Emperor Zhengde

Chapter 166 The Little Prince Sends an Envoy to Pay Tribute (Two in One)

After Ma Wensheng resigned, Jiao Fang took over the position of Prime Minister.

The Minister of War Xu Jin became the second prime minister, while the Minister of Revenue Wang Hua was added to the cabinet. The Right Vice Minister of Personnel Zhang Cai was promoted to the Minister of Personnel. The internal affairs of the Ming Dynasty entered the Jiao Fang era.

Jiao Fang was undoubtedly much tougher than Ma Wensheng. As soon as he was promoted to the chief minister, he immediately required all central ministries, courts, temples, and local governors and inspectors, as well as the provincial administration commissioners, provincial judicial commissioners, and military commissioners to make year-end summaries. Those who had unfinished government affairs were directly demoted or even exiled in strict accordance with the performance evaluation system.

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 draw up plans for next year, and they must be submitted to the cabinet before March of next year, which is the third year of Zhengde!
For example, the Ministry of Revenue was asked to estimate how much additional revenue the national treasury would receive and how much grain surplus it would have next year.

Although the new performance evaluation system had been implemented for a long time, Ma Wensheng was not too harsh and at most dismissed him from office. However, Jiao Fang was not only dismissed from office but also punished, which made the entire Ming officialdom more insecure, but also made the Ming Dynasty's administrative efficiency much higher.

Zhu Houzhao was quite satisfied with this. What he wanted was a civil servant who dared to do things to be the prime minister.

Because Xia Yan was credited with discovering Zeng Jian's conspiracy in time, Zhu Houzhao instructed the Ministry of Personnel to promote him to the position of Director of the Ministry of Works after the end of his internship, in charge of the Ordnance Bureau, and directly reporting to Zhu Houzhao.

Another first-term graduate of the Imperial University, Zhang Cong, followed Ma Wensheng to the border town to help Ma Wensheng, Yang Yiqing and others to strengthen border preparations.

After taking over the Ordnance Bureau, Xia Yan began to recruit craftsmen and implement employment system reform in accordance with Zhu Houzhao's instructions, dividing the Ordnance Bureau into a firearms factory, gunpowder factory, steel mill, iron foundry, bronze foundry, weapons factory and a research and development institute.

Among them, firearms, as the name suggests, are the place where muskets and guns are made, and gunpowder is the place where gunpowder is made.

By analogy, there are dedicated institutions for iron and copper ware making, casting and firearms manufacturing, while the weapons factory is specifically responsible for the manufacture of cold weapons, especially bows and crossbows.

The R&D institute is the place where various weapons and equipment are developed and improved.

The craftsmen employed were still the same ones who had previously served the court. Although these craftsmen were changed into civilians, their lives did not change much in a short period of time. They had no land to farm and no business to do business. Even Xu Jing, the head of the Royal Bank, was unwilling to lend them money.

Therefore, the only difference between these craftsmen now and before is that they no longer have to work for the government for free. They can still only make a living by forging iron tools or mending pots and iron, and their lives are still difficult.

When Xia Yan ordered people to post a notice to hire craftsmen to the Ordnance Bureau to manufacture ordnance, and stated that each craftsman would receive a basic salary of one or two taels of silver per month, and that they would receive a certain amount of bonus for each additional piece of ordnance they manufactured, the craftsmen still flocked back to the Ordnance Bureau to inquire about the situation.

"Sir! After being hired by the Ordnance Bureau, can I really get a basic salary of one tael of silver per month, plus bonuses, and more work, more pay? Can I also apply to terminate the employment relationship at any time? Can my family also freely choose their careers, and can my son also study and take the imperial examination?"

A craftsman named Tong Laowu asked again in disbelief after listening to Xia Yan's explanation.

"How could the imperial court deceive you! It's written in black and white that as long as you make more and better weapons and firearms, you can earn a lot of money. You are now the subjects of the Ming Emperor, not slaves. You and the Ordnance Bureau are in a labor cooperation, so you can naturally apply to terminate the cooperation at any time. Your family can do whatever they want, and your sons and grandsons can naturally participate in the imperial examinations!"

Xia Yan answered patiently, not only when Tong Laowu asked, but also when other craftsmen asked, he answered seriously. After confirmation, these craftsmen were more willing to be hired by the Ordnance Bureau.

However, these craftsmen found that entering the Ordnance Bureau now was different from the past when they would be requisitioned regardless of their skills. Now, if they wanted to be hired by the Ordnance Bureau, they had to participate in an interview and have their technical level tested by people from the Ordnance Bureau.

Tong Laowu was hired as a master in the firearms factory of the Ordnance Bureau because he could quickly make a high-quality matchlock gun. Many other craftsmen with real skills were also hired by the Ordnance Bureau one after another.

But some craftsmen who were used to slacking off and did not master the skills were eliminated. Only then did these craftsmen realize that having skills made a difference.

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 system of more work, more pay, the production speed of ordnance was much faster than before. In addition, there was a reward and punishment system that imposed a fine if the unqualified rate reached a certain level, and an extra reward if the qualified rate reached 100%. The quality of ordnance also improved a lot, and basically every musket could meet the requirements.

Tong Laowu has been hired by the Ordnance Bureau as a master in the firearms factory for three months. Now he is very active. He basically comes to the Ordnance Bureau to work early in the morning and goes home only when it is dark and he can't see his fingers.

Despite this, he still worked very hard, especially when he saw more and more smiles on his wife's face and heard his children reading.

Craftsmen such as Tong Laowu are now very grateful to His Majesty the Emperor Zhu Houzhao, because after hearing that they all wanted their children to go to school, Zhu Houzhao directly ordered Xia Yan to convert the old house of an official who committed a crime next to the Ordnance Bureau into a primary school for the children of Ordnance Bureau employees, and the Ordnance Bureau specially hired a teacher to be responsible for the enlightenment education of these employees' children.

Originally, scholars were unwilling to lower their status to teach the children of these craftsmen, and although these craftsmen had income from working in the Ordnance Bureau, they still did not have enough money to hire teachers to teach their children. Now Zhu Houzhao ordered the Ordnance Bureau to solve these problems perfectly. First of all, scholars teaching the children of these craftsmen would be granted with the title of instructor and would not seem to be lowering their status. Secondly, these craftsmen would not have to bear the education expenses of their children.

Because of this, the craftsmen worked more enthusiastically. They also knew that the Ming Dynasty now had a good emperor, and they even began to consciously kowtow towards the Forbidden City during festivals. Now they felt that it was okay even if the Ordnance Bureau did not pay them.

On this day, Zhu Houzhao personally visited the Ordnance Bureau. Not only the officials were excited, but the craftsmen were also genuinely excited. They looked at Zhu Houzhao with a hint of reverence and kowtowed to him naturally. Zhu Houzhao, who always had a warm smile on his face, hurriedly asked these people to stand up.

"I came here today to see if there are any talents in the Ming Dynasty Armament Bureau who can make great contributions to the court!"

As Zhu Houzhao spoke, he ordered someone to bring out the blueprint of a flintlock rifle.

At this time, Xia Yan also ordered: "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 in front of Zhu Houzhao with the bottom of their hearts, and began to kowtow, as if they had seen the Bodhisattva in the temple. For Tong Laowu and other craftsmen, only by kneeling down and kowtowing as soon as they saw Zhu Houzhao could 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.

Moreover, these craftsmen had learned through the night classes and newspaper reading activities at the Ordnance Bureau what kind of dangers the good emperor faced in order to save them, and how he fought wits and courage with the corrupt officials in the court.

"Everyone, stand up! Take a good look at this blueprint. I drew this blueprint after enlarging the proportions. What is proportion? Director Xia has already told you that this musket is called a flintlock. The difference between it and the muskets we make now is that its firing point is different, and it does not use a fuse..."

After Zhu Houzhao finished speaking, he asked, "Who among you is willing to take on the task of developing a flintlock rifle? If you are willing, I will have Director Xia transfer you to the research and development institute with a monthly salary of one tael of silver. You will be responsible for developing this type of musket, and the first person to successfully develop it will receive a reward of one hundred taels of silver! At the same time, you will be hired as an academician of the Central Academy of Sciences, with the same treatment as a fourth-rank official, and you can wear a red robe and a black gauze hat!"

Although the craftsmen were listening carefully to Zhu Houzhao's explanation of what the flintlock was, and were also looking carefully at the musket without a fuse on the drawing, they still did not quite understand how to make the musket.

But they had to admit that the bait given by His Majesty was very tempting. If they succeeded, they would be rewarded with 100 taels of silver, which was enough to support their family for five or six years, and they could also enjoy the treatment of an official! He was still a fourth-rank official, while the county magistrate was only a seventh-rank official, which meant that he was more noble than the county magistrate.

However, these craftsmen also have a scale in their hearts. Although the reward for making this musket seems very tempting, if they fail to make it, it means that they will only get one or two ounces a month. Compared with their current income, their income will undoubtedly be reduced a lot in the long run.

Because of this, many craftsmen were discouraged and unwilling to try to develop this new musket.

At this time, Tong Laowu boldly stood up and said, "Your Majesty! I am willing to give it a try!" At this time, several interested craftsmen also stood up and expressed their willingness.

Upon seeing this, Zhu Houzhao asked Xia Yan to record these people, and had them brought into the palace by eunuchs the next day to be personally instructed by Zhu Houzhao.

……

In the end, Tong Laowu and several other craftsmen took on the task. Because they all knew that the first person to create the flintlock would receive a high reward and a high official position, they all worked hard and developed the flintlock day and night.

Soon, in less than a month, Tong Laowu had made the flintlock rifle, and it had successfully passed the test. Under Zhu Houzhao's instructions, Xia Yan was responsible for recording the technical data of Tong Laowu's manufacturing of the flintlock rifle. At the same time, he grouped the parts of the first flintlock rifle, established standards, and prepared to manufacture it according to the grouping of parts.

Tong Laowu also became the first academician of the Ming Dynasty Central Research Institute and enjoyed the treatment of a fourth-rank official.

Tong Laowu was responsible for teaching the other craftsmen who participated in the research and development the manufacturing methods of each part. Each craftsman only mastered the manufacturing method of one part, and then they were divided into several working groups.

At the same time, the Ordnance Bureau hired civilians of clean backgrounds as apprentices. The craftsmen in these work groups led a group of apprentices. They would receive a reward for each apprentice they taught. At the same time, each work group led these apprentices to produce a part. There was a work group specifically responsible for assembly, and another work group specifically responsible for inspection.

When the number of apprentices in each work group reached a certain scale, skilled apprentices were selected to be promoted to masters. These masters would then lead new apprentices to form new work groups. This enabled the Ordnance Bureau's flintlock production scale to continue to expand and the daily output to continue to increase.

Tong Laowu, an academician of the 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 the R&D work.

In this way, the entire Ordnance Bureau became a place with both large-scale ordnance production and specialized ordnance research and development institutions.

Not only military equipment, but also basic industries such as steelmaking, iron casting, and copper casting, Zhu Houzhao also asked Xia Yan to establish production and R&D institutions in this way.

Among them, some craftsmen who pursued stability were allowed to carry out steelmaking and other production activities according to the existing technology of the Ming Dynasty, while some craftsmen who were willing to explore new technologies and were enterprising were mobilized to participate in the research and development of new steelmaking and iron smelting technologies.

Eventually, a craftsman named Tao Hei from the Ming Ordnance Bureau mastered the crucible steelmaking method according to the information provided by Zhu Houzhao, allowing the Ming Ordnance Bureau to smelt the world's first vat of liquid steel, and thus realized the technology for manufacturing high-carbon steel, namely tool steel.

This made it possible to manufacture rifled guns.

At the same time, Xia Yan also successfully led a group of craftsmen from the gunpowder factory to realize the granulation of black gunpowder, which greatly increased the explosive power of gunpowder. As a result, the firearms factory was prompted to further improve the thunder bomb, thereby enhancing its explosive power.

At the end of the third year of Zhengde, the Imperial Guards began to equip themselves with new firearms and new swords and guns, and began new firearms drills.

Ma Wensheng had been inspecting the border town for a year and returned to the capital at the beginning of the fourth year of Zhengde. Zhang Cong also came to Beijing and brought the latest military map of the Hetao area, which was also the first map of the Ming Dynasty with contour lines and direction markings.

In fact, such a map already existed in Shen Kuo's Mengxi Bitan in ancient China, so it was not difficult for people in the Ming Dynasty to accept it.

"Your Majesty! I have been inspecting various borders this year and I think that the first city we should build to recapture the Hetao area should be in Yulinwei!
To the west of here is Chier Mountain, to the south is Tumao River, and to the north is Jiulonggou. From Datong Youwei, you can go through Tuan Mountain and follow Tumao River to the north. Once you get out of the border wall, you can reach Yulin directly. You can rely on Chier Mountain and Jiulonggou as barriers, or you can retreat to Datong and rely on Tuan Mountain. The Tumao River flows through the middle, so the land is fertile and can be reclaimed and cultivated. It is also connected to Datong, so naturally you can do business and trade! "

Ma Wensheng pointed to Yulinwei on the newly drawn map and said.

Zhu Houzhao nodded and said, "In this case, the Imperial Guards will take the recovery of Yulin Guard as their first goal. I will now issue an order to change Yulin Guard into Yulin County and appoint Zhang Cong as the magistrate of Yulin County. As for the specific military arrangements, you, Ma Aiqing, will immediately work with the people of the General Staff to draw up a charter!"

"I obey your order!" Ma Wensheng replied.

Zhu Houzhao nodded and went to the cabinet and the Silijian duty room. At this time, the cabinet chief Jiao Fang handed Zhu Houzhao a memorial: "Your Majesty! Datong reported that the little prince of the Great Khan of the Yuan Dynasty sent his son Ulusborot as an envoy to ask for tribute, and also brought 3,000 fine horses as tribute. What do you think, should we approve the tribute or not?"

Zhu Houzhao didn't expect that when he was planning to recover Hetao and was about to build the first county town in the Dongshengwei area on the east side of Hetao, this little prince suddenly came to pay tribute!

"My dear ministers, tell me, what is the purpose of this little prince's request for tribute at this time?" Zhu Houzhao asked.

"Your Majesty! These Tartars sometimes ask for tribute, and sometimes they just plunder. In recent years, the border defenses have been strengthened, and the Tartars can no longer plunder. So they think of trying to gain benefits by paying tribute. After all, according to convention, all those who pay tribute will return with benefits, and the court will only gain an empty reputation!"

Prime Minister Jiao Fang said.

"That being said, since they are paying tribute, there is no reason to refuse. Otherwise, wouldn't it make us look like a big country with no generosity?"

Deputy Minister Xu Jin said.

"In that case, I will agree to his tribute, but the rules of this tribute have to be changed. Didn't they say they brought three thousand good horses? When the time comes, let me take a good look to see if they are really three thousand good horses."

After Zhu Houzhao said this, Jiao Fang followed Zhu Houzhao's advice and agreed to let the little prince's people pay tribute to the Ming Dynasty.

At this time, the Deputy Minister of War Xu Jin asked: "Your Majesty, if this is the case, should we still proceed with the recovery of Hetao? After all, since they have come to pay tribute, they are interested in making peace."

"Paying tribute is one thing, and recovering the Hetao is another. Your cabinet is only responsible for paying tribute. Recovering the Hetao is the job of the Royal Guards, so it must be continued. Of course, if your cabinet can persuade the little prince's people to return the Hetao when they pay tribute, you can recover the Hetao without using force! This way, you can avoid defections and hurt the people on both sides!"

After Zhu Houzhao said this, Jiao Fang and Xu Jin couldn't help but shook their heads. It was impossible to ask the little prince to return Hetao. People came to pay tribute to ask for benefits, so how could they be willing to lose money, and the compensation was the entire Hetao.

……

At this time, the little prince's second son, Urusborot, was looking at the wall of Datong Prefecture, and said to Gao Zehui, a Han Chinese aide who had surrendered to him, in a very depressed tone: "Mr. Gao! What can these Ming people do except hiding behind the high wall? If they have the guts, come out and have a decisive battle with our Yuan Dynasty's Mongolian warriors!"

"How can the Ming people be as brave as the Mongolian warriors? They are all cowards and incompetent! If it weren't for the cowardly Han people, the Yuan Dynasty could still dominate the Central Plains. Now, Lord Jinong (a respectful name for Tatar) is on a diplomatic mission to the Ming Dynasty. Even if you only bring 300 inferior horses, but you say you bring 3,000 good horses, they will have to believe it, and will even reward you with double the price! Because they are afraid of the knife and arrow in your hand!"

When Gao Zehui, the Han Chinese aide, said this, Urusbolot couldn't help but burst into laughter: "These Han Chinese are really cowardly and incompetent!"

Thanks to the book friend Gui Hong for the 200 Qidian coins reward

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(End of this chapter)