Crusader Kings: Prisoners of War

For European bows and arrows, many people's first impression should be single wooden bows such as the English longbow, and further believe that most Europeans use this relatively primitive single bow to fight. In fact, this statement is not very comprehensive. The British use this kind of wooden bow more because of their own national conditions.

Everyone knows that London, England is a foggy city, and the climate here is very humid. Not to mention whether the British have the technology to make horn-sinker composite bows, this climate makes them have to make do with wooden bows. The horn-sinker composite bows are easily damp here. They did not have the corresponding moisture-proof technology to deal with it at that time, so using single wooden bows was a helpless move.

Moreover, single bows are not good in a thousand ways, but the cheapest is the best. If the materials are in place, any carpenter who has practiced can make them in batches, and it doesn't take too long.

At least the Romans have the ability to make horn bows, and they do equip these bows and arrows for combat, but compared with the crossbow technology of a certain country in the East, they lack two key technologies, which makes the upper limit of their crossbows lower in comparison.

It is generally believed that making a good tendon-horn composite bow requires "six materials", namely trunk, horn, tendon, glue, silk, and lacquer. The direct explanation is wood, animal horn, tendon, animal glue, raw silk, and lacquer.

Before the Byzantine Empire introduced silkworms for breeding, Europe's raw silk was all imported, and the production of raw silk in Byzantium was not very high. Raw silk was more expensive than gold in Europe, so who would be so extravagant to wrap silk on a bow and crossbow? They could only use animal tendons and other things instead. The two are not comparable in strength, and tendons have limited improvement on the strength of bows and crossbows.

The Mediterranean climate is originally humid and hot, and the tendon-horn composite bow is easy to get damp and difficult to maintain. There is no lacquer tree in Europe, so raw lacquer cannot be produced. Raw lacquer is not only good-looking when brushed on, but also has excellent material properties - corrosion resistance, wear resistance, acid resistance, solvent resistance, heat resistance, and water resistance. Before modern chemistry began to work, this was almost the best paint that could be found.

Originally, people in the Mediterranean didn't like to use bows and crossbows because of the terrain and climate. The culture brought by the Greeks also believed that bows and arrows were cowardly weapons and were not as manly as spears. In addition, Europe lacked two key materials, raw silk and lacquer. There was not much research on these congenital deficiencies, and the performance of bows and crossbows was obviously weaker than that of the East for a long time.

The bows and arrows in Orville's hand were his test products. He bought raw lacquer and raw silk from the East from profiteers, and then made several bows according to the technical process of the East, and also used some "strengthening processes", and he was very generous in the use of materials.

The wood he used was Spanish yew, which is the best bow-making wood in Europe and even the world in later generations - yew has good elasticity, strong toughness, low density, lightness and ease of use, and Spanish yew has the best texture among them.

Although the English longbowmen are very famous, the best material for their longbows is yew, but the best place of origin of these yew is not Britain but Spain. These trees are very old, generally more than 70 years old, and the location is also the best. There was probably no more suitable material before the industrial age.

The animal glue he used was the best fish glue that was determined after a lot of experiments in later generations, and it was made from the most suitable fish bladder. Europe has more or less an advantage in this regard - there is always some fish in the Mediterranean, and fish bladders are not so scarce and difficult to find, so they are easier to obtain.

Anyway, it is confirmed that it is not a mass-produced product, so it is better to make it as good as possible. Orwell is willing to spend money, and there is no need to save a little on experimental technology.

Domitia is holding a short bow with a very low poundage of only 20 pounds. It was made by Orwell specifically for her. Considering her age and gender, she really can't pull something too heavy and formal. This poundage is just right, and she has to practice archery systematically.

He shot five arrows in a row. Except for the first one that was a little off, the remaining four arrows all hit the target 40 meters away. There are not many sharpshooters who can shoot through the target at 100 steps in reality. This distance and accuracy are already very good. For ordinary enthusiasts, shooting at targets at 10 or 18 meters is normal, and 30 meters is a relatively senior level.

From this point of view, Domitia is indeed not lying. She is indeed a "very talented" type in archery and is suitable for this job.

Domitia was very surprised after repeatedly studying the short bow in her hand, which made Orville a little proud. It was not in vain to spend so much money.

"Is it good to use?"

Domitia agreed: "It feels different when you use it. It is really a very useful thing. It is light and tough. I don't feel too tired to shoot more than a dozen arrows. It seems to be powerful. Is this a Parthian thing?"

"I learned this from a country further east, and I made some improvements. If you like it, I will give it to you. If you change your bow later, tell me and I will change it to a more powerful bow.

But you have to promise me one thing. Don't be angry with your father and sister when you go back today. They have a lot of things to do today. I will apologize to you on their behalf. How about this?"

With new toys to play with, and Orville accompanying Domitia for a long time, she has almost calmed down now. After hearing this, she still couldn't resist the temptation and agreed to Orville's request.

"Well, I promise you."

While Domitia was playing with her new toy, Belisarius, out of curiosity, tried it out after getting Orville's permission. He used an 80-pound war bow, a real weapon that could penetrate armor and kill people on the battlefield.

After a few test shots, Belisarius also felt the difference. The power, range and weight were optimized in all aspects. His expression became more serious: "Your Highness, this new technology can greatly enhance the long-range capabilities of our troops. Although it is a bit presumptuous for me to say this, I still think you should discuss with His Majesty the Emperor to see if these technologies can be promoted."

Orville smiled and shook his head, and asked an irrelevant question: "How much do you make a year?"

Belisarius was confused but answered truthfully: "I am a centurion of the Guards. My salary is three times that of an ordinary centurion. Including some subsidies, my annual income is about 10,000 dinars."

"For this bow in your hand, I spent about 3,000 dinars on materials alone, not to mention the cost of a lot of craftsmen working hard."

"Mr. Duo?!" Belisarius was also shocked.

An ordinary grassroots soldier earns 225 dinars a year, which is a medium or upper-middle income, but the materials for buying this bow require them to go without food and drink for almost 13 years, not to mention the labor cost and the time cost of making the bow. If you take all this into account, selling it for 5,000 or 6,000 dinars is not a lot at all, and it is not impossible to sell it for more than 10,000 dinars.

This is no longer the price that weapons should be priced at, and it is striving to be a luxury product.