I built a manor in the Middle Ages

Chapter 121 Wooden Plow Cart (45)

With someone dividing the work, Luc naturally had some free time.

Two groups of serfs, one planting flax, and the remaining few in the other, led by Paul, were diligently clearing wasteland and digging up tree roots. Even though they set the mountain on fire, there were places the flames couldn't reach, so they had to rely on human labor.

Paul found that Old Ek had observed him for some time and that he was indeed reliable, so Luke planned to officially let him replace George in the future.

I walked over to Ryan and watched him polish the plow bucket. The essence of the plow is hidden in this small plow bucket!
Ryan used a saw to cut the board into a square shape, then used a plane to bend it, especially on the sides, with sawdust flying in the air. After a while, the board looked more like a crescent with sharp edges.

The plow was made of elm wood, and it took until noon to polish the outer layer. Precious iron nails were not readily available, so wooden nails and mortise and tenon joints were still the mainstream of all tools.

Use wooden nails to wedge it into a twisted mouth shape. The front end of the mouth is slightly longer, and the back end is pressed in the middle of the crescent baffle, leaving the curved tail. Nail a small wooden board at the very end, and finally embed the bottom plate at the lower end.

Such a plow can hold about 10 to 20 pounds of seeds. Ryan took a chisel and opened an opening at the bottom of the rear end. Bang-bang-bang sounds kept coming out. This will be the outlet for sowing.

To prevent leaks during normal use, a valve was naturally necessary. It was actually a vertically stretchable wooden block. Ryan meticulously crafted it, and a wedge could be used to lock the valve each time it was raised or lowered, allowing for the flow of seed to be adjusted at any time.

This is also one of the advantages of wood plowing. Different seeds will have different sowing densities.

During this time, Old Ek came back with the length of the rattan rope marked with charcoal. After everyone had lunch, Luke waved to Ryan to take it to make the plow legs, and he took over the unfinished plow bucket.

If you want the seeds to be sown in the field, simply making a hole in the bottom is not enough. The reason why the plow can accurately control the sowing direction is due to another important device: the seed tube.

The seed tube is like a three-legged bracket, hollow inside and with a hole diagonally below.

Luc spent a lot of time on this small but exquisite seed tube.

Since the plow bucket was divided into two parts by the valve, the front part was filled with seeds. Luke opened two round holes at the bottom of the back half, and nailed a long and narrow block on the top. Round holes were also chiseled out in the grid. The three round holes were stepped, one up and two down, which just corresponded to the seed tube.

He took the clay and smoothed the joints carefully to ensure that the seeds would not fall off. Luc connected the pipe to the bottom with a wooden basin, picked up a handful of seeds and put them in the plow bucket to try. When he lifted the plow bucket, tilted it and shook it, the seeds really flowed through the pipe into the wooden basin.

However, a problem was discovered.

The holes below were fine, as they were at the bottom, and the seeds would naturally roll down, while the seeds on both sides of the round holes above would be stuck in the grid. Luke thought about it, took a short rope and a small piece of wood, tied them together and hung them above, so that it would act as a pendulum and sweep away all the retained seeds when the plow bucket was shaken.

Luke put down the plow with satisfaction. On the other side, with Ryan joining in, the prototype of the plow cart was basically completed.

The three curved harrow legs are about three feet high, with a distance of about one ridge between each leg. A harrow cart similar to a bucketless wheelbarrow is embedded in the lower third, and the harrow shafts on both sides are lengthened until they can accommodate a donkey.

But because there is no iron plowshare yet, it can only be considered a semi-finished product.

Put all the parts together. The legs of the plow are also hollow, used to embed the seed tube, and use hemp rope for final fixation. After shaking it vigorously and finding that there is no problem, start to apply resin to prevent it from rotting too quickly.

Once dry, the wooden plow is complete!

"Follow these steps and make another one. I'll figure out how to make the plowshare."

Luc gave the order and headed back to the Knight's Castle in the night.

On the way, I saw Jean feeding his warhorse. The horses' main rations were oats and barley, and they wouldn't take away human food. The scar on Jean's face was very prominent in the night. Since he and Douce had married, Luc had told her that he was from Lorraine. There was nothing to hide.

Then Du Si also recounted the story of her family, among which the scar on Jean was the injury he received while rescuing Baldwin in a battle.

"Rang, come here."

Luc waved, and heard the shouting, and let the puzzled pass by: "What is the matter, sir?"

Jean had bow legs and a strange gait. Luc understood that this was a side effect of riding a warhorse for a long time.

He looked him up and down and said, "I know you're a good rider, but I have something to tell you. Have you seen that travel horse? If you can teach Ryan to ride, I'll reinstate you as my squire."

Jean is arguably Luc's most complex subordinate. On the one hand, he's unlikely to be as devoted to him as Lengeer, and he might even have less affection for him. On the other hand, he's also, in some ways, Luc's most loyal subordinate.
As long as his relationship with Du Si is stable, he will never betray her.

This is why Luc can tolerate his existence.

Based on this, Luke found a position for him, which was to guard the Telf Bridge with George!

The original plan was to let Hans go, but Hans was so capable that Luc suddenly felt reluctant to let him go.

Apart from Hans, who else could be so willing to clean the toilet without complaint?

On the contrary, the newcomer Jean, who was once a full-time soldier, was not very skilled at the job. It was better for him to go to the bridge to collect tolls with a travel horse together with George, who could also ride a horse. One of them was smart and the other was a good fighter. They were both knowledgeable and knew which people could be charged and which people could not.

After marrying, although he focused on agriculture, Luc never slacked off on his military duties. George and Hans also joined him in the daily morning training. Now, Shanlin still held the top spot in terms of individual combat skills, making them evenly matched, with Hans following closely behind.

However, the subordinate with the most potential is Ryan.

After all, Rang was too old. How many people could live to old Eike's age? It could be said that if Rang didn't die in another ten years, it would be a blessing from God. Hans was not very smart, so only Ryan, who had a good swordsmanship talent, could take the lead in the future, so Luc would spare no effort to train him.

Jean was stunned for a moment, then agreed. Although he had a new lord, he didn't mind improving his status.

"I'll train him tomorrow!" Jean whispered.

Back at the cabin, the cook had already prepared a sumptuous dinner. Luc sat at the main seat and Duce sat at the side. The food in front of the two was pretty good. Duce cracked a half-cooked soft-boiled egg, put it in a dish, and ate it with bread, accompanied by cheese and stewed peas. This was one of her favorite foods.

Luc's taste is completely different, and he specially made a bowl of egg custard with the eggs.

"Lisa, what is Brother Hugo preparing for his food?"

"Black bread and vegetable soup, my lord."

Luc nodded, not bad.

"Tomorrow is Sunday, so Brother Hugo will preside over the mass in the church."

(End of this chapter)