Chu Ko Nu (Age of Empires II)

Gameplay Information
The Cho Ko Nu can be trained at the Castle by the Chinese civilization. They can also be upgraded to Elite Cho Ko Nu at the same building. Cho Ko Nu fire multiple arrows, making their damage output unusually high and thus some of the best Archer units against Huskarls. Relatively small numbers of Cho Ko Nus can mow down whole regiments of enemies; their power is offset by their relatively short range. Cho Ko Nus are good against hand Infantry, Cavalry Archers, Monks, Teutonic Knights, and War Elephants.

Tactics
The Cho Ko Nu does very well when mixed with infantry or when arbalests had cleared away most anti-archer threats before they close in. Against infantry, the Cho Ko Nu is devastating, although it fares well with almost anything at close range.

Another way to utilize Cho Ko Nu is to garrison them inside Castles and Towers. Cho Ko Nus increase the firepower of these buildings dramatically, much more so than that of any other archer.

Cho Ko Nus are best countered with longer ranged archers, heavy cavalry charges and siege weapons that deal splash damage.

Trivia

 * Cho Ko Nu means "The crossbow of Zhuge". Zhuge (also known as Zhuge Liang)was a famous tactician who lived and died during China's Three Kingdoms era. However, the Chinese more commonly refer to it as the "Lian Nu", literally translating to "Repeating Crossbow".
 * Despite its name, the Cho Ko Nu was not invented by Zhuge, being in use some two hundred years before his birth. However, it is likely that he improved its design to make it a more effective weapon of war.
 * The Cho Ko Nu had a firing rate of around two arrows per three seconds, making it the most rapid-firing weapon in existence until the invention of the gatling gun some 1800 years later.
 * From the perspective of modern weapons and fire arms, the Cho Ko Nu had one of the longest service histories of any weapon, the design remaining essentially unchanged and in mass production from the Three Kingdoms Era in the late 100's BCE until the first Sino-Japanese war of 1894-1895.