Throne of Vientiane Civilization

A new day, the weather is pretty good, a winter sun in the sky adds a touch of warmth to this cold season.

Taking a carriage, Zhou Xu came to the test site of the Armament Research Department outside the city.

"Your Majesty."

"No need for courtesy, let me see the new weapon!"

Facing Zhou Xu who was obviously impatient, Zhuang Mengdie did not hesitate, waved his hand, and a tester holding a new weapon walked over quickly.

"Your Majesty, this is my latest version of the single-soldier crossbow!"

At this moment, the single-soldier crossbow held in the hands of the tester is definitely not a light crossbow, but a heavy single-soldier crossbow with a crossbow arm length of one meter!

Compared with those arm crossbows and one-handed crossbows with a range of only ten or twenty meters, the size of this heavy single-soldier crossbow is much larger, from head to toe, it is completely not small and light.

Anyone with a discerning eye can see that this heavy single-soldier crossbow evolved from the city defense crossbow.

The size was reduced and some designs were adjusted, so that the city defense crossbow, which originally required two soldiers to operate and shoot on the wall, became a single-soldier crossbow that only one soldier could operate smoothly.

During the period, a lot of tests and adjustments were carried out to ensure the power and range of the heavy single-soldier crossbow to the maximum extent.

The test started soon, and the round target for the test was directly placed at a position of 200 meters, which can be said to be very confident.

This situation would never happen if it was replaced with a bow and arrow.

Let alone the strong bow specially configured for fierce generals like Zhou Chongshan, let's take the mass-produced bow and arrow used by ordinary archers as an example.

Let's not talk about the maximum range, which doesn't make much sense. Let's talk about the effective range. At this stage, under the condition of ensuring lethality, the effective range of bows and arrows is not up to 200 meters.

Even if it can be reached, if you want to hit a target 200 meters away, the requirements for archery are also very high, but this is obviously different from the situation of heavy single-soldier crossbows.

While Zhou Xu's thoughts were racing, the tester in charge of operating the heavy-duty single-soldier crossbow had already started to move.

He stepped on the ring at the head of the crossbow, which was the pedal of the heavy-duty single-soldier crossbow. After stepping on it, it was convenient to use the whole body to pull the crossbow at a faster speed.

In the process of constantly adjusting the test, this tester has undoubtedly used this heavy-duty single-soldier crossbow countless times, and the whole operation is quite smooth at this time.

He opened the crossbow and put the arrow on it, picked up the heavy-duty single-soldier crossbow, and pulled the trigger after a slight aim.

At that moment, accompanied by a slightly sharp whistle, the crossbow arrow broke through the air and hit the round target two hundred meters away directly!

Zhou Xu, who was watching on the side, couldn't help but applaud, and the tester was greatly relieved.

From the development of this single-soldier crossbow to now, all the testing work has been done by him.

After using it more, it is natural that practice makes perfect, and it can basically ensure that it will not miss the target.

But the situation is different today. Their Majesty is standing by and watching, which makes him a little nervous, fearing that he will perform poorly and lose face in front of their Majesty.

It was not until a crossbow arrow successfully hit the target that he completely relaxed, feeling relieved.

However, the test was obviously not over yet. The tester adjusted his state and operated again. This time, he aimed at the round target at a hundred meters.

Unlike the round target at two hundred meters, the surface of this round target is covered with a layer of fish scale armor.

Obviously, if you want to ensure armor penetration, you have to shorten the range to within a hundred meters.

The trigger was pulled, and the crossbow arrow burst out again, directly penetrating the armor plate and accurately sinking into the round target!

"Good!"

Zhou Xu, who saw this scene, was excited.

He quickly ordered someone to fetch the armored round target and find out what was going on!

After receiving the order, the round target was quickly delivered to Zhou Xu.

At this time, it can be clearly seen that the armor plate has been shot through by the crossbow arrow.

Pulling out the crossbow arrow, the staff next to it quickly measured it.

"After penetrating the armor plate, it penetrated five centimeters into the round target. If it hits the enemy's chest, it can directly pierce the heart and kill them."

Zhou Xu was very satisfied with the power of this heavy single-soldier crossbow.

"Very good, start mass production according to this version!"

Zhou Xu developed the heavy single-soldier crossbow not to deal with the ratmen in the southern border, they are not worthy yet.

The advantage of the crossbow lies in its powerful penetration ability.

The reason why Zhou Xu wanted to develop a single-soldier crossbow was because of the greenskin troops that appeared in the New North District before.

Although those greenskins were poorly equipped, they had a headache-inducing 'WAAAGH! ! ! ' force field. The bows and arrows were obviously not powerful enough to deal with them, and they could not pose a threat to them at all.

Under this premise, the dwarf troops that appeared later quickly shot and killed those greenskins with heavy crossbows.

This is the fundamental reason why Zhou Xu developed the individual crossbow, to deal with the greenskin troops that may appear in the New North District, and to further ensure the stability of their Great Zhou New North District.

Of course, it does not mean that after having a heavy individual crossbow, the bows and arrows in their Great Zhou can be completely retired.

In fact, compared with the crossbow, the bow and arrow are the long-range weapons that have truly penetrated the entire cold weapon era.

At the same time, the two long-range weapons, the bow and the crossbow, also have their own advantages and disadvantages.

Still based on the mass-produced version of their Great Zhou, let's talk about power first. The crossbow is stronger, there is no doubt about this, the penetration is there.

In terms of range, it is a little more complicated.

The attack methods of bows and arrows are divided into flat shooting and projectile shooting.

In the flat shooting state, bows and arrows cannot beat crossbows. Crossbows have a longer effective range and stronger power.

But bows and arrows can be projectile.

In the case of projectile shooting, the effective range of bows and arrows is longer.

At the same time, projectile shooting can form a large area of ​​arrow rain. In defensive battles, it can cross the walls of one's own side. When confronting in front of the formation, it can cross the front troops of one's own side and directly attack the enemy, or even attack the enemy's back row.

This is of tactical value.

But crossbows cannot do this. In order to show their power, crossbow troops must be arranged in the front row, sniping with people in the middle gate, or in city defense battles, they must be arranged on the top of the wall. In short, there must be no obstacles in front of them that affect their shooting, otherwise they will not be able to perform.

At this time, someone may say that crossbows can also be projectile.

Indeed, you can do this if you insist.

But this is like asking a fat man with poor jumping ability to participate in a high jump competition. He can jump twice, but the effect is terrible!

In addition, bows and arrows are more efficient.

The loading efficiency of crossbows is really slow. If you switch to bows and arrows, you can directly shoot a string of arrows.

And compared with heavy individual crossbows, bows and arrows are lighter and more flexible.

Of course, compared with bows and arrows, crossbows also have the advantage of crossbows, that is, they are easy to use.

You can pull a farmer on the side of the road and let him practice for an hour or two according to the process, and he can practice like a real person.

If you switch to bows and arrows, whether you can hit the target in this time is a question.

To train a qualified archer, you need to invest a lot of time, energy, and cost.

But the cost of crossbow soldiers in this area is very low, and they can be quickly formed.

But even so, crossbows cannot shake the position of bows and arrows on the battlefield of cold weapons.

Because crossbows are more expensive, more time-consuming, and more prone to failure.

As we all know, in the military, a weapon needs to be strong and durable, and also needs to be mass-produced. The crossbow obviously does not meet this requirement.

In the case of a large number of configurations, the bow and arrow is a better choice, and the crossbow is more suitable for forming a special force.

On the battlefield, the crossbow and the bow can be used alternately according to the actual situation of the battlefield. There is basically no saying that one replaces the other, and they can coexist.