Diqin Designer

Chapter 45 New plow, old plow
Li Nian didn't know how the First Emperor would promote tables, chairs and benches, but he would probably choose to promote them.

Tables, chairs and benches are just small objects and do not affect the king's power, so there is no reason for the First Emperor to stop them.

After Su Xu left, Li Nian enjoyed a late lunch.

The Qin people ate two meals a day, but he came from later times and was still accustomed to three meals a day.

His life safety level was similar to that of the First Emperor himself, and the food he ate and the water he drank had to undergo strict inspection.

This also caused a problem, he couldn't cook for himself!
Glancing at the iron pot on the shelf, Li Nian felt that he would have to talk about this issue with the First Emperor when he went to chat with him in a couple of days. He wanted to cook some dishes by himself.

There is no other way. I have been in Daqin for more than half a month. I eat green and pollution-free food every day. Although it is good for the body, the smell is so bad that Li Nian already misses modern technology and hard work.

While eating, I listened to the noise outside. It seemed that someone was digging something hard. How come it was like the construction site was moved into the palace?
It was true. Some places in Liuying Palace had really become a construction site, where a place for papermaking was being built.

Because the First Emperor did not allow him to leave the palace at the moment, but papermaking required his on-site technical guidance. He couldn't just explain the problem on bamboo slips and verbally, and then convey the solution on bamboo slips and verbally, right?

That is not only inefficient, but also makes it easy for problems to be dealt with lately and difficult to correct.

Therefore, Li Nian simply proposed to build the papermaking place in Liuying Palace, so that the First Emperor would not worry that he would be out of control, and he could also provide timely guidance on papermaking.

Moreover, taking advantage of the opportunity of building the paper venue, Li Nian also asked the craftsmen of the Shaofu to make some modifications to the Liuying Palace to facilitate him to do certain things later.

After all, the First Emperor would not let him leave the palace, and he would probably stay in the palace for a long time. The Liuying Palace was both his residence and his office.

This was the reason why Guo Dian was asked to take inventory of the things in Liuying Palace. Of course, everything had been reported to the First Emperor. He was an honest man in the Qin Dynasty and he advocated sincerity.

The First Emperor arranged a lot of things for him to do, including growing potatoes, making paper, castrating pigs, drawing maps, and making globes. Later, he might also be asked to compile teaching materials, give lectures, and provide ocean-going navigation technology...

All of these things seemed to be no better than being an ox or a horse in modern times, but why didn't I feel bored or tired, and even enjoyed it?
Why hasn't the First Emperor sent me a princess yet? Isn't it true that when other protagonists travel through time, the emperor will use princesses to win them over, but why don't I have one?

I don’t know what the princess of the Qin Dynasty looks like?

These princesses were also miserable. They didn't have much chance to inherit the throne, but were suspected by the beast Hu Hai and were crucified.

While eating, Li Nian was daydreaming. A guard came in from outside. Because he was eating, the guard was stopped by Guo Dian.

Li Nian noticed and asked, "Is there anything to report?"

Only then did Guo Dian let the guard go.

After paying respect to Li Nian, the guard reported, "The new plow that the young master asked the Shaofu to make has been made, and all the people have arrived. They are now outside the palace, waiting for the young master's order."

When instructing the craftsmen of the Shaofu to make the plows of later generations that day, Li Nian also asked them to find dozens of farmers of similar age, strength, and farming experience after they made the new plows, and bring the new and old plows to Liuying Palace together.

Li Nian looked at Guo Dian and said, "General Manager Guo, take them into the palace and first to the place I mentioned. I will be there later."

"Yes!" Guo Dian took the order and left.

Li Nian asked the Shaofu to find dozens of farmers, bring new plows, old plows and oxen to Liuying Palace, naturally to compare the advantages and disadvantages of the two plows through direct competition.

Without testing, even if Li Nian said how good the new plow he drew was, people of this era would not believe it, after all, words are not enough.

A garden originally belonging to Liuying Palace has now been stripped of all its flowers and plants, leaving only an empty space.

The open space was divided into 20 equal areas by white lines drawn on it. This was exactly the competition venue that Li Nian had prepared for the new and old plows!

At this time, there were already quite a few people in front of the open space, including craftsmen from the Shaofu, farmers who were called in, and guards from the Liuying Palace.

In addition to humans, there are dozens of cows of similar age and strength.

The many guards of Liuying Palace were holding their weapons and did not dare to slack off at all. In case these cows went crazy, they had to be prepared at any time.

Looking at the empty lot, the craftsmen and farmers of the Shaofu understood what to do. The young master of Liuying Palace wanted them to directly compare the advantages and disadvantages of the two plows by plowing the land. They probably never dreamed that they would have the opportunity to plow the land in the palace with oxen.

How did the king agree?
Under the protection of a group of guards, Li Nianzheng explained the use of the new plow and the rules of the competition to the craftsmen and farmers.

After the explanation, just as Li Nian was announcing the start of the competition, he heard a voice: "The King has arrived!"

Li Nian muttered in his heart: "The First Emperor is here? He is not working in Zhangtai Palace, what is he doing here? The Qin Dynasty is so busy now, there are many things that need him to deal with, but he actually came here to slack off, so no one dares to deduct his salary!"

Everyone hurriedly saluted, but heard a majestic and loud voice: "No need to be polite, I just came over to take a look, you guys should do what you need to do, just continue."

In fact, he came here specially because he learned that Li Nian was going to compete the new plow and the old plow here.

"The most important affairs of a country are sacrifices and wars," but agriculture is the foundation. Only when people are well fed can they do other things. The food issue is the most important issue for a country.

If the new plow proposed by Li Nian can outperform the old plow, then Daqin will be able to produce more food and feed more people, then he will have more soldiers and can open up more vast territories.

Li Nian continued to direct the competition. The old plows from the Qin Dynasty generally used two or three oxen, while the new plows originated from the Song and Yuan Dynasties and only required one ox. Li Nian did not require that the old plows should use only one ox like the new plows.

What we want is to show the differences and compare the advantages of the new plow over the old plow.

First the old plow came on the scene, with two oxen, driven by a farmer, pulling the plow in the ten plots of land marked with white lines. Then the new plow came on the scene, with only one ox pulling the plow.

Two cows are definitely more powerful than one cow, and plowing the same area of ​​land should be faster than one cow...

However, the fact that appeared to Qin Shihuang and Li Nian was that it was indeed faster, but not much faster, not as much as twice as fast. In other words, based on the manpower and ox power invested, the new plow was more efficient than the old plow.

Not only that, the old plow required two oxen to plow the land, but now only one ox is needed, which means that when one family needs to plow the land, there will be one ox left for another family, saving everyone time waiting for the oxen to plow the land.

Wouldn’t it be possible to use the time saved to do other things or cultivate more land?

Ying Zheng was not stupid, so he saw through all this and said happily: "Everyone here today will be rewarded 100 coins!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Everyone expressed their gratitude.

There were hundreds of people present, and a hundred coins was a considerable reward. However, compared with the results achieved after the new plow was promoted, Ying Zheng thought that this amount of money was worth it.

Ying Zheng turned his gaze to Li Nian and asked, "Without you, there would be no plow. You should be credited with the first merit. What reward do you want?"

　Thanks to "Qianliyuan" for the 300 points reward, and thanks to "Chitu Xiaoma" for the monthly ticket

　　
　
(End of this chapter)