Chapter 40 Fire Lotus Heavenly Sound Update
"Very well, I am not very old! I still have to serve the young marquis!" Liu Biao responded with a smile, and then asked with great interest, "What does the young marquis want me to see?"
As he was speaking, Du Hui, who came with him, had already directed several guards to move the items from the car one by one and place them neatly in front of the ridge of the field.
He smiled and said to Liu Biao, "Butler Liu, this is the good stuff that the young marquis specially sent for you!"
Liu Biao stepped forward and carefully examined the novel wooden object placed on the ground. It was barely taller than an adult's waist. The most striking feature was the long, curved wooden shaft running through the center. At one end was a handle-like push bar, and at the bottom lay a wooden bed, about half a foot wide.
The head of the wooden bed was connected to a pointed iron plowshare, and the brand new plowshare was polished to a sharp point.
Although the shape was very different from what Liu Biao was used to, he quickly guessed its use: "Is this a plow?"
Liu Ziye looked at him and nodded: "Yes, a plow for tilling the land!"
Liu Bing and Liu Biao never expected that the "good thing" they were waiting for here would be a plow they had never seen before!
Liu Bing couldn't contain his curiosity. "Why is the plow shaft so curved? And so short?"
He used his hand to turn the plow disk on the shaft, which was still rotating in circles, and an unspoken question kept circling in his mind: ...Can this really plow the land?
Liu Ziye saw Liu Bing's doubt and replied directly, "The plow shaft is curved, hence its name—the curved plow shaft. Mr. Du, please arrange for someone to demonstrate how to use it to the housekeeper and Liu Bing."
"Yes." Du Hui responded.
This curved plow was made by the young marquis in the marquis's mansion long before the snow fell in winter. Just like last time, he assembled the wooden and iron parts that were made separately by the craftsmen and displayed them in front of him.
When he brought this piece of permanent farmland to the Marquis' Mansion today and was about to officially hand it over to the steward and Liu Bing who were in charge of the main agricultural affairs of the Marquis' Mansion, he had already tested it in advance with the private guards around several young marquises.
The beauty of this curved plow lies in its curved and short shaft, as well as the freely rotating plow disc on the shaft head!
Not only did it make the plow frame smaller and lighter, but it also made turning extremely easy, significantly saving both manpower and animal power. Based on his own experience, replacing the straight-beam plow commonly used in the Marquisate and Xiguan Commandery with a curved-beam plow would increase the number of acres plowed per day by one person and one ox from one to three acres!
The few private guards of the Marquis' Mansion who came today were all selected during this period. They always follow Liu Ziye, help her, and are the first to master every new thing created by Liu Ziye and Du Hui.
Xiying also jumped forward to help. This winter, he was on standby at all times and followed the young marquis every time.
The young marquis inherited these things from the Prince of Xiguan. He is very motivated and must master them all!
Liu Biao and Liu Bing watched with their own eyes as several private guards, whom they believed were merely responsible for protecting the young marquis, expertly harnessed oxen to plows and whipped them into the fields. The sharp plowshares instantly vanished into the earth. As the oxen mooed forward, fresh soil surged forth with the smooth advance of the plowshares, revealing streaks of moist, brilliant yellow and red soil.
When they reached the end of a ridge, the oxen and the plowing plow did not stop at all. They turned a corner easily under the pull of the plow disk at the head of the shaft.
Then, a new ridge began to be plowed.
Liu Biao and Liu Bing watched the whole process in disbelief, never expecting that this seemingly simple change would bring about such a huge change!
The ordinary straight-beam plows they used now were not only heavy and slow, but also had to be moved manually to turn around at the end of a ridge, which consumed a lot of physical energy from the farmers.
Liu Bing quickly calculated in his mind. According to his original plan, this year's spring plowing would be a busy farming season from morning to night with no moment's rest!
But, if everyone's plow was replaced with this curved plow...
As he thought about it, he couldn't help but smile happily.
Oh yes, the young marquis wants to transfer half of the staff, right?
Adjust! Adjust it at will!
Even if half of them were transferred away, he could still take care of these two hundred acres of land quickly and easily!
Liu Biao also understood this very well and exclaimed repeatedly, "Young Marquis, this thing is really good! It's really good!"
Liu Ziye smiled and said, "Then, can I transfer half of the people you have assigned to cultivate this permanent farmland?"
“No problem, no problem!”
Liu Biao agreed repeatedly, adding, "Even if I don't have this curved plow, as long as the young marquis asks, I, this old servant, will definitely find a way to fulfill your request."
Liu Ziye nodded. With her understanding of the old housekeeper, she naturally knew it.
She turned to look at Du Hui, who was looking at the plow rolling in the field with a look of satisfaction on his face: "Mr. Du, let's go!"
Even if she finished her work here and left one or two people to teach more people in the Marquis' Mansion to farm pears, she would immediately have other arrangements to make. After getting the people from the housekeeper, she would take them to the next battlefield.
After hearing the young marquis's instructions, Jin Jie withdrew his gaze from the "gear and lightning" logo on both sides of the plow tip of the curved plow.
He turned around and walked, following closely behind the young Marquis of Xiguan.
·
To the north of Xiguan County in the Zhou Dynasty, there is an area where vast glaciers and grasslands blend together, which is the tribal area of the Di people among the eight Rongdi tribes.
As the climate warms, the ice here gradually begins to melt, grass and leaves begin to grow, and the cattle, sheep and horses that have been kept in captivity for the winter are released one after another to graze on the newly grown grass on the vast grassland.
In the tent of the Di tribe's king Khan.
A middle-aged man wearing a felt hat, with his hair loosely tied into a bun but braided into a dense circle, and wearing a tiger-skin fur coat, sat in the middle of the tent.
Sitting in front of him was another old man who had also braided his thick white hair and beard into braids of different sizes.
The old man had very deep eye sockets, his eyes sunken deep into wrinkles, the boundary between the whites of his eyes and the pupils was blurred, seeming both turbid and clear.
Her braid was very rough, obviously rarely taken care of.
He held a piece of yellow parchment with a pattern drawn on it solemnly and meticulously.
Below the pattern is a round flower disk with seventeen petals, and above the flower disk stretching to the sky is a lightning bolt.
The old man presented the pattern to Wang Khan, who was sitting in the middle seat: "My Khan, the Shaman's heavenly voice has descended."
Mo Zhe was in a very good mood. He took the parchment from the old man with both hands, carefully observing and tracing the lines on the pattern, with an expression of great respect and solemnity.
The old man continued, "The shaman's voice revealed: 'The Fire Lotus has appeared in the southeast.'"
"According to news from our tribe in the south, we've discovered traces of the Fire Lotus appearing within the Zhou Dynasty. The shape of the 'Fire Lotus' depicted in this image is somewhat different from what Tianyin depicted, but after experiencing last winter, we can be certain that this is the Fire Lotus. This current state may be the Fire Lotus's initial appearance."
Upon hearing the shaman's words, the Di tribe's king, Khan Mozhe, was also delighted. "Great! This is the sacred Fire Lotus, enough to make our Di clan strong and everlasting! Eternal Heaven, this is the will of Eternal Heaven. My Di clan shall become the ruler of the north!"
The shaman looked at Wang Khan's expression and just closed his eyes slightly, which was an agreement to what Mozhe said.
Mo Zhe continued, "I heard that the Qiang clan in the west, the leader of the eight tribes, suffered the most severe damage this past winter. Most of their cattle and sheep froze to death, and many of their people will not see spring. The Qiang clan's king, Yao Can, sent a letter to the Zhou Dynasty for help, hoping that the Zhou Dynasty would grant them food and cloth. The other tribes also suffered considerable losses, and I'm afraid they will need to rest and recuperate for several years before they can recover. However, my Di clan was the only one of the eight tribes to have preserved most of its strength during this harsh winter, which has not been seen for decades. It is hard for me not to believe that this is the will from the Eternal Heaven and the Sacred Fire Lotus!"
After a moment of excitement, Mo Zheyi asked the shaman, "Tianshi, the Fire Lotus has descended, but why is it in the Zhou Dynasty? What should my Di people do next to truly control the power of the Fire Lotus?"
The shaman said, "Since it is the will of the Eternal Heaven and the power of the Fire Lotus, we can only 'borrow' it, but not 'control' it."
"this……"
Mo Zhe paused for a moment, but then asked again sincerely, "But the Shaman's Heavenly Voice is so ethereal. What exactly is the 'Fire Lotus Sacred Relic'? How can our tribe borrow its power?"
"Didn't Wang Khan just mention the past winter? How did my Di tribe become a special case among the eight tribes?" The shaman asked instead of answering.
"Of course, we followed the instructions from the heavenly voice sent by our tribe from the south." Mo Zhe said.
Shaman Tianyin nodded and said, "Our tribe has already made preparations for the revelation of the sacred object. Everything will be arranged by Changshengtian. Wang Khan has nothing to worry about."
Mo Zheyi took a deep breath when he heard this, nodded heavily, and looked straight ahead.
The curtains on both sides of Wang Khan's tent were hung high, and from the center of the tent, one could see the vast, flat, monotonous and boring grassland.
As far as the eye can see, you can see the peaks of Yansai Mountain, shrouded in misty clouds and moisture.
Across this mountain is where the Fire Lotus appears, and it is also the location of the most powerful country today - the Liu Dynasty Zhou.
Changshengtian gave the Di people the divine revelation, so what kind of auspicious sign will it bring to the Zhou Dynasty?
·
South of Yansai Mountain, on the vastest plain in Yucheng, there was the sound of cattle and horses neighing, the earth turning, and the strong scent of wild grass juice that could be smelled from miles away.
The soil on the land that the Fu clan had cultivated for years was turned over by the shiny iron plow. In the past, all members of the Fu clan had to get up early and work late to cultivate the land and plant in spring according to the seasonal climate. However, this time, only less than one-third of the clan members were here.
What is being used on the land is no longer the shovels and plows that were common in every household in previous years, but a new type of plow that is novel and only requires one person to operate, while taking into account both turning the soil and sowing at the same time.
The Fu clan members learned from their clan leader Fu Xiao that this new thing was called "Curved Plow".
Whether it was the top of the plowshare turning the soil or the wooden shaft in the center of the plow handle, they both swayed with a now very familiar pattern, said to have been designed by the young Marquis of Xiguan himself - a circular gear with a lightning bolt soaring into the air from the gear's center.
The term "gear" is said to have been coined by the imaginative young marquis of Xiguan.
It also said that what they were seeing now was a "standard seventeen-tooth gear."
After a winter, many people have seen gears on the ice-breaking fishing machine and have begun to understand the magic of these seemingly strange gears.
I have to say, this "curved plow" is really easy to use. In previous years, it would take the whole family a whole day to plow an acre of land. Now, with this "curved plow", it only takes one person half a day to do it!
As for the remaining manpower of each household this year, Chief Fu and Junior Chief Fu also had other arrangements.
They were gathered together and taken to those wastelands - to reclaim the land!
Open up new land!
For many years, they have always tried their best to protect the cultivated land and prevent it from being abandoned due to untimely cultivation.
For this reason, the clan leader would mobilize every household at this time of year to sharpen the shovels, plowshares, and rakes. Every day at 3:00 p.m., people from the clan would go from house to house beating gongs and drums to urge everyone to plant in time and not miss the farming season.
But even so, if there is any disturbance or bad weather, the land cannot be cultivated, and part of it will inevitably be abandoned every year.
This year they are amazing, they are going to open up new land!!
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