If you traveled back to ancient times, while others ate Guanyin clay, you would actually have giant

It was late at night, and Zhou Wu had been in his study all day. In an era without cannons, what exactly were the long-range attack methods for ships?

Zhou Wu thought about it for a whole day but still couldn't figure it out. In his previous life, naval battles were mostly fought with cannons, but in this situation, there was no industrial foundation at all. Even if he knew the manufacturing process of cannons, he couldn't make them.

"Husband, you've been in the study all day, you should rest early."

It wasn't until Li Baiwei's voice rang in his ears that Zhou Wu realized how late it was.

"Sorry for making you worry."

The next morning, Zhou Wu appeared in the village with dark circles under his eyes.

"Brother Wu, what's wrong with you? Didn't you sleep well last night? You and your wife have been married for so long, are you still going to be this crazy?"

Niu Er rarely had the chance to tease Zhou Wu, and seeing Zhou Wu's appearance, he couldn't help but make fun of him.

"Go away, you little kid, what do you know?"

Zhou Wu didn't back down either, directly bringing up Niu Er's single status.

“Uh~~”

"Yesterday I was thinking about how to arm the ships, but you were the one who was thinking about it, your mind is full of filth."

In the end, Niu Er lost his edge and became embarrassed after being talked to by Zhou Wu.

"What are you doing?"

"Oh, go get the crossbow bolts from Jiang the blacksmith."

"Oh."

The Qingyang Army's repeating crossbow bolts were all contracted out to Old Jiang, the blacksmith from Niujia Village. Because the crossbow bolts were short and not complicated, handing them over to Old Jiang in the village could save a lot of costs and also generate some revenue for the village, which was a win-win situation.

"A repeating crossbow, crossbow bolts? Heavy crossbow bolts. Right, how could I forget about him?"

Zhou Wu suddenly remembered something.

"Brother Wu, what are you saying?"

Niu Er looked bewildered, wondering what was wrong with his brother Wu, who was acting so strangely.

"Thanks to you, Niu Er."

Without waiting for Niu Er to react, Zhou Wu ran away in a flash.

He was very excited to find the blacksmith Lao Jiang and the carpenter Niu Mu, because the manufacture of heavy crossbows mainly relied on blacksmiths and carpenters.

"My lord, what are your orders?"

Old Jiang the blacksmith was waiting in his shop for Niu Er to pick up the goods, but Zhou Wu dragged him away. Niu Mu was in an even worse situation; he was at home with his wife, preparing to have some entertainment, when Zhou Wu interrupted them.

"Wait a moment, I'll draw a diagram."

Zhou Wu took out paper and pen and drew the heavy crossbow he had conceived in his mind. However, it was just a rough sketch of the exterior, because he was not very clear about some of the internal mechanisms and structures. That's why he needed to find two professionals to guide him.

"To be honest, the recent news that the fleet has stopped leaving port has caused quite a stir in the village. I'm sure you two have some concerns as well."

After Zhou Wu drew out the blueprints, he began to explain them.

"Could it be that what the village committee was referring to was boat maintenance and repair?"

"Old Mu, you're really easy to fool. In winter, because the weather prevented ships from leaving port, you took advantage of the fact that the ships were all docked in the port to carry out maintenance. It hasn't been that long."

When Old Jiang was in the midst of the famine, he wandered to Niujia Village. Compared to Niu Mu, who had always lived in Niujia Village, Old Jiang had obviously seen more of the world. Naturally, he didn't believe what the village committee said, but even if he was incapable, he didn't go around making a fuss. However, now that Zhou Wu had spoken up himself, things were different.

"Oh, sir, is it really as everyone says, that we are in danger?"

Seeing that Zhou Wu did not object to Lao Jiang's words, Niu Mu recalled another rumor that the villagers had been spreading: that Niu Family Village was being targeted by a very powerful force.

"Yes, Yuanliang encountered pirates on his last voyage. It was obvious that the pirates were after us. We don't know the size or number of the pirates. The enemy is in the shadows, while we are in the light."

"So, sir, you've designed a new weapon specifically for ships?"

“That’s right, Old Jiang, it seems your identity is not just that of an ordinary blacksmith.”

Today, Lao Jiang's performance greatly surprised Zhou Wu. Not only was he knowledgeable, but even before Zhou Wu had introduced the blueprints for the heavy crossbow, Lao Jiang recognized it as a weapon intended for ships.

"Haha, there's no such complicated story. I'm just a blacksmith who used to work in the palace. But don't worry, sir, I'm not some escapee."

The blacksmiths in the palace were for the imperial court. In this era, the highest level of all industries was represented by the imperial palace. I never expected that Old Jiang would have this identity. No wonder he could make anything I told him before.

"I didn't realize, Lao Jiang, that you were a senior engineer."

"What lion?"

"That's not important. My Niujia Village has really struck gold! Take a look at this heavy crossbow I designed. See if you can make it."

"Sir, as long as I have the design, I can make the appearance of this heavy crossbow, so the carpentry part is not a problem."

With his own design drawings and the help of carpenter Niu Mu and blacksmith Lao Jiang, Zhou Wu thought that making the heavy crossbow would be simple. However, Lao Jiang's next words shattered his illusions.

“I have no problem with the mechanism structure, but this heavy crossbow has a big problem. If we can’t solve it, it will be a waste.”

Chiang Kai-shek immediately recognized the heavy crossbow; although it was very powerful, it had a very obvious problem.

"what is the problem?"

"The main target of the heavy crossbow is ships, so its arrows must be very large. So how do you deal with the bowstring when you want to shoot such large arrows while maintaining distance and power?"

Sure enough, experience counts. Old Jiang's words made Zhou Wu realize the problem with the heavy crossbow; the bowstring was indeed an urgent issue to be addressed.

Bowstrings in this era were mostly made of animal sinews, so it was obvious that heavy crossbows made of ordinary animal sinews were not suitable.

"According to the adults' design, heavy crossbow bolts require the sinews of large animals."

Old Jiang was right; the sinews of ordinary animals, in terms of both length and toughness, are not suitable for heavy crossbow bolts.

Immediately, images of large animals appeared in Zhou Wu's mind: whales, bears, cows, pythons, elephants, crocodiles, rhinoceroses, giraffes, and hippos.

However, Zhou Wu soon realized that it was unreliable. Large animals mostly live in Africa. Even in his previous life, which was so developed, Zhou Wu had never been to Africa, let alone in this era. Going to Africa was simply impossible.

But putting Africa aside, the only large animals that can be considered large in the Great Dragon Empire are basically cows and bears. The Great Dragon Empire also seems to have crocodiles, but I've heard that because of their breed, the Great Dragon's crocodiles look more like giant salamanders and have absolutely no relation to African crocodiles. I bet if African crocodiles saw the Great Dragon crocodiles, they would immediately remove them from the crocodile family tree.