Workaholic
Following Huang Yueying, who had offered to show me the inventions currently under development, I found an array of weapons so extensive it could have passed for an exhibition hall. Bows, crossbows, swords, spears, armor—even something resembling a cart. Perhaps they were working on something similar in purpose to the wooden ox and flowing horse?
Many of the items looked unfinished, suggesting that designs and concepts had often been overturned mid-development and started over from scratch. These successive attempts would eventually accumulate into masterpieces, no doubt.
Then something caught my eye.
“Lady Yueying? What’s that?”
“Yes, Lady Seyoung. I knew you would recognize it.”
Huang Yueying picked up the object that had drawn my attention and held it out for a closer look. It resembled a crossbow, but the box-like cover mounted on top set it apart.
“This is the repeating crossbow we’ve been developing. It’s not finished yet, but it’s usable enough. After hearing the ideas you proposed, my husband and I have been researching it.”
“Ah, so this is the repeating crossbow.”
I took the repeating crossbow she handed me and examined it from every angle. It was my first time handling the real thing.
One of the perks of working here was getting to see and try out weapons and inventions still in development.
“May I try firing it?”
“Of course.”
At the weapons testing ground, I aimed the repeating crossbow at a straw dummy.
The repeating crossbow had a magazine called a jianxia—an arrow box—attached to it. Arrows were loaded in advance and fired in succession. It was rather like a modern magazine.
When I pumped the handle back and forth, arrows launched in rapid succession with a series of thuds, and in an instant more than ten bolts were embedded in the dummy’s torso.
“Oh, this is excellent.”
The praise came out unbidden.
Unlike the Strong Crossbow, which required considerable strength and time to reload, the repeating crossbow was fast and remarkably convenient to use.
It was so easy that even women could use it readily, earning it the nickname “Ladies’ Bow.” With this, it could be used in actual combat without special training.
However, it had drawbacks different from those of the Strong Crossbow.
Namely, range and power.
Even compared to ordinary bows or crossbows, the repeating crossbow fell short in both power and range.
Moreover, its accuracy was poor, so it would have to be used more for volley fire than for sniping. At even a slightly greater distance, hitting that dummy would become difficult.
It also suffered from occasional jamming, which apparently needed further improvement.
“So it has its pros and cons.”
“Yes, exactly. Is there anything you’d like to change further, or something else you’d like to develop, Lady Seyoung?”
“Yes. This size is fine, but I’d also like to try making a smaller, compact version of the repeating crossbow.”
“A compact repeating crossbow? It’s possible to make, but then the power and range would drop even further, wouldn’t they?”
“Yes. But it would enhance the soldiers’ mobility. I’ve thought of a way to use that to strike the enemy by surprise.”
The repeating crossbow’s advantage was speed. Even if the power was a bit lower, what if we leveraged that speed and mobility further?
“Ah, I see. As expected.”
Huang Yueying nodded.
“My husband said that since you have abundant combat experience, looking at the weapons under development would allow you to come up with different ideas or tactics.”
“Yes. If my thinking is correct, it should be fully usable in actual combat.”
As expected of Zhuge Liang. He had that in mind as well.
“I’ll show you the next weapon. This way, please.”
The next weapon Huang Yueying showed me was—
“This is the Yuanrong Crossbow.”
Ah! The Yuanrong Crossbow. The bow that fires ten bolts at once. This one was nearly complete as well.
The Yuanrong Crossbow boasted a bulk incomparable to ordinary crossbows. Naturally the bolts were longer, and given its size, it was impossible for one person to fire alone.
“I’ll demonstrate this one as well.”
Huang Yueying ordered the soldiers guarding the Yuanrong Crossbow. They moved in perfect coordination to operate it.
And a moment later—
With a sound that heavily cleaved the air, ten arrows flew through the void and riddled the distant target in a spectacular display.
Not only could it fire multiple arrows at once, but its range was also superior.
But of course, the drawbacks were no less significant.
The difficulty of transport due to its enormous bulk and weight.
And the need for several people to operate it.
For defense, it could be placed on the walls and used, but offense was the problem. It would have to be transported by cart or carriage, which was also labor-intensive.
I’d think of a solution for this in time as well.
Huang Yueying showed me various other inventions as well.
“This is called the Divine Blade.”
The Divine Blade was a type of sword with its sharpness upgraded even further. When used, it could lightly slice through a bamboo tube filled with iron balls.
I also got to see the transport devices, the wooden ox and flowing horse. The wooden ox and flowing horse were a type of cargo cart that had proven useful for transporting military provisions during the last northern campaign.
There was also a weapon called the hand arrow, which involved placing small arrows inside a tube and launching them with a spring mechanism.
“That covers everything we’ve made so far.”
The enjoyable(?) tour ended, and the real research and development work began.
As I had guessed, the development work was a feast of frequent overtime and enormous workloads.
Huang Yueying, true to being a perfect match for her husband, was of the same type as Zhuge Liang—namely, a workaholic.
Both of them seemed brimming with energy even while working. Perhaps it was the synergy of a loving couple working together.
And as expected, Zhuge Liang’s workload defied imagination.
This development work alone would be hard labor for most people, but he was also handling administration, logistics, paperwork, diplomacy, military training, formation development, and more.
After making the rounds of all those duties, he would only come to this development room in the evening to participate in the research.
At this rate, isn’t he superhuman? If Fei Yi were here, what would it have been like? Would he still have been slacking off while working, or would his hands have been on fire with work?
What worried me was Po Yuan.
Though it was tough, I could crush it with my natural physique and stamina, but the deep-seated fatigue that hung over his face like a shadow refused to fade no matter what.
Feeling sorry for Po Yuan, I prepared a bowl of medicinal decoction for him.
“Master Po Yuan. Please drink this.”
“What is this…?”
“A medicinal decoction. It’s effective for restoring energy. It should help you recover a bit of your strength.”
But Po Yuan stared blankly at the decoction I offered as if it were a cup of poison.
“Ah…. So the Chancellor has bestowed this. Drink it, recover your energy, and work that much more. Chancellor, there’s no need to go this far….”
“…No, I decocted this myself. Please drink it.”
“Ah, I see. Yes, thank you….”
He took a sip of the decoction and then spoke to me.
“But is there anything else you’d like to do here, Lady Jin Cheong? A new invention or something.”
Hmm. Something I’d like to do. Seeing all the equipment here had sparked several ideas.
I hesitated for a moment, then decided to just tell him the truth. It was something we’d proceed with later anyway.
“Well. I was thinking of slightly improving the current repeating crossbow and making a compact version.”
“A compact version? It’s not impossible, but that would reduce the power and accuracy.”
Same thing Huang Yueying said. Developers really are developers.
“Even if it’s small, I’ve thought of ways to put it to use. Fully leveraging its small size and light weight should make it tactically useful.”
“Hmm. I see. If we reduce the size and use shorter arrows, I believe it can be made. Anything else?”
“Yes. I’d like to try making a new type of armor.”
Ever since I was badly wounded fighting Zhang Liao, I had felt the importance of armor to my bones. Even I refuse to get hurt.
Currently, I was thinking of armor similar to the dujeonggap.
Dujeonggap is armor used in the Joseon era; picture the armor commonly worn by generals in Joseon historical dramas.
It’s armor made by densely weaving small iron plates inside a cloth or leather garment, and I know its defensive power is considerable.
In modern times, they tested the defensive power of ordinary iron plates versus dujeonggap; the ordinary iron plate was pierced by arrows, but the dujeonggap deflected them.
I don’t know the manufacturing method in detail, but I’ve seen related historical materials, so I planned to carefully make it while piecing together my memories.
“Armor, you say….”
“Yes. Making better armor could significantly raise the survival rate of the officers and soldiers.”
“I see…. Yes, the survival rate of the troops is indeed important….”
Po Yuan uttered that one line and then gulped down the decoction I had given him.
Seeing his expression grow even darker, it seemed this man needed a vacation or something.