Crusader Kings: Prisoners of War.

Chapter 143 Shooter
Almost all auxiliary soldiers were envious of the treatment of regular Roman legionnaires. Not only was the income not low, but there were also various invisible or tangible welfare benefits and preferential policies. Even the Roman Empire could not support too many such soldiers and could only go the elite route.

Putting aside the fact that the productivity level in this time and space is much higher, the Roman Empire with 50 million people in another time and space could only afford 150,000 legionaries and 150,000 supporting auxiliary infantry. The number of troops and population in this time and space is relatively larger, but it is not luxurious enough to give preferential treatment to the auxiliary infantry.

Except for those auxiliary soldiers who were fighting for Roman citizenship, most of the remaining auxiliary soldiers were local and took things as they came. They usually served near their hometowns, and were not deployed all over the world like Roman legionaries, who might be stationed on the Nile this year and on the Rhine next year.

As far as the ancient world is concerned, examples of legionnaires are actually very rare. Only a few countries have the need to guard their borders, and only a few countries can afford to maintain elite standing armies.

There is one thing that we have to admit even if we don't like it - a system that has lasted for a long time, even if there are many unreasonable aspects, must have certain rationality in some aspects. The same is true of the Roman auxiliary soldier system. Although the combat effectiveness is low and the quality is unstable, it is low-cost and can steadily turn some of the high-quality young and middle-aged people who serve into Roman citizens, which still has many advantages. The maintenance of those standing armies has already made the empire's financial situation overwhelmed. In bad years, the emperor or wealthy senators sometimes have to use their private property to subsidize the treasury to maintain it.

Orville believed that the Roman Empire's military expenditure was too high and that they should find ways to reduce it appropriately. Naturally, he would not have the crazy idea of ​​turning all the auxiliary soldiers into standing troops. The main force of the auxiliary army should still be based on these bulk troops. After all, they were cheap and large. He only wanted to raise an elite auxiliary force that could follow the legionnaires in their battles and perform stably.

Such troops already existed in Egypt, Greece, and North Africa. He wanted to replicate a more professional and elite example in Gaul, and through this army, make certain generals within the Roman Empire see the necessity of military reform.

The locals did not have a good impression of the Romans, even though Jeanna, Gilles Dress and others tried their best to reconcile the conflict. However, Orville and Tia both believed that a big reward would attract brave men, and if they could not recruit people, they should look for the reason on their side, perhaps because they did not pay enough or the treatment was not good enough.

They didn't have much money in their pockets, but they still had a lot of confiscated farms. In order to stimulate the locals to join the army, he discussed with Tia and announced that they would recruit an excellent special auxiliary army. The service period would be shortened from 25 years to 15 years. In addition to the routine granting of citizenship and issuing certificates of merit, these people could also participate in the distribution of spoils and get a piece of land when they retired. The land was divided from the nobles' farms, and each piece was large enough for a family to farm and live.

After the news spread, many more people came to sign up. Orville even had the spare time to select them. He screened out 2,000 people, most of whom had a basic knowledge of archery. These were the seeds of his archery corps.

…………

“So this is your final product?”

Tia held a crossbow in her hand. This was not the first time this kind of weapon appeared in the Mediterranean, but it was still quite new. Unlike the steel crossbows of later Europe, this was a wooden composite crossbow. This kind of weapon was also popular in Europe for a short period of time. It was said to be influenced by nomadic peoples or Persians from the East.

"After absorbing the experience of making those horn bows, you should know the difference between this thing and bows and arrows. For the Romans who don't like archery, this thing is much easier to use than a bow. Ordinary archers will start to decline after shooting seven or eight arrows. If you use your feet or a pulley to string the crossbow, you may not be very tired even if you shoot a pot of arrows." After trying a pot of arrows, Tia also found the advantages: "In other words, if a novice who has never shot an arrow practices for a short time, this crossbow can almost form combat effectiveness. The accuracy and durability can be improved compared to bows and arrows, right?"

"That's probably true, but it's a bit redundant for elite archers. In the time it takes a crossbow to shoot two arrows, a fast archer can shoot six or seven arrows or even more. As long as the archer is not exhausted, the shooting speed of the two sides cannot be compared. Even if accuracy is not that important in a military formation, there will still be a gap."

As for the question of which is better, the bow or the crossbow, Orville is more inclined to believe that there is a winner between them. At least the bow's throwing ability and shooting speed are unmatched by the crossbow. The crossbow is at a disadvantage in a duel, but the biggest advantage of the crossbow is that it has a low threshold and a high lower limit.

To take an extreme example, when modern people demonstrate their slingshot skills, they have hit normal targets nearly 200 meters away. This range is scarier than many of the crossbows in Orville's hands, but it does not prevent most slingers from only being able to throw stones 20 to 30 meters away, and the accuracy is still touchingly contrary to the price of the leather rope.

The army is not a place to display personal martial arts. It would be a good thing if everyone could perform with similar results. Crossbows can meet this requirement.

If Rome was a civilization with a strong archery tradition, they probably would not have thought much of these things, but the problem is that they don't have it. People have always used bows and arrows as toys for hunting and entertainment rather than weapons for combat and killing. Their archery skills are not necessarily much better than those of their cavalry, so it is better to use something that is guaranteed to be useful.

Tia is well aware of this: "This is not a problem for us, because we don't have many high-quality shooters. I am more concerned about how many pounds this thing can be, how far it can shoot, and how many can be made each month. This is for use in the military camp, not just for fun."

"It doesn't affect portability. It's not convenient for marching or fighting, but it's not troublesome either. The range is about 100 meters, and it can penetrate some linen armor. At 70 meters, it can penetrate the legionnaires' large shields. The effect is more promising within 40 meters. I believe this thing has great potential. The output is not very good. Among the craftsmen, only a few of them, the masters I brought from Rome, can make crossbows. It takes time to promote the technology. We can equip about 500 people in half a year. It should be better after the technology is promoted."

"That sounds good, but there's one question. How much does it cost?"

"It's not cheap but it's not outrageously expensive either. The material cost is still affordable. I'm trying to simplify the production process to reduce costs, but it will take time."

(End of this chapter)