I traveled back to the Qin Dynasty, and the First Emperor begged me to become his empress.

Chapter 127 Competition

And so the competition began. The group arrived at the competition field and saw three plots of land of the same size.

The guards brought over three farmers and brought the three men before the crowd. The three men had never seen so many important figures before, and they were so nervous that they didn't dare to breathe. Ying Wuyou saw through their fear at a glance. She smiled and stepped forward, gently comforting them, "You don't need to be afraid. We just want to see how well you farm."

Then, she explained the rules of the competition in detail and told them what they needed to do. When the three men heard that it was just a competition of tilling the land, a huge weight was finally lifted from their hearts. After all, they had spent their lives farming and were very familiar with tilling the land.

Soon, the three men had each chosen their preferred farming tools. The oldest chose a curved plow, the dark-skinned man picked up an iron plow, and the strongest man unhesitatingly chose a hoe. Since the plowing competition allowed the use of oxen to pull the plows, both the iron plow and the curved plow user chose an ox as a helper.

With a command given, the competition officially began. At first, the old man who chose the curved plow was not quite used to this new farming tool, struggling to operate it and making slow progress. In contrast, the person who chose the iron plow quickly got into the swing of things, demonstrating skillful technique that impressed everyone. The person with the hoe, while not fast, was steady and soon dug out a considerable amount of land. However, as time went on, the old man who chose the curved plow gradually adapted to the new tool, and his speed increased significantly.

Meng Tian stared intently at the land tilled by the curved plow, his eyes gleaming with excitement. He turned to the King of Qin and solemnly said, "Your Majesty, look at the land tilled by this curved plow! It's so smooth! And the depth of the tilling is in no way inferior to that of the iron plow, and may even surpass it!"

Chunyu Yue stroked his long beard and nodded slightly, saying, "Indeed, the speed of this curved plow is getting faster and faster. When that old man used it, his face was relaxed and he showed no signs of fatigue. On the other hand, the man using the iron plow was sweating profusely and kept wiping away his sweat. It is clear that the advantages of this curved plow are becoming more and more obvious."

As Ying Wuyou had predicted, the curved plow, with its remarkable speed, was the first to plow the vast field. However, Ying Wuyou showed no satisfaction with this result. She stepped forward with steady steps and respectfully said to the King of Qin, "Father, I would like to try again without oxen, using only people to pull the plow. What does Your Majesty think?"

The King of Qin looked puzzled, frowned, and asked, "Why is this?"

Ying Wuyou said firmly, “Father, as far as I know, the number of people in our Great Qin who own oxen for plowing is truly small. The vast majority of farmers still choose to dig the land with hoes. Besides the high price of iron plows, another very important reason is the lack of enough oxen to drive them. This curved-shaft plow, however, can still plow the land even without the help of oxen. In this way, it can greatly alleviate the predicament faced by the people in terms of plowing due to the lack of oxen.” After speaking, she stood quietly to the side, her eyes revealing expectation and contemplation, waiting for the King of Qin's response.

The King of Qin nodded slightly and said in a deep voice, "Very well, rearrange the competition for several people. This time, arrange two people for each plot of land." After receiving the order, the guard immediately turned around and left to make the arrangements.

A moment later, six people were brought before the hall. The King of Qin looked closely and saw that the six chosen were all of similar age. The King of Qin nodded in acknowledgment, and the guards immediately arranged for the six to begin their contest.

The results of this competition became increasingly apparent. The iron plow was heavy, requiring a great deal of physical strength to pull, making it extremely difficult to drag by manpower. Before long, the two men who chose the iron plow were panting heavily and had to stop to rest. The two men using the hoes, though also showing signs of fatigue, maintained their speed and performed steadily. As for the two men who chose the curved plow, although they were also somewhat tired, their speed remained far ahead of the competition.

In the end, the curved-shaft plow still emerged victorious. To verify the effectiveness of the curved-shaft plow, Xu Xing hurriedly ran to the edge of the field, gripped the soil tightly with both hands, and carefully compared the two. The curved-shaft plow was deeply embedded in the soil, and the furrows it created were significantly deeper than those of the traditional iron plow, seemingly extending all the way to the depths of the earth.

Moreover, the land tilled by the curved plow appeared exceptionally smooth. This scene astonished Xu Xing, his eyes widening in disbelief and his heart filled with shock and emotion. He hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, look at this curved plow! It is truly a miraculous treasure! With its help, the grain production of Qin will surely increase significantly, bringing endless blessings to the people of the world!"

At this moment, the other simple farmers also stared wide-eyed in astonishment at Ying Wuyou. One of them couldn't help but exclaim, "Princess, you are truly a genius! You already had that method of composting fertilizer that benefited the people, and now you have invented this miraculous curved plow. Such a farming tool, which is of great benefit to the Qin Dynasty and its people, will surely be remembered in history. Princess, you deserve the respect of all people and the worship of all generations!"

Ying Wuyou bowed slightly and said humbly, "Please don't be so polite. As a princess of Qin, it is only right that I do my part for the people of Qin. Moreover, this is not all my achievement. The real hero is Mr. Mo Li. He worked tirelessly day and night to create this ingenious curved plow. Without his dedication and wisdom, none of this would have been possible."

The King of Qin beamed, his hearty laughter echoing through the hall for a long time, as if the whole world was infected by it. He tilted his head slightly, his eyes gleaming with pride, and slowly said, "Excellent, excellent! Reward him all! Mo Li has created such a wondrous object; he is hereby rewarded with a thousand taels of silver and granted the title of Duke. This is a commendation for his exceptional skill. May he continue his efforts and bring even greater glory to our Great Qin!"

Upon hearing this, Mo Li felt a surge of fervent joy, his face beaming with a smile that almost filled his entire being. He immediately knelt down and kowtowed several times. As he rose, his voice trembled with excitement as he said, "Thank you, Your Majesty. I will certainly continue to work hard to create more useful and valuable things for Great Qin to repay Your Majesty's great kindness."

The King of Qin nodded in satisfaction, a slight smile of approval appearing on his lips, and said, "Good, you've done very well."