False eunuch in late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 9 Begins with Little Authority
Seeing Cao Qing's rambunctious appearance, Wei Zhongxian couldn't help laughing, no matter whether it was inside or outside the palace, who else in the world would dare to despise him so much.Even Zhu Youjian has to be courteous to himself.It's really interesting that this little eunuch is showing off his might to him.

"Interesting, interesting. This old man has lived for many years, and no one has talked to me like this for many years. Those who talked to me like this before are all dead." Wei Zhongxian's tone was very slow, and his speech was weak. The eunuch in the palace , He likes to talk negatively, which sounds chilling.

Cao Qing knew in his heart that something was going to happen. This old guy was not simple, and he might have misjudged him today.Cao Huachun is considered one of the eunuchs with such imposing manner in this palace.Then other people, the eunuch who can freely enter and leave the imperial study room, is probably the only one.Although Cao Qing knew that the other party might be Wei Zhongxian, he must not reveal it.If the two sides don't tell the truth, the other party may not do anything.If it is broken, the other party will want to maintain their authority instead.I must not escape bad luck.After thinking clearly, Cao Qing calmed down.

"Looking at your age, you are so fond of bragging. I am a person close to the emperor. In the palace, no matter how old I am, can I be older than the emperor? You must not offend me. Otherwise, you will feel better." Cao Qing said.

"You are indeed the emperor's confidant, from now on you have to take care of me more. Say nice things to me in front of the emperor." Wei Zhongxian also let go of his aura, pretending to be submissive.

"Cao Qing, this is Li Jinzhong. The emperor's appointment has already been issued. Once you enter, you can go to the military bureau to manage the affairs. The emperor said, you must take good care of the military bureau. If you want money, just ask Eunuch Li. Eunuch Li, sorry for your trouble." Zhu Youjian came out from the side.

"How dare you?" Wei Zhongxian said respectfully.

Wei Zhongxian actually personally accompanied Zhu Youjian and Cao Qing to a military battle.

There are a lot of people in the military battle bureau, and [-] people are making various military equipment.

There are three main arms production departments in the Ming Dynasty, one is the Arms Bureau of the Ministry of Industry, the other is the Baoyuan Bureau, and the other is the Bingzhan Bureau. Among them, the Bingzhan Bureau is one of the main weapon manufacturing institutions in the Ming Dynasty.The Bingzhan Bureau is a large-scale organization with many craftsmen, complete types of work, and a fine division of labor. It has adopted the assembly line method to manufacture various weapons.By the time of Jiajing, there were more than 3000 craftsmen.

Although the military battle bureau is in the imperial city, it is far away from the inner palace.Wei Zhongxian called a carriage, and the three of them went to the Military Battle Bureau in the carriage.

The military battle bureau was not as busy as Cao Qing imagined, but rather deserted.Weeds grew everywhere in front of and behind the house.Some places have been opened up to grow vegetables.

There was no one in the workshop, and the utensils used to make weapons were already covered in thick dust.Cao Qing blew hard to clean off the dust on it, only to find that those iron frames had been corroded by rust.

Cao Qing just glanced at it, and knew that the once prosperous military situation had become rotten by the end of Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Youjian looked at everything in the military bureau very calmly, as if everything here had nothing to do with him.

Naturally, Wei Zhongxian was a bit embarrassing. After all, this war situation was also Wei Zhongxian's territory.The person he appointed was also Wei Zhongxian's.

"Where did everyone die?" Wei Zhongxian went outside and shouted loudly.

A craftsman who rushed over after hearing the news glanced at Wei Zhongxian and the others, and lazily said, "Now we can't even eat enough, and everyone is going out to do coolies to earn money to support their families."

Craftsmen are the lowest class in the Ming system, and their income is meager, and these craftsmen are tied up in the bureaucratic system of the Ming Dynasty like official slaves.Their lives are sometimes even worse than ordinary people.Kong has a lot of skills, but he can't even support his family.The enthusiasm of the craftsmen can be imagined.After Wei Zhongxian took control of the inner government system, Wei Zhongxian and his minions embezzled craftsmen particularly seriously.As a result, these departments cannot be maintained normally.When the Ming Dynasty was prosperous, the weapons and equipment were extremely sophisticated, but by the end of the Ming Dynasty, the weapons and equipment produced by the Bingzhan Bureau were no longer usable.

"Call Yao Shicong over!" Wei Zhongxian was really annoyed.

This Yao Shicong recently met a maid in the palace.In the Ming Dynasty, it was common for eunuchs and court ladies to fight each other, and there were even absurd incidents where the emperor matched court ladies and eunuchs.Wei Zhongxian is Hakka's sexual partner.Wei Zhongxian is also because of the superiority of the Hakka family.

Yao Shicong ran to the palace every day, so naturally he didn't care about managing the military situation.Most of the military battle bureau had been abandoned, but during this period of time, even the remaining half was completely abandoned.Yao Shicong is also one of Wei Zhongxian's cronies.However, he was placed in this not very dangerous position, and he felt a little unwilling.So no mind to do things.At the same time, relying on Wei Zhongxian's confidant, no one in the palace dared to take care of him, so he was very courageous.

I finally felt that something was wrong, and the people who could shout Yao Shicong's name here would naturally not be ordinary people.After a stick of incense, Yao Shicong finally rushed over out of breath.

"Wei..." Yao Shicong just breathed out a word, and was kicked to the ground by Wei Zhongxian.

"Let you manage the emperor's life in the military battle bureau. You actually left such an important place so deserted. You do things like this, what's the use of leaving you. I, Li Jinzhong, will kill your slave for the emperor today!" Wei Zhongxian said, The factory guards who had been hiding around immediately rushed out and dragged Yao Shicong down.Yao Shicong still wanted to beg for mercy, but was knocked unconscious by the factory guard with the back of his knife.

"Alright, since this Yao Shicong committed suicide, his position is just vacated for Eunuch Cao. Eunuch Cao, I will trouble you to strictly manage the war bureau in the future. If you need money and things, just ask Qian Shu to get them. I promise to supply it with all my strength," Wei Zhongxian said.

"Zhu Xin and I are going to develop new firearms and practice new firearm tactics. We want to recruit a thousand recruits by ourselves. I don't know if it is feasible." Cao Qing asked.

"This is not a problem. You can recruit according to your needs. I will go to the Jinyiwei and ask for a thousand soldiers." Wei Zhongxian didn't think that Cao Qing and Zhu Youjian could make a name for themselves, so there was nothing in these aspects. Any beware.What's more, there are only 1000 people. He has thousands of factory guards and tens of thousands of Jinyi guards.In addition, the Imperial Guard is also controlled by his people.

"Cao Qing, since Eunuch Li supports you so much, you have to do things well. I will also come over often to study new firearms with you." Zhu Youjian said.

"That's natural, the villain will not disappoint the emperor's expectations." Cao Qing said.

(End of this chapter)