Daming: My boss Zhu Yuanzhang

Chapter 175 Well done
After the demonstration of the divine cannon, only the final mortar was left.

Several craftsmen took lightweight gun barrels, propped them up with portable brackets, and fired them one by one.

This kind of artillery shell is made of hard and brittle cast iron. When it explodes, the fragments will fly out and kill the surrounding enemies. However, because the fuse detonation is difficult to control, the explosion time is also uneven.

Due to the shock of the two previous artillery pieces, this small mortar did not cause anyone any more surprise.

But Li Wei himself knew that this thing was very useful, and it had miraculous effects when used to attack enemies in bunkers.

After Zhu Yuanzhang finished reading this last small artillery piece, he smiled with joy.

But when he turned around and saw the respectful look of Li Wei beside him, he couldn't help but sigh in his heart.

He could see that Li Wei had a grudge against him in his heart. From the time he sent the music girl to death to the beheading of the craftsmen, Li Wei had a quarrel with him at the beginning and said those words about people being disrespectful. , and I never had any quarrel with him head-on after that.

However, this kind of calmness does not mean that he has become more well-behaved, but that he has hidden his thoughts and stopped being honest with him.

Sometimes he also hopes that this boy can speak out and make trouble as before. He likes and feels more at ease with Li Wei like that, but he cannot allow him to keep evading and evading like before.

Just like these powerful weapons of the country now, if he hadn't forced them so hard, Li Wei probably wouldn't have taken the initiative to make them for him.

Zhu Yuanzhang opened his mouth, wanting to explain his good intentions, but he didn't know how to explain it clearly.

"Well done. Just do your job well. If you have any difficulties, tell us and we will solve them for you!"

In the end, Zhu Yuanzhang only said such words of encouragement. After thinking about it, he stepped forward and patted Li Wei on the shoulder.

Li Wei, who lowered his head, felt the warmth of the big hand on his shoulder, and was slightly surprised. He could feel the sincerity of Zhu Yuanzhang's words.

Others were also surprised when they saw this. Although Zhu Yuanzhang just said a simple word and patted his shoulder, his affectionate attitude was undoubtedly revealed. He definitely had a lot of trust in Li Wei. Everyone could see that Li Wei was in his heart. His status is extraordinary.

Even Zhu Biao looked slightly sideways. He felt that his father's favor for this son-in-law was no less than that of the prince. You must know that few of the princes dared to argue with their old father.

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Li Wei was silent for a moment and responded, with a slightly complicated mood.

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded slightly, and then announced loudly: "Supervisor Li Wei has made great contributions in building a new type of artillery. He will also be awarded a gift to a good doctor and will be rewarded with a thousand guan. The craftsmen of the foundry will each be rewarded with [-] guan!"

After the words fell, everyone was even more surprised, especially the civil servants like Zhao Ben, who started to make a low noise.

The reward was just a cash reward, but Li Wei, a minister of the third rank, was awarded the title of second rank. This is truly a great gift from heaven!

This kind of title cannot be awarded without great merit. Although there is no actual position, the honor it represents is higher than that of a normal equal-level official position, and it is much more difficult to obtain.

Zhao Ben and others, who are second-rank ministers, have not yet received such a title. When he heard that Li Wei, a minister, had received a second-rank title first, Zhao Ben's eyes turned red with jealousy!
"Your Majesty, Mr. Li is indeed indispensable for the creation of these types of artillery. However, Mr. Li is a third-rank minister. Even if he is given a title, he should also be given the title of third-rank general councilor and chief minister! He cannot be directly awarded to a good doctor!"

Zhao Ben stepped forward and said.

Zhu Yuanzhang glanced at him and asked displeasedly: "Why not?"

Zhao Ben was unwilling to back down and continued to remonstrate: "Your Majesty, this is against the rules of court etiquette and law. Your Majesty, please think again!"

"We set the regulations, so of course we can change them!"

"Your Majesty, no!"

Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes turned cold and looked at Zhao Ben.

He had his own intention of directly conferring a second-grade title on Li Wei. Now in the Ministry of Industry, Zhao Jun has been written on the pamphlet by him and will be disposed of soon. Xue Xiang is old and should retire. Now, Li Wei is young and talented. It will be a matter of time before he takes over from Xue Xiang. What he does now is to make his attitude clear in advance.

Zhao was not stupid, so he naturally thought of it, so he was even more unwilling to give in.

"Master Li has made such a powerful weapon for the country, and it is natural for my father to promote him. Why should Master Zhao do this?"

Zhu Biao advised from the side that he really felt that it was not an exaggeration to reward Li Wei so much. The artillery and the telescope that Li Wei took out today are all weapons on the battlefield. With these things, the Ming army will be able to conquer in the future. It's not going well, so adding a second-grade title is really nothing.

Feng Sheng watched them arguing, but did not come forward to speak. During the Zhengdan period, the relationship between these nobles and Li Wei deteriorated. In addition, he was not as close to His Majesty as Xu Datanghe, so it was best for him to remain silent. the best choice.

Feng Sheng didn't say anything, and Zhang Long, Cao Zhen and others didn't mind their own business. What they were thinking about now was how to ask His Majesty for these artillery pieces during the next expedition. As for Li Wei, although he made this artillery piece, he said It doesn’t count.Li Wei himself didn't pay much attention to these. In his opinion, the so-called increase in title was an increase in salary. Although it was good, he was not short of money now.

"Now that we have spoken, this matter is done!"

Zhu Yuanzhang did not give Zhao Ben a chance to continue to argue, he just said decisively, turned around and left.

"Thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty." Li Wei thanked him respectfully from behind.

"His Majesty……"

Zhao Ben wanted to say something else, but Zhu Yuanzhang had already walked away, and the generals followed him.

Seeing him standing there in pain, Li Wei chuckled and said, "Master Zhao, aren't you leaving yet? How about I show you those artillery pieces again?"

Zhao Ben turned around and looked at him. Although he was angry in his heart, he had nothing to say.

This Li Wei, who had only been demoted to the Jiaofang Division for a short period of time, was restored to his original position so quickly, and had the tendency to go further, which made him both worried and envious.

"No need to bother Mr. Li!"

Zhao Ben gritted his teeth and said, waved his sleeves and left.

Li Wei smiled and followed the guard of honor, and Lu Ti and others sent Zhu Yuanzhang and many princes out of the weapons bureau.

Li Wei breathed a sigh of relief as he watched the people leave.

By building these types of artillery, Zhu Yuanzhang has been given an explanation, and he can go about his own business.

He planned to find a place to build a school specifically to recruit children from craftsmen's families in the Ordnance Bureau.Zhu Yuanzhang gave some compensation to the dead craftsmen, but it is impossible for the dead to be resurrected. Li Wei will also recruit the children of these families.

As he had to do more and more things, he felt more and more powerless. Without someone to help him, many things would not be possible.

Although the craftsmen have good craftsmanship and are very hard-working, they cannot understand the theoretical knowledge he teaches. He still has to teach some students from scratch and help him with research and development. Otherwise, there are so many industrial classifications. He said he didn't have the ability to be proficient in everything. Even if he had it, he couldn't do it all himself, otherwise he would be too exhausted to finish it.

Even if there is sufficient technical theory for many things, continuous experiments are needed to verify them. Some relatively low-end experiments can still be done by these craftsmen, but once more complex knowledge is involved, they are powerless.

After leaving the Ordnance Bureau, Li Wei ordered Laifu to find a house for him, preferably one close to the Ordnance Bureau, so that it would be easier for him to run back and forth.

The Minghuang Chamber of Commerce is now spread throughout the city and is well-informed. Laifu quickly took care of this matter and found a large courtyard next to the Arms Bureau.

Li Wei went to take a look and thought it was pretty good, so he settled on it.

When enrolling students for the first time, he didn't plan to recruit too many people. It would be enough to have 50 people, which is roughly equivalent to a class.

After tidying up the yard, preparing some tables and chairs, and hanging the Minghuang Academy sign, Li Wei started enrolling students.

After letting Luti release the news to the Ordnance Bureau, the craftsmen were very excited when they heard that Mr. Li was recruiting students.

These craftsmen are originally from poor and lowly families. Most of their children cannot afford to go to school, so they can only learn crafts from them and continue to work as craftsmen after taking over their classes in the future.

They have all seen Li Wei's skills, and Li Wei holds a high position. If he can study under him, it is very possible to become a high official in the future.

More importantly, Li Wei said that he would not charge tuition fees and would also take care of lunches. Opening this school could be regarded as a benefit to the craftsmen of the Ordnance Bureau.

Whether it was to become an official, to learn some real skills, or simply to have lunch, these craftsmen brought their children to the registration office set up at the entrance of the Ordnance Bureau.

Outside the Ordnance Bureau, there was a huge crowd, and they lined up in long lines. Luti and several stewards were helping to recruit students.

Li Wei frowned slightly when he saw this situation, and had to add some rigid conditions to the enrollment, such as limiting the age to about ten years old, and having not studied with other teachers.

But even after adding conditions, there were still hundreds of children who met the requirements, so Li Wei had no choice but to increase the enrollment quota and recruited 100 students on a first-come, first-served basis.

In addition to these hundred people, there are a few children who have special treatment, and they are from the families of the craftsmen who were beheaded.

When everyone was recruited, Li Wei took them to the new school.

(End of this chapter)