Chapter 209
Crossbows had existed and they had been through several evolutions in the current era . The deficiencies of the crossbows were too severe to make them practical, however . The shooting range was too short and the bow weight was too high to be carried around . There were specific requirements for the crossbows to be used with their surroundings . They were not easily maintained and they cost too much effort on the craft and money…
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For various reasons, only a small portion of people could afford to use crossbows .
Jiang Pengji wouldn’t want to use crossbows, even if they were widely implemented .
She examined the half-finished crossbow; it turned out that the arms, body, strings and triggers all fit with the data she gave .
With her modifications, it would shorten the excessive reloading time which would, in a way, enhance the the flexibility and maneuverability of the bow .
“We still have no idea what the gross cost and the production time for making a crossbow would be… If the cost is too high and it is too time consuming based on the numbers of people in our carpentering house, then we have no chance for manufacturing them on a broad scale . Furthermore, this is still a secret which needs to be kept . Not too many craftsmen are supposed to participate in the program…” Jiang Pengji frowned and pouted with the result; she was not happy with it .
Well, she didn’t really have too many people, after all .
It would be affordable, with her wealth, if she would like to supply each of her own people with a crossbow .
To not draw too much attention, she wrapped the bow and the ten different styles of bolts with a white cloth and then she left her home .
“Let’s go to the ranch!”
The Lius’ place was not a perfect location to test the crossbow . It was not about the secret being leaked by the assistants and servants, nor was it about if she would hurt anyone by accident––it was all about space . There was no space for testing in the Lius’ place . The shooting range would be rather far by her calculations .
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Instead of riding her own horse, she took a ride in a wagon .
Having a professional like Meng Hun did help get the training of her soldiers on the right track and there was a remarkable amount of improvement compared to when he first started .
She gazed at a group of topless soldiers as they walked past her carrying a piece of three foot long, round wood on their shoulders . The last one in the group was the tiny Nongqin . She was in the same suit, worn out, and her lips had turned pale .
Apparently Nongqin saw her, too . Her pretty eyes shone a little and she just kept going .
Jiang Pengji grinned at Nongqin and spoke to her when she was about to pass .
“You can take a break if you are tired . After all, you are still just a feeble girl . ”
She emphasized the word “feeble . ”
Nongqin’s eyes widened as soon as she heard that . Soon after, she gnashed her teeth and started to run harder, even though her steps were getting heavy and sluggish . The piece of the cloth on her shoulder had been rubbed so hard that there was a hole in it and the skin under it was bleeding badly, which seemed fairly miserable .
Jiang Pengji was delighted by her performance and said, “Manage your breathing and try to catch up with them . I will be waiting for you at the playground . ”
Nongqin took a deep breath and started to pace herself more steadily after she heard her words . She was getting better .
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Meng Hun had been moving along with the group . It was intolerable that anyone slacked . The moment he spotted Jiang Pengji, he approached her and bowed . “It’s my pleasure to see you here, Langjun . ”
“Let’s save the etiquette . I’m here to handle some affairs . Make sure everyone waits on the playground after their training . ”
Meng Hun suddenly realized there was something mysteriously shaped like a bow and wrapped in a white cloth in Jiang Pengji’s hands .
He was about to take a guess about the object in her hands when he caught Jiang Pengji inquiring of him . “How is Nongqin doing in the training these days?”
Meng Hun responded, “She is quite persistent, even for a girl . Some soldiers in the army are not so decent, but they have taken some lessons from me . However, Nongqin seemed to be bothered by some matters that she wouldn’t share with any others . She just kept training all by herself…”
Meng Hun could appreciate the fortitude of men and he would call him a true man if he was that painstaking . But Nongqin was a girl, and she took double the time and effort to absorb new knowledge, which displeased Meng Hun .
“It has gotta be some bad words spread around about her in private, right?” Jiang Pengji sneered and said plainly, “I assumed most of them were some belittled words about her . Nongqin has been through plenty of rough times and that’s how her personality has formed . It is not bad that she buries herself in training; at least she wasn’t just weeping alone . ”
Crying was a cowardly move that was only better than committing suicide to Jiang Pengji . It would never be something she would advocate .
Could one solve a problem with just crying?
No, It would only put oneself in a awkward situation and encourage the victimizers’ arrogant indulgence .
Nongqin was humiliated and taunted by the others . She chose to work harder to be a better person instead of sobbing all alone . She didn’t want anyone to look down on her, which was a huge step up for her .
Meng Hun felt somehow apologetic .
The customs in Dongqing were comparably open minded . Still, in many stereotypes, women were only supposed to have some connections with needles .
Why the h*ll did they get themselves worked up to get trained like the big guys?
How did they gain strength like the men with their tender, fragile skin and chopstick skinny arms?
She did create some topics for people to talk about when she first arrived there .
There were also some coarse soldiers that talked dirty to her when they didn’t know who they were talking to . It was embarrassing .
Meng Hun would stand up for her when he caught the men doing this, but there was no way he could be there for her all the time .
He mumbled, “Sorry for that . It’s because of my incapability…”
Jiang Pengji sneered at him and calmly said, “What does it have to do with you? She will fight for herself by getting trained painstakingly . Why do you need to apologize? It doesn’t really matter if it’s a she or he, you have to earn others’ recognition and appreciation by improving yourself . Fists talk in this case! You will only make everyone else neglect her hard work if you are being overprotective . You just let it be as long as it’s still under your control . ”
Who would dare to think she was small if she beat up all of them? She could beat them up twice if the first time didn’t work .
The army was supposed to be a place where one got to talk with tougher fists . Who cared about their sex?
If guys got their asses kicked by women, didn’t that suggest that guys were inferior to women?
Then what was the point of training if they were weaker than women? They might as well just go home to keep company with their needles and threads .
They were just a whole bunch of guys asking for their a**es to be kicked!
Jiang Pengji spotted Nongqin standing out of the group when she was still far away from the playground . Her face was covered with sweat mixed with dust and she had a sense of tension . Her eyes was full of caution . A guy next to her tried to start a conversation with her but he was too scared to say a word because of her tension .
Jiang Pengji came to the front of the squad and asked, “Do you guys see the targets at the end of the playground?”
The playground was circled and used for training . Even though it seemed shabby with a low-equipped infrastructure, it was still convenient to do training in such a big space .
Only a few of the soldiers gave her responses, and Nongqin was one of them . Her response was firm and loud . “Yes!”
Jiang Pengji looked around at the laggards with their boosted egos . She gazed at Nongqin, whose face was slimmer after the training .
She made a gesture to Nongqin and asked her to come forward . “You, come . Try to shoot at the target from here . ”