jdhmnovel Chapter 212 The county magistrate still favors me, the lame 5!
Chapter 212 The county magistrate still favors me, the lame 5!
"It's confirmed. I am a terrible student and a disgrace to time travelers."
Yang Shaofeng put down his pen with a dejected look. Looking at the blank paper in front of him without a single line drawn, he resisted the urge to crumple the paper into a ball and throw it away. He then began to think about how to make a simple wheat harvester.
First of all, this thing should have a handrail on top and two or four wheels at the bottom so that people can push it forward.
Secondly, this thing should be equipped with a round blade or saw blade to cut the straw. The power source could be a person, and the transmission could be the axle on the wheel.
Yes, the general principle is clear, but what really gave Magistrate Yang a headache was the specific structure.
No, from the reign of the Three Sovereigns and the establishment of the Five Dynasties, it must have been several thousand years by the time it reached the Ming Dynasty. How come no one thought of creating a machine that could be pushed around to harvest wheat during those thousands of years, instead of making people bend over to harvest wheat?
Aren't you tired?
And what about that old bastard Zhu Chongba? Will he choose to slowly boil the frog in water or just flip the table? And what impact will this have on Ningyang County?
All sorts of messy and troublesome matters made Magistrate Yang increasingly agitated, until Lame Wu returned to the county office, at which point Magistrate Yang temporarily put aside these chaotic thoughts.
Upon seeing Magistrate Yang Shaofeng, Lame Wu immediately bowed to him and said, "Your Excellency, I personally delivered the memorial to His Highness the Crown Prince, who then passed it on to His Majesty. His Highness replied that His Majesty was aware of it, but at present, the court is still focused on the Northern Expedition. The matters you mentioned in the memorial will be implemented gradually after Liao Zhengnan returns to the capital."
Upon hearing what Limpy Wu said, Magistrate Yang breathed a sigh of relief.
Fortunately, Emperor Zhu Chongba still had some sense and did not overturn the table in a fit of anger, but chose a more prudent approach.
As long as he doesn't directly overturn the table, Ningyang County won't be affected, and he can stay in Ningyang County and fish in peace without having to follow Zhu Biao to Beiping to do something about reopening the Ming Dynasty.
After relaxing, Magistrate Yang smiled and instructed Limpy Five, "Brother Limpy Five, go back and rest for a couple of days. Don't worry about the wheat in your fields; I've already arranged for people to harvest it. Spend some time talking with your wife, and come back to the county office in a couple of days."
Upon hearing what Magistrate Yang said, Lame Wu was almost moved to tears. Look, my magistrate is making a mess of things for all the officials in the court, even the emperor and the princes suffer from it. Yet he remembers to let Lame Wu rest for a couple more days and even arranges for someone to harvest wheat for me. This shows that the magistrate still favors me, Lame Wu!
Moved, Li Wu continued, "His Highness the Crown Prince also said that after Prime Minister Xu completely takes over the Qin and Jin regions, the court will arrange for various craftsmen to come to Ningyang County to set up the iron smelting workshops that the county magistrate wants. Moreover, our Ningyang County's iron smelting workshops will not be controlled by the Ministry of Works. Except for not being allowed to manufacture armor and weapons on their own, the county magistrate can decide what to do."
Wait until Xu Da completely conquers Qin and Jin?
So, when exactly did Xu Da take over Shanxi and Shaanxi?
As far as I can remember, the "Shanxi-Shandong" campaign started in the fourth year of the Hongwu reign. Doesn't that mean that Xu Da took very little time to completely conquer Shanxi and Shaanxi, and the iron smelting workshop in Ningyang County could soon begin construction?
More importantly, this ironworks is not under the control of the Ministry of Works. Except for armor and weapons, it can make all sorts of random things. As the county magistrate, I can have complete control over it!
Tsk tsk, it has to be my father-in-law and brother-in-law! They know how to care for their son-in-law and brother-in-law. Not bad, really not bad!
Thinking of this, Magistrate Yang was in a great mood. After the lame man left with gratitude, he smiled and went back to his study to pick up his paper and pen again.
It's just a simple wheat harvester. Although I don't understand mechanical drawing or mechanical structure, I dare to think about it and want to do it. At worst, I'll just waste some materials.
After some writing and drawing, and waiting until it was completely dark and the farmers who had harvested wheat had all gone home, Magistrate Yang finally had several carpenters from the county summoned to the fields west of the city.
"The thing I want you to build needs to have an opening in the front, wider in the front and narrower in the back. The wide opening in the front can just hold all these rows of wheat in, and the opening gets narrower and narrower as the wheat comes in," Magistrate Yang squatted on the edge of the field, explaining the structure of the wheat harvester to several carpenters by the light of the torch.
"The four wheels underneath are used to push this thing forward, while the two wheels in front or behind also drive the blades to cut the wheat. The cut wheat is then squeezed out by the wheat that comes in from the front."
"Anyway, this is exactly what I need. The requirements are simple: it should allow people to harvest wheat with their backs straight, without having to bend over and swing a sickle. The speed doesn't need to be very fast, as long as it's not slower than a person harvesting wheat."
"You guys think about it. How long will it take to make this? What kind of materials are needed? Are there any things that we don't have in Ningyang County and need to find elsewhere? Tell me and I'll figure out a way to solve it."
At this point, Magistrate Yang added, "It would be best if this thing were made to be pushed and pulled by manpower rather than by livestock—although Ningyang County is not short of livestock now, other prefectures and counties are in dire need of them. We cannot only care about Ningyang and ignore the people of other prefectures and counties."
As Magistrate Yang finished speaking, the carpenters who had been summoned were immediately thrown into disarray.
No, my good heavens! It's true that we are carpenters, but we are only part-time carpenters. Our main job is farming. We also have wheat to harvest at home. If we put all our energy into this harvester, what will happen to our wheat?
Just as the carpenters were feeling bewildered, Magistrate Yang said thoughtfully, "How about this, since you all have wheat at home, I will arrange for people to harvest it for you. You can just focus on making this wheat-harvesting tool."
"If you can successfully produce this thing, I will reward each of you with ten strings of cash, which you can exchange for silver at the exchange shop. In addition, I will also petition His Majesty and the court on your behalf, requesting that His Majesty and the court grant you another reward."
"It's hard to say how much money His Majesty and the court will reward you with, but it's certain that your families will be exempted from taxes and corvée labor. Even if the court doesn't exempt you, I will exempt you from taxes and corvée labor for thirty years, and the county government will take over the burden for you."