After hearing the words of the female consul, Anna's face was full of anger and shame, and she had an "oh no" expression: she had invested a lot of manpower and financial resources before, and she had also paid special attention to guiding the method of setting up the grape trellis, in order to get a high yield in return, but she did not expect such a consequence.

When Govin also inquired with concern about the reason, the consul replied, "In spite of the prohibition of luxury, many cavalrymen in Seleucia, who had become rich by booty, began to secretly buy wine from Cyprus in the merchants' cabinets of Akoum, while the goods made by our German immigrants here were not cared for." In addition, grapes are highly demanded for land and sunlight, and it is a very rewarding and risky business, so it is better to ask the military government to issue a ban again, and only allow merchants to sell local wines, in order to play a protective role. ”

"This will only make the local chamber of commerce completely abandon the incentive to compete for improved products, and breed corruption!" Gawain unceremoniously rejected the proposal, and then he comforted the princess and said, "It is better to be honest, cancel the plan to continue growing grapes in the coming year, and use the remaining strength to open aqueducts around Seleucian City, and to plant all kinds of wheat and flax." ”

"The flax field stinks to death, and the farmers there are all ****, wearing only a leather calf and openly working in the daytime, how do you tell me to go on patrol? As soon as I entrust the Liberal Communists with admonishment, the rude German peasants will say, "It's intolerable to mind you." Anna was annoyed, she was an out-and-out "agro-aesthete" who could not accept such a filthy form of production, but this was only the word for the proud and narrow-minded princess descending the steps, and soon she saw Cabeamia's slight smug smile beside her, so she hurriedly stopped and diverted the subject, "Paulese consuless, I think the Grand Duke has made it very clear in the letter of the fast horse that he summoned you to come. ”

"Yes, Your Royal Highness the Purple Clothed Princess, it is difficult to gather fifty hunters, only twenty at most." The consul said that it would be difficult to achieve her goal completely, bowed and put her golden hand on her chest, and replied apologetically.

In the enclosed stone-walled courtyard of the Acropolis Palace, which was connected to the stables, twenty Paulic hunters sent by Philus stood in a row, and under the shed built facing the palace, several heavily armored Saxon warriors carried torches that burned the lights. Goliath stood in front of the seated Gawain and Anna, while Cabeamia was at the entrance to the shed.

"Find out the best one first, and show us the best." Gawain said to the Archon.

The consuless nodded in agreement, and then the huntsman came out of the procession, carrying a quiver and a cloak, a bow in his hand, and a long, narrow wooden barrel about the length of a long arrow, with a slotted section and a small rope attached to his wrist, and after saluting the Grand Duke and the Princess, the hunter poured a small pike-dart into the barrel, and then placed the wooden barrel on the string like an arrow, and then put his index and middle fingers together, and silently pulled it full and buckled, and connected it with the other hand holding the bow handle at three points. Then, before Anna could see how the shuttle dart had flown out, a pair of chain mail hanging in front of the wall fifty feet away shook violently, pierced by the little shuttle dart, and continued to fly for a while, wedged directly into the cracks in the masonry wall.

The slotted barrel continued to be attached to the hunter's wrist, and did not fly out with the shuttle, and was strangled and withdrawn by the hunter when the shuttle was off the string.

"Menai (pike) and solenarion (tube)? I had only heard of it before, but now I have seen it with my own eyes in the techniques that Paul sent to him. Anna approvingly, "This piece of arrow is no less powerful than the Latin bow of the Franks (the Byzantine name for a crossbow)." ”

"And maybe a little more penetrating and concealment." At this time, the female consul also turned back and spoke triumphantly.

Gawain sat in his seat, and took the two pieces of arrowwood that Dim had handed him, and he saw that they were easy to make: or cut the barrel in half, leaving only two inches at the end for the easy buckle; Or the two sides of the wooden tube are symmetrical, each with a long groove, one end is open, and the tail end is also left two inches not open, and the double fins of the shuttle dart are stuffed into the buckle from the long groove.

In this way, the barrel plays a ballistic stabilizing role for the shuttle dart inside, and the menai, which is much lighter than ordinary arrows, can fly farther and more powerful, and can directly penetrate the chain mail as seen just now!

"These arrows (the barrel shots used by the Koreans at that time are also described in detail in the New Tang Dynasty) were commonly used by the imperial army three hundred years ago, and soldiers used them to block the invasion of the Saracen army in the forests or passes of Anatolia, and pierce the armor of the opposing heavy cavalry. However, in the last hundred years, they have almost disappeared, and it is said that my father also wanted to equip them against the Norman armored cavalry and the crossbows of the other side, but he never succeeded - well, Gawain, why don't we let the Paulines and the Cilician archers use this weapon on a large scale, shall we? Anna apparently thinks this weapon is very "cool".

Gawain shook his head with a wry smile, and was about to ask Anna, "Why can't your father equip his army on a large scale, you can understand the reason if you think about it carefully. ”

But over there, Kabeamiya was the first to say, "Your Royal Highness Princess, this kind of piece of barrel has very high requirements for the shooter, when to shoot, when to pull the tube, there is almost no difference, if there is a slight confusion and interference, if the piece is a little crooked, it is not the target enemy that is shot through, but the shooter's own wrist." If it is used on a large scale by ordinary archers, it is possible that after shooting the first row of arrows, at least two or three out of ten people will be completely abolished, and the gains outweigh the losses. ”

"So that's why you're at Fort Philip, completely crushed by my father's army of archers?" Anna sneered at each other and turned out the black history of the female archon, meaning that you talk a lot of nonsense. And Kabeamia's slightly dark pretty face suddenly turned red, and she bowed her head to admit defeat.

"However, it is best to use it for small-scale ambushes, and it has advantages over both hand and cross crossbows." Gawain's fingers gently touched the end of the tube, looking back and forth, and said with satisfaction, while cleverly putting down the fight between the two women, "Kabeamia, I have hired these twenty hunters, each of whom has not only a ration, but also a salary of fifty copper crocflower coins a day. But everything has to be kept strictly secret, know or not? ”

"Yes." Kabeamia bowed again. (To be continued.) )