Although Ji Chang was still somewhat unused to being called King Wen, he answered, "Yes. Although this Curved-Shank Plow can be pulled by people, it takes too much effort. It is better to use an ox. And in flooded paddies, an ox must pull it from the front before the land can be plowed."
"That won't do!" Zi Shou suddenly sighed. "Does King Wen know why no one ever thought of using oxen instead of human labor to till the fields before?"
Ji Chang froze at Zi Shou's question.
Indeed, why was that?
Watching Ji Chang stare blankly, Zi Shou laughed inwardly.
See? Even Ji Chang has been taken in.
This time, he was once again doing things backward. Primitive Ox-Plowing had first appeared during the Spring and Autumn period, only becoming widespread during the Warring States period.
It had been Shang Yang again. In the system of farming and warfare promoted by his reforms in Qin, the farming component had primarily involved vigorously encouraging and spreading the use of Ox-Plowing.
One of its most famous laws had been, "Those who steal horses shall die; those who steal oxen shall receive a heavier punishment."
Stealing a horse carried the death penalty; stealing an ox carried a punishment one degree harsher.
The importance of Ox-Plowing spoke for itself.
Zi Shou took Ji Chang's hand. The hand felt like the trunk of an old tree, much to his disgust.
With earnest concern, he continued his deception. "Although our Great Shang has now pacified the Northern Di, all their tribes have moved within our borders, leaving the pastures beyond the Great Wall to the Qiang. Promoting the Curved-Shank Plow and Ox-Plowing would require a great many oxen, yet our Great Shang has nowhere to raise them!"
Hearing this, Ji Chang understood.
*So that