Where there are people, there are rivers and lakes, and those who are familiar with history or those who do not know history are no strangers to war. From ancient times to the present, there are countless battles of all sizes, and weapons are indispensable when there is war, and the ancient weapons made of iron and bronze in our country are called cold weapons, so there is a saying of "eighteen kinds of weapons".
The "eighteen" we are talking about here does not mean that there are only eighteen kinds of weapons in ancient times, there are many kinds of ancient weapons, not only eighteen kinds, but refers to the most common and mainstream weapons, such as knives, guns, swords, halberds, axes, hooks, forks, whips, sticks, sticks, maces, hammers, scratches, abductors, meteors, etc.
Today we are going to talk about the second most important gun in the "Eighteen Weapons". When it comes to ancient guns, some people may think, "Isn't that just an iron rod"?
Although iron is hard and lethal, the production of iron in ancient times was extremely limited, at most only a few hundred catties per year. Moreover, guns were the main ** in ancient times, and they simply could not meet the demand.
In addition, if the body of the gun is made entirely of iron, the weight is too heavy and it is difficult to hold for a long time, let alone use it in battle. As a result, the barrel of a gun is not entirely made of iron rods, and even the most common materials are not affordable for ordinary people.
To understand the materials used to make gun barrels in ancient times, we can first understand the materials of some of the top ten guns in ancient times, and then look at what materials the barrels of popular guns are usually made of.
The top ten famous guns, from the first to the tenth are the Overlord Gun, the Gentian Bright Silver Gun, the Plum Blossom Gun, the Fire Dragon Gun, the Liquan Gun, the Tiger Head Zhan Gold Gun, the Shenwei Lie Water Gun, the Five Tiger Soul Breaking Gun, the Green Shen Gun and the Luye Gun.
These famous authors are all famous generals who have been passed down through the ages. These valiant warriors, armed with their spears, made great achievements for their country. You may be wondering, how are these excellent ** made?
Are they all made from the same materials? First, let's take a look at the top-ranked Overlord gun. According to historical records, when Xiang Yu was raising troops, he encountered a meteorite falling from the sky on the way.
Xiang Yu felt that the texture of this stone was unique, which was very different from ordinary stones. So, he asked his men to fetch the stone and give it to his father, Xiang Liang.
Later, Xiang Liang heard that there was a local master who cast weapons, and he brought a meteorite to the master, hoping that he could refine the steel in the stone. After nine days and nine nights of unremitting efforts, the master finally forged a huge chiseled golden tiger head spear.
The material of this rod is made of stainless steel and mixed casting, the weight has reached almost hundreds of catties, and the surface is shining, very domineering. But only someone with extraordinary abilities can wield it.
And let's take a look at the spear "Fire Dragon Gun" used by Su Daji's father, Su Hu. The fire dragon spear is about one zhang long, made of iron-smelting red copper, and the head of the spear is shaped like a flame and resembles a dragon's tongue, hence the name fire dragon lance.
The barrel is made of 100-year-old mahogany and is very hard. Core idea: These two stories describe the ** used by the two heroes. Xiang Liang found a master caster, and through nine days and nine nights of hard work, he forged a huge chiseled gold tiger head spear, which only people with extraordinary abilities could wield.
Su Daji's father, Su Hu, used a fire dragon spear about one zhang long, made of iron-smelting red copper, the head of the spear was shaped like a flame, shaped like a dragon's tongue, and the barrel was made of century-old mahogany, which was very hard.
Over a period of 15 years, the craftsmen carefully soaked the century-old mahogany in cooked oil to make it fully absorb the essence of cooked oil. In the end, this mahogany gun barrel weighing 54 catties was carefully carved by famous craftsmen and took a month to complete.
The tip of the spear is even more unique, made of extremely rare cold iron. In contrast, other ordinary guns are like ants and Tarzan in front of them.
This tiger head Zhan golden gun has been used by the three national generals Ma Chao, Yue Feichuan's first fierce general Gao Zhong and Ming Yinglieli general Chang Yuchun, ranking sixth. The body of the gun is one foot and one foot three, and the barrel of the gun is made of mixed iron and steel, and the whole gun is very heavy.
The spear head is gilded in the shape of a tiger's head, and the tiger's mouth is very tough, made of white gold, and very sharp. The barrel of Qi Jiguang's treasure spear Shenwei Lie Water Gun is also made of fine crude steel mixed with gold, which is very sharp.
Jiang Wei, Dong Ping, Yang Yanzhao and other famous generals used the green sinking gun and reed leaf gun, all of which are made of high-quality materials, and they are from the hands of famous artists. But for the general public, what are the guns they use made of?
Let's unravel this mystery together.
Understanding the Diversity of Ancient Gun Shaft Materials Ancient gun shaft materials were actually diverse and not fixed. The barrel of the wooden spear is generally rationed for the use of ordinary soldiers, with a suitable weight and an obvious advantage in length.
The spear head is made of iron, which can cope with melee combat and avoid the disadvantage of short weapons.
Spears are favored by armies and generals because of their excellent performance and use advantages. Although the wooden barrel is light and easy to wield, it is easy to break. The ancients knew this well, and they chose wood that was easy to obtain, but in wars where supplies were not easy to supply, as long as the head of the gun was there, the material for the barrel of the gun could be found.
However, for the actual combat of real guns on the battlefield, it is more appropriate to choose mahogany, alder wood and other woods with high hardness and toughness to make gun barrels. For example, the barrel of the dragon gun is made of 100-year-old mahogany that has been soaked and polished in oil for 15 years.
Even ordinary wooden gun barrels are made of precious mahogany, alder wood and other woods, which are easy to hold and not easy to break, but they are expensive and difficult for ordinary families to bear.
Iron Gun Shaft: Although the iron gun barrel weighs 100 pounds, it does not have enough power to wield it freely, let alone deal with enemy troops on the battlefield for a long time. What's worse is that there is a problem with the iron gun barrel, that is, ancient soldiers usually wear armor, and when fighting with the enemy, if the gun pierced into the opponent's armor and then pulled out, it was easy to get stuck, and it could even lead to ** getting out of the hand and breaking the user's arm.
Of course, this is just that ordinary people can't control it, but for those famous generals with amazing arm strength and high force, iron guns are not a problem. Just like Luo Shixin, the first fierce general of the Sui and Tang Dynasties, he is known as the iron sharpshooter, and once used an iron gun to fight against Li Yuanba's eight stunned silver hammers, both sides are extremely brave, you come and go, not inferior, can be called a legend of divine power.
Yue Fei's Liquan spear, Zhao Zilong's Changsheng spear, and Xiang Yu's spear, the power of these ** all lie in the user's divine power and excellent marksmanship. Although they are all heavy iron guns, not all soldiers can use them, after all, they can afford to hold weapons weighing nearly 100 pounds, and there are very few people who can fight against the enemy for a long time.
For most soldiers, the barrels they used were made of special wood or composite materials with good toughness. After all, not everyone can have natural divine power and world-famous marksmanship.
Although composite gun barrels are widely circulated and widely used, they are actually more cumbersome and more complex in structure than the previous two processes. This kind of gun barrel also has another name, called Jizhu Mumi.
Smooth sticks made of special wood, then pasted with tough bamboo pieces, then tied with tough silk threads, and finally evenly coated with lacquer, and then combined by multiple layers of treatment.
The barrel of this composite material is complex to make, requires skilled manual skills, and has a high failure rate. But it has the advantage of being both hard and tough, and it is very durable. In ancient times, the Mongolian and other horse peoples widely used this spear with bamboo and wood secret materials.
The barrel of the horse lance is known for its unique manufacturing process, and its high-grade quality cannot be compared with ordinary bamboo and wood secrets. The main material used in the barrel must be a trunk of non-high-quality tough wood, which is processed and dried, peeled into a uniform size and consistent thickness, and then glued together with special glue.
The best trunk material is the takumi used to make bows and arrows, and if not, the trunk of mulberry, oak or fine rattan can be used, but at worst bamboo cannot be used.
After making the glove, it needs to be soaked and dried repeatedly for at least a year. After removal, it needs to be air-dried in a cool place for several months. Next, the barrel of the gun was made from high-quality glue paint and fine hemp rope.
Once the hemp rope and barrel are completely dry, apply lacquer and arrowroot cloth, and repeat the process until the crisp metal crash sound can be heard when the knife is slashed without breaking. Only the barrel of the gun made in this way can be considered to be up to standard.
If it fails, it will take three years to remake. After the barrel is completed, the head and other decorative parts are assembled.
Since the Han and Tang Dynasties, the horse lance is regarded as a symbol of the status of senior generals, and it takes three years to make, and the success rate is only about forty percent, so the cost is extremely amazing, and ordinary people cannot have it.
The lance is both sturdy and light, allowing the commander to easily keep the tip forward when riding a horse, and can swing it in charge and melee combat. Only those high-ranking generals who are born in the children of the family are qualified to hold this kind of ** and show their bravery and glory.
If you want to build such a fine horse lance, even a general with a prominent background needs to accumulate many years of wealth. The spear used by Zhang Fei has a sharp tip like a short sword, which can be slashed, and the design of the lingering complex under the blade makes it impossible for the horse to penetrate the opponent when charging.
The iron rod is forged in one piece, the iron rod is covered with tough wood, and then glued with fish maw gum, shellac and pig skin glue, as well as the coating of lacquer, wrapped in kudzu cloth and lacquer, coated layer by layer, the weight reaches 15 to 20 catties, only the fierce general can control.
Similarly, when the gun shaft of this composite structure is in battle, when the horse charges at high speed and stabs the opponent, the power will be dispersed and will not break as easily as the Western European cavalry rifle.
The barrel is resilient and resilient, and is equipped with a lingering block that makes it easy to pierce and pull out armor compared to hardcores. When holding it, you only need to hold the middle part, which is two meters long at each end, which can not only protect your own safety, but also protect the horse from the threat of the enemy's long weapons.
To attack targets at a distance, simply slide your hand to the end to stab up to four meters away, making it useful for both high-speed and low-speed combat.
However, due to the change in the way of warfare, the opportunity to charge on horseback was relatively reduced, and the production process was complicated, and the requirements for materials, craftsmanship, time and cost were extremely high, and only fierce generals could use them.
Coupled with the loss of the craftsmanship of production, the spear with the barrel of the horse lance was gradually eliminated.