The surrounding people looked at Hu Delu with admiration and exclaimed, "Old Hu, you're really amazing! You could come up with such an idea!"
"Yeah, Lao Hu, I never expected someone as big and burly as you to have such thoughts!"
"Old Hu, you're really good at plowing! When are you going to come and plow this wasteland of mine?"
Hu Delu quickly waved his hand: "What nonsense are you talking about? This is Lord Lü's idea. I, Old Hu, am good at blacksmithing, but not good at using my brain!"
These words shocked the entire audience!
No one expected that Lü Tu would still have the mind to focus on the plows used by ordinary people. This shows that Lü Tu was not only good at fighting, but also truly cared about the people.
They all bowed to Lü Tu and said, "Lord Lü, improving people's livelihoods is truly a blessing for the people!"
"Now that we have this curved plow, we can clear land much faster and won't delay spring planting!"
Lu Tu waved his hand at everyone: "No need to flatter me. I said that as long as you work hard, I will make sure that everyone has enough to eat."
Hearing this, everyone felt as if they had drunk a bowl of sweet millet porridge, and their hearts were warmed.
Then he turned to Hu Delu and asked, "Old Hu, how much did you modify this curved plow?"
Hu Delu laughed loudly upon hearing this: "Haha, I knew you were in a hurry, sir. We didn't sleep at all last night and improved 15 curved plows. We can finish improving the remaining dozen or so today!"
Lu Tu nodded: "Alright, I'll send another 30 people to help you. After you finish this, your blacksmith shop staff will be allowed to rest for two days."
Before Hu Delu could speak, the dozen or so local deities behind him waved their hands repeatedly: "Sir, this won't do. Our master said that if we don't practice for three days, our iron-working skills will become rusty. We'll just take a nap."
Hu Delu laughed and said, "Yes, sir, you don't need to treat them like human beings. These calves are well-fed and watered every day, and their strength is no less than that of oxen!"
The people around him burst into laughter, creating a joyful atmosphere. This was something they had never experienced in the past few decades. Who would have thought that they could have a hopeful life in this desolate northern land?
"Alright! You guys figure it out yourselves, but each person gets an extra pound of millet per day!"
Since they are determined, Lü Tu will naturally not refuse. Now is the time to race against time, and there is no room for carelessness.
As for those hardworking and dedicated young men who are willing to contribute, Lü Tu will naturally not be stingy and will give them as many substantial rewards as possible within his means.
Lu Tu firmly believed that loyalty was bought, not earned through empty promises.
If someone else makes a selfless contribution, and you are stingy and hurt their feelings, who will be willing to give in the future?
Lu Tu called for people to bring an oxcart and deliver the curved plow to the farmland near Xisha Lake.
When the 15 curved plows were put into use, Lü Tu once again received a chorus of praise.
This was completely beyond their comprehension; they had farmed all their lives and never imagined that clearing land could be so easy.
Originally, one cow required three to four strong laborers, but now only one is needed. The others can use hoes to dig other farmland, which greatly increases the reclamation speed.
Yesterday, they only managed to reclaim about 50 mu (approximately 3.3 hectares) in a whole day, but today, in just one afternoon, they reclaimed 80 mu (approximately 5.3 hectares) of farmland.
This land has always nurtured an agrarian civilization, and progress in agriculture brings genuine joy to everyone.
For the next ten days, Lü Tu was busy in various fields, sometimes working on saline-alkali land, sometimes planning the reclamation of farmland.
Under Lü Tu's call, all 1,800 soldiers and civilians embarked on a vigorous work spree. Apart from Chai Yong leading more than 30 people to guard the Gubei Peak Pass, everyone else joined the large-scale labor production.
In ten days, the original 700 mu of reward farmland was reclaimed by Lü Tu into 2,000 mu, directly covering the entire jurisdiction of the four villages.
Any arable land should be reclaimed; saline-alkali land that cannot be cultivated should be improved; and land that is truly unusable should be used to build houses and latrines.
Fortunately, Lu Tu had never let the villagers have any free time before; even when they had nothing to do, he would cut down a lot of trees.
With a large quantity of logs currently stored, Lü Tu plans to enclose the area under his jurisdiction.
This wasn't for defending against thieves; it was mainly to prevent cavalry charges. After all, even if their carefully cultivated fields weren't attacked by cavalry, they needed to be protected from being trampled by wild boars and other passersby.
Secondly, it serves as a reminder to other villages in the surrounding area that their place is excellent and they should hurry up and come to join them.
More importantly, Yun Tian has issued a statement that all soldiers in Wuchuan are now solely responsible for their own pay, which is crucial.
Lu Tu was exempted from corvée labor and taxes for another three years. He had to use these simple wooden fences to delineate his jurisdiction. Even if he occupied more territory now, as long as he enclosed it, Yun Tian would have nothing to say even if he found out.
However, this matter is not urgent and can be put on hold for now.
After 2,000 mu of fertile land had been reclaimed, the oxen were idle, and Lu Tu then sent more than 30 oxcarts to the mountains 5 li south of Songshan Village to quarry stones.
After being transported back in large quantities, the tracks were laid between the four villages to strengthen their connections.
This project was also very troublesome, not only because it was time-consuming and labor-intensive, but also because the villagers did not understand it. They believed that since the fertile land had been reclaimed, the important thing was to plant crops as soon as possible.
Fortunately, they were used to Lü Tu's unconventional ideas, so they restrained themselves and began to chisel a large amount of stone.
When the first cartload of broken stones was brought back, Lü Tu personally ordered people to dig shallow pits under the tracks, insert the stones, and piece them together. Only then did everyone realize what had happened.
"My goodness, Lord Lü actually wants to build those kinds of roads in Wuchuan City?"
"I never dreamed that our village would have a stone-paved road. Now we won't have to wade through mud when we bring coal here!"
"Lord Lü is truly a genius! He is the best gift God has given us!"
No one knows who said such cheesy things, but when Lu Tu, who was not far away, heard it, he couldn't help but get goosebumps all over.
That is to say, he usually treats the villagers kindly. If it were any other captain, which villager would dare to joke with him like that?
It took five days to build a 3-meter-wide stone-paved road connecting several villages, stretching from the entrance of Kuishan Village all the way to the coal mine in Luzhuang Village.
On the eve of the Spring Equinox, it seemed as if even the heavens were moved by these hardworking little people, and a heavy rain fell, something that hadn't been seen in the arid Wuchuan for many years.
Standing by the window, listening to the rain, Lü Tu smiled and said, "Spring rain is as precious as oil; it seems this year will truly be a good harvest."
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