Chapter 608 Come, tell me
"The Mohist workshop outside the city is in trouble!"
Yan Shifan went to Xin'an Lane to look for Jiang Qingzhi but found him empty-handed. He then learned the news.
"What trouble?" Yan Shifan asked.
The attendant said, "It is said that those craftsmen are incompatible with the rules of Mohism. They are lazy whenever possible, and the things they make are unusable. It is said that the Huben Zuowei returned a lot of firearms. If it weren't for the Mohist school, Yan Xu would have gone to their door... But some people still say that this is a disregard for human life."
Yan Shi seemed to be thinking, "Letting soldiers go to the battlefield with unusable firearms, how will Jiang Qingzhi deal with this?"
"I heard he was in a state of panic. In addition, many people in the Ministry of Industry were gloating over his misfortune, saying that Jiang Qingzhi was getting his comeuppance for poaching someone."
Yan Shifan smiled and said, "This guy is finally in trouble."
In the Ministry of Industry, a group of officials were discussing the matter.
"Those craftsmen are all experienced and are the best at cheating. Do they have any skills? Yes. They may seem to be of humble status, but deep down they look down on us amateurs.
If Jiang Qingzhi is tough, these people will appear obedient, but secretly they will do bad things or try to slack off."
"One hundred craftsmen have a lot of monthly salary alone. It's not easy to support them. Jiang Qingzhi had a hard time getting these craftsmen over. If they come back... hehe!"
"How can he be so embarrassed!"
"It is difficult to sheath a sword of shame."
Lan Zhen committed suicide, and the court concluded that it was corruption. However, many officials in the Ministry of Industry still felt a sense of grief for the loss of a rabbit and a sense of sympathy for their own kind.
So after learning about this, these people were worried openly but gloating secretly.
"The minister is here."
When Jiang Hua arrived, everyone immediately looked worried about the country and the people.
"Minister, I heard that those 100 craftsmen are having a hard time outside the city, and now they have stopped working."
"Shangshu, how about... bringing them back for the time being? We are short of manpower in many places here!"
Jiang Hua also knew about this matter. Thinking about the recent severe shortage of good craftsmen in the Ministry of Industry, he couldn't help but feel moved.
"Go and have a look outside the city."
If less than a hundred people are needed, what about half?
With fifty good craftsmen on hand, this year's task will be easy.
It can also help long Wilbur, who is embarrassed to sheath his sword, solve a problem.
It's a favor to hire fifty fewer craftsmen whom you don't need, right?
If it really doesn't work, can I borrow someone else's money?
……
The Ministry of Works sent one hundred craftsmen to the Mohist base outside the city in five batches of twenty people each. Jiang Qingzhi mocked them for being stingy and, when he met Jiang Hua, said that he should go to the Ministry of Revenue.
The Ministry of Revenue needs your thriftiness.
After the craftsmen arrived, Feng Yuan immediately began training them and then began to forge them. But not long after, Huben Zuowei reported that there were problems with the Mo family's flintlock rifles.
Feng Yuan had no choice but to explain the key points of the creation to these people again.
"The flintlock is a device that must be made with precision and the dimensions must not deviate." Feng Yuan picked up a flintlock device and explained it to the craftsmen.
He then reiterated the tolerances, and the craftsmen immediately began to complain.
"Isn't this too small?"
"Lao Feng, it's so small, we have to do a lot more work!"
"That's right. The Ministry of Industry has never required such precision."
At this time, someone came in from outside. Feng Yuan immediately bowed and said, "Greetings, Master!"
Jiang Qingzhi took the flintlock mechanism and simulated lighting a fire. "Do you know what this is?"
Jiang Qingzhi held up the flintlock in his hand. "This is a weapon used by soldiers to kill the enemy. If they were on the battlefield and the enemy cavalry was right in front of them, and the soldiers pulled the trigger but failed to fire, and then the enemy cavalry rushed over... that would be a massacre."
Zhang Juzheng came to teach the children today, and now he also came to the workshop to take a look. He looked at the beds with curiosity, and the craftsmen who looked very respectful but had disapproving eyes.
"Every profession has its own specialty." Wang Ting didn't have a good impression of this 'young man', thinking he was too arrogant. "There is no first in literature, and no second in martial arts. Feng Yuan can't control these people."
Zhang Juzheng said calmly, "Feng Yuan was originally a craftsman. Craftsmen supervise craftsmen, and it seems that experts supervise experts. But no one is willing to obey anyone else. I heard that the forging of firearms here is not going well. I think this is probably the reason."
Tsk!
I say that there is no first in literature and no second in martial arts, but you say that experts should manage experts... Although your analysis makes sense, it is not tactful.
Is it fun to hit me in the face?
Wang Tingxiang felt that young people were really rude and disrespectful to the elderly.
"Then how do you think we should solve it?" Wang Tingxiang asked with a smile.
You are awesome and arrogant, so give me a solution!
Arrogant people can't stand provocation.
As expected, Zhang Juzheng raised his eyebrows and said, "Let's have someone else take care of it. Even if it's the guards in the Bo's mansion."
"That's it?" Wang Tingxiang laughed, "The guards don't know the fortifications, what if they are fooled?"
"You can ask Feng Yuan to help."
"You smell like a redundant official from the former Song Dynasty."
Ha ha!
Zhang Juzheng had not expected the old man to pursue him so relentlessly. He smiled and said, "It is a good opportunity for the two of us to supervise each other. What do you think, Your Majesty?"
Come on, if you have the ability, come up with a better idea than mine.
Wang Tingxiang fell into deep thought for a while, and coughed dryly for a while, "This matter..."
"Just keep talking, Lord." Zhang Juzheng asked.
Young people!
It's not good to be ruthless when you are in a powerful position... Wang Tingxiang felt ashamed to put his sword back into its sheath.
At this time, Jiang Qingzhi said: "Now the world seems peaceful. But there are still many Japanese pirates in the south, still eyeing us covetously. In the north, Altan Khan is baring his teeth at the Ming Dynasty. When the Japanese pirates land, when Altan Khan's cavalry marches south, when the people are displaced and screaming in helplessness, who can save them?"
"They are Ming soldiers." Jiang Qingzhi said, "They are holding the firearms made by you. When the soldiers use the well-made firearms, they defeat the enemy."
He raised the flintlock again. "When the victory message comes, Benbo will celebrate for you and others. This military achievement is half due to the soldiers, and half to you and others!"
Bang!
Zhang Juzheng and Wang Tingxiang noticed that the atmosphere had changed. There was suddenly a light in the eyes of the craftsmen, a light so hot that it was unbelievable.
"Uncle, do we have a share in this...this military function?" an old craftsman asked tremblingly.
"Why not?" Jiang Qingzhi said, "Each musket is carefully made by you and then delivered to the soldiers. The more sophisticated your work is, the more confident the soldiers will be in killing the enemy. If this is not a military achievement, what is it?"
The old craftsman said, "You can go to the Ministry of Industry. No matter how finely we make it, no one will ask."
This is the disadvantage of public workshops!
It doesn't matter whether you do a good job or a bad job, just fool around if you can.
The key point is that most of the things made by the Ministry of Works and the Armory are supplied to the military or official use. Even if the quality is poor, no one has the time to argue with them.
You fool people, I fool people too, and eventually we fooled the Ming Dynasty to its death.
So much so that later on, the gunpowder sent by the capital to the nine borders was so powerful that the soldiers in the nine borders abandoned it. But firearms cannot be without gunpowder, right?
This concerned everyone's lives, so the helpless soldiers had to spend their own money to buy gunpowder.
Please note that you paid for it yourself, and the gunpowder you bought was produced by the local people.
The gunpowder produced by the public is better than the official one. This is a real joke.
Jiang Qingzhi thought about this and said, "The Ministry of Industry's tactics won't work in my Mohist School. Old Feng."
"Uncle!" Feng Yuan stepped forward.
"Let's see what my uncle can do!" said Wang Tingxiang.
Zhang Juzheng said calmly: "It's difficult."
Wang Tingxiang said, "I believe in Lord Bo."
The two of them started fighting, and Zhang Juzheng raised his eyebrows. "A good meal and some wine."
"How about two meals?" Wang Ting retorted.
"A gentleman's word."
"It's hard to chase a horse!"
Jiang Qingzhi ordered: "Every flintlock rifle must be engraved with the name of the craftsman who made it."
This is a pursuit of quality, just like engraving the craftsman's name on the bricks, it is not new.
Zhang Juzheng shook his head.
Wang Tingxiang also found it nothing new.
"Secondly, select two craftsmen to take turns inspecting the quality of firearms every day. If any unqualified firearms leave the workshop, they will be held responsible! Seriously held responsible!"
Zhang Juzheng was startled, "This is..."
The quality inspector system and the collective responsibility system were merged together in later generations.
“Third, the source of raw materials must be registered and traceable.”
Zhang Juzheng found that the craftsmen looked unhappy, as if they had lost their parents.
This group of people are used to slacking off in the Ministry of Industry. They don't care about quality, as long as they can get away with it, they'll be fine.
Jiang Qingzhi's quality control made them immediately dissatisfied. If they had not been concerned about their status, they would have started a riot.
"This is Qin law!" Zhang Juzheng narrowed his eyes.
Qin's laws were strict, and collective punishment was common. Therefore, Qin's weapons were the sharpest and strongest.
Jiang Qingzhi seemed not to notice the craftsmen's expressions and continued, "Fourth, how many firearms can each person make each month? You can come back and decide on a number and report it to me."
The craftsmen watched in anger but dared not say anything.
"On this basis, I will give you a number later as to how much the reward will be for each additional firearm you make."
In an instant, Zhang Juzheng saw the craftsmen's eyes light up.
When the Huben Zuowei discovered the substandard flintlock rifles, they simply returned them and Yan Xu did not report it.
After hearing the news, Jiang Qingzhi went to Huben Zuowei and scolded Yan Xu so much that he felt ashamed.
——This is official business!
——Do you want your soldiers to kill the enemy with muskets that are not even as good as fire sticks?
——You are not helping Ben, you are harming Ben!
Jiang Hua came, and even though he was the Minister of Works, he still couldn't enter the workshop.
"The Lord is inside, please wait a moment, Minister Jiang." The guard said politely.
"It's okay." Jiang Hua was very interested in knowing how Jiang Qingzhi dealt with those difficult craftsmen. The Ministry of Industry had no way to deal with this, so it was fine as long as it was roughly okay.
"Fourth, establish a quality award. If more than 99% of the firearms produced are qualified, a reward of one kan of silver will be given."
What the hell!
Wang Tingxiang saw the craftsmen's eyes shining with surprise, as if they were beasts seeing a fat sheep.
"Of course, rewards and punishments are clearly defined. If a firearm made by someone is more than halfway substandard, a fine of 500 coins will be imposed, and so on. In addition, if the quality inspector fails to find any defective products, a heavy fine will be imposed!"
Jiang Qingzhi glanced at everyone, then turned and left.
He is very busy and has to go back to write fairy tales for children.
Walking out of the workshop, Jiang Qingzhi saw Jiang Hua outside and asked with a smile, "Are you here to force the emperor to abdicate?"
Jiang Hua laughed and said, "I heard that you have some extra craftsmen recently. How about I borrow half of them from the Ministry of Industry?"
——Don't pretend. I know you are in a state of panic now, so I took the initiative to help you. You can just go with the flow and owe me a favor in return!
Seeing Jiang Qingzhi's astonishment, Jiang Hua stroked his beard and smiled: "The craftsmen cannot be controlled like this. My Ministry of Industry has its own methods."
Before he finished speaking, cheers suddenly broke out from inside.
Then someone shouted, "Don't worry, sir. I will do my best to make it. It's guaranteed to be a good product!"
"I can definitely make three muskets every month."
"I can build five!"
The Mohist workshop used a lot of prefabricated parts when making muskets, which greatly increased efficiency.
Jiang Qingzhi took out the medicinal cigarette and raised his eyebrows. "The Ministry of Industry has its own methods? Old Jiang, tell me about it."
Jiang Hua: "..."
(End of this chapter)
