Back in the small room, Chen Kan had a clear understanding of Baochaosi's shabby status.
Except for Li Shi, all the other officials and clerks were just like the craftsmen, working naked and enthusiastically.
Chen Kan even suspected that if he hadn't come today, Li Shi would probably have been on the front line by now.
After taking a rest, Chen Kan decided to clarify the doubts in his heart first.
"Master Li."
"The official is here!"
Li adapted and quickly stood up.
"Go tell everyone to stop work first. I have something to say."
Li Shi was stunned for a moment, and then a look of surprise suddenly flashed across his face unconsciously.
"I'm going to go right now. I'm going to go right now."
Li Shi trotted out the door, fearing that Chen Kan would regret it. As soon as he went out, he started shouting: "Everyone stop, the Marquis has ordered, stop work today, stop work today..."
Li Shi's voice spread far away, and even Chen Kan in the room heard it.
Chen Kan could still hear a hint of surprise from his mouth.
When the busy craftsmen heard Li Shi's shouts, their faces first showed a look of confusion, and then they suddenly relaxed.
"Finally, I can rest."
Many craftsmen couldn't help but burst into tears when they heard Li Shi's words.
"Why are you crying? Didn't you hear what the Marquis said? We have to stop working and have a rest today."
The craftsmen gathered together in twos and threes. Many of them were afraid that they were dreaming and couldn't help asking their companions to pinch them.
The severe pain coming from their bodies told them that they were not dreaming, but that they could really rest.
"Come here, sir. The Marquis has something to say."
Li Shi's tone was extremely exaggerated, and he danced and waved to summon the craftsmen to gather where he was.
Two lean figures ran out of the crowd and ran into the room. When they reappeared, they were wearing green official uniforms.
Chen Kan had come out of the room early and frowned even more when he saw that Li Shi had turned the craftsmen from tools into human beings with just one word.
It was also at this time that Chen Kan discovered that there were far fewer craftsmen in the Baochao Department than he had imagined.
When he first came in, he saw the busy craftsmen, and he expected that there should be thousands of people, but now that all the people are gathered together, it looks like there are only more than 300 people.
In other words, because of their busyness, Chen Kan had the illusion that there were many people.
Chen Kan came to Li Shi's side with his hands behind his back and frowned: "How long has it been since they rested?"
Li Shi's face turned bitter, and he said calmly: "Back to the Marquis, they... They have been busy since His Majesty ascended the throne last year until now."
"What?"
Chen Kan couldn't help being surprised, and his face suddenly became solemn: "You mean, they have been working since last year until now?"
"Where is Yuan Zheng and Xiu Mu?"
"Don't they have time to rest?"
Li Shi smiled bitterly and said: "My lord, you are joking. Since Your Majesty ascended the throne, the national treasury has been in decline, and treasures are needed everywhere to make up for the leaks. How can there be time for us hard-working people to rest? Being able to sleep for three hours a day is already a great gift. .”
"Then why are there so few people in the entire Baochao Department?"
“What about the younger generation of craftsmen?”
Chen Kan asked with a solemn expression.
He clearly remembered that since the Great Patriarch established the Four Civilizations, both military and craftsmanships were passed down from father to son. Theoretically, there should be three generations of talents in the Baochao Department, old, middle and young.
But why are there only these elderly people now?
Chen Kan looked at Li Shi with sharp eyes.
Li Shi opened his mouth, but lowered his head helplessly.
Chen Kan looked at the two people, Mr. Liu and Mr. Wang, who had just changed into official uniforms with various supplies on their faces.
There was a hint of sadness and anger in the two people's evasive eyes, but when they met Chen Kan's questioning eyes, they remained silent.
Chen Kan looked at the craftsmen below again. Without exception, all the craftsmen caught by Chen Kan's gaze lowered their heads.
Chen Kan instinctively felt something was wrong. These people were definitely hiding something from him.
Chen Kan's face was terrifyingly gloomy.
The atmosphere in the entire Baochao Department instantly became dull.
Many craftsmen wanted to defend loudly, but when they saw Chen Kan's young face, their eyes dimmed instantly.
"Master Marquis, my subordinates may know why there are only so few people in the Baochao Department."
Just when Chen Kan was about to use strong force to suppress him, a familiar voice suddenly sounded behind his ears.
Chen Kan looked back and saw Zhang San looking at the shirtless craftsman in front of him with a compassionate expression.
"explain!"
Chen Kan uttered one word coldly.
Hearing this, Zhang San couldn't help but shrink his shoulders.
He knew that usually the Marquis at this time would already be in a state of rage.
When the three officials heard Zhang San's words, a look of despair flashed in their eyes involuntarily.
Zhang San leaned close to Chen Kan's ear and said as low as possible: "Master Hou, if my subordinate's guess is correct, the descendants of these craftsmen may have already left their craftsmanship."
Zhang San’s voice was not loud, but it was still heard by the craftsmen below.
A look of despair flashed across the faces of the craftsmen. A moment later, led by Li Shi and two officials from the Lifting Department, they knelt down in front of Chen Kan.
Li Shi said: "The lower official deceived the Marquis, and asked the Marquis to punish him."
The craftsmen began to beg for mercy: "Master Hou, please spare my life, the little people have no choice but to do it."
The sudden change made Chen Kan a little stunned.
"What are you doing?"
"Master Hou, it's not that the little people don't want to follow the household registration system set by Grandfather Taizu, it's really that they can't survive."
Some elderly craftsmen in the field suddenly began to cry.
"Master Marquis, please have mercy on us."
"I kneel down for you, little man."
Three officials from the Baochao Department knelt in front of Chen Kan with bitter expressions on their faces.
Li Shi said: "Master Hou, now that things have happened, I have nothing to hide. There are no young craftsmen left in the Baochao Department. They are the last batch of craftsmen in the Baochao Department."
Chen Kan turned his questioning eyes to Zhang San. Since Zhang San said that he knew the reason, Chen Kan had no intention of letting Li Shi tell him.
To put it simply, Chen Kan no longer trusts anyone in Baochao Division.
Seeing that Chen Kan was unmoved, Li Shi knelt back with a bitter look on his face.
Zhang San felt that his scalp was numb from being stared at by Chen Kan, and he couldn't help but scratch his head subconsciously.
"Sir, do you know the recruitment system of craftsmen?"
Chen Kan looked at him sideways: "Nonsense, tell me quickly."
Zhang San carefully took a peek at the craftsmen kneeling in front of Chen Kan, and whispered: "Sir, the imperial court does not pay money to recruit craftsmen."
Chen Kan was stunned for a moment, and then suddenly a flash of lightning flashed through his heart.
Then his expression changed and he began to smile bitterly.
"I see."
He got it.
No wonder these craftsmen looked horrified after asking that question.
Emotionally, they thought they were Chen Papi, sent by the imperial court to investigate the craftsmen's household.
After figuring out the joints, Chen Kan felt extremely bitter.
This is the household registration system that Lao Zhu is proud of.
He originally thought that such a situation would only happen if he had military status, but he didn't expect that it would be more serious if he was a craftsman.
To put it simply, after Lao Zhu ascended the throne, he formulated the hereditary system of military membership and craftsmen households.
Even the son of a craftsman must also be a craftsman.
In this way, the court will have an endless supply of craftsmen.
But he failed to consider one issue, that is, craftsmen rely on craftsmanship to make a living.
But... when the imperial court recruited craftsmen, it did not pay the craftsmen corresponding salaries, which meant that the craftsmen had to work for the court in vain.
Originally, the craftsmen could support their families by relying on their craftsmanship, but after being recruited by the imperial court, the craftsmen lost their income and became freeloaders.
The craftsmen relied on their crafts to support their families, which turned into a family supporting the craftsmen and working for the court for free.
If things go on like this, craftsmen households will either become fugitive households, or they will simply find connections or even spend money to go to the government to change their household registration.
This fell into a vicious cycle. There were fewer and fewer craftsmen, and it became increasingly difficult for the court to recruit craftsmen.
Once a craftsman is recruited, he will use it to death.
When other craftsmen saw that the hours of free work for the court were getting longer and longer, they simply started a family escape or adopted their heirs to others.
All in all, if this continues, it won't be long before the craftsmen of Ming Dynasty will completely disappear.
Chen Kan stood so high that he initially ignored this possibility.
Now that I suddenly understood, I couldn't help but have a look of sadness on my face.
He really didn't expect that the craftsmen of the Ming Dynasty were living in such a miserable state.
No wonder Baochao is such a big yamen but only has such a small number of people. No wonder Baochao is so busy that it needs the chief officer of the yamen to be on the front line.
Since Zhu Di ascended the throne, he has rewarded heroes, granted foreign envoys, and appeased various places. Money is needed everywhere.
A large amount of treasure money was swayed by Zhu Di.
As a result, the craftsmen of Baochao Company worked continuously for nearly a whole year.
No wonder that when I first entered the Baochao Department, I had the illusion that I looked at a craftsman like a tool.
Isn’t it just a tool?
With such a huge workload being placed on so few people, it’s no wonder they were so excited after hearing about the suspension of work today.
Let me ask, under such circumstances, who would still want their children to become craftsmen?
Chen Kan looked at Li Shi apologetically, then turned to look at the craftsman who was kneeling on the ground, and said apologetically: "I'm sorry, I really don't know that your life is so miserable."
The craftsman closest to Chen Kan saw Chen Kan's appearance and couldn't help but smile miserably: "This is fate, don't blame the Marquis. The little people just ask the Marquis not to report the things here to the court. The little people are willing to be driven by the court." die."
"I just ask Lord Marquis to let the villain and his whole family live."
When the other craftsmen heard this, they couldn't help but kowtow to Chen Kan.
"Please Lord Marquis, please have mercy. Please Lord Marquis, please have mercy."
Seeing the craftsmen acting like this, Chen Kan felt bitterness in his mouth.
He suddenly understood Li Shi, an eighth-grade official.
Today's scene, even if it was not arranged by Li Shi, was definitely promoted by him behind the scenes. The purpose was to use his own words to report the embarrassment of the craftsmen to the court.
Otherwise, Baochao Division would not conceal the matter.
