The King Marvels at the Ramming Cart's Firm Ground; the Lord Plans a Grand Hub-and-Rail Network

"Thud!"

"Thud!"

"Thud!"

The ground suddenly began to tremble. Ying Zheng and the others turned to look.

Not far away, a strange-looking giant carriage was slowly moving forward.

It was slightly larger than an ordinary horse-drawn carriage. On either side of its body was a thick iron pestle, whose tip was wrapped in a heavy layer of iron.

As steam churned inside the carriage, the iron pestles pounded the ground with a steady "thud, thud."

Each blow drove the earth down half an inch, making the whole ground tremble.

The carriage's side panels blocked the dust it kicked up, keeping it from scattering onto the craftsmen.

"Oh? What is that now?"

Curiosity flashed in Ying Zheng's eyes.

Beside him, Li Si guessed, "It looks like it's used to tamp down the earth and firm up a foundation."

Ying Zheng took a few steps forward and reached the patch of ground the giant carriage had tamped down. He stamped on it hard.

The muddy earth, which had been soft before, had grown harder than stone after repeated pounding by the carriage.

A look of surprise crossed his face. He suddenly turned and glanced around, as if searching for something.

Dun Ruo immediately borrowed a hoe from a nearby craftsman and handed it to Ying Zheng. "Your Majesty."

Ying Zheng nodded in satisfaction, took the hoe, and tapped it against the ground.

Crack!

Crack!

The hoe struck the earth, leaving behind only two faint white marks.

Ying Zheng put a little more force into it, but still managed only to knock two tiny pits into the ground.

Seeing this, Dun Ruo couldn't help clicking his tongue. "This thing makes the ground even sturdier than pounding it with a rammer stone.

"And at this rate, a single carriage can tamp down half a