Eagle Byzantium

After hearing the words of the female consul, Anna's face was full of anger and shame, with an expression of "Oh no": Fortunately, she had invested a lot of human and financial resources before, and she also paid special attention and guidance on how to set up the grape trellis in order to achieve high yields. return, but I didn’t expect it to have such consequences.

When Gawain also asked the reason with concern, the female consul replied, "Although the prohibition on luxury is now issued, many cavalrymen in Seleucia who have become rich through trophies still begin to secretly store in the private cabinets of merchants in Akum. Buy wines from Cyprus here and here in Deutschland No one cares about the goods brewed by immigrants. In addition, grapes require a lot of land and sunshine. It is a business with high rewards and high risks, so... it is better to ask the military government to issue another ban. , only allowing merchants to sell local wine, in order to play a protective role. "

"This will only make the local chamber of commerce completely abandon the motivation to compete for improved products, and breed corruption!" Gawain rejected the proposal unceremoniously, and then he comforted the princess and said, "Let's be honest and cancel it next year. The plan to grow grapes is to use the remaining energy to open aqueducts around the city of Seleucia and plant various types of wheat and flax. "

"The flax fields stink terribly. The farmers working there are all naked and work openly in the daytime wearing only a leather jacket. How do you ask me to inspect it? Once I entrust the Reformed Association to admonish, those people The rude German peasants would say, "It's your business, it's really intolerable." Anna became annoyed. She was an out-and-out "agricultural beauty." Scientist" could not accept such a dirty form of production, but this was just a word used by the proud and narrow-minded princess as she walked down the steps. Soon she saw the slightly proud smile of Kaberamiya next to her, and hurriedly stopped and changed her mind. The topic was changed, "Pauline Consul, I think the Grand Duke has already made it very clear in the horse letter why he summoned you."

"Yes, Your Royal Highness the Purple Princess, it is difficult to gather fifty hunters, only twenty at most." The female consul said that it was difficult to completely achieve the goal, bowed and put her golden hand on her chest, and replied apologetically.

In the small closed stone-walled courtyard connected to the Acropolis Palace and the stables, twenty Pauline hunters sent by Philus stood there in a row. Under the shed built facing the palace, several Saxon warriors in heavy armor held burning torches, Dim Goliath stood in front of the seated Gawain and Anna, and Cabeamia was at the entrance of the shed.

"Find the most powerful ones first and show them to us." Gawain said to the female consul.

The female consul nodded and accepted the order, and then a hunter walked out of the queue. He was carrying a quiver and covered with a cloak. He was holding a bow in his hand. In the other hand, he was holding a long and narrow wooden barrel, about the same length as a long arrow. The barrel section The hunter made a slot and tied a small rope to his wrist. After saluting the Grand Duke and Princess, the hunter poured a small spear into the barrel, and then put the wooden barrel on the string like an arrow. Then he used his index finger and middle finger to come together, and silently pulled it full and buckled it. The three points of the other hand holding the bow handle were connected in a line, and then it flashed. Anna didn't have time to see clearly how the spear flew. A pair of chainmail armor hanging in front of the wall, fifty feet away, shook violently, was pierced by the small spear, and continued to fly for a while, directly wedged between the cracks in the masonry wall.

However, the slotted wooden tube continued to be tied to the hunter's wrist and did not fly out with the spear. The moment the spear left the string, it was restrained by the hunter and retrieved.

"Menai (harbor) and solenarion (film tube)? I have only heard of it before, but now I have seen it with my own eyes through the technology of Paul's people." Anna said with approval, "The power of this kind of arrow is No less powerful than the Franks’ Latin bow (the Byzantine name for the crossbow).”

"Moreover, the penetration and concealment may be greater." At this time, the female consul also turned around and said proudly.

Gawain sat on his seat and took the two types of arrow wooden tubes handed over by Dim. He saw that this kind of wooden tube was easy to make: he could cut the wooden tube in half, leaving only two inches at the end for tightening the string. Or make the two sides of the wooden barrel symmetrical, open a long slot on each side, open at one end, and leave two inches of the tail end closed, and insert the double fins of the spear from the long slot and fasten it securely.

In this way, the barrel stabilizes the trajectory of the spear inside, and the menai, which is much lighter than ordinary arrows, can fly farther and with more force, like what we just saw. , directly penetrates the chainmail!

"This kind of fragmentary arrows (the New Tang Dynasty also has a detailed description of the barrel arrows used by the Koreans at that time) were relatively common in the imperial army three hundred years ago. Soldiers used them in the forests of Anatolia. Or in the pass, to block the invasion of the Saracen army and penetrate the armor of the opponent's heavy armored cavalry. However, in the past hundred years, it has been almost. disappeared. It is said that my father originally wanted to equip them to fight against the Norman armored cavalry and the opponent's crossbows, but he never succeeded - Hey, Gawain, why don't we let the Pauline and Cilicia archers, Would you like to use this weapon on a large scale?" Anna obviously thinks this weapon is very "cool".

Gawain smiled bitterly and shook his head. He was about to ask Anna, "Why can't your father equip his army on a large scale? You can understand the reason if you think about it carefully."

But over there, Kabeamiya said first, "Your Highness, this kind of film tube has very high requirements for shooters. When to shoot and when to pull the tube, there is almost the same difference. If there is a slight disturbance, the film tube will If it is slightly skewed, it will not be the target enemy that will be shot, but the shooter's own wrist. If it is used on a large scale by ordinary archers, at least two or three people out of ten may have their hands completely damaged after shooting the first row of arrows. Being abolished is not worth the loss.”

"So is this the reason why you were completely destroyed by my father's archery army in Philipsburg?" Anna retorted, revealing the dark history of the female consul, which meant that you were the only one talking nonsense. And Cabeamiya's pretty dark face suddenly turned red, and she lowered her head to admit defeat.

"However, for small-scale ambush, it is best to use it. It has advantages over hand crossbows and crossbows." Gawain gently picked the end of the tube with his fingers, looked back and forth, and said with satisfaction , and at the same time skillfully eliminated the fight between the two women, "Cabeamiya, I hired these twenty hunters. Each of them not only has food rations, but also a salary of fifty copper saffron coins per day. But everything It must be kept strictly confidential, do you know?”

"Yes." Kabeamia bowed again. (To be continued ~^~)