Chapter 48: The Legendary Divine Arm Crossbow

"Sixth Young Master! Come over here! Come to Grandfather!" As the pillar of the Cao family's third generation, Cao Liulang Cao Yanlu was highly regarded by Cao Yijin.

The reason it was "regarded" rather than "doted on" was that Cao Yijin's attitude toward Cao Yanlu was entirely different from his attitude toward Cao Yanming.

Toward Cao Shisi, Cao Yanming, Cao Yijin felt the pure affection of a grandfather doting on his grandson.

But toward Cao Liulang, Cao Yanlu, Cao Yijin treated him as a third-generation pillar who could discuss major affairs and was being groomed by the standards of a future successor.

Though the former might seem more favored, the two held utterly different standing. Had Zhang Zhao detained Cao Yanlu instead of Cao Yanming, Cao Yijin would never have said that Cao Yanming must be prepared to sacrifice himself for the family.

"Grandfather! Look what I've brought!" Cao Yanlu first paid his respects to his eldest uncle Cao Yuande and his father Cao Yuanzhong, then walked quickly to Cao Yijin and handed him something that looked very much like a crossbow.

Cao Yijin took it with a puzzled look and examined it carefully. The crossbow was about three chi two cun long (a little over a meter), smaller than both the Juezhang crossbows currently in military use and the Dahuang crossbows handed down from the Han dynasty.

The stirrup face had also been made into a strange ring. Cao Yijin hefted it; it was at least ten jin lighter than a Dahuang crossbow.

"It's a fine crossbow, but we sent Zhang Erlang twenty death-defying warriors, and he sends back just this one crossbow? He won't even release Fourteenth Young Master?"

Cao Yuanzhong glared at Cao Yanlu with a dark face. These past days his elder brother Cao Yuande had been so anxious he couldn't sleep, and his own son, for his part, instead of bringing Fourteenth Young Master back, had brought back a crossbow.

"Sixth Young Master has always been sharp. He didn't bring Fourteenth back but brought a crossbow instead—there must be a reason!"

Cao Yuande drew a deep breath, barely suppressing the churning inside him, then said with feigned nonchalance.

"Eldest Uncle, it's not that your nephew refused to bring Fourteenth Young Master back—it's that Fourteenth Young Master refused to come back. He said he's researching some medicine and is about to succeed, and will come back on his own in a few days!" Cao Yanlu knew his eldest uncle was not the most magnanimous, so he spoke quickly.

Cao Yuande almost thought his ears had failed him. It was actually Fourteenth Young Master who was unwilling to return. Cao Yanlu wore a wry smile as well.

"Eldest Uncle, you needn't be anxious. Fourteenth Young Master is in no danger with Young Lord Zhang. He roams all over the mountain stronghold and no one stops him. Your nephew observed carefully—it seems Fourteenth Young Master really is researching some medicine with Zhang Erlang."

"Interesting! Interesting! How did this old man never notice before that this Zhang Erlang is such a character! Since Fourteenth Young Master is in no danger, I can rest easy." Cao Yijin stroked the beard on his chin, finding this Zhang Erlang more and more intriguing.

"Sixth Young Master, never mind your uncle and father—tell Grandfather, what is different about this crossbow?"

"Your grandson asks Grandfather to dismiss those around him!" Cao Yanlu's expression turned solemn as he looked at the attendants and maidservants to either side.

"All of you, leave!" Cao Yijin waved a hand to send the servants away, then rose from the folding stool where he sat.

After watching the maidservants and servants all leave, Cao Yanlu took the strange crossbow back from Cao Yijin, then lightly stepped on the stirrup face, pulled on the body with his hand, and loaded a bolt.

"Huh?" Cao Yijin couldn't help voicing his puzzlement. The crossbows he had used before—whether Juezhang crossbows or Dahuang crossbows—were very hard for one man to load. The only ones who could load one alone were fierce men of the caliber of Flying General Li Guang.

So when crossbows were used in the army, very often the soldiers had to be divided into the crossbow-drawer, the crossbow-loader, and the crossbow-shooter.

That is, one man was responsible for drawing the crossbow, one for loading it, and one more for shooting.

Moreover, Juezhang crossbows and Dahuang crossbows generally weighed a dozen jin or even twenty to thirty jin, making them hard to move. On the battlefield, because loading was too slow, they often could not respond to sudden emergencies—facing the enemy, they could fire only three or four shots before close combat was joined.

Being able to fire only three or four times in a battle clearly could not satisfy the needs of a major engagement. Thus, although the crossbow bolts of the Qin and Han armies had excellent penetration and range and were well liked by the soldiers, they still could not become the main source of firepower.

But this crossbow was different—it could actually be operated by one man. Judging by Cao Yanlu's speed, it could manage a rate of four to five shots per tea-steep (five minutes). That meant with proper training on the battlefield, it could deliver at least eight volleys or more—combat power instantly more than doubled!

"How many dan is this crossbow?" Grasping its importance, Cao Yijin asked eagerly. In his mind, this crossbow didn't need to reach the terrifying maximum of ten dan of the Dahuang crossbow. With such a rate of fire, if it could reach two dan, it would count as a divine weapon.

"Zhang Erlang said this crossbow is crudely made and can only reach two dan one dou. If the materials were complete, he could make it reach two dan seven dou or more!"

"Enough! More than enough! Even two dan one dou is more than enough!" Cao Yijin murmured. "Yuanzhong, go quickly and fetch two suits of infantry armor!"

The so-called infantry armor was one of the thirteen armors of the Tang, the predecessor of the Song dynasty's infantry armor—strong in defense, tough and durable!

Cao Yanlu raised the thing Zhang Erlang called the Divine Arm Crossbow, aimed at a suit of lamellar armor draped over a large chunk of pork in the distance, and at two hundred paces let fly a bolt with a "whoosh."

"It pierced through the armor!" Cao Yuanzhong rushed over to the infantry armor that had just been penetrated by the bolt. Well—saying it pierced through was a bit of an exaggeration, but it had indeed skewered the infantry armor.

"If it can pierce at two hundred paces, then at a hundred paces it will surely break armor, and within fifty paces a hit means certain death!"

Cao Yijin was clearly much calmer, though his eyes still revealed a look of extreme shock.

"Grandfather! This is infantry armor—we ourselves don't have much of it, and the Xianyu of Ganzhou and the Gaochang Uyghurs have even fewer suits. Those so-called armored soldiers of theirs, with just a layer of iron-ring mail over leather armor, are dead for certain within a hundred paces!

Not to mention the treacherous Long family of Suzhou and the Tatars who have attached themselves to the Xianyu—they don't even have leather armor. Though their many light cavalry come and go like the wind, as long as we form ranks with these crossbows, even ten times the enemy would not dare come!"

Cao Yanlu naturally understood the marvels of this crossbow—light, high rate of fire, and no weak armor-piercing ability, suitable for single-soldier operation.

With just five hundred of these crossbows, combined with one or two hundred longbowmen and a great formation of shields and long spears, a single lower Zhechong Garrison (eight hundred men) could form combat power. If two or three hundred Yue riders were added, it would be enough to sweep all before it!

"Yuanzhong, go at once and warn the servants of the household—anyone who dares to gossip about this matter will be dealt with by family law!"

Cao Yijin patted Cao Yanlu approvingly on the shoulder. Such a divine weapon, of course, could only be displayed after dismissing those around them.

"Does this crossbow have a name?"

"Zhang Erlang said this crossbow is called the Divine Arm Crossbow! However..." Cao Yanlu rubbed his chin.

"Your grandson felt that when Zhang Erlang said the words 'Divine Arm Crossbow,' his expression was especially strange, as if he himself wasn't sure whether it should be called the Divine Arm Crossbow."

Of course Zhang Zhao didn't know, because the Divine Arm Crossbow was highly disputed in later ages. The one he made was reconstructed by himself and a group of crossbow enthusiasts in later times.

The specifications were no worse than those in the "Collected Drafts of the Song Huiyao," and the appearance was similar, but whether it was truly the historical Divine Arm Crossbow—only heaven knew.

"No! No! Something's off!" Cao Yijin suddenly felt something was wrong. He paced two circles and said, half to himself.

"Why would Zhang Erlang voluntarily let you bring back a Divine Arm Crossbow that could be called a treasure of the state?

If I were Zhang Erlang, with such a fine thing in hand, I would never bring it out before I had mastered considerable strength!

This Guiyi Army is his family's ancestral estate—does he really not want to take it back? Impossible, right?"

With Cao Yijin saying this, Cao Yanlu also began to feel something was off.

Right!

Why would he give himself such a fine thing? They had to remember that although everyone here was related, in reality the Cao family had seized the Zhang family's estate—the two families had a grudge!

"Could it be... uh... Fourteenth Young Master... can't figure it out! Truly can't figure it out!" Cao Yuande keenly sensed something, but he instinctively felt that his son was far less valuable than this Divine Arm Crossbow.

"Sixth Young Master, you must go to Zhang Erlang's place once more. Tell him that I, Cao Yijin, want to meet him in person!"

Cao Yijin said after pondering for a long while. Hearsay was not as good as seeing with one's own eyes—he wanted to meet this Zhang Erlang face to face.

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