Chapter 257: Artisan Camp, Composite Bows and Mass-Produced Bamboo Bows

History is as vast and deep as the ocean, and full of unpredictable possibilities. Sometimes it's calm and sometimes it's stormy. Countless warm ocean currents are raging under the sea, flowing towards the destined distance. The civilizations of various ethnic groups are like schools of fish in the sea, moving forward in the lightless deep sea. They followed the direction of the ocean current, waiting for an unknown encounter.

Only a fish that traveled through time and space fell into the water from the distant sky. He saw the road ahead clearly, struggled hard to swim forward, squeezed his way to the front of the school of fish, and finally became a young alpha fish. He is looking for new directions, exploring new possibilities, and leading the school of fish behind him towards a new and unknown road!

North of the equator, the summer monsoon connects the sea and land. It brought Portuguese exploration ships to the southern continent and also brought water vapor from the Caribbean Sea to the western lake area. In the warm and abundant rain, the farmland in the Lake District is green and full of vitality. August just passed by in the rain, and September came with the wind.

The weather in September was very hot, and rolling clouds enveloped Qincongcan City. Shulot raised his head and looked at the clouds and rain that had just stopped and the sky that was clearing after the rain. He turned to the warrior commander and smiled.

"Haha, the heavy rain a few days ago was really bad! It seems like the big lake in the sky has leaked to the bottom. I wonder if there will be fish?"

"Your Highness, during the rainy season, the valleys in the Lake District are actually not bad. At most, the rain is heavier. If it is the seaside lowlands of the Huastec people, the wind god will be angry almost every two years. At that time, there will be roaring winds in the sky The beast sweeps through, destroying the villages, towns and farmland in its path, and will really leave behind countless leftover fish! Therefore, in coastal areas, the belief in the wind god is often second only to Quetzalcoatl. "

Bertard explained calmly. Behind him, two hundred personal bodyguards, wearing strong armor and strong swords, closely protected the traveling king.

Shulot was startled when he heard this. He thought for a moment and nodded.

The Gulf of Mexico is hot and rainy, and typhoons often hit during the rainy season, and they are often catastrophic hurricanes that even future generations will find difficult to deal with. Once these hurricanes land, they will often have a devastating blow to the agricultural society of this era. Therefore, although the Huastec and Totonac tribes on the eastern coast have fertile land, they have always been underpopulated. And coastal land cannot be used as the foundation for long-term operations.

"Your Highness, I asked the old farmers in the lake area. Although the rainfall this year is heavy, it is still at a normal level. The rise of Patzcuaro Lake is limited and will not have much impact on the farmland along the lake. With sufficient rainfall in August, On the contrary, it is beneficial to the growth of corn and increases the autumn harvest in October!”

Hearing this, the young king smiled. He looked beyond the craftsman camp in front of him and towards the sky outside the city.

"The sowing was late this year, and every village is in a hurry. I don't expect a bumper harvest in the lake area. As long as there is a good year, the minds of the Prepecha villagers and the field army will be settled! I can, too. Free up your hands to deal with the nobles in the south."

The two were talking and laughing, and the black wolf Toltec had already strode out of the craftsman camp with his head held high. He bowed his head and saluted the king.

"Your Highness, the inspection of the craftsman camp has been completed, and the guards have been deployed! The craftsmen of Prepecha are ready and waiting for your Highness's inspection!"

"good!"

Xiuluo nodded and walked towards the craftsman camp first. The warrior chief and the black wolf followed closely, followed by a large group of personal guards.

It had only been a few months since the army captured Qincongcan City, and there were more than two thousand craftsmen recruited into the craftsman camp. When entering the camp for inspection at this time, you should always be extra vigilant. When the Mexica craftsmen from Tenochtitlan move to the royal capital, the shrine near the palace area will officially start operating. At that time, the craftsmen in the camp will be further divided into levels and grouped into different places.

Soon, the young king entered the craftsman camp and looked around. The entire camp is surrounded by solid bluestone walls and covers an extremely large area. There are a large amount of wood, stones, cotton and leather stored in the warehouses in the camp. According to the current functions of the craftsmen, they can be roughly divided into four main areas, two for civilian use and two for military industry.

Shulot kept moving forward without stopping. The first thing we passed was the Noble Supplies Production Center. It used to serve the royal family of Tarasco, making exquisite and gorgeous palace items, but now it is used to manufacture expensive trade goods.

The young king's eyes paused for a moment on the various exquisite palace painted pottery, aristocratic costumes, gold and silver ornaments, and then strode away without caring. The samurai commander followed closely behind, also looking intently. Toltec was a step behind, but he opened his eyes curiously and looked at the noble utensils along the way.

Next, there is the most bustling agricultural tool and wheelbarrow production center. The young king stopped and took a look around. The managing warriors shouted loudly, and the busy craftsmen fell to the ground together, waiting for the king's review.

Both the military and civilian villages in the Lake District strictly practiced farming, and the per capita cultivated land area was much higher than before. Commonly used stone farm tools are easy to wear and require constant repair and replacement. Wheelbarrows used for transportation are very difficult to make. The wheels that bear the force require metal reinforcement and are easily damaged. In order to improve efficiency, Shulot deployed a large number of craftsmen and allocated sufficient bronze tools to provide logistical support for the soldiers and civilians in the field.

The young king watched it for a while, then pushed a unicycle to try it out.

The manufacture of studded wooden wheels is a technical job that requires not only wood materials, but also carpentry skills. With the current level of manufacturing of single-wheelers, they can only be used on the flat fields around the lake area. As long as the terrain is slightly undulating, or if there are too many roots of trees in the wild, this thing will be damaged quickly.

After trying it for a moment, Shulot nodded slightly, indicating that the quality was okay. He looked at the warrior commander.

"Bertard, reward the craftsmen who made the wheelbarrows and encourage them to further study reinforcement. Also, where are the bronze farming tools I want?"

"Yes! Your Highness, the bronze farm tools are not here, but in the final manufacturing center."

Shulot nodded and continued moving forward. Following closely behind is the manufacturing center for military equipment.

This is an important military area, with hundreds of warriors guarding it, and more than a thousand craftsmen working here. According to different groups, they made long bows, war clubs and bronze spears, shields, cotton armor and wooden helmets. The armament center once supplied tens of thousands of Tarasco royal regiments, and also had the largest number of craftsmen, gathering the best master craftsmen.

After walking for a while, Shulot's eyes narrowed, he stopped and stood in front of the largest workbench.

He picked up a new longbow in front of him and reached out to touch it. The bow is smooth, made of fir and simply painted. What is worth noting is that after the string is removed, the two ends of the longbow are greatly concave, forming an obvious arc in the middle. The main body of the bow bends backwards towards the shooter, looking like a long-used shoulder pole.

Shulot lowered his eyes slightly, and some fleeting memories came to his mind, accompanied by flashes of war scenes. Then, he raised the long bow and measured it. The straight length of the bow was only one meter sixty-seven meters, which was more suitable for battlefield fighting. The young king pondered for a moment, and when he looked at the old craftsman in front of him, his expression was already majestic.

"Recurve single bow, small bow tip. Did you make this long bow? Why is it designed like this?"

"Yes, I made this by myself based on the improvement of the Mexican longbow."

The craftsman in front of him is about fifty years old and has a simple appearance. Wearing a flat leather hat that symbolizes status, he is obviously a master craftsman with more than a dozen restrained craftsman apprentices standing behind him. Upon hearing the king's inquiry, the master craftsman carefully lowered his head and explained respectfully and in detail.

"Your Majesty, I have tried bow tips of different lengths and hardness, and have also studied the characteristics of long bows made of different materials. This long wooden bow with a small recurved tip can effectively shorten the bow body while maintaining range and power. Length. Although its shape is slightly complicated, it does not increase the difficulty and the requirements for materials are not high.

There's actually a little tip bow here that I made out of bamboo. Its shooting range is about 70% of that of the fir bow, and its arrows are slightly shorter. The bamboo bow is slightly less powerful and can only damage the leather armor of the warrior within 60 steps, and can damage the civilian militia within 90 steps. However, its cost is extremely cheap and it can be quickly installed in large quantities. It was originally prepared for previous wars. Similarly, this kind of bamboo bow has low requirements for arrows, which can significantly reduce the cost of making arrows. "

The master craftsman observed the king's face and carefully took out a recurved bamboo bow. Shulot took out the bow and tried it, and his expression immediately changed slightly.

"The drawing force is about 60 pounds, and ordinary militiamen can also use it. It is cheap and mass-produced. The bow is made of bamboo and is light."

The young king thought deeply and whispered to himself. After a moment, he looked at the master craftsman standing in front of him and smiled with satisfaction.

"Very nice improvement, very useful research and development! Tell me your name."

"Your Majesty, I am Kundili, the 'bowmaker' of the Prepecha people."

Kundili straightened up and proudly said his title. This is an inherited name, which means "the person who makes bows in the tribe". It also represents the highest level of bow craftsmanship.

Hearing this, Shulot nodded clearly. The Prepecha people have a large group of craftsmen who are good at craftsmanship. They were the first in the world to discover and use bronze weapons. The master craftsmen among them were able to research and improve the longbow, which was not beyond the king's expectation.

The young king thought for a moment and then made a decision. He looked solemn and said loudly.

"Kundili, you have done a great job in improving the longbow! From today on, you are a military noble of the kingdom, and you will receive the same rewards as the warriors! I appointed you as the person in charge of the longbow production in the capital, and gave you two tasks !”

Hearing this, Kundili opened his mouth wide with disbelief on his face.

Under the traditional three-class system of the Kingdom of Tarasco, he was only a craftsman throughout his life, without any possibility of becoming a noble. The surrounding air became silent for a moment, and the other craftsmen were also shocked. After a while, until the apprentice behind him quietly kicked his butt, he suddenly fell to his knees and paid homage to the king of the feudal kingdom.

"Your Majesty, thank you for the reward, I will die for you!"

"There is no need to die. You must remain useful and use your wisdom and experience to further transform the longbow for me!"

Shulot smiled lightly. Now that he is used to seeing people dying for him, he rarely has any trouble in his heart anymore.

"Kundili, you have two tasks. The first is to research a new type of large bow with a composite bow! It should have a shorter bow and stronger power. Since you have made fir and bamboo respectively, For long bows, you must have an in-depth understanding of these two materials. Then, start with the bamboo and wood composite bow! You can use bamboo wood and then glue it with corn mortar to create a double-layer long bow. .Study the specific procedures yourself! Someone will give you some brief tips for your reference later.”

Xuluot looked serious and didn't say much. He only had sporadic memories about the production of compound bows, and he just brought it up for reference for these real master craftsmen.

"Second, determine the standard shape, service life, and arrows used for this single bamboo bow! Then I will send my personal guards to assist you in organizing manpower and mass production. I want to equip this bamboo bow on a large scale. Under the condition of ensuring that the warriors can be threatened at 60 steps, the lower the cost, the better!"

Xuluot stretched out his hand and shook the other's hair. Kundili's eyes suddenly lit up. He fell to the ground and responded respectfully again. The faces of the craftsmen behind him all showed obvious envy.

Seeing this, the young king nodded, looked around, and spoke loudly again.

"I declare in the name of the king: the alliance has its own new policy, which is different from the old system of Tarasco! All craftsmen, regardless of their origin, who can concentrate on their work and produce high-quality equipment in a long-term and stable manner; save manpower and material resources, improve the original production; or go further and develop more efficient new tools, the alliance will not be stingy and generously reward you with cotton cloth, gold and silver, land and even titles!"

The king's voice spread far and wide, echoing in the vast artisan camp. The craftsmen knelt on the ground and exclaimed in surprise. Then, whispers were noisy in the camp, like a swarm of buzzing bees. Even the faces of the warriors in charge of the garrison showed puzzlement and yearning. However, after the Western Expedition, the king already had enough majesty to suppress all those who were dissatisfied and fully implement his will!

Xuluot turned his head and gave a simple instruction. A guard took out a pen and paper, wrote a notice with pictures and texts, and posted it in the center of the artisan camp.

The supreme king extended his finger and pointed the direction to the followers. The followers explored forward, but the king's footsteps did not stop. He still had a lot to do.

Xuluot took a last look at Kundiri who was still kneeling, and led his guards to the innermost layer. There was the kingdom's secret workshop, the bronze production center.