In "Ode to the Great Qin", the Qin State is invincible. What weapons did the Qin army actually use?

"Da Qin Fu" has invested a lot of money, and also paid great attention to serving the Tao. It has given a good artistic presentation of the cold weapon warfare during the Warring States Period. The orderly square formations in the film are similar to those in previous TV series. The performance of a war involving gangsters and gangsters was completely different and won applause from a large number of audiences. As melon-eaters, some viewers were shaken by the magnificent cold weapon war scenes, and on the other hand were quite curious about what weapons the Qin army used in history?

Coincidentally, in recent days, a cultural relic photographer discovered fingerprints from two thousand years ago on the terracotta warriors and horses, and his choked speech quickly became popular on the Internet.

In fact, the terracotta warriors and horses are the best materials for studying the Qin army. The weapons, equipment and combination principles of the Qin army were exactly what the Qin army used in actual combat.

Above picture_Qin Terracotta Warriors

1. Terracotta Warriors and the Qin Army

At the east end of the No. 1 pit of the Terracotta Warriors and Horses, there are five test pits. According to the briefing, 486 weapons were unearthed in total, including swords, halberds, spears, daggers, golden hooks, crossbows, etc. Among them, the number of crossbows reached 60% of the total, and as many as tens of thousands of matching arrows were found.

In fact, the accurate situation is that Pit No. 1 is a complete military formation, in which there are 203 warrior figurines in the first three rows, including 164 crossbow holders and only 100 long soldiers. There were 11, of course, and the crossbow wielders were also equipped with short swords for close combat. These three rows of warrior figurines are actually the forward troops of the Qin army based on their responsibilities.

In fact, different troops will have different weapons and equipment. The square formations in the middle of the Terracotta Warriors and Horses are completely different. The Qin soldiers in the second, third, ninth and fourteenth passage holes There are far more figurines holding long soldiers than crossbowmen, and crossbowmen only account for one-third of the total number of people passing through the cave.

Above picture_Qin Crossbow Soldiers

In fact, this is the usual weapon configuration mode of the Qin Army. Most of the soldiers in the front use crossbows, whether it is field combat, ambush, assault or city attack and defense. , crossbows all have considerable effects, but crossbows are slow to activate, so the troops are divided into several parts and shoot in turns, causing considerable damage to the enemy at long distances. Then the troops from the center, mainly armed with long soldiers, marched in to completely end the battle.

This is the meaning of the phrase "the crossbows are in front, and the crossbows are behind". It does not mean that the crossbowmen are in front of the crossbowmen, but that the crossbowmen are more often deployed in the vanguard. In the formation.

The Qin Army’s combat wisdom is very clever. In order to achieve different tactical effects and assume different combat responsibilities, the Qin Army will form different tactical teams and equip them with targeted weapons. This is why different military formations The reason for the huge difference in the weapons used by the Qin army in China.

This is consistent with the Qin army shown in "Da Qin Fu". Carefully observe the Qin army soldiers in the play. Some are holding shields, some are holding spears, and some are raising swords, but more People use bows and crossbows, with clear division of labor and strict responsibilities.

Picture above_ Bronze Ge

In addition, judging from the texture, most of the weapons are still made of bronze, but some iron weapons have also been unearthed, which shows that the Qin army at that time Attempts have been made to create iron weapons, but due to limitations in technology or productivity, they have not been deployed on a large scale. Only a small number of soldiers can use iron weapons.

Judging from historical records, infantry in the late Spring and Autumn Period commonly used five weapons, crossbows, daggers, halberds, spears, and beryllium. Among them, crossbows have the longest attack range and are at the end of the team. The spears and halberds have the shortest attack range and are at the front of the team. The ones in the middle are spears and berylliums, which are longer than the Ges and halberds but shorter than bows and crossbows. Therefore, the basic formation of the infantry at that time was called "Wu", and the corps leader was responsible for equipping five weapons. . This is exactly what "Sima Fa" said: "If the army is not mixed, it will be disadvantageous. A long army is used to defend, and a short army is used to defend."

Above picture_Qin Nu

2. Qin Dynasty Crossbow

Looking specifically at the weapons and equipment of the Qin army, there is no doubt that the Qin crossbow is the most famous and important.

Compared with the commonly used crossbows in the Spring and Autumn Period, the Qin crossbow unearthed from the Terracotta Warriors and Horses has been significantly improved in terms of shape, performance, function and manufacturing process. According to the unearthed cultural relics, the crossbows used by the Qin army should be compound bows with excellent bow materials, strong pulling force and high hardness. It is worth mentioning that the Qinnu is manufactured to standardized standards, and each component is universal, making it easy to replace parts.

Moreover, a large number of bows and arrows of different models were unearthed from the pit. Small bows and arrows, about 15 centimeters long, were unearthed in infantry phalanxes, light chariot phalanxes and cavalry phalanxes. There is also a very large bow and arrow, 41 centimeters long and 100 grams in weight. It is speculated that it was used in the crossbow of a heavy chariot. But at the same time, a heavy bow arrow slightly inferior to the extra-large bow arrow was also discovered in the crossbow phalanx, which was 30 centimeters long. Due to insufficient relevant information, the specific use cannot be determined, but it may be a foot crossbow used for foot power firing.

There are two types of Qin Nu archers, one is called "Yinqiang" and the other is called "Juzhang", which actually refers to their way of drawing the bow. "Yinqiang" is a light crossbow. , you can pull it open with your hands, while "Qianzhang" is a heavy crossbow that requires all your strength to pull. The two are arranged alternately and shoot alternately.

Above Picture_ Beryllium Weapons

3. The Qin Army’s Close Combat Equipment

The Qin Army has a lot of close combat equipment, in addition to the Ge and Halberds introduced above , spears, beryllium, as well as scimitars, swords, darts, axes, etc.

Most of the weapons here are relatively common and familiar weapons. Only beryllium makes people feel very strange. In fact, in layman's terms, this is a short sword with a long handle, which is somewhat similar to what we have today. The bayonet should be the predecessor of the gun.

It is said in "Shuowen" that "beryllium is a big needle." One said, a sword is like a knife with a long handle. It can be seen that beryllium is a "big needle" that installs a sword on a long handle.

Different weapons have different tactical effects. Some are responsible for fighting cavalry, some are responsible for cleaning up enemy troops scattered by crossbowmen, and some are responsible for preventing enemy troops from approaching. Use different tactical teams flexibly. , is the commander’s ability. Flexible equipment of weapons is the skill of a clever captain. The layers upon layers constitute the Qin army's war system.

Above picture_ When they were first unearthed, the Qin terracotta warriors and horses were wearing leather armor

4. Qin armor

Every time Qin armor is mentioned, I have to face it. Regarding the once very popular statement "the theory that the Qin army has no armor", this statement sounds ridiculous at first, but it has its own evidence.

“The men of Shandong were wearing armor to fight, while the Qin people donated their armor and jackets to chase the enemy, holding heads on the left and prisoners on the right.”

This sentence is in " It appears in "Warring States Policy" and "Historical Records·Biography of Zhang Yi", but the specific expressions are slightly different.

This sentence is actually an exaggerated description of the Qin army's momentum in battle. It does not mean that the Qin army really fights without armor. Besides, a strategist like Zhang Yi is a person who talks a lot.

Many of the soldiers in the Qin Terracotta Warriors are equipped with armor, but they have no helmets and basically wear turbans. This is also shown in "Da Qin Fu". Soldiers basically use red turbans. In fact, scholars once believed that the Qin army did not have helmets. It was not until helmets were unearthed in the Qin Mausoleum that it was confirmed that the Qin army had helmets.

Above picture_Qin Chariot Soldiers

The reason why there are no helmets in the Terracotta Warriors and Horses is that there is a view that these troops are not troops in war, but troops undergoing review. According to military etiquette, you should be exempted from wearing gloves. In fact, the Qin army had helmets, mainly made of leather and bronze, and the armor was full-body leather armor. The armors used by infantry, cavalry, and chariots all had their own differences.

For example, looking at the Qin Terracotta Warriors alone, there are different armors for different positions and arms. Currently, there are at least military officer armors, charioteer armors, infantry armors, cavalry armors, and advanced armors. Several others.

Above picture_Qin’s cavalry

V. General introduction

In fact, the Qin army still has four types of arms, namely chariots, infantry, and cavalry. , Navy. Their equipment is diverse, and the same type of arms will have different weapons for different tasks, not to mention the weapon gaps between different arms.

These exquisite and complicated weapons are not only a manifestation of the Qin army becoming bigger and stronger, but also the foundation for the Qin army to be known as "tiger and wolf" in the six countries. Only with heavy weapons can you have confidence.