Chapter 176

In Xianyang, within the Zhangtai Palace.

Su Xuan saw Ying Zheng again.

This time he did not come alone; following him into the Xianyang Palace were many disciples of the Yin-Yang School.

These people were all tools, here to help Su Xuan transport some things.

"Mr. Su, what are these things?"

Ying Zheng looked at these wooden devices with some curiosity.

During this period, he knew that Su Xuan had not been in Xianyang City but had gone to the Yin-Yang School. So, was Mr. Su tinkering with these things at the Yin-Yang School all this time?

"Allow me to introduce them to Your Majesty!"

Su Xuan looked at Ying Zheng and said calmly.

Ying Zheng became even more curious. He followed Su Xuan's gaze and began to examine these wooden devices again.

"Is this wheel '983'?"

He first looked at the waterwheel, which was a huge wheel suspended in mid-air. Although such things were common in the Mohist Mechanical City, in reality, they had not been popularized throughout the world. The Mohists only used waterwheels to drive water power, keeping the mechanisms within the city running without pause.

Hmm, this thing was something they had researched based on the principle of gears.

And historically, the earliest waterwheel actually appeared during the Eastern Han Dynasty.

So it was not strange that Ying Zheng did not recognize it.

"It is called a waterwheel, a tool for drawing water!" Su Xuan said lightly, "Although the Zheng Guo Canal is already open, how to draw the water from the Zheng Guo Canal into the fields for irrigation is also a problem. Thus, I thought of this object, and after improvements by a certain Mohist, this object has reached a point where it cannot be improved further."

"Even water flowing in low-lying areas can be guided to higher ground through this object!"

"Oh?" Ying Zheng's eyes flickered, looking very surprised, "It is actually a tool for drawing water? But it is completely different from a shadoof!"

The so-called "shadoof" was a relatively common water-drawing tool in this era. Its appearance was very similar to a lever; a horizontal beam was supported on a wooden frame, with a water bucket hanging from one end and a weight from the other. Like a lever, it could save effort in drawing water. In the "Outer Chapters" of Zhuangzi, this object was mentioned. It recorded that when Zigong was traveling south and passed through Hanyin on his return, he saw an old man laboriously carrying a jar to draw water for irrigation, with twice the effort for half the result. So he told the old man about a labor-saving device called a "shadoof" and then told the old man how to make it.

The appearance of the "shadoof" meant that people no longer had to carry jars to draw water for irrigation.

Since Su Xuan mentioned this irrigation tool called a waterwheel, it was clearly much more advanced than the "shadoof."

Su Xuan's words confirmed Ying Zheng's guess, "Although both are water-drawing tools, this object is much more advanced than the shadoof!"

"Since Mr. Su has said so, it is only reasonable to give it a try. I want to see it with my own eyes!" Ying Zheng said.

Su Xuan said, "There is no rush for this; wait until I finish introducing the other few things to Your Majesty."

After finishing with the waterwheel, Su Xuan began to talk about the seed drill.

The seed drill was the device that Leader Liuzhi Liuzhi Heixia had spent the most energy on, mainly because he had an ambition to achieve the grand goal of cultivating a hundred acres of land a day. It must be known that in later generations, with the help of a tractor, one could barely achieve this goal in a full day.

In this era, wanting to achieve this goal was truly too delusional.

Therefore, even though Leader Liuzhi Liuzhi Heixia had great ambition, he did not complete this goal in the end.

Of course, it was not that Leader Liuzhi Liuzhi Heixia lacked ability, but because the materials limited his performance.

Agricultural tools made of wood have their limitations. Without the use of refined iron, when wood probes into the soil, encountering even slightly hard soil would cause damage to the wood.

Of course, if this part could be replaced, Leader Liuzhi Liuzhi Heixia's seed drill—which was actually a black-tech version of a tractor—would have its work efficiency greatly improved.

Unfortunately, the Mohists seemed to have a special fondness for wood and stone. In their view, it was the Gongshu family that used materials like bronze to make mechanical beasts, and the Mohists disdained to do so.

Even in the Mechanical City, except for a few important mechanisms where they chose to use bronze gears, they preferred to use wood for most other mechanisms, just like the Vermilion Bird in the original work. The handle was broken by Jing Tianming because it was made of wood. If it had been replaced with a sturdy handle, that problem would absolutely not have occurred.

"This object was also made by a Mohist. It is a device that combines sowing and plowing. Originally, it required human and animal power to drive it, but after modifications by the Mohist, it incorporates the principles of mechanical beasts. Before use, one only needs to twist the trigger to drive the gears inside, and it can operate on its own..."

Su Xuan was not very clear about the principles of mechanical beasts; that was black technology unique to this world. The Mohist mechanical beasts like the Vermilion Bird and White Tiger were already outrageous, and the Gongshu family's mechanical beasts were even more so.

Like the Earth-Breaking Seventh Son, the mechanical snake, and the modified mechanical Wushuang created by Gongshu Chou, they were simply outrageous, as if they possessed their own lives. Especially the mechanical Wushuang; even though Wushuang Ghost had died at the hands of Gainie, after being transformed into a mechanical human, it was as if a new will had been born within the originally dead shell.

After finishing the use of the seed drill, Ying Zheng was even more shocked.

With the help of this object, one could actually plow dozens of acres of land in a single day?

You must know that with human labor, being able to plow a few acres a day was already very impressive, and that required that person to be exceptionally capable.

Although Ying Zheng did not engage in farming, he still had some understanding of this matter.

In comparison, he did not have much interest in the things Su Xuan introduced later, such as the wooden "bicycle." Although Su Xuan said this object was for transportation, compared to tools for irrigation, plowing, and sowing, its value was not as great as imagined.

"Come here!"

After listening to Su Xuan's introduction, Ying Zheng immediately called for someone.

Soon, a eunuch came before Ying Zheng and quietly listened to the King of Qin issuing orders.

"Summon the Minister of Agriculture!"

The Minister of Agriculture, originally called the Grand Minister of Agriculture, was an agricultural official responsible for teaching the people to farm. In the Qin State, it was renamed the Minister of Agriculture, and its responsibilities were much broader, but the point of being responsible for agricultural matters had not changed.