introduction
As we all know, Zhuge Liang was a large army division of the Shu Han camp during the Three Kingdoms period. He assisted Liu Bei in establishing the Shu state, and made many military suggestions and suggestions, and repeatedly built up qigong; in addition to his political and military talents, he also achieved great achievements in invention. For example, in the "Biography of Zhuge Liang", it is recorded: "Brightness is longer than ingenuity, profit and loss are continuous crossbows, wooden cattle and horses, all of which are unexpected." Deduce the art of war, make eight formations, and get the salty. "It is about Zhuge Liang who designed a crossbow and a wooden cow flowing horse that arbitrarily increased or decreased the number of arrows, and was also good at calculating the art of war and inventing the Bagua array.
There were some broken copper in an ancient tomb in Hubei, and some people thought that this was just ordinary metal. Archaeologists disagree, no matter how the copper in these tombs, they have a history of 1700 years, and their research value has been extraordinary. They carefully collected these materials, brought them back for careful study, and finally restored 40 "submachine guns", which made netizens laugh: Is it difficult for the tomb owner to cross?
▲Mini version of Zhuge Lian crossbow
01
In the 1990s, archaeologists discovered an ancient tomb on a hillside in Lichuan, Hubei Province. After some exploration, they initially speculated that this was an ancient tomb from the late Eastern Han Dynasty. However, at that time, there were several robbery holes around the tomb, and it seemed that they had been visited many times by tomb robbers. Sure enough, when the experts entered the burial chamber, it was a mess, and all the funerary goods were looted, only some broken bronze and pottery fragments were left in the corridor between the tomb and the burial chamber.
Experts speculate that these bronze fragments may be parts of a large bronze, so they need to be collected in their entirety and brought back to the studio for good study. After a week of restoration work, the experts actually spelled out 40 weapons-like instruments, zhuge crossbow arrows known for their complicated processes and fierce power! The expert could not help but sigh: it was indeed his invention.
▲ Expert archaeological photos
Zhuge Repeating Crossbow, that is, Zhuge Liang's improved version of the Western Han Crossbow, but because it has the powerful power of one-time continuous multiple arrows that the general repeater does not have, and also uses advanced connecting rod force-saving wheel teeth, it is called the ancient version of the "submachine gun" by later generations.
02
However, it is also because of these characteristics that Zhuge Lian's crossbow is difficult to reproduce, and its production method has been lost in a long time. So is the Zhuge Lian crossbow on the battlefield really that powerful? Specifically, Zhuge Lian's crossbow is large, heavy, and difficult to move, requiring multiple soldiers to work together to function.
▲ Crossbow arrows in film and television dramas
However, its firepower is very strong, the range is hundreds of meters, firing ten arrows at a time is not a problem, and the aggression is also very strong, which can be called the opening and hanging artifact of the defensive camp and the city during the Three Kingdoms period. In the era of cold weapons without gunpowder, the special weapon of Zhuge Lian's crossbow played a vital role in defending the city and repelling the enemy.
Before 1700, the level of social productivity was not high, and the level of science and technology was not developed. Zhuge Liang, however, thought positively, worked hard to overcome negative factors, and took advantage of the not-so-good conditions at that time to conceive and create and mass-produce powerful weapons against the enemy. In fact, in addition to Zhuge Lian's crossbow, he also invented the Kong Ming Lantern, the Wooden Cow Flowing Horse, the Bagua Array, etc., and his inventive talents were really amazing and breathtaking.
▲Zhuge Liang stills
03
Zhuge Liang recognized his talent very early on, and had compared himself to Guan Zhong and Le Yi, but at that time, except for his friend Xu Shu and others who recognized his talent, others knew nothing about his talent. Later, Liu Bei also went to Longzhong to visit Zhuge Liang at the suggestion of Xu Shu.
However, Liu Bei did not succeed in the first two times, and he had already returned home as an ordinary person, but Liu Bei did not give up and finally met Zhuge Liang during the third visit. Zhuge Liang saw that Liu Bei was so sincerely visiting, and he couldn't help but be moved, so he first analyzed the situation in the world for Liu Bei, and then put forward a strategic concept for Liu Bei on how to take the Central Plains step by step, and the famous "Longzhong Pair" was born. After that, Zhuge Liang was invited to become Liu Bei's adviser and military master. He created a foundation for Liu Bei, saved the situation, and achieved the great cause of the Shu kingdom.
▲Zhuge Liang and Liu Bei stills
epilogue
There is an old saying: "Thousands of horses often exist, but Bole does not often exist", in a sense, Liu Bei is simply Zhuge Liang's Bole. Because he remembered Liu Bei's kindness, Zhuge Liang has also been doing his best to assist Liu Bei. After Liu Bei's death, his son Liu Chan succeeded to the throne, and Zhuge Liang also wholeheartedly assisted him, showing him the method of managing the government, the form of the country, and the meritorious courtiers who could bear heavy responsibilities, and also helped him to go out on the Northern Expedition, never thinking of usurping power. Du Fu said in the "Shu Xiang" that "the three Gu frequently annoy the world's plans, and the two dynasties open the hearts of the old subjects." He died before he could get out of the division, and the hero was in tears. A few words accurately summarized Zhuge Liang's life of great talent, assisting the two dynasties, being loyal to the country, and working hard.
Resources:
"Marquis Wu of Zhuge"
《Shu Xiang》