Crusader Kings: Prisoners of War.

Chapter 82: Seize the Young Master?

When it comes to European bows and arrows, many people's first impression should be single wooden bows such as the English longbow, and they further believe that most Europeans use this relatively primitive single bow in combat. In fact, this statement is not very comprehensive. The British use this kind of wooden bow more because of their own national conditions.

Everyone knows that London, England is a foggy city with a very humid climate. Not to mention whether the British have the technology to make horn-siphon composite bows, the climate forces them to make do with wooden bows. The horn-siphon composite bows are easily affected by moisture here, and they did not have the corresponding moisture-proof technology at that time, so using a single wooden bow was a helpless move.

Besides, single-body bows have many disadvantages, but the only thing that is best about them is that they are cheap. If the materials are available, any trained carpenter can make them in batches, and it won’t take too long.

At least the Romans had the ability to make horn bows, and they did equip themselves with these bows in combat, but compared to the crossbow technology of a certain Eastern country, they lacked two key technologies, which made the upper limit of their bows and crossbows relatively lower.

It is generally believed that making a good tendon-horn composite bow requires "six materials", namely trunk, horn, tendon, glue, silk, and lacquer. In direct terms, they are wood, animal horn, tendon, animal glue, raw silk, and lacquer.

Before Byzantium introduced silkworm breeding, Europe had to import all its raw silk, and Byzantium's raw silk production was not very high. Raw silk was more expensive than gold in Europe, so who would be so extravagant as to wrap silk around bows and crossbows? They could only use animal tendons and other things as a substitute. The two are not comparable in strength, and tendons can only increase the strength of crossbows to a limited extent.

The Mediterranean climate is hot and humid, and the tendon-horn composite bow is easily affected by moisture and difficult to maintain. There is no lacquer tree in Europe, so raw lacquer cannot be produced. Raw lacquer is not only beautiful when applied, but also has excellent material properties - corrosion resistance, wear resistance, acid resistance, solvent resistance, heat resistance, and water resistance. Before modern chemistry began to take off, this was almost the best coating that could be found.

Originally, people in the Mediterranean did not like to use bows and crossbows because of the terrain and climate. The culture brought by the Greeks also believed that bows and arrows were weapons for cowards and not as manly as spears. In addition, Europe lacked two key materials, raw silk and lacquer. Due to these congenital deficiencies and little research, the performance of bows and crossbows was obviously weaker than that of the East for a long time.

The bows and arrows in Orville's hand were his test products. He bought raw lacquer and raw silk from the East from profiteers, and then made these bows according to the Eastern technical process, and also used some "strengthening processes", and spared no effort in the materials.

The wood he used was Spanish yew, which was the best wood for making bows in Europe and even the world in later generations. Yew has good elasticity, strong toughness, low density, is light and easy to use, and Spanish yew has the best texture among them.

Although English longbowmen are very famous, the best material for their longbows is yew, but the best place of production of these yew trees is not Britain but Spain. These trees are very old, generally over 70 years old, and the location is chosen to be the best that can be found. There was probably no more suitable material before the industrial age.

The animal glue he used was the best fish glue that was determined after a large number of experiments in later generations. Moreover, it was made from the most suitable fish maw. In this regard, Europe had more or less an advantage - there were always big fish in the Mediterranean, and fish maw was not so scarce and difficult to find that it was easier to obtain.

Anyway, it is confirmed that it is not a mass-produced product, so we should make it as good as possible. Orville is willing to spend money, so there is no need to save a little on experimental technology.

Domitia was holding a short bow with a very low poundage of only 20 pounds. It was made specifically for her by Orville. Considering her age and gender, she really couldn't pull it with something too heavy or too formal. This poundage was just right, and she had to have practiced archery systematically before she could do it.

He shot five arrows in a row, and except for the first one which was a little off, the remaining four arrows all hit the target forty meters away. There are not so many sharpshooters who can hit the target through a hundred paces in reality. This distance and accuracy are already very good. For ordinary enthusiasts shooting at targets in archery halls, ten meters or eighteen meters is the norm, and thirty meters is considered a more advanced level.

From this point of view, Domitia was not lying. She was indeed "very talented" in archery and was suitable for this career.

Domitia was very surprised after repeatedly studying the short bow in her hand, which made Orville a little proud. It was not in vain that she spent so much money. "Is it useful?"

Domitia agreed: "I feel different when I pick it up. It is really a very useful thing. It is light and resilient. I don't feel too tired after shooting more than a dozen arrows. It seems to be quite powerful. Is this something the Parthians have?"

"I learned this from a country further east, and I made some improvements. If you like it, I'll give it to you. If you want to change your bow later, tell me and I'll get you a more powerful bow.

But you have to promise me one thing. Don't get angry with your father and sister when you go back today. They have a lot to do today. I will apologize to you on their behalf. How about that?"

With new toys to play with and Orville hanging out with Domitia for a long time, she had almost calmed down. After hearing this, she still couldn't resist the temptation and agreed to Orville's request.

"Okay, I promise you."

While Domitia was playing with her new toy, Belisarius, out of curiosity, tried it out after obtaining Orville's permission. He used an 80-pound bow, a real weapon that could penetrate armor and kill people on the battlefield.

After a few test shots, Belisarius also felt the difference. The power, range and weight were all optimized. His expression became more serious. "Your Highness, this new technology can greatly enhance the long-range capabilities of our troops. Although it may be a bit presumptuous of me to say this, I still think you should discuss with His Majesty the Emperor to see if these technologies can be promoted."

Orville smiled and shook his head, then asked an irrelevant question: "How much do you make a year?"

Belisarius was confused but answered truthfully: "I am a centurion of the Guards. My salary is three times that of an ordinary centurion. With some subsidies, my annual income is about 10,000 dinars."

"The bow in your hand cost me about three thousand dinars for the materials alone, not to mention the labor costs of a large number of craftsmen."

"Mr. Duo?!" Belisarius was also shocked.

An ordinary soldier earns 225 dinars a year, which is considered middle or upper middle income, but buying the materials for this bow would require them to go without food and drink for almost 13 years, not counting the labor cost and the time cost of making the bow. If these are taken into account, selling it for or dinars is not a lot at all, and it is impossible to sell it for tens of thousands of dinars at a higher price.

This is no longer the price that weapons should be priced at; it is designed to be a luxury product.

(End of this chapter)