Zhang Jun in their own brains, they couldn't help but boil their blood.

In fact, the three-stage or multi-stage shooting method of the crossbow machine was not an invention in the era of muskets, and China had already applied it as early as the Warring States period. Zhang Jun is just summarizing the experience of the ancients.

Suo Sanjie had been in battle in the end, and sighed: "Dadudu, if we were in Longxi with such a method of warfare, when we ran rampant in the enemy territory, there would not be so many brothers buried in the wilderness. ”

Zhang Jun was also hurt in his heart, and blamed himself: "Jun entered the army, thinking that he could retreat from the enemy with bravery, but who knew that the military affairs were so complicated, so that the brothers increased the casualties, and my fault was ······."

Several other people hurriedly persuaded: "The Metropolitan Governor does not have to blame himself, you have traveled thousands of miles and saved countless people, such achievements are rare in China, and you are enough to be proud of." ”

Shaking his head, Zhang Jun said: "When the first martial arts, even the children once sang the ballad of 'Liangzhou Horse, rampant in the world', Jun Bucai, willing to command 100,000 troops, sweep away not subordinate." But the cavalry can only fight in the field, and is not good at attacking cities. Now both have become entrenched by the beast clan, and if you want to recover China, you can't help but rely on the infantry army. So the Divine Arm Crossbow must be designed! ”

Several people glanced at each other, and they all got up and solemnly bowed: "Don't worry, the governor of the capital will do his best to live up to the trust!" ”

"Good!" Zhang Jun also got up and said: "The day when the Divine Arm Crossbow is successful, that is, when you are added to the rank of knight, this governor will not hesitate to reward you!" ”

Suo Sanjie smiled happily and said: "Lord, you just have to prepare the official, I will take it!" ”

················································

After sending away Suo Sanjie and the other four people who would be the prisoners, Zhang Jun rubbed his sour eyes, sat on the couch, and thumped his legs. Although it has been a long time, I still feel that kneeling is a kind of torture, and although the army has implemented the opening of the hu bed (maza), I still have to kneel in formal occasions and daily life.

At this time, Cai Yulian walked in slightly, offered pastries, changed the herbal tea again, and said with a slight frown: "Lang Jun should pay attention to rest, otherwise the slave's body is just right, and you are tired again, how can this be good?" ”

Zhang Jun smiled, asked Cai Yan to kneel over and beat his legs, and said, "Your Langjun's body and bones are good, why don't you serve with the Deng family tonight." ”

At present, Zhang Jun only has Cai Yan and Deng Shi in the room, the former was slept before he crossed over, and the latter was asked for by himself, so he indulged without any psychological burden.

Cai Yan's face turned red when she heard this, she glared at her Lang Jun coquettishly, and sighed faintly: "The slave maid is already despicable, Lang Jun naturally wants to deal with it, but that sister Deng is from a good family and is a poor person, why should Lang Jun embarrass others?" ”

Zhang Jun sighed and said, "You say that the Deng family is pitiful, and it is true. But she is also shrewd, and she made up her mind to commit herself to me, and from then on she flew to the branches, even if she couldn't be a phoenix, it would be enough for a lifetime. ”

"Look at what you're talking about······" The strength in Caiyan's hand was just right, and Zhang Jun couldn't feel the soreness in his legs.

Cai Yan pouted and said: "In our women's lives, we don't just want a safe and stable life, as long as Lang Jun doesn't abandon us, we are very content." ”

Zhang Jun stretched out his hand to hold it in his arms, and said meaningfully: "I'm afraid that some people are not satisfied with the status quo and always want to make a career." Throughout history, such a woman has never been ······ in the world." Of course, there is another sentence he didn't say, that is, more than a hundred years later, a Han woman appeared in the north, who wholeheartedly assisted her Xianbei son in the Sinicization reform, and was finally included in the modern history textbook, she is the Empress Dowager Feng, whose son is Emperor Xiaowen of the Northern Wei Dynasty.

If you talk about the social status of women, the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties are much higher than those of the Sui and Tang dynasties, but the reason why there is no generation of empresses like Wu Zetian is due to many reasons, and corn will not be repeated here. Zhang Jun can say this, on the one hand, it is his own sigh, and most of it is the beating of the colored grasshopper.

This woman was sent by his uncle Jia Ji, saying that he was taking care of his daily life, but Zhang Jun knew in his heart that this was using beauty to disintegrate his mind. Or simply put a person by his side to watch. But even so, Zhang Jun did not treat Cai Yan differently, but was very fond of it. This woman is sensible and well-behaved, and she is obedient, even if she wants to alienate her, she will not bear it.

Now the internal affairs of the entire Governor's Mansion are in the hands of Cai Yan, although she does not have the name of a family order, but she has a family order. Zhang Jun just wanted to warn him euphemistically, to get a vaccination, so as not to catch fire in the backyard and make something wrong.

But these words sounded different to Caiyan, her heart suddenly tightened, and her face was a little unnatural. After all, she knew what she was doing, and for a moment she even thought she had been exposed.

At this time, Zhang Jun said again: "You have been taking good care of my daily life, and if you have the opportunity in the future, it is not impossible to be a housekeeper." ”

Hearing these words of encouragement, Cai Yan relieved her heart, sighed slightly, and said, "The slave maid just wants to serve Lang Jun, and there is nothing else to ask for." ”

At this time, Jiang Wanqing walked in quickly, she was originally a good lady, but since she joined the army, she has also been infected with the habit of wind and fire, and she often ignores even the simplest etiquette, or simply says that she is deliberate.

Zhang Jun immediately knelt down again, and Caiyan stepped aside. Jiang Wanqing said unhappily: "The governor of the capital is really elegant, and he is envious of his humble position. ”

She knew in her heart that Zhang Jun had been very busy these days, but as soon as she came in, she saw the intimate performance of this person and Caiyu, and suddenly the words that she was supposed to care about turned into ridicule when they came to her mouth.

Zhang Jun was also used to Jiang Wanqing's occasional petty play, and he was not angry, but said with a smile: "Secretary Lang, what's the matter?" ”

When Jiang Wanqing heard this, she said in her heart that this person is always like this, could it be that she can't come if she is fine? She was even more unhappy in her heart, gritted her teeth and said: "General Zhou Tongzhou of the left battalion of the Longxiang Army asked to see him outside, saying that the assassin he caught a few days ago had confessed!" ”

Zhang Jun didn't react when he heard this, but Cai Yan accidentally knocked over the teacup when he got up, and happened to splash water on Zhang Jun's body. She hurriedly pleaded guilty and wiped Zhang Jun again.

Jiang Wanqing couldn't stand it, and said, "Do you see it?" ”

"See, naturally I want to see, pass it quickly!" Zhang Jun said.

Jiang Wanqing snorted coldly, turned around and retreated.

Soon, Zhou Tong, who was dressed in military uniform, strode in, and when he saw that there was a beautiful woman in the room, he couldn't help but be stunned, and he knelt down on one knee and said: "The Zhou army of the left battalion of the conquest army Longxiang will meet the governor of the capital." ”

"Get up!" Zhang Jun raised his hand to support him, and after Zhou Tong got up, he motioned for him to sit down before asking, "Why, when did my General Zhou become so polite?" ”

Zhou Tongwei smiled and said: "The last general is from the trilogy, and this life is the capital governor's, so naturally he doesn't dare to be rude." ”

Zhang Jun has always been very gentle with his cadres, he is extremely majestic in the army, but he is usually approachable, this way of the emperor is not perfect, but it will also make everyone under his command happy and convinced.

He pushed his teacup towards Zhou Tong and said, "Drink saliva first and moisten your throat." ”

In modern society, it is rude and disgusting to give the tea you have drunk to your subordinates, but in the hierarchical medieval society, it is a manifestation of the grace of the superior. Sure enough, Zhou Tong took the teacup and drank it with excitement before saying: "Governor, the captured assassin has been recruited, the method you said really works, we didn't beat or scold, that man actually begged to tell us!" ”