Three Kingdoms

Spears and shields have always been an eternal theme in war.

But when Fei Qian looked at the tablets preserved by Huang Chengyan, it seemed that the "spear", that is, the scroll of arms, was now richer, and the "shield" part, which was the protective armor scroll, was It seems slightly thinner.

Of course, this is only in Fei Qian's eyes. In the eyes of others, the Scroll of Armor is still extremely rich, with details ranging from the materials used to the armor to its production methods.

According to the records of the Armor Scroll, armor is mostly made of cowhide and painted, and only those containing metals such as copper and iron can be called armor. The composition of armor is explained in detail, and even the pressing and weaving of armor pieces are explained in detail. There are clear instructions...

There are two types of armor popular in the Han Dynasty today, one is "zha armor" and the other is "fish scale armor". Both of them have iron pieces, but the former has slightly less and the latter has slightly more.

"Zhajia" is generally used by ordinary soldiers. The lowest-grade ones are made of large pieces of zhao fixedly and braided like a large vest, and are connected with laces at the shoulders and armpits. They only serve the purpose of Protects the chest and back. The more advanced version is based on this, adding a row of medium-sized armor pieces to protect the waist span, and adding shawls on both shoulders.

"Fish scale armor" only became popular in the late Western Han Dynasty and continued until the Eastern Han Dynasty. Since it is called fish scales, it is naturally made of small pieces of iron. Compared with the "zha armor" which only protects fewer parts, it also has a "basin collar" to protect the neck and a "basin collar" to protect the arms. "Brass", "magpie tail" to protect the legs, "leg skirts" and so on.

Of course, the production process and cost of "fish scale armor" are much more than that of "zhajia", and generally only senior generals will own it.

And then next...

There is no more.

No chain mail, no plate armor...

Although these also belong to the category of heavy armor, at least Fei Qian did not see it in Huang Chengyan's letter.

After all, there are many such things in various movies, TV shows, and even games in later generations, and Fei Qian still knows something about it. For example, plate armor is indeed a model of armor. At that time, European noble knights wore it like an iron can. It is said that even the lead bullets of a matchlock gun may not be able to penetrate it.

However, both of these seem to have higher metallurgical process requirements, and it makes sense that they were not available in the Eastern Han Dynasty. But is there anything that can be simplified a little so that this kind of armor with relatively higher protective power can appear earlier? Or is the cost lower?

Thinking of this, Fei Qian said to Huang Chengyan: "Master Yuezhang, I wonder if there is any technology for making iron wire or iron sheets now?"

"Iron wire and iron sheets?" Huang Chengyan had seen before that Fei Qian was thinking about something, but Fei Qian must not have been wrong, so he answered, "Iron sheets are usually forged, what about iron wire? Are you talking about short wire or long wire? If it's short, it's usually forged directly, while if it's long, it's made of iron bars that are overheated and then drawn."

Regarding tool making, Huang Chengyan is quite familiar with it.

"It all relies on manpower?" In this way, whether it is forging or pulling, the Han Dynasty now relies mainly on manpower. If it is all based on manpower, the output will not be high. After all, if a person has strength, It's impossible to work around the clock, right?

"What do you think of Xianxiang?" Huang Chengyan also asked with interest. Huang Chengyan expressed that he was quite satisfied with Fei Qian, who often came up with ideas. After all, this was one of the reasons why he made up his mind so quickly and was willing to marry Huang Yueying to Fei Qian.

"It's hard to say at the moment, why don't we go to the workshop and have a look?" Fei Qian felt that he had some vague thoughts, but it was hard to describe, so he suggested.

After all, let's take a look at how iron wire was made in the Han Dynasty. If the production can be increased, there will naturally be some improvement plans that can be used. After all, the most critical thing about armor is that it is limited in the complexity of production. If it can be simplified Or save some labor, then you can reduce costs...

As soon as she heard that she was going to the workshop, Huang Yueying, who was originally obedient at the side, couldn't sit still and looked at Huang Chengyan with big blinking eyes.

Huang Chengyan took one look and knew what Huang Yueying was thinking. He coughed and blinked in Fei Qian's direction without saying anything. After all, Huang Yueying is now married, and the Huang family cannot have the final say on some things. Fei Qian's opinion should be considered, right?

Huang Yueying immediately understood what her father meant, turned around, and gently pulled Fei Qian's sleeve.

Fei Qian, who was still immersed in thoughts about how to improve the armor, turned his head and saw Huang Yueying's pitiful eyes. He felt his heart soften and said to Huang Chengyan: "This... Mr. Yue Ying, why don't Yueying... come too?" Go?"

"Haha, okay, together, together!" Huang Chengyan saw Fei Qian paying so much attention to Huang Yueying's emotions, and as a father, he was naturally happy.

When he arrived at the workshop, Huang Chengyan found a craftsman and asked him to demonstrate the process of forging iron sheets and making wire.

It is said that the Huang family has a lot of craftsmen, and Huang Chengyan didn't go out of his way to choose one. It seemed like he could do such a thing just by randomly pulling in anyone...

The iron piece is similar to Fei Qian's impression. After heating, it will jingle for a while and it will be fine.

But pulling iron wire is obviously a lot more complicated. First, knock out a very thin iron piece, then use large iron scissors to cut it into thinner iron strips, heat it again until it turns red, and pass it through the iron with holes while it is hot. Board, use pliers to pull...

It’s labor-intensive and too unstable.

Fei Qian somewhat understands why there are no chain armors or plate armors like those in Europe. According to the current metallurgical conditions, it is too time-consuming and manpower-consuming to make a set of chain armors or plate armors. You can make dozens or even dozens of other types of "Zhajia"...

The problem now is that manpower is not guaranteed. A craftsman cannot continuously swing a hammer for more than an hour, and then he must take a rest. A person's physical strength is limited at the end of the day. Even if the working hours are extended, the output will be the same. A restricted quota cannot make a big breakthrough, so the only way to increase output is to use external forces...

Among all external forces, the most cheap and stable is water power.

Fei Qian turned his attention to the water saw he had built with Huang's craftsmen before. The more he looked at it, the more he realized that the working principles were actually the same. Forging is a repeated operation up and down, and drawing is a repeated operation horizontally. These are all It can be mechanically converted from hydraulic circular motion...

The only difference is that forging requires high-speed striking, while drawing requires stable force, and these can all be achieved with the same thing...