"You've noticed it too? We Xiongnu are like the falcons and hounds of the Tianri, kept by them. Once we lose our usefulness, they'll turn and destroy us, and we lack their profound resource reserves!" Braidia said worriedly.
Attila's brow was also tightly furrowed.
"The Tianri are far stronger than we imagine, even superior to Da Qian. They are adept at disguise, exploiting the conflicts between the various nations on this continent, and striking when the opportunity arises. If Da Qian hadn't had the An Guo Hou and General Tian emerge, they would likely have been infiltrated by the Tianri amidst the chaos, along with the Barbarians, Xianbei, and Da Liang, utterly reducing them to scorched earth... Do you know why I was so determined to push all the way to the capital of the Western Roman Empire?"
Seeing Braidia's confusion, Attila sighed. "Because that is the most suitable region for Yew wood. Da Qian used tens of thousands of Yew longbows to sweep across the land. We must control enough Yew wood. Even if we cannot craft weapons of the same quality as Da Qian's longbows, we must at least prevent the Tianri and Da Qian from obtaining it! Only by letting the Tianri and Da Qian exhaust each other will we have a chance to grow stronger!"
As he spoke, Attila looked south again.
"I hear that Saladin of the Southern Dynasty is a monarch with the demeanor of a knight. They bear a deep enmity towards the Tianri, and we might be able to cooperate with them in secret, lest we be betrayed by the Tianri and repeat the fate of the Roman, Persian, and Arab civilizations. Braidia, you will bear the heavy responsibility of reconciling the Xiongnu with the Ayyubid dynasty."
Having witnessed the terror and cunning of the Tianri, the supreme rulers of both great powers simultaneously dispatched envoys to each other, discussing reconciliation and a joint response to the threat posed by the Tianri.
While Liang Xiao was consoling the people in the area of fallen heroes, similar consolations were being offered to the families of fallen and disabled soldiers across the country on the same day. The common people were all moved by gratitude.
Upon returning to the Marquis's mansion, Liang Xiao found Zhang Yang, Huang Xing, and high-ranking officials from the Ministry of Works waiting for him, each holding a stack of blueprints.
"An Guo Hou, regarding the bow and arrow schematics you provided, we have conducted detailed discussions, improvements, and trial production, and have roughly determined the most suitable modifications!"
They all presented their blueprints to Liang Xiao for review.
Liang Xiao's eyes lit up as he read through the diagrams and text. "Truly, the Ministry of Works gathers the most brilliant talents in the land!"
The composite bow concept he had provided, after continuous improvements by Zhang Yang and others, had become almost indistinguishable from the Qing bows he remembered!
Liang Xiao was not familiar with the specific manufacturing methods of Qing bows, as their materials and craftsmanship were far more complex than those of longbows. And now, the Ministry of Works had unexpectedly managed to replicate it?
The structure of the bow was symmetrical from the center outwards, consisting of the grip, limbs, nocks, and tips. The grip was wooden, overlaid with warm wood and sharkskin. The core of the limbs was bamboo or wood, faced with ox horn or sheep horn, and backed with sinew or deer tendon. The string rests were made of bone or wood. The tips were wooden, with horn pieces embedded in the center. The bowstrings were divided into three types: leather, silk, and sinew.
The entire bow was massive, with long tips and embedded horn pieces, and distinct string rests. The large body of the bow allowed for increased propulsion force and distance to the arrow with minimal limb deformation. While the long tips increased the load on the limbs, the leverage effect was more pronounced, making it more suitable for heavy arrows. The embedded horn pieces not only reinforced the tips but also reduced their weight.
Compared to other types of bows, the string rests on this bow were exceptionally large, increasing the burden on the limbs but effectively protecting them and mitigating the impact of the string on the limbs. They also created an equivalent limb transformation effect when the archer drew the bow, making it easier for the archer to maintain their shooting posture after drawing a heavy bow.
In terms of size, this bow measured up to 1.6 meters, approaching the 1.8 meters of a longbow. Its material usage was also more complex than a longbow, and its body was much heavier.
However, due to its heavier construction, this bow could use heavy arrows, ensuring a certain level of efficiency!
Heavy arrows had less than ideal departure speeds. Used at close range, the arrow's speed and kinetic energy loss were minimal, and its armor-piercing capability was stronger.
In the future, through the reasonable tactical coordination of this bow with longbows and divine arm crossbows, both close, medium, and long-range engagements could be covered, granting Da Qian's crossbows sufficient penetration and lethality, and fully leveraging the effectiveness of the weapons!
The most crucial point: although the materials for this bow were complex, it did not require Yew wood to be made, greatly alleviating the pressure on Da Qian's armament reform!
The reason such composite bows were not popular in ancient Western regions was largely due to the humid climate, which caused them significant wear and tear, making them far less practical than longbows.
"We put immense effort into studying this item. Even the Minister of War and the Vice-Minister of War participated in the design. After half a year of debates and trial production, we finally determined the current bow shape, and the materials are not difficult to find," Huang Xing sighed.
"Are there any finished products?" Liang Xiao asked urgently.
Huang Xing then signaled to a Shadow Guard holding a wooden box behind him.
Due to the critical nature of armament reform, which was a state secret, Xiao Qing had specifically arranged for Shadow Guards to monitor it to prevent leaks.
The Shadow Guard opened the wooden box and presented the bow.
"This concept was provided by An Guo Hou. Perhaps An Guo Hou could give it a name?" Huang Xing proposed, and everyone agreed.
Liang Xiao pondered for a moment. Considering it inconvenient to explain both Qing bows and Manchu bows, he finally smiled and said, "Let's call it the Da Qian Bow!"
Simple and direct, everyone was delighted.
Liang Xiao immediately fetched a longbow from the Marquis's mansion for comparison with the Da Qian Bow.
Two suits of mail were laid out twenty zhang away. Liang Xiao nocked an arrow and shot one from each bow, hitting the mail directly.
"Marquis, both have been pierced!"
Liang Xiao moved to forty-five zhang away and nocked another arrow.
"Marquis! Both are still pierced!"
Liang Xiao further increased the distance to over sixty-six zhang, and they were still pierced!
Zhang Yang, Huang Xing, and the others exchanged smiles, their pride evident.
Although the longbow was named such, the soldiers privately called it the "An Guo Bow" in commemoration of Liang Xiao bringing this weapon to Da Qian.
The Ministry of Works, by pooling everyone's wisdom, had finally improved upon Liang Xiao's concept, worthy of the nation.
Yue Qingtian, Yue Wenxin, and others watching from the side were overjoyed: Yew wood was running out. If this bow could be mass-produced, would it be too much to ask that those of us who can draw longbows be equipped with a Da Qian Bow each?
Longbows were precious armaments, reserved for professional longbowmen and generals.
What general didn't wish to possess a set of prized bows and swift horses!
"It seems that ordinary mail cannot withstand the arrows from either bow within their effective range," Liang Xiao mused, then ordered someone to retrieve two sets of infantry armor from the armory.
Everyone watched with anticipation as Liang Xiao nocked an arrow and shot one from each bow towards the infantry armor positioned seventy zhang away.
"Marquis! Both only penetrated one layer and bounced off the second piece of armor!"
After Yue Qingtian reported, everyone was both surprised and delighted.
Were the power of both bows truly so similar?
Liang Xiao then had the two sets of infantry armor placed thirty zhang away, and shot one arrow from each bow.
"An Guo Hou! The longbow still only penetrated one layer of iron armor! However, the Da Qian Bow has penetrated two layers!!"