Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 192 Wensiyuan and Craftsman House

Various technical research and development related to the construction of the walled city made Zhu Youji think of a term:
Project traction.

This is a very common pattern in later generations. The last time Zhu Youjian promoted the research and development of printing technology and the standardization of printed text because of the affairs of the General Affairs Department, he fell into this pattern.

In an agricultural country like the Ming Dynasty, the most suitable way to promote the development of industrial technology is project traction——

Just like the 156 key projects in the First Five-Year Plan of New China, the development of related industries and technologies will be promoted through the establishment of major engineering projects.

Newspapers are a project. Through this project, Zhu Youjian asked the Ministry of Industry to set up the Daming Printing Workshop and the Hanlin Academy to formulate a general specification list for printing, putting these things that had to be done one by one into one project.

The construction of the Walled City was a major project, far more important than the newspaper. Because it is related to the implementation of the tactic of "building a stronghold and fighting a dull war" and affects the situation in Liaodong.

Even more importantly, it is also related to the well-field system——

If we don’t defeat the Jianlu and take back Liaodong, how can we allocate well fields to the heroes and implement the well field system again?
It can be said that this project is very important and will be supported by many people in both the government and the public.

Zhu Youjian can put the industrial technology he wants to develop into this project.

Construction is a very important industry. In addition to cement, building materials also include hardware, steel, glass, ceramic sanitary ware, and even heating equipment and required coal——

The winter in Liaodong is so cold that coal needs to be burned inside the walled city for heating. It is best to use a heating boiler for central heating, which saves manpower and is safer.

With this foundation, the technology required for steam engines can be laid down.

Whether it is coal or steel, they are all needed for city walled construction.

Boilers, a technology that is very important to steam engines, can also be developed in the name of heating boilers.

Once these three technologies mature, Zhu Youjian can promote the industrial revolution and help Ming Dynasty develop into an industrial country.

This made him determined to establish a walled city construction project and find a specialized institution for research and development.

"Among the existing yamen, Wensi Yuan is the most suitable. Unfortunately, its reputation is a bit poor and its level is too low. 』

"A regular ninth-grade yamen cannot mobilize enough resources. 』

The name Wensi Yuan sounds very elegant, but it is actually an institution of the Ministry of Industry, mainly responsible for the production of utensils.

Initially, there was one ambassador of the ninth rank, and two deputy envoys of the ninth rank, for a total of three officials.

However, starting from the Chenghua period, Emperor Xianzong appointed craftsman Yao Wang as the deputy envoy of the Wensi Academy. From then on, one after another, the names of hundreds of people were passed down at one time, and they were called passing officials.

Chuanfeng officials were directly appointed by the eunuchs following the imperial edict, and later they were transferred from miscellaneous jobs to civilian positions. Naturally, they were deeply hated by civil officials. I also dislike the institution of Wen Si Yuan——

When talking about saving expenses and eliminating fraud, the two yamen that must be mentioned are Jinyiwei and Wensiyuan.

For example, Su Maoxiang, the minister in charge of Cangchang, wrote a memorial on the 27th, suggesting that the Jin Yiwei and the errant officials of the Wensi Academy be dismissed.

However, Zhu Youjian was quite confused about the "three thousand two hundred and eighty-eight craftsmen of Wensi Academy, with more than 30,000 stones of rice" he mentioned, and did not know how to calculate:

The deputy envoy of the Academy of Wensi, from the ninth rank, has a salary of sixty dan. If you only count his true colors, it is forty-two dan.

There are more than 3,000 craftsmen and officials, but why are there only more than 30,000 stones of rice?

Is it possible that the annual salary of the ambassador and deputy envoy of the Academy of Wensi is only a dozen dan?
Very puzzled by this, Zhu Youjian summoned people from the internal prison to ask about this matter.

Liu Ruoyu, who was appointed as the internal official supervisor and eunuch, said:

"There are two types of craftsmen in this dynasty, one is living and the other is working shifts."

"A craftsman who lives in a sedentary setting must work ten days a month."

"The craftsmen who worked shifts were initially divided into two- and three-year shifts, and then went to Beijing every three months. In the fifth year of Jingtai, the shift was changed to four-year shifts."

"The craftsmen and officers of Wensi Academy have their own residence and work shifts. There are more than 3,000 people on duty at the same time, but only 700 or 800 of them are on duty at the same time."

"So every year we get more than 30,000 shi of extra rice."

Nodding slightly, Zhu Youjian said he understood and asked again:

"Classic craftsmen receive salaries, but what about those without class?"

Liu Ruoyu replied:
"In the eleventh year of Hongwu's reign, craftsmen were given a monthly ration of rice. Those who started working were given daily firewood, rice, salt and vegetables. When work stopped, they were stopped."

"In the twelfth year of Chenghua's decree, military and civilian craftsmen were created, and each craftsman was given one pound of salt per month." "The craftsmen include military craftsmen and civilian craftsmen. Those who serve in the Inner Court Supervision Bureau will receive more than three to five buckets of food per month."

Zhu Youjian thought for a moment and felt that the craftsman's service time was not long. The catch is that this is mandatory service. This system is very frustrating for both craftsmen who live in the capital and craftsmen who come to Beijing for shifts from other places.

The live-in craftsmen work ten days a month, which means that they only have twenty days of free time to take over work. If the work exceeds twenty days, they have no time to take over.

Foreign craftsmen only need to go to Beijing to serve for three months every four years, which sounds better. But with the transportation in Ming Dynasty, it would take two to three months to go back and forth. It can be said that one service will take half a year.

What’s even more embarrassing is that they have to bring their own travel expenses. It is impossible to go to work when you are on the road, and you will not get paid either.

I am thinking about changing this system in the future to reduce the burden on craftsmen. Zhu Youjian asked:
"Are there any craftsmen who don't want to work?"

"What to do with those people?"

Liu Ruoyu said:

"Those who do not attend class will be fined six cents of silver per class, so they are called losers. Each class has three months, so the levy is one, two or eight cents of silver. It is divided into four years, and each student is levied four cents and five cents of silver per year."

"Some craftsmen are good at craftsmanship and can easily pay the money, so they don't come to work."

"The imperial court can only let these people come over by giving them the official title of Gavinsi Yuan."

"Civil officials say they want to remove the craftsmen and officials of Wensi Academy. They are all ignorant words."

Zhu Youjian was shocked when he heard this. He knew that the craftsman household system in Ming Dynasty had reached a point where it could not be improved without reform.

The craftsmen feel that their service is hard, and the imperial court feels that the current craftsmen are difficult to manage, and they have to be given official titles to work -

Both sides feel that they are at a disadvantage and can only solve the problem by changing the system.

The craftsman official in the Ministry of Industry was too involved, so Zhu Youjian decided to change his position from the inner court, saying:

"Count the craftsmen in the inner court and see how many people are eating food."

"How much salary does the inner court need to pay, and how much money can it receive?"

Liu Ruoyu has statistics on this and said:
"There are a total of 2,250 craftsmen and officers in the supervisory bureaus of the inner government who hold the title of deputy envoy of the Wensi Academy."

"If all the salaries of these people were paid by the inner court, they would need more than 20,000 dan per year."

"Banjiang and ICBC are collected by local officials and will not be transported to the inner court."

This sentence left Zhu Youjian speechless, and he remembered that Ming Dynasty's finances were a mess, and there was no unified transfer office.

The money is used as soon as it is collected by the local government and will not be transferred to the court at all. Whoever can tell where they are going is really talented.

This made him feel that the Second Department of Household Workers had to be changed. The millions of unpaid wages in the Nine Borders and the advancement of industrialization in the Ming Dynasty required him to adjust the Second Department of Household Workers to adapt the two departments to the development of the times.

　"Chongzhen Changbian"

　　Gengyin in November of the seventh year of Apocalypse:
　　Su Mao, the governor of Cangchang, said:

　　The Beijing army's annual rice harvest is estimated to be 650,000 shi per year. At present, it is still holding back on its old accumulation. In less than three years, the old grain will be exhausted and the new grain will not arrive. The call of Geng and Gui will be inevitable.

　　It is my wish that your Majesty will accumulate and store it for the great destiny of the world. From now on, except for fresh luck, you will not be able to use it for any extra money. Please save all the money that is broken, such as light baggage, for more use, and you are not allowed to borrow a penny for side payments. As time goes by, there is still a lot of life-sustaining ointment. Otherwise, if the warehouses are exhausted and the people have no food to eat, the capital will be in an unspeakable precarious situation in the future.

　　However, the biggest beetles eaten by my brother in the capital are no greater than those in the Jinyiwei Wensi Courtyard.

　　Zhao Jianji, the official in charge, checked the records of the grain department and found that in the forty-eighth year of Wanli, there were only more than 17,760 names of officers, flags, and other items. Since the rebellion of Ni, the number of members has increased to more than 36,360 in three or four years. Before that, the number of members increased by more than 18,600, and the number of members was more than 220,000 yuan.

　　There are only 752 craftsmen in the Wensi Academy, but now the number has increased to 5,288 ("Chongzhen Shilu" is 3,288), with more than 30,000 stone in rice. .

　　The grain that comes in every year is as sparse as this, and the grain produced every year is as abundant as that. When I pray, I will clear the grains, and the grains will leak out and beetles will clear the holes. It is not trivial to the national economy.

　　Discuss with the next department.

　　Already in the first month of the first year of Chongzhen:

　　The Ministry of Works said in a brief statement: The salary of the craftsman officers of the various supervisory bureaus in the inner government with the title of deputy envoy of the Wensi Academy totaled 2,250. Please order each supervisory bureau to prepare a record of the year and appearance, and let the headquarters verify the elimination.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)