It has been more than half a month since the capture of Changge Fortress, and the population and materials transported by the fortress and the five major families in the western border have all been in place.

After the establishment of the Ministry of Agriculture, the spring ploughing of the new year finally began, which was also the first step for Roland to explore the farming technology. The serfs saw the dawn of promotion to the rank of free people, and they all worked in full swing. The sight of the need for overseers to whip their serfs to work was almost extinct on the south bank of the Chishui River, and individual serfs found that even if they were lazy, no one would control them - according to the officials of the town hall who carried strange tools and measured them in the fields, the lords did not care about the harvest of one or two fields, and the serfs were henceforth cultivating for themselves, and those who cultivated more would get more.

It was not that the officials of the Ministry of Agriculture were so good that they had fully understood the principle of distribution according to work, but that Roland demanded that they constantly repeat these things to the serfs. In order to strengthen the effect of indoctrination and satisfy the prince's own feelings, the banks of the Chishui River were also planted with red flags and banners with slogans such as "Labor is the only way to get rich", "Labor is glorious", "Labor leads to freedom, labor changes destiny" and other slogans.

Of course, these measures have not been raised without people's objections, for example, Barov was the first to stand up against them.

"Your Highness, there is no point in you doing this, the vast majority of serfs are illiterate, so they don't care what is written on the banner. These people are ignorant and ignorant, and sometimes the whip doesn't work, let alone some seemingly inexplicable words. ”

And Roland's answer was simple, "Those banners weren't meant to be for them." ”

"Then why are you doing these things?" the assistant minister's expression seemed rather confused.

"To create a living role model. ”

He never thought that serfs were stupid and unreformable people, and that the fact that they were uneducated did not mean that they did not have ideas. It is human nature that even the dullest people will be driven by desires and interests - the repeated indoctrination of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Agriculture may seem to have little effect, but it will leave a trigger in their hearts, like a trickle, which will eventually merge into one piece. When the first serfs were promoted to the rank of freemen, when they exchanged the harvest for money, and bought fine clothing, fine food, and even sturdy and warm brick houses, the repeated slogans became a reality and were deeply seared in their hearts.

As for the banners on the shore, they are for the townspeople who have received universal education.

Relying on one's own hands to get out of poverty, to become a full-fledged member of a border town, and perhaps even more than oneself as an aborigine, is the power of hard work.

Only by comparing can we feel the gap, and only by actively pursuing can the efficiency of the individual be maximized.

......

The iron head stood at the entrance of the mine, waiting for a new round of mining.

Ever since he had been burned by the hot steam during Demon Moon, he had never dared to stand near the black machine again.

Fortunately, there is also a kind and angelic Miss Nanawa in the border town, and the iron head touched her intact cheek, and her heart was full of emotion. At that time, she still suspected that the other party was a minion of the devil, which was simply a blasphemy against her. At the end of the winter, he went to Pine's house to apologize for bringing up two salted fish and a wild boar leg.

To his surprise, Tigou Pyne, although he was a viscount, did not have the habit of nobles who liked to look at people with their noses, and generously accepted his apology. For the first time, Iron Head felt that the nobles were not all ruthless guys.

"Iron Elder," came an ash-covered miner from the hole, "the rope is already tied." ”

"Well," he shouted as he turned his head toward the steam engine, "Everybody get out of here!" Vlac, lift up the green lever and press down on the red lever!

"Don't worry, Tie Lao, wrap it up on me!" Vlac replied loudly.

After sending the nails to join the town's First Army, Iron Head changed to a different person to operate the steam engine. In the first few days, Flack often mistook the order of the tie rods, causing the air supply pipe to burst, and he was beaten up a lot. Fortunately, His Royal Highness did not care about this matter, not only did he send someone to replace the damaged parts, but he also did not pay them a fine - originally Tietou had already prepared for everyone to be fined a month's salary.

With the opening of the air intake, the steam engine spewed out majestic white gas, and the main wheel slowly operated, driving the winch and stretching the hemp rope straight.

"Cheer me up! Keep an eye on the hemp rope and look closely!" shouted the Iron Head.

Nowadays, in addition to the steam engine, the way the mine is produced has also changed.

His Royal Highness ordered the craftsmen to cut the sections of wood into long strips, lay them end to end in the mines, and then stuff the wooden squares under the two strips, which at first glance looked like a lattice of many woods.

His Highness called it the Wooden Rail Transportation System, a very tongue-twisting name, and it didn't seem complicated, but with a specialized minecart, hey! Ore needs to be transported for three or four days, and several minecarts are connected together, and the steam engine can be dragged out in one go.

Iron Head has specially observed this kind of four-wheeled trailer running on wooden rails, it is made of iron all over its body, and this one alone is worth a lot of money. The key to being able to move on narrow wooden bars without falling off is in its wheels, which have an enlarged rim on the inside of each small iron wheel that keeps the minecart firmly attached to the rails. At the top of the wheel is a boxy iron basin with a groove at the front and back, which can be strung together with hemp rope.

He couldn't help but admire the ingenuity of His Royal Highness the Prince, such a simple design could make it so easy to transport ore. Before that, dragging these dead ores out of the mine is the most time-consuming and labor-intensive work.

However, the system was not perfect, for example, on the fifth day of use, two sections of wooden rails were crushed, and then several more were broken one after another. It was only after His Highness wrapped the tops of all the wooden rails with a layer of iron sheet that it improved.

In addition, there was a rope breaking accident in the mine, and the iron axe still has lingering palpitations when I think about it. Originally, according to the regulations, only four mine carts were dragged at a time when the ore was transported out of the hole, and on the day of the accident, the miners were greedy and connected all six mine carts together, but when they were halfway through, the arm-thick hemp rope suddenly broke, and the rebound swept a guy standing next to Tie Tou, breaking his arm in two and breaking several ribs. The minecart slides down the track, knocking down two men and breaking the legs of one of the hapless guys.

Fortunately, the Iron Head knew what to do in such a situation, and he immediately organized for the wounded to be transported to Viscount Tigu's residence, so that as long as they were not killed on the spot, Miss Nanava was able to restore them to their original state.

"Tie Lao, the car is out!" shouted the man staring at the entrance of the cave.

"Flac, turn off the steam engine after ten breaths, pay attention to the order!" Iron Head commanded in a loud voice.

"Great!"

Four minecarts slowly stopped at the end of the tracks, and he walked over to record the shipments and varieties. The first two carts of stone are reddish-brown, which is also the most produced item in the mine - iron ore. The third cart of stones was gray and yellow, presumably copper ore, and he was stunned when he saw the fourth cart, as there did not seem to be such stones in the previous records: they were dark brown all over, and they refracted a dull metallic luster in the sunlight.

It's an unknown mine again, the iron head shook his head, and the passages in the north slope mine cave are criss-crossed, and inexplicable things can often be dug up. He drew a cross on the paper and had the ore sent to the stockpile. As for whether this pile of black stones will be sent to the furnace, it is none of his business. (To be continued.) )