The Zhuge Nu (Chu-Ko-Nu) was a Chinese repeating crossbow which was used as far back as the 4th century B.C., and was capable of firing as many as 10 bolts in 15 seconds with an effective range of about 60 meters. It had relatively little penetrative power compared with contemporary non-repeating crossbows, but its speed and the fact that the arrows were often dipped in poison made this weapon so effective that it was used up until the China-Japan war of 1894-1895.
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