Chapter 901: Agricultural Tool Improvements

Cao Jixiang understood the game better than all civil and military ministers; among eunuchs, he was of the loyal and upright type, yet he still read people's expressions and grasped the times better than the civil and military ministers.

When the late emperor perished and the new emperor ascended the throne, he knew his time was up.

The late emperor had feelings for him; had he worked hard and earned merit, he might still have been recalled to Jingcheng—but who did the new emperor even know he was?

Eunuchs were different from civil and military ministers; they were somewhat like imperial concubines—only ever hearing the new ones laugh, never the old ones weep. So after a night of thought, he decisively decided to curry favor with Pan Yun.

Times change—who else but Pan Yun had become State Tutor?

He was patient; he waited two full months.

Then came the great victory of the Zhejiang Coastal Defense Army; though Quanzhou Garrison had also destroyed two pirate ships, their achievements paled beside Zhejiang's.

Cao Jixiang had long disliked the Quanzhou Garrison; he knew Pan Yun disliked them too.

So when he submitted two memorials, he secretly wrote Pan Yun a letter.

In it, he lavished praise on Seeing Miao Zhen, Miao He, and Tao Yan Bai: this great victory by Zhejiang Coastal Defense Army and Quanzhou Garrison owed much to the disciples of Long Hushan Academy led by Seeing Miao Zhen; had they not gathered intelligence and assisted in calibrating firearms, the naval battle would not have been won so easily.

He wrote: "The pirates they destroyed were not mere pirates—they were Japanese naval forces."

He added: "The Japanese broke their word; they had already sold the mountains around Dasen Township to Great Ming for civilian resettlement, yet now they wish to renege and forcibly drive out our Han people. I hear it was thanks to Seeing Miao Zhen and the other Daoists leading troops to reinforce them that the Han civilians of Dasen Township escaped massacre."

In short, the letter heaped praise upon Seeing Miao Zhen and the other two, then casually mentioned Chen Wen of Quanzhou Garrison: "In my view, everyone in Quanzhou Garrison except Chen Wen is a fool. Such a favorable situation was snatched away by Ningbo Garrison—Jiang Fangzheng, a great fool, raised a nest of little fools. Now that Jiang Fangzheng is gone, they're like headless flies. Quanzhou Garrison long needs a thorough reorganization…"

Cao Jixiang's letter, beyond self-recommendation, was entirely about recommending Chen Wen.

Pan Yun closed the letter and tossed it idly into the firepot, then pulled the balled-up Pan Xiaohei into her lap for warmth: "He's realized my connection with Chen Wen isn't ordinary."

Pan Xiaohei: "Will you help him?"

Pan Yun shook her head: "I don't involve myself in court politics."

Pan Xiaohei rolled her eyes at her—this was only believable to others. Hadn't Xue Shao secretly guided Deng Maoqi on her advice? But Pan Yun had cultivated her image well: in the Emperor's eyes, she was a woman of her word; if he didn't ask, she never brought up court matters.

What she truly loved was visiting the workshops of the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Works to study weapons and tools with the artisans.

In the end, the cannon wasn't built—but they did produce a wind-powered waterwheel, and improved the plow and various farming tools.

Great Ming's plow was already the curved-plow type, but Pan Yun thought it could be even more energy-efficient and deeper-tilling, so she made minor adjustments: slightly altering the curvature of the moldboard and the share, and shaping the share into different triangles depending on farming needs.

In the north, where soil was dry and hard, the share was made into a forty-five-degree triangle; in the south, where soil was looser, it was made into a sixty-degree triangle.

The wind-powered waterwheel worked well—they tested it near the capital's outskirts.

In the north, with strong winds, the blades spun, and the waterwheel turned with a gurgle, lifting river water upward; after one night, it could irrigate nearly a hundred mu of fields.

The Ministry of Works was thrilled; the Ministry of Agriculture was thrilled too—but only briefly. Soon, everyone sighed.

Pan Yun asked: "Why sigh?"

"Your Grace may not know: though the tools have been developed, to deploy them among the people, local county offices must promote them—but…"

"But some try hard, others don't. Every year, the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Agriculture send out countless farming tools—but only seventy are actually used, and of those, barely half reach ordinary peasants."

Pan Yun: "So only 35% of the total? What do the rest get used for?"

"Thirty percent gather dust in warehouses; another 35% are seized by county magistrates for personal use or bought cheaply by gentry landowners. Ordinary peasants don't just never use them—they've probably never even heard of them."

That wouldn't do. She wanted them to raise yields, boost labor efficiency, free up more labor, and push the whole nation into a technological society so she could enjoy life—how could she be stopped by a bunch of inactive county magistrates? So Pan Yun sat on the palace path where Yu Qian passed every day after work, clutching a bundle of blueprints and sighing.

Yu Qian had seen her long ago, but walked past without glancing aside.

Pan Yun sighed again.

Yu Qian had taken seven or eight steps when he finally stopped, fell silent for a moment, then turned back and walked to her, standing before her.

Pan Yun smiled up, pointing to the stone across from her: "My Lord Yu, please sit."

Yu Qian glanced at the stone on the ground—it looked familiar. "This stone…"

"I picked it up from the palace. I find it comfortable to sit on."

Yu Qian's lips twitched, speechless. He silently sat across from her.

He glanced at the blueprints in her hands: "What are these?"

"They're people's livelihood."

Yu Qian frowned slightly, reached out, took the blueprints, and began reading them carefully.

He wasn't a fool—he immediately recognized these as tools for agriculture.

He looked at Pan Yun in surprise: "Your Grace isn't developing weapons at the Ministry of War?"

"I designed a furnace system for steelmaking, but it'll take time to build. Seeing the Ministry of Works bustling, I went to join in—and found these treasures." Pan Yun praised the Ministry of Works officials and master craftsmen without restraint: "These officials and artisans are extraordinary. These tools bring great benefit to the people's livelihood."

Yu Qian nodded slightly: "If they're this good, why are you troubled?"

Pan Yun explained the current situation, then shook her head and sighed: "Thought determines action. Indeed, Great Ming's officials still need to improve their political thinking. If an official doesn't serve the people, he might as well go home and farm. I knew there'd always be a few corrupt ones among the vast bureaucracy—but I didn't expect it to be this bad. At the lowest level, only 35% of county magistrates even promote farming tools—what about those above them?"

Yu Qian's face darkened. He spoke gravely: "Your Grace is right. The bureaucracy must be reformed."

Pan Yun smiled, satisfied, and stood.

Yu Qian rolled up the blueprints and tucked them into his robe, then stood too.

Pan Yun waved her hand—the stone on the ground vanished. Yu Qian's eyes flickered, but pretended he hadn't seen.

Since Pan Yun became State Tutor, the rules of the Celestial Master's Mansion and the Dao Register Office meant nothing to her.

Pan Yun bowed and departed.

Yu Qian stood in place for a long while before leaving.