124, Crossbow
124, Crossbow
"call out--"
“Bang!”
The flying iron arrow directly pierced into the target and penetrated it.
Lu Mingfei looked at the empty target. If he hadn't seen the iron arrow stuck in the target just now, he would have thought that the arrow he shot missed the target.
"How is it? Is my crossbow more powerful than a bow and arrow?" If it were a bow and arrow, Lu Mingfei would not be able to shoot with such force. Looking at his archery practice a while ago, it was already good enough if the arrows he shot could hit the target.
But this time, the arrow he shot went straight through the target. If it had hit a person, it would have left a hole, right?
Putting away the crossbow in his hand, Lu Mingfei turned around and asked the person standing next to him, "Do you want to try it?"
"If you keep pressing this button, you can shoot continuously until all the iron arrows inside are used up. There are twelve iron arrows in it, and they need to be replenished before they can be used again." Lu Mingfei explained to Zhao Lang how to use the crossbow he designed.
When he designed it, he combined a crossbow with a modern wooden crossbow design, so this crossbow is essentially a wooden crossbow. He's never held a real wooden crossbow, so he's not sure about its feel and weight. However, the crossbow he designed is made of pure iron, so it's quite substantial and feels quite firm in the hand.
Zhao Lang took the crossbow, held it, aimed it at the target not far away, and pulled the trigger.
"call out--"
“Bang!”
“Snap! Snap!”
Three iron arrows hit the target, but none of them stayed on the target. They all passed through the target and hit the wall behind it.
"How is it? Is my crossbow no worse than an ordinary bow and arrow?" Lu Mingfei asked.
"Well, it's really good." What Zhao Lang likes about this crossbow is that it does not require constant loading of arrows during use and can fire continuously.
When facing the enemy, the time they took to nock the arrows was enough for them to shoot the enemy into a sieve.
"Hehe, if you like it, I'll give this one to you. I'll ask the blacksmith to make two more later. I'll give one to my father, and one to my godfather and others for self-defense. I also have to keep one for myself for self-defense. I need three more to be enough." Lu Mingfei thought that his father and godfather often had to go out of town, and sometimes they would stay at the farm to look after it, so the chance of encountering danger would be greater.
When his two younger brothers grow up, he can give one to each of them on their 18th birthday.
"Give me the blueprints and I'll have someone arrange it." Zhao Lang said, "You don't have to look for a craftsman."
"Is that so?...That's fine. But I left the drawings at home. When Guard Ma takes me back later, I'll give them to him and bring them back to you." Lu Mingfei would never carry that kind of thing with him when he went out.
"I'll go back with you to get it." Zhao Lang said.
"Okay." Lu Mingfei didn't refuse.
An iron arrow is not cheap to make. He originally wanted to retrieve the iron arrow, but he didn't expect that the iron arrow had stuck into the wall and couldn't get out.
However, the rich young master said that he would give him a stack of them later, so he gave up the idea of picking the iron arrow out of the wall.
After the two of them had tried the crossbow, he disassembled it and told Zhao Lang about the appearance and size of the parts, the function of the small spring inside, and how to put the disassembled parts back together.
I didn't expect that Zhao Lang would put it back on track after hearing him say it once.
"Awesome!" Lu Mingfei couldn't help but admire Zhao Lang's quick eyes and hands. He thought that if it were in modern times, someone like Zhao Lang would be more than qualified to be a military king.
It’s a pity that Zhao Lang was born in this era. He has been detained in Kyoto Prefecture for so many years and doesn’t even have personal freedom.
Thinking of this, he asked Zhao Lang uncertainly, "You hired someone to do this, and the boss..." He pointed to the sky with his finger, "Didn't that person send someone to keep an eye on you? If he finds out, he might think you're making weapons for some other purpose, which wouldn't be good. How about I find a craftsman to do it? No one's watching me."
"Last time, I went to several different blacksmith shops, took these parts apart and asked them to make them, and then I put them together myself. As long as no one is watching me, no one will know what I am doing with these things."
"Don't worry, I'll send someone to find a blacksmith outside Kyoto Prefecture." Just because Zhao Lang couldn't leave Kyoto Prefecture himself didn't mean his men couldn't leave.
"Oh, it's safer to ask a blacksmith outside to make this than to find one in the city. Okay, since you have the idea, I'll leave it to you. It's best not to hire too many craftsmen from the same place; you can find different people to do it." Lu Mingfei felt relieved after hearing Zhao Lang's words. He also didn't want his superior to know that Zhao Lang was forging weapons, otherwise he might have some ideas.
Since ancient times, those in power have always been suspicious. Otherwise, the emperor would not have issued an order to allow so many children to leave their parents and families and come to Kyoto as hostages. These hostages have been held for so many years, and the emperor has no intention of releasing these grown-up teenagers.
"Or if you have connections, why not find a secret place and employ a few blacksmiths? ...That doesn't seem feasible either. How about setting up a workshop and making other things to conceal our true purpose?" Lu Mingfei thought the latter method was better. "Instead of hiding the craftsmen, why not put them out in the open? No one will suspect we're employing them."
"Set up a workshop?" Zhao Lang looked at Lu Mingfei with inquiring eyes, indicating that Lu Mingfei could go on to explain in detail.
Lu Mingfei thought about the bicycle he had wanted to make for a long time. If they could produce the bicycle, would the emperor look upon Zhao Lang with a higher regard? If the emperor was pleased, would he give Zhao Lang an official title? Or would he let Zhao Lang go home?
However, he felt that the last assumption was unlikely to be realized, while the first two were more likely to be realized.
But there is also a possibility, that is, the emperor and the officials in the capital will be more wary of Zhao Lang after seeing his intelligence, and may even put Zhao Lang in a dangerous situation.
It seems that producing bicycles is not a good idea now, but what about daily necessities, such as hand-cranked fans or washing machines?
"Well, we can set up a workshop to confuse the public. As for what kind of gadgets to produce, I'll make a few samples for you to see, and then we can discuss it. You have money, right?" Lu Mingfei asked Zhao Lang. After all, opening a workshop to produce small household appliances requires a larger investment.
"Do you need silver?" Zhao Lang thought Lu Mingfei wanted to ask him for silver.
Lu Mingfei immediately understood what Zhao Lang meant by the look in his eyes, and couldn't help but find it a little funny. "It's not me who needs money, it's you who needs money to open your workshop."
"Oh, I have it. I have all the silver I can get." Zhao Lang said as if he was not short of money.
"..." When Lu Mingfei heard Zhao Lang's last words, he felt really envious as a man with less than twenty taels of assets!
After he finishes the first three quizzes, he has to find a way to earn some more pocket money!
"Then you prepare a place and find good craftsmen, including blacksmiths, carpenters and silversmiths... Forget it, wait until I make the mold and bring it to you, then we can discuss opening a workshop and finding craftsmen." It's a bit too early to talk about this now.
"Okay." Zhao Lang couldn't help but feel amused when he met Lu Mingfei's eyes. He pressed Lu Mingfei's head with his hand and said to him, "When the workshop opens, I'll give you half of the profits."
"Do you know that the workshop you opened will definitely make money?" Lu Mingfei asked.
"I know." Zhao Lang said with certainty, because so far, none of the stores he opened had failed to make money.
That night, neither of them was in the mood to continue practicing sword and horse riding.
Originally, they were planning to go directly to his house, but the old housekeeper said that he had prepared a midnight snack for them. Lu Mingfei happened to be a little hungry, so he accepted the old housekeeper's kindness and took Zhao Lang to have a midnight snack. Then the two of them took a carriage to his house.
This time when he arrived at his house, he pulled Zhao Lang into his room, took out the drawings he had hidden and showed them to Zhao Lang. He took out the disassembly drawings one by one and explained to Zhao Lang what each drawing was and what its function was.
"Just take this copy of the drawing. I won't keep a backup copy here. I have all the drawings in my mind. If I need them in the future, I can redraw them." Lu Mingfei gave the only copy of the drawing to Zhao Lang and did not plan to draw a backup copy to keep at home.
The blueprint was in his mind, and he could draw it anytime if he needed to. But if he kept it at home, who knew when it would be taken away or found out for some reason.
At the same time, he did not forget to remind Zhao Lang: "Take this blueprint and put it away carefully..."
Otherwise, who knows whether the emperor will use Prince Ding's Mansion as a target one day, and at that time, any little thing may become "evidence" against Zhao Lang and Prince Ding's Mansion.
So if possible, he hoped that Zhao Lang could leave Kyoto Prefecture and not stay in this place. Unfortunately, the emperor and the officials in the court were unwilling to let these hostages go. Zhao Lang, the hostage, could only be held in Kyoto Prefecture by the emperor and the court and could not leave.
"No." Zhao Lang still had this confidence.
After getting the blueprint, he left the Lu family courtyard and got on the carriage back to Prince Ding's Mansion.
***
After Zhao Lang left, Lu Mingfei went to the toilet and came back. He washed his face and body with the spare water in the room, changed into pajamas, and then climbed into bed to sleep.
Not long after, Zhao Lang returned to Prince Ding's Mansion and sat alone in the study. On the table in front of him was the drawing that Lu Mingfei gave him.
He had no intention of sending this blueprint to his father in Beijun. Over the past few years, his family had shown less and less concern for him. Even his mother's letters to him had become less frequent, and the content of the letters had become increasingly perfunctory, which had also let him know some of his family's plans.
Therefore, in this situation, he needs to be self-reliant and strong, and also needs the ability to protect himself. It is no longer realistic to pin his hopes on his relatives far away in Beijun.
Although reality is cruel, it is reality and his situation.
After looking at it for a while, he would use special ink to draw a new copy on special oil paper.
It took him more than an hour just to draw these drawings. After finishing them, he destroyed the original drawing.
When the ink on the oil paper dries, the picture drawn on it disappears. Author's words: Thank you Bole 9492239 (9492239) for your support, mua! To know more exciting content, please leave me a message on Liancheng Reading.
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