Chapter Fourteen: Official Return to Yi

  The production of bows and arrows takes a relatively long time, and the troops of the Returning Letter Army are not equipped. If the Liao army attacks at this time, the consequences would be unthinkable. Wu Ji would not let the time drag on. The raw materials Yang Xiuxiu purchased were all ready to use, which greatly shortened the cycle.

  Nowadays in the North, although the court began to control military equipment after the alliance of Zhenyuan, a hundred years of war still gave birth to many raw materials for war. It is not difficult to purchase existing raw materials either.

  Under Wu Zhi's command, the craftsmen got busy and started making bows. With Wu Zhi's guidance, they didn't have much trouble and soon finished.

  After completion, it cannot be used immediately and must wait until the glue and bow are fully combined, which takes some time.

  After several days passed, Wu Ji examined it and found that the glue had combined well with the bow body, so he could use it. He picked up a bow and tried to draw it open.

  Although the bow was curved, it saved a lot of effort. However, with Wu Ji's physical strength, he still couldn't pull it open and only managed to pull it halfway. Wu Ji had no way to personally test this bow.

  Nowadays these people can still make bows, but they cannot test them. We need to find someone who understands bows and arrows to try them out, but who should we look for?

  Wu Ji's eyes rolled, and he immediately thought of someone - Qi Da Bao. The good men of the Qi Yun Society were best at archery, and had the most say in bows and arrows. Having them inspect it would be perfect.

  As soon as he thought of it, Wu Jia brought a few bows and left the Wu family's military factory to rush to the Qi Yun Society. When Wu Jia arrived at the Qi Yun Society, he received a warm welcome from Qi Da Bao, who personally welcomed him into the house and ordered someone to serve tea: "Commander Wu, what wind blew you here today?"

  "Brother Qi, I've come to trouble you with something." Wu Ji and Qi Dabao's friendship grew closer, and the two began addressing each other as brothers.

  "Wu Zhihui, if you have something to say, just say it. As long as I can do it, I'll definitely do it. What is it?" Qi Dabao was as straightforward as ever, without beating around the bush.

  Wu Ji put several bows on the table and said straightforwardly, "These bows were made by me and have not been tested yet. I don't know if there are any problems with them. Speaking of bows and arrows, in the entire Gui Xin, except for Brother Qi, no one else can be found who is proficient in this area. So I had to trouble Brother Qi to help me verify whether they are usable or not."

  "What are you doing?" Zhi Dabao was somewhat surprised. Wu Jie could make thunderbolt pellets, he was one in ten thousand who believed, but when it came to making bows, this was now a technical skill, and even if Wu Jie knew how, it wasn't certain that he would be good at it. He casually picked up a bow and took a closer look, his eyes shining with interest: "This bow is extraordinary! Hmm, what's this?"

  A pair of eyes stared at the bow, with a hint of confusion on his face.

  The recurve can save effort, allowing the bow to have a greater range and stronger penetration power, but it is a technology that has never been used in ancient Chinese bows, so Qida Bao naturally doesn't recognize it.

  "This is called a bowstring. With this thing, it's even more effortless, shoots farther and has greater strength!" Wu Ji briefly explained.

  "Really?" Qi Dabao was somewhat incredulous and could no longer hold back. With a wave of his large hand, he said: "Go! Go try it out!"

  He didn't care about Wu Jie, took a big step forward and strode out. He was an archery enthusiast, with such a novel bow, how could he hold back, walking extremely fast, like the wind.

  Wu Ji followed Qi Da Bao out of the house and arrived at the place where the good men of the Qi Yun Society practiced archery, with many targets standing upright. Qi Da Bao didn't say a word, drew his bow and arrow, aimed at the target, and shot it off in one go.

  "Whoosh!"

  A sharp whizzing sound rose, an arrow pierced the air's barrier, like a cone, towards the target.

  Bang!

  A crisp impact sounded, and the arrow hit the bullseye, penetrating two feet deep.

  "What a strong bow!" Qi Dabao's eyebrows rose in surprise. Although he had heard Wu Ji say that with the bow, the strength would be greater, he hadn't expected it to be so strong.

  In general, he hit the bullseye, and the arrow could penetrate about a foot deep, but this one penetrated nearly two feet, with a much stronger force.

  He drew his bow again and this time the arrow shaft was more than two feet from the target. He shot several arrows in a row, with the strongest one not even reaching within three feet.

  "Good bow! Good bow!"

  Zhidabao was taken aback, and couldn't help but exclaim loudly, holding on tightly, as if he wanted to devour it all.

  "How is it? Is it useful?" Wu Ji asked hastily.

  "Is it just good? It's very good!" Qi Dabao measured the bow in his hand, and his eyes couldn't move away: "Commander Wu, how much does this bow cost per piece? How many do you have? I want that many! Our Qi Yun Society is in need of such a good bow."

  "Brother Qi, this matter will have to wait for now." Wu Ji shook his head and rejected Qi Dabao's proposal: "The troops are waiting for the bow to be used, I need to equip the troops first."

  The current state of the army, Qi Dabao is well aware of it. The equipment is extremely lacking, otherwise Wu Ji would not have come to him to borrow bows and arrows. Although he knows this is a fact, Qi Dabao still has a regretful expression: "What a pity! What a pity! Commander Wu, if you equip the army properly, such good bows must be sold to our Qi Yun Society! We are most skilled in archery, with such good bows, it's like having an extra life!"

  After the Gui Xinjun equipment is ready, these equipment will be sold out. Selling to Qi Yun She is not a problem. This trial also brought in a huge customer. Wu Ji was also delighted and agreed: "Definitely! Definitely!"

  "Wu Zhihui, this bow is good to use, it's just that the time is too short. If you let it go, it will be even better to use." Qi Dabao is indeed a master of archery, and at a glance, he saw the problem with this bow.

  Making a bow requires a very long period of time, and even though the raw materials are readily available, it is still not enough.

  "Good eyesight!" Wu Ji praised, and said somewhat helplessly: "I'm in a hurry to use it, aren't I? The bows and arrows used by the army are all borrowed from you. I'm in a hurry. This is the first batch, Qi brother said it's no problem, so I can mass-produce it, and when the time is right, I'll give it to the army."

  Qizibao tried several more, and was full of praise. However, Qizibao was like a greedy rich man who had seen a treasure, grasping the bow tightly in his hand, no matter what, he wouldn't let go. Wujiu was helpless, so he gave the bow to him as a gift. Qizibao was overjoyed and kept praising Wujiu as a good person.

  With Qi Dabao's affirmation, this bow will no longer be a problem. Wu Ji was also delighted and bid farewell to Qi Dabao, returning to the Wu family's military workshop to have craftsmen mass-produce it.

  The Gui Xin army has 500 people, each with one sword, so we need 500 swords, and also some spare ones, which requires about 700-800 swords. This is still a considerable burden for the Wu Shi military industry, and it will take some time.

  Fortunately, Wu Ji had already taken care of the matter and recruited many skilled bow craftsmen, making things much easier. In the north, it was not difficult to recruit such skilled craftsmen.

  Up to now, Wu Ji's idea of selling weapons to the military has been a success. He became the commander of the Guishen Army and sold weapons to the Guishen Army, no one had any objections. Moreover, the weapons made by Wu's military factory were much better than those produced by the Song Dynasty's Military Equipment Bureau.

  That is to say, the return journey has officially begun.

  Wu Ji did not retain the Hui Yi soldiers, but he could use Wu's military industry for exchange.

  The matter of the bow and arrow has been settled, and Wu Ji's heavy burden has been lightened a bit. When he arrived at the military camp and told them about it, Huangfu Song was overjoyed. Immediately afterwards, Huangfu Song began to complain again: "Commander Wu, the bow and arrow are indeed urgently needed, but what about knives, guns, helmets, and armor? They're also badly needed! Why didn't you make them earlier? The Wu family's military industry has blacksmiths, they can be made first."

  Can't blame him, it's just that the troops are really short of equipment. Nowadays, training is still done with wooden swords and guns.

  "This is not difficult! Making swords and guns is simpler than making bows, and it won't take as long." Wu Ji furrowed his brow and said: "However, there's a problem with this, I need to discuss it with you."

  The cycle of making a bow is long, while knives and spears only need enough blacksmiths and sufficient raw materials to be made.

  "This matter is extremely important, I had ideas early on, but I need to hear your thoughts. Let's go!" Wu Ji brought Huang Fu to the midst of the knife-wielding crowd and pointed at the training knife-handlers: "Huang Fu, have you noticed that the Mazha Knife is too light, its power on the battlefield is limited."

  "Too light?" Huang Fu's expression changed, and his eyes lit up: "Right! This matter, Wu Zhihui didn't say, and I didn't notice either. The Mazha knife is only 5 or 6 catties heavy, and its power is indeed insufficient on the battlefield. Wait for me, I'll go get something, I'll be right back."

  Without waiting for Wu Ji to speak, he quickly walked away and soon came back. He held a knife in his hand, with a respectful expression on his face, as if he had seen an ancestor, and handed it to Wu Ji, smiling: "Commander Wu, do you know what kind of knife this is? It's got a big story behind it! I'll tell you, it will give you a big shock!"

  With a spirited and proud expression, he raised his head and puffed out his chest: "This sword has been forged into unparalleled brilliance!"