Tang Dynasty: A Guide to Avoiding Pitfalls for Li Er at the Start

Chapter 393 Science and Technology are the Primary Productive Force

The weeds along the field ridges have been cleared away by the farmers, and the golden waves of rice sway gently in the wind. Sickles and bamboo baskets are neatly arranged along the edge of the field.

Wenrou clutched Li Ke's sleeve, stood on tiptoe, and looked at the rice in the field with bright eyes: "Brother, brother, I want to harvest too!"

As soon as she finished speaking, she broke free from Li Ke's hand and rushed towards the field with her short legs.

But as soon as he stepped onto the soft muddy ground by the field, his foot slipped and he fell forward.

Li Ke reacted quickly, grabbing her wrist and steadily supporting her, his tone tinged with helplessness: "Slow down, the mud is slippery."

Wen He's heart clenched as she watched from the side. Seeing that Wen Rou was alright, she breathed a long sigh of relief and then gave her a stern warning.

"This muddy ground is hard to walk on. Be a good girl and stand on the edge of the field. If you run around again, I'll spank you when we get back."

Wenrou was startled by his serious tone and quickly hid behind Li Ke, only showing half of her face. She looked at Wen He timidly and dared not mention getting out of bed again.

Wen He turned to look at Li Chengqian, Li Ke, Li Tai, and Li You, and pointed to the acre of rice paddy in front of them: "You four brothers, come down, this acre of land is yours."

After saying that, he handed the sickle in his hand to Feng Dahu, who was standing next to him, intending to direct the work from the edge of the field himself.

Unexpectedly, Li Chengqian stepped forward, grinned, and said, "Sir, Father just said that you must harvest one mu of land today. If you don't finish, you must copy the Classic of Filial Piety one hundred times."

As he spoke, he winked at Li Shimin, who was not far away, his eyes full of cunning.

Wen He had just taken a step when she heard these words and froze on the spot, turning her head in astonishment to look at Li Shimin.

Li Shimin, Dou Jing, and Wu Shihuo walked over, his gaze fixed on the rice stalks in the field, looking relaxed as if he hadn't heard the conversation.

"It seems the harvest is even better than I expected."

Li Shimin walked to the edge of the field, bent down and reached out to brush aside the rice ears beside him. His fingertips touched the plump grains, and the heavy feeling came from his fingertips, pressing down on the slender rice stalks and bending them slightly.

He examined it closely and saw that on each rice ear, the grains were arranged closely together, nearly a third more than the ordinary rice varieties in the Tang Dynasty. Each grain was round and plump, with a glossy golden color. Even just looking at it, one could feel its heavy weight.

“Ordinary rice varieties are considered good if a single plant can produce thirty or forty grains, but this Huanwang rice variety can produce sixty or seventy grains per plant, and they are all so plump.”

Li Shimin's tone was full of admiration as he gently pinched the grain.

"The grains are firm and compact, and it seems they won't lose much weight after drying. They are much better than the rice varieties in my imperial estate."

Dou Jing quickly stepped forward and added, following his words: "What Li Langjun said is true. Ordinary rice can yield seven or eight dou per mu in a good year. Judging from the growth of this Huanwang grain, it can yield at least one shi per mu. If the weather is favorable, it may even yield more."

"More than one stone?"

Upon hearing this, Wu Shiyue's face was filled with shock. He moved closer to the edge of the field to examine it carefully.

"It's just a prediction, the weight hasn't been measured yet, so I wouldn't dare to speak recklessly." Although Dou Jing said this, his expression clearly showed that he was confident.

"These rice ears are indeed plump, and it's truly remarkable to have such a harvest in a year of severe drought!"

"Judging from the density of these rice ears, it should be more than a bushel, but I don't know exactly how many bushels it will yield."

Dou Jing stroked his long beard, his eyes full of admiration.

"If this grain variety can be promoted throughout the country, the food problem of our Great Tang Dynasty can be alleviated by more than half."

Li Shimin waved his hand, his tone tinged with emotion: "In a year of severe drought, even if each mu only gains one or two dou more, it is still a great thing."

He secretly made his own plans.

One mu (unit of land area) yields a dou (unit of dry measure), and ten mu yields a shi (unit of dry measure). If all the hundreds of millions of mu of land in the world could be cultivated in this way, not only would people's livelihoods be secure, but the logistical problems of attacking the Turks would also be easily solved.

As for the current livelihood issues, it's not too late to focus on improving them after we eliminate the external threat of the Turks.

As they spoke, the three of them had already reached Wen He's vicinity.

Seeing Wen He standing motionless by the field, casting a resentful glance at him, and then noticing Li Chengqian's smirking expression, Li Shimin immediately guessed the reason. He deliberately put on a stern face and asked, "Why did you stop? Weren't you supposed to harvest the first crop of rice?"

Before Wen He could speak, Feng Dahu frowned.

He looked at Li Shimin, his tone tinged with displeasure: "You're so unreasonable! Even though you're the young master's elder, you can't be this shameless, can you?"

He was practically uttering the word "shameless."

Feng Dahu had met Li Shimin during the last spring planting season. At that time, Wen He only said that he was a relative of the family, and he secretly worried that this person was there to take advantage of the situation. Now, seeing Li Shimin ordering Wen He around with such a matter-of-fact attitude, he couldn't help but feel indignant on Wen He's behalf.

If it weren't for the fact that he was an elder, he would have kicked the person out long ago.

The smiles on Wu Shiyue and Dou Jing's faces froze instantly, and their expressions changed drastically.

Wu Shiyue instinctively shouted, "Insolence! You're just a peasant, how dare you talk to..."

"It doesn't matter."

Li Shimin raised his hand to interrupt him, his gaze falling on Feng Dahu, a slight smile on his lips.

"I remember you. You even gave me some guidance during the last spring planting season."

He paused and changed the subject.

"However, you are wrong about one thing. My sons also went to the fields to help. I am at ease eating this rice. In addition, you can ask Wen He. I was the one who provided this Huanwang grain seed."

Feng Dahu stood there, stunned, looking at Wen He with a bewildered expression. Wen He patted his arm and nodded helplessly: "These grain seeds were indeed given by him."

Feng Dahu's dark face flushed red instantly, and he stood there helplessly, unable to utter a word.

He just thought the person was trying to freeload, but it turns out he was the one who brought them such good grain seeds.

The young man should rightfully offer a gift of thanks.

He actually misunderstood someone; it's really embarrassing.

Upon seeing this, Li Shimin couldn't help but burst into laughter.

He has always liked people who are loyal to their masters. Although Feng Dahu is reckless, he genuinely cares about Wen He. This kind of character makes him like him more.

"However, what you said makes sense."

Li Shimin smiled, rolled up his sleeves, and was about to walk into the field.

"Since we're going to eat this rice, we have to put in some effort. I haven't done farm work in a long time, so today I'll take advantage of Wenhe's good fortune to experience the taste of harvesting."

Upon seeing this, Wu Shiyue and Dou Jing quickly stepped forward to stop him: "Young Master Li, this is absolutely not allowed! You are of noble status, how can you get your hands dirty?"

They dared not let the emperor do it himself; they could not bear the responsibility if he got hurt or tired.

Li Shimin waved his hand and laughed, "Agriculture is the foundation of the nation. When the foundation is firm, the country is at peace. Today, I would like to experience it firsthand and see the hardship of working in the fields, as well as the difficulties faced by the people of my Great Tang."

Although the retired emperor would farm in the Forbidden Garden every year, it was all just for show.

Emperors never actually went down to the ground.

After saying that, he ignored the two people's attempts to stop him, stepped straight into the soft mud, took a sickle from the farmer's hand, and, imitating Wen He, bent down, grabbed a clump of rice ears, and gently cut it.

The golden rice ears fell to the ground with a thud, the grains plump and exuding the aroma of a bountiful harvest.

Seeing this, Wen He could only helplessly pick up his sickle and walk into the field.

"Alright, I'll accompany you and your son to 'experience life' today!"

Since the emperor himself went down to the stage, it wouldn't be appropriate for him to actually stand there and watch.

Seeing this, Li Chengqian, Li Ke, and others rolled up their trousers and stepped into the field through the mud.

At first, Li Tai thought the muddy ground was dirty, but seeing that Li Shimin and Wen He had already started, he had no choice but to bite the bullet and grab a sickle, clumsily learning to cut rice.

The gentle woman on the ridge was so captivated by what she saw that she wanted to get down to the field, but Li Ke pressed her shoulder down in time: "The master said you should stay put."

She could only pout and sit on the bamboo basket by the field, watching the busy figures in the field.

The swishing sound of sickles cutting rice gradually subsided, until Wen He and the others were drenched in sweat. The rice ears from one acre of paddy field were neatly piled up on the edge of the field, the golden stacks of rice resembling small mountains.

The farmers wiped the sweat from their brows, their faces beaming with smiles. Just as they were about to pick up their flails to thresh the grain, Feng Dahu suddenly shouted towards the village, "Quick, quick! Bring up the things the young master made earlier! Don't delay the time for drying the grain!"

Several young farmers immediately ran away, while those who remained surrounded the haystacks and discussed among themselves. Even Li Shimin couldn't help but pat the mud off his hands, walk quickly to Wen He's side, and ask curiously.

"What new and interesting things have you made this time that have Feng Dahu so interested in them?"

Wen He rubbed his aching back and smiled helplessly: "When I was thinking about hot air balloons, I heard Master Wang talk about last year's autumn harvest, which reminded me of this thing. So I drew up some blueprints. Luckily, the craftsmen from the Ministry of Works were there, so I asked them to help build a special threshing machine. Unfortunately, the waterwheel hasn't been built yet, so it can only be driven by manpower. If we had a waterwheel, we could even save the effort of pedaling."

What is a waterwheel?

Li Shimin stroked his beard and pressed on, his eyes full of curiosity.

"The threshing tool you mentioned, could it be a more convenient beating tool than a flail?"

The flail he mentioned is the most commonly used threshing tool by farmers today.

A long wooden handle is attached to a short wooden stick. When swung, it can slap the rice ears and cause the grains to fall off. Its shape is very similar to a simplified nunchaku.

This thing can not only be used for work, but also as a weapon in times of chaos. It is said that even if you are wearing chainmail, being hit hard by a flail can break your bones.

This thing is especially handy when you're rebelling.

It can truly be described as an essential weapon for threshing grain and rebelling.

Wen He deliberately kept everyone in suspense, raising an eyebrow: "A waterwheel is a type of waterwheel that can draw water for irrigation and also drive machinery. I'll show you later if there's a chance. As for the threshing equipment, it's much more powerful than a flail. You'll see when you get there."

He was deliberately keeping everyone in suspense.

If he hadn't been accompanying Li Er to the fields, he would have been sitting in a rattan chair by the field, enjoying the autumn breeze and drinking tea, instead of standing here with a sore back.

Why don't you stay in the palace for the best? Why do you have to come out and torment me?

I won't say.

I'm just trying to make you anxious.

"You little rascal, you're still the same as always, always trying to keep people in suspense."

Li Shimin shook his head with a chuckle, but he wasn't in a hurry.

Anyway, the item will arrive soon, and we'll see it sooner or later.

Before long, several villagers carried over a wooden object that was about half a person's height.

The object is a square wooden frame, firmly placed on a bluestone slab. A horizontal axle runs through the center of the frame, with densely packed bamboo strips wrapped around it to form a round, rolling cylinder. The edge of the cylinder is inlaid with a row of smooth, hardwood teeth, resembling neatly arranged small claws. One side of the wooden frame supports a slanted bamboo trough with small holes at the bottom, while the other side has two thick wooden footboards connected to a crankshaft, which is tightly fastened to the cylinder's axle. At the top is a shallow wooden hopper with an open opening, just big enough to catch the ears of rice being fed in.

The entire object is made of wood and bamboo, with no fancy decorations.

Li Shimin's eyes lit up, and he immediately stepped forward to examine the object, then stepped on the pedal.

Li Ke, Li Tai, and Li You, the three little ones, also came over. Even Wenrou broke free from Li Ke's hand, stood on tiptoe to look into the wooden frame, her little face full of curiosity.

Looking at the foot-operated threshing machine, Wen He's eyes gradually revealed a sense of nostalgia.

When I was a child, I went to the countryside with the director of the orphanage to help with farming. The threshing machines I saw looked just like this, except that the one I saw back then was foot-operated, while the one I saw back then has long been replaced by an electric motor.

I wonder how the dean is doing now.

But I probably won't see her again in this lifetime.

"Jiaying, how exactly do you use this?"

Li Shimin studied it for a long time but still couldn't figure it out, so he quickly called Wen He over.

The surrounding villagers also gathered around, craning their necks with anticipation in their eyes.

All they knew was that this was a threshing tool made by the young master, but they didn't even know how to use it.

Wen He walked to the threshing machine and pointed to the wooden hopper at the top: "Da Hu, you try it. Put the whole bundle of rice ears into the hopper. Remember to put the ears inward and the stalks outward. Don't let the rice stalks get tangled in the wooden teeth of the roller."

As he spoke, he squatted down, placed his feet on the pedal, and gently pressed down. With a soft "creak," the roller began to turn, and the hardwood teeth slowly glided through the bamboo grooves.

"Don't step on it too hard. Just follow the rhythm and make the roller rotate evenly. The grains that are threshed will slide down the bamboo trough. Someone can just bring a sack to catch them."

Feng Dahu listened attentively, immediately picked up a bundle of rice ears, and following Wen He's instructions, put the ears in the wooden bucket with the tips facing inwards, then stepped onto the pedal.

At the other end, a farmer was waiting there with a sack in his hand.

At first, he wasn't very skilled, and his pedals moved too fast and too slow, and the rollers didn't turn steadily. But after a couple of tries, he found the rhythm. The pedals went up and down, and the rollers turned at a steady speed. The golden rice ears tumbled gently in the wooden bucket, and the tiny grains of rice, like golden beans, fell down the bamboo troughs and into the burlap sack below with a soft rustling sound.

In just the time it takes to burn two incense sticks, the entire bundle of rice ears was threshed, the bare rice stalks slid out from the other side, and every single grain fell into the sack.

"So fast!"

Dou Jing stared in disbelief, then quickly moved closer to the sack, grabbed a handful of grains, and examined them closely.

Each grain is plump and free of broken pieces, making it much cleaner than threshing with a flail.

He no longer cared about his image, personally picked up a bundle of rice stalks and stuffed it into the wooden hopper, then imitated Feng Dahu by stepping on the pedal, laughing loudly as he did so: "The Tang Dynasty is blessed! With this thing, farmers can save half the effort in threshing! So fast, so good!"

His appearance was somewhat manic, yet it revealed a deep, heartfelt excitement.

He immediately grabbed Feng Dahu and made him take the men and grain to be weighed.

Li Shimin stood aside, watching the drum spin rapidly and listening to the soft sound of grains falling into the bag. He took a deep breath, turned to stare at Wen He, and asked in disbelief, "This thing, you really just casually made it when you were building the hot air balloon?"

He hadn't received a single word about the threshing machine.

Wen He spread his hands, his tone tinged with helplessness: "You were so focused on the hot air balloon before, you never paid attention to this inconspicuous farm tool. But Li Langjun, think about it, without the hot air balloon, the Tang Dynasty won't lose a single grain of food, but with this threshing machine, the Tang Dynasty can have one more person with enough to eat."

"Of course, I'm not saying that hot air balloons and artillery are unimportant, but while developing science and technology, we must never forget people's livelihood."

Wen He wasn't saying this to Li Shimin, but rather to Li Chengqian.

Science and technology are the primary productive forces; this is a profound truth.

Hot air balloons are important, but food is more important.

When Wen He cast a slightly teasing glance at him, Li Shimin immediately felt a little guilty and coughed lightly to cover up his embarrassment.

He was actually taught a lesson by this brat without batting an eye.

“Sir, Father is very busy with government affairs and has to worry about all matters, big and small, in the court. How can he take care of everything? Besides, you are here. With you thinking about the difficulties of the farmers, Father can have fewer worries.”

Seeing this, Li Chengqian quickly stepped forward with a smile to smooth things over, while giving Wen He a meaningful look, afraid that the two would start arguing again.

Wu Shiyue quickly echoed, his tone both respectful and considerate: "Yes, yes, Lord Li is busy with countless affairs of state, and his heart is with the people of the world. Naturally, it is difficult for him to take care of these agricultural details. Fortunately, we have the Magistrate of Gaoyang. You are meticulous and always think of the needs of the people. You can share Lord Li's burdens. This is a blessing for the people of the Tang Dynasty."

His words both saved Li Shimin's face and subtly praised Wen He, demonstrating the shrewdness of an old minister.

Li Shimin took the step down, cleared his throat, put his hands behind his back, put on a stern face, and tried his best to maintain the dignity of an emperor.

"Ahem, if you want to make any convenient items for the people in the future, just tell me first. I am not someone who wastes time on frivolous things, and I know the principle that food is the most important thing for people. My previous interest in hot air balloons was for military reconnaissance purposes, not just because it was novel."

He said that, but he was secretly thinking to himself.

That brat knows how to keep quiet. He built such a big thing as a threshing machine without making a sound, and now he's blaming me.

After a pause, he added, "If you find the waterwheel you mentioned earlier too busy, you might as well hand over the blueprints to the Ministry of Works and let them organize craftsmen to rush to make it. Your energy is limited, so you don't need to do everything yourself."

He knew that Wen He had many ideas in his mind and might be thinking about other things later, such as the cannons mentioned before, so he was worried that he was overworking himself.

Upon hearing this, Wen He raised an eyebrow and deliberately dragged out her words, "I didn't expect that Young Master Li would know I would be too busy. That's rare."

Wen He deliberately made sarcastic remarks.

So you knew I was very tired.

In such a short time, you've made me do so many things.

Since arriving in the Tang Dynasty, I haven't had a good night's sleep many times.

Li Shimin's lips twitched twice, and he glanced at him: "You built this threshing machine, which saved the people a lot of effort. That counts as a merit. Is a reward of two hundred gold pieces enough?"

Upon hearing this, the samurai, who was standing nearby, was instantly shocked, his eyes widening in disbelief, and his heart was filled with turmoil.

When has Your Majesty ever had to ask your subjects if the rewards you bestow upon them are enough?
Only Gaoyang County has such an honor.

Such honor and favor are unparalleled in the entire Tang Dynasty!

It seems that the Prince of Gaoyang holds a much higher place in His Majesty's heart than he imagined.

Wen He waved his hand and said sincerely, "It would be better to give this reward to the craftsmen than to me. I only suggested an idea and drew a blueprint. The ones who actually built the product are the craftsmen who hone their skills day after day. They are the ones who deserve the reward the most."

He knew in his heart that he was merely standing on the shoulders of knowledge from his previous life, while those craftsmen had learned through repeated failures and passed down and improved the tools generation after generation, making them more and more useful. They were the ones who truly drove the progress of the craft.

Upon hearing this, a hint of approval flashed in Li Shimin's eyes.

Although this brat is usually disrespectful, he knows what's important and doesn't crave credit, which is quite rare.

Just then, Wen He's eyes lit up, and a new idea popped into her head: "Your Majesty, how about we set up a school?"

"Another school?" Li Shimin frowned, recalling, "I remember you wanted to set up a medical school before, it should have been completed by now, right? Why are you thinking of setting up a new one?"

"The Medical Academy is for training doctors to heal the sick and save lives. What we want to establish this time is the Craftsmen's Academy, or rather, to be precise, the Academy for teaching science and technology," Wen He corrected, his gaze becoming serious.

"I specifically recruit people who are willing to learn a craft and are good at thinking things through. I teach them to read and write, and I also teach them my knowledge—such as how to calculate dimensions more accurately, how to make machines run more efficiently, and how to make things more durable."

When he spoke of "my knowledge," a meaningful smile appeared on his lips.

In Li Shimin's view, what he called "my knowledge" was nothing more than the knowledge of later generations that Wen He had mastered.

Li Shimin, with his hands behind his back, couldn't help but daydream.

If Wen He were the only person in the Tang Dynasty, nothing could be changed.

But what if there were thousands upon thousands of Wen Hes?

Perhaps I will not live to see that day, but my descendants may live to see the future that Wen He spoke of.

Li Shimin looked at the light in his eyes, and the corners of his mouth turned up slightly. Without the slightest hesitation, he uttered a single word: "Agreed."

Wen He felt a warmth in her heart and couldn't help but smile.

This is the real Li Shimin.

If it were wild boar hide, I would probably have been imprisoned or exiled long ago.

Wen He felt grateful once again that she had come to the Tang Dynasty.

Not the Manchu Qing dynasty.

Just as the two were speaking.

Not far away, Dou Jing was seen running over in a hurry.

"He's out, he's out, Mr. Li!"

His voice sounded like he was about to cry.

Li Shimin's hand tightened involuntarily.

How much yield does this acre actually produce?

It's astonishing that Dou Jing could lose her composure like this.

"Young Master Li, a golden age is coming, a golden age is coming!" Dou Jingzhen cried.

He was so excited that his whole body was trembling.

He was the Minister of Revenue, in charge of the nation's granaries, and his political achievements were closely related to the nation's tax revenue.

If the people's land yields more grain, the Tang Dynasty's tax revenue will increase by one cent.

He even saw hope that he could eventually enter the three provinces.

"Brother Dou, don't be anxious. Tell me slowly, what is the exact production volume?" Li Shimin was also anxious, but he could only try to appease Dou Jing.

Dou Jing realized she had lost her composure and quickly apologized, "I was so shocked, I was utterly terrified. Young Master Li, you don't know, it was quite..."

"Young master, this one mu of land actually yields one shi, three dou, and six sheng!"

Before Dou Jing could finish speaking, Feng Dahu, who had run up behind him, shouted like a booming bell.

Dou Jing's expression froze instantly, and the words she was about to utter were abruptly stuck in her throat.

It felt as uncomfortable as swallowing a fly.

Can't this person have any sense of observation?
(End of this chapter)