Three Kingdoms: A Million Soldiers Grown from the Fields

Chapter 57 Bow Making (Please continue reading)

He fled, it chased, he could not escape even with wings.

In the end, the slippery, cold worm fell into Zhang Xian's hands.

Fortunately, he reacted quickly and was prepared when the falcon approached him within a few meters, grabbing the red-banded snake by its vital spot.

Kaka——!
The falcon landed on his shoulder, flapped its wings twice, and tilted its head to look at Zhang Xian with a very concerned gaze.

It's as if they're asking, "Eat up! Didn't you come out to find food? Then eat!"

"I'll teach you a lesson later." Holding the long snake in his hand, Zhang Xian felt goosebumps all over his body. He shuddered and used his dagger to cut the red-chained snake's spine.

Then it was placed aside.

It's still a piece of meat, after all. Let someone cook it and give it to the residents of the village to eat.

Currently, the meat and oil available in Taoyuan are only enough to meet the needs of the people there. Ordinary farmers still rely on staple foods to fill their stomachs, with the only difference being that they have more salt.

The weather has warmed up now, and some farmers get up at night to catch wild animals like croaking frogs and mud snakes to eat.

With the falcon on his shoulder, he went to the cattle pen to add some hay. It would be troublesome if pigs and cattle didn't eat the same food, so this further solidified his plan to switch from cattle to pigs after the calves were born.

However, the meat yield of pigs from the Han Dynasty is still relatively low. The heaviest adult pig he bought last time was only 200 jin (100 catties). I heard that it was the best breeding pig produced by a wealthy merchant and it would take one year and three months to raise before it could be sold.

After feeding the cattle in the cattle pen, he went back to the pigsty, where nine dark-skinned pigs were lazily lying in the mud pits they had dug themselves.

"I don't know if castration will increase the amount of meat. If it doesn't, then I'll just have to wait until I reach level three in beast taming to unlock the [breeding] skill."

He reached into his pouch, pulled out a strip of meat, and stuffed it into the falcon's beak.

The breed of pigs in the Han Dynasty was already the best. Even in the era before he lived, the slaughter weight of Huaxia Black Pigs was not much greater. However, compared to white pigs, the taste and aroma of Huaxia Black Pigs were unmatched by other pig breeds.

That was the only way he could console himself.

What Taoyuan lacks now is not delicious food, but enough food.

"We've harvested six rounds from our farmland in two months, but unfortunately we haven't encountered any germplasm mutations. Hopefully, this month's third harvest will bring some surprises."
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The thatched cottage furthest from the stream in Peach Blossom Spring.

All door and window frames were removed to allow for adequate ventilation.

Huang Zhong was bent over his desk, with six materials for making bows laid out beside him.

What are the six materials? They are: wood, horn, sinew, glue, silk, and lacquer.

During the Han Dynasty, composite recurve bows were the mainstream, with a wide bow body to ensure sufficient range. Generally speaking, the larger the stone count of a longbow, the longer the bow.

Just like the four-stone bow that Huang Zhong is currently preparing for himself, the bow itself is almost as tall as a person.

Inside the thatched hut, stacks of wood were piled up like a small mountain. He used mulberry wood for the trunk, ox horn for the splint, and silk rope to wrap the tendons.

However, the first step in making a bow is to determine its shape.

Holding a small blade, Huang Zhong carefully cut along the grain of the wood, while a bonfire was lit beside him to set the arc.

While Huang Zhong was concentrating intently, a soft cough sounded outside the thatched hut. The hand holding the knife did not waver at all, and Huang Zhong knew that his patriarch had arrived.

Turning around, sure enough, Zhang Xian was standing at the door waiting, wearing a blacksmith's leather apron.

"The patriarch has arrived. Perfect timing. I've just started shaping the bow myself. Come and take a look."

"Alright." Zhang Xian stepped through the door and stood beside Huang Zhong to observe.

"The bow trunk is made of mulberry wood, and the shape of the bow is determined along this grain. The bow tip needs to be flat so that it can fit against the corner."

As he spoke, Huang Zhong worked on the bow.

It takes a full four or five hours, from dusk till nightfall, for the bow shaft of a bow to be properly prepared.

The base of the bow is dark black, which is due to the heat from the fire used to set the arc. The bow already has an arch shape, but the current arch shape will be reversed when the string is attached.

"Haa." Zhang Xian yawned.

He didn't practice for a single second during those five hours; he only observed. Although he knew from the beginning that bow making was not easy, he never imagined it would be this difficult.

This is just the first step. Tomorrow, gluing the corners and wrapping them with rope will also take just as much time.

Not to mention that after the corners are attached, the bow needs to be left to dry for more than ten days before it is fully formed. This is even with the wood that they directly purchased and dried. If they start from the wood stage, it would take at least three years to make a bow.

Day two.

After tending to his farm and livestock early in the morning, Zhang Xian returned to the thatched hut.

Yesterday, the bow had been wrapped up and hung from the roof beam with heavy objects. Huang Zhong started carving new wood, and Huang Zhong went to help him, taking a piece of not-so-good old wood to practice with.

Neither of them left the bow-making hut that day.

The bows were made in the dead of night, and six bow shafts appeared in the room.

"Hansheng, this is taking too much time. Even if the two of us worked ourselves to death for a month, we still wouldn't be able to produce a hundred bows."

"What do you think about us finding some more people to come and learn how to make bows together?"

This is Huang Zhong's technique, so if he wants to spread it, he has to consider Huang Zhong's opinion.

“The entire family of Zhongzhi belongs to the head of the family, and the head of the family has no objection to Zhongzhi.”

Huang Zhong readily agreed, and he had no objection to his family patriarch's idea of ​​spreading archery skills.

“Alright, then we’ll recruit some residents from the estate tomorrow. Hansheng is generous, and I won’t be stingy either. Once my sister-in-law arrives, I’ll give Hansheng 100,000 coins as a settlement fee.”

“The master has treated Zhong well; how can Zhong take more money!”

Huang Zhong was displeased.

But Zhang Xian was adamant: "That's it then. Don't say anything more. A man who makes a name for himself outside the home should show it to his wife and children. Your sister-in-law has worked so hard all these years, so you must keep her at ease."

"Alas." Huang Zhong sighed heavily, "I am ashamed to accept this."

"There's no reason for you to feel ashamed; you deserve it all along."

The two of them, their eyes almost crossed, walked out of the bow-making hut. Seven bows hung from the beams of the hut.

Day three.

Continue to manage the farm and livestock as usual.

Then Zhang Xian went to the village and selected eight elderly men around forty years old to learn archery.

However, not everyone can understand as quickly as he can, so only four bows were cut and shaped that day. Most of the time, he and Huang Zhong spent their time explaining the process to the bow-making apprentices.

Fourth day.

As usual, the apprentices understood the explanation.

fifth day.

As usual, the instructor explained and guided the apprentices through hands-on practice, resulting in the disposal of seven bow pieces and the creation of one bow piece.

sixth day.

As usual, Zhang Xian explained, Huang Zhong stood at the corner, and guided the apprentices to practice. Six bow pieces were made, and two bow pieces were discarded.

The seventh day.

The eighth day.

It took more than half a month to make the bow.

The eight apprentices finally mastered the art of bow cutting and bow setting, and the production of bow limbs is now on the right track.

More than thirty bow shafts were already hanging from the beams of the bow-making workshop, and seven or eight more bow bodies were being pressed against the wall.

Once the compression time is over, you can string the bow and test it.

"Master Zhang, I've delivered the person to you! The patriarch ordered that we also need to collect five thousand catties of fine wine today!"

Outside the village, a carriage arrived, and on the carriage, Huang Zhong's wife had a weathered face.

(End of this chapter)