Reclaiming Wasteland: Carefree Mountain Farmer

Chapter 248 Pressure 2
Pressure can be a source of motivation.

Less than a month after Beiji Wugang gave the order, Wang Qing and others came to Jinzhou Farm again.

Looking at the wheat field that had been specially reserved for everyone's experiments, Wang Qing, Murong Xinghan, hundreds of officials and researchers, and tens of thousands of people watched carefully.

Combine harvesters once again entered the farmland and began harvesting wheat amidst a roar.

It wasn't just the Huanghuai Provincial Machinery Factory that manufactured tractors; Shannong Province had long ago produced both steam tractors and internal combustion tractors.

The problem is that it's prone to malfunctions...

Because they were the first to bear the pressure, Wang Qing and his technicians had already invested a great deal of time and energy in this.

The combine harvester has been used in the fields more than ten times, and problems have been found and improvements made each time.

This is now the fifteenth machine, and technicians across the province are paying close attention to its operation and problems, working together to solve them.

Both parts and sheet metal are manufactured quickly through a dedicated channel.

There are enough trains now; there are over a hundred trains nationwide, and all the idle people are coming to support the Mechanics Corps.

Steel mills, engine factories, track factories, oil refineries... a large number of technicians gathered near the field, carefully watching this giant that eats wheat.

The combine harvester project wasn't just a matter for one or two people; the onlookers nearby were mostly family members and members of the local production team.

The livelihoods of millions of people in Son Nong province depend on this giant machine.

The emperor of the Wen Dynasty could give up the three northern provinces, and the emperor of the Beiji Wu Dynasty could also give up half of the population.

Everyone's future rests in the hands of King Wu!
No one could oppose King Wu's will, so all they could do was burn incense and pray to Buddha, hoping that the people in their own provinces would quickly get the harvesters ready and complete King Wu's task.

The seventh month of the lunar calendar is no longer so hot, and tens of thousands of people are watching nervously as the heavy machinery harvests wheat in the fields.

This is a large-scale experiment that concerns the future of most people and the livelihoods of their descendants.

The experiment was a success, and everyone will keep their jobs.

The experiment failed, and time is running out.

Just as the combine harvester had harvested an acre of wheat, there was a "pop" sound, as if something had gone wrong. The machine stopped and black smoke billowed from the engine.

"Damn it!" Murong Xinghan cursed.

Wang Qing immediately said, "Go check it out!"

A large group of technicians quickly went over to repair the equipment and discussed how to solve the problem.

The immense pressure left everyone mentally and physically exhausted, but they had no choice but to keep going and calmly try to solve the problems.

This is not just one person's problem; it concerns the whole family.

Both the Huanghuai and Pingyuan provinces are working overtime to conduct research and are constantly sending people to gather information about their opponents.

Time is of the essence. Once King Wu personally resolves the internal combustion engine problem, everyone will be in trouble.

Everyone believed that King Wu could definitely solve the problem, but he couldn't be expected to do everything himself.

Just like war and industrial and agricultural matters, King Wu has always been responsible for cleaning up the mess. It's normal that King Wu is angry that they are useless now.

After all, they are truly useless; they can't even handle the smallest things.

Gunpowder, soap, glass, internal combustion engine, steam engine, train, electricity... all the key technologies of the Mountain Farming Kingdom are inseparable from King Wu's guidance. King Wu must be right.

Could the collective wisdom of tens of thousands of people barely reach the level of King Wu?

Officials and technicians from the three provinces all felt very uncertain.

***
Fall
Shenwu Palace

Beijiwu looked at the relevant intelligence sent by the Imperial Guards of the three provinces and compared it with the data parameters sent back by the machinery factories of the three provinces.

As a modern person who has witnessed the operation of combine harvesters, Beijiwu has been studying this thing in more detail over the past two years.

It's impossible to figure it out just by thinking, but by looking at the three slightly different research and design reports, Arctic Weapon roughly found the key to the problem.

The answer is that it is impossible to manufacture.

Combine harvesters that primarily use internal combustion engines require high-strength, high-temperature-resistant alloy steel to manufacture cylinders, pistons, and crankshafts.

Current metallurgical technology cannot provide these materials.

Without suitable materials, the engine will quickly break down due to wear and overheating.

This is the key reason why problems keep occurring: insufficient hardware.

Moreover, internal combustion engines require extremely high manufacturing precision. Nowadays, only the most basic machine tools are available, which cannot perform such precise machining. Manufacturing a qualified carburetor or high-pressure fuel injection pump is simply a pipe dream.

"Currently, these people can only manufacture steam-powered harvesters."

In the absence of sufficient materials, steam technology, which has lower material requirements, is the most suitable productivity technology for the current era.

Only after relying on steam technology to improve the level of industrialization will metallurgical technology also be upgraded, and then naturally, a more efficient electrification process will be put into operation.

Beijiwu quickly wrote to the three provinces, pointing out the specific problems and asking the metallurgical plant to also contribute.

Losing weight is a must; Arctic Martial Arts only needs talent.

Those who used to kneel down and enjoy happiness should leave the group.

Regardless of whether the lower-level staff can develop a combine harvester, Arctic Army will lay off employees, especially those who can't speak the local dialect. Those who perform well will have their family members inherit their household registration.

There's absolutely no way to salvage this situation; let them go wherever they're supposed to, and leave the positions for those who meet the requirements.

Technicians shouldn't be laid off, as they are not easy to train.

The main group affected by the layoffs are those who have not made any contributions or served the country.

For example, most people from Luoyang, those from Jinzhou and Jinan in Shanxi Province who joined directly, and some aristocratic families from Pingyuan Province who followed along.

"What I need is not rural farmers, but a group of people who can master technology. Even if they are farmers, they should be people who can drive tractors, repair farm tools, and understand agricultural technology. They are not fools."

"Those who are not needed should immigrate."

Both Japan and Korea need people to go there, and it's definitely not feasible for everyone to crowd into three places, especially as the number of the younger generation begins to increase. We must make room in advance.

Arctic Army began to finalize its population cleanup plan and gave advance notice in the newspapers.

[The slave status of some individuals was abolished, and they were converted from public households to free citizens, primarily those who had household registration but no job, or those who had work but did not go to work for extended periods.]

Those who solicit prostitutes, cause disturbances while intoxicated, or injure, maim, or kill others will be expelled from the household registration system and their entire family's household registration will be cancelled.

Those who do not understand the local dialect and are illiterate will be dismissed.

Those who speak disrespectfully or make irresponsible remarks about King Wu will be dismissed.

Those who were dismissed had their public household registration revoked and were exiled to Korea (Japan).

[Voluntary withdrawal from the public household is permitted. No new public households will be added in the future; succession will be primarily hereditary. All members of the public household are servants of King Wu. Upon reaching adulthood, they are allowed to leave the public household and become free citizens. Only one person per household can inherit the status of a servant.]

slavery...

In this era, no one really cares about being a lackey or not; as long as you can make money, that's all that matters.

Getting rich is not good, but being able to live a comfortable and peaceful life without worrying about food and clothing is also acceptable.

If a public household can meet these two requirements, it will not lack people to come and serve as its servants.

After realizing that King Wu was going to clean up the slave register on a large scale, everyone in the public households of the entire Shan Nong Kingdom felt insecure.

In the year eleven AD, countless people lived in fear.

Before the appointed time had even arrived, Arctic Army impatiently expelled some lawbreakers from the team and exiled their entire families to Japan and Korea.

Trains carried people out in batches, amidst constant wailing and crying.

Early summer of the twelfth year of the Common Era.

Just as Beiji Wu was about to raise his sword and slaughter a large number of his subordinates, dismissing 50% of them as servants, and having already dismissed one-tenth of the entire force, Wang Qing sent a report of victory.

[Long live the Emperor! The combine harvester has been successfully tested and can work continuously for five hours without problems! Theoretically, it can harvest 200 mu of wheat per day!]

Bei Jiwu did not believe it and went to inspect it himself.

Shanxi Province, Jinju Farm, First Brigade.

Bei Jiwu watched the workers driving the combine harvester, and then watched the tractors pulling the trucks that were receiving wheat next to the harvester. He watched as one truck after another drove alongside the harvester, and then truck after truck received the threshed wheat and took it to the granary.

Wang Qing cautiously said, "Your Majesty, the threshing machine still has some problems. It breaks the wheat grains a bit, and there are some areas where it's not as good as hand-harvesting. However, it's still harvesting fairly cleanly. Although tractors and harvesters still have problems, they're generally still working..."

Their time to die had come, and now Wang Qing and the others were cautiously waiting for Arctic Martial to make a judgment.

If the Arctic military is satisfied, then they are qualified.

If Arctic Wu is dissatisfied, a whole group of people will suffer.

At this moment, Beijiwu frowned and said, "It's barely satisfactory. There are still serious shortcomings in many areas, and it's far from what I expected."

After a pause, Beijiwu sighed and said, "You've passed the test. You can improve gradually in the future."

Wang Qing and millions of people nearby knelt on the ground in excitement.

"Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor!"

Despite things not going as planned, Arctic Martial Arts is willing to change its plans.

"Designers and improvers, compile a list, and they will receive triple pay this year."

"Wang Qing went to Pingyuan Province to serve as the governor-general, and Murong Xinghan became the deputy governor-general of Shannong Province, in charge of agricultural and industrial affairs."

"If any of those expelled are innocent, each production team and household is allowed to write down the situation and appeal. Those who have made contributions, or whose family members are those who have made contributions in this case, can return to their original place of residence."

"The current artisans who participated in this event will be granted new job opportunities, which can be inherited by their descendants. There will be a total of 10,000 positions, and they will be responsible for materials smelting, machinery manufacturing, fuel research, and other related matters."

The Arctic Army provides generous treatment and is lavish in rewarding those who have made contributions.

Those who fail to complete their tasks will, of course, be laid off as previously stated.

After observing for two hours and finding no problems, Beijiwu left under the escort of others.

Just half an hour after Beijiwu left, the harvester exploded again with a loud bang.

Fortunately, Arctic Martial Arts University did not pursue the matter; these people had already exceeded their mission and were worth keeping.

(End of this chapter)