Chapter 153 Going the other way

After hearing Cao Xian's words, Yuan Xi thought to himself that it was indeed the case. If it weren't for the catchy tune and simple words, it would be difficult for this kind of folk song to spread among the people through word of mouth.

Cao Xian added, "In the month that the young master has been out farming, several craftsmen have successively brought over improved plough blueprints."

"After Sister Wu Zhao and several officials reviewed them, they felt that two of them were the most promising, and they asked the craftsmen to go back and make physical objects, and they were all rewarded."

"However, in the process of making them, the craftsmen found that there were still many problems, so they revised the blueprints back and forth several times, and they have not yet made a physical object."

"But calculating the time, it's almost there."

Yuan Xi thought to himself that technical improvements were indeed not that simple. He only put forward an idea, and if he wanted to make it into a physical object, there would be many twists and turns in the middle.

His idea was very simple: how to improve the straight-shaft plough into a curved-shaft plough.

In his previous life, he had never farmed the land, and he didn't quite understand the principle of the curved-shaft plough.

He only knew that the ploughshare could be rotated, it could be turned left and right, and the angle could be adjusted up and down, so that it could not only save effort when ploughing, but also help deep ploughing.

However, when it came to actual production, the craftsmen had to go to a lot of trouble.

The straight-shaft plough only needs some wooden strips to be nailed together, and a layer of iron sheet is wrapped on the ploughshare. Almost a carpenter can complete it independently.

But the curved-shaft plough is different. Not only is the curved shaft difficult to handle, but several joints require iron parts to connect.

Because the moving parts wear faster, higher requirements are also placed on the materials.

Moreover, Yuan Xi only remembered that the curved-shaft plough had more than a dozen parts, but he was completely unclear about the function of each part.

It seems simple, but it requires the cooperation of carpenters and blacksmiths to make a finished product that meets expectations.

The curved-shaft plough was slowly formed over hundreds of years from its initial conception to its realization. Now, starting from scratch, it will certainly not be so smooth.

Although Yuan Xi had been mentally prepared for a long time, he still felt a little frustrated.

Too slow!

It would be fine if it were normal, but these years are his time to race against time. If it is not used for this spring ploughing, he can only wait for the autumn planting. Fortunately, there is fertile land everywhere now, so the impact is not significant.

However, Cao Xian then said that another idea had already begun to take shape.

The waterwheel.

Yuan Xi's face lit up when he heard this. Although this waterwheel is quite costly in terms of materials, it is simple in principle and does not require manpower, which is quite suitable for areas with a shortage of labor.

The so-called waterwheel is a kind of irrigation tool, which is wheel-shaped. Each spoke is hung with a bamboo tube, which can lift water to a high place.

Place it next to a rushing river, and use the power of the water to turn the wooden wheel. At the highest point, the bamboo tube is poured into the adjacent water tank, and then flows into the farmland.

At first glance, the waterwheel seems a bit flashy, but in fact it plays a very important role.

The first is that it does not require any manpower to carry water, and it can be automatically irrigated.

The second and more critical point is that it does not require large-scale changes to the terrain.

If you want to draw water from the river, without human power, you have to dig ditches and draw water from the river.

If this is done, it is easy to affect the downstream water flow, and it is easy to flood farmland during floods and river floods.

With the waterwheel to draw water, the number and width of ditches can be greatly reduced, saving a lot of manpower and material resources, the river bank is more stable, preventing river floods, and ensuring a stable harvest of grain.

Now Yuan Xi only needs to dig ditches every few miles to irrigate the farmland farthest from the river, so that he can make full use of the land on both sides of the river for dozens of miles.

Cao Xian twisted her body and said, "A few days ago, because of the excavation of ditches, General Qu and General Taishi sent letters over."

"They said that if they dig like this, large areas of land around the three cities, every ten miles, or even several miles, will be crisscrossed with ditches, and the cavalry will not be able to charge at all. They asked what the young master's response was."

Yuan Xi smiled triumphantly when he heard this, "As expected, they also saw it. That's right, I did it on purpose."

Cao Xian didn't understand for a while when she heard this. What does this mean?

Going against yourself?

Wu Zhao's voice sounded, "So that's it, I vaguely understand something. The young master is playing a big game of chess."

Yuan Xi quickly retracted his hand from the linen clothes around Cao Xian's waist. Cao Xian didn't expect Wu Zhao to come over so quickly, and her face turned red.

Wu Zhao said with a teasing tone, "I'm disturbing you, but General Zhao Yun is waiting outside. I was afraid of delaying things, so I hurried over to tell the young master."

When Yuan Xi heard this, he quickly jumped out of the wooden bucket, took the linen cloth from Cao Xian's hand, and wiped his body clean.

When the two women saw this, their faces turned even redder.

Yuan Xi put on his clothes and went out, and saw Zhao Yun waiting outside, saying the same thing.

Several cavalrymen were training, and the horses had just run more than a mile when they almost fell into the ditch that had not been dug yet. They came back to complain to Zhao Yun, saying that if they continued like this, there would be ditches everywhere, and the horses would easily get injured.

Moreover, if they fought like this, the cavalry would be useless at all. Would they not be needed in the future?

Yuan Xi saw that besides himself and Zhao Yun, there were only Wu Zhao and Cao Xian present, so he said, "That's right, that's what I meant."

Zhao Yun was stunned, but the two women had heard it before, so they were not so surprised.

However, Cao Xian still couldn't figure out why, and blinked her big eyes with a curious look.

Yuan Xi said to Zhao Yun, "Brother Zilong, when we made the bet to intercept the Xiongnu, was it cost-effective for the cavalry to charge into the formation?"

Zhao Yun hesitated for a moment, "The Young Master saw it that day as well. The cavalry charge that day was a last resort."

"It would be good if the Young Master's cavalry were equipped with full armor, but my side is mostly light armor and leather, mainly for long-range shooting and flanking. It's actually a loss to fight the enemy head-on."

"Fortunately, the Xiongnu people's armor wasn't complete at the time. Otherwise, light armor against heavy armor would definitely be a disadvantage."

Yuan Xi nodded. The greatest advantage of cavalry is not charging, but its mobility.

By harassing the enemy's flanks and rear, their morale and stamina are lowered, creating opportunities for the main infantry force.

Letting cavalry charge is almost like sending them to their deaths if the enemy's defense is strong, just like the White Horse Followers encountering Qu Yi's Vanguard Death Troops.

Cavalry is not invincible.

An almost unbelievable fact is that even after the invention of the stirrup, and with complete armor, cavalry does not have an advantage over infantry.

All generals proficient in military strategy understand that heavy cavalry actually cannot defeat heavy infantry!

The most typical example is Cao Cao's Tiger and Leopard Cavalry.

Contrary to what most people imagine, the horses of the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry are mostly used for traveling. When actually engaging the enemy, they often dismount to fight.

The Tiger and Leopard Cavalry is famous for its rapid movement. Under the leadership of Cao Chun, it once traveled three hundred miles a day to reach the battlefield. The most typical example was the pursuit of Liu Bei in the Battle of Changban.

This kind of marching extremely overdrafts the horses' stamina, and even with three horses rotating, it's unlikely that they would still have the strength to charge.

So at this time, horses are used for rapid mobility to chase the enemy. When the fighting really starts, the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry often dismount to form a formation, or directly charge and then dismount to engage the enemy.

Yuan Xi said to Zhao Yun: "Just looking at the number of horses and cavalry, even if we occupy the entire Youzhou, how many cavalry can we afford to raise, and how much grain will it cost?"

"Even so, in terms of numbers alone, can we compare to the Southern Xiongnu, who claim to have hundreds of thousands of archers?"

"Not to mention the even more numerous Wuhuan and Xianbei. If we want to raise an equal number of cavalry to resist them, the entire Han Dynasty might be able to do it, but how could Youzhou alone do it?"

"Let alone the future, just the thousands of White Horse Followers still remaining under Gongsun Zan, aren't they difficult for us to deal with now?"

Zhao Yun listened and deeply agreed.

Yuan Xi smiled and said: "So I've been worried these past few days. If we really occupy Youzhou, facing the Wuhuan and Xianbei outside the pass, as well as Gongsun Du's family in Liaodong, will we have to raise a massive number of horses to guard against enemies that could appear at any time?"

"Since the establishment of the Great Han Dynasty, how to prevent foreign tribes from harassing the interior has always been a difficult problem."

"Then one day, I suddenly figured it out."

"We can't afford to raise horses, but we can dig rivers and ditches."

"If I do the opposite, digging ditches while occupying cities, as long as we turn Youzhou into fertile fields crisscrossed by rivers and canals, supplemented by strong cities and fortresses guarding the main roads, no matter how many cavalry they send, wouldn't they have to dismount and fight obediently?"

"At that time, can they compare to our well-trained heavy infantry?"

"In this way, their cavalry can't attack, and our cavalry can infiltrate their rear at any time, tit for tat!"

Zhao Yun listened and suddenly understood, "So that's how it is!"

Cao Xian then understood, she secretly glanced at Wu Zhao, who had understood the Young Master's thoughts so quickly!

Yuan Xi smiled triumphantly. The nomadic people are troublesome with their harassment, right? We'll lower them to the same level as ourselves!

The reason Yuan Xi was inspired by this was because he discovered some interesting facts while reading history.

When the Jurchens rose in Liaodong in later generations, they issued an order strictly prohibiting the planting of rice.

At the time, Yuan Xi didn't understand. What does this have to do with anything? Don't the Jurchens like to eat rice?

Later, he realized that planting rice requires digging rivers and ditches, and the rice paddies are full of stagnant water everywhere, making it impossible for cavalry to be effective!

This is a fatal blow to nomadic peoples who rely on archery from horseback.

Therefore, as long as we establish strong cities in Youzhou, build fortresses in key areas, and divide the area with rivers and canals, we can use much less grain to support infantry for defense!

The saved horses and cavalry can be used to contend for the Central Plains!

Yuan Xi finally smiled and said: "Everyone thinks Youzhou is a bad place, because although there are many resources, it is difficult to defend against nomadic peoples."

"Only in my eyes is Youzhou a treasure land."

"As long as we dig and fight, gradually nibbling away, we will eventually build Youzhou into the most solid defense line in the north."

"Combined with the Great Wall, foreign tribes will no longer be able to easily attack the Central Plains!"

Turn Youzhou into a huge fortress, where outsiders can't get in, but insiders can go out at any time.

Although this may take years or decades to complete, once successful, its significance for protecting against foreign tribes will be extremely important. This is the romance of civil engineering.

Zhao Yun nodded: "But the manpower and resources required to dig ditches are a very large number."

Yuan Xi smiled: "So I want to mobilize everyone. It's not just about giving money and food that people will be willing to do it, but also giving them a huge motivation."

"That's why I started spreading nursery rhymes about me in the three cities."

The three of them then understood. No wonder Yuan Xi also asked Wu Zhao to write another nursery rhyme.

"When a thousand rivers open, Youzhou is settled. When ten thousand canals are born, the world is at peace!"

Everything Yuan Xi does is not aimless. These links are all connected!