The Demonic Crown Prince

On the table were two bows and a crossbow, all of which were standard equipment currently used by the Chinese army.

There are two types of bows: one for infantry and one for cavalry.

The effective killing range of the infantry bow is about 80 ren, and the range of its projectile attack is about 140 ren.

Horse bows are approximately 60 ren and 120 ren in length, respectively. If used for charging with horsepower, they can roughly match the length of infantry bows.

The crossbow has a foot-operated cocking function, an effective kill radius of 100 ren, and a projectile range of 180 ren.

Whether it's bows or crossbows, the concept of recurve bows has become widespread, and they all use a composite structure of sinew and horn. With the current level of technology, there is not much room for improvement in terms of weapon materials.

Furthermore, in terms of weapon power, it has almost reached the pinnacle of cold weapons.

However, from Li Yuan's perspective as a person from later generations, both bows and crossbows, despite their strong materials and power, were extremely difficult to draw, especially bows, which required a great deal of effort to maintain the tension and aim.

Under normal circumstances, the maximum number of times an ordinary person can draw this kind of large bow used in infantry combat can be drawn at full strength is probably already the limit.

Horse bows are lightweight and easy to carry, but their range and power are insufficient.

The crossbow was slightly better, but the problem was that it was too cumbersome and could only be carried on foot, because it was impossible to effectively cock it while on horseback.

At the same time, the biggest problem with the weapon is that its rate of fire is too slow.

Therefore, Li Yuan plans to modify these long-range weapons in terms of power, portability, and rate of fire.

He already had ideas in mind in this regard.

Anyway, he has all kinds of tools and materials now. Although they seem very rudimentary to him as a modern person, they are enough to modify these weapons.

What he needs to do now is to change the bow into a crossbow, and then add wheels to turn it into a pulley crossbow!

The original bow body remains unchanged and can be retained. Simple wooden wheels are added to both ends of the bow, along with a high-strength traction rope woven from ox tendons, which directly saves 40% of the effort required to wind the bow.

At the same time, a new sandalwood crossbow arm and crossbow mechanism were added, thus completing the structural transformation from a bow to a pulley crossbow.

As for pulleys, after much deliberation, he abandoned the original high-difficulty eccentric cam. Although that thing could be made now, it was too time-consuming and not suitable for large-scale production without an arms factory. Even if it could be made, the precision would not be high.

Therefore, he made a circular idler wheel with a bronze hoop around the edge for wear resistance. It was fixed to the bow tip position of the original bow by a small bracket, without having to drill holes in the original bow body and damage its structure.

The crossbow body needs to be re-measured and a new crossbow stock made. Then, a groove is cut at the front end to fit into the original bow body, and it is reinforced by wrapping it tightly with glue-impregnated ox sinew rope. A straight arrow path is cut out on the top surface of the crossbow arm, and a copper crossbow mechanism salvaged from other discarded crossbows is inserted into the tail end, directly reusing the original mature parts.

He also replaced the rigging, replacing the original ordinary hemp rope bowstring with a stronger traction rope woven from ox tendon soaked in fish glue, which was looped around the pulleys at both ends to form a closed loop, and the attachment point was fixed on the hook of the crossbow, adapted to the pulley.

Anyway, all the materials have been purchased, there's plenty. Besides, this plan can also be used to improve the current crossbow, and make it faster.

He kept thinking, and a complete plan gradually took shape in his mind.

Wang Wanquan received a total of two thousand bows and one thousand crossbows from the Armory.

The bows are alright, but only 600 crossbows are usable; the remaining 400 have one problem or another.

Perfect timing! Those four hundred crossbows can be used directly to modify bows and arrows.

The remaining six hundred crossbows can simply be modified by adding idler wheels.

They previously had a thousand bows and three hundred crossbows, half of which were broken.

Now, everything is easy to handle, except for the severe shortage of crossbows. If we want to modify two thousand bows, we still need at least a thousand more crossbows, and we also need spare crossbows.

"No, I have to go to the Ordnance Bureau again. I have to get my hands on the remaining crossbows."

After all, they are all standardized products with similar specifications, sizes, and precision, which helps prevent errors.

Otherwise, how long would it take to build it ourselves?

Li Yuan pondered this matter and made up his mind that he would go to the Ordnance Bureau again tomorrow before the wedding banquet started to see if he could get more crossbows.

Just then, the door opened and a group of people walked in.

The leader was a newly appointed junior flag leader named Cui Dayong.

Cui Dayong has an honest face, but his eyes are firm and bright, and he looks like a loyal and intelligent person.

Li Yuan then showed him a sketch he had drawn, and he understood it at a glance.

Surprisingly, more than half of the others could also understand it, and the rest had no problem operating it.

This pleased Li Yuan greatly. Finding these twenty people from the military camp without any craftsmen was no easy feat.

Moreover, these people are quite talented, especially after so many years in the military. Their familiarity with weapons and their experience in using them far surpass that of craftsmen. In this respect, they are truly the most suitable candidates.

"I'll guide you through the process first. Once you all understand it, we'll divide the work tomorrow and modify these crossbows!"

Li Yuan said.

Then, he led a group of people to modify a bow.

The reason for modifying the bow first is that even if an idler wheel is added to the existing crossbow, it cannot effectively increase the range, because the bow arm is already there; it can only make stringing easier and eliminate the need to use a foot pedal.

Making idler wheels, encasing bronze hoops, constructing supports, manufacturing crossbow stock, slotting, reinforcing, marking arrow trajectories, mounting the crossbow mechanism...

The entire process took until nearly 3 AM to complete the modification of the first bow.

Of course, this is the first time I've modified it, so I'm not very skilled yet. Once I get more proficient, my efficiency will double.

He picked up the bow and went to the training ground outside to test it. The result was truly astounding.

This modified bow has a maximum range of 200 ren (a unit of length), an effective range of about 110 ren (another unit of length), and its accuracy is even higher after the addition of a sight.

The bow was replaced with a crossbow, which was more powerful than the existing crossbows.

After all, the modified crossbow has a longer and more resilient arm than a regular crossbow, so its power is naturally greater.

In this way, the efficiency, accuracy, range, and lethality are all greatly improved. Compared with traditional bows, while the enemy shoots one arrow, they can shoot at least two or even three arrows.

Moreover, in theory, there is no concept of exhaustion; as long as there are arrows, one can keep shooting.

"My goodness, Your Highness! If each of us had one of these crossbows, and we had enough arrows, we could hold off ten times the number of enemy troops, let alone the rebel army!"

Cui Dayong said in utter shock.

The other soldiers were also taking deep breaths, and each of them had an undisguised look of shock in their eyes.

"Don't worry, I'll make sure you all have one!"

After all, I'm not leading you all to your deaths, but to your fiefdoms!

Li Yuan laughed heartily.

All the soldiers looked at him with admiration. This prince was not only the bravest in the army, but also full of wisdom, and could even modify weapons...

This is simply godlike!

Following him will definitely lead to a good life.

Confidence rises in everyone's heart.

"However, you must remember this: this is our trump card for survival. Under no circumstances should you divulge a single word without my orders. Otherwise..."

Li Yuan's eyes turned sinister.

"Your Highness, we swear a solemn oath: if we truly leak this secret, may all our families, including our parents, wives, and children, be struck by lightning!"

Cui Dayong clenched his fist and swore an oath!

"I believe in you! Go back and get some sleep. Starting tomorrow, let's work hard and improve as much as we can in the remaining days!"

Li Yuan patted him on the shoulder and said.

"We will do our utmost!" Cui Dayong and his group swore.

Li Yuan went back to sleep. There were still many things to do tomorrow, such as rummaging through bows and crossbows again, and the wedding banquet in the afternoon had to be properly arranged.

If both of these matters are handled well, on the one hand, even if we expand the army outside Beijing, we will not have to worry about weapons; on the other hand, we will not have to worry about military supplies for some time to come!