Xinshun 1730

Chapter 320 Honor
This is the original intention of Wilkins inventing the boring machine. It was just a coincidence that helped Watt achieve the myth of the steam engine.

Dashun's attitude towards handicrafts was very ambiguous, but Emperor Taizong had said something like "Scholar, Agriculture, Industry, Commerce and Industry are one of the four peoples".

However, the ruling ideology has always been that of small farmers and small producers. Whether it is low grain that hurts farmers, or millions of water workers, everything is based on stability.

Liu Yu also exposed the real power of this thing, but used a sophistry to lead the problem to war.

Naturally, it is necessary to invest money in the development of steam engines. The boring machine is the front-end technology, and there is no pressure on the follow-up technology.

But for the royal family of Dashun, the boring machine was more of a boring gun that Liu Yu wanted them to see.

The steam engine is good for China, but bad for the dynasty; the boring gun is good for China, but also good for the dynasty.

What Liu Yu wants to show the royal family is only what he wants the royal family to see; what he doesn't want the royal family to see, it will be too late when the royal family understands.

Cannons were of course what the emperor wanted to see.

Now Dashun's artillery system still uses the French system. If you count the four-pound guns attached to the battalion, there is also a part of the Swedish system.

The reason for choosing this system is that the casting technology and boring processing technology are not good enough.

Now that there is a boring machine, the four-pounder and the eight-pounder can be eliminated, and the compromise is a six-pounder, which reduces weight and maintains power.

The boring machine can solve this problem to a certain extent, and can improve the artillery system of the Dashun Army after the reform.

In the future, when new French battleships are built, lighter and larger caliber cannons or shorter Caron cannons can also be installed on the navy.

He guessed that Li Yan couldn't understand the steam engine that didn't even have a shadow for the time being, so he only said it was for boring guns.

Sure enough, Li Yan misunderstood Liu Yu's meaning.

Liu Yu's original intention was to say that at that moment, he could create a steam engine, and always ensure that Dashun is qualified to maintain the free trade system at this moment.

But after listening to Liu Yu's talk, Li Yan thought that Liu Yu meant that this thing could ensure that Dashun had a strong enough combat power, so that he could fight whoever was stronger at any time.

He didn't know how to cast cannons, but after Liu Yu finished speaking, in his eyes, this humble machine really had a strong sense of power like a battleship.

It's just that this sense of power is too abstract, far less intuitive than that of a battleship.

"Eagle Sobo, if this thing can really improve our artillery in the Celestial Dynasty, this matter should be a memorial to the emperor and a reward to the craftsmen."

Liu Yu thought to himself, playing the emperor's reward for craftsmen?The emperor might take some cloth and silk from his internal funds to reward, but it is absolutely impossible to reward meritorious deeds, and he will not be able to pass the test of the court.

With the few money the emperor can reward, nothing can be done.Britain can offer a reward of [-] pounds for the nautical clock, but Dashun is far from a reward of this level.

He chuckled and said, "For this thing, I offered a reward of 8 taels of silver. Among the expenses, there were even tens of thousands of taels. Seventh Prince, this matter is of course to be reported to His Majesty, but as for the reward... I have promised them money, and besides that, I need to give some honor."

"The Seventh Prince is a member of the Tian family. I have a heartless request. Can the Seventh Prince present a flag to these craftsmen to remember their merits?"

Some things, other than the emperor, no one else can reward, and rewarding is trespassing.

But there are some things that do not need to greet the emperor.

Originally, Liu Yu wanted to give these craftsmen some honors as an earl, of course, honors other than money, instead of "tiing the cow's head to recharge charcoal value" like the royal family and the imperial court. Valuable honor does not give money.

But now there is a prince here, and it would be perfect for the prince to do such things.

Even though Li Yan has not yet been crowned king, theoretically he is a little lower than the earl himself, but being a son of a dragon is different.

Seeing that Li Yan was still hesitating, Liu Yu explained: "These craftsmen have put in a lot of effort. Not to mention that the cannons will be sharper in the future, even the copper materials used to cast them can be saved a lot. 8 taels of silver, not only Not much, but less in my opinion.”

"But when it comes to honor, the system of the Celestial Dynasty, scholars, peasants, businessmen, and craftsmen are low-level. The previous dynasty had craftsmen and households with bad customs and bad governance. Even if the current dynasty is abolished, it will not be a one-day cold for three feet, and it will not be a one-day spring for the snow to melt. "

"If you ask your majesty to confer rewards and honors, you are afraid that the court will criticize you, thinking that your majesty values ​​craftsmen and despise scholar-bureaucrats. Besides, in the Yuan Dynasty, there were cannon craftsmen who were entrusted to tens of thousands of households. At this time, if you reward craftsmen, you may be accused by the scholar-officials as a barbarian."

"The affairs of the court are too complicated. But the Seventh Prince should be less restrained in his actions. After all, His Majesty's construction of the navy is also 'going his own way', and the ministers of the court and China do not support it. His Majesty sent the Seventh Prince to the Navy for training, and he did not want the Seventh Prince. Pay attention to the small details."

Li Yan hurriedly waved his hand, indicating that he had no such intentions, and said to himself that I have learned a lot in the palace, so I am an outlier.The navy is also different. The emperor asked me to come instead of others. Apart from my eyes and the Christian name of Ignatius, it was more because the emperor felt that I was the most receptive to new things.

"Ying Suobo misunderstood. I really never thought that craftsmen must be low. In the past, when the emperor was Zhou, all craftsmen could be scholars. Emperor Taizong of this dynasty also said many times about craftsmen. I am a heavenly family. How can I not remember it?" Ancestral training?"

"It's just that I'm just a prince. I think if His Majesty bestows a reward, this will make the craftsmen feel more blessed and valued."

Liu Yu pulled him aside and said in a low voice: "The Seventh Prince needs to think about this matter. I offered a reward of 8 taels of silver. If His Majesty rewards you, how much can you reward? The palace has its own regulations. China has its own system, even if I conquer the Western Regions and capture quasi-chieftains, I will only reward 8000 taels of silver."

"You and I both know that His Majesty needs to follow the rules. Besides, the internal money is very useful, and the Western Regions have also used money in recent years. Even if His Majesty has the heart, it is difficult to reward too much. At that time... these craftsmen don't know. Don't you think His Majesty is stingy?"

He said so much, Li Yan thought to himself, yes, 8 taels of silver?There have never been so many rewards in the palace. As a prince who has not been crowned king, he only has a thousand taels of silver a year, which is really difficult to handle.

Liu Yu rewarded too much, and the emperor rewarded too little, so it would be better not to reward.

Liu Yu instigated again: "Although this object can be used to bore cannons, it is not a cannon after all. The ministers of the court may not understand the techniques, but the Seventh Prince has read the books of practical studies. Don't they also think that this object is far less shocking than a battleship?"

"If you don't wait until the new cannon is bored out and offered to His Majesty, then it will be a good reward. And the Seventh Prince is new, and it must not be the work of the Seventh Prince at this time. If a few years later, the new cannon is cast and the new utensil is bored, At that time, it will be played, and it will be said that the Seventh Prince will give honors to encourage craftsmen..."

Li Yan was overjoyed, and said repeatedly: "Yes, yes, yes! What Ying Suobo said is very true. This boring machine looks really mediocre. Not to mention compared with battleships, even compared with those few cruisers, it is far behind. Most of the ministers in the DPRK and China don't understand the beauty of it, so it's better to wait for the new cannon to be cast before making a performance."

"Then the honor, the ceremony..."

Liu Yu said with a smile: "Don't worry, the Seventh Prince. Although I seldom study, I know what is arrogance and what is overreach. Everything will be arranged by someone, as long as the Seventh Prince comes forward."

Under the huge cultural inertia, the status of craftsmen is still low.The patriarchal hierarchy of the feudal system is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, and the superiors can make the inferiors feel grateful at a small cost.

Although the craftsmen in Weihai are somewhat different from those in other places, they have not reached the point where they can confidently believe that "they deserve it".

Under the hierarchical system, the emperor is the largest, and the sons of the emperor are of course far away that the craftsmen feel are elusive.As an earl, I have been in Weihai for too long, and I don't have much official airs. At this time, I am not as good as this prince who has not been crowned king.

To conform to the times, it is natural to use the lowest cost in this era to achieve the greatest results.

Under the hierarchical system, if you are praised face-to-face by the superior, the greater the level difference, the more pleasure you will get when converted into corresponding silver.Even in future generations, young people who have just started work may be filled with excitement when they are praised by their leaders for free, and they even work hard without money, let alone now.

Liu Yu is boasting too much. Most of the craftsmen here are immune. The threshold has soared, and stronger stimulation is needed.

Hearing that Liu Yu has arranged everything, Li Yan is completely relieved, as long as he doesn't overstep or overstep, he has nothing to worry about.

He followed Liu Yu around for a few more laps, so he went back to prepare for the speech at that time.Because Liu Yu reminded him that the education level of these craftsmen is very average, so don't use very written classical Chinese, it is better to praise them in spoken language, otherwise it will be like playing the piano to a cow, and others will not understand.

Li Yan felt that it made a lot of sense. Although it was a bit uncomfortable to speak vernacular in such a seemingly formal occasion, he still thought of giving it a try.

As soon as Li Yan left, Liu Yu called several leading craftsmen over, and those craftsmen were beaming, they had already got money, and the real money was not bad.Although he already knew that Liu Yu kept his word, but such a large sum of money really fell into his hands, the feeling was quite different.

"Ying Sobo, according to the requirements of the adults, this thing can be bored into a circle of three feet, and the error is no more than two or three big coins. Naturally, there are still things that can be improved, but it can be regarded as meeting the requirements of Ying Sobo."

The leading craftsman proudly introduced the situation of the boring machine. Compared with the one that Watt dug the cylinder in history, the accuracy is not much different, and the diameter of one meter can be different by three or four millimeters. This accuracy is completely sufficient at this time.

Before he spent money to ask the French to help buy a lot of Newcomen-style steam engines. The craftsmen in Weihai took care of each of them. Anyway, Liu Yu spent a lot of money, and the craftsmen dismantled a lot of them according to his requirements. Newcomen steam engine Weihai has been able to self-made.

At this time, it will be split up, and then according to the previous method of technical research team, it will be assigned talents of different professions, and it will be possible to spend a lot of money to get what he wants.

Since this precision is enough to produce a cylinder that is usable in this era, you can't be willing to spend money and spend 10 taels of silver in it. After all, Watt doesn't have such a good configuration and such a strong capital.

The commendation meeting will be prepared in a later date, and while there is still time, Liu Yu said: "Since this thing has been made, the money has also been given, I guess you have put your heart into your stomach this time, and you think I am not Are you fooling me?"

The craftsman hurriedly laughed and said, "Your Excellency, you are just joking. The rewards received by the previous technical research teams are not bad. We are not worried at all. But we are not afraid of your adult's jokes. The money is really in our hands. I feel Still different."

"We guys thought about it. If we talk about going back to buy land, farming and studying, it's not interesting. There are many novelties here, and we still like it more. But the money is in our hands, so we can't let it rot. We have to find a way to make money. If we talk about lending usury, It’s not easy to borrow in Weihai, so please help me buy some shares? It’s better to leave some property for the children and grandchildren in the future, right?”

In Weihai at this time, the consciousness of this kind of commercial capital may be stronger than that of Songjiang. Not to mention changing customs, it also gave many people a different choice from before.

"It's easy to talk about. However, I still have a few things here. There are rewards, of course. Since you are the foreman, choose some reliable ones tomorrow, and I still have a few things for you to do."

Hearing that there is a new project, the craftsmen are all happy. Is there too much money?

Looking at these happy craftsmen, Liu Yu thought to himself that I was the one who made the most money. Dashun doesn't have a patent system. If you use patents for this stuff, compared with the reward I gave, I'm afraid it's really watermelon and sesame.

(End of this chapter)