Even if they shoot with a crossbow while riding a horse, they still need a lot of time to learn to use the crossbow well.
More than just crossbows, the weapons used by his subordinates were infantry weapons, which were not suitable as mounted weapons. Just like when a rifle is used for horse fighting, it is always inappropriate because the barrel is too long. The improved carbine is all carbine type, and there is also the operation of equipping the cavalry with bobosa. The latter is naturally a good thing Budyonni did.
The crossbows most equipped in the Principality of Rus have wooden arms. Except for the core crossbow mechanism made of bronze, other parts are made of various types of wood.
Even if it is a short wooden bow, it is just a wooden pole with a length of 98 cm when the bow string is removed. The crossbow made with it is too wide, and it is still very troublesome for riding on horseback. Unless these guys all use lightweight recurve bows.
Rurik immediately invented a way to deal with the trouble, which was to install a simple bracket on the right side of the saddle so that the existing crossbow could be placed at an angle of 45°.
The arm of the wooden arm crossbow used for horse fighting must also be shortened, at least to 75% of the previous size. The shoulder rest should also be eliminated and condensed into a straight stick, which is convenient for hanging and shooting from horseback.
After preliminary experiments, these improvements seemed to be quite effective. In just two days, eighty wooden-arm crossbows were whittled into horse fighting styles.
The range of the standard light arrows they fired has not been shortened, although the draw length is much shorter and the deformation of the bow arms has also increased. This is certainly not a good thing, as it reduces the service life of the short wooden bow at the core of the crossbow.
To put it bluntly, what Rurik needs most is the Pecheneg people’s sinew recurve compound bow.
It was another sunny but very cold morning, the cavalry training entered a new stage, and the grand festival of the Russians was just around the corner.
Hanukkah is coming!
All people attach great importance to this festival, which is the "New Year's Eve and New Year's Day" throughout the Principality of Russia. All ethnic groups under the rule of the principality will hold grand sacrifices on the winter solstice and consider this to be the beginning of the new year. This custom is also very similar among the Pecheneg people!
According to the agreement of the deal, Kagan persuaded his men to hand over thirty recurve bows. At first, these slave warriors were reluctant, but Kagan comforted him: "You will get that kind of crossbow lying horizontally. Although the ordinary carpentry of the Russians is terrible, their crossbows are really wonderful. You can fight them Exchange it, and when you go back, the person who handed over the bow will get a new one, and the crossbow will still belong to you."
The brothers were convinced by this.
No one dislikes having too few bows. Having one more crossbow gives brothers one more choice.
Slave warriors noticed that the Russian crossbow could make a beginner a marksman in a short time. With this item, hunting marmots and foxes on the grassland would become much easier.
But how can Kagan’s pattern only be like this?
He cannot understand the mechanical system of the Russian crossbowstructure, but you can clearly see how the bow arm is connected to the crossbow body. He couldn't help but mutter: "I will dismantle your short wooden bow when I go back, install the recurve bow and fix it with glue and rope. Wouldn't it be a good weapon? The slow rate of fire is nothing. My people have become gods." Shooter. Magyar boys, I will teach you a lesson and open your eyes.”
Because the Pecheneg Tribal Alliance is facing a rather dangerous international conflict, they are actually outsiders. The Magyars and Khazars directly competed for the lower Volga River area with rich water and grass. The dispute continued and maintained a dynamic balance. If one side has better weapons, the balance will favor the side with advanced weapons.
Kagan was so happy because he felt that he had gotten a big deal.
Isn’t this the case for Rurik?
The two sworn brothers each get what they want.
The combination of ribs and corners of the Pecheneg recurve bow is a high-tech material science, and the mechanical structure of the Russian cast bronze crossbow is even more high-tech. However, in terms of manufacturing efficiency alone, the Russian crossbows are still highly productive.
Today is a rest day. Both soldiers and horses need to take a good rest. Soldiers have the right to eat and drink, especially roasted deer legs, to ensure that their muscles can further expand and further enhance their combat effectiveness. The horse should also be given a snack. Just five pounds of oats is not enough. The amount of feed is doubled, and more yellow root carrots are added to supplement the vitamins.
The reindeer sleigh was pulling some goods, and the supplies were tightly covered with a piece of cloth.
Rurik himself led a small group of subordinates, and they all walked solidly on the snow on wooden shoes nailed with iron nails.
The sleigh stopped in front of the barn where all the Pechenegs lived, and the noise outside attracted people indoors to come out one after another.
Kagan had already reached an agreement with his brothers. He walked out of the door with enthusiasm and opened his arms to show his goodwill to his sworn brothers.
"Today is a good day for trading. Look at my men. Their bows are about to become yours. So..."
Rurik's satisfied location He nodded and motioned to his men to lift the cloth on the sled.
In an instant, neatly stacked wooden arm crossbows were dazzling.
"Start the exchange now. Thirty crossbows are yours."
"Thirty?" Kagan looked a little embarrassed, then approached Rurik He couldn't help but shake his body: "Brother, I changed my mind. Your crossbow is wonderful, since you value my compound bow. Otherwise, we expand the transaction, and I exchange all forty bows with you in equal amounts. ."
"Forty for forty?"
Rurik couldn't help but stepped back, his face trembling. He quickly stabilized his mood and agreed decisively.
I didn’t expect Kagan to go to such extreme measures. If this guy brought a hundred recurve bows, why not sell them all? "No, I have to control my emotions. I can't let him see me craving the recurve bow." Rurik hurriedly controlled himself.
"That's the deal." Rurik held his head high, and after snapping his fingers, his subordinates sent a steel-armed crossbow as planned.
"What is this? It's also a crossbow?!" Kagan was shocked.
"This is my personal treasure given to you. It is our best crossbow. Of course, the cost of manufacturing it is also astonishingly high. One bow can hold up to ten of yours. I will send someone to get it now. Ten additional wooden arm crossbows, I can use this opportunity to show you how to use this steel arm crossbow."
Kagan has been living in Ross for almost two months. I have never seen the steel arm version. He really couldn't understand that a piece of iron could actually be used to make a bow?
He was very surprised. This crossbow had iron arms. It was weird. One crossbow was equivalent to the price of ten recurve bows. Why was it so expensive?
What surprised him even more was that special tools were needed to wind this thing. Kagan has become accustomed to the crossbow step-stretch method, and the steel-arm version of forced step-stretch is also possible. Even if a strong man does it a few times, he will basically collapse, unless a winch tool is used.
The winding is so laborious and the whole thing is quite bulky. How about shooting with it? If it doesn't work well, it's worth buying a piece of junk at a high price.
I saw a very short and thick arrow installed in the arrow trough. It was not even as long as a person’s forearm, and even thicker than a person’s thumb. The arrow cluster was a stick with a cold light in the sun. The slender pointed cone!
Seeing that the iron plate armor taken off by the Pechenegs was still hanging outdoors, Rurik had just finished winding it and pointed his finger: "Brother Kagan, it seems that you made the armor into a dummy and placed it. At the door, is it a matter of strength?"
"Of course. In the city, I can understand why you ordinary Russians walk around on the road with weapons. There are no weapons. I can only show our identity by putting on armor."
"Because the city is a very safe place, except for the patrolling soldiers and my guards, there is no need for ordinary people to bring weapons to themselves. "It's okay." Rurik had an idea: "I need a target. Do you believe that I can penetrate your armor with one arrow?" /p>
“One arrow pierces armor.” Rurik further emphasized.
Rurik repeated it three times in a row. Kagan was sure that he heard correctly, but Prince Rus’s description was clearly a fantasy.
The quality of Pecheneg's iron plate armor is naturally not good due to material limitations. A cavalryman wears hard cowhide armor on the inside and armor on the outside. Such a warrior can prevent Stop the enemy cavalry archer from riding in the face and shoot! Of course, ordinary cavalry cannot have such luxurious equipment. As the top nobleman of the Khan family, Kagan's private soldiers are naturally equipped with a good set of armor.
Kagan has plenty of self-confidence, and this happens to be an opportunity to prove the superiority of Pecheneg's armor.
"Okay! I'll let my subordinates wear leather armor and then iron plate armor. Just shoot at him. If you can penetrate him, I lose."
p>What do you mean by such reckless words and the King of Qin raising the cauldron? Before Rurik could persuade him, Kagan called out to his subordinates like a demon. Immediately, an extremely proud Pecheneg warrior stood up, patting his chest and claiming that his armor was invincible.
Rurik just glanced at it and sighed in his heart. If you look closely at the so-called armor-piercing armor, it looks like iron sheets connected in series, just like the scales of a carp stacked closely. But even so, can it withstand the blow of a carbon steel armor-piercing arrow?
"This...isn't appropriate! If I accidentally kill your subordinates, I will blame myself very much."
"Brother, are you cowardly?" , Kagan laughed.
Soon, there was a madman who quickly put on his leather armor and then his armor, and stood on the snow like a horse.
The nobles want to play a "game" and put themselves in the position of slave warriors. This is a shortcut to changing their destiny. As the saying goes, wealth can be gained through danger, and some guys just want to try on body armor. , which is tantamount to expressing loyalty to the future Khan Kagan.
Look at the Pecheneg warrior wearing armor and walking on horseback. He is already dreaming of becoming a general under the Khan in the future.
This person is so proactive. What is it if it’s not provocation? !
Rurik was too lazy to be humble anymore, stamped his feet vigorously, with murderous intent in his heart, and said bluntly in Slavic that they could understand: "Warrior! You may die! You could not die, all this It's all your own choice. I respect you as a man. If you die, I will bury you in our Russian warrior cemetery."
Look at the Pecheneg warrior punching you with his fists. Chest: "This is my destiny, come on! It is also my honor to be killed by Rus Khan. However, my noble armor can stop your noble arrows."
Rurik again Looking at Kagan's resolute and extremely expectant eyes, he kept a distance of about twenty meters from the person who was trying to test the arrow. He half-knelt down and held the steel-arm crossbow, took aim and pulled the trigger.
With a crisp swish, the slender cone head of the sharp carbon steel armor-piercing arrow directly penetrated the man's abdomen, or most of the arrow cluster, which was about 10cm, was buried in it.
The man screamed loudly and was knocked down by the powerful kinetic energy. Then he held his stomach and rolled on the ground, with blood oozing out.
Kagan was stunned by all this, and the onlookers rushed forward. Even Rurik dropped his crossbow.
Kagan knelt down in a hurry and was shocked by the scene in front of him. The long and narrow arrow cluster was almost completely buried in it. It ignored the iron pieces and leather armor and penetrated deeply into the warrior's belly.
"I have shown mercy." Rurik came up and said with a sullen face, "If I had shot his heart, he would have died."
"You !" Kagan gritted his teeth, "You might as well kill him directly. Hit him in the stomach, and he will die in extreme pain from a severe fever."
At this moment, only the painful Pei could be heard. The Cheneg warrior shouted: "Kill me. I lost, I should die!"
This arrow'sThe successful armor-breaking was an indescribable shock to Kagan. He actually pulled out his meat-cutting knife and wanted to stab his subordinate's neck severely to complete his "willingness to admit defeat". However, he clearly grasped the handle of the knife tightly and was still an assistant. Instead, he turned his face sideways: "Rurik, you..."
"Could you let me kill him?"
" Is that okay? He is a reckless man, and I want him to live. You can give him death, or you can give him life!" "Yes," Rurik remained calm. He has some advanced medical skills, but whether he can survive depends on..."
Rurik paused deliberately, then suddenly had an idea and said deliberately: "You are already in Odin's domain, this person can Whether you survive depends on God's will. Kagan, you and I continue to trade, and you have seen the power of this crossbow, so I will give it to you."
On the other hand, Kagan, he. There was no longer joy in getting the killer weapon, but deep shock. How could he be happy in the face of this weapon that destroyed his brothers' faith in armored defense?
While shivering, he was thankful that the Principality of Rus was in the far north, and it would take three months to reach Rus at the fastest! I am glad that Pecheneg and Rus are in a substantial alliance, and I am glad that I and the Prince of Rus are sworn brothers.
The person who shot them might have created a rift in the newly established friendship. Judging from Kagan's subsequent shocking performance, Rurik could see that this man actually valued himself. subordinates, even though they are all slave warriors. This seems to be the right choice to show mercy.
Soon, the exchange of crossbows for recurve bows was successfully completed.
Maybe a reckless man's act of testing his own arrows can turn into a good thing?
There is currently no real hospital in the Principality of Rus, and the priests take on the work of doctors and nurses.
Ordinary people do not encounter severe colds on weekdays. The most common one is diarrhea caused by eating bad food. With the improvement of the health level of the entire principality, diseases that were common in the past have been greatly reduced, the infant mortality rate has plummeted, and the life span of the elderly is still increasing.
As people have to perform heavy physical labor, the number of people seeking medical treatment for bruises and injuries has increased.
In the era when the Ross tribe lived in the fjord, the priests were responsible for the work of treating diseases. Of course, that kind of treatment was mixed with too many witchcraft elements. Whether it had to be treated mainly depended on luck.
The situation has changed significantly now!
Because the Principality of Rus has set off a revolution in surgery! In principle, it is no longer the same routine as the Frankish Kingdom.