Liu Tan laughed and said, "Is that so? Well, let me see what they are capable of."

Jiang Chong leaned forward slightly and said, "Your Highness, are they plotting something?"

Liu Tan said, "You don't have to worry too much about them. Just have someone keep an eye on them. Even if they plot, it will definitely benefit the Northern Territory."

Jiang Chong was a little confused: "Really? I always felt that they caught the Xiongnu too easily."

Liu Tan said, "Of all the schools of thought that have survived to this day, how many don't have some hidden secrets? Don't be affected by the conflict between the Mohists and the Gongshuists. Let them be. As long as it's not a vicious competition, more such competitions are better."

Jiang Chong shook his head: "I am not acting this way because of Gongshujia. I just think they are blind."

I think Liu Tan took the initiative to give Mo Jia a chance, but Mo Jia didn't have much ability but acted arrogantly. Now he wants to come over but only takes pictures of a group of furry kids. Who is he looking down on?

Liu Tan raised an eyebrow. "I'm not angry, so why are you? If I'm right, the Mohists must be worried. They appear to be respected among the people as imperial servants, but in reality... the art of craftsmanship has begun to be looked down upon. The Confucians aren't as easy to talk to as I am. The Mohists have been having a hard time lately, so if they want to change, they'll naturally send someone to test the waters first. If you don't believe me, send someone to take a look. They've bought the Northern Plow and are probably disassembling it, trying to figure out how to improve it."

Jiang Chong didn't doubt it, but he still asked someone to take a look.

Soon, the people who were watching the Mohist school sent feedback: the Mohist disciples were indeed trying to find ways to improve.

Jiang Chong sneered and said, "No wonder they've been in seclusion at the posthouse for so many days. But judging from the looks of it, it seems they haven't achieved anything. The Mohist School is nothing special."

Liu Tan shook his head: "Don't underestimate a family that can become a royal family despite the suppression of Confucianism."

Jiang Chong said, "I don't look down on the Mohists. What I look down on are these young men who dare to show off in the Northern Border Country without having learned much."

Liu Tan paused holding the water cup, feeling somewhat helpless.

He knew that Jiang Chong was not targeting him. The problem was that Mo Shi, the leader of the Mohist School, was five years older than him, and many of the other people from the Mohist School who came this time were also older than him. They were all young boys, so what was Liu Tan?

It seems that Jiang Chong was really resentful that the Mohist School rejected their recruitment.

However, he didn't dwell on it and simply said, "They must have real skills to be chosen and sent here. However... if they want to make a big splash and even meet me, they naturally need to improve in obvious areas. If the improvements can't be seen by an outsider, what's the point of all their efforts? This is what's holding them back now. Let's see if they can do it."

Jiang Chong said, "If they can't do that, then let them go as soon as possible. The Mohist School is becoming increasingly useless, yet they still want to act like they have a century-old heritage."

Liu Tan smiled and said, "How about we make a bet?"

Jiang Chong was a little suspicious: "What are you betting on?"

"I bet they can make better improvements, what about you?"

Jiang Chong was about to say something when he suddenly paused and said quickly, "I will not gamble with Your Highness."

He would be crazy to make this bet with their prince. He might be better than Liu Tan in terms of popular support, but when it comes to mechanical engineering, even ten of him tied together would not be a match for the King of the North!

Liu Tan fanned his hands and said, "Boring. Okay, stop wasting your time here on your day off, or I'll make you work overtime."

Jiang Chong smiled and said, "It would be great if Your Highness would allow me to work overtime."

The Northern Territory has a regulation that if you work overtime on a holiday, you must be paid triple the salary. Therefore, Liu Tan strictly ordered that overtime is not allowed on holidays unless it is absolutely necessary. If you work overtime on your own initiative without an order, you will not be given overtime pay.

Even if triple the salary was just the average daily amount, it would still be a lot, so Jiang Chong said he was willing to work overtime.

Liu Tan said angrily: "I think you just want my money, get out of here!"

In the end, Jiang Chong still took away two boxes of chess pieces from Liu Tan. One box was made of white jade and the other was made of black jade. They were not very precious, but they were worth a lot of money.

After he left, Liu Tan looked up at the clear blue sky and white clouds, smiled, and said, "I hope the Mo family disciples won't make me regret it."

After he finished speaking, he turned to Bigao and asked, "By the way, what have Gongshu and his son been doing lately?"

Bigo quickly said, "They seem to be researching the Northern Plow as well."

Liu Tan was surprised at first, but then he understood. "Are they worried about being found guilty by the Mohists? They're being too cautious. Forget it, let them fight. By the way, how's the wool workshop going?"

Miao Rui said, "Your Highness, we have already started weaving. However, I don't know if it's a problem with the loom, but the first batch of finished products doesn't seem to be very good."

Liu Tan said, "Don't waste the less-than-good ones. Use what can be made into clothes. Time is short now, so we can't be picky. Oh, be careful with the fine wool. Throw the less-good ones away to make military equipment, and be sure to keep the good ones. And pay attention to wool dyeing, too."

Miao Rui said, "Don't worry, Your Highness. I have someone watching Jingmao. They will definitely not ruin your plans."

Liu Tan thought about it and felt that there was nothing to do, so he just lay down on the lounge chair and basked in the sun. When it was neither too cold nor too hot, it seemed very suitable to take a nap in the garden.

He was sleeping soundly, but the Mo disciples were all reluctant to sleep.

As Liu Tan said, the Northern Plow is advanced and its structure is somewhat complicated, but it is very difficult to make further improvements on this complicated structure, especially since the improvement must be visible to anyone with discerning eyes.

But fortunately, they succeeded in the end. After they disassembled the Northern Plow, they saw the protected mechanism and secret technology of Gongshujia.

When the Mo disciples saw the hidden secret techniques, they did not dare to dismantle them for a moment.

The Mohists also have such secret techniques. If you don't have special skills, the mechanism inside will be damaged if you forcibly dismantle it.

Mo Shi's junior fellow disciple, Mo Ke, had dark circles under his eyes and couldn't help but say angrily, "Gong Shujia's skills are enough to warrant this kind of protection? What could possibly be in it?"

If you can't see what's inside, you can't know the overall picture of the entire mechanism. How can you make changes if you don't know the overall picture of the mechanism?

Mo Shi remained calm, holding his shoulders and saying, "If you can't see it, then don't look at it. You don't need them."

Mo Ke was a little surprised: "Senior Brother?"

Mo Shi scoffed, "Even though we can't see what's inside, just looking at its size tells you how complicated this mechanism is. Complex mechanisms certainly have their advantages, but this is a farm tool. The simpler and cheaper it is to build, the better. It's because His Majesty the King of the Northern Territory has plenty of money that he allowed Gongshujia to do this. If it were someone else, I'm afraid this Northern Territory Plow wouldn't even be possible."

Mo Ke said, "Brother, you're right. They're simply wasting money. Brother, then we..."

"Let's start from this aspect!"

Mo Shi had a confident smile on his face. He didn't need to make the Northern Plow very easy to use. As long as more poor people could use it, or if it could save more money for the Northern Kingdom's treasury, then he would win.

It has to be said that once they found the direction, these Mo disciples were very quick and quickly made what they wanted.

However, the Mohist school has always been striving for perfection. After the initial work was completed, they studied it and modified the unreasonable parts. Then Mo Shi sent someone to find Gongshu Yi and directly invited Gongshu Yi over.

Gongshu Yi had already prepared himself mentally when he went to meet Mo Shi. He already knew what Mo Shi and the others had been doing in seclusion in the inn for so many days.

If Mo Shi came out of retreat at this time, he would be allowed to pass. It would be either success or failure. However... Gongshu Yi always felt that the possibility of failure was greater. The Northern Plow was created by the Gongshu family with one heart and one mind. Even if it was not the essence of the Gongshu family's wisdom, it was not bad at all. How could it be improved so easily?

However, his hope of getting lucky disappeared when he saw the Northern Plow that Mo Shi placed in the courtyard of the posthouse.

As someone who had been immersed in mechanical engineering since childhood and as a senior participant in the creation of the Northern Plow, Gongshu Yi noticed the change at a glance when he saw the Northern Plow.

Perhaps it can be said that the changes to the Northern Plow are huge, and even those who don’t understand it can see the difference between the two.

Gongshu Yi's mentality collapsed in an instant, but he had gained some experience in the Northern Border Kingdom over the years. There were big men coming and going around him, and he had learned some superficial skills.

He forced himself to calm down, turned to look at Mo Shi, and said, "As expected of a Mo Clan disciple, you've managed to streamline the Northern Border Plow to this level in such a short time. I'm just wondering... Brother Mo Shi, since you asked me to come, aren't you afraid that this plow won't be able to leave the posthouse?"

Mo Shi smiled very carefreely: "Brother Gongshu is a noble person, he would never play tricks in this regard, I naturally trust Brother Gongshu."

Gongshu Yi took a deep breath and said, "Where are the improved written records? Give them to me, and I'll show them to my father. Don't worry, they belong to your Mo family, and I, Gongshu Yi, will never covet them."

Mo Shi handed the document in his hand directly to Gongshu Yi and said, "Of course I know. If it weren't for this, I wouldn't have called Brother Gongshu here. Thank you for your help, Brother Gongshu."

Gongshu Yi took the document without saying much, and didn't even look at the Northern Plow.

This Northern Plow is no longer their Northern Plow, or rather, it is still a Northern Plow, but it has nothing to do with Gong Shujia.

The overall design of the Northern Plow was conceived by His Royal Highness the King of the Northern Territory. Now the Mohists have not only changed it beyond recognition, but have also completely destroyed Gongshujia's work. How can it be related to Gongshujia?

As for whether those changes were made by Mo Shi to attract attention, Gongshu Yi didn't think about it that way.

The documents are in his hands. Even if the key technology is kept confidential, he can tell at a glance whether it will work or not.

What's more, if it is really taken seriously, it will be used for experiments. If it doesn't work, there will definitely be problems, and the Mohists will naturally be embarrassed.

He actually hoped that Mo Shi and his men would rush for success and cause problems, but unfortunately the Mohists were quite rigorous in this regard.

After taking a look at the document, Gongshu Can sighed and said, "Go... and tell the Prime Minister."