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This crazy Wizard/Inventor named Zhuge Liang invented hot air balloons and used them as communication between troop formations. No wait, this one is actually true and not a legend.
He’s also the guy after whom the “zhuge nu” (which you may also have heard called a “chu ko nu”—a repeating crossbow) is named. Though it seems likely that he was actually not involved in inventing it.
Yeah true. The Wikipedia page for zhuge nu actually mentions that it was primarily a self-defence weapon for women, not a battlefield weapon.
I find it amusing that the Wikipedia page for Huo Che makes no mention of the Korean Hwacha, other than in its “see also” section. That said, which one was done first seems…debatable, I wouldn’t feel comfortable coming down too strongly in favour of either one being the first.