Disciplining Emperor Gaozu of Han

Riding his warhorse, following Liu Bang, they traveled along the road under construction until they reached the foot of the mountain. Looking up, they saw a different scene.

The roads built using stone rollers and similar machines were on flat ground and only reached the foot of the mountain. From the foot of the mountain up to the Great Wall, the slope became steeper, making it impossible to use stone rollers anymore; only human wave tactics could be employed.

Many women and children were digging the road with plows and hoes, but the efficiency was outrageously low. Compared to building a road on flat ground, it was like one was underground and the other was in the sky.

The plow and hoe were agricultural tools at the time, and also the main tools used to loosen the soil. It is said that they were invented by the ancestor Shennong to teach people how to farm, and our ancestors entered the agricultural society.

The *lei* and *si* are similar to modern shovels. The handle is called *lei*, and the metal part used to break the soil is called *si*. There is also a crossbar on the *si*. When breaking the soil, you hold the *lei* with both hands and forcefully thrust it downwards, causing the *si* to penetrate the soil. Then, you step on the crossbar with your foot, pushing the *si* deeper into the soil. Finally, you hold the *lei* with both hands and pull it backwards to loosen the soil.

This is exactly the same as using a shovel in modern society.

It's easy to imagine how inefficient it is.

These primitive tools were used until the Spring and Autumn Period, when ox-drawn plows appeared, greatly improving agricultural efficiency.

In order to enrich the country and strengthen its military, the Qin government forcibly promoted ox-drawn plowing techniques, which greatly increased agricultural output. This was an important reason why the Qin state was able to become rich and powerful.

The advent of ox-drawn plows greatly reduced the usefulness of the plow and hoe, but they were not completely abandoned and continued to be used extensively. It was not until the invention of the hoe that they completely disappeared from the historical stage.

"Greetings, King of Han!" The women and children greeted Liu Bang respectfully upon his arrival.

"No need," Liu Bang said, waving his right hand as he remained seated on horseback. "Have you all eaten your fill?" he asked.

"I dare to tell the King of Han: You have eaten your fill. Eat as much rice as you want until you can't eat anymore."

"This generation has been the happiest during this period, as we can eat glutinous rice."

"I used to only cook rice during festivals and holidays. I never thought I would have such a happy time."

The women and children were all very excited and grateful to Liu Bang for allowing them to eat rice.

Liu Bang ordered Lü Ze to let the women and children eat as much as they wanted, so that they would have the strength to work. Lü Ze naturally complied, and that's how the scene before us came about.

"The ancients had such low aspirations," Liu Ying remarked with deep emotion.

Rice, which is something that everyone can afford in modern society, was a symbol of privilege at the end of the Qin Dynasty. People from poor families could only afford coarse rice and could not afford rice.

From what I've gathered, the road repair and restoration of the Great Wall of Han are progressing smoothly and should be completed before Xiang Yu's army arrives.

This was incredibly good news for Liu Bang.

"You could give them some meat; they'd work even harder," Liu Ying said, somewhat dissatisfied.

"Meat? No way." Liu Bang shook his head: "There is enough grain in Ao Granary. I can feed them until they are full without any problem. But there isn't much meat. It's just enough for the army."

Military training is physically demanding, so meat is essential for replenishment; otherwise, it's difficult to maintain combat effectiveness.

Therefore, Liu Bang reserved the meat for his army and did not give it to the women and children.

"Giving them all the food is obviously not enough. You can use it as a reward; whoever does a good job gets a piece of meat as a reward. This way, they will work harder without wasting much meat," Liu Ying suggested.

"Great!" Liu Bang readily agreed.

Upon returning, Liu Bang summoned Lü Ze and said, "Today, while inspecting the repair of the Great Wall, I noticed that the women and children were working diligently. It's not appropriate to only give them rice; we should give them some meat. Hmm, not too much. Those who do the best work will be rewarded with half a pound of meat, those who do a decent job will be given meat broth, and those who do the worst work will be given rice."

"Excellent!" Lu Ze's eyes lit up, and he readily agreed: "It doesn't require much meat, yet it will make women and children work harder. What a great idea!"

In this era, meat possesses a deadly allure, on par with the allure of women to men.

"I always think of women and children, am I soft-hearted enough?" Liu Bang stole Liu Ying's credit again.

"Was it Ying'er's idea?" Lü Ze knew Liu Bang too well; he knew exactly what Liu Bang was going to do the moment he got cocky, and he saw right through him.

"How could a mere child come up with such a brilliant idea?" Liu Bang said without batting an eye.

"Who says I can't have a good idea?" Liu Ying, holding a piece of hemp cloth, hurried over and overheard Liu Bang taking credit for his work, and he looked down on Liu Bang.

"What is drawn on it?" Liu Bang looked at the linen cloth, which had lines on it, and asked with some curiosity.

"Aren't you very clever? Take a guess and see if you can guess right." Liu Ying had no intention of explaining to Liu Bang, and handed the hemp cloth to Lü Ze: "Uncle, find a craftsman to make this, it can speed up the repair of the Great Wall."

"Impossible!" Liu Bang refused to believe it.

Lu Ze took it, unfolded the burlap sack, and looked at it, puzzled: "What is this?"

"This is a hoe," Liu Ying explained. "Once it's made, we won't need a plow anymore, making digging easier and faster."

"A hoe? What is that?" Liu Bang was completely baffled.

"Ying'er, is it true?" Lu Ze didn't believe it.

"Really!" Liu Ying affirmed.

Lu Ze immediately grabbed the burlap and ran off.

Under Lü Ze's arrangement, the hoe was quickly made. Lü Ze held the hoe and, under Liu Ying's guidance, dug the soil. He raised it high, dug down heavily, and after it entered the soil, he turned up a clod of earth with a hook.

"It's so useful!" Lu Ze, also from a farming background, was naturally familiar with agricultural work. It was far superior to using a hoe: "With a hoe, the hoe is no longer needed!"

Liu Bang, Zhang Liang, Chen Ping, and Fan Kuai were alarmed and rushed over to try out the hoe, praising it highly.

Liu Bang stole Liu Ying's credit again, and Lü Ze exposed him on the spot, but he was not ashamed at all.

Under Lü Ze's arrangement, a large number of hoes were made and distributed, which greatly accelerated the progress of road and Great Wall construction.

~~~~~~

"I dare to inform the King of Han: I have just received news that Sima Xin and Dong Yi have defected to Xiang Yu." Chen Ping rushed over, his face grave, and reported to Liu Bang.

"Those two traitors, so fickle! First they betrayed Qin, then Xiang Yu, and now they've betrayed me! What despicable men! I regret not killing them!" Liu Bang gritted his teeth, his hatred soaring to the heavens.

"Your Majesty, the problem doesn't end there," Chen Ping said worriedly. "These two were originally Qin generals who surrendered to Xiang Yu during the Battle of Julu and were enfeoffed in Guanzhong by him, becoming two of the Three Qin. If they were to sneak back into Guanzhong, it would cause chaos."

"Chen Ping, aren't you overthinking this?" Liu Bang shook his head: "The two traitors were originally generals of the Qin Dynasty's convict army. For their own selfish interests, they surrendered to Xiang Yu, causing the tyrannical Qin to be defeated at Julu and thus die. The 200,000 Qin soldiers who surrendered with them were massacred by Xiang Yu. The Qin people hate them to the bone. Even if they sneak back to Guanzhong to plot a rebellion, the Qin people will not side with them."

Zhang Han, Sima Xin, and Dong Yi were high-ranking officers of the Qin Dynasty's convict army led by Zhang Han. They surrendered to Xiang Yu at the Battle of Julu, causing the Qin Dynasty to lose its capable army and ultimately perish.

Xiang Yu buried alive 200,000 surrendered Qin soldiers in one night. Only three survived and were enfeoffed by Xiang Yu in the Guanzhong region, which is known in later generations as the "Three Qin".

When Liu Bang pacified Guanzhong, Sima Xin and Dong Yi surrendered to him and followed him in fighting Xiang Yu, participating in the Battle of Pengcheng. After the defeat at Pengcheng, the two then defected to Xiang Yu.

These two have betrayed their masters three times, surpassing even the notorious three-surname servant Lao Bu.

Because of the massacre of surrendered soldiers at Xin'an, Sima Xin and Dong Yi, though enfeoffed in Guanzhong, lost the hearts of the Qin people, which Liu Bang did not care about.

"Regardless of the circumstances, both of them once ruled Guanzhong and have some connections. If they were to rebel at a crucial moment, the consequences would be unpredictable." Chen Ping warned, "We must be wary of this."

"Excellent!" Liu Bang agreed.

"I dare to inform the King of Han: Ying Bu has rebelled!" Zhang Liang said happily, his face beaming, as he jogged over.

"Ying Bu has rebelled?" Liu Bang was overjoyed, slamming his right hand heavily on the short table: "Whoever is capable, he deserves a great reward!"

"You'd better get ready to bark like a dog," Lü Ze said with a smirk, mocking Liu Bang.

"Heh heh," Liu Bang sneered.

With Ying Bu's rebellion, Xiang Yu would inevitably be tied down, giving him a chance to catch his breath. This was a great joy, and everyone from Liu Bang to his soldiers was overjoyed.

"Ying Bu has rebelled, and Xiang Yu will not advance westward for a while. I will take this opportunity to go back to Guanzhong, ask Xiao He for some money, and pay the army." Liu Bang made a new decision.

Ao Cang wasn't short of money; on the contrary, he had plenty. However, those were Qin Dynasty coins, and Liu Bang, who had already changed dynasties, couldn't possibly use them to pay the Han army's wages.

If they wanted to pay the army's salaries, they had no choice but to ask their chief steward, Xiao He, for money.

This was indeed an urgent matter, and Zhang Liang and Chen Ping had no objections. Liu Bang, along with his children Liu Ying and Liu Le, and driven by Xiahou Ying, headed to Guanzhong.