Zhuge Liang's invention

Zhuge Liang invaded Cao Wei from Hanzhong to the north. Because of the rough road, it is inconvenient for the army to transport food. Therefore, Zhuge Liang reformed the old vehicles and called them "wooden cows and flowing horses". It is said that a "wooden ox and flowing horse" can carry 20 miles of grain every day in a year. A "flowing horse" has two square bags, each of which can hold two tons of rice and three buckets, and can walk on rugged mountain roads. In fact, "Cowherd" is a kind of car with a front axle, and "Liu Ma" is similar to the unicycle of later generations, and it still needs the promotion of manpower. From the historical facts of Zhuge Liang's fifth Northern Expedition and the sixth Northern Expedition, it can be seen that "herding cattle" made Shu soldiers March quickly on the sinister Shu Road, which made great contributions to the transportation of rations at that time.

Second, the eight-array diagram

Due to the speculation of later generations and the exaggerated rendering of novels and plays, the eight-array map was covered with a mysterious color. Eight arrays are actually just fortifications or military arrays used to cover soldiers and hinder the enemy in ancient times. It appeared in the Warring States Period, and the Art of War unearthed in Linyi County, Shandong Province contained remnants of eight arrays. Because Shu is mountainous, the army is dominated by infantry who are used to fighting in mountainous areas. Once they went north to the Central Plains, it was difficult to compete with Wei's cavalry. In order to improve the combat effectiveness of the Shu army, Zhuge Liang changed the ancient "eight-array map" and became what later generations called "eight-array map". Eight arrays are arranged vertically and horizontally, with chariots as the main shed and drums as the military orders. Many arrays can be changed. However, due to the age, its specific content is not complete.

Third, even crossbows

The so-called "crossbow", similar to a weapon mounted on a chariot, is a kind of bow and arrow that can be fired continuously. It was a very powerful weapon at that time. It was made by Zhuge Liang according to the old technology, and ten arrows can be shot at a time, which greatly improved the combat effectiveness of the Shu army. The only drawback is that it takes seven or eight crossbowmen to pull the crossbow. In addition, the "eight-array map" must be used in conjunction with the "crossbow", that is, after the enemy rushes into the array, he will fight at close range and shoot with the "crossbow" at a long distance. Although there were few Shu soldiers, they were able to leave Qishan six times and advance into Weihe Plain. Wei Bing hid in the deep ditch and high base and didn't dare to fight. For example, in the ninth year of Jianxing, he was shot dead by Shu soldiers, which proved the effectiveness of "Liancrossbow".

Fourth, steamed bread.

In the autumn of 225, the third year of Jianxing in Shu and Han Dynasties, Zhuge Liang attacked the enemy, captured Meng Huo in seven ways, and moved back to North Korea after making good relations with the southwest ethnic minorities. When the army arrived in Lushui, it was suddenly overcast and stormy, and the army could not cross the river. Zhuge Liang is proficient in astronomy and is very familiar with the weather changes, but this sudden change puzzled him. He was busy consulting Meng Huo, who came to see me off, and knew the geography and climate of this area like the back of his hand. Meng Huo said: "There have been wars here for years, and many soldiers have died. These ghosts who died in a foreign land often come out to make trouble. Anyone who wants to cross the water here must sacrifice. " Zhuge Liang thought that these soldiers left the body in the field for the benefit of the country. Now that the war is over and the soldiers have won, they will always be lonely souls in a foreign land. It is appropriate to pay tribute to them. He asked Meng Huo what he used as a sacrifice. Meng Huo said: "It will be safe to offer 7749 heads, and there will be a bumper harvest in the coming year." When Zhuge Liang heard this, his heart sank: since these troubles are all ghosts, if 49 heads are used to pay homage, aren't they 49 ghosts for no reason? In this way, more and more ghosts accumulate, and there will never be peace in Lushui. Besides, it's too expensive to sacrifice your head. Zhuge Liang decided not to sacrifice Lushui with his head. When he came to the Green Water River, he saw Yin Qi everywhere, rough waves, soldiers and horses in a state of panic. It seems impossible without sacrifice. The local natives said to Zhuge Liang, "Last time the Prime Minister crossed the Lushui River, the ghost called out to God at the water's edge every night. From dusk to dawn, there is no end. " Zhuge Liang thought to himself, it seems that the crime lies with me. How can innocent soldiers and civilians be implicated and decide to sacrifice themselves? Zhuge Liang thought hard and finally came up with a wonderful way to replace the head with another object. He ordered the soldiers to kill cattle and sheep, cut the beef and mutton into paste, mix it into meat stuffing, wrap it in flour, make it look like a human head and steam it in a steamer. This kind of sacrifice is called "human head". Zhuge Liang took the steamed bread made of meat and flour to the edge of Lushui, personally put it on the altar, made sacrifices, and then threw it into Lushui one by one. After the sacrifice, Lushui was suddenly enlightened and calm, and the army passed smoothly. Since then, people often use steamed bread as offerings for various sacrifices. Because "head" and "head" are synonyms, "head" was later called "steamed bread". After being eaten as a sacrifice, people get inspiration from it and eat steamed bread. Today, steamed bread is spread all over China and all over the world. As for Zhuge Liang's spirit of loving the people, perhaps not many people know it.

Verb (abbreviation of verb) Kongming Lantern

This is an empty floating lamp invented by Zhuge Liang during the Northern Expedition when Sima Yi was trapped in Pingyang, and it is also the origin of hot air balloon. In the era of the Three Kingdoms, when science and technology were underdeveloped, Zhuge Liang could still be the first person in the world to discover the principle of hot air balloon floating in the air. It is really a veritable Wolong!

VI. Holes

As early as in Longzhong, Zhuge Liang planned to invent a kind of chess. In 228 AD, riots broke out in southern Sichuan. Zhuge Liang, as a country, decided to lead troops to conquer it himself. However, the situation is not so good: the climate in the south makes it difficult for soldiers to adapt. Coupled with the boring army, Meng Huo, the king of the South, refused to surrender for a long time. In this case, Zhuge Liang invented Kong Qiming to enliven the soldiers' boring hearts. Kong Qiming has simple rules and is an intellectual game.

Seven, fire beast

When Zhuge Liang pacified the south, he suffered a defeat: Meng Huo, the king of the south, used wild animals as soldiers and defeated Zhao Yun and Wei Yan's military forces with elephants, tigers, bison and wolves. Zhuge Liang had a brainwave. He thought wild animals were afraid of fire. So a few days later, he invented a beast-like, scarlet, fire-breathing weapon to deal with Meng Huo's beast soldiers.

Eight, bridge gun

After Zhuge Liang pacified the south, he decided to send troops to the north to realize Liu Beixing's last wish of restoring the Han Dynasty. The terrain leading to the north is extremely difficult and there are many mountains and rivers. It's no problem to climb the mountain, but the key is to cross the river: soldiers spend a long time building bridges every time. Zhuge Liang was also troubled by this. One day, he thought of how the ancients made sickle hooks and invented the bridge gun. The shaft of the bridge gun is as long as the red tassel gun, and the head of the gun is spiral (a bit like a screwdriver now). ~~