Chapter Fifty-One: Never Failing His Majesty and Prince Yang

“Your Majesty, may I ask, when a horse transports fifty shi of grain from the nearest village to Xiao City to the city’s granary, how much fodder and water would it need along the way?”

Noticing Tian Yueying’s skeptical look toward his “invention,” Yang Chuan took the initiative to inquire.

“Hmm…”

At the mention of this, she immediately hesitated.

Having grown up within the palace walls, the empress, somewhat detached from the mundane world, naturally lacked knowledge of commoners’ daily affairs.

Seeing her unable to answer, Yang Chuan then turned his gaze to Li Yunshan.

Realizing he must respond today, Li Yunshan instantly grew nervous.

After pondering for a moment with his chin in hand, he finally found a point of reference.

“Prince Yang, whenever I ride from the county office to a nearby village, I make sure the horse eats four jin of fodder and drinks two jin of water before departure. Only then can it travel without rest for the round trip.”

“If we add transporting fifty shi of grain, then the journey requires an additional twelve jin of fodder and five jin of water.”

Mentioning these necessities, Li Yunshan suddenly slapped his thigh, realizing another problem!

Not only must the horse-drawn cart carry fifty shi of grain, but before setting off, it must also bear the extra weight of fodder and water.

Perhaps the actual resources needed exceed his previous estimates!

“Well, let’s calculate based on your figures for now. Even so, this is just what one round trip requires. If there are several trips a day, the expense would be considerable!”

When governing the Great Kang region, Yang Chuan had accompanied peasants in transporting grain.

Aside from natural disasters, the income peasants earned from farming was extremely meager.

Apart from selling surplus fodder within the county town, a fixed portion had to be handed over to the local granary.

Thus, the costs of these round-trip transports became the greatest burden on the people.

After all, delivering grain was akin to paying taxes—not only did they receive no benefit, they also had to personally cover the fodder expenses.

After sharing these details with Tian Yueying and Li Yunshan, Yang Chuan walked straight to the wooden ox and flowing horse and pressed the switch beneath its neck.

In an instant, the wooden ox and flowing horse seemed to come alive, stepping forward one pace at a time!

Though its speed could not match a warhorse, it was considerably faster than horses pulling carts.

Witnessing this miraculous sight, both Tian Yueying and Li Yunshan looked at Yang Chuan with admiration.

After demonstrating the wooden ox and flowing horse’s normal movement, he instructed the officers to bring twenty shi of grain, opened the horse’s back, and stuffed all the grain inside.

Then he mounted the wooden horse and began to guide it forward.

Surprisingly, despite the twenty shi of grain load and Yang Chuan himself on the back, the wooden ox and flowing horse showed no sign of slowing, maintaining the same steady pace as before!

“Your Majesty, this horse neither eats nor drinks. As long as the transporter remains alert, it can travel hundreds of miles a day. If this were distributed nationwide, it would immediately benefit tens of thousands of poor farmers!”

“Yang Chuan, get down first. I want to try riding it.”

Seeing Yang Chuan having fun riding the wooden horse instantly piqued Tian Yueying’s interest.

Stripped of her imperial demeanor, she became like a child, eagerly climbing onto its back.

Remarkably, despite the steady motion, Tian Yueying felt no jolts—she found it even more comfortable than riding a real horse.

“This truly is a marvelous invention. Such a stable wooden horse could help even farm wives who don’t know how to ride assist their husbands in transporting grain to the county town.”

After experiencing the convenience of the wooden ox and flowing horse, Tian Yueying immediately instructed Li Yunshan to allocate funds from Xiao City’s treasury to pay the carpenter and begin mass production of this tool.

With that settled, Yang Chuan and Tian Yueying established a trade street in the busiest district of Xiao City.

Any goods with high sales volume could be sold there.

To encourage rapid development, Yang Chuan waived vendors’ rent and taxes for half a year.

Once all arrangements were made, the two conferred and planned to depart immediately from Xiao City to inspect nearby villages or the next city.

On the morning they left Xiao City, the townspeople spontaneously gathered in lines outside the city gate to welcome them.

Governor Li Yunshan and his two assistant magistrates even led horses by the stirrups, accompanying Yang Chuan and Tian Yueying for ten miles beyond the southern gate.

Everywhere they passed, the people bowed deeply, showing utmost respect.

Since Yang Chuan and his companion had eliminated the Yuan clan, Xiao City had enjoyed its most peaceful and prosperous period in over a decade.

Back then, Yuan Tianze, backed by the Grand Chancellor of Great Qi, had his family’s convoys clearing the streets at every turn, with soldiers forbidding anyone from moving freely.

If any foolish commoner dared to walk the streets, those soldiers, loyal only to the Yuan family, would mercilessly whip them, sometimes to death.

As governor of Xiao City, Li Yunshan had helplessly watched Yuan Tianze’s unchecked tyranny, powerless to aid the people.

Now that the great villain was gone and with Yang Chuan’s reforms, not only had agriculture been aided by new machinery, but the trade street brought huge profits to Xiao City in just one day.

“Your Majesty, please walk slowly. Prince Yang, we humble people are deeply grateful for your kindness and will serve the court wholeheartedly, even unto death, never betraying Your Majesty or Prince Yang!”

Amid the crowd’s fervor, after leading the horses for the last stretch, Li Yunshan knelt along with his men.

“Your Majesty, Prince Yang! Before you arrived in Xiao City, this governor suffered greatly under that treacherous Yuan Tianze. Now that the villain’s clan is wiped out, I shall dedicate myself fully to making Xiao City the most prosperous city in the realm!”

“Governor Li, I have no other demands. I only hope you remain true to yourself and never follow Yuan Tianze’s corrupt path!”

After these final words, the two exchanged a glance, spurred their horses, and rode toward their next destination.

Riding thirty miles beyond Xiao City, Yang Chuan saw smoke curling from nearby villages.

With noon approaching, he planned to stop and partake in a meal filled with the warmth of everyday life.

Unbeknownst to him, behind the trees, dust clouds billowed as a squad of swift riders charged toward them!