Chapter 6: Curved Plow and Waterwheel

Ying Zheng looked around the farmlands surrounding the village entrance.

In the farmland, the villagers are working hard.

Some were weeding the fields, and some were watering the farmland.

Ying Zheng asked: "Are all these potatoes?"

Zhao Yi replied: "No, the proportion of potato cultivation in the village is two-thirds."

"But don't worry, the total potato production this year is about 200,000 kilograms. It's enough for you to sell."

When Ying Zheng heard this, his mouth suddenly grinned so much that even AK couldn't suppress it.

The total potato production of one village can reach 200,000 kilograms!
This grain output is equivalent to the total grain output of a small county!

If this can be promoted throughout the entire Qin Dynasty in the future, no one in the Qin Dynasty will go hungry anymore!

It is even possible to allow some adult men to stop working in agriculture and join the army.

In this way, the Qin Dynasty will have more troops to conquer the surrounding areas and expand its territory!
At this moment, what Ying Zheng saw in his eyes was not farmland, but the hope for the future prosperity of the Qin Dynasty!
It is Daqin’s hope to resolve famine!

It is the hope that Daqin can expand its territory again!

How can two hundred thousand kilograms be enough to sell?

It would be great if we could have 2 million jin, so that we can promote the cultivation nationwide at once.

Thinking of this, Ying Zheng felt a little regretful.

Suddenly, Ying Zheng saw someone plowing the fields not far away.

A person directing oxen to plow the fields?

wrong!

How can one person and one ox plow the fields?

Although Ying Zheng, as the first emperor, had never farmed, he was very interested in agricultural planting techniques.

Because Ying Zheng knew that agricultural planting technology is the cornerstone of the country and the foundation of the country!
The population of a country is determined by the amount of food it has, and planting technology can directly affect food production.

Therefore, he is very familiar with the current level of agricultural technology in Daqin.

Ying Zheng even issued a decree to promote the advancement of Qin's agricultural technology.

Reward those who invent new agricultural planting technologies and promote the relevant technologies nationwide.

Now the common method of tilling the land in Daqin was to use two oxen to pull the plow.

Two oxen pulled a single-beam plow, and a man controlled the plow from behind.

The number of cattle cannot be reduced any further. If the number of plowshares is reduced, it will be difficult to control and plowing will become difficult.

But now it appeared before his eyes that one ox and one man could plow the land.

This means that Zhao Yi's village has new agricultural technology! New and more efficient farming tools!

If this technology is promoted to Daqin.

This is equivalent to having half more oxen used to arable land in the Qin Dynasty.

It can double Daqin’s planting area!
If we add the potatoes, Daqin's annual grain output can be increased several times!
Ying Zheng quickly asked, "Zhao boy, why can one person from your village control the cattle plowing the land?"

Zhao Yi said indifferently: "Oh, that's a curved plow, of course one person and one ox can plow the field."

"The curved plow? It's a good thing, can you sell it?"

"Yes, it can be sold! But the price is not cheap."

Zhao Yi naturally would not miss the opportunity to make money from his scumbag father.

And Zhao Yi also needs money.

However, the money Zhao Yi earned was not used for spending, but was recycled into metal raw materials or used to make other things.

And Zhao Yi also knew the value of the curved plow.

At present, the Qin Dynasty is using long straight-beam plows, which require multiple oxen to pull when plowing the land. They are not flexible enough to turn around, and it takes a lot of effort to dig up the soil, so the plowing efficiency is not very high.

The straight and long shafts were changed into curved and short shafts, and a freely rotating plow disc was installed on the shaft head. This not only made the plow frame smaller and lighter, but also facilitated turning and making turns, making the operation more flexible and saving manpower and animal power.

However, this curved plow is very easy to copy, so one can only make money by secretly making a large batch and selling them all at once.

This requires resources and channels to achieve.

Zhao Yi doesn't have the time to do this.

"you say!"

"500 coins!" Ying Zheng agreed immediately: "No problem!"

Only five hundred coins!

You will get a curved plow that will give Qin twice as many oxen as before.

It’s a bloody profit!
You should know that the coins that Ying Zheng usually rewarded others were counted in thousands.

Five hundred coins were just a drop in the bucket for Ying Zheng.

Zhao Yi immediately agreed: "Deal. I'll give you the production drawings of the curved plow later."

Now Zhao Yi knew that his scumbag father must be very rich.

The transaction of 500 coins was done without hesitation.

You should know that the Qin Dynasty's coins are divided into two types: upper coins and lower coins.
The upper currency is gold and the lower currency is copper.

1上币即1镒，1镒20两，20两黄金可买粟100石。

In Daqin, the average annual food consumption for a person was 20 dan.
That is to say, five hundred coins are equivalent to the annual food expenses of two hundred and fifty people!

Enough to support more than 80 families!
However, Zhao Yi didn't care about selling the curved plow because the system even gave him a steam engine.

Can the tractor be far behind?
Quyuanli?
It's just a product of the old times.

Both parties to the transaction believe that they have made a huge profit.

Ying Zheng casually asked, "How did you get this curved plow?"

He planned to find out the origin of the curved plow so that he could find an opportunity to recruit the creator of the curved plow for his own use.

Develop new agricultural tools for Daqin.

“I figured it out.”

Ying Zheng looked at Zhao Yi suspiciously, "You?"

"Of course, I made the production drawings and then gave them to the carpenter to build."

Ying Zheng was not so skeptical about this answer.

After all, Zhao Yi looked like a smart little boy, and it was very likely that he was a celestial being who had been reincarnated from heaven, so it was possible that he could create such a magical object for farming.

The more Ying Zheng looks at Zhao Yi, the more he likes him.

I can give myself so many surprises in just over a day of spending time together.

He felt that Zhao Yi was the lucky star sent to him by God.

The only bad thing is that this kid is restless and always wants to rebel and murder me!
After discovering the curved plow, Ying Zheng continued to observe the farmland nearby.

Because he thought that since Zhao Yi's village already had curved plows, there might be other new agricultural tools as well.
Soon Ying Zheng made a new discovery.

The irrigation equipment in the farmland is also different!
There is a large wheel that keeps turning under the impact of the river water to transport water from the river to a higher place.

You should know that the Qin Dynasty's irrigation method was nothing more than building water diversion canals.

But farmland is generally in highlands.

Because if it is in a low place, there is a risk of being flooded.

If it gets flooded, it means a total loss of harvest.

But in the end, people still have to carry water little by little using a lever to irrigate the highland farmlands.

A lever is a human-powered water-lifting machine that uses the principle of a lever. A water bucket is tied to one end of a horizontal bar, and the other end of the bar is raised and lowered by hand to draw water.

Now Zhao Yi's village only needs to rely on the river water to automatically drain water to the high ground.

It not only saves manpower but also expands the area of ​​arable land.

This thing, combined with the curved plow, can double the arable land area of ​​the Qin Dynasty!
Ying Zheng pointed at the waterwheel and asked, "What's the name of that big wheel that draws water? It looks quite ingenious."

"Water wheel." Zhao Yi introduced.

Ying Zheng secretly wrote down the name, intending to ask the Qin craftsmen to copy it and then promote it throughout the Qin Dynasty.

He felt that after meeting Zhao Yi, the future of Daqin was bright.

Someone at the entrance of the village noticed that Zhao Yi had returned.

So he came over immediately to greet Zhao Yi.

"Village Chief, are you back?"

(End of this chapter)