Chapter 166 The little prince sends an envoy to pay tribute (two in one)
After Ma Wensheng resigned, Jiao Fang took over as chief assistant.
Xu Jin, the Minister of the Ministry of War, became the second assistant, while Wang Hua, the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, supplemented the cabinet. Zhang Cai, the right minister of the Ministry of Personnel, was promoted to the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel. The internal affairs of the Ming Dynasty entered the Jiao Fang era.
Jiao Fang's methods were undoubtedly much tougher than Ma Wensheng's. As soon as he was promoted to chief assistant, he immediately asked the central ministries and temple supervisors, local governors and governors, and even the chief envoys, inspectors and commanders to make year-end summaries. There were unfinished government affairs. Those who have achieved it will be directly demoted or even exiled in strict accordance with the examination method.
On the eve of the third year of Zhengde, more than 20 lazy officials were dismissed and more than ten corrupt officials were exiled!
Not only that, Jiao Fang also asked officials at all levels to formulate plans for next year, and they must be submitted to the cabinet before March of the third year of Zhengde!
For example, the Ministry of Household Affairs was asked to estimate how much revenue the state treasury would increase next year and how much grain it could have as a surplus.
Although the new examination law has been implemented for a long time, Ma Wensheng will not be too harsh. The most he can do is to be dismissed from office. However, Jiao Fang is not only dismissed from office but also punished, which makes the entire Ming Dynasty officialdom more in danger, but also makes the Ming Dynasty Administrative efficiency is much faster.
Zhu Houzhao was quite satisfied with this. What he wanted was a civil servant who dared to take action as his first assistant.
Because Xia Yan discovered Zeng Jian's conspiracy in time and had merit, after the internship period, he was promoted by Zhu Houzhao to the head of the Ministry of Industry, responsible for the Ordnance Bureau, and directly responsible to Zhu Houzhao.
Zhang Cong, another first-term graduate of Capital University, followed Ma Wensheng to the border town in order to help Ma Wensheng, Yang Yiqing and others organize border preparations.
After taking over the Ordnance Bureau, Xia Yan began to recruit craftsmen according to Zhu Houzhao's instructions, implement the employment system reform, and divide the Ordnance Bureau into a firearms factory, a gunpowder factory, a steelmaking factory, an iron foundry, a copper foundry, an ordnance factory and a research and development institute. .
Among them, firearms, as the name suggests, are where blunderbuss and guns are made, and gunpowder is where gunpowder is made.
By analogy, there are dedicated institutions for everything from iron and copper production to casting and firearms manufacturing, while the weapons factory is specifically responsible for manufacturing cold weapons, especially bows and crossbows.
The R&D institute is a place where various types of weapons and equipment are developed and improved.
The employment of craftsmen is still the craftsmen who served the imperial court in the past. Although these craftsmen have been changed to nationality, their lives have not changed much in a short period of time. They have no fields to farm and no business. Even the Royal Bank's The person in charge, Xu Jing, was unwilling to give them a loan.
Therefore, the only difference between these craftsmen now and before is that they no longer have to work for the public for free. They can still only make a living by making ironware or mending pots and iron, and their lives are still difficult.
When Xia Yan ordered people to put up a notice hiring craftsmen to make ordnance at the Ordnance Bureau, and stated that each craftsman would have a basic salary of one tael of silver a month and a certain share of the money for making one more piece of ordnance, these craftsmen still came back in droves. Go to the Ordnance Bureau and ask about the situation.
"Master! After being hired by the Ordnance Bureau, you can really get a basic salary of one tael of silver a month, as well as rewards. The more you work, the more you get? You can also apply to terminate the employment relationship at any time? My family can also choose their careers freely, and my son can also study. Participate in the imperial examination?”
After listening to Xia Yan's explanation, a craftsman named Tong Laowu asked again in disbelief.
"How could the imperial court deceive you! It is written in black and white that as long as you make more and better weapons and firearms, you will have a lot of income. You are now the subjects of His Majesty the Ming Emperor, not slaves. You and the Ordnance Bureau are called labor cooperation Of course, you can apply to terminate the cooperation at any time. Of course, your family can do whatever they want, and your sons and grandchildren can naturally take part in the imperial examination!”
Xia Yan answered patiently. Not only when Tong Laowu came to ask, but also when other craftsmen came to ask, he answered seriously. After a while, these craftsmen were more willing to be hired by the Ordnance Bureau.
However, these craftsmen found that entering the Ordnance Bureau now is different from the past when they were recruited by the Ministry of Industry regardless of their skills. Now if they want to be hired by the Ordnance Bureau, they have to attend an interview and have their technical skills tested by people from the Ordnance Bureau.
Tong Laowu was hired as a firearms factory master by the Ordnance Bureau because he could quickly build a high-quality matchlock gun, and many other craftsmen with real skills were hired by the Ordnance Bureau one after another.
However, some craftsmen who were used to dawdling but did not master the skills were eliminated. Only now did these craftsmen discover that having skills is still different.
After rehiring a group of craftsmen, Xia Yan began to reorganize the Ordnance Bureau to manufacture firearms and weapons. Because these craftsmen were now paid and implemented a more-work-more-get system, the ordnance production speed was much faster than before. Fewer, and coupled with the reward and punishment system where the failure rate reaches a certain level and there is a fine, and the pass rate reaches 100% and there are additional rewards, the quality of the ordnance has also improved a lot, and basically every musket can meet the standard.
It has been three months since Tong Laowu was hired into the Ordnance Bureau to become a firearms factory master. Now he is very active. Basically, he comes to the Ordnance Bureau early to work at dawn and goes home when it is dark and cannot see his fingers.
Despite this, he still worked very hard, especially when he saw more and more smiles on his wife's face and when he heard his children reading.
Tong Laowu and other craftsmen are now very grateful to the Emperor Zhu Houzhao, because after Zhu Houzhao heard that they all wanted their children to study, he directly ordered Xia Yan to convert an old house of a criminal official next to the Ordnance Bureau into a home for the children of Ordnance Bureau employees. Primary school, and the Ordnance Bureau specially hired teachers to be responsible for the enlightenment education of these workers' children.
Originally, scholars were not willing to condescend to teach the children of these craftsmen, and although these craftsmen had the income from working in the Ordnance Bureau, they still lacked the financial resources to ask their husbands to teach their children to read. Now Zhu Houzhao decreed that the Ordnance Bureau The Bureau came forward to perfectly solve these problems. First of all, the scholars taught the children of these craftsmen to read and were awarded the title of tutor without seeming to be condescending. Secondly, these craftsmen did not have to bear the education expenses of the children at home.
Because of this, the craftsmen are more active in their work. They also know that Ming Dynasty has a good emperor, and they even start to consciously kowtow in the direction of the Forbidden City during festivals. Now they feel that even if the Ordnance Bureau does not pay them, they will not be able to do it. Can.
On this day, Zhu Houzhao personally visited the Ordnance Bureau. Not only the officials were excited about this, but the craftsmen were also sincerely excited. They looked at Zhu Houzhao with a hint of reverence and naturally kowtowed. Zhu Houzhao, on the other hand, always had a warm smile and hurriedly called these people to stand up.
"I came here today to see if there are any talents in the Ming Dynasty Ordnance Bureau who can make great contributions to the imperial court!"
Zhu Houzhao said and ordered someone to bring out the blueprint of a flintlock gun.
Xia Yan also ordered at this time: "All the masters who make firearms in the firearms factory, come here!"
So, Tong Laowu and others came to Xia Yan and Zhu Houzhao, and knelt down to Zhu Houzhao from the bottom of their hearts, and started kowtow directly, as if they were meeting a Bodhisattva in a temple. For Tong Laowu and other craftsmen, , and only by kneeling down and kowtowing upon seeing Zhu Houzhao can they express their inner respect for the good emperor Zhu Houzhao.
Because this good emperor gave them a free life, gave their children the opportunity to study, and gave them hope for a better life.
What's more, these craftsmen had already learned through the Ordnance Bureau's night classes and newspaper reading activities what kind of dangers the good emperor faced in order to save them, and how he battled wits and courage with the corrupt officials in the court.
"Everyone, get up! Take a good look at this drawing. This drawing was drawn by me after enlarging the scale. What is proportion? Compared with the proportion, Director Xia has already told you that this fire blunderbuss is called a flintlock gun. It is the same as what we are making now. The difference between the fire gun and the fire gun is that the firing point is different, and he does not use a match rope..."
After Zhu Houzhao finished speaking, he asked: "Which of you is willing to take over the task of developing flintlock muskets? If you are willing, I will ask Director Xia to transfer you to the R&D Institute with a monthly salary of one or two, and you will be responsible for the development of this type of muskets. The first person to succeed will receive a reward of one hundred taels of silver! At the same time, he will be employed as an academician of the Academia Sinica, with the same treatment as a fourth-grade official, but he will wear a red robe and a black gauze! ”
Although the craftsmen listened carefully to what Zhu Houzhao said about the flintlock gun and looked at the musket without a matchcord on the drawing, they still didn't quite understand how to make the musket.
But they had to admit that the bait given by His Majesty the Emperor was very tempting. Once successful, they would be rewarded with one hundred taels of silver. One hundred taels of silver would be enough to support their family for five or six years, and they would also be treated like an official! He is still fourth grade, and the county master is only seventh grade, which means he is more noble than the county master.
But these craftsmen also have steelyards in mind. Although the rewards for making this firecracker seem very tempting, if they can't make it, they will only be able to get one or two a month. Compared with their current income, it will undoubtedly be It will reduce a lot of income for a long time.
Because of this, many craftsmen are deterred and unwilling to try to develop this new fire gun.
Tong Laowu stood up boldly at this time: "Your Majesty! I am willing to give it a try!" At this time, several interested craftsmen also stood up and expressed their willingness.
Seeing this, Zhu Houzhao asked Xia Yan to record these people, and the next day he had them brought into the palace by the eunuchs, and Zhu Houzhao gave them personal guidance.
……
In the end, Tong Laowu and several other craftsmen took over the task, and because these craftsmen all knew that the first person to create would receive high rewards and high official status, they all worked hard. Flintlock muskets were developed day and night.
Soon, in less than a month, Tong Laowu made the flintlock gun first and successfully passed the test. Under Zhu Houzhao's instructions, Xia Yan was responsible for recording the technical information on Tong Laowu's manufacturing of the flintlock gun. , at the same time, the parts of the first flintlock gun were grouped, standards were formulated, and preparations were made for group manufacturing according to the parts composition.
And Tong Laowu also became the first academician of the Academia Sinica of Ming Dynasty! Enjoy the treatment of a fourth-grade official.
For several other craftsmen involved in R&D, Tong Laowu was responsible for teaching the manufacturing method of each part. Each craftsman only mastered one method of manufacturing parts, and was then divided into several working groups.
At the same time, the Ordnance Bureau hires ordinary people with innocent backgrounds as apprentices. The craftsmen of these working groups lead a group of apprentices. Each time they teach an apprentice, they will receive a silver reward. At the same time, each working group leads these apprentices to make a part. In production, there is a working group responsible for assembly and a working group responsible for inspection.
After the number of apprentices in each working group reaches a certain scale, skilled apprentices will be selected to be promoted to masters. This master will lead the new apprentices to form a new working group. This will enable the Ordnance Bureau's flintlock production scale to continue to expand. Daily production volume is also constantly increasing.
Tong Laowu, an academician of Academia Sinica, continues to develop new firearms at the R&D Institute. Like R&D workers in other factories, he will also lead several apprentices who are willing to sign up to study at the R&D Institute to participate in R&D work.
Since then, the entire Ordnance Bureau has become a place with both large-scale ordnance production and specialized ordnance research and development institutions.
Not only basic industries such as ordnance, steelmaking, cast iron, and copper casting, Zhu Houzhao also asked Xia Yan to establish production and research and development institutions in this way.
Among them, some craftsmen who pursue stability are allowed to carry out steelmaking and other production activities according to the existing Ming technology, and some craftsmen who are willing to explore new technologies and are enterprising are mobilized to participate in the research and development activities of new steelmaking technology and iron smelting technology.
In the end, a craftsman named Tao Hei from the Ming Dynasty Ordnance Bureau mastered the crucible steelmaking method based on the information provided by Zhu Houzhao, allowing the Ming Dynasty Ordnance Bureau to smelt the world's first cylinder of liquid steel, and thus be able to manufacture high-carbon steel. That is, tool steel technology.
This made it possible to manufacture rifled guns.
At the same time, Xia Yan also successfully led a group of gunpowder factory craftsmen to granulate black powder, which greatly increased the explosive power of the gunpowder. This also prompted the firearms factory to further improve the Thunder Thunder, making the Thunder Thunder more powerful. The explosive power of sky thunder has been enhanced.
At the end of the third year of Zhengde, the Guards began to replace all new firearms and new swords and guns, and began to conduct new firearms drills.
Ma Wensheng had also been patrolling the border towns for a year and returned to the capital at the beginning of the fourth year of Zhengde. Zhang Cong also entered the capital and brought the latest military map of the Hetao area, and it was the first map in the Ming Dynasty with contour lines. Map with directions marked.
In fact, such a map appeared in Shen Kuo's Mengxi Bi Tan in ancient China, so it is not difficult for people in the Ming Dynasty to accept it.
"Your Majesty! I have been touring various areas this year and believe that when we regain the Hetao, the first city to be built should be in Yulinwei!
To the west is Chi'er Mountain, to the south is Tumaochuan, and to the north is Jiulonggou. From Datong Youwei, cross Tuanshan and follow Tumaochuan to the north. After exiting the border wall, you can go straight to Yulin. You can rely on Chiershan and Jiulonggou as barriers. If you accept it, you can return to Datong and rely on Tuanshan Mountain, and the Tumao River flows through the middle. The land is fertile and can be used for reclamation and farming. It is also connected to Datong, so naturally you can also do business! ”
Ma Wensheng pointed to the Yulin Guard on the newly drawn map and said.
Zhu Houzhao nodded: "In this way, the Guards will take the recovery of Yulin Guard as their first goal. Now I have decreed that Yulin Guard should be changed to Yulin County, and Zhang Cong should be appointed magistrate of Yulin County. For specific military arrangements, Ma Aiqing, please immediately The people from the Joint General Staff Department will draw up a charter!”
"I obey the decree!" Ma Wensheng replied.
Zhu Houzhao nodded, and then went to the cabinet and the supervising room of the Supervisor of Ceremonies. At this time, Jiao Fang, the chief assistant of the cabinet, handed Zhu Houzhao a memorial: "Your Majesty! Datong came to report that the young prince of the Great Khan of the Yuan Dynasty sent his son Ulus Boluot also brought three thousand fine horses to pay tribute to the envoy. Do you think the vote will allow the tribute or not? ”
Zhu Houzhao did not expect that when he was planning to regain the Hetao and was about to build the first county seat in the Dongshengwei area on the east side of the Hetao, this little prince would suddenly come to pay tribute!
"My dear friends, tell me, what is the purpose of this little prince's request for tribute at this time?" Zhu Houzhao asked.
"Your Majesty! These Tatars sometimes ask for tribute, and sometimes they plunder directly. In recent years, the side preparations have been strengthened. The Tatars cannot detain and plunder, so they think of earning benefits by paying tribute. After all, according to custom, all those who pay tribute will return home with benefits, and the court will gain a false reputation!”
Chief Assistant Jiao Fang said.
"Having said that, since people come to pay tribute, there is no reason not to allow it. Otherwise, it would appear that our huge country has no capacity!"
Second Assistant Xu Jin said.
"In this case, I agree to his tribute, but the rules of the tribute this time have to be changed. Didn't they say they brought three thousand good horses? Then let me take a good look at it to see if it is three thousand good horses."
When Zhu Houzhao said this, Jiao Fang followed Zhu Houzhao's wishes and voted to agree with the little prince's people to pay tribute to the Ming Dynasty.
At this time, Xu Jin, the Secretary of the Second Auxiliary Ministry of War, asked: "Your Majesty, if this is the case, should we still proceed with the recovery of the Hetao? After all, since they come to pay tribute, they intend to repair it."
"Paying tribute is one thing, and recovering the Hetao is another thing. Your cabinet is only responsible for paying tribute. Recovering the Hetao is a matter for the Guards. It will naturally continue. Of course, if your cabinet can support the little prince, When they come to pay tribute, they can be persuaded to return the Hetao, so that they can regain the Hetao without force! This way, they can avoid defecting and hurting the people on both sides!”
When Zhu Houzhao said this, both Jiao Fang and Xu Jin couldn't help but shook their heads. It was impossible for the little prince to return the Hetao. They came to pay tribute to get benefits, so how could they be willing to lose money, and the entire Hetao was also compensated.
……
At this time, the little prince's second son Ulus Boluot was looking at the wall of Datong Mansion, and said depressedly to Gao Zehui, a Han aide who had taken refuge in him: "Mr. What can you do behind the high wall? If you have the ability, come out and fight our Mongolian warriors from Dayuan!”
"The people of the Ming Dynasty can't match the bravery of the Mongolian warriors. They are all cowardly and incompetent people! If it were not hindered by these cowardly Han people, the Yuan Dynasty could still dominate the Central Plains. Now Lord Jinong (an honorific title for Tatars) is sent as an envoy to the Ming Dynasty , Even if you bring only 300 bad horses, they will have to believe you if you say they are 3,000 good horses, and they will reward you with double the price because they are afraid of the knife in your hand! And arrows!”
When Gao Zehui, the Han staff member, said this, Ulus Borot couldn't help but burst into laughter: "These Han people are really cowardly and incompetent!"
Thank you to book friend Guihong for the reward of 200 starting coins
(End of chapter)