Do You Know?: I, the Little Cabinet Elder, Regent of the World.

Chapter 192 The Second Disciple! The Divine Crossbow! (3k-word chapter)

Hezhou, Dingqiang Village.

Half mountain, half river, with hills and valleys intertwined.

One hundred thousand soldiers, both Han and non-Han, were stationed here, some holding spears and forming ranks, a dense array of spears and halberds, others wielding swords and slashing, their blades flashing.

There were also armored cavalrymen, holding the reins and urging their horses on, galloping back and forth, their hooves shaking the fields.

Catapults, crossbows, siege ladders, and battering rams stretched out in a long, unbroken array.

As the young general Zheng Xiao waved his command flag, experienced junior officers responded and directed the Han and non-Han soldiers to change formations, sometimes clustering together like a black tortoise on a rock, and sometimes scattering like stars across the fields.

The 100,000 garrison troops, wherever they went, even caused the earth's veins to tremble.

In addition, the hillsides were also used by infantrymen to practice their foot combat methods, fighting with their backs to the city, their shouts echoing through the air.

Hills, valleys, and plains—the drills never cease; as far as the eye can see, there are soldiers clad in armor and wielding weapons.

At the drill platform, Jiang Zhao led the way, followed by Zhang Fangping, Wang Shao, Zhong E, Zhang Ding, and Bao Shun, all with solemn expressions, as they observed the drill.

"Judging from this formation, it already shows the style of an elite force."

"Of the 100,000 soldiers, many are veterans who experienced the expansion of the borders in Xihe, right?" Jiang Zhao asked slowly, gazing into the distance from the railing.

The term "veteran" does not refer to the age of the soldier, but rather to their rich combat experience.

With the same troop strength, the higher the proportion of veteran soldiers, the stronger the combat effectiveness.

In terms of combat strength, the veterans almost completely outclassed the new army.

“Just as you said, sir,” Wang Shao replied.

Jiang Zhao nodded and watched silently.

The advantage of the garrison soldiers was that they were almost all veterans.

Once a war breaks out, after about ten days of proper training, one can go to the battlefield.

I watched for about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn.

Suddenly, Zhong E, the deputy commander of the army, looked back twice, bowed and said, "Sir, my nephew has a treasure to present."

"Oh?"

The group of people were all taken aback.

Offering a treasure?

Jiang Zhao turned around and looked in the same direction as Zhong E.

About a hundred paces away, there was a sixteen or seventeen-year-old boy in a brocade robe, with a resolute face, carrying a three-foot-long crossbow in his hand.

"Is it a crossbow?" Jiang Zhao asked.

"Exactly."

As he spoke, a hint of anticipation appeared in Zhong E's eyes.

The boy's offering of the crossbow was clearly part of his long-planned scheme.

crossbow!
Jiang Zhao became somewhat interested.

There are two types of crossbows in the army: small crossbows and large crossbows.

Among them, small crossbows are represented by two-handed crossbows and yellow birch crossbows, with an effective range of about 100 paces, or 150 meters.

Large crossbows are represented by the bed crossbow, with a typical bed crossbow having an effective range of about four to five hundred paces, or about six to seven hundred meters.

If it is a three-bow crossbow, the range can reach seven or eight hundred paces, or one kilometer.

Occasionally, they can hit from a high position to a low position, or even from a greater distance.

During the Battle of Tanyuan, three crossbows shot and killed the Liao general Xiao Talin at a range of 700 paces, which shocked the people for a time.

The crossbow carried by the young man in the brocade robe was only three feet long, and was undoubtedly a single-person crossbow.

If the crossbow was deliberately presented, then there must have been a breakthrough in some aspect of crossbows.

"Let him come over," Jiang Zhao said, flicking his sleeve.

After the words were spoken, Jiang Zhao couldn't help but feel a sense of regret.

When did he become the object of being presented as a treasure?
Zhong E was overjoyed and quickly waved.

Upon seeing this, the boy quickly grabbed his bow and crossbow and ran over.

Standing about three or five steps apart, the young man bowed respectfully: "Zhong Shidao, the seventh son of the Zhong family, greets Your Excellency."

The Way of the Master?
The Grand Marshal?

Jiang Zhao's eyes flickered slightly, and he nodded calmly, extending his hand in a gesture of support: "No need for formalities."

Zhong E straightened his body, took the crossbow, and presented it with both hands.

The crossbow is 3 feet 2 inches long, the string is 2 feet 5 inches long, the stake is 1 foot 8 inches long, the gourd head is 4 inches long, the stirrup is 2 feet long, the stake is 2 feet 3 inches long, and the corner eaves are 4 feet 5 inches long.

Jiang Zhao picked up the crossbow and tried to pull it.

Without stretching, it's about half a person's height; with stretching, it can even be taller than a seven-foot-tall man.

It is about two feet larger than a regular single-person crossbow.

"How far can this crossbow shoot?" Jiang Zhao asked, having only glanced at the crossbow presented.

“Three hundred steps!” Zhong Shidao replied clearly.

"Huh?" Zhang Fangping, the pacification commissioner, was startled.

The Tibetan leader, Bao Shun, also looked surprised and suspicious.

A single-person crossbow, three hundred paces?

Generally speaking, the commonly used two-handed crossbows are already quite good, but their range is only about 100 paces.

A standard ballista has a range of only four or five hundred paces.

This single-person crossbow is almost as good as a ballista?
"Western Xia crossbows?" Wang Shao, who had commanded troops for many years, immediately thought of the Western Xia crossbows when he heard "three hundred paces".

The so-called Western Xia crossbow is a special crossbow technique mastered by the Western Xia, whose range almost completely surpasses that of conventional crossbows.

Furthermore, the Western Xia even established a special crossbow corps, which at one time, along with the Iron Falcons and the Step-Bearers, were known as the three main military forces.

In the early days of the Western Xia Dynasty and in the Battle of Haoshuichuan, crossbowmen were one of the main forces, inflicting heavy losses on the Zhou army.

If we were to say what gave Li Liangzuo the confidence to march south, his powerful crossbowmen would definitely be one of his trump cards.

This is also one of the few "heavyweight" weapons that the border troops should take seriously.

Of course, the craftsmanship of making crossbows in the Western Xia Dynasty was difficult and passed down orally, so some techniques have been lost.

Some of the materials used to make crossbows have become increasingly scarce after decades of consumption.

Especially rhinoceros horn, once it's taken, there's one less left.

The small size of the territory meant that the Western Xia Dynasty was destined to have scarce resources and difficulty in recycling them.

After decades of inheritance, not only has there been no technological update or iteration, but it may even be inferior to the level of decades ago.

As a result, the size of the Western Xia crossbowmen became smaller and smaller.

Of the 30,000 to 50,000 troops under Li Liangzuo's command, perhaps not even 10% were crossbowmen.

One reason for this was that the powerful crossbows of the Western Xia were difficult to manufacture.

On the other hand, compared to crossbowmen, the Western Xia had a more powerful type of troop.

cavalry!

Crossbowmen are not unimportant, but they are not the most important.

Thus, limited resources were naturally prioritized for supplying the Western Xia cavalry.

Western Xia crossbows can be encountered occasionally, but they are relatively rare.

“It’s a replica of the Western Xia crossbow,” Zhong Shidao explained.

Wang Shao understood, crossed his arms, and watched with great interest.

The Western Xia did not cherish their powerful crossbows.

Little did they know, the Great Zhou Dynasty valued this crossbow highly and repeatedly considered replicating the Western Xia crossbow. Unfortunately, the Western Xia crossbow almost never fell into the hands of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

Decades have passed, and they still haven't been able to truly replicate it.

Did he imitate the Master Zhong's teachings?

Wang Shao couldn't help but look at Zhong E.

That old rascal, of all times, he had to pull it out now of all times.

This is an attempt to push the nephew onto Lord Jiang!

A military general, actually resorting to scheming.

"Give it a try."

Jiang Zhaoping said.

With that, he picked up his crossbow and walked toward the crossbow area of ​​the training ground.

The group quickly followed.

Upon entering the training ground, the target was three hundred paces away.

"I'll demonstrate for you, sir."

Zhong Shidao pulled out a crossbow bolt about a foot long.

With the bow and crossbow in hand, I stepped on the bowstring and pulled hard. With a "click," the string was securely fastened.

Wang Shao glanced at it and nodded.

This method of loading crossbow bolts is very similar to that of a ballista.

A typical single-person crossbow can be pulled out with a simple pull of the lever.

A ballista is loaded with bolts by several people working together.

The crossbow bolts presented by Zhong Shidao were pressed into the crossbow by foot, which was somewhere in between.

Three hundred steps, that's quite possible.

The crossbow was loaded and aimed at the target three hundred paces away.

The trigger shot!

"clatter!"

A sharp whistling sound, the arrow flew like a shooting star.

Three hundred paces away, the target wood exploded with a bang, shattering into pieces and sending debris flying everywhere.

"it is good!"

"Okay!"

Jiang Zhao clapped his hands and smiled, his face showing approval.

"Can this crossbow be mass-produced?"

“Agreed.” Zhong Shidao was greatly encouraged by the praise of the renowned young Grand Secretary.

"Where did you get this crossbow?" Jiang Zhao asked again.

“Last year, a small group of Western Xia invaded, and I accompanied my uncle to defend against them. We captured one person, a minor chieftain of the Tangut tribe. Seeking protection, he offered us the method for making some of the mechanisms of the Western Xia crossbow.”

"Based on a small portion of the Western Xia crossbow manufacturing method, I refined it bit by bit and finally produced three versions of the crossbow."

"This is the best one."

As he spoke, Zhong Shidao took out a folded piece of paper from his pocket, which contained the final version of the crossbow.

"This crossbow was first invented in the Great Zhou Dynasty. I hope Your Excellency will bestow a name upon it."

Jiang Zhao nodded in satisfaction and couldn't help but look at the boy.

His demeanor was composed and measured, showing the beginnings of a "strategic prime minister".

After a moment of contemplation, Jiang Zhao slowly said, "Having such a fine crossbow is truly a blessing for the nation. I remember there was a cavalryman in Western Xia named Iron Hawk; let's call this crossbow the Hawk-Breaking Crossbow!"

"Thank you for bestowing this name upon me, Your Excellency." Zhong Shidao quickly bowed.

Jiang Zhao became more and more satisfied the more he looked at it.

"Presenting the crossbow that breaks the hawk is truly a great achievement."

"What reward do you want?" Jiang Zhao asked.

Zhong Shidao hesitated for a moment, then tentatively said, "I have long admired you, sir. I wonder if I could stand by your side and learn some skills from you?"

As soon as he spoke, Zhong E, who was standing nearby, kept a close eye on his superior's expression.

If anything seemed amiss, he would interrupt his nephew's request by saying, "The child doesn't know any better."

If nothing seems amiss, then let nature take its course.

Standing on either side?

To put it bluntly, it's like being a "half" apprentice.

It's not formal apprenticeship, but rather a "half" apprenticeship.

With civil officials holding high positions, it was natural that some military generals sought recognition from them.

Therefore, some military generals naturally chose to take the path of "semi-apprenticeship," that is, to learn from scholars as a disciple, but without the title of disciple.

More recently, Fan Zhongyan, a Grand Secretary of the Cabinet, had a military general who sought to learn from him as his disciple.

Jiang Zhao couldn't help but ponder.

The Grand Marshal was indeed a first-rate talent.

“Okay.” Jiang Zhao nodded.

Zhong Shidao was overjoyed and immediately bowed, saying, "Zhong Shidao greets you, sir."

Compared to military generals who "partially" became disciples of Fan Zhongyan in order to gain his approval, the benefits of him "partially" becoming a disciple of the Junior Grand Secretary went far beyond that.

Firstly, the young Grand Secretary is truly capable and can teach him.

It's called a "half" apprenticeship, but in reality, it's no different from a full apprenticeship.

Secondly, the young Grand Secretary was truly capable of supporting military generals; Wang Shao and Gu Tingye are typical examples.

The commander-type scholar was destined to lead large-scale wars primarily under the leadership of the Grand Secretary.

In this way, it would be incredibly easy for the young Grand Secretary to promote a military general.

Jiang Zhao smiled and helped the person up.

"From now on, you'll follow me."

"How much real knowledge you can learn depends entirely on your comprehension," Jiang Zhao said slowly.

Zhong Shidao nodded quickly.

"Have people mass-produce this broken crossbow."

Jiang Zhao handed the crossbow to Zhong E and instructed, "The Western Xia are mainly cavalry, so they don't need strong crossbows for individual soldiers. Little do they know, this is very suitable for the Great Zhou army. If it's feasible, we should simply set aside 10,000 men as crossbowmen."

"Yes." Zhong E nodded solemnly.

"Let's train the troops."

Jiang Zhao instructed, "Practice some more; it's time to meet Li Liangzuo."

"At that time, we will head north along Hezhou and force them to Lezhou."

"As for whether we can expand our territory, we'll have to rely on the crossbowmen."

We cannot kill the Western Xia.

Once the Western Xia is defeated, the tripartite balance of power will be broken, and the Great Zhou will have to face the Liao Dynasty directly.

However, not being able to kill them doesn't mean they can't cripple them or annex some of the Western Xia's territory.

Wang Shao nodded.

Whether it's a mule or a horse, we'll have to put it to the test eventually!
(End of this chapter)