Chapter 85

"Hmm, about 21 inches, or around 2 feet. Let me check, it seems to be about 10 centimeters lower. It looks like this crossbow bolt is a bit heavy." Hong Tao also walked over, looked at the position of the crossbow bolt, and then at the position of the rag, a bit dissatisfied. The left and right deviation was not significant, but the vertical deviation was considerable. At 20 meters, it had already dropped 10 centimeters. At 50 meters, it would likely be a parabolic trajectory, making it very difficult to ensure accuracy. It seemed that the elasticity of the whale baleen was not enough. If it had carbon fiber limbs, keeping the error within 10 centimeters at 50 meters would be easy.

"The effective range is probably around 15 yards. If we use iron-tipped wooden arrows, we can shoot accurately up to 20 yards." Karl's mood was very low. He wasn't afraid of Hong Tao shooting him with the crossbow; he was grieving for the entire knight class. If Hong Tao could easily make such a terrifying crossbow, others wouldn't be much worse. If this kind of weapon spread to Europe, knights would become a laughingstock, easily slaughtered by the enemy.

"You're not very happy? I was just scaring you. I won't shoot you with this, but I will throw you on the beach until you vomit bile..." Hong Tao noticed Karl's low spirits and thought he was scared, so he quickly tried to comfort him.

"I can serve you for life, but can you promise me one thing?" Karl suddenly had a fit, clutching his chest and kneeling on one knee, glaring at Hong Tao with a very aggrieved expression.

"Tell me what it is?" Hong Tao really didn't understand what was wrong with Karl. He had no clue and wouldn't agree to anything without understanding it, no matter who knelt before him.

"Don't teach this devil's weapon to anyone else. I will protect it with my life. It must not appear in the empire!" Karl firmly stated his request, stubbornly holding his neck and staring at Hong Tao's squinting eyes without backing down, even prepared to be shot by Hong Tao.

"You're a typical fool! Do you think destroying it or even killing me will save your foolish knights? I'll tell you, even more powerful weapons will appear in the future. Not just for knights, but look at my sailboat. If aimed properly, it can be shot from hundreds or even thousands of yards away, and with one bang, it can be shattered into pieces. Do you think knights can resist such weapons?" Hong Tao laughed, realizing the reason. He understood Karl's persistence; these people valued honor highly. Although they sometimes did underhanded things, they generally had limits. However, their thinking was too rigid. Everything evolves over time. Clinging to old ways leads to backwardness, and backwardness leads to defeat, a rule that no one can change. There is no forever powerful thing in the world.

"I don't believe there will be such weapons!" Karl clearly believed it halfway, but he couldn't convince himself, still resisting verbally.

"Follow me and see. As long as you and I don't die, you'll eventually see it. Actually, no military unit can remain invincible forever. The Egyptians used chariots before, but they were eventually phased out. No one has decreed that knights must always fight on horseback with lances. They can use this, or even more advanced weapons. In battle, the focus should be on how to win, not on how to show chivalry. Chivalry can be reserved for peacetime or after you've defeated the enemy. You can think about this issue slowly. I won't go to your country for a few years, and I won't teach this to anyone else. In the Song Dynasty, privately holding long-range weapons is punishable by death. Do you understand? It means going to the guillotine, and with one chop, your head is off! If you hate me, you can report me to the Song Dynasty authorities." Hong Tao suddenly thought of cannons and muskets but just let it go. He had played with crossbows but hadn't made cannons or muskets himself. He had made mortars and shotguns, but the materials for those were unavailable now, so thinking about them was pointless.

This hand crossbow was made by Hong Tao for his own use and was not intended to spread. As long as he didn't say anything, no one would know what it was, and no one would dare touch his box. It was just a prototype and a self-defense tool. Hong Tao, like in his previous lives, always lacked a sense of security. He needed something to ensure his basic safety, even if it was just theoretical, to give him peace of mind and prevent insomnia. So, this compound reverse crossbow was more of a spiritual寄托 (support) than a weapon.

Karl certainly wouldn't report Hong Tao, at least not now, because he still hoped Hong Tao would take him home. The principles Hong Tao mentioned were beyond his current understanding, and he could only ponder them slowly. He had tried this strange crossbow a few times, and each time he felt more disheartened. This thing was not only easy to load, but it was also very light, easily held and aimed with one hand. Running with it wouldn't dislodge the bolt, and it could be fired at any time. If using wooden shafts with steel tips, it could shoot accurately up to 30 meters, hitting a human-sized target with 100% accuracy. The most terrifying thing was that it required no training. Even a fisherwoman, after a half-day of practice, could likely use it in battle with decent accuracy. In front of someone holding this hand crossbow, whether male or female, a knight was just a target, with no difference.

Hong Tao didn't try to persuade Karl further. Some things couldn't be changed by words alone; they needed time to mature. He was basically satisfied with this hand crossbow. It weighed about 2 kilograms, with a draw weight of 100 to 120 pounds, definitely not reaching 150 pounds. In this era, a girl like Bozhu, after familiarizing herself with it, could reload it several times in a short period, with an effective killing range of 30 meters. With proper training, it could be extended to 40 meters, but to penetrate heavy armor, pure steel bolts would be needed, limiting the range to 20 meters. However, Hong Tao thought that such heavy armor was unlikely in this era. Even thick armor couldn't withstand close-range shots from this hand crossbow. Wearing such armor, could one even move? So, steel bolts were probably unnecessary; wooden shafts would suffice.

After the Winter Solstice, the Tanka people on Ximao Island didn't become idle; instead, they became even busier. They weren't preparing for the Spring Festival but for Hong Tao and Bozhu's wedding. According to the wishes of Old Bo and Chen Ming'en, Hong Tao and Bozhu would officially get married on New Year's Day. Hong Tao, of course, had no objections. As for how the wedding would be conducted, he left it entirely to the two families, not worrying about it. Clothes and living habits could be changed, but marriage and funeral customs should follow the rules, at least to some extent, to show respect.

Hong Tao was quite relaxed. Besides teaching the children, he spent his days in a room where no one was allowed to enter, tinkering with his inventions based on memory. Most of his attempts ended in failure, but he managed to create a makeshift bed made of whale baleen, which he proudly placed in his and Bozhu's empty new room, along with a square table and two slightly wobbly chairs, forming the 18 legs required for a Song Dynasty wedding. To make the bed sturdier, he added six legs.

As a Tanka couple, having a house on land was not enough; they needed a boat at sea. As Hong Tao's godfather, Chen Ming'en wanted to provide him with a new rowboat, and the design was already ready, ready to be built. However, Hong Tao stopped him. The eldest of the Wen family arrived on the island after the Winter Solstice, bringing a few skilled carpenters, but they were needed for building the dock, houses, and a second sailboat. Even with more hands, it wasn't enough. Building a rowboat would take at least two months, delaying other work.

But how could Tanka people get married without a boat? Hong Tao could make do. He used the sailboat as a shield, insisting that in Australia, people lived in such boats. Old Bo and Chen Ming'en couldn't argue with him, so the sailboat became their new home on the water, and the important parts of the wedding would take place on the deck, with no relation to the house on land.

Compared to Hong Tao, Bozhu had a harder time, not just in the imagination but in reality. From the 28th of the twelfth month, she cried every day, crying and singing at the same time. The songs were incomprehensible to Hong Tao. At first, he found it interesting, but after days of crying and singing the same few songs, it became boring. Chen Qihong secretly told him that this was a Tanka custom called "crying marriage." The longer one cried, the deeper the affection for the family. The songs were called "Sighing for Parents" and "Whispering to the Groom," the former expressing love for the family, and the latter providing pre-wedding advice to the groom, urging him to take care of the family, be good to his wife, and respect both sets of parents.

"I don't understand any of it, so isn't it all in vain?" Hong Tao's mouth was quite sharp. If he didn't understand, he should have pretended to and kept quiet, but he had to say it.

"Parents gave birth to Wen, raising her in this world.

How could they have wished for a son instead of a daughter, to share the family name and light the ancestral lamp.

Ten months of pregnancy, three years of breastfeeding, how difficult it was.

Changing diapers and cleaning up, how dirty it was.

Washing diapers in the cold, their hands turned white with cold.

Drying them in the sun, and warming them by the fire when it rained.

I slept in a dry bed, while they slept in a wet one, how much effort they put in.

Parents raised Wen to be strong, their love as heavy as Mount Tai.

Wen must not be idle or lazy, quickly fetch water when the bucket is empty.

Help with chores, morning and night, without a moment's rest.

Today, I leave to return home, remembering the love of my parents.

I come forward to bow, bidding farewell to my parents and returning home."

PS: Click, collect, and recommend! Throw them all at Hong Tao...

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