Liu Che narrowed his eyes and noticed this problem, but he didn't say anything, just waited quietly.
The crossbowmen raised their crossbows after receiving the order. Only then did everyone realize that this weapon, which looked familiar yet a little strange, seemed to be used differently from a bow.
After drawing the bowstring, all crossbowmen quickly aimed at their targets and shot instantly after receiving the order.
Li Ling raised his body slightly, stretched his neck, and after reading it, he said with wide eyes, "Huh? Am I seeing things? Did those arrows go straight through the target?"
In fact, it wasn't just him. Others also had good eyesight. In an instant, the discussion became much louder than before.
Liu Tan asked someone to bring up the target, and sure enough, there was a hole in the center of the target, but the arrow was not stuck on it.
Even Liu Che was a little surprised. He turned to look at Liu Tan and asked, "What's the approximate distance to the target?"
Liu Tan calculated in his mind: "About fifteen feet."
That's about fifty meters. In fact, the crossbow is very powerful within two hundred meters, but it can't penetrate the target directly like this, so Liu Tan placed the target closer for artistic effect.
Li Ling couldn't help swallowing his saliva. A target could be penetrated at a distance of fifteen feet. If it were a human, it could be killed with one shot from twenty or thirty feet away!
At this time, Liu Tan had someone bring a crossbow and placed it on Liu Che's desk.
Liu Che reached out and picked up the crossbow. It felt extremely heavy in his hand. He turned around and asked, "Is it made of bronze?"
"Yes." Liu Tan said, "I originally wanted to use iron, but the craftsmanship of iron is not as good as bronze, so I will use bronze for now."
Of course, the main reason is that the cost of iron is too high. Although this crossbow is made of bronze, other metals are actually added in the middle, so the overall price is not that high.
In addition, bronze craftsmanship is more sophisticated, so bronze is easier to make after all the calculations.
Anyway, it doesn’t affect the performance of the crossbow, so just keep it bronze.
Liu Che looked at the trigger curiously and said, "What's this?"
Liu Tan explained, "This is where you control the bowstring. After you string the bow and aim, you can shoot the arrow by simply pressing this button."
As he spoke, he pulled the bowstring. After Liu Che pressed the trigger somewhat unexpertly, the string quickly returned to its original position.
After looking at it, he smiled and said, "It's somewhat similar to a tread crossbow."
Liu Tan said: "It is modified from the tread crossbow."
Liu Che put down the crossbow. It was still quite heavy and he couldn't bear holding it in his hand all the time.
Li Ling's eyes lit up as he looked at the crossbow.
Liu Tan saw this but said nothing. Liu Che asked, "Is the range of the gun limited to this far?"
Liu Tan said, "It's fine within sixty feet. Any further away, the power will decrease slightly."
Liu Che pondered: "Not enough." Then he asked: "Is it not yet completed?"
According to Liu Che's understanding of Liu Tan, this distance could not satisfy him.
Liu Tan whispered, "No, if you want a longer range, you can modify it, but this...is not originally intended for combat."
Liu Che: "Oh?"
Liu Tan said, "Well...isn't the mutual trade opening soon? Previously, because we couldn't find common ground while reserving differences, we had to separate from the Xiongnu market. But even if we separate, we still need to go there to buy things. Father knows that the Xiongnu are all very agile and have many weapons. It might be dangerous for our merchants to go there. I want to send the elite regiment to set up an escort agency first. We can accept commissions and escort these merchants to do business. In that situation, the distance is usually close, and bows are not very convenient. So... we invented the crossbow."
Li Ling's eyes widened when he heard this. He never expected that the crossbow was made in this way?
I couldn't help but think: The legend in Chang'an that the King of the North is a first-rate businessman is indeed true.
Liu Che didn't know what expression to make at this time. The crossbow was really good. Although the shooting range was not long enough, it was powerful and could always be used.
And this is just a new product, so there is still room for improvement.
But Liu Che never expected that the reason for making the crossbow was so... so full of the smell of money.
Although Liu Tan said that he was protecting the Han merchants, in fact, if it was not for making money, why would he send the elite group?
At this time, as the disgust was coming to an end, the elite regiment withdrew in order. Liu Che looked at these soldiers, each with his chest held high and his body straight, looking full of energy and spirit. When he thought that Liu Tan actually wanted them to be bodyguards, he couldn't help feeling a little depressed.
After Liu Tan finished speaking, he saw that Liu Che's expression was not very good, and his heart suddenly skipped a beat. He guessed that Liu Che should not be very happy about this matter.
Originally, he took the initiative to bring it up because he wanted to have a clear path with Liu Che. No matter what, the elite regiment currently holds the title of his guards, and the number of people is within the permitted range.
As for the crossbow, it should be prohibited to own it, not even for princes.
But who made this thing by Liu Tan?
He wanted to take advantage of the loophole and assign his own guards, but no one could say anything, after all, there was no way to judge.
Unless Liu Che speaks up.
But Liu Tan's guards were protecting others and were paid for it. If this got out, it would not sound good. In order to avoid Liu Che being unhappy after knowing it, he had to explain it to Liu Che.
Seeing that Liu Che did not nod immediately, Liu Tan simply put the matter aside for the time being. It didn't matter if he didn't agree now, he could always persuade him later.
So he changed the subject and said, "Father, it's getting late. Let's have dinner."
Liu Che nodded and stood up, glancing at the crossbow on the table. Liu Tan immediately said, "This is specially made for you. Bu Fan, get someone to take it away."
Liu Che left with satisfaction, while Li Ling, who was standing beside him, couldn't take his eyes off the crossbow.
Not to mention him, even when the young eunuch that Bu Fan had found was walking down with a crossbow and preparing to set it up, everyone else was staring at the crossbow in the young eunuch's hand and couldn't take their eyes off it.
All the targets were brought up and shown to them, and everyone was shocked by the power of the crossbow.
Especially since this crossbow doesn't look big, but no one expected it to have such great destructive power.
Li Ling at least sat nearby and saw and heard Liu Tan's explanation to Liu Che, but the others only saw it for a brief moment and then disappeared, which was really a pity.
Some people even began to secretly plan to go back and build a good relationship with the King of the North, so that they could see him more often, and it would be even better if they could touch him.
At this time, Liu Tan whispered to Li Ling, "This thing has too much lethality. I can't give it to you."
As he spoke, he gave Li Ling a look that said "you know what I mean."
Li Ling's expression instantly became serious and he nodded seriously.
Having been around Liu Che for many years, he is actually not as careless as he appears to be. He may even be more careful than Li Buyan in some details.
After all, Li Buyan had rarely been to the palace.
Liu Tan carefully observed his expression, and after seeing that he was just a little regretful, he smiled and said, "The elite regiment has to train every day. I'll tell them later and find time to take you over to have a look. You can also play for a while if you want."
Li Ling's eyes suddenly lit up: "Is it really possible?"
Liu Tan said: "Of course, but only you can go."
Not everyone can enter the training ground of the Northern King's Guard. Liu Tan may not care, but he has to mark the way out. Otherwise, anyone who wants to come can come. What does this place treat as his palace?
Li Ling nodded frantically, and Liu Tan was worried that his neck would break when he watched him at that frequency.
After talking to Li Ling, Liu Tan moved closer to Liu Che.
Because the parade ground was outside, Liu Che came here today in his iconic chariot.
After getting in the car, he saw Liu Tan turning around to leave and waved: "Tan'er, get in."
Liu Tan: ...
Since Liu Che came, his carriage and horses have basically become decorations.
Fortunately, he was the only prince here, and the crown prince was not here. No one could say anything if he rode in the same car with Liu Che.
If this happened in Chang'an, the rumor would probably spread very badly.
After Liu Tan got on the carriage, he heard Liu Che ask, "Were you training an army with all your effort just to have them serve as escorts?"
Liu Tan was stunned for a moment, and instantly understood why Liu Che was unhappy.
Well, it seems that the unhappy violence mechanism is a waste of resources.
He quickly said, "This is also to earn these people some extra money. All the money earned by the escort agency goes to them. Whoever goes on a mission gets paid, and everyone takes turns. I don't give them a lot of money each month. If I give them too much, I'm afraid someone will say something. But they stay here all year round and can't take care of their families. They have to take turns going back during the New Year. If I don't give them more money, I'm afraid their families won't be able to support themselves."
Liu Che raised his eyebrows: "I know how much money you gave them, it is enough to support the family's household expenses, how can it be too little?"
Liu Tan said seriously, "They will have to go to the battlefield in the future. It may seem easy now, but if a fight really breaks out, they might lose their lives. Father, you know the folk saying that good men don't join the army. If possible, no one would be willing to join. The court can certainly force them, but the effect of coercion... Active willingness to fight is different from passive willingness, and the combat effectiveness displayed at that time will also be different. What's more, the training level here is relatively high. If they can't accept it, they will be discharged. What if someone doesn't want to join the army, but has the talent but deliberately cheats? Giving more money can avoid this kind of thing, and they will work hard for the money."
Liu Che frowned. This view was very different from his own. Not to mention his own thoughts, it was also very different from the current worldview.
In the eyes of all the nobles, common people and slaves were born to support and serve them, and fighting for them and for the country was a matter of course. No one thought about whether they were willing or not, and if they were unwilling, they would be forced.
Seeing Liu Che frown, Liu Tan said, "Look, Father, it only took me three or four months to train my troops to their current level. Can other armies do that? Can your Yulin Army do that?"
Liu Che was not convinced. He sneered, "How dare you compete with the Yulin Army?"
Liu Tan was probably really daring at this point, and he said confidently, "The Yulin Army recruits all men from good families. They've had better food, clothing, housing, and transportation than most of the elite regiments since childhood, but can their combat effectiveness be compared?"
Liu Che laughed: "How do you know it's not as good as mine?"
Liu Tan said: "My elite regiment has crossbows!"
With the cheat in hand, they are called the Yulin Army, and no one can defeat them.
Liu Che: ??? Have some shame?
He didn't bother to pay attention to Liu Tan and said directly: "It's up to you, but I want to take the elite group with me."
Liu Tan was silent for a while before he said, "Actually, they're not that powerful. They're just a bunch of country bumpkins. I'm afraid they won't be able to adapt to the climate in Chang'an..."
He couldn't continue speaking because Liu Che was pinching his face again.
Liu Che snorted and said, "Stop talking nonsense. I'll take them to show them. I'll let them come back after the New Year."
Liu Tan asked cautiously, "Are you really going to let them come back?"
After seeing Liu Che's unhappy expression, Liu Tan immediately asked, "How many people do you want? Are you taking them all? Isn't that a bit too many?"
Liu Che said lazily: "Take them all away. Well, as compensation, I'll leave Li Ling for you."
Liu Tan: What do I need him for?
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