Reborn in the Three Kingdoms: Da Qiao Doesn't Want to Be a Widow Anymore

Chapter 380 Hand-crafted composite traditional version of the new bow
Yuan Langlang instinctively refused, "I don't have that much strength in my hands, so please don't make things difficult for me."

"It's just a bow made for Xun'er, how much strength can it really hold?" Qiao Wei took Yuan Langlang's hand. "Come on, give it a try!"

Unable to refuse Qiao Wei's repeated invitations, Yuan Langlang had no choice but to go to the courtyard to give it a try.

Qiao Wei wrapped his arms around Yuan Langlang's back and helped her correct her archery posture. With Qiao Wei's command to "shoot," Yuan Langlang released the bowstring, and the arrow flew towards the target thirty paces away.

With a "thud," the arrow landed firmly on the grass target, the arrowhead penetrating a third of the way into the target.

This situation surprised even Yuan Langlang herself, who muttered to herself in disbelief, "Could it be... that I am also a genius?"

Yuan Langlang had never touched a bow and arrow before, and thought it was a very strenuous martial art. But she never expected that she, a weak woman, could easily hit a grass target thirty paces away.

Qiao Wei gave Yuan Langlang another bow that everyone usually used. This time, Yuan Langlang really couldn't even draw the bow, let alone shoot an arrow at the grass target thirty paces away.

Yuan Langlang reluctantly put down his bow, accepting the reality, "Fine, I'm definitely not that prodigy."

Her tone was filled with disappointment and a slight dissatisfaction that Qiao Wei had shattered her brief, beautiful illusion.

Qiao Wei coaxed gently, "Okay, if you like it, I'll make another one for you."

Yuan Langlang then gave up.

When Zhou Xun and Sun Deng returned to Juxu Pavilion after school that evening, their eyes lit up when they saw the two exquisite bows. They couldn't wait to take the bows and arrows to the courtyard to try them out.

Zhou Xun drew his bow for the first time and hit the edge of the target ten paces away. He shouted excitedly, startling Sun Quan, who had just returned from a meeting. Sun Quan thought something had happened again.

He only relaxed his furrowed brows when he saw the bow in Zhou Xun's hand.

“This is… the bow you drew in your study?” Sun Quan recognized it at a glance.

For the past two or three months, Qiao Wei has been working day and night in the study of Juxu Pavilion, drawing and carving wood endlessly. He knows that his wife must have come up with some brilliant idea again.

Seeing this bow today, he wanted to see what made it so special.

Sun Deng quickly handed his new bow to his father. Compared to traditional bows and arrows, the bow in Sun Deng's hand had an extra wooden mechanism at the junction of the upper and lower bowstrings to drive the bowstring, although it did look a bit strange in appearance.

However, as soon as Sun Quan got his hands on it, he felt the first advantage of this bow, which was its lightness. The bow weighed less than half of what they usually used.

Secondly, this bow has a special sight for aiming. When Sun Quan nocked the arrow and drew back the bowstring, he didn't control his strength for a moment and almost broke the bowstring.

Fortunately, Sun Deng quickly reminded him, and Sun Quan immediately reduced his strength and released the string.

As the bowstring was drawn back, the arrow flew toward the straw target, piercing through it fifty paces away.

Sun Quan looked at the bow in his hand. He had learned martial arts since childhood and was naturally skilled in archery, and he also had a great deal of knowledge about bows.

At that moment, he understood the purpose of the bow.

In the military, the use of traditional bows, especially on the battlefield, doesn't prioritize accuracy. The focus is on firing the most arrows in the shortest amount of time, using sheer numbers to overwhelm the enemy, even if they are moving. In other words, if one person shoots arrows in a single breath and misses one or two, what if they had ten arrows? Surely at least one would hit the target!

Increasing the number of arrows increases the probability of the enemy being hit. This is the logic on the battlefield. After all, it is impossible to guarantee that every arrow will hit the target every time when the enemy is moving quickly on the battlefield.

However, drawing a bow in the army requires a certain amount of strength, so most archers in the army are strongmen who have undergone rigorous training.

A marksman like Huang Zhong, who possesses speed, accuracy, and range, is extremely rare and highly sought after.

Ever since witnessing Huang Zhong's martial prowess, Qiao Wei has been thinking about how to get more archers like Huang Zhong into the army.

Of course, Qiao Wei himself didn't know how to cultivate talent, especially in the military, so he could only put some effort into developing the tools.

After much deliberation and experimentation, Qiao Wei chose to combine the advantages of traditional bows and the high precision of later compound bows, creating the first new type of bow that combines traditional and hand-crafted composite bows.

So far, the results seem to be quite good.

“But this bow is too light. Fifty paces is probably its limit. If you want to kill a target at a greater distance, it’s probably not possible.” Sun Quan turned the bow over and over to look at it. “It should be more suitable for ambushing prey in the hunting grounds than for use on the battlefield.”

Indeed, as Sun Quan said, this bow has obvious advantages, but its disadvantages are equally obvious.

Qiao Wei knew perfectly well, "As expected of the Marquis, your insight is sharp and your words hit the nail on the head!"

A look of confusion crossed Sun Quan's eyes. He tilted his head slightly, a smile playing on his lips. "What do you mean?"

"Means nothing."

Qiao Wei already has her own ideas about the use of this type of bow, but nothing is finalized yet, and she doesn't want to announce them easily.

Sun Quan did not press the matter further and instead began to discuss family matters.

Yuan Langlang hurriedly got up to take her leave, but Sun Quan stopped her.

"The matter we are discussing today concerns Shao'er's marriage, and I would like to hear my sister-in-law's opinion."

"Who?" Qiao Wei almost thought he had misheard, and was so startled that he involuntarily raised his voice.

Not only Qiao Wei, but even Yuan Langlang was so shocked that she couldn't come to her senses for a moment.

Qiao Wei's eyes were filled with astonishment and doubt, as if asking, "Are you alright?" If it weren't for the fact that Yuan Langlang was still present and she had to maintain his dignity, she might have reached out and touched Sun Quan's head to see if he had a screw loose.

"Shao'er is only ten years old...?" Yuan Langlang was afraid that there might be some hidden reason, so she did not dare to refuse immediately.

Even if the sons of aristocratic families mostly marry young, ten years old... isn't that too early!
Sun Quan spoke calmly, as if he were merely discussing a trivial family matter. “It was Cao Mengde who sent a letter to Jiangnan, seeking to establish a marriage alliance with the Sun family. Shao’er is the eldest grandson of the Sun family, so we need to ask my sister-in-law’s opinion first.”

The teacup beside him had grown slightly cold, but Sun Quan seemed oblivious and drank it all in one gulp.