Chapter 40 Wensi Institute
Mao Xiang was stunned and said: "Your Majesty, I am ignorant. Haven't you already found out Guo Huan's matter? You only need to give an order and the Jinyi Guards will arrest him. Why do you need to send someone there?"
Zhu Yuanzhang's tone was calm, like an elder, and said: "Mao Xiang, you are my nephew, I won't hide it from you. This He Xi is after my old friend, but it is a pity that the old friend went west. I will definitely take good care of He Xi. This time The trip to Hangzhou is to try He Xi's materials. If it is enough to be entrusted with important tasks, it will be easy to place him in the future. If it is really not that piece of material, it will be fine if he is raised in glory and wealth. "
"I want you to go and do three things. First, no matter what happens, you must protect He Xi's safety."
"Second, give He Xi secret guidance. If He Xi can't investigate further, give him some clues to make this matter end well."
"Third, report every move He Xi made in Hangzhou. I want to see how good He Xi is."
As Mao Xiang, who controls the world's intelligence, he actually does not believe in He Xi's identity.
It's just that Mao Xiang has served as the commander of the Jinyiwei for so many years, and he knows too much about what it means to not ask about things that shouldn't be asked, and to think about things that shouldn't be thought about. The more he is the commander of the Jinyiwei, the more he knows that knowing too much will not end well.
Since your Majesty said it, it is after an old friend. That must be after an old friend.
Mao Xiang said: "I obey your orders." Mao Xiang hesitated for a while, then lowered his voice and said: "Your Majesty, what about my errands in the city?"
Zhu Yuanzhang was silent for a while.
He naturally knew what kind of errand Mao Xiang was in the capital.
Inspecting hundreds of officials, he usually pointed out the crimes of candidates. Bury nails in the mansions of many heroes and generals.
In fact, at this moment, Zhu Yuanzhang had no intention of killing the heroes. He did this because he had a strong sense of insecurity in his heart. A subconscious means of defense. Now I think of history, the old brother who was forced to death by him. Zhu Yuanzhang felt confused and sad for a while.
He said: "Let Jiang Xian be responsible. Don't carry it, and don't act rashly."
Although he felt a little confused and sad that he had killed so many old brothers in history. But when making decisions, Zhu Yuanzhang was absolutely rational. Although he doesn't want this situation. But if this method can solve the problem.
He is not afraid to use it.
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Early the next morning, He Xi was called over by the prince.
The prince yawned and said: "The errand my father just handed over to me, I saw it was your suggestion. Tell me, what should I do?"
He Xi saw a piece of paper on the table with rewards for meritorious craftsmen written on it. Generally speaking, every craftsman who worked hard was rewarded with a certain amount of treasure banknotes, ranging from thousands to hundreds of coins. The depreciation of Ming Dynasty treasure banknotes was also a process.
Nowadays, the price of a treasure banknote is unknown.
However, he believed that Ming Dynasty would not discount rewards now. I didn’t read more.
However, there was one line of words that He Xi paid attention to.
He Xi said: "What is Wensi Academy?"
The prince said: "Wensi Yuan is a royal institution of the Tang Dynasty, responsible for craftsmanship and exquisite craftsmanship. There are many fine products, and there are several in the palace, which are inscribed with the Tang Wensi Yuan. However," the prince looked at He Xi with a half-smile, Said: "Wensi Academy existed from the Tang Dynasty to the Five Dynasties and Song Dynasty, but this institution did not exist in the Ming Dynasty."
"What do you think we should do?"
Zhu Yuanzhang established a huge eunuch organization, which can be said to have reshaped the entire palace organization. Many institutions handed down from the Tang and Song Dynasties were merged into new institutions. Of course there is no more.
He Xi was stunned for a moment, then overjoyed and said, "Did your Majesty really say that?"
The prince said: "If not, can I call you?"
He Xi pondered for a moment and said: "In my opinion, the Academy of Arts and Sciences is equivalent to the Hanlin Academy, serving as an advisory body to the imperial court. For major matters such as building water conservancy, building sea ships, repairing roads, etc., the imperial court needs to report to the Imperial Academy before making decisions. Leaders from all walks of life consult one or two. It is also used as a reward for merit. For example, if the craftsmen who have made merit in supervising the making of armor this time, should they be rewarded as before? "
The prince said: "Give them official positions. Let them serve in the Ministry of Industry."
This is true. In the early Ming Dynasty, many craftsmen became officials, usually serving as minor officials in the Ministry of Works. There are even smart people who have been promoted to minister of the Ministry of Industry. But later this happened rarely.
He Xi said: "Your Highness, do you really think these craftsmen are qualified to serve as officials?"
The prince was stunned and said: "It's okay to serve in the Ministry of Industry."
The prince did not think that craftsmen were qualified to serve as other officials, but they could supervise the manufacture of weapons or major construction projects in the Ministry of Works.
He Xi said: "What His Highness said is absolutely true. But I think this is a waste of talent. The real talent of these craftsmen lies in technology. Letting them become officials puts the cart before the horse. It is better to let them continue to study technology and solve more problems." , for example, what is the most important issue today? It is the speed of iron ore mining. Once the new steelmaking method is used on a large scale, a large amount of pig iron will be needed. Although there is a lot of iron ore in stock now, I estimate that it will be opened to use, not this year. , it will be used up next year, and the amount of iron ore needed by then will be very large. If the imperial court uses the army to mine, I am afraid it will have to use more than a dozen guard posts. It will consume a lot of manpower and material resources. This is why His Majesty has not maintained large-scale mining. , it’s too labor intensive.”
"But is there a technical solution to this problem?"
When the prince heard this, he was immediately moved.
Mining itself is an industry that consumes a lot of manpower and material resources. If there is a way, hundreds of thousands of people can be left, or even more manpower and material resources. That would greatly reduce the burden on the court. The prince leaned forward slightly and said, "Brother He said that? But is there a way?"
He Xi said: "I don't have it for the time being. However, His Highness the Crown Prince should not expect all these problems to be solved by me alone. The Crown Prince has also seen that it is these craftsmen who really solve the problem when supervising the construction of the armor this time. Not me. Your Highness is in charge. The intelligence of the world can overcome the difficulties and dangers of the world, but how can we let the intelligence of the world be tolerated?”
The prince said: "I understand what Brother He means. It's just that Brother He's thoughts are too natural."
The prince pondered for a moment and said: "Wensi Courtyard is subordinate to the palace. The Guhui will choose a palace from the palace to be Wensi Palace and serve as the residence of Wensi Courtyard. The envoy of Wensi Courtyard is temporarily appointed as the fifth rank. He is responsible for three things. . The first is registration. All craftsmen who have made meritorious deeds will be separated from the craftsman status and listed in the Wensi Academy, which is the same as the official registration. The second reward is reward. After the craftsmen have made meritorious service, they can be given the title of Wensi Academy according to the size of their merits. From the ninth grade When you reach the fifth rank, you will enjoy all levels of salary. There will also be official rooms available for rent, and the third court will carry out major projects. Wensiyuan must be involved in it as an assistant in charge."
"That's all for now."
"Brother He, some of your ideas are good. There may be one day in the future, but running a big country and cooking small delicacies, some things cannot be rushed."
Although the prince is a kind and kind gentleman, he is definitely not stupid because of reading. In fact, the prince also knew that this was completely unacceptable to the scholar-bureaucrats. Without him, what the scholar-bureaucrats wanted was to monopolize officialdom. All officials are chosen from among them. Even He Xi's words made the prince hesitate.
Does the prince have that much ability for craftsmen? Is it necessary because they have trouble with the scholar-bureaucrats?
But He Xi's words moved the prince.
What the emperor has to do is to let the intelligence of the world prevail. The emperor should use all smart people for himself. Are there no talents among craftsmen? Start from this principle. The prince then decided to give the craftsmen a way to rise.
But the prince also knew that how long this upward channel could be maintained depended on the strength of the craftsmen themselves.
If these craftsmen had not done anything, this channel would probably have been abandoned.
He Xi was a little disappointed, but she cheered up and said, "I understand."
The prince said: "My father sent you to Zhejiang? Are you prepared?"
He Xi said: "I'm not prepared."
The prince took out a note and said: "There are some candidates here. After you go, you can contact them directly. For my sake, they will help you. However, don't believe it."
He Xi was a little confused and raised his head.
The prince saw the confusion in He Xi's eyes, smiled softly, and said: "Everyone in the world is flattering me and my son, but it's hard to fathom people's hearts. One day is only twelve hours for one person. Even if I don't sleep, I can't understand the whole world." Things. Are the things they put on the pen the same as what they think in their hearts?"
"I don't know. Brother He is here. Why don't you take a look for me. What are these people like?"
"If you find anything, you can report it to me immediately through Hangzhou Jinyiwei. My father is a bit impatient. If anything happens, I can also intercede for you."
He Xi said: "I would like to thank Your Highness."
The prince said: "You're welcome. By the way, the Marquis of Yingchuan will leave the capital tomorrow and the army will head southwest. He misses you very much."
He Xi said: "Your Highness, what Marquis Yingchuan is thinking about is the steel crossbow."
The prince said: "Yes, I didn't expect that the steel crossbow was so valued by Marquis Yingchuan. In the past few days, all the craftsmen have given up on making armor and are working on steel crossbows. It is estimated that they can make up a thousand. This is all Brother He, it’s all thanks to you. Of course you’re going to see me off tomorrow, so that Marquis Yingchuan owes you a favor. Marquis Yingchuan is the backbone of the army, and his favors will come in handy no matter when.”
He Xi was slightly moved when he heard what the prince said. The prince really takes care of him as his younger brother. Maintaining his relationship with the Yingchuan Houfu also paved the way for He Xi. After all, the emperor did not do as he pleased with many things. Many friends, many paths.
However, He Xi thought of Fu Youde's fate. I feel that it is better not to maintain the relationship with the Yingchuan Marquis Mansion. However, the prince's hospitality was hard to resist, and He Xi couldn't refuse. He said: "I obey."
