These businessmen who had traveled extensively were all experienced and knowledgeable. They were very shrewd and had a better understanding of society than the average person. Many superficial phenomena could not be hidden from them.
For example, in this gladiatorial show, the winner would be acquitted and expelled. Freedom was very tempting for those who had been convicted of felonies. But after regaining freedom, would they be able to live smoothly? This was obviously very difficult.
Because they were all people who had committed felonies, it was very likely that they had enemies. If they had enemies, how could they survive after getting out?
Especially this time, two people participated in the gladiatorial show. One was a pirate who had been sentenced to death, and the other was a rapist. Moreover, he had raped the concubine of a relatively wealthy businessman. If the Tang dynasty soldiers had not happened to encounter him while patrolling, he would have been drowned by the businessman's men.
Businessmen were people who cared about their reputation, especially those who were rich and powerful. They valued their reputation even more. Their delicate concubine had been raped. This was simply a great shame and humiliation. How could they tolerate it? However, this kind of thing was discovered by the soldiers of the Tang dynasty. According to the laws of the Tang dynasty, they naturally could not ignore it.
When the businessmen heard that this kind of felon was going to be escorted to the Colosseum to duel with the pirates, they naturally did not have any objections. Once a person entered such a Colosseum, he would be tortured to death sooner or later. Moreover, he would die very miserably. It was also very hateful to be able to see the bad guy who raped his concubine enter the Colosseum to fight.
Of course, this businessman certainly did not expect that Ang Lee would release the winner with just a few words. As a result, if the rapist won and was released, he would absolutely not be able to bear it.
In this case, the businessmen would definitely not let go of the rapist who had put a hat on his head. In other words, even if the rapist won in the Colosseum and regained his freedom, he would not be able to live. As long as he was expelled from Anzhu City, he would no longer be under the jurisdiction of the Tang dynasty. A few people would be able to put him to death.
After the fifteen merchants returned to the colosseum, the second battle had already begun. They squeezed into the crowd so that they could see more clearly.
It was said that the longer the weapon, the stronger the weapon, and the shorter the weapon, the more dangerous it was. After the two gladiators entered the Colosseum, they quickly chose the longest spear as their combat weapon.
Although different weapons had different advantages, when two people with similar strength fought together, the person with the longer weapon would have a greater advantage. This was because the longer weapon was wielded, the more powerful it would be. It would also be able to kill the opponent before the opponent could reach it.
If a person with a spear and a person with a broadsword were to fight, as long as the fighting strength of the two people was about the same, then the person with the spear would definitely win.
Pirates and rapists were not fools. They all understood that long weapons had an incomparable advantage. Short weapons could not compare. This was not only the case in the era of cold weapons, but also in the era of hot weapons.
The artillery of later generations was known as the God of War. A thicker caliber and a longer range would always be the goal of the military of various countries. In particular, a longer range would always be the performance that the military was very concerned about.
This was also because if the range of the artillery was long enough, it could destroy the artillery of the opponent outside the range of the artillery, thus allowing one's side to win the war.
Being short meant that the enemy would not be able to reach it, and it would be easy for the enemy to reach it. This was very dangerous. Therefore, whether it was desperately pursuing the length of the weapon or the range of the weapon in the later generations, in the final analysis, it was all to allow one's fist to reach further, to better attack the enemy, and to better protect oneself.
The two gladiators were undoubtedly shrewd. They both chose the longest spear to attack the opponent better.
Of course, this choice was enough to show that their martial arts skills were not high enough and that they were very ordinary people. If their martial arts skills were especially high, then no matter what weapon they used, they would be able to bring out the advantages of the weapon very well, thus allowing them to obtain victory.
Spears were longer and had the advantage that spears should have. However, short weapons also had the advantage of short weapons. These different advantages could only be used flexibly by experts who were good at using weapons. It was more reliable for ordinary people to use long weapons.
The weapons of later generations, such as firearms, were the same. The pistol had a short range and low power, while the rifle had a long range and high power. Naturally, the rifle was more powerful. However, the rifle was bigger and was far less flexible than the pistol. If the terrain was more complicated, the pistol was sometimes more flexible and useful than the rifle.
The diameter of the Colosseum was fifty meters, and the terrain was spacious enough for a duel. In this kind of situation, a longer spear indeed had an incomparable advantage. The choice of the two gladiators was correct.
Of course, if Ang Lee went down to duel with them, he would definitely not choose a spear. This was because Ang Lee was a powerful character with high martial arts. Naturally, he would not choose a long weapon like a spear that seemed to have a great advantage. Instead, he would choose a slightly shorter modao.
As long as he had the modao in his hand, Ang Lee only needed to spin and he could easily split the spear into two. If he continued to spin, he could cut the opponent into two pieces.
"Hey! Two rookies again, haha! "
One of the generals of the Tang Dynasty said.
"Only rookies would appear in this kind of place! Not everyone is as well-trained as the soldiers of the Tang Dynasty. "
Another general of the Tang Dynasty said proudly.
"That's right. These pirates and felons are all ordinary people, or only a little stronger than ordinary people. They are really not worth mentioning."
"Let's just watch! Although the fighting is not professional enough, as long as it is exciting enough, it will be fine. The beast fighting show we are watching is much better than the dog fighting dog! "
The two generals of the Tang Dynasty talked with a smile.
The spears in the hands of the two gladiators were the same length. They were both twenty feet long, which could be said to be very long. In the army, such a long spear was not common because it was too long.
And such a long spear could not be used to its full length because it could not be held at the end of the spear! In this case, the spear could not be raised. It was most comfortable to put one's hand in the middle of the spear, but this would lose half of the spear's length, which was not conducive to the advantage of the spear's length. Since the end of the spear could not be used, the gladiator had to move his hand further back and hold it at the back one-third of the spear. This was the most suitable way to use the spear.
Most of the people who used the spear would hold it at the back one-third of the spear. This was the most convenient way to use the spear, and it was also the best way to use the spear's length advantage.
Ang Lee looked up and saw that when the two gladiators held the spear, they held it as far back as possible. It was about one-fifth of the spear's length, which was a little further back than the average person who used the spear.
The purpose of doing this was naturally to make more use of the spear's length advantage. They wanted to stab their opponents before they could stab them.
However, it was very tiring to hold the spear like this, especially when it was held straight forward. Because the spear shaft behind the arm was too short, it would cause the center of gravity to shift forward. As a result, the spearhead would naturally fall down. In order to better maintain the stabbing effect of the spear, the gladiator had to raise the spearhead in front of him. This would inevitably consume more energy.
The two gladiators held their spears horizontally and approached each other step by step, looking for an opportunity to stab each other to death. The two spears were getting closer and closer, and they could attack at any time.
"They are getting closer. They are starting to fight."
"Who do you think will win between the two of them?"
"It seems that they are evenly matched. It must be another wonderful performance."
"Stop talking. They are fighting."
The onlookers were quite excited because a wonderful performance was about to begin.
It was the first time for the two gladiators to duel, and they were forced to do so. Naturally, they were very scared. In the beginning, they did not dare to attack with all their might. Instead, they tried to test each other's strength.
The two spears that were twenty feet long kept colliding with each other, but the force was obviously not very strong. However, after several tests, the force of the collision became stronger and stronger. As the two gladiators approached each other step by step, the fight became more intense.
Soon, the two pirates raised the spears in their hands and stabbed each other's hearts. After testing each other a few times, they stabbed each other fiercely. Since the two spears were of the same length and they were protected by armor, the two gladiators were stabbed almost at the same time. They quickly grabbed the spear shaft that was about to pierce their chests.
The two gladiators held their spears and pushed each other back and forth as if they were carrying a palanquin. They wanted to kill each other and protect themselves.
One of the gladiators stretched out his leg and kicked one of the spears into two pieces. The other gladiator saw that his spear was broken. The situation was not good for him, so he also stretched out his leg and kicked the opponent's spear into two pieces.
The lethality and deterrence of the broken spears were greatly reduced. Both gladiators threw the broken spears in their hands at each other and quickly ran to the place where the weapons were placed to find a better weapon.
This time, the pirate chose the mace, while the rapist chose the modao. Both were more powerful weapons. However, the mace was made of wood, while the modao was made of metal. The difference in quality between the two was still very obvious.
The modao was obviously better than the mace. In the field of cold weapons in the entire Tang dynasty, there was no weapon that could surpass the modao.
In addition to the modao, there were three other kinds of cold weapons in the Tang dynasty. According to the records of the Tang dynasty, there were four kinds of cold weapons in the Tang dynasty. The first was the ceremonial blade, the second was the barrier blade, the third was the horizontal blade, and the fourth was the modao. The modao was the last and the most powerful weapon.
The modao was also known as a long sword. It was the weapon of heavy infantry. Only the most elite troops of the Tang dynasty were equipped with a strategic weapon like the modao. The appearance of this kind of sword was somewhat similar to the Zhanmadao of the Han dynasty, but it was better than the Zhanmadao.
This sort of strategic Mo Saber weighed fifteen jin. According to the weight unit of the Great Tang era, one jin was six hundred and sixty grams. Fifteen jin was equivalent to ten kilograms in the modern era, so it could be considered a very heavy saber. However, to a soldier, it was not too heavy. Only a strong soldier would be able to wield the Mo Saber well. Thus, the Mo Saber soldiers of the Great Tang were all tall and strong soldiers.
Because the manufacturing of a modao was very costly in materials and labor, and the technical requirements were also relatively high, the imperial court of the Tang dynasty stipulated that the modao was not allowed to be buried with the dead. Therefore, the archaeologists of later generations could not find the style of the modao. They could only rely on guesses to speculate the general appearance of the modao.
The modao was the main weapon of the infantry. Because the blade was very long, it gave people a very strong deterrent force and could scare the opponent. At the same time, because the modao was relatively long, it could be wielded and chopped very well. As long as it was arranged in a neat formation, it could be very effective in restraining the charge of the cavalry and even defeat the cavalry.
In the history of the Tang dynasty, the modao army was present in many important battles. Moreover, these modao army often played a decisive role in determining the victory or defeat of the battle and made great contributions to the Tang dynasty.
However, the modao was eventually lost. As for why it was lost, it was naturally because the manufacturing process of the modao was too complicated and the cost was too high. In the later period of the Tang dynasty, wars were very frequent, and the consumption of weapons was very high. If they could not be replenished in time, it would greatly affect the combat effectiveness of the troops. The modao's replenishment speed could not keep up with the consumption speed of the troops, so it could only be ruthlessly eliminated. Instead, it was replaced by simple spear weapons that only needed a metal head and a wooden or bamboo pole. It was very easy to manufacture and also very easy to replenish the troops. Naturally, it was favored by the mercenary generals and quickly became a trend.
Of course, after Ang Lee invented firearms, the status of the modao in the Tang dynasty had continued to decline. At present, the armored artillery vehicles and artillery units had been expanding, so the modao army could only retreat to a secondary force. If Ang Lee invented firearms and equipped more powerful firearms and artillery units, the modao army's status would be even lower and eventually be completely replaced.
The reason why Ang Lee was not in a hurry to invent firearms was that Ang Lee looked down on matchlocks and flintlocks. He felt that there was no need to invent such inferior firearms. Now, gradually accumulating technology was what Ang Lee was passionate about. As long as the technology was accumulated enough, Ang Lee would directly invent the rifle. That guy was too powerful. No armor could withstand the bullets fired. He could even invent the machine gun. If this kind of abnormal weapon was equipped with the Tang dynasty's army, the nomads in the north would have no chance at all. They would have no other ideas except to bow their heads.
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