How to Cultivate a Ten-Thousand-Mile Empire for the Young Emperor Qin?

Chapter 88: Double-season ratoon rice

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When Zichu returned from his business trip, he received an imperial edict from the King of Qin and a reward of slaves.

After reading the imperial edict, he slammed the table and cursed: "It must be Zhu Xiang!"

Lin Zhi crossed his legs and said, "It is indeed Zhu Xiang. Zhu Xiang is far away in Shu County, but he still wrote to you from afar, worrying that you are not eating well and taking medicine. Are you touched?"

Zichu was in mixed emotions. He was touched, but he wanted to raise his sword and chase after Zhu Xiang.

"How is Zhu Xiang doing in Shu County?" Zichu asked.

Shu County was too far away, and with his connections, he could not learn about Shu County. Lin Zhi had now become the Qin King's attendant, and was more informed than he was.

Lin Zhi said, "Good, why not? He is on good terms with the governor of Shu. When Li Bing first arrived in Shu, he saw that Shu was hit by a flood. Li Mu and Li Bing guarded the dikes, and Zhu Xiang guarded Chengdu. Zhu Xiang had a bad temper and even ordered his men to punish several families who were making trouble and killed several people."

Zichu's face turned pale: "Is Zhu Xiang injured or sick?"

Lin Zhi said, "Neither Zhu Xiang nor Li Bing wrote in their memorials that Zhu Xiang was injured or sick. Zhu Xiang was just busy asking about our situations one by one, and he was especially worried about you. He was more worried about you than he was about Xun Gong, Lian Gong, Bai Gong, and Fan Gong. Hahahaha."

Zichu picked up the scroll and hit Lin Zhi with it: "Don't interrupt me, I'm asking you something."

Lin Zhi laughed and said, "He regards worrying about you as the most important thing. He didn't ask for anything else but to ask the King of Qin to issue an edict to send someone to supervise you eating and taking medicine. Hahahaha, it makes me laugh to death!"

Lin Zhi couldn't stop laughing for a long time. Zichu was so angry that he wanted to hit him with the inkstone, and he finally closed his laughing mouth.

"Zhu Xiang's new friend is not ordinary. Seeing that the people of Shu County suffered from the flood, he actually wanted to spend a huge amount of manpower and material resources to build dams and canals, and even guaranteed it with his life." After laughing, Lin Zhi continued, "No wonder he caught Zhu Xiang's eye."

Zichu said: "Zhu Xiang has no objection, which means he agrees that this is feasible."

Lin Zhi sighed, "Zhu Xiang is well aware of the suffering of the common people. He must have known how many common people would be harmed by such a project and the heavy corvée. He actually agreed to this. It seems that the flood in Shu County this time is indeed too tragic."

Zichu was silent for a while, then said, "Harming one generation of people, saving ten thousand generations of people. I still underestimated Zhu Xiang. I didn't expect him to have such courage."

Lin Zhi smiled and said, "If Zhu Xiang were to do it, he might not be able to be so ruthless. This matter must be led by Li Bing."

Zichu, whose filter for friends is thicker than the walls of Xianyang, insisted: "If he doesn't oppose, then he supports. If he supports this matter, then he has courage."

"Okay, that's right." Lin Zhi sighed, "I thought he went to Shu County to hide away, but he found trouble again. Why did he fall in love with Li Bing? If he met a county governor who ignored him, with his personality, he would definitely not try to get a job."

Zichu said, "Not necessarily. If it was a county governor who ignored him, he might have found a way to guard the dike with Li Mu, and he would have been held back by the county governor who took away his credit."

The two sighed to each other. Zhu Xiang really made them worry to death.

"Fortunately, he is not injured or sick, otherwise Xue Ji would be very sad." Lin Zhi added, "Zhu Xiang said that Zheng'er is also very healthy, but he has gained a lot of weight, and he may not be able to carry him next year."

Zichu was speechless: "Even at Zheng'er's current age, he is too doting to carry Zheng'er on his shoulders."

Lin Zhi said, "Zheng'er is so well-behaved, it's not too much to be nice to him, how can it be called spoiling him?"

Zichu was even more speechless.

No matter how good a child is, if he is spoiled too much, he will become bad. Moreover, his childhood was so miserable. Seeing his son hugging Zhu Xiang's neck and looking down on him, Zichu was really angry.

Lin Zhi knew that Zichu was a stingy person and even his son was jealous of him, so he teased Zichu on purpose.

It was a pity that Zhu Xiang was not here. If Zhu Xiang was here, he and Zhu Xiang would work together to make Zichu so angry that he would jump on the spot, which would be really interesting.

Zichu knew that Lin Zhi wanted to laugh at him, so he immediately changed the subject: "Since he wants to build a water conservancy project, we will help him."

Lin Zhi smiled and followed Zichu's words, "You don't have to worry about this. The monarch and the prince will do it. You just came back from a visit to Wei State. You should follow the monarch's edict and have a good rest."

Zichu asked suspiciously, "Your Majesty, are you suspicious of me?"

Lin Zhi said, "That's not the case. On the contrary, your position with the monarch is already relatively stable, and the crown prince is also optimistic about you. So you can rest assured for a while. If you fall before you become the King of Qin, everything you have done will be meaningless." Zichu muttered, "I'm not that weak."

But he still sighed and decided to hand over the work in his hands and have a good rest for a while.

When his friend arrived in Shu County and faced floods, plague and famine, he was still worried about his health. He said there was no way he could be brave.

Lin Zhi completed the task that Zhu Xiang had assigned him in a separate letter (and unceremoniously asked the King of Qin to pass it on), took a break for Zichu, who was restless, and went home triumphantly to write a letter to Zhu Xiang to report.

Lin Zhi's wife was a royal family girl given by the King of Qin. She got along well with Lin Zhi's original wives and concubines, and provided a lot of help for Lin Zhi to gain a foothold in Xianyang. Lin Zhi was quite close to her.

Lin Zhi had no health problems. When he was willing to go to the backyard, his wife had just become pregnant a few months ago.

Lin Zhi's wife was grinding ink for him while she was pregnant. She said gently, "I don't know when Duke Zhu Xiang will be back. I wish I could see Duke Zhu Xiang earlier when the baby is born."

Lin Zhi didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "Do you really believe the rumor that Zhu Xiang can bless children?"

Lin Zhi's wife said, "Duke Zhu Xiang may not be able to bless children, but I heard that Prince Zheng rarely got sick since he was young. Ordinary children get sick every now and then, which shows that Duke Zhu Xiang raised his children very well."

Lin Zhi smiled and shook his head, saying, "Well-fed? I think he was very rough in his upbringing. It's Zheng'er's own health that's good. If you want to ask Zhu Xiang how to raise a child, after the child is born and you are out of confinement, I'll let Xue Ji live at home for a while."

Lin Zhi's wife immediately said, "Okay, thank you, my dear."

"That's my child too, why are you thanking me?" Lin Zhi said, "Just have a good rest. You don't have to stay in the study to watch over me."

Lin Zhi's wife looked at the letter in Lin Zhi's hand, hesitated for a moment, and then listened to Lin Zhi's words and turned away.

After she left, Lin Zhi's smile disappeared and he sighed deeply.

He smoothed the hair on his temples, inserted his fingers into the ends of his hair, and said weakly: "That's why I want to retire to the mountains... It's really troublesome. Well, she still knows her limits. It would be better if the prince became the King of Qin instead."

He opened the half-written letter, picked up the charcoal pencil, and wrote in very small words between the layers of the letter to tell Zhu Xiang the details of what happened in Xianyang.

Which nobles are worthy of attention, the developments in the Xianyang Academy, the current attitudes of the King of Qin and the Crown Prince towards Zhu Xiang... Lin Zhi carefully glued the edges of the letter paper together and continued to write the unfinished letter on the surface of the letter paper.

In the letter, Lin Zhi wrote about the recent situation of Xia Tong and Xue Ji, the health conditions of several elderly people who were still living in Zhu Xiang's home, what achievements Cai Ze had made in Changping, and what interesting things he had encountered recently.

After finishing the letter, Lin Zhi picked up Zhu Xiang's letter that was pressed aside and flicked the letter paper.

The King of Qin certainly did not expect that Zhu Xiang would not only write letters in the interlayer, but also use ink that would only become visible in a special way.

The prevention and treatment of water gu disease, pumpkins that can save famine and newly improved rice seeds, as well as black gunpowder that may be used in future water conservancy projects... Zhu Xiang really let himself go completely after arriving in Shu County, and he didn't even bother to cover it up. Fortunately, he still knew to write a letter to tell me, so that I could use the messenger to help him fool the King of Qin.

Lin Zhi complained with a smile: "Since Zhu Xiang came to my house, I am no longer the youngest son who is loved by the whole family and helps to clean up the mess."

He put the letter away.

There are some things that even Xia Tong cannot tell. Although Xia Tong is still Xia Tong now, he does not know when he will become the crown prince or the King of Qin. Lin Zhi can only believe that he will never change and will not pin his hopes on others.

But once he finds a good excuse, he can drag Xia Tong along to help Zhu Xiang clean up the mess. Good friends are there to help Zhu Xiang clean up the mess.

The Qin King's edict, the prince's letters, friends' complaints, and Xue's family letters to his elders all arrived in Chengdu when Ying Xiaozheng was one year older.

"The Lord has sent 50,000 prisoners to serve you and given you 20 years. This is enough manpower." Li Mu said, "You are now tied to the position of governor of Shu County. It will be difficult for you to be promoted."

"It's just twenty years. It will be just right for me to return to Xianyang in twenty years." Li Bing said with a smile, "Your Majesty has given me a lot of time. I won't be under so much pressure anymore."

Li Mu sighed and did not refute Li Bing.

But everyone knew that Li Bing would be over fifty in twenty years, and would be constantly busy and exhausted. Even if he could live to that time, his body might not allow him to continue serving as an official in the court.

However, Li Bing had already decided to control the flood in the Chengdu Plain, and the Qin King's edict had already reached Chengdu. There was no room for maneuver and it was useless to say more.

"You don't have to be the county governor for 20 years. You may be replaced, but you will be given a post specializing in flood control." Zhu Xiang said, "And it may not take 20 years. If it ends sooner, you can come to Xianyang and reunite with us sooner."

Zhu Xiang remembered that it took Li Bing more than ten years to build the Dujiangyan Irrigation System, including eight years to dig the mountain wall. It would definitely take some time to select the site and plan. With him, perhaps they could have avoided a few years of detours.

"I appreciate your good words." Li Bing said, "But you still have to stay in Shu County for at least another year. Isn't it too early to talk about reunion now?"

Zhu Xiang and Li Mu looked at each other and laughed: "It's really too early." The two of them also had to join in the preliminary water conservancy and irrigation project presided over by Li Bing.

Before starting construction, Li Bing first made many models to simulate the water flow and find the best solution.

While Zhu Xiang was busy planting and breeding rice, Li Bing rode his horse along several major river channels, looking for places to build dams and canals.

Because during the previous flood, Li Bing sent people along the river to collect a lot of data, and with Zhu Xiang's "casual" suggestion, Li Bing quickly selected the location where Dujiangyan should have been located.

However, if you want to build a water diversion dam, you need to cut rocks and open up the mountains.

It was unknown how many years and how much manpower and material resources would be needed to drill through such a thick mountain wall. Other officials who were familiar with water conservancy opposed the idea of challenging such a difficult task at the beginning of the project.

Li Bing was also hesitant.

If a compromise solution is chosen, it can also resist floods to a certain extent. But if he wants to achieve the perfect solution in his mind, he must chisel rocks and open mountains.

When he was hesitant, he went to discuss it with Zhu Xiang and Li Mu.

At this time, the affirmation of his confidant can give him great encouragement.

Li Mu said: "I don't know much about water conservancy, but if it were a war, you would have two choices. One is to use nearly half or even more than half of your troops to wipe out the enemy. The other is to use less than half the cost and just repel the enemy. Is that right?"

Li Bing nodded: "Yes."

Li Mu said: "This requires consideration from many aspects. First, whether the annihilation of the enemy army can bring us a longer period of stability, so that we can recuperate; second, whether the monarch will fully support me in exchanging casualties for the annihilation of the enemy army."

Li Bing said: "If my diversion dam is built, even if there is a flood, the Chengdu Plain will not suffer a large-scale flood disaster. As long as the dam is not destroyed, it will be a once-and-for-all matter. As for Your Majesty..."

He didn't know the King of Qin very well and didn't know whether the King of Qin would support him.

"Your Majesty is a man of great talent and vision. He gave you 50,000 prisoners and 20 years, which far exceeds the manpower and time required to build water conservancy projects in previous dynasties." Zhu Xiang said, "He wants you to achieve an achievement that will shock the world at an extraordinary cost."

Zhu Xiang half-jokingly said, "Do you remember what I said? Creating a wonder is something that even a great lord would find hard to refuse. Right, Zheng'er?"

Ying Xiaozheng, who was sitting on Zhu Xiang's lap, snorted coldly and said, "I don't like it."

Zhu Xiang poked Ying Xiaozheng's cheek and said, "You really don't like it? You really don't like it? Then you are not allowed to repair it in the future."

Ying Xiaozheng stretched out his hand to block his uncle's mischievous hand and said unhappily, "Okay, okay, I like it too. Since Grandfather Zeng has given uncle so many people and time, as long as you can achieve something within the time limit, Grandfather Zeng will not interfere."

Zhu Xiang said: "With the guarantee of Zheng'er, who is also a heroic leader, you can boldly let go and do it, right?"

Li Bing didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Just because I got the approval of a little kid, I could do it boldly? Isn't that a bit weird

But what is even more strange is that when Ying Xiaozheng agreed with what Zhu Xiang said about the King of Qin's psychology, Li Bing really felt relieved.

"Besides, it won't necessarily take that long to dig through the mountain wall." Zhu Xiang said, "Li Bing, were you watching me when I was confronting the alchemist in the Xianyang Academy?"

Li Bing said: "I watched it, it was very exciting!"

It was because he had witnessed the battle between Zhu Xiang and the alchemist that Li Bing was so respectful to Zhu Xiang when he first met him that he could hardly speak politely.

Zhu Xiang said: "The thing I use, called black gunpowder, can facilitate the opening of the mountain. Although its power is not very strong, you can first choose the weak point of the rock, drill a hole with an iron nail, put the black gunpowder in and detonate it, and it will instantly open the rock. If it is a rock that is difficult to open, you can use fire and water to make it crack by the way of thermal expansion and contraction."

Black powder has very low power and cannot be used directly to open up a mountain. The explosive packs used in later engineering projects are all modern gunpowder, that is, at least yellow gunpowder. However, if a gap has been chiseled out, the airflow from the explosive expansion of the black powder pack can easily open up the rock gap, reducing the amount of engineering work required to open up the mountain.

Zhu Xiang actually knew the formula of modern gunpowder, but he chose to conceal it.

When the thinking and underlying technology are still very backward, rashly using overly advanced technology is like a child swinging a sledgehammer, which will cause great harm to society. This harm may even cause a more serious break in civilization.

As long as the power of gunpowder is discovered, it will definitely be used in war. And the technology for making gunpowder cannot be completely blocked. Soon, the war preparations of the warring parties will begin to escalate, and finally it will become a mess.

This is not Zhu Xiang's alarmist statement after reading a few science fiction novels and ancient unsolved mysteries, but a lesson that has already happened in modern society.

The modern earth is not a peaceful world, Zhu Xiang just lives in a peaceful country.

Outside of China, people in some regions may be living in feudal society, slave society, or even primitive society.

As an agricultural researcher, Zhu Xiang not only looks for seeds for farming in China, but also goes around the world to learn advanced farming experience and search for seeds with different traits.

At the same time, as a responsible major country that has experienced hardships, China will always use aid to exchange interests with other countries in distress to get what it wants, rather than directly plundering.

Agricultural researchers have always been on the front line of international aid.

As an outstanding young professor of agronomy, Zhu Xiang went to the frontier areas when he was an undergraduate, to South Asia when he was a graduate student, to Latin America when he was a doctoral student, and when he was supervising graduate students and doctoral students, he went to Africa at least once a year.

Therefore, Zhu Xiang was very clear that when those countries with backward economy, culture and ideology suddenly obtained advanced weapons, what it brought was not technological progress, but the complete collapse of the civilized society that had finally sprouted, and the further plundering of internal resources.

Zhu Xiang was able to take out the black powder because the alchemist had already started to blow up the furnace. He wanted to explain the principle very simply. Moreover, the power of black powder was extremely poor, far inferior to that of a crossbow. If it were a master archer, such as Li Shimin, black powder would be even worse than a bow and arrow.

So many people who don’t understand say that “China invented gunpowder but used it to set off fireworks,” which is complete nonsense.

China had already made extensive use of gunpowder in warfare, but due to its disadvantages, the Qing government, which was good at riding and shooting, looked down on it. In addition, the Qing government did not dare to develop the technology on its own - because if it were allowed to develop the technology on its own, the Han people, who made up the vast majority of the population, would certainly produce the most technical talents, so it gradually fell behind.

In fact, the Qing government was not far behind in the black powder era. It was only after the emergence of modern gunpowder that the Qing government fell into a complete disadvantage.

Zhu Xiang did not continue to recommend coal to the King of Qin because his basic scientific knowledge and technological accumulation did not meet the standards.

Coal contains a large amount of impurities. Without cleaning technology, it produces toxic smoke when burned and is difficult to use.

Although the technology he knew could make initial use of coal, if the King of Qin now mined and used coal in a crude manner, it would cause a huge waste of coal and the environment would be greatly damaged.

People at that time did not have the technology to repair the environment. Two thousand years later, when the earth's coal was exhausted and the environment was seriously polluted, he would be a sinner.

However, he left behind basic research on how to use coal, waiting for future generations to study on their own.

He also left behind a map of mineral resources around the world, including coal mines, and planned to make it into a mythological book similar to the "Classic of Mountains and Seas" to be passed down to future generations.

However, the training cost of musketeers is lower than that of archers, and they can supplement long-range forces. He did not mention this matter, but the King of Qin should have thought of this.

Now that Zhu Xiang has used gunpowder in mountain opening, it may accelerate the King of Qin's research and use of gunpowder.

"Black gunpowder can split mountains, so maybe it can also blow open city walls!" Li Mu's eyes suddenly lit up.

Zhu Xiang sighed in his heart. As expected of Li Mu, he grasped the key point right away.

Zhu Xiang said: "The earthen wall will break after one blast, which is similar to using siege wood; but black powder is not powerful enough to blast open the walls of the main city. When people don't know about black powder, using black powder to pretend to be thunderbolt and trick the enemy into surrendering directly may have a higher success rate."

Li Mu touched the stubble on his face, with a strange smile on his face, and began to simulate blueprints of conquering cities in his mind.

"Ahem, let's not get off topic now, we're talking about building a diversion dam." Li Bing coughed dryly and said, "Let's first choose a small hill to experiment."

Zhu Xiang said: "We need to develop a detailed safety experiment process, be careful not to blow people up."

Li Bing nodded: "I know."

Zhu Xiang was very happy. It was a pleasure to work with a rigorous engineering friend.

After they decided to open the mountain, Li Bing was busy preparing the experimental site.

Once the experiment is successful, he will look for materials for black powder and train people who can use it.

The latter will be very difficult.

Thunderbolt and fire have always been considered the powers of gods. It was a great challenge for Li Bing's organizational ability to make the craftsmen recognize that this was just "skills", learn and master it without fear, and strictly abide by the confidentiality process.

Zhu Xiang: "I believe you!"

Li Mu: "You are the county governor, you should do these things yourself."

Li Bing: "..." How could his staunch supporter, his best friend, suddenly become like this? Why did he suddenly want to break up with him

Zhu Xiang: "I will continue breeding."

Li Mu: "I plan to go to the border of Chu State for a stroll."

Zhu Xiang and Li Mu: "If you work hard, we will support you in our hearts!"

Li Bing was so angry that he stormed out, while Zhu Xiang and Li Mu laughed and staggered behind him.

Ying Xiaozheng sighed in a condescending manner, "Teacher, how come you have also picked up your uncle's bad habits? Can't you just speak nicely? Why do you want to tease Uncle Li Bing?"

Zhu Xiang smiled and asked, "Then Zheng'er, how can we talk to each other properly?"

Ying Xiaozheng continued to sigh: "Uncle Li Bing is the governor of Shu County, and these things are his job. If you interfere too much, it will not be good. And if you participate too much, when the diversion dam is built, some people may say that it is your credit. Although Uncle Li Bing does not mind, you all don't want to steal his reputation."

"If we talk nicely, he will refute us with reason and evidence. We keep shirking responsibility like this, which is a waste of time." Zhu Xiang touched Ying Xiaozheng's head and said, "But if we make him angry and leave, he will not come again."

Li Mu rubbed his eyes which had tears from laughing and said, "That's true."

Ying Xiaozheng shrugged his shoulders and spread out his hands.

Although this was true, he always thought that his uncle and teacher were bullying him on purpose. Based on his understanding of his uncle and teacher, his guess was absolutely correct.

Of course, my uncle and teacher would never admit it.

Li Bing did not continue to ask Zhu Xiang and Li Mu for help. Zhu Xiang returned to the fields, and Li Mu did not go to the border of Chu immediately, but accompanied Ying Xiaozheng for a while and continued to teach Ying Xiaozheng how to ride a horse.

After being tortured by Zhu Xiang, Ying Xiaozheng reluctantly accepted that he was six years old, not seven or eight.

Anyway, as long as you have enough power, it’s no problem to get the crown at the age of fifteen or sixteen.

In this life, my father's physical and mental condition is good. I am afraid that I can become the King of Qin when I am about 30 years old. Even if my father is not ambitious, my uncle will assist in the administration in the future.

I am helping my uncle with the chores now. When my uncle assists in the government in the future, won’t I be the one doing the work

I assist in governing the country myself, so what difference does it make when I take charge of the government

So as long as my uncle is happy.

The six-year-old Ying Xiaozheng finally looked like a handsome child and was no longer a chubby ball.

His arms and legs began to grow longer, and he slowly entered his first growth spurt, able to hold onto the horse's back when riding a pony.

Zhu Xiang, Li Mu and Li Bing searched for a long time and found a foal with the bloodline of a thousand-mile horse for Ying Xiaozheng as a gift for his sixth birthday.

When Li Bing learned that Zhu Xiang was going to give Ying Xiaozheng a birthday present and prepare a birthday dinner for Ying Xiaozheng, he was very uncomfortable.

Birthdays are not celebrated in this era.

According to the ancient Chinese tradition, birthdays are the mother’s suffering days, so instead of congratulations, people should feel sad.

Although there are definitely people who celebrate their birthdays secretly in private, birthdays should not be celebrated on a large scale at the social level.

It was not until Buddhism became popular that "Buddha's Birthday" came into the public eye as a grand religious festival and "celebrating birthdays" gradually became popular.

During the reign of Emperor Taizong of Tang, he lamented and expressed anger at the impure customs of the people as celebrating birthdays became a common trend among the people, and tried to order a correction.

However, during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, he thought that his achievements were great enough and he should celebrate them properly. He became the first emperor to publicly celebrate his birthday, calling it "Qianqiu Festival", which was later renamed "Tianchang Festival". Since then, the emperor's birthday has become a national holiday and has been continued by later emperors.

It has become a public tradition for the people to celebrate birthdays with great fanfare.

Therefore, in the Pre-Qin period, celebrating a child's birthday was an incredible thing.

But Zhu Xiang said: "I thank God for letting Zheng'er appear in this world. I think a mother who loves her child will definitely think that the day the child is born is a happy day. If she doesn't think so, she can just not celebrate the child's birthday. Children can't celebrate their own birthdays in a grand manner."

Li Bing was convinced by Zhu Xiang's "wrong logic".

Ying Xiaozheng actually didn't care whether to celebrate his birthday or not. When his uncle celebrated his birthday for him, he hadn't thought about it yet.

Because Zhu Xiang was a commoner, his parents didn't care about him, so he didn't know his exact birthday. Xue was picked up, so even her age was estimated. Zhu Xiang and Xue didn't celebrate their birthdays.

But both of them insisted on celebrating Ying Xiaozheng's birthday, and Ying Xiaozheng could only accept it reluctantly.

He thought that when he grew up, he would designate a day as his uncle and aunt's birthday through the emperor's decree, and he would celebrate their birthdays as well.

He is the emperor, and whatever day his uncle and aunt’s birthday is is the day.

It was difficult for Ying Xiaozheng to ride a horse because of his short legs. After Zhu Xiang laughed at the joke a few times, he was driven away by Ying Xiaozheng.

When Li Mu was about to return to the barracks, Ying Xiaozheng complained that it was difficult to clamp the horse's belly with his legs hanging in the air. Zhu Xiang slapped his head and suddenly remembered something.

"Then why not make stirrups?" Zhu Xiang asked, "Wouldn't it be possible to just hang two nooses on both sides of the saddle and step on it?"

Ying Xiaozheng: “?”

Li Mu: “???”

Li Mu dragged Zhu Xiang away: "Try it."

Ying Xiaozheng followed behind with his short legs: "I want to try it too!"

Then, Li Mu made two nooses and hung them on both sides of the pony's saddle, and asked Ying Xiaozheng to step on them to try it out.

Ying Xiaozheng cheered: "It's much easier! It would be better if the place to step on was more solid!"

Li Mu personally cut two pieces of wood and tied them under the noose.

Ying Xiaozheng said, "It's indeed easier! You can generate power by just pushing your foot, so it's called a horse 'push'?"

Zhu Xiang knocked his head.

Ah, I rode so many times, how come I forgot the stirrups and horseshoes. Oh, because I subconsciously wanted to ignore the war.

"Let me try it too." Li Mu made himself a set of stirrups and climbed onto the horse by stepping on the stirrups without any instruction.

He first rode the horse twice, then asked Zhu Xiang to hand him a stick and made a piercing motion on the horse.

Then he took the bow and arrow, took his hands off the reins, and shot the arrow accurately at the tree trunk he had chosen as the target.

"Zhu Xiang! I will write a letter to the emperor to record your great merit!" Li Mu said excitedly, "With Ma Deng, I can quickly train elite cavalry!"

"Don't write it down. I've already done too much." Zhu Xiang said, "You can take it yourself and ask the king for more power. Don't you want to visit the State of Chu?"

Li Mu said unhappily: "I can't take the credit from you."

Zhu Xiang said, "Then let's say we both came up with this idea. I suggest that you make the stirrup, and you all deserve credit. Oh, give Zheng'er some credit as well. If Zheng'er hadn't said that he wanted to step on something to generate power while riding the horse, I wouldn't have thought of it."

Li Mu said: "That's right... In this case, Zheng'er has made the greatest contribution."

He didn't know that Zhu Xiang already knew about stirrups, but just forgot about them. So he thought that Zheng'er, who proposed "something to step on to exert force", was the first person to come up with the idea.

Li Mu picked up Ying Xiaozheng and rubbed him: "Zheng'er is really smart!"

Ying Xiaozheng was confused. Is this really my achievement? I just said it casually.

But since his uncle and teacher said so, Ying Xiaozheng admitted it hesitantly. It seemed like it was indeed his own achievement

"If the stirrups are made into iron rings, they can be used longer and can be mass-produced." Zhu Xiang said, "Speaking of stirrups, I heard that in some places, iron plates are nailed to the soles of cattle to prevent excessive wear and tear. If the soles of horses' feet are worn out, they can't go to the battlefield, right? Can horses also have iron soles nailed to them?"

Li Mu did not doubt Zhu Xiang's words. Zhu Xiang was the best at dealing with farmland, and he often visited farmland in Zhao and Qin, so it was normal for him to see such strange things.

He lifted the horse's front legs and touched the horse's front paws: "Maybe it really can be used, but it's just scrap metal."

Zhu Xiang said: "Scrap iron is better than a scrap horse."

Li Mu smiled and said, "Of course. Nothing is more precious than a horse."

As a native of Zhao, he was best at cavalry. Although Qin also had cavalry, it was far inferior to other countries in terms of tactics and training.

He had always wanted to form an elite cavalry, but since he had just arrived in Qin, it was difficult to get enough war horses. At this moment, he missed his time in Yanmen County very much.

If Zhu Xiang's proposal could come true, he would be able to achieve results with fewer war horses, and it would be much easier to ask the King of Qin for horses at that time.

"I'll go back to the barracks now," Li Mu said. "I'll ask the blacksmiths in the barracks to make a batch of equipment and then try it out with the Chu people. If it works well, I'll report it to the emperor."

Li Mu clenched his fists. Now that he had come to Qin, he didn't want to do nothing.

He is still young and in his prime. Zhu Xiang said that he is the future Wu'an Jun, so he will definitely live up to his friend's expectations!

"Go ahead. Remember to beat Zheng'er as well." Zhu Xiang said, "Remember not to take all the credit on me."

Li Mu said helplessly: "Okay, I understand. But Zhu Xiang, you have more achievements, so you can better protect Zheng'er."

Ying Xiaozheng looked up at Li Mu and said unhappily, "I'm already grown up and don't need my uncle's protection."

Li Mu patted Ying Xiaozheng's head and said, "The older you get, the more you need Zhu Xiang's protection."

Zhu Xiang said, "It's not good to have too little or too much merit. And I don't want to take all the credit because I'm indifferent to fame and gain. I'm just worried that the king will think I'm a promising military talent and send me to a military settlement. Although military settlements are also farming, there will always be wars."

Zhu Xiang touched his nose embarrassedly: "Although I have seen many deaths, I am still afraid of fighting."

Ying Xiaozheng sighed deeply: "Uncle, if Mr. Lian hears what you said, he will chase you and beat you up, saying that you are cowardly and weak."

Zhu Xiang said confidently: "As long as I accept my own weakness, I will be invincible!"

Ying Xiaozheng and Li Mu: "..."

They really didn't know what Zhu Xiang was so proud of.

However, Zhu Xiang's concerns were justified, and Li Mu agreed to Zhu Xiang's request.

Li Mu returned to the military camp to experiment with stirrups and horseshoes, and Zhu Xiang's life returned to normal.

The climate was very warm at this time, and even the heavy snow in the winter when Zhu Xiang left was called an "anomaly." The Sichuan Basin, which had a very mild winter climate, had even higher temperatures.

The temperature this winter was very "normal" compared to the previous two years, which means it was very high, so Zhu Xiang was able to breed rice in winter.

Otherwise, late rice should be planted in July and August and harvested in October to November.

After Zhu Xiang promoted double-season rice, he would guide farmers to farm according to normal farming seasons even when the weather was warm.

That is, early rice is planted in March and April and harvested in June and July; when the early rice is harvested, late rice is planted at the same time, and the planting is completed by August at the latest, and it can be harvested again in early winter.

In fact, early rice and late rice are not planted strictly according to the time. They can be planted throughout the year as long as the temperature is suitable, but the harvest time is different.

The growing cycle of late rice is more suitable for the transition from hot to cold, but it can also be planted at other times.

Zhu Xiang originally planned to cultivate late rice seeds first, then early rice seeds, so that he could directly promote double-season rice planting in the autumn of next year. However, after planting the late rice seeds given by the system, he found that this "late rice" might be regenerated rice, which could be directly harvested in two seasons, making promotion simple.

(End of this chapter)