It was not a sumptuous breakfast, but Theodore, who was in a good mood, ate it happily.

As time passed, Caesarea, which had been very closed, gradually began to trade with many places outside, but of course only in the neighboring cities. The dusty path has been revised, and although it is only a gravel road due to financial resources, it is enough for normal freight traffic.

Originally, Caesarea was part of the northern trade routes, and after it was abandoned, many caravans had to take a detour and pass through other places, although they could still get there, but it was absolutely true that time was money, and the farther it was transported, the higher the cost.

For example, in the Middle Ages, the price of pepper shipped from India to Arabia was more than ten times greater, and when it arrived in Constantinople, it could be exchanged for the same weight of precious stones, and if it arrived in Western Europe, even the most stingy king would not hesitate to give you the keys to the treasury if you could bring it to the king!

There is no doubt that the appearance of Caesarea will inevitably bring the prices of goods in parts of the north to fluctuate, and the merchants who pass by will also bring to the ears of the lords of Caesarea throughout the northern part of the empire, as well as all kinds of Roman specialties.

Novelty styles of clothing, new types of vegetable oil (olive), transparent glass, these things will be brought to the castles of the various lords, so that they will know that there is a lord named Theodor Julian in the north with 30,000 people!

For example, Marions in the eastern part of the north, which Theodor was more concerned about, was close to the steppes and had a very rich horse resource, and Caesarea did not have its own source of horses, and the territory was not allowed to open such a large horse farm at present—that was a waste of fertile arable land!

Although there were not many of them, Theodore still tried to buy the horses brought by the cattle merchants to supplement the much-needed transportation capacity in the territory.

However, the most pleasing thing for Theodore was the Roman fleet, which finally showed their faces this time, helping a city called Ryan in the north to clear the nearby pirates, and established a certain degree of friendship with the highlanders there, so that Caesarea had trade with each other, and a steady stream of ore and furs were transported to Caesarea, so that there was no need to worry about iron ore in a short time.

However, those people also vaguely put forward the hope that Theodor could help them fight against the Misty Mountain people in the north, and the commander of the fleet of Constantine, who represented Theodore's full power, very implicitly refused (in fact, it was his adjutant, but Comrade Constantine shamelessly said that this was his own merit), and there were not many troops in the territory, just enough to protect themselves, and send troops when the south was in danger, unless Theodore was crazy.

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"This is, crossbow?"

Theodore gently fiddled with one of the weapons in his hand, carefully observing its structure and shape.

It's a crossbow - no doubt the trigger, the string, the everything. If anything, it's a rectangular box with two bows.

"Yes, it's a crossbow, but it's not like a normal crossbow. ”

A young man in a washed white robe, a little hunchbacked, was standing in front of Theodore to explain to him, with a little pride and pride in his expression.

"It has two bow bodies, which means that its power is definitely beyond a crossbow with only one bow body, and I have also specially modified the crossbow body where the crossbow arrows were originally installed, and changed it to a fill-up type, which can avoid unnecessary accidents, according to calculations, it can have at least two hundred meters of range, and it definitely has a liliang that pierces iron armor!" The scholar quickly explained: "This is very much in line with the requirements you put forward for us." ”

As early as the formation of the new infantry wing, Theodore had asked the scholars of the university to create a weapon that could deal a heavy blow to the orcs and be portable in a light and portable way. What they didn't expect was that they actually thought of a weapon like a crossbow.

Crossbows have been available in Rome for a long time, and there are many different types of weapons: scorpion crossbows, ballistas, and even so-called "ancient machine guns" The repeating crossbow can be fired five times a minute, and it is enough to penetrate the iron armor (the Zhuge God crossbow restored in the Ming Dynasty of China confirmed by modern times, although it is thirty rounds at a time, but it can't even penetrate the leather armor, and can only be used to watch the home care yard to deal with bandits and hooligans, etc.), but those crossbows are very large, and the smallest scorpion crossbow also has a volume as large as a person, and it takes two people to operate, which is a necessary weapon for possible long-distance operations in the future, but it is difficult to cause group damage, after all, the accuracy and rate of fire are really unsatisfactory。

Quantity, Theodore needed to be suppressed in absolute quantity.

This kind of crossbow, which can be used by a single person, first appeared in the fifth century AD, when the Roman Empire was divided into two and Western Rome gradually entered the era of hell, when it was still a very poor weapon, with a short range, insufficient power, and could not be thrown like a bow and arrow. But its armor-piercing properties allowed him to hold a permanent place in later medieval armies. Moreover, it only takes a month to train a crossbowman, but it takes at least a year for a qualified archer.

With a crossbow in hand, even a peasant could kill a knight.

And this kind of crossbow with an unknown number of times more power, it is easy to shoot orcs, these creatures that have not yet been transformed from primitive beasts, have the same tough skin as beasts, but they can never surpass steel, and the "primitive sniper rifles" of the Middle Ages can definitely drill a hole in them.

In fact, the Roman javelin also had the ability to pierce armor, but it was not without precedent that the enemy could be killed before it could be thrown at a range of too close (60-35 meters).

However, this creature called "orc" should have that kind of weakness......

While Theodore was contemplating his thoughts, Mesimus walked in, and just in time to see what Theodore was fiddling with, he showed a little curiosity, but quickly stood up with his chest up.

"Caesar!"

"Ah, Mehemus, you have come just in time!" said Theodore, smiling, and reached out to hand the crossbow in his hand, "Come, see how this weapon is!"

Curiously taking it, Mesimus fiddled with it a few times, lowered his head, gritted his teeth and pulled it away, gestured, made an aiming look, and after a few more careful observations, carefully placed it in front of Theodore, and stood back.

"How does it feel?"

"A very interesting toy. Mesimus said nonchalantly.

"How can you call this weapon a toy?!" the scholar questioned loudly, even disregarding etiquette, after hearing this, "I dare say that you absolutely cannot comprehend the terrible power it possesses!"

"I can understand that if this thing is powerful at two hundred meters, even the best marksman can't match it. In terms of power alone, I'm afraid only those big guys can surpass it. Mehemus said very sincerely, and after seeing the proud look of the scholar, he immediately spoke: "But I would like to know how terrible the arm and wrist strength of our soldiers must be to use this 'weapon' continuously?!"

"This ...... The ......" scholar looked at Theodore nervously and worriedly, and bent down humbly: "We haven't ...... yet"

"Alright, let's get this thing back first, and at least make a weapon that humans can use. Theodore patted him on the shoulder as if he were reassuring, and hung the crossbow on him: "Don't worry, I'll guarantee the money." ”

"Thank you for your generosity and kindness. The scholar humbly bent down, nodded and stepped back: "May Minerva, the goddess of wisdom, be with you!"

"The gods have always protected me!" said Theodore, who said a specious remark, as he watched the scholar leave.

"You seem to value these people?" asked Mehmus.

"So to speak. Theodore nodded in agreement: "Whether it is philosophy, theology, medicine, even agriculture and craftsmen, they are all necessary ingredients for the strength of Rome. ”

Mehemus tilted his head, and in his opinion, it was better to raise two infantry wings than to make such flashy things and waste money.

Theodore smiled, he didn't expect to convince them that before modern times, or even before the Second Industrial Revolution, all inventions were not theoretical, but relied on the experience of craftsmen, and some small accidents.

The most haode example: human beings should have cavalry at the latest in the fifth century BC, and the stirrup is such a small accessory until the fifth century AD, a full thousand years later, so that the cavalry really has the possibility of frontal assault on the infantry phalanx, all this is just a small accident.

And everything went asymmetrically in Rome.

At least in terms of industry, Rome has reached the pinnacle before the advent of the Gunpowder Age! Relying on elevated aqueducts, the mass use of water conservancy mills, and the complete road system brought about the rapid development of the metallurgical industry, most of the ancient cinder pits dug in Europe were calculated in kilograms, and only the cinder pits left by the Romans had to be counted in tons!

Cement, bronze springs, primary machine tools, Theodore doesn't even need too many inventions and creations from scholars to be proud of this Shijie's level of civilization - the age of cold weapons, a height that can never be surpassed!

And the coincidence between the East and the West is also here, and the Han Dynasty at the same time has also bent into a height that is difficult for many later generations to reach, remember that sentence?

Guoheng perishes with weakness, and Han Du perishes with strength!

That's enough to prove a lot.

"We may soon have to confront the orcs, and the warriors need better weapons to arm themselves. Theodore said to Mesimus, "Their liliang is far superior to those barbarians. ”

"Yes. Mehemus bowed his head: "Do as you wish." ”

"Of course, it's also a good way to appease the academics. Theodore laughed and said, "Let them not complain too much about money and salary." ”

"At the same time, we get the benefits of it. ”

Theodore smiled and turned to look at Mesimus, "Is there something wrong?"

"That's right, there have been a lot of business trips from other places lately, hoping to get your summons. Mesimus bowed his head and said, "They want to be protected by Rome." ”

"Those so-called orcs obviously don't know how to govern their territory, and a large number of refugees have fled, some of them have become farmers under the name of nearby lords, and more have become thieves and outcasts, which must be a great trouble for business travelers. Theodore sneered, "But that's not enough reason for my soldiers to protect them, they are glorious Roman legions, not unscrupulous mercenaries!"

"Just reply?"

"To put it mildly, let Virgil take care of these things, you just have to watch the army. Theodore handed him the glass: "You are the one I trust the most, there is no one!"

"I am only your faithful servant, Caesar!" said Mesimus took the glass and drank it down.