你從來沒有聽說過的十種古代武器(下)

ha

3.銃筒機火車

China was fiercely protective of its gunpowder weapons during the 14th and 15th centuries.

14、15世紀時，中國對火藥武器的技術保密工作極嚴。

They held the most explosive advance in military technology since the bow and arrow, and they didn't plan on giving it up without a fight.

自弓箭出現以來，中國一直擁有着軍事上最先進的爆炸技術，將此法平白獻出那是不可能的。

China imposed strict embargoes on gunpowder exports to Korea especially, leaving Korean engineers to fend for themselves against a seemingly endless onslaught of Japanese invaders.

由於中國對朝鮮火藥出口的禁令，朝鮮王朝的技師們不得不自謀出路，去對付日本侵略者那些似乎永無止境的猛攻。

By the turn of the 16th century, however, Korea had more than stepped up to the gunpowder challenge and was churning out their own war machines, matching any of the spurting tubes defending the Chinese mainland.

16世紀初，朝鮮的武器研究有了一定的突破，製造出了自己的戰爭武器，這一武器足以媲美中國火炮。

The Korean tour de force was the hwacha, a multi-rocket launcher that could fire over 100 rockets on a single match.

這一傑作就是銃筒機火車，一種多通道火箭發射器，點一次火可以發射100根火箭彈。

The larger versions used by the king could fire closer to 200. These things were samurai busters, capable of taking down entire formations of densely packed samurai with each salvo.

朝鮮國王所用的火車最大，點一次火可以發射近200個火箭彈。這些火箭彈車成爲了日本武士的惡夢，僅一火車齊發的火箭就足以擊敗一整隊密集的武士。

The hwacha's ammunition was called a singijeon, which was basically an exploding arrow. The singijeon's fuses were adjusted based on the range of the enemy so that they would explode on impact.

銃筒機火車配置的火箭被稱爲神機箭，說白了就是一支點着火的普通箭。神機箭的導火索可依據敵人的範圍調整，以便在觸到敵人的一瞬爆炸。

When the Japanese invasion began in full force in 1592, Korea already had hundreds of hwachas in operation.

當日本在1592年對朝鮮進行全面進攻時，對方已有上百輛可用的銃筒機火車了。

Perhaps the greatest testament to the hwacha's power came during the 1593 Battle of Haengju.

也許1593年的幸州大戰是銃筒機火車威力的一次最好證明。

When Japan mounted an attack on the hilltop fortress with 30,000 troops, Haengju had barely 3,000 soldiers, civilians, and warrior monks in place to defend it.

當日本3萬大軍進攻山頂堡壘的時候，幸州的可防禦人數士兵、普通百姓以及武僧加起來也才3千人。

The odds were overwhelming, and the Japanese forces advanced with confidence, unaware that Haengju had one final trick up its sleeve: 40 hwachas mounted on the outer walls.

勝負看着一目瞭然，日本軍隊對此相當自信，但是他們並沒有意識到幸州其實擁有一個殺手鐗：架在外圍城牆上的40臺銃筒機火車。

The Japanese samurai struggled up the hill nine times, only to be repelled again and again by a rain of pure hellfire.

日本武士九次進攻，卻一次又一次地被一波又一波濃烈的地獄之火擊退。

More than 10,000 Japanese died before they called off the siege, signaling one of the first major Korean victories in the Japanese invasion.

在日軍叫停圍殲前已有超過1萬人員傷亡。這場戰役是日本侵略朝鮮的戰爭中，朝鮮的首次大捷。

Guns

2.斧頭槍

Nearly every culture has made at least one version of a gun-blade combination. Not only do they look cool, they offer a lot of versatility on the battlefield.

幾乎每一種文化都創造了至少一個版本的刀槍組合。它們不僅看起來很酷，在戰場上發揮的用途更是廣泛。

The bayonets used in the Crimean War and the American Civil War are probably the most famous modern examples, but the trend has been around since the first Chinese fire lances in the 10th century.

在克里米亞戰爭和美國內戰中的使用的刺刀可能是現代最著名的例子，但這一"流行組合"可追溯到10世紀中國的第一支火矛槍。

Yet somehow, nobody really nailed it like Germany did. Some of the most well-preserved examples of German axe guns currently reside in the Historisches Museum in Dresden and date from the mid- to late 1500s.

然而不知爲何，沒有哪一個版本能真正比得上德國所造。一些保存最完好的德國斧頭槍樣品目前收藏在德累斯頓的歷史博物館。它們的歷史可遠溯至十六世紀中期到末期。

These ornately carved pieces featured heavy battle axes on the barrels of wheel-lock firearms.

這些雕飾精美的武器以在簧輪槍管上安裝重型戰斧爲特徵。

Some could be used as a chopper and a shooter simultaneously, while others were primarily axes that revealed a gun barrel when the axe head was removed.

一些斧頭槍可同時作爲斧頭和手槍使用，而另一些則主要用作斧頭，當取下斧頭時露出槍管。

They were likely developed for cavalry, which explains the extended handles on what would otherwise be a pistol.

它們有可能是爲騎兵隊開發的，這就解釋了斧頭槍過長的手柄設計，少了這長手柄，這就只是一把正常的手槍而已。

burners

1.地獄之火

It was 1584, six long winters into the Eighty Years' War, and Federigo Giambelli could taste vengeance in the air.

1584年,八十年戰爭已經走過六個漫長的冬天,費代裏戈·詹貝利甚至能品嚐到空氣中復仇的味道。

Years earlier, he had offered his service as a weapons designer to the Spanish court, but they'd laughed him out of the country. Fuming, he'd moved to Antwerp, where he finally found the opportunity to avenge his bruised Italian ego.

早些年,作爲武器設計師的他曾服務於西班牙王廷,卻受盡奚落最後被趕離出國。他憤怒極了，繼而搬到安特衛普,在那兒，他終於找到機會爲挫傷的自尊復仇。

Fresh off a victory against the Ottomans, Spain sent the Duke of Parma to lay siege to Antwerp, which had become the hub of Dutch separatists.

剛戰勝奧斯曼帝國，西班牙就派帕爾馬公爵圍攻已然成爲荷蘭分裂派中心城的安特衛普。

The duke hoped to choke the city with a blockade of ships across the River Scheldt.

公爵試圖通過以戰艦封鎖斯凱爾特河的手段拿下該城。

Antwerp retaliated by sending fire ships—literally, ships on fire—against the blockade. Laughing, the Spanish army pushed them away with pikes until the vessels burned themselves into the river.

安特衛普派出火攻船——說白了，就是着火的船隻——回敬封鎖。西班牙軍隊大笑着用長矛將其推開，火攻船最後自行燃燒沉沒河底。

Still wanting revenge on the Spanish, Giambelli asked the city council for 60 ships, vowing to break the blockade. But the city just gave him two.

詹貝利仍想報復西班牙,他向市議會申請索要60艘船,發誓要打破封鎖。但市議會只撥給他兩艘。

Undeterred, Giambelli began building his masterpiece weapons. With each ship, he gutted the hold, built a cement chamber inside with walls 1.5 meters (5 ft) thick, and loaded in 3,000 kilograms (7,000 lb) of gunpowder.

詹貝利並未因此沮喪，反而開始製造他的"神器"。他將每艘船的船艙清空,在裏面建造起一個牆厚1.5米(5英尺)的水泥室，並往裏填充3000公斤(7000磅)火藥。

He capped it with a marble roof and piled each ship high with "every dangerous missile that could be imagined."

以大理石爲艙頂，他還在每艘船上高高堆積起着"人們所能想象的危險子彈"。

Finally, he constructed a clockwork mechanism to ignite the whole load at a predetermined time.

最後,他在船上安裝了一個計時裝置，可以定時引爆。

These two ships became the world's first remotely detonated time bombs, which he called "hellburners."

這兩艘船成了世界上第一個遙控引爆的定時炸彈,詹貝利將其稱爲"地獄之火"。

As night approached on April 5, Giambelli sent 32 fire ships ahead of his hellburners to distract the Spaniards. The duke called his men onto the blockade to keep the ships away.

4月5日晚上，詹貝利派出32只火攻船做先鋒以分散西班牙人的注意力。公爵叫士兵到封鎖船上阻止敵船靠近。

But one hellburner grounded too far from the blockade and gently "popped" when its igniter misfired.

其中一艘"地獄之火"遠遠地就擱淺了，因爲點火器失靈，這艘"地獄之火"只發出一聲輕響。

With the fire ships fizzling out, the second hellburner merely nudged the line of Spanish ships and appeared to be dead in the water. Some of the Spanish soldiers began to laugh.

在所有火攻船完全熄滅之時,第二隻"地獄之火"堪堪觸到西班牙的船隻封鎖線，但似乎也已死火。一些西班牙士兵開始鬨然大笑。

Then the second hellburner exploded, killing 1,000 men and blowing a 60-meter (200 ft) hole in the blockade.

就在這時，這"地獄之火"猝然炸裂，不僅炸死了1000名西班牙士兵，還在船障上炸開了一個60米(200英尺)的大洞。

The sky rained cement blocks the size of tombstones. Most importantly, the blast opened the artery to resupply the city.

天空下起了墓碑大小的水泥塊雨。最重要的是,這次爆炸打通城市補給的主通道。

Shocked, the Dutch didn't move to bring in the supplies they'd stationed downriver.

另人意外的是，荷蘭人並未忙着去下游的補給站搬運物資。

A few months later, they surrendered to Spain. Giambelli couldn't have cared less. His war was over because Spain damn well knew his name now.

幾個月後,他們反而向西班牙投降。詹貝利對此毫不在意。他的戰爭結束了,因爲該死的西班牙人現在總算都知道他的大名了。