Chapter 26: The Way of the Bow (Part II)

Li You could not help but marvel. He had previously used the two large composite bows belonging to Li Zhao and Wu Yicheng, but one had tips that were too thin, causing the string to twist and affecting accuracy; the other was even more absurd, warping as soon as the weather turned hot.

Thus, Li You had never seen such a perfect bow, and he was certain that not only he, but even his father and Uncle Wu had likely never seen one either.

"How many *li* is this?"

*Li*—in ancient and medieval China, the strength of a bow was measured in *shi* (dan). By the Ming Dynasty or slightly earlier, likely due to advancements in bow-making technology, the unit was changed to *li*.

One *li* is nine *jin* and fourteen *liang* (or some say nine *jin* and four *liang*); it is said that ten *li* equals one *shi*.

"Haha... this is a stiff bow, Mr. Li! Try to see if you can even draw it first!"

Old Man Liu said with a chuckle, handing him an arrow. The arrow had a flat, sharp-angled head, with a plum-needle tip and a small hole in the center. The shaft was made of wood and was over three feet long, looking exactly like a small flying spear.

"A stiff bow?"

In Li You's memory, this kind of thing should have fallen into the category of a soft bow.

However, he did not dwell on the trivial details. He had been worried that morning that he wouldn't be able to draw a bow, and wasn't this a ready-made opportunity?

He didn't waste words, took the arrow, and couldn't help but look at it twice. Then, he pointed his index finger forward, used his thumb to clamp the arrow on the inside, his left hand began to push the bow, his right hand pulled the string, his back muscles aligned, and the bow was drawn full and steady...

"Whoosh... hum..."

Li You executed a beautiful release. The arrow turned into a black dot and "thwacked" into an arm-thick poplar tree eighty paces away, piercing through the tree and leaving two-thirds of the shaft protruding!

This fluid, continuous movement made Old Man Liu nod incessantly. Without years of bitter practice, one could never strike such a "five-level, three-leaning" posture. Seeing Li You's pushing hand give a rhythmic jolt as the arrow left, Old Man Liu knew this was the "tip-flicking" technique.

When drawing a powerful bow of over a hundred *jin*, the residual kinetic energy after the arrow is released causes the bow body to vibrate and sway, which not only hurts the hand but also severely impacts rapid-fire capability.

"Good, good, good!"

As if he were not at all surprised that Li You could draw his bow, Old Man Liu looked toward the poplar tree and said excitedly, "You are truly Li Guang reborn!"

Li You was extremely excited. He estimated this bow to be at least 260 *jin* or more; even the heavy bows used by the Mongol horse archers and the Manchu *Baiya La* were far inferior.

The Qing army's cavalry archery mostly used six-to-eight *li* bows, focusing on the precision of a throat-piercing shot, but judging by their infantry archery, they used bows of at least ten *li*, equivalent to around 150 *jin*.

Furthermore, they wore heavy armor. The heavy armor of elite soldiers was three layers thick: the outer layer was iron plate, the middle was iron-studded cotton armor, and the inner layer was chainmail, with a total weight of thirty to forty kilograms.

From the time of Huang Taiji to the Kangxi era, military degree candidates had to draw a nine-*li* bow. The even more formidable Red and White *Baiya La* could likely reach around 160 *jin*, and the horse archers could potentially reach 170 *jin*. After all, modern people can draw powerful bows of up to 250 *jin*. [Note]

It was just that Li You's iron-spined bow had a relatively small recurve arc, and compared to the Qing bow, its mechanical structure was not perfect.

The Later Jin's Qing bow was derived from the border army's large composite bow, but as a hunting and fishing people, they were more familiar with the mechanics of bows and arrows, leading to improvements during use.

This Qing bow was very unfriendly to beginners because it was suited for firing heavy arrows. Heavy arrows retain energy well, and their kinetic energy loss during flight is far lower than that of a lead musket ball. The arrow shaft length was around 1.1 meters, and each weighed at least one *liang*; the arrows of strong archers reached around two *liang*. It is no exaggeration to say that this was already a small spear.

Whether one admits it or not, the Qing bow was the pinnacle of cold weapons and holds a place in the history of world archery. So, could it pierce heavy armor?

According to the evaluation table in "Knights and Furnaces," using a standard six- or seven-*li* Qing bow, the arrow's kinetic energy is 130 joules. Against 2mm soft steel (equivalent to only two-thirds the strength of modern medium-carbon steel), it is guaranteed to pierce armor within 10 meters and has a chance to pierce within 20 meters.

Furthermore, whether it is the "one horse, three arrows" from the *Military Records* or Qi Jiguang's "three arrows when facing the enemy," according to the aforementioned theory, during a 100-meter charge, the first Qing arrow can kill an unarmored target, the second can pierce iron plate and chainmail, and the third can pierce cotton armor lined with steel plates.

Within the same charging distance, a musket could only fire once...

The development of things is a unity of progressiveness and tortuousness. At first, things are often weak and sometimes cannot overcome mature, old things; this is a fact everyone can understand.

In other words, the Ming military's technology tree at the time could not cause a crushing defeat to the Qing army, and the Qing army also fought using firearms.

Yet, at the time of the Ming-Qing transition, people are always result-oriented, ignoring the fact of the Ming Dynasty's internal political failure, and blindly disparaging the Ming army.

If Li You did not possess this immense strength, he wouldn't even be able to dream of drawing this bow.

"Old Man Liu, how did you make this bow? It is simply too stable, and this flat-headed arrow is also crafted so smoothly and sharply!"

"You take this bow!"

Old Man Liu said in a low voice, "I obtained this bow from my master. Rumor has it that it was used by Kuang Zhong. I cannot draw this heavy bow at all... Mr. Li, I think you are a kind person. Who knows, I might die one day; you take this bow and use it. If my daughter also dies, please find a chance to draw the bow for me once!"

Having said this, he knelt before Li You.

"Please, draw the bow for me once..."

Hearing this, Li You's heart shrank. He thought of Liu Jiandao, who had been taken as a concubine by Wu Datou. He naturally understood what Old Man Liu meant by "drawing the bow once." For a moment, he could not understand why Old Man Liu dared to rashly say such things to him.

"Does he not want to live? Sigh, perhaps he really doesn't want to live, or perhaps he truly trusts me."

Li You thought to himself and said, "You will live a long life. Everyone here, including Little Orange and the others, and Jiandao... as long as I am here, you will all live better and better..."

Before he could finish, Zeng Ruan suddenly came running, shouting that there were rabbits in the mountains and calling for him to go hunting... In his two lives, Li You rarely made promises, because a promise itself represents cowardice, but this time he had to make one. Life here was too desperate, and he had to bring them some hope.

Li You went to collect the arrows, took the cowhide finger guard from Old Man Liu, along with three flat-headed arrows, one iron-bone sharp-pointed arrow, and one shovel-headed arrow. He strapped on his sharpened Miao saber, packed everything up, and then Zeng Ruan led Li You toward the West Pit.

On the way, Wa Qingyun and Liu Longjin saw them and followed.

"Mr. Li, where are you going?"

Wa Qingyun looked at the double-slotted bow on Li You's back and said, "Is that Old Man Liu's iron bow? Why are you carrying that iron bow?"

"It's not entirely made of iron," Li You laughed.

"Hey, what's the difference between this bow being stiff and being made of iron? Even the Fourth Boss couldn't draw it. Are you carrying it to fluff cotton?"

[Note]: The Guinness World Record is for a 260-pound bow.