The ancients had created bows and arrows and begun to use them long ago. Specifically, the bow and arrow was formed in the Stone Age, when people bent a stretchy stick (such as bamboo) into a bow arm, and then took a stick again, and cut one end of the stick into a pointed shape, which was the earliest arrow.
Later, people became more and more skilled in the use of tools, and the production technology was further developed, so the bows and arrows created by people became more sophisticated, and the types of arrows created were more and more, such as half-sided buckle arrows, hidden arrows, etc., but no matter how varied the type of arrows, its basic composition was consistent, all of which were arrows plus arrows.
The most essential difference between different types of arrows is only the difference in size and shape and the material used. Although the composition of the bow and arrow looks simple, its lethality cannot be underestimated. On the battlefield during the cold weapon period, the bow and arrow were one of the few weapons that could hurt people a hundred paces away.
The role of the bow and arrow on the cold weapon battlefield is similar to that of today's guns, and the biggest role is long-range attack. Especially when defending the city, the bow and arrow is an indispensable weapon. However, arrows are used as long-range attack weapons, and it is difficult to get them back after shooting them.
And if you want to kill people with bows and arrows on the battlefield, then in addition to the skill of the archer, you must also ensure the lethality of the arrow itself, otherwise it is impossible to shoot through the enemy's armor. However, in ancient times, it was very complicated to create an arrow with such a strong lethality, because it was extremely demanding, and this requirement was not only reflected in the length of the arrow, but also in the accuracy of the size.
Because of the high requirements, the selling price is also expensive, and a qualified arrow shaft can be sold for at least 50 yuan, so the money to buy more than a dozen arrows can completely buy a sheep. From this we can also see that the ancient war talk of raising the power of the whole country is not an exaggeration.
Since the cost is high, the number must be limited, and after the arrows are shot, if they cannot be replenished in time, it will affect the next battle. At this time, the resourceful general will come up with various methods, such as - if he does not have it, he will go to the enemy and get it back.
"Romance of the Three Kingdoms" has such a plot, the chapter name is called "Grass Boat Borrowing Arrows", which is about Zhuge Liang's army lacking arrows, but it is too late to build them overnight, so he thought of a way to borrow them from Cao Ying. This "borrowing" is, of course, not a polite borrowing, but a scheming to make the enemy willingly give you an arrow without your knowledge.
Therefore, Zhuge Liang thought of a way, at night when the people's vision is not so clear, tie a few straw people on the boat, and then declare war on the enemy, at this time, the enemy is caught off guard, there is no time to see the situation on the ship, can only choose to defend, and the best way to defend is to shoot arrows. In this way, the enemy's arrow can be firmly planted on the body of the straw man.
By the time the purpose was achieved, the enemy found it too late. During the Tang Dynasty, there was also a famous general named Zhang Tour who used a similar method. Sometimes when the arrow cannot be "borrowed", the ancients will cut off the arrow shaft from the middle and then install the arrows separately, which can also alleviate the crisis. I have to say that the ancients were indeed very wise.