Chapter 747: Yellow ox pulls the divine artifact to break stubborn soil; a ten-thousand-generation foundation settles the world

Old Carpenter Lu's ghost-like reaction was like a spark falling into a pile of dry wood, completely igniting the professional fanaticism that had been dormant in all the craftsmen present for most of their lives.

These bottom-level artisans, who had only thought of making a living and staying alive, bit their fingers on the spot and pressed their bloody fingerprints onto the military pledge, swearing that even if they had to sacrifice their lives, they would build this divine artifact, destined to be recorded in history, on time.

In that isolated back courtyard of the Governor's Office, the clanging sound of hammers and the dull friction of large saws echoed day and night.

Half a month passed in a flash amidst flying sparks and wood shavings, and the heat waves of midsummer began to rage across the land of the Northwest.

Ten miles outside Xia Prefecture City, there was a large expanse of abandoned wasteland that had become as hard as stone due to years of drought, with white alkali even precipitating on the surface.

Under the scorching sun, even the wild grass was baked yellow and curled, and the heat rising made the distant scenery appear distorted.

Chen Yan stood with his hands behind his back before this desolate land, fine beads of sweat appearing on his forehead, but he did not wipe them away.

Zhang Wenqian, Gao Jiong, and all the civil and military officials in charge of money, grain, and agriculture in Xia Prefecture were secretly summoned here by an urgent dispatch.

The officials, wearing heavy official robes, crowded into the unsheltered wilderness, wiping the sweat from their heads, looking at each other and exchanging doubts with their eyes.

They could not fathom why this ruthless young Zhuguo had mobilized so many people to suffer on this wasteland where even birds didn't poop.

What made the ministers even more surprised and vaguely uneasy was that several servants responsible for the plowing drill were leading over a decrepit, thin yellow ox from the distant official road, its ribs clearly visible.

According to the iron rule passed down by farmers, to break open this kind of compacted, dry, and hard raw soil, one had to hitch two of the strongest bulls in their prime, paired with an incredibly heavy straight-shaft iron plow, and have three strong men take turns pressing down to barely plow a shallow furrow.

Several blacksmiths, bare-chested and red-skinned from the furnace fire, carefully carried a strange-looking farm tool over.

It was a new object perfectly fitted with tough century-old elm wood and refined iron polished to a black, shiny smoothness; it was the first curved-shaft plow built to a one-to-one scale.

The blacksmiths solemnly placed this divine artifact, which had cost countless efforts, onto the yellow earth behind the thin ox.

Its peculiar, almost comical, short and small shape caused many officials standing in the back rows to cover their sleeves and whisper. Some secretly broke into a cold sweat, fearing that the strange trick Chen Yan had brought out today would become a huge joke in front of everyone, damaging the hard-won prestige of the Governor's Office.

Chen Yan, however, turned a blind eye to the questioning gazes behind him.

He unbuttoned his expensive cloud brocade outer robe, threw it casually into Gao Jiong's arms, bent down, and rolled up the legs of his silk inner trousers to above his knees, revealing his sturdy calves.

Under the dumbfounded gaze of all the civil and military officials, this hegemon who held power over the Northern Frontier kicked off his brocade shoes and stepped barefoot into the yellow earth, which was baked scorching and stinging by the sun.

He strode to the side of the old yellow ox, personally took the rough hemp rope from the servant, and skillfully hung the harness on the stress point of the ox's back.

Chen Yan held the wooden plow handle at the rear, used to adjust the depth, steadily with both hands, lowered his waist and back, and adjusted his posture for exerting force.

He pulled a long, thin bamboo whip from his waist and flicked it in mid-air. A crisp "pop" of an air explosion rang out across the wilderness.

"Giddyup."

The old yellow ox let out a low hiss, leaned its neck forward, and began to pull the farm tool behind it, taking steps forward.

A scene that made the eyeballs of all the officials almost shatter and fall out occurred without warning.

The thin, old ox, which should have been crushed by the heavy resistance, actually just snorted and, without any effort, pulled the strange farm tool, striding forward across this iron-hard wasteland.

The black refined iron plowshare emitted a terrifying tearing sound of "hiss" under the pull of the giant force, cutting deep into the dry, hard soil layer like cutting tofu.

What was even more incredible was that along the trajectory of its advance, the fertile, moist soil below, which had not been exposed to the sun, followed the extremely perfect arc of the plowshare, being turned out lightly and smoothly like a rolling sea wave, firmly pressing the surface alkali below.

Chen Yan followed behind the curved-shaft plow, his steps light and steady, using the strength of his wrists to fine-tune the depth of the plowing through the plow handle, and a straight, extremely deep furrow formed instantly.

In the blink of an eye, the man and the ox reached the end of the field ridge of this wasteland, facing the most physically demanding turning problem.

If it were a traditional straight-shaft plow, two people would have to work together to lift the heavy plow frame out of the mud, and it would take all their might to barely change direction.

Chen Yan only needed to lightly flick his wrist holding the handle, take a step, and the man, the ox, and the curved-shaft plow completed a smooth, dead-angle-free turn in an extremely narrow and cramped corner space.

The plowshare borrowed that clever force to draw a tiny arc in mid-air, once again firmly plunging into the soil, starting the next round of deep plowing.

This flowing plowing speed was a full three or four times faster than using a traditional straight-shaft plow, not only plowing thoroughly but, more terrifyingly, extremely saving on livestock power.

The group of officials standing on the field ridge had long been stunned. Except for the rustling sound of wind blowing through wild grass, there was no other noise.

Zhang Wenqian widened his red eyes. His shrewd mind, which had been soaked in abacuses and account books for years, calculated in an instant what kind of earth-shattering production capacity storm this farm tool would bring to Xia Prefecture.

This Deputy Governor, who was always known for his steadiness, trembled violently as if he had the shakes, not even noticing that the black gauze hat on his head was crooked.

Ignoring his dignity as a high official, he scrambled into the newly turned mud, grabbing the deep, moist soil that emitted a fishy scent with both hands as if protecting a rare treasure.

The fragrance of the soil rushed into his nasal cavity. Zhang Wenqian raised his face covered in yellow mud and laughed wildly toward the blinding sky.

"Heaven bless Great Zhou, Heaven bless Xia Prefecture! With such a divine artifact that steals the secrets of heaven and earth, all the wasteland in our Xia Prefecture can become fertile fields, and grain production will surely increase by more than three times."

He pounded the soft mud, tears and snot streaming down his face, and knocked his head heavily toward Chen Yan's departing back.

"Lord Zhuguo, this is a foundation for ten thousand generations that will allow the Northern Frontier to completely shake off famine and support a mighty army to conquer the south and north!"

Chen Yan handed the curved-shaft plow in his hand to the old farmer beside him who was completely submissive, strode from the field to the shore, and reached out to take the silk handkerchief handed by a maid to wipe the mud and water from his hands.

He stood proudly in the gale, a cold, sharp edge flashing in his eyes, looking down on the world. The aura of a hegemon climbed to its peak at this moment.

"Gao Jiong, listen to my order."

He threw the dirty silk handkerchief into the wind and issued the harshest blockade order.

Gao Jiong immediately stepped forward with his sword, kneeling on one knee on the scorching yellow earth, waiting for instructions.

"Mobilize all the dark agents of the Mingjing Si, seal off the back courtyard of the Governor's Office completely, and classify the curved-shaft plow diagram as the highest level of top secret in Xia Prefecture."

Chen Yan looked down at Gao Jiong's dark, sinister face, his fingers clenching forcefully in mid-air, as if crushing the granaries of the entire world in his palm.

"Break up all the blacksmith shops and divide them into assembly lines. Each craftsman is only responsible for building one part, and they are to work day and night."

He turned his head to look at the vast wilderness that had been turned over with new mud, his voice exploding like thunder in the ears of all the officials.

"Within the half-year before the winter snow falls, I want to arm all the military colonies in Xia Prefecture with this curved-shaft plow. I want the border of Great Zhou to be piled high with mountains of rice and seas of flour that can never be eaten up."

This military order, full of ambition and courage, made every official present feel the majestic momentum that was about to sweep across the world. ===== CHAPTER 748 =====