False eunuch in late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 16 The new standard for new officials

More than a thousand craftsmen have accumulated on the Daping of the Bingzhan Bureau.Or standing or squatting, or chatting together in groups of three or four, or smoking earthen cigarettes in twos and threes.They are like laid-off workers from state-owned enterprises. Now that they have a chance to get back to work, they all rush over.Although they have a low status in the Ming royal family, they still have a sense of superiority compared to ordinary people outside.Once upon a time, the children of these craftsmen were the favorite objects of ordinary people outside.

But as Daming became more and more corrupt, the life of the royal family became more and more difficult.The first unlucky ones are naturally the bottom people.There are fewer and fewer jobs, and the wages are getting lower and lower. It is difficult for these people to maintain their lives.They are no longer comparable to ordinary people outside. Ordinary people probably have some fields. They are complete full-time craftsmen.In recent years, money has become more and more difficult to earn, but prices have skyrocketed.The life of these craftsmen is simply like Wang Xiaoer's new year, and the year is not as good as the year.

"Old Yang. Judging from the posture, it seems that the military battle is about to resume work." Zhou Bugui said.

Zhou Bugui and the old Yang Yang Shiliang he said were both the best blacksmiths in the war.The craftsmanship is first-class, and with its extraordinary skills, it was very popular in the past.But now life is starting to get a little rough.All rely on some private work in the capital to earn some money to maintain the life of the family.

"Whether to resume work or not, the key is whether the palace will pay the current wages. Will the wages drop?" Yang Shiliang didn't have much smile on his face, and his face was no longer the red and bright that the craftsmen used to have, but turned dark and dissatisfied. wrinkled.

Zhou Bugui's family background is similar to that of Yang Shiliang.In fact, these two people are pretty good among these craftsmen.After all, the two of them have good skills and can receive private work. Those who can't receive private work will live a tight life.

"There is no way to survive this day. If this continues, we will have to flee the famine." The old man at the side told Liu Qingyu to shake his head, and let out a smack of smoke.

Tobacco was something that Zheng He would bring back from his voyages to the West, but he did not expect that it would soon become popular in many places in Ming Dynasty.Later, the people of Ming Dynasty also began to grow tobacco leaves.Like the one smoked by Liu Qingyu, the tobacco leaves are dried and chopped, and sold in one area.There is also some soil foam mixed in.

"I heard that the emperor sent a teenage eunuch over to serve as the eunuch of the palm seal. The new official took office three fires. I guess he wanted to make a name for himself. But the military battle has been defeated like this, let alone a teenage eunuch. My little eunuch, even if he is nine thousand years old, there is nothing wrong. So, everyone, don't have too much hope." The man on the side called Ma Fumin sighed.

"I think this new palm print has some skills. As soon as it came, it made Chen Fulian and the others obedient. Didn't you see that Chen Fulian and the other old people are respectful in front of this new palm print? People don't care about appearances, don't look at them." He is young, maybe he can really start the war again." The man on the side is Wang Changwen, and his vision is more poisonous than ordinary people.

"Everyone be quiet!" Chen Fulian walked up to a pile of dirt and said loudly.

The scene of more than 1000 people was noisy everywhere, no matter how much Chen Fulian yelled, it was difficult for the whole people on the ground to hear him clearly.

But when they saw Chen Fulian standing on the unearthed stack, everyone stopped talking.

"Everyone be quiet! Don't talk! Master Cao Qing, the new master of the Military Bureau, has something to say to everyone." Chen Fulian said.

There was another commotion under the stage, and it slowly quieted down when Cao Qing stood on the stage.

It was the first time for Cao Qing to speak on the stage as a human being, so he was inevitably a little nervous.

"The question that everyone is most concerned about is whether the war bureau will start? When will it start? Is the salary good? I don't know if our guess is right or not?" Cao Qing asked loudly.

"That's right! Eunuch Cao is right. Those of us who are miserable are starving to death now." Someone said loudly.

"It's okay to earn wages! It's okay to have enough food! But I want to know, have you lost all your craftsmanship?" Cao Qing asked.

"Lord Cao, as long as the military bureau pays us wages, we will not be able to take over the work if there is no work! It's just that the wages cannot be reduced. Now the prices are too high, and we people will soon have no way to live." In another place, there was a burly man said the big man.This man's arms are thick, and he looks like a good material for a blacksmith.

"Okay, I really have a lot of work in hand that needs manpower, but the craftsmanship is hard enough, and money is not a problem. Wait a minute, I will make a list here, and there are many things to be crafted on it. Carpenters, blacksmiths, glasssmiths, and others All kinds of craftsmen have work to do. If you can do it, you will pick it up. If you can’t do it, you will waste materials and must be severely punished. If you take it, you will do it according to the requirements. If you meet the requirements, you will be paid. There are rewards! So, you should look at it first and make a decision." Behind Cao Qing, Chen Fulian had already led people to start pasting lists with various equipment on the wall.Various parameter requirements are clearly marked above.

Cao Qing is going to give the cement to the cottage, and also make fireproof bricks and the like.In addition, those hydraulic equipment also need to be crafted.Now that the open hearth furnace has not been built, high-quality steel cannot be refined naturally.However, the steel produced by the steel pouring method, which is very mature in this era, can actually meet the requirements of hydraulic drive devices.Maybe the lifespan will be affected, but it should be no problem to build a simple open hearth furnace.

Cao Qing knew that in order to manufacture utensils that meet the requirements, a uniform and accurate set of weights and measures must first be required.Watson designed a complete set of measuring equipment, various rulers, among which the vernier caliper is the most technical.

In fact, calipers appeared in ancient my country, but calipers are not widely used, which is related to the lack of uniform standards for handmade.In order for Cao Qing to standardize all the products of Bingzhan Bureau in the future, there must be a unified measurement tool.

"Although this caliper is complicated, the labor cost is quite high. But the requirements are relatively high, and we should be able to make it." Yang Shiliang pointed to the list posted on the wall.

Zhou Bugui also looked carefully and nodded: "Well, why don't we brothers take this down?"

"Okay, when the time comes, the two of us will share the wages equally. This father-in-law is really different. He actually marked the price of each object. After making these things, we can get cash. Compared with before, it is better." How much do you know?" Yang Shiliang said.

"Old Yang, can you tell what these things are going to be used for?" Zhou Bugui asked.

"To make such an exquisite ruler, I am afraid that it is intended to be used to make some delicate things. If it is an ordinary thing, each craftsman makes it, each has its own size, and these rulers are not very useful. But if you make precision things, everyone uses it. The size must be the same. This ruler is probably for this purpose." Yang Shiliang said.

"Exactly. You see, the latter equipment looks simple, but in fact they all have strict specifications. Without the scales we made, many of the latter parts could not be made at all. Those who can't reveal the list carefully are afraid to I have suffered a lot." Zhou Bugui said.

(End of this chapter)