Longbow

The fine drizzle arrived as promised, washing away all the blood and pausing all slaughter. Flocks of birds returned to their nests in the forest, while the army, like a swarm of wasps returning to its hive, quietly watched over Otopan City, not knowing when this fruit would ripen and fall.

Xolotl sat in a small hut within the camp, carefully examining the Tlaxcalan Long Wooden Bow in his hands.

This was clearly a self bow, made from a single material, and it was also a longbow, measuring more than 1.4 meters in length. The bowstring was made from treated deer sinew, tough but lacking elasticity. The bow itself was probably oak wood, one of the better bow materials. Its tips had been repeatedly bound with cotton thread, then glued together with bone glue.

Overall, the craftsmanship was fairly skilled, and the cost was not high. It ought to be possible to produce them on a large scale. The Tlaxcalan surely had organized units of archers.

Xolotl tested the bow's power several more times. It was very stable. At a shallow angle, it could kill an unarmored target within seventy paces.

"Sanjusangen-do Long-Range Shot!" This was a difficult flat shot at eighty paces. Xolotl slapped his forehead, recalling the Tendai Sect temple he had visited while touring Kyoto in the past. It seemed this self bow was slightly inferior to the composite Wago used during the early rise of Japanese Samurai.

Ever since the previous attack, Xolotl had been pondering the long wooden bow in his hands.

Bows and arrows—equipment that ran contrary to the glory of warriors, that could not capture Captives, and had always been neglected by the Mexica People—were in truth the weapons with the greatest potential for development among the peoples of Mesoamerica. Their upper limit was closest to that of the Europeans. In the future, they could pierce ordinary knights' chain mail and injure the warhorses that Plate Armor-clad knights could not protect completely. They had no great need for metal, making them the most powerful weapon when primitive Civilizations such as the Jurchen and Mongols rose to power. Dense volleys of arrows or crossbow bolts were the best means for the Mexica People, who had no cavalry, to deal with the conquerors' horsemen.

At the same time, Mesoamerica possessed abundant high-quality timber. The best were naturally top-grade woods such as Ironwood and Sandalwood, hard in texture and capable of storing the most energy; their quality as bow materials even surpassed the yew wood used for English Longbows. Thinking of this, Xolotl chuckled. Names such as Ironwood Bow and Rosewood Bow were deeply familiar in his memories.

Slightly cheaper options included common spruce and oak wood, which were likewise excellent materials for bows. Cedar Bows and Oak Bows were widely used by the Germanic Peoples throughout Europe. These trees were common in the Americas, and every species of spruce originated in North America.

Develop bows and arrows! As he considered the resources at hand and weighed future development, Xolotl swiftly became excited. At last, under the current conditions, he had found a bright road for the Mexica People's military development!

Next, he continued considering the forms and types of bows, searching through the fragments of memory in his mind.

The first things that came to mind were naturally scenes from all sorts of historical dramas. The Horn Bows of northern cavalry? Xolotl shook his head. No cattle, no horns, no livestock—no chance. A general's Iron-Tire Bow? That was probably another highly difficult Composite Bow, so there was no need to think about it. Very quickly, he realized that none of the classic ancient Chinese bow types could be reproduced.

"For all bows, dry the wood in winter and soak the horn in spring; prepare the sinew in summer, combine the three materials in autumn, set the body in the cold, then string it the following spring." The Artificers' Record: Bowmakers mentioned that making the most classic ancient Chinese Composite Horn Bow required six materials: "wood, horn, sinew, glue, silk, and lacquer"—namely wood, animal horn, animal sinew, adhesive, silk, and paint.

It also required all four seasons. The wood was prepared in winter, the horn processed into bow tips in spring, the sinew prepared into bowstrings in summer, the composite bow body made in autumn, the Composite Bow shaped in winter, then strung and adjusted in spring before finally being lacquered against insects.

Who could afford that? Xolotl shook his head. Although Composite Bows were more powerful, faster, and more accurate than self bows of the same length, they were simply too expensive. Counting on his fingers, he found that the materials were insufficient and the production time far too long. Moreover, Mesoamerica received abundant rain and was extremely humid. Composite Bows were far too easily damaged, and protecting them from moisture and insects was difficult.

In the history of the Celestial Empire, the Mongols and Jurchen had both avoided the plum-rain season when marching south. One reason was that the rainy season damaged bows terribly; ruining several bows in a single summer was commonplace. Forget it. Better to adapt to local conditions and develop bows made from a single piece of wood.

When it came to self bows, Xolotl first thought of the various Wago in Great River dramas. Made from bamboo and wood, they were over two meters long, yet their range was not even as great as that of the Celestial Empire's horn bows half their size. This was because Japan lacked high-quality timber and did not have enough cattle, leaving it no choice but to make do with bamboo. A bow's kinetic energy all came from the power stored in its body, but bamboo stored energy far too inefficiently, so neither range nor power could rise. Of course, after technology from the Celestial Empire spread there, Japan later began widely producing composite Wago, using a greater draw length to compensate for the Wago's lack of power.

The next thing that naturally came to mind was the famous English Longbow: arrows falling like rain in European films, knights tragically tumbling from their horses. Xolotl calculated carefully. The famous Battle of Agincourt between England and France had taken place less than seventy years ago. In that battle, eight thousand English Longbows had crushed thirty thousand French knights. The French marshal had been captured, five thousand nobles killed in battle, and nearly ten thousand knights slain. England, meanwhile, had suffered only several hundred casualties, and the Longbow's fame spread throughout the world from then on. Although terrain had played the greatest role in that battle and the French command had serious problems, the Longbow's capacity for large-scale warfare had also been proven.

Overall, the early Wago, Welsh Longbows, and later English Longbows were all self bows with very low technical requirements. They were simply a piece of wood made into a bow body, with great draw weight and draw length. Their energy-storage efficiency came from the wood itself and was lower than that of costly Composite Bows. Thus, Longbows required high-quality wood and larger, longer bow bodies to achieve greater energy storage and draw length, releasing more kinetic energy into the arrow. Fine English Longbows were all more than two meters long.

The Longbow's advantage was that it cost far less to make than a Composite Bow, demanded much less maintenance, and could be produced extremely quickly because there was no process of bonding composite materials together. If a Composite Horn Bow was like a Samurai sword, requiring meticulous care, unable to endure dryness or dampness, and needing to be warmed by hand before use in cold weather, then a Longbow was probably a great iron bar—throw it aside for half a year, take it back out, and swing it around however you liked. Xolotl thought about it and laughed again.

Compared with horn bows, the Longbow's greatest flaw was that, at the same draw weight, its body was too long for use on horseback, so cavalry could not use it. Anyway, there were no horses in the Americas yet. Its fire rate was also too slow, its accuracy slightly poorer, and it was very loud. Massed infantry archer formations did not care about that. Finally, it consumed too much wood, especially high-quality timber. Mesoamerica did not lack high-quality timber. After repeatedly weighing the matter, Xolotl finally made his decision. "Longbow, it's you!"

The route of technological development had been decided. Next came the specific technical implementation.

Once he had made up his mind, Xolotl immediately summoned the Artisans granted to him by the king. He then took out the Tlaxcalan Long Wooden Bow and asked, "Who has experience making bows?"

Several dozen Artisans looked at one another. A few carpenters wanted to step forward but hesitated, clearly lacking confidence in their own skills. Only one elderly Artisan carefully examined the long wooden bow for a while before nodding and stepping out.

"Honored Priest, this is a Tlaxcalan Long Wooden Bow. I have copied one before. I can make it." The old man smiled confidently, squeezing his face into a mass of wrinkles.

"Good! What is this master Artisan called?" Xolotl was overjoyed.

"Priest, I am Cuauht, one of Tenochtitlan's chief carpenters. This time, I was drafted by the king to help construct camps during the march."

Tenochtitlan. Carpenter. Xolotl thought for a moment, then asked, "Do you know Kusola?"

The old carpenter was somewhat surprised. "He is a younger member of our family. He had the makings of a fine Artisan, but later became a Samurai."

Xolotl nodded. "He was my follower. He died for me in the previous battle. When we return to the capital, take me to his home."

Cuauht nodded respectfully. Then the two formally began discussing the construction of the Longbow, while several carpenters beside them offered suggestions.

"I need a large bow, long enough—more than two meters. The bow body should have a very simple shape, just a long line with a curve. For now, use deer sinew or deerhide for the string. Next, you need to study how to make replacement bowstrings from cotton thread or hemp cord." Xolotl retained only Cuauht and several carpenters, dismissing the other Artisans.

The brief discussion lasted only half an afternoon. Then came the actual production.

Xolotl brought over some Rosewood left over from when they had made Catapults and selected a straight piece of timber three meters long. Several Artisans then took out copper tools and cut it into a wooden strip two and a half meters long, roughly eight centimeters wide and thick.

Next, Cuauht used an ink-line-like tool to mark the centerline. Following that line, he drew the Longbow's exact shape, then carefully cut and polished it, bringing the bow form out of the wood.

Since this was their first attempt, Xolotl did not dare make the bow body too thin. Since they sought practicality, there was no need to consider ornamentation. Everyone immediately began training the bow, a process of conditioning the wood.

Bow training was performed on a bow-training rack. This could be simply understood as a long stick with evenly spaced notches. Cuauht first hooked the bow's two ends with a string, then secured the very center of the bow atop the long stick. After that, he pulled the two ends downward, one notch at a time.

Every quarter hour, they pulled it down one notch, drawing the bow body from straight into an arc until it reached its maximum bend. They then kept it there for twenty or thirty minutes to release the Stress in the bow body. Afterward, they restored it and let it rest for another quarter hour, allowing the bow to recover before training it again.

Because the wood was too high in quality, this bow training continued until nightfall. The fragrance of food drifted in from afar—the scent of night. Yet Xolotl had no mind for eating. He merely lit a fire pit inside the hut and watched the Artisans work. After a while, Bertad brought him several Tortillas, and the two continued watching as they ate.

Only when the bow training was over did the ravenous Cuauht accept Xolotl's Tortillas and eat a simple dinner. Next came another delicate task. The old carpenter used Obsidian tools to carefully polish the bow body, working for a full half hour until it was smooth enough to handle comfortably.

The final step was oiling it. In Mexico during this era, oil was a precious commodity. Neither the tung trees of China nor the oil palms of West Africa had yet reached Mesoamerica, where they could be cultivated, while lard and tallow were even less available.

Xolotl spent half the night pleading before he managed to obtain a small bottle of Sunflower Seed oil, and he also had someone press a bottle of costly avocado oil. If they had time, they could perhaps render some pine oil. Cuauht did not begrudge the oil in the slightest, coating the entire bow body with it. Now they only had to wait for the oil to seep in and for the bow to dry.

Without realizing it, the night had grown deep. It was already long past time to rest. Cuauht and the other Artisans took their leave, leaving behind only Xolotl, tossing and turning without sleep. The youth lifted the cloth curtain and gazed at the bright river of stars in the Sky. Beneath that river of stars lay ancient city-states and peoples, unchanged for thousands upon thousands of years.

Turning around, he looked once more at the Longbow in the center of the great tent. Its body was white and smooth, a full 2.2 meters long, tracing a curve of strength and beauty. It resembled a peerless beauty, concealing a fierce killing intent.

Xolotl stared at it in a trance, his face filled with longing as his thoughts drifted far away. "Just how powerful will this Longbow be?"