Around the Qingming Festival, Jiang Zuofu finally produced the most urgent agricultural tools according to my requirements: curved shaft plow, columbine hoe, water wheel three things, keel water wheel, etc.
After the Tianchao meeting, I took Li Si, Feng Quji, and Bai Chong to Jiangzuo Mansion. Gongshu Jin had already placed the farm tools he had made one by one in the hall.
Li Si and others felt a little strange when they saw these things. After studying it for a long time, I only found out that the Quyuan plow was an improved version of the current plow, but I didn't recognize what the other ones were used for.
I said to Gongshu Jin: "Gongshu Jin, please explain the use of these things to the Prime Minister and others."
Gongshu Jin bowed and said: "My lords, please take a look at this plow. It is called a curved shaft plow. It consists of eleven parts, namely the plowshare, the plowboard, the plow bottom, the pressing trowel, the forehead, the plow arrow, the plow shaft, and the plow. Tip, plow, plow structure and plow disc. Compared with the plows currently in use, the curved shaft plow can swing the plow body during operation, is highly maneuverable, and is convenient for deep plowing. It is also light, flexible, and conducive to maneuvering, which can greatly improve farming efficiency. If oxen are used to assist, the efficiency will be doubled."
"Look at this thing again. This thing is called a columbine. There are three columbine legs at the lower end of the columbine, that is, three furrowers. There is a funnel for storing seeds in the middle. Seeds can be sown while digging the furrow, eliminating the need for The tedious work of digging trenches first, then planting seeds, and then covering them with soil.”
"This round thing is a keel waterwheel. It uses many wipers on the gear-driven chain to scrape water into the tank. It is driven by manpower or animal power and is used for water lifting and drainage. When combined with a rollover wheel, it can When water is lifted to high places, it can also be transported to distant places, which greatly saves manpower.”
"..."
In addition, Gongshu Jin introduced the uses of other farm tools one by one, leaving Li Si and others dumbfounded.
Feng Quji said in disbelief: "Your Majesty, if what Gongshu Jin said is true, then wouldn't the agricultural work of our Daqin skyrocket? Just this thing called the keel waterwheel will save a lot of irrigation manpower. ah!"
Li Si also showed a surprised expression and asked: "Your Majesty, are these farm tools developed by your Majesty?"
I nodded and shook my head: "You can't say that I developed it. I just borrowed the wisdom of others. As long as it can benefit the people of my country, I will spare no effort."
I continued: "Agricultural tools used in the fields have abandoned wooden cores and iron blades and used all-iron blades, so there is a huge demand for iron. In addition, due to the increase in the weight of farm tools, especially the curved shaft plow, Daqin must vigorously promote Oxen plowing, using oxen plowing instead of manpower to plow the land.”
“After the development of agricultural tools, they must be supplemented by corresponding agricultural laws, such as encouraging cattle farming, encouraging land reclamation, exempting people from labor service if they meet certain requirements for reclaiming land or collecting grain, and encouraging counties, leys, and pavilions to collectively build canals, reservoirs, There are many things that need to be considered, such as water wells. Otherwise, the development will not be very good if we only rely on agricultural tools and fail to keep up with the corresponding laws."
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At the court meeting the next day, Bai Chong reported yesterday's events again at the court meeting. The ministers were all surprised.
I originally thought that Shosakufu was just a young man who became interested in these strange and weird mechanisms, but I didn't expect that I would actually develop so many useful tools.
After Baichong finished his report, I said, "This device has been developed successfully, and I am determined to complete the promotion as soon as possible. Li Si, what I told you yesterday was supplemented by the corresponding laws and how to promote it quickly. Do you have any ideas? "
Li Si stood up and said, "Your Majesty, I listened to your Majesty's holy wishes yesterday and have some general ideas."
"First, in addition to the laws that His Majesty said encouraged cattle farming, land reclamation, and water conservancy, I suggest that civilians released from previous projects be registered in a unified manner, and like the prisoners sent to Yunzhong and Baiyue, wasteland should be allocated and leased to Farm tools allow them to reclaim wasteland and increase the number of acres.”
"Secondly, I suggested that the number of existing acres should be fixed. The statistics had been completed in the 26th year of the First Emperor. The newly reclaimed acres should be taken over by the government and given to the head of Guizhou in the form of leases. The leases should be assessed according to the conditions of each county. The land is subject to different land rent collections. The head of Guizhou only needs to pay the prescribed rent, and the rest belongs to the head of Guizhou. This can not only enrich the national treasury and county treasury, but also give the head of Guizhou an incentive to cultivate land."
Hearing Li Si's words, I took a deep breath and said in shock: "Good guy, no wonder Ying Zheng likes Li Si so much. This man's mind is not that flexible. "Whatever you contribute to the country, the rest is yours." , Dabaogan is true, so you can understand it clearly! However, in this era of Qin Dynasty, I am afraid it is not so easy to implement...'
As soon as Li Si finished speaking, Ge Yue, the governor of Su Nei, was the first to object: "Your Majesty, this proposal is inappropriate! When the emperor was still alive, in the 26th year, he ordered the head of Guizhou to seize the land from Shitian, that is, the head of Guizhou who ordered the land to be occupied according to the actual land occupation at that time The amount is reported to the government, and the government recognizes the legality of the reported land and collects land rent accordingly.”
"If the newly reclaimed land is uniformly returned to the government, I may have difficulty defining the boundaries between newly reclaimed land and already reclaimed farmland. If the existing fields in Guizhou are forcibly counted as newly reclaimed land, wouldn't it mean that the land rent will have to be paid twice?" It will cause unrest in the world, so I oppose this proposal!"
I narrowed my eyes slightly. Geyue is in charge of the country's grain production and land. It may be difficult to define newly cultivated and already cultivated fields, but it is not impossible to achieve. It just takes a little more effort.
This statement seems to be for the heads of Guizhou who already have land, but in fact it is the landlords who benefit.
At this moment, Bai Tui, the captain of the guard army, also stood up and bowed: "Your Majesty, what the history of Zhi Su Nei said makes sense. I am the governor of the army and should not have anything to say about farming. However, I think Farming is also related to the military. If the situation mentioned by Zhi Su Nei Shi really happens, it will inevitably lead to chaos in the existing land rent. Most of the grain and grass for the Qin army are allocated by the treasury of Nei Shi County. Once the land rent is disrupted, it will affect the treasury. To store food, I am worried that it will cut off the army's food supply and destabilize the morale of the army."
I snorted coldly in my heart: "It turns out they are from the Bai family. Since the Shang Yang Reform, the Meng and Xiqi tribes have gradually declined due to poor farming. The Bai tribe is good at farming and warfare, so they gradually... It became the largest clan in Xi County. If Li Si's proposal is implemented this time, the people whose interests will suffer the most will undoubtedly be the Bai family, and they will naturally actively oppose it. '
Later, several people stood up to express their opposition. Not all of them were members of the Bai family, but they were also members of the landlord family.
I glanced at Feng Quji imperceptibly. There was no expression on Feng Quji's face, neither approval nor objection. Although Feng Quji's ancestor was not from Qin, he was much more deeply rooted in Qin than people like Li Si. I don't know the extent of his relationship with these old nobles.
Seeing that the majority of the opponents were in the group, Li Si's face gradually darkened. He had argued with these people before, but now he kept silent.
I cleared my throat, and the hall suddenly became quiet.
