Chapter 973: Wooden Ox and Frozen Horse

"I didn't bring this wooden ox and flowing horse, but please give me two days, Duke Qin, and I will build one myself to see the results." Zhuge Liang said. He came all the way from Jingzhou, so it was naturally impossible for him to build a wooden ox and flowing horse himself. Carrying a car like this is a bit ostentatious.

Liu Ye nodded: "Okay, I'll give you three days and you can ask Gongda for everything you need."

"Well, I'm sorry to trouble Xun Ling." Zhuge Liang said to Xun You.

"It doesn't matter, this is a major national event." Xun You agreed.

Liu Ye then arranged a mansion for Zhuge Liang for him to stay temporarily. In the past few days, Zhuge Liang asked Xun You for a few manpower, some wood, etc., and kept the door closed all day long, working behind closed doors in the mansion.

"The gears should be polished more finely and be able to adapt to the road conditions."

"This one should be longer, so it will save more effort."

The people sent by Xun You were naturally skilled craftsmen who were good at this. They got busy under Zhuge Liang's command. In just one day, they had already created the prototype of a wooden cow and a flowing horse.

Looking at the wooden ox and flowing horse in front of him, which were obviously much more delicate than his own, Zhuge Liang couldn't help but nodded, but he thought to himself: There are many talents under Duke Qin, Guo Fengxiao and Jia Wenhe are all good and ordinary talents, and Prime Minister Xun You's government affairs are as good as Xun You's. , even if I force my way into it, I’m afraid I won’t be able to stand out. I’m afraid this wooden cow and stray horse alone may not be enough to attract Duke Qin’s attention.

"It seems that we have to take out that one too. This is a big killer." Zhuge Liang thought.

"Sir, you, you, what's the big killer?"

Young Ma Jun wiped the sweat from his forehead and asked with interest.

Ma Jun was born in Fufeng County and had a talent for inventions since he was a child. He was reluctant to talk to others because of his stuttering problem, which made him study technology more carefully and improved the famous keel waterwheel. This flip-type waterwheel is lightweight It is labor-saving and can even be used by children, and the keel waterwheel was still used in some parts of China until the 20th century. A technology that can last for two thousand years shows its superiority.

It is worth mentioning that Ma Jun later improved Zhuge Liannu, but historically he was an official of the Wei State, and naturally he had never met Zhuge Liang, the prime minister of the Shu Han Dynasty, but now they stand together dramatically.

"Deheng, I want you to build something." Zhuge Liang looked at him and said.

Ma Jun smiled and said: "Okay, as long as you have the drawings, it will be done. Sir's wooden cow and flowing horse gave me a lot of inspiration. Sir, you are a great talent. Just say what you want to build."

Zhuge Liang hummed, took out a piece of tissue paper from his arms, and showed it to Ma Jun.

"Huh? This, this, this is really a weapon for the military and the country, it is even better than a wooden cow or a flowing horse!" Ma Jun couldn't help but said with joy after seeing the things on the silk paper.

"How about it? Can it be built?" Zhuge Liang asked.

"It's possible, but it may take three to five days to build some precision devices." Ma Jun frowned. After all, it was his first time seeing this thing, and the first time was always a bit difficult.

"Let's do this." Ma Jun gritted his teeth and said, "I won't sleep anymore. It's worth it if I can build this!"

"Thank you for your hard work, Deheng." Zhuge Liang smiled and patted Ma Jun on the shoulder.

Three days later, Zhuge's mansion.

"Can this thing really transport grain?" Guo Jia stared at the wooden ox and flowing horse in front of him and asked with confusion.

In front of Liu Ye, Guo Jia, Jia Xu, Zhuge Liang and others, they saw a wooden four-wheeled cart in the open space with an ox head carved on it and a huge belly that could be used to hold grain.

"This thing can hold one year's worth of grain, which is about fifteen shi." Zhuge Liang said, shaking his feather fan gently.

"So much?" Liu Ye's eyes lit up. A soldier needs about one stone of grain for a month, and a wooden ox and horse can transport fifteen stones of grain and grass, supplying fifteen soldiers for a month.

In other words, you only need to build 6,000 wooden oxen and flowing horses to supply one hundred thousand troops with one month's worth of rations.

"Deheng, you demonstrate this for the general and the princes." Zhuge Liang said to Ma Jun standing aside.

"Yes, Mr. Kong Ming."

Ma Jun walked up to a wooden cow and a flowing horse and pushed it gently. Without much effort, the limbs of the wooden cow and flowing horse began to move and moved forward slowly.

"Success!"

"Haha, Mr. Kong Ming is such a great talent, I can't wait."

"I'll build one and keep it at home when I get home. Wouldn't it be much easier to move things around in the future?"

Liu Ye nodded with satisfaction: "This thing is very good. Immediately send an order to Gongda, Junyi, Gongming, Xuande and others to build it in batches. Within two months, they must build 20,000 wooden oxen and flowing horses!"

One wooden ox and one horse can supply fifteen soldiers for one month, and 20,000 can supply an army of 300,000!

And in Liu Ye's plan, he either doesn't take action, or once he takes action, it must be done in one go, with the power of thunder! We must put pressure on Cao Cao from all directions at the same time, send troops, and defeat Cao Cao in one fell swoop.

Therefore, it is natural to build as many wooden cows and stray horses as possible. At the same time, the grain and grass in Bashu and Xiliang must be transported to the Central Plains as soon as possible for deployment to ensure that this operation is foolproof, at least there will be no mistakes in the grain and grass.

Why did Zhuge Liang fail in all his Northern Expeditions? In addition to the fact that Cao Wei's military power far exceeded that of Shu Han, there was another very important reason that restricted Zhuge Liang, and that was food and grass.

Zhuge Liang and Li Yan were both Liu Bei's entrusted ministers in Baidi City. Later, Zhuge Liang led the Northern Expedition and ordered Li Yan to supervise the transportation of grain and grass. As a result, Li Yan secretly talked about Zhuge Liang's retreat, saying that the transportation of grain and grass was insufficient. As a result, Zhuge Liang, who was in a good situation, could only Regretfully retreat.

The street pavilion was also an important place for transshipment of grain and grass, but it was abandoned by Ma Di.

In the battle of Yanzhou between Cao Cao and Lu Bu, and the battle of Guandu with Yuan Shao, they also suffered from a lack of food and grass, so they had human breasts. Cao Cao wanted to retreat to Xuchang. It can be said that the military garrison was Cao Cao's creation, but it can also be said that it was Cao Cao's creation. It was a helpless move at that time. What could we do if we had no food to eat? Just farm.

Later, Zhuge Liang also implemented military garrison in Hanzhong during the Northern Expedition. He was probably frightened by the lack of food and grass. Food and grass are the most deadly materials, because people cannot live without food. Even if the army without food is elite, it will not take long to collapse. .

"With wooden oxen and stray horses, our army does not need to recruit a large number of civilians, which is a blessing for the people. In addition, it also eliminates the consumption of food and grass in long-distance transportation, so that our army can speed up the offensive against Cao's army!" Guo Jia smiled.

Liu Ye also nodded solemnly. Even though he was familiar with the situation in the late Han Dynasty, it still took him nearly 20 years to reach this day, from a young man to a middle-aged man. If the troubled times can be ended as soon as possible, this will naturally be a good thing.