Great Song Super Scholar

Chapter 264
Fan Ning chatted with Cao Yi for more than an hour, and Fan Ning invited Cao Yi to Zhulou for dinner. When he returned to his residence, it was already dark.

"Little official, you came back so early today?" the servant girl Xiaodong quickly supported Fan Ning.

Today Fan Ning drank a few more cups. Although his mind was still clear, his feet were a little staggering. He helped Xiao Dong to sit down in the yard. Xiao Dong quickly brought him a cup of hot tea. Fan Ning took a sip of the hot tea and asked Said: "Is anyone looking for me today?"

Xiaodong shook his head, "No, it's very quiet today, and the construction of the new house hasn't started yet. I went to see it specially. It seems that the wharf can't be built until it's approved by the government."

"By the way, is there any mules and horses on the Feiyun Bridge?" Fan Ning asked, remembering the incident.

"Do you want to rent mules and horses for transportation?"

Fan Ning nodded, "It's not always convenient to ride an ox cart, but it's more convenient to ride a donkey."

Xiaodong thought for a while and said: "It seems that there is one on the west side of Feiyun Bridge, you can see it after a few steps across the bridge, and there are also two in Baokangmen Wazi."

"Then have time to take a look!"

Fan Ning felt sleepy for a while, and said to Xiaodong: "Get me some hot water, I'll wash my feet and go to bed."

"Hey!"

Xiaodong ran away, Fan Ning yawned twice, his consciousness began to be a little fuzzy, he felt that he could fall asleep as long as he closed his eyes.

Early the next morning, Fan Ning reported to the Imperial College, and then went to the Imperial City to rent a donkey from a mule and horse shop. In fact, it was just Fan Ning's whim. When he calmed down, he thought of the first problem. Can ride a donkey, how to rent it?

Those who don't know how to ride a donkey these days will be laughed at just like future generations who don't know how to ride a bicycle. Considering the problem of face, Fan Ning can only hold back this idea for the time being.

The ox cart arrived at the Xuande Gate of the Imperial Palace. Fan Ning got off the ox cart and walked directly to the gate. When he reached the gate, two sergeants stopped him.

Fanning took out the gold medal and waved it coldly in front of the two, "Do you know it?"

The two sergeants were startled, they turned out to be exempt from calling for gold medals, they hurriedly moved away, not daring to stop Fan Ning, Fan Ning walked quickly into the palace without looking back.

He deliberately didn't wear an official uniform today, just to test the power of this gold medal. Judging from the panicked retreat of the gatekeepers, this gold medal is really extraordinary.
Fan Ning went directly to the gate of the Military Weapons Supervision Office. This is the management agency for the manufacture, transportation, distribution and storage of weapons in the Song Dynasty. However, there are no weapons here. The manufacturing workshops, testing grounds and warehouses of the Military Weapons Supervision are all in the city. In addition, to enter the manufacturing workshop and testing ground, you must obtain the approval of the Ordnance Superintendent.

Fan Ning walked into the gate of the Military Weapons Supervision, and saw a courtyard in the middle, surrounded by countless functional court rooms on both sides, he was a little worried, where should he find his crossbow room?

At this time, an official stepped forward and asked, "Who are you looking for?"

Fan Ning bowed and saluted, "The Imperial Superintendent will learn from Fan Ning, where is the imperial court that manages bows and crossbows?"

'Imperial Academy? 'The officials thought it was a bit ridiculous, what did the officials of the Imperial College come to the Military Weapons Supervision for?Do you want to borrow a batch of bows and arrows for students to practice?
But the official didn't ask any more questions. He pointed to the corridor on the left, "That's the penultimate room!"

"Thank you!"

Fan Ning saluted and walked quickly to the corridor on the left. The official looked at his back, shook his head for a while and left.

After a while, Fan Ning came to the court room, and he looked at the sign on the door. There were three large characters on it: Bow and Crossbow Division.

The door was not closed, and it was ajar. From the crack of the door, a middle-aged official could be seen busy arranging paperwork. Judging from his crimson official uniform, he should be a lower-level official of about seventh rank.

Fan Ning pushed the door and walked in, and said with a smile, "I am the Imperial Supervisor, and my surname is Fan. Who is this official?"

The official looked at Fan Ning, seeing that he was an official of the Imperial Academy at such a young age, he couldn't believe it, so he asked, "What's the matter with you?"

Fan Ning took out an official letter and handed it to him, "Tai Xue students want to practice bows and arrows, so I'm here to borrow a batch of bows and crossbows!"

The official letter was issued by Jiang Jiancheng. Taixue has archery classes, and there is indeed a demand for borrowing bows and arrows. The official took the official letter without reading it, and still stared at Fan Ning, "Why do you prove your identity?"

Fan Ning is so young that it is almost suspected that he is an ordinary student pretending to be an official.

Fan Ning took out the no-call gold medal and put it on the table, "The emperor gave me this gold medal, can you prove it?"

"what!"

The official was taken aback. He turned out to be exempt from calling for a gold medal. He quickly changed his attitude, changed his smiling face, bowed and saluted, "I don't know, I've offended you!"

Fan Ning put away the gold medal and said with a smile: "We are doing business, officials please read the official letter!"

Only then did the official look at the official letter carefully, with a slightly embarrassed expression on his face, "It is no problem to borrow a hundred pairs of bows and arrows, but there is no precedent for borrowing ten military crossbows from the Military Supervision. May I ask Governor Fan, why did the Imperial College think of borrowing crossbows?"

"This year Taixue opened a crossbow course, requiring students to understand crossbows, not for shooting crossbows, but for understanding the structure, range, etc. of crossbows. I hope the military supervisor will give support."

Crossbows are prohibited by the people, and the Military Weapons Supervision is very strict. If Fan Ning borrows crossbows in the name of an individual, he will definitely not be able to borrow them. But if it is a public-to-public borrowing in the name of the Imperial College, that is another matter. Well, this does not violate Song Dynasty's control over military crossbows.

What's more, Fan Ning still has a gold medal for exempting him from summoning. The official didn't dare to offend him. After he pondered for a while, he thought of a compromise.

"Ten are too many. Since it's just for understanding, two crossbows should be enough. One complete crossbow and one loose crossbow. Inspector Fan, do you think this will work?"

"can!"

"I also need to remind you kindly. According to the military crossbow management regulations, the loan period is up to one month. You must return it before the expiration date. If you want to continue to use it, you can renew the loan!"

"no problem!"

The officials immediately gave Fan Ning a borrowing form for bows and crossbows, and with this borrowing form, he could pick up the goods at the Warehouse Warehouse.

Fan Ning took the loan form and asked again: "Another question, I heard that there is a high reward for military crossbows offered by the Military Armament Superintendent. Is this reward still available?"

The official laughed, "Yes! And there is a reward of Wanguan. This reward has been issued for two years. At least thirty new army crossbows have come to take the test, but none of them have met the requirements. It is not easy to get this reward."

"I wonder if there is any request?"

The official glanced at Fan Ning and said with a smile, "Why, Inspector Fan is interested?"

"Maybe the students are interested in it, don't underestimate them, they are very clever."

The official said with a smile: "The requirements are actually very simple. There is only one requirement, which is to shoot through the armor of Liao soldiers from a hundred paces away. As long as you do this, you will get [-] guan."

Borrowing bows and arrows is the real need of the Imperial College, but borrowing crossbows is Fan Ning's private goods. Jiang Jiancheng gave him a face and helped him with this small favor.

Of course, Fan Ning's heart was moved by the ten-thousand-coin reward offered by the Military Weapons Supervisor. He only had three thousand guan coins left in his hand. Now that the Military Weapons Supervisor had a ten-thousand-coin reward, he could definitely win this coveted reward with his foresight. .

Back in the official room of the library, Fan Ning locked the door, and the table was covered with parts of a military crossbow, including the body, bow, and trigger, teeth, Wangshan, etc. These are the references for drawing object.

Fan Ning was thinking about making the famous God Arm Crossbow in the Song Dynasty in advance. The God Arm Crossbow was presented to the imperial court by the party member Li Ding during the reign of Emperor Shenzong of the Song Dynasty. It became the sharpest individual weapon in the Song Dynasty. dilemma.

The god arm crossbow belongs to the kicking crossbow with foot pedals. The bow length is three feet three, the string length is two feet five, the shooting range is more than 340 steps, and the killing distance is 240 steps.

The rhubarb crossbow of the Han Dynasty also had such great power, but the rhubarb crossbow was not a single-soldier weapon, and at least two people were required to draw and string the bow, and it weighed tens of kilograms. Usually, it had to be transported by livestock, which was not very practical on the battlefield.

The reason why the Song Dynasty's god-arm crossbow could replace the rhubarb crossbow is that it can be wound by a single soldier, weighs only a dozen catties, and can be operated and carried by a single crossbowman. It is very practical and more powerful than the rhubarb crossbow.

The power of a crossbow is nothing more than a strong potential energy, which can pull the bowstring at least seven stones, and shoot the arrow with the strength of seven stones. Of course, the power is extremely powerful, so the key to the god arm crossbow lies in how to string it.

The method of making the Divine Arm Crossbow has been lost in history, but later generations have also studied it. Fan Ning once saw a blueprint for restoring the Divine Arm Crossbow.

The divine arm crossbow is divided into two steps. The first step is to stretch the string with the foot, and wind it to the normal position with the strength of the waist and arm. The second step is to continue winding by using the principle of leverage to the greatest extent.

There is a section of inner chamber made of pig iron in the body of the god arm crossbow. A row of gears are placed in the inner chamber. One large gear drives five small gears. They are all made of fine steel, and a slot is opened on the side of the crossbow body. , Usually a thin copper rod with a round head is placed inside.

When it is necessary to draw the string, insert the copper rod from the bottom of the crossbow body into the large gear, pull it upward, and cause the large gear to rotate. Driven by a set of gears, the bowstring continues to extend backwards, and finally can be buckled on the crossbow teeth.

In this way, the bowstring, which cannot be pulled at all under normal circumstances, is pried with a small force.

The core of the god arm crossbow is the inner chamber made of pig iron and the four large and small five gears made of fine steel.

Of course, this kind of gear is not the thin plate gear on the clock, but wider, at least half an inch wider, so that the gears can fit easily.

Fan Ning was not worried about how to assemble the gears in the iron chamber. The craftsmen of the Song Dynasty had already mastered this technology, and this gear principle can be seen in farmland waterwheels and treadmill boats.

What he has to do is to find a skilled craftsman to build the iron chamber and gears and assemble them.

Then draw another blueprint, hand it over to the Military Weapons Superintendent together with the iron chamber gear, and then have a special crossbowsmith build it. Fan Ning believes that the god arm crossbow will definitely be made from this.

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[Explanation: The killing range of the divine arm crossbow is 240 steps, which is 370 meters. It can shoot half an arrow into the wood, and its power is powerful. However, its real object and manufacturing method have been lost in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Some Song Dynasty materials vaguely mentioned the iron chamber And the fine steel gear, Lao Gao relied on his own imagination to build this powerful crossbow. As for the gun, to be honest, the early smoothbore flintlock guns were not as powerful as the crossbow]

(End of this chapter)