“I’m talking about the same thing,” Zhao Ming said, “The school Hanzhang opened not only enrolled all the children of appropriate age from the Yushan Hall, but outside children who want to study can also enter after passing an assessment and signing documents.”

“Hanzhang not only provides them two meals a day, but every ten days she also rewards those with excellent grades. All the books, brushes, ink, paper, and inkstone they use are free. Do you know what this means?”

Zhao Cheng only knew about teaching and had never thought about these things. He asked blankly, “What does it mean?”

“It means enormous expenditure,” Zhao Ming said calmly, “Even a sage wouldn’t persist in doing something with no benefit. Why does Hanzhang spend so much doing this?”

Even Confucius charged tuition for accepting disciples.

Zhao Ming said, “Isn’t it precisely to make them serve her?”

If she couldn’t cultivate their loyalty, why would Zhao Hanzhang put in so much effort and energy?

Zhao Cheng couldn’t speak. “Then…”

Zhao Ming looked up at him. Zhao Cheng wasn’t stupid. After holding it in for a long time, he asked, “She didn’t make this clear to me before, so why specifically point it out this time?”

Zhao Ming stroked his chin and said, “Probably her real intention wasn’t the wine.”

“Then what was it?”

“You,” Zhao Ming looked at Zhao Cheng and sighed, “Brother Cheng, you’re still too simple, no match for her.”

Zhao Cheng snorted, “What about me is worth her scheming over?”

The words had barely left his mouth when Zhao Hanzhang brought the iron blocks she’d brought back from Wushan to the fortified manor. Learning that Zhao Cheng was also at Zhao Ming’s residence, she bounced right over, completely unconcerned that she’d just been scolded and driven from the school not long ago.

As soon as she saw them, she enthusiastically greeted them, “Uncle! Elder Uncle!”

Zhao Ming looked at Zhao Cheng.

Zhao Cheng turned his head away.

Zhao Ming smiled faintly and asked, “You were gone for half a month. How is it that as soon as you return, you come to the fortified manor? Isn’t your county office busy?”

“I came to deliver something to Elder Uncle,” Zhao Hanzhang clapped her hands, and immediately guards struggled to carry in a chest. “This is what I promised Elder Uncle.”

The guards opened it, revealing neatly arranged iron blocks inside.

Zhao Cheng’s mouth dropped open in surprise. Though Zhao Ming was also surprised, he maintained his composure. He looked at Zhao Hanzhang, his eyes narrowing slightly, “You smelted this?”

Zhao Hanzhang smiled and nodded, “Elder Uncle, can this offset the coal you sent to Wushan?”

Zhao Cheng turned to look at Zhao Ming, “Coal? Graphite? Brother Ming, you smelted iron together? Where did you get iron ore?”

Privately smelting iron was a serious crime of rebellion.

However, Zhao Cheng soon calmed down again. Speaking of serious crimes of rebellion, Zhao Hanzhang was also maintaining private troops, and their Zhao clan also kept them, far exceeding the number of private soldiers an earl should have.

Currently, in the entire Zhao clan, only Zhao Ming and two clan elders knew that Zhao Hanzhang had iron ore, one of whom was Zhao Song, so Zhao Cheng didn’t know.

Zhao Ming had a bit of a headache. He shot Zhao Hanzhang a glare and explained to Zhao Cheng, “Hanzhang had good luck and discovered an iron ore deposit in the wild.”

Having already calmed down, Zhao Cheng was speechless again, “…Within Xiping County? Brother Ming, do I look that gullible? Our Zhao clan has been in Xiping for so many years—if there were iron ore, would it be her turn to discover it?”

Zhao Ming insisted, “It’s within the county. Xiping County isn’t small, and who among us has truly walked every inch of land?”

Only then did Zhao Cheng stop talking.

Zhao Ming got up and walked to the courtyard, picked up an iron block to examine it. It was heavy, and judging by its luster, it was indeed fine iron.

Zhao Ming set down the iron block and nodded, “Not bad. Leave it here.”

Zhao Hanzhang, seeing his satisfaction, smiled as well, “Just in time for spring plowing. The fortified manor can forge agricultural tools now.”

Seeing Zhao Ming remain silent, Zhao Hanzhang could only take the initiative, “Elder Uncle, Tinghan and I have worked out a new set of agricultural tools. Would you like to try them?”

“Where are they?”

“They haven’t been forged yet,” Zhao Hanzhang said, “We’ve only drawn diagrams. Due to the lack of blacksmiths, we can’t make them right now.”

Zhao Ming clicked his tongue and asked, “You want me to provide blacksmiths?”

He said, “Our fortified manor also relies on Blacksmith Lu in the county town for making agricultural tools. Now that you’ve conscripted him into the office, what can I do about it?”

Zhao Hanzhang absolutely didn’t believe such a large fortified manor had no blacksmiths.

With so many people, could they really depend entirely on Blacksmith Lu alone for all their agricultural tools?

Zhao Hanzhang pulled diagrams from her bosom and gave them to Zhao Ming.

Zhao Ming took them and looked. Finding they really were agricultural tools, he couldn’t help raising his eyebrows, looking at her with some surprise.

Zhao Hanzhang was dissatisfied, “Elder Uncle, would Hanzhang really deceive you?”

Had she deceived him so little?

Zhao Ming was no stranger to farming—he also worked the fields, so he immediately saw the changes in the tools in the diagram.

He frowned and asked, “Since you haven’t made these, how did you come up with these diagrams? Changing the straight shaft to a curved one, and adding so many components.”

If they hadn’t tested each one, how could they draw such diagrams?

Zhao Hanzhang said, “We calculated it.”

Zhao Ming glanced at her, his eyes full of doubt.

Zhao Hanzhang held up her fingers to swear, “Elder Uncle, I’m telling the truth, absolutely no deception.”

“You need to break this habit of swearing at the drop of a hat. Do you do this with outsiders too?”

“But Elder Uncle isn’t an outsider, and I’m telling the truth. Why would I fear swearing?” Zhao Hanzhang said cheerfully, “Elder Uncle, Tinghan calculated this. If you don’t trust me, surely you trust him?”

“Force can be calculated.”

Zhao Ming pondered, “Force?”

“Yes, points of force application, amounts of force—all can be calculated. In Tinghan’s words, everything in the world can be calculated,” Zhao Hanzhang added, “Though I don’t entirely agree with him on this point, facts prove that calculating things like agricultural tools isn’t difficult.”

They had long forgotten what the curved-shaft plow looked like, but both knew the general principle. After examining the straight-shaft plow, Fu Tinghan calculated a bit and drew it out.

However, many of the iron pieces on it required skillful forging. Blacksmith Lu’s new apprentices simply couldn’t make them, and Blacksmith Lu was still forging weapons for her, with no time to spare. Zhao Hanzhang could only come to Zhao Ming, hoping he could sponsor some blacksmiths.

Zhao Ming looked over the diagram two more times. Zhao Cheng stepped forward and took it to look for a while, then said, “The plow in this diagram seems more labor-saving, and the mouldboard placed above the plowshare can turn and break up the soil. Not only labor-saving, but it can plow deeper too.”

Deep plowing benefits cultivation—this was a principle understood by everyone who knew farming.

Zhao Hanzhang gave Zhao Cheng a thumbs up, “Uncle, you saw the key point at a glance. Impressive.”

Zhao Cheng ignored her and said to Zhao Ming, “We can try it. There are still about two months until spring plowing. We can first forge one set to see the results.”

Only then did Zhao Ming nod.

Zhao Hanzhang immediately said, “When it’s forged, I want to observe too.”

Knowing she was borrowing his people to conduct research, Zhao Ming was too lazy to argue with her and nodded in agreement.