Chapter 483: Spring Ploughing (I)

Looking at Shangguan Wan’s stern side profile, Jiang Nongqin sighed.

It was too cruel when a woman’s growth had to rest on pain.

After a short rest, the troops continued on their journey.

After the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, Xiangyang District had returned to its normal state from the New Year celebrations. Shops like restaurants and tea houses opened for business one after another.

The people in the district headquarters had also begun to actively prepare for the war after the spring plowing. The training for the new recruits had become increasingly strict. Soldiers and horses also had to be recruited everywhere at the same time.

In other words, the subordinates were still working overtime. As the lord, Jiang Pengji was still fooling around.

However, there was another person fooling around with her. He was Zhang Ping of the Mohists.

Everything went smoothly. Jiang Pengji initially grumbled that there were actually no Mohist scholars around and wondered if they had gone extinct. Then, Zhang Ping came to her. After observing Zhang Ping carefully, she realized that he was very talented and that he was a diamond in the rough.

Zhang Ping would be with her all day long, and she would teach him about the matters of the woodworking workshop.

“I really admire your surrealist innovations…”

For a homebody who was obsessed with the designs of mechanisms, what was more attractive than a variety of model kits?

Jiang Pengji took him to look around at various models of siege weapons. After her screening and training, the woodworkers of the woodworking workshop were already able to produce some simple models of the equipment according to the drawings. These models were not for display.

If it was scaled up, it would be the real siege weapon.

Zhang Ping did not know that besieging and defending a city could work this way. It was very interesting.

The interest of Zhang Ping, who initially acted indifferently, was now aroused.

How could one make the defending party defend a city at the lowest cost?

How could one make the besieging party besiege a city at the lowest cost?

Such questions filled his mind. He even cast the waterwheel which he studied some time ago aside.

Had Jiang Pengji not seen his things inadvertently, who knew when the waterwheel could be brought to light again.

“What’s this?” Jiang Pengji poked the waterwheel model. “Did you make this?”

Startled, Zhang Ping replied with a smile, “Yes. The farmers struggle with irrigation, so I thought about how to save manpower and make the irrigation of farmlands more convenient. However, I’ve tried it several times, but I always fail. It’s too unstable, but I don’t know what the problem is.”

Zhang Ping’s ambition was to be a hermit and a lofty scholar and a live a leisurely life.

His research path was also inclined to people’s livelihood, unlike Jiang Pengji. Except for the improved farming tools at the initial stage, she studied on weapons used in warfare.

Jiang Pengji said, “I’ll have a look.”

Waterwheels were indeed a bold design. It seemed very normal to the audience in the streaming room, but it was a true wonder for the world of the day. If Zhang Ping’s research was successful, and it was implemented and employed, many people would benefit from it.

Jiang Pengji was very concerned about the people’s livelihood, so she certainly hoped that the waterwheel could be successful.

In addition to the waterwheel, Zhang Ping also had a pulley system for fetching water.

It had already been around for a long time, but it was not widely used. Zhang Ping intended to use it to fetch water.

His explanation was also very simple. Some people lived in the mountains, but the rivers were at the foot of the mountain. One had to go down the mountain to fetch water. It would take time and effort. However, if the pulley was installed and the vat was tied with a hemp rope, it could be thrown downwards from the top of the mountain. It would be convenient and effort-saving.

It could also be installed on wells. It would make it easier for people to fetch water.

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“It’s indeed a good idea…” Jiang Pengji nodded in agreement.

She did not care about how it should be set up on the mountain. It could be installed on wells instead.

Based on the files in the district headquarters, cases of drowning in wells that were recorded in several files stated that the deceased accidentally fell into the wellhead when they were fetching water because the vat was too heavy, which caused their center of gravity to move forward. They died just like that.

If it was installed at the wellhead, the people could fetch water safely just by squatting beside the well, which would largely increase the safety factor.

During winter, Feng Jin and the others watched Zhang Ping indifferently as he was keeping busy like a bee. He took the woodworkers from the workshop to install pulleys on the wells in Xiangyang District and carefully taught the people how to use them.

It was during the wintry 12th lunar month. What kind of temptation could make a hermit living in seclusion do such tough work willingly?

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

Jiang Pengji comfortably sipped some hot tea to warm her body and planned to dry some fruits the following year, so that she could use them to make tea during winter. When she looked up, her subordinates looked at her mysteriously. Jiang Pengji felt somewhat eerie. “Have the improved variety of seeds for spring plowing been distributed? Have the farming tools been allotted? Have the cattle been allocated? Have the statistics of the farmland of various households been done? Why are you looking at me when these tasks haven’t been completed? Go to work!”

Everyone snickered coldly in their hearts. Then, they immersed themselves in hard work.

They had never seen such a brazen person!

The person was actually their lord!

Wei Ci was probably the only one who was immune to the weirdness.

Ever since he decided to push Zhang Ping into the fire pit, he knew that such a day would come.

As a friend, he did not want Zhang Ping’s talents to be buried in the mountains. In today’s world, one could not be safe just by escaping.

With such an opinion, Wei Ci filtered the suitable candidates with ease and justification.

He planned to attack Fengyi County after spring plowing and send some letters to his friends.

As a patient who was still recovering, he could not work for too long. He could not bear to watch his colleagues work all day long. The only way was to find someone to share the workload.

There was an extreme shortage of talents. If it was not for Zhang Ping’s incapability in government affairs, he would make him work for him.

The workload in the government office was pretty heavy. The only thing worthy of praise was the food cooked in the small kitchen.

“I love vinegar-braised pork the most. It’s sweet and sour. I really don’t know how the lord has managed to find such a good chef. The food I used to eat now seems like straw in comparison.” Ten small plates containing four to five mouthfuls of dishes were placed on the table in front of Xu Ke.

Although they were all meat dishes, there were two bowls of vegetarian soup, which were extremely delicious.

Feng Jin secretly agreed with his statement. He surreptitiously patted his somewhat bloated belly under the cover of his sleeves.

The food was too heavenly. They would die to eat three meals a day in the district headquarters.

Only tasty food could wipe out their resentment for working overtime.

Jiang Pengji’s food was no different from that of her subordinates. However, she had a huge appetite, so her meal servings were three to four times more than that of others.

“I just remembered something,” Jiang Pengji said. “Why don’t we open an eatery in secret?”

Everyone was drinking tea and digesting after their meals. They tensed up upon hearing Jiang Pengji’s mischievous suggestion.

Wei Ci responded gently, “Why would that thought occur to you?”

Those in power should not compete with the people for benefit. Otherwise, how could people’s businesses survive upon the integration of power and business?

If their lord took the lead in doing so, the mentality in the future would not be easily controlled.

“People will always die when there are wars. The soldiers are dead, but their families are still alive. They may have old mothers and young children at home. In today’s world, women should be encouraged to remarry, live, and multiply. Widows shouldn’t spend the rest of their lives in vain. However, if the widows remarry, the old mothers and young children left behind will be left uncared for…” Jiang Pengji explained. “We’ll open an eatery wherever we have wars in the future. 70 percent of the proceeds will be used to take care of orphans and widows. The remaining 30 percent will be used for the kitchens’ operations… What do you think?”