Gao Gong mentioned that the border army should strengthen its armaments. This is of course something Gao Pragmatic is very concerned about. After all, there are some military industries in his plan, and they are mainly concentrated in firearms. However, due to the current situation, he cannot start construction casually. , let alone launch it randomly.
There are at least three main problems faced here:
The first is the military production system of the Ming Dynasty. Regardless of whether it was the Beijing camp or the frontier army, its military production, especially armor and firearms, was the industry of the imperial court, which was the so-called official camp.
The government-owned industries of the Ming Dynasty can be roughly divided into the following categories: government-owned handicrafts under the leadership of the Ministry of Industry; government-owned handicrafts under the leadership of the Ministry of Internal Affairs; government-owned handicrafts under the leadership of the Ministry of Household Affairs; government-owned handicrafts under the leadership of the Du Siwei; local government Government-run handicraft industry under the leadership.
Among them, many military industries have dual or multiple leadership, and some have cross-leadership. For example, the Ministry of Industry is responsible for military production, the Ministry of Internal Affairs is also responsible for military production, and the Metropolitan Guard is responsible for military production. Even some local governments can start military production themselves. The Ministry of War can issue instructions on these military productions, such as putting forward quality or quantity requirements, etc.
But no matter what, military industries are rarely run by individuals, and firearms are the most tightly controlled by the imperial court. [Wufeng’s Note: It was mentioned earlier in this book that the Ming Dynasty did not prohibit civilians from owning cold weapons such as crossbows and swords, but it strictly prohibited the manufacture and possession of flags, armor, firearms, etc. ]
Gao Pragmatic has no interest in products such as flags and armor. Even if armor manufacturing in the cold weapon era can actually be regarded as a "high-tech industry", he has no interest at all.
In his opinion, Leng Weapon's business does not require him to help Daming. The top priority is to improve the method of smelting iron and steel, build several steel plants in suitable locations, and provide Daming with some better products. of steel is enough.
He wants to get involved and have a profound impact on nothing but firearms.
But having said that, just providing some new technologies to government-run industries, in Gao Pragmatic's view, firstly, the effect may not be enough, because Ming Dynasty's production system itself has problems and cannot maintain the required quality and quantity; secondly, Gao Pragmatically feels that it is not enough A good deal - Gao Pragmatic has never been a saint. It would be ridiculous to ask him to have no selfish interests and serve the public wholeheartedly. He felt that instead of letting the corrupt waste departments use the oil and water from the military industry to enrich the public and private interests, it was better to make the profits himself. At least he could make money while maintaining quality and quantity. It was really a waste of both public and private interests.
Another ulterior reason is that he has other plans that require the support of military production capacity. Otherwise, even if he can really replace Zhang Juzheng in history and succeed in reforms, it will be difficult to predict the fate of himself and his followers... ...Good at planning for the country, but bad at looking for a career. This kind of glorious life is not something that Gao Qingjing intends to have.
However, it was not Gao Pragmatic's turn to start thinking at this time. Gao Gong had already continued: "In the future, when our Ming Dynasty truly has a strong army and strong horses, we can either restrain the troops or raise armies, and then we can advance and retreat freely. This is the long-term plan. Therefore, even if If Tong Gong is successful, we must not stop here and be satisfied with the present, lose our sense of worry, and not think about making progress."
Gao Gong said: "I will ask the border ministers to break the rules and make real rectifications, and ask your Majesty to send talented ministers or outspoken officials to the border defense to inspect and supervise. I want to see how much money and food have been accumulated compared with the previous year, and how dangerous the pass is. There were more repairs than last year, more troops and horses were added than last year, more equipment was refurbished than last year, other salt farming methods and other things were expanded to a certain extent than last year, etc. We cannot let them just talk in vain as in the past. The center takes money - you can ask for money, but you have to show actual results!"
After hearing this, Gao Pangshi was very pleased. He thought to himself that Gao Gong was indeed a master of practical studies. What he just mentioned about asking the emperor's special officials to inspect was also something that border officials must "practice with all their heart." The requirements were very specific. , very intuitive, quantifiable, and therefore highly operable. If we follow what he said, then the actions and inactions of border ministers, as well as their performance, will be easy to assess, and there will be basis for supervision and accountability.
Finally, Gao Gong added: "In addition, the reward and punishment system for border ministers must be re-established. Those who are effective in rectification must have the same merit as killing the enemy; if rectification is ineffective or border defenses have deteriorated during their term, they must be treated as 'lost opportunities'." "
After Gao pragmatic listened, he found that he had almost nothing to add, so he had to express his agreement first, and then turned the topic back to his concerns, saying: "Since Third Uncle, you also plan to ask your Majesty to send more people to patrol the borders, so that the central government can To learn more about the real situation of border defense, why not start with my nephew this time?”
"You?" Gao Gong shook his head: "You can't go."
Gao pragmatically felt a little anxious and asked: "Why can't I do it?"
"I'm not saying that you can't do these things if you go to rescue me." Gao Gong smiled: "But in what capacity are you going? In what name are you going?"
He didn't wait for Gao Gao to answer pragmatically before continuing: "Your official status is just that of the prince's companion, but the prince is only the crown prince and has no power to interfere in government affairs. You are his companion. You Instead of studying with him in the palace, you go to the border town and wander around. Guess what those officials will say?"
"And for the same reason, you can't find a convincing excuse for you to go to Bian Town to intervene in this matter openly." Gao Gong said this, looking at his precocious and incompetent person with bright eyes. The talkative nephew said slowly: "So you can probably only go to the border town in a private capacity, and you may think that your private status is more suitable for handling this matter, right?"
Gao Pingshi felt a shiver in his heart, but he didn't dare to hesitate or fight with San Bo at this time. He could only say honestly: "San Bo expected..."
Gao Gong snorted, glared at him, and said: "Your personal identity is easy to use - you are my Gao Gong's nephew and Zhang Fengpan's nephew. When you get to Xuan, Da, Wang Chonggu, Wu Dui and others For the sake of your uncle and I, we will always take care of you, and they may interpret some of your words as what your uncle and I mean... In this way, you can draw strength from it, You have guided things towards the direction you want to see, right?"
Gao pragmatic opened his mouth, but did not dare to answer directly. Gao Gongze snorted coldly again and asked: "I still said the same thing, you think things will be easier to handle in this way. But have you ever thought about what the science and technology officials will say if this happens? What do you think? Have you ever thought about what Zhao Zhenji, the elder in charge of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, would say?"
