Chapter 22: Macedonian Phalanx? How will you respond when I take out the Qin Crossbow?

Qin Shi Huang unified the six kingdoms in ten years and achieved great unification.

Bruce pointed at the screen and talked.

"Alexander's most famous legion was the Macedonian Phalanx, or the heavy infantry phalanx."

"A standard Macedonian phalanx has about 16,000 people, and they will be divided into four standard small phalanxes."

"Each phalanx has about 4,000 men, and Alexander's total force in the Eastern Expedition was about 50,000."

A white student raised his hand: "Professor, how many troops did Qin Shi Huang have?"

Bruce looked at the Chinese girl: "Zhou, can you tell everyone?"

Zhou Yun stood up and said, "Professor, if I remember correctly, there should be about 400,000 or 500,000 people!"

Bruce nodded: "According to historical records, before Qin Shihuang unified the six kingdoms, the total number of troops was about 500,000."

"Five hundred thousand versus fifty thousand? How do we play with a ten to one ratio?"

"Yeah, that's not fair!"

"The cunning Chinese people will bully the few with their numbers!"

Bruce smiled slightly, having anticipated these students' reactions.

Anyone who can get into Harvard University is not an ordinary person.

It is far from easy to make them recognize their own shortcomings.

But the United States is no longer the superpower it once was.

The Eastern Dragon is taking off, but everyone from top to bottom is still immersed in the dream of becoming a superpower.

He learned a saying in China: Born in adversity, die in comfort.

If they cannot put aside their pride and recognize the strength of China, they will be trampled underfoot one day!
"Don't worry, I haven't finished yet. Putting aside the difference in numbers, let's compare other aspects."

"The Macedonian phalanx has a tight formation. The first six rows of soldiers hold their spears horizontally, while the last ten rows hold their spears diagonally. This allows them to respond to attacks from multiple directions and change formations."

"The terrain where the phalanx is best used is the plain. If we don't fight on the plain, our combat capability will be greatly reduced."

"In addition, Alexander will arrange light infantry on the left and heavy cavalry on the right."

"The main tactic was that the heavy cavalry attacked the enemy's left wing, the infantry held the right wing, and the Macedonian phalanx was responsible for the frontal attack."

"It can be said that this is a very mature and rigorous combat method, and Alexander also used it to sweep across the European continent."

[Mr. Professor, the Macedonian phalanx is so powerful that Qin Shi Huang is definitely no match for it! ]

[Brother, I can’t figure out how Qin Shi Huang won! ]

[Qin Shi Huang must have looked as ridiculous as a child when facing Alexander! ]

Bruce shook his head and pulled up a picture on the big screen, which was the formation diagram of the Qin army.

“Take a look at this picture.”

[This formation is similar to our Macedonian Phalanx! ]

[They are actually also a heavy infantry phalanx! ]

[The Chinese are so shameless that they stole Alexander's tactics! ]

[Nonsense! Do you think everyone likes to steal like the Koreans? ]

"The formation in this picture does look very similar to the Macedonian phalanx, but it is just one of the many battle formations of the Qin Dynasty."

"The smallest combat unit of the Qin State was the Wu, which consisted of only five people."

"The benefit of this is that they can quickly change any formation."

"The Qin army's combat tactics are very flexible. They can switch to the Goose Formation, Mandarin Duck Formation, or other formations in an instant. They are very flexible and changeable."

"In addition, the Qin army's conventional combat weapons are not limited to these."

Bruce found two pictures, which were exactly the bows and crossbows equipped by the Qin army!
[What is this? It looks like a bow and arrow?] [But it doesn’t look exactly like a bow and arrow!]

"This student is right. This is a crossbow, and it is also the standard weapon of the Qin army."

"Historical records show that the Qin army was equipped with a large number of bows and crossbows."

"After unifying the six kingdoms, skilled craftsmen from all over the world were recruited to build bows and crossbows."

“So it’s very sharp and an absolute cavalry killer!”

"And it can fire continuously, loading eight arrows at a time. It only takes one day for a person to master the Qin Crossbow!"

With such a powerful weapon, wouldn’t Alexander be swept away?
The students were all shocked, but soon raised questions.

[Professor, you haven't seen it with your own eyes, how do you know it so clearly? ]

[What's the point of shooting fast? It has to be powerful enough! ]

[The Chinese must be making up history. They love making up stories! ]

[That’s right, I think this Qin crossbow is made up in their history books! ]

[Hehe, when it comes to making up history, who can compare to you, Sakura? ]

Seeing the picture on the big screen, everyone's eyes widened!

“In fact, I didn’t believe it at the beginning.”

"If it's really as powerful as in the history books, why hasn't it been passed down?"

"You know, the rifle that can fire continuously wasn't developed in Europe until the 19th century!"

"How could China have such a weapon two thousand years ago!"

“Until I saw this video.”

Bruce calmed down and pulled up a video.

It was made by a foreign blogger, comparing modern bows and arrows with the restored Qin crossbow.

The target was a thick wooden board.

He drew his bow and shot an arrow, which was firmly nailed to the wooden board, causing the board to shake violently!

You can see how powerful it is.

Next he changed to Qin Crossbow.

The firing method of the Qin crossbow is somewhat similar to that of a pistol. You only need to pull the trigger to shoot the crossbow arrow.

Even a weak scholar can accomplish it easily.

He just pulled the trigger lightly and the crossbow arrow flew out into the air!

He shot through the wooden board and nailed it to the wall behind!

The blogger didn't stop and kept pulling the trigger.

The eight loaded crossbow arrows were all fired within half a minute and all nailed to the wall!
Everyone was so shocked that they were speechless!
The contrast is already very obvious.

The Qin crossbow from two thousand years ago was more powerful than modern bows and arrows, easier to operate, and capable of continuous firing.

The rifle with a similar effect to the Qin crossbow was not developed until the 19th century in Europe!
The Qin crossbow was ahead of the world by two thousand years!
Those who were originally trying to discredit Qin Shihuang became speechless after seeing the power of the Qin crossbow.

Facing such a powerful Qin crossbow, Alexander obviously had no chance of winning!
I haven't even touched the person yet and I'm shot into a sieve. How can I play this game?

The video is right in front of you, facts speak louder than words!
However, a black man stood up and said unconvincedly: "Hey Bruce, Alexander is a heavy infantryman, can this broken crossbow arrow penetrate heavy armor?"

Bruce didn't care about his rudeness.

"First of all, I want to tell you that Alexander's heavy infantry wore linen or leather armor with a small amount of metal lining inside, so it was not difficult for the Qin crossbow to penetrate the armor."

(End of this chapter)