When Liu Tan was forced to cheat during the spring hunt, he once thought about using a crossbow, but he quickly gave up the idea.

In terms of lethality, the hand crossbow is indeed more powerful, but the problem is that the range of the bow depends on the person's arm strength, while the range of the crossbow depends largely on its body size.

In fact, crossbows already exist today, but they are called tread crossbows. The heavy cavalry of the Han Dynasty were equipped with tread crossbows. The range of tread crossbows was not short, about 400 meters, while the range of bows and arrows is only about 300 meters at most.

This is also why the Han heavy cavalry was able to resist the Xiongnu light cavalry.

But if you want to change the foot crossbow into a hand crossbow, it will not have such a range.

The range of a hand crossbow is very short. Within two hundred meters, it is the king among cold weapons. Beyond two hundred meters, it is a weakling, not even as good as a bow and arrow.

However, no matter what weapon, it must be used according to the occasion. If it is used appropriately, it will naturally be more effective.

Liu Tan slammed the table and decided that it was time to give the Gongshu family some action.

The Gongshu family had previously sent people to follow him all the way to the Northern Border Country, and the adjustment knobs for the sights and other items were also made in the Northern Border Country. Liu Tan had been busy with other things before and had no business to contact them, so he didn't know what the people of the Gongshu family were like.

After thinking about it, he simply asked someone to notify the Gongshu family and stated his requirements. The most important thing about a crossbow is portability, so the size cannot exceed half an arm. On this basis, the range is as far as possible.

Liu Tan has discovered the benefits of having these mechanical families with him. He doesn't need to understand everything from scratch. He only needs to see what is not good enough after he has made it, and then make improvements.

He wrote down his requirements as he thought. The previous requirements were actually all good. They simply asked Gongshu's people to shrink the crossbow so that it could be used by one person. As for the specific standards, he simply set a few more and asked them to make an arm crossbow if possible.

After he finished writing it, he felt that these requirements were quite devilish.

Just imagine if he was Party B and met Party A like this, he would want to commit suicide at any moment.

However, he is now a pressure-free party A, and he is very happy to give orders without having to meet with Gongshujia's people in person.

However, in order to prevent the Gongshu family from getting angry and defecting, Liu Tan specifically instructed: "The Gongshu family can do this or not. Let them decide for themselves. My requirements are clearly written here."

Miao Rui said, "Your Highness is good in everything, but he's too kind. How can they say no?"

Liu Tanxin said, "Don't underestimate the abilities of these technical emperors. Even if the deal fails, they still have their humanity and righteousness. It's up to them to do it or not. If they don't want to do it, they can do it themselves. If they are forced to leave, it's fine if they go to other princes or return to Chang'an. But if they get impulsive and run to the Huns, he will have no place to cry."

It’s just that Liu Tan thought a lot but he didn’t think about the enthusiasm of Gongshu’s family, which had been suppressed for a long time.

These people are considered capable people in the family. The head of the Gongshu family will definitely not follow Liu Tan easily. Their family's habit has never been to put all eggs in one basket.

For princes who are worth investing in, then send the more capable people from your own family. For those who are useless or do not value mechanical skills, then just send a disciple from a side branch to see if there are any opportunities.

However, the head of the Gongshu family always stayed in Chang'an.

These children of the Gongshu family had homework to do every day when they were in Chang'an. Things like mechanical engineering require a good feel for the hands, and if you don't do it often, you will lose your touch.

As a result, after they arrived in the Northern Kingdom, the King of the North seemed to have forgotten them except for being a sight.

Oh, they were given a lot of rewards after making the sight. Those rewards were even enough for them to buy a large piece of land in Shuofang City and build their own houses.

Apart from this, there is nothing else. They have nothing to do every day, so they start to study whether to put some mechanisms in the house and what kind of mechanisms to put.

They had argued many times over this trivial matter, and finally decided to put the mechanism in the place where books and some mechanism parts were stored, and each person could decide for himself in his own room.

Then they started to discuss what mechanisms were stored in the study and warehouse.

It was called a discussion, but it was actually a competition. Everyone thought that the mechanism they designed was the best, so they just installed it and tried it out.

The young man from the Gongshu family who led the team this time was not very old. Gongshu Yi was thirty years old, but he was obviously unable to control his younger brothers and sisters. Fortunately, Liu Tan had a new task, otherwise he felt that in a few days, the people sent by their Gongshu family would suffer non-combat casualties.

Yu Liutan's demands were strict, and Gongshu Yi was even happier to see them. "Anyway, those little bastards are more energetic than the other. Aren't you awesome? Aren't you all indomitable? Come on, I'll give you a chance to shine."

Gongshu Yi happily announced the request and said, "Think carefully! This is the first thing the Northern King has asked us to do since arriving in the Northern Kingdom. If we mess it up, not only will the Northern King be displeased, but our family will definitely punish you. You might even die here in the future."

Gongshu Yi's younger brother, Gongshu Lang, whispered, "I think Shuofang City is much better than Chang'an City."

Gongshu Yi raised his hand expressionlessly and patted Gongshu Lang on the head: "What's good about that? It's good that your parents aren't here to control you, right?"

Gongshu Lang chuckled. Their cousin, a very lively young lady, also said, "Although Shuofang is not as prosperous as Chang'an, the people here are much better."

Gongshu Yi didn't say anything, he knew what his cousin meant.

Chang'an City was a very treacherous place. The people you passed by on the street might be the family members of some high-ranking official or noble. Everyone had to be careful in their lives, and there were often people who flattered the powerful and looked down on the weak. The Gongshu family was not as good as the rich, but better than the poor, but they had also been despised.

Even if you help others, many people still think that they are asking for something from you and act as if it is their due.

But Shuofang City is different. The people here know how to be grateful and are particularly tenacious. The most important thing is that the King of the North has too many creative ideas. The newly built capital looks more orderly and cleaner than Chang'an.

Gongshu Yi also liked Shuofang City more than Chang'an.

"Since you all like this place and want to stay here, then work hard. If we can't make this thing, even if His Majesty the King of the North doesn't blame us, do you still have the nerve to stay here?"

The other people thought the same thing, as this was their first mission after arriving in the Northern Territory.

So Gongshujia became quiet for a rare moment, waiting for Gongshu Yi to assign them tasks.

After Gongshu Yi read out all of Liu Tan's requirements, the whole audience fell silent. Everyone looked at each other, and saw confusion in Fang's eyes.

Gongshu Yi smiled and asked, "What's wrong? Why are you all so listless? Weren't you rubbing your hands together and eager to try just now?"

Gongshu Lang scratched his head and said, "I know about crossbows, but... I haven't learned how to make them. Have you learned how to make them, brother?"

Gongshu Yi's smile froze on his face. So the question was... he had never learned it either!

It is said that the Gongshu family's mechanical devices are highly offensive. In fact, after so many years since the founding of the Han Dynasty, they have rarely been able to come into contact with such weapons and mechanisms.

Among ordinary people, you can own swords, knives, and bows, but you are absolutely not allowed to have a crossbow. If you find one in your home, it will be considered as treason.

Those who could make and repair tread crossbows were official craftsmen, who were usually slaves under strict supervision.

No matter what, the Gongshu family had never fallen to the point of becoming slaves, so basically not many people in the Gongshu family knew how to make a tread crossbow.

The people of Gongshu's family did not dare to teach these things to their children. If they did, and the children did something without knowing the seriousness of the matter, they would be punished by killing all nine generations of their family.

Gongshu Lang said, "My family's library should still have blueprints of the Qin crossbow. Perhaps..."

Gongshu Yi shook his head and said, "Let's not even talk about whether our family is willing to give us the blueprints. Just the distance is so great, and the round trip will take a lot of time. We can't keep His Royal Highness the King of the Northern Territory waiting any longer. Not to mention the unsafe journey. If someone kidnaps us and uses us, even if we all die, it won't be enough to put an end to the matter."

Young Lady Gongshu said, "In that case, let's go and ask His Highness to show us the general's treadle crossbow. Otherwise, we don't even know how to make a treadle crossbow, so how can we make a hand crossbow?"

Gongshu Yi was also a little worried: "This is the only way."

He turned around and carefully went to talk to the eunuch in the palace who was in charge of contacting him.

The eunuch treated them well, but he did not agree immediately. He just said that he would apply.

After all, it's a serious matter.

Liu Tan hadn't expected the Gongshu family to not know how to make a treadle crossbow, but after thinking about it, it wasn't surprising. He hesitated for a moment and said, "We can show them, but from now on, Gongshu family members will be restricted from entering or leaving the Northern Border. They must have a legitimate reason and permission before they can, and they can't leave together. If they agree, let them go and see."

Liu Tan was also worried that Gongshu's people would see the tread crossbow and spread the method of making it.

The Huns did not necessarily need to make tread crossbows. Their strength lay in light cavalry, and it was impossible for them to abandon their own characteristics to learn from the Han. However, after they knew the process of making tread crossbows, they could definitely find their shortcomings.

They don't have to learn, they just have to destroy.

Gongshu Yi and others agreed readily. They were all homebodies and would not leave the house for many days except to buy necessary daily necessities and materials.

Liu Tan’s request was nothing to them.

After they agreed, they were naturally arranged to visit the tread crossbow.

Out of curiosity, Liu Tan followed over to take a look.

It was the first time for several people from the Gongshu family to see Liu Tan. Apart from sighing at the good looks of the King of the Northern Territory, they didn't even look at Liu Tan again. In their eyes, Ta Nu was probably more beautiful than Liu Tan.

However, after seeing the treadle crossbow, they were all silent. Today's treadle crossbows are about a person's height. How can such a huge thing be reduced to the size of an arm? The most important thing is that the force of the treadle crossbow is exerted by the foot, which means that the crossbowman basically uses the whole body to fire.

As for a hand crossbow, it is impossible to use the whole body's strength due to its size, so the entire firing method must be changed accordingly.

So the question is what launch method to use?

After Liu Tan walked around the treadle crossbow, he stretched out his hand to pluck the bowstring. He happened to hear Gongshu Yi and the others practicing how to fire the hand crossbow. After listening for a while, he couldn't help but say, "Wouldn't it be better to make a trigger?"

The Gongshu family members all looked up at him, and Gongshu Yi even asked, "Your Highness, what is a trigger?"

Liu Tan was stunned for a moment, then he remembered, oh, triggers haven't appeared in those days.