Chapter 240: Incitement

Those who travel through time can make glass, produce steel in large quantities, build ships at sea and cannons on land—essentially, they can do anything. Yet even though Zhang Yue once graduated from a science program, he had long forgotten his knowledge of chemistry and physics. Things like electronic circuits were of no use in these days. Instead, because he had loved classical Chinese poetry since childhood, he now resembled a native of the Ming Dynasty, unable to invent anything.

But since he couldn’t invent, and this era wasn’t full of fools, surely there were people who knew how to work with tools?

To the east of Zihé Store lay a stretch of wasteland covering at least 500 mu. Although some settlers had already set up boundary markers, the drought had made everyone focus on their cultivated land, so there was little enthusiasm for reclaiming the wasteland. Yet hundreds of people gathered around this sparse wasteland, all staring intently at the heavy plows pulled by four oxen.

Old Yang checked each of the oxen’s new harnesses, puzzled by why changing the plow and the harnesses was necessary. At Zhang Yue’s signal, he and his son shouted, and the four oxen slowly set off. At first, nothing seemed unusual, but after one round of plowing, everyone saw that the soil had been turned over two feet deep. In just half an hour, an entire mu of wasteland had been thoroughly plowed. Most of the people present were skilled farmers, and they were amazed.

“This plow is very powerful. We’ve had ones like this before, but they couldn’t reach such a depth, and their efficiency was ordinary. In fact, it’s because wooden frames and hemp ropes aren’t strong enough; some key parts of the harness need to be replaced with leather and iron,” Liu Da said, his face glowing with excitement. Seeing Zhang Yue nod repeatedly, he seized the opportunity to add, “Sir, though this plow is good, it still relies on animal power. How about trying the wooden oxes I made? They might be very useful when there are no oxen available.”

Zhang Yue always trusted experts in their fields, so he didn’t hesitate to wave his hand and instruct Liu Da to arrange it. Watching this half-century-old man with limited mobility, supported by two farmers, personally set up the ropes, he thought of those amateur inventors in later generations who tirelessly built airplanes and cars, feeling admiration well up in his heart.

Soon, two A-frame wooden structures were set up on either side of the field, each equipped with a pulley. A rope and plow were connected between them with an iron ring. When in use, two strong young men would each turn the crossbeams on their pulleys, while Old Yang headed the plowing. As the crossbeams rotated, the children watching excitedly shouted, “It’s moving! It’s moving!” The rope was already taut, and the two young men exerted all their strength, their foreheads drenched in sweat, while Old Yang seemed relatively relaxed. After he and the plow passed by, everyone could see that the freshly plowed land had been turned over again, sparking much discussion. A few older people who had migrated from Shanxi remembered doing this before and shared their stories with the younger generations. Going back and forth over the land just once took little over half an hour. The onlookers were amazed, and many even tried it themselves out of curiosity. “Farming cultivated land is good, but clearing wasteland isn’t.” Seeing Zhang Yue come to ask personally, Old Yang casually wiped his forehead with the cloth hanging around his neck and said bluntly, “This wooden ox is good, but it’s extremely labor-intensive. Those two young men will need at least half an hour to rest after finishing this task. Besides, it’s not easy to move once set up. How could families with few members afford it? The large plow that requires four oxen to pull is the same. Our village is the first mutual aid group here, which is why we have four oxen to use.” Liu Da’s enthusiasm was dampened by this, leaving him somewhat embarrassed, but Zhang Yue smiled and said, “Mutual aid means everyone working together in farming to truly improve efficiency. Otherwise, it’s the same as before—everyone working alone. In my opinion, this large plow with four oxen is great. How much land can two people plow in a day? As for this wooden device, though heavy and costly, it’s not completely useless. At least it works well for loosening cultivated land. These aren’t things individual families can afford, but if a few families can afford them, they can use them and gradually gain experience.”

“As the lord says.” Old Yang now truly admired the young Zhang Yue from the bottom of his heart. He nodded eagerly and said, “It was this humble man who miscalculated. Indeed, our village now sticks together—plowing, sowing, and everything else is done together, so the work gets done more than twice as fast as before. As the saying goes, many hands make light work. These cows are really useful now; they can finish in a day what used to take days. By the way, the lord brought so many fascinating new gadgets today, all crafted by Master Liu. How come there’s also an iron plow?”
“Don’t underestimate the iron plow. If one can’t even afford a plow, then one has no choice but to use an iron plow.” Even when leading the villagers of Xiaohezhuang and Gaoshantun to build canals and dikes, Liu Da had never felt as valued as he did today. His eyes shone with pride. “This is the cheapest farming tool. I just adjusted its angle a bit. One strong man can plow one mu per day, but if three strong men work together, they can plow at least four mu a day. With six, it’s ten mu. As my brother said, many hands make light work.”
Old Yang, who had also read a few books, naturally understood this principle and immediately praised it highly. The two elderly men of similar age then went together to attach another tool to the plows. From a distance on the ridge, Zhang Yue could tell it was used for sowing. He smiled, deep in thought.
These tools weren’t cheap, and they were most effective in farms where land was concentrated. If farming was done in small plots, only less efficient small tools could be used. Mutual assistance indeed tested people’s character, but when land was in the hands of individuals or the state, it was even worse—in a sense, the state was even less trustworthy than individuals.
Of course, he could gradually introduce these tools to larger farms, especially the large plows. It had to be said that, after all, animal husbandry in these days was far inferior to before.
As the saying goes, it takes ten years to sharpen a sword. Liu Da had lived in seclusion-like conditions in Gaoshantun and Xiaohezhuang for twenty years, and it was unknown how many things he had created during that time. After showing them all off today, some were indeed praised, while others failed to function and caused laughter. At first, only teenagers and farm women were watching, but by noon, many strong men who had finished their farm work also arrived, and suddenly, a clamor arose among the crowd.

“Lord Zhang, I heard that you went to Shouguang County the day before yesterday to resolve a water dispute between two villages. You got very angry, and as a result, there was thunder and rain there, which also brought a good rainstorm here. Everyone is saying that you are the Thunder God in front of the Great Wu Emperor—when you get angry, it rains!”
Zhang Yue was left at a loss whether to laugh or cry at these words. Just as he was about to speak, voices rose from the crowd.
“The rain lasted for half an hour that day. Everyone was overjoyed in the fields!”
“With this rain, we’re no longer worried. In another half month, the wheat can be harvested!”
“After deducting five liters, three scoops, and five tablespoons of tax per mu, there will still be enough food!”
“If Lord keeps getting angry from time to time, we won’t fear droughts!”
Although Liu Da wasn’t at the scene of the dispute between the two villages that day, he had heard many people talk about the miracle of thunderous noises in the sky right after Zhang Yue spoke. Though he had read two books and thoroughly studied several agricultural books from previous dynasties, he was still an ordinary man who believed in ghosts and gods. Now, he firmly believed it. Old Yang wiped his sweat and, seeing Zhang Yue looking troubled, said with a smile, “Lord Zhang often comes to our Zihedian Village. Everyone likes an official like you. There are all kinds of wild rumors—please don’t take them to heart.”
Surrounded by people and thinking of Old Yang’s words, Zhang Yue suddenly realized something—since it was the busy season for harvesting, the common people were too busy with their fields to think about rebellion. He stepped onto a not-too-high mound behind him and shouted loudly, “In a while, it will be time to harvest the summer crops. After a year of hard work, our harvest depends on this. I wish everyone will work together to finish harvesting quickly. By then, we’ll have enough food to last until next year!”
While Zhang Yue was using the harvest season to reassure the people, Bin Hong was in his new lair, checking one by one the warrior guardians selected from various villages. Seeing that they were all strong and tall men, he grew even more proud.
His surprise attack on Le’an had made his reputation soar, and now he surely held the top position among the sect leaders. Although Tang Sair was the sect leader, she was a woman. He showed respect in public but didn’t take her seriously in his heart. He thought that if he conquered the world someday, he could easily have that woman step down. Even more pleased, he leaped onto a table brought by his subordinates.

“Brothers, since you have now passed the three trials and five tests, you are now the elite of my sect! This time we raided people in Le’an, and those lackeys of the government are searching everywhere like mad dogs. We must make them search in vain and never find them! When we gain more strength, we’ll launch a grand campaign again, and then the sect leader will surely personally bestow blessings and meet with us!”
At that moment, one of the dozen or so burly men suddenly shouted, “But wasn’t it said at the beginning that we were to select warriors to protect the sect leader?”
Select warriors for the sect leader? If she uses her beauty to win over those warriors, won’t the sect leaders like us be at a huge disadvantage? Bin Hong rolled his eyes and loudly declared, “Of course, you’ll meet the sect leader in the future, but if you don’t earn any merit at all, won’t it be embarrassing to see him? Those initial trials were just for show; this is the real thing now. Everyone here is a man of integrity, working hard for the sect leader—so what’s the difference?”