My Brother-in-law is the Prince

  Chapter 303 The Emperor's Grace

  Zhang Anshi was happy when he saw Yishiha: "I said why there is joy chirping on the branches in the early morning. It turns out that it is the father-in-law who came."

  Yi Shi laughed and said: "This slave is only to announce the good news, isn't this good news still belongs to His Majesty?"

  Zhang Anshi nodded, and immediately accepted the order.

  The purpose is very simple, add Zhang Anshi 30,000 households, and add one guard.

   It seems that this decree is very common, but in fact, Zhu Di is very generous.

  30,000 households is not a small number, it is the population of a county, and as for one guard, it is on the scale of 3,000 people.

  Of course, these are all for fiefs, that is to say, in Zhang Anshi's Xinzhou, there are new manpower and an armed force at the same time.

   This is of great significance to the consolidation of the New Deal. Xinzhou is a place with a vast land and few people, and the most scarce thing among them is manpower.

  Zhang Anshi said: "Your Majesty is so kind, I am so grateful."

  Yi Shiha said: "Your Majesty was very happy last night, and he has been looking forward to the dawn, so that he can go and see the machine gun!"

  Zhang Anshi said cheerfully: "I will lead your Majesty down later."

   Immediately Zhang Anshi went to Zhu Di's tent to thank him.

Probably because he was in a good mood, Zhu Di was in high spirits, looked at Zhang Anshi, and said with a smile: "Okay, you don't have to be polite, this is what you deserve, and I think it's too little, these 30,000 households... To send it out as soon as possible, I think about it, it needs to be a son of a good family."

  Zhang An Shidao: "Your Majesty, can these migratory people... migrate in household units? Instead of migrating in the form of families during the period of Emperor Taizu Gao."

  There is a mystery here, a household is a small family, and a family is everyone.

  Generally, a household has about five or six people, but a family is different. A large family may easily have hundreds of people, or even thousands of people.

   "Oh?" Zhu Di looked at Zhang Anshi and said, "What's the reason?"

Zhang Anshi smiled and said: "If the whole family migrates, I'm afraid it won't be long before the Xinzhou will be dominated by those families and surnames. How can there be any ministers? But if it's just households The vast majority of people are not related by blood, and Yang Shiqi, the governor, is easier to manage in Xinzhou."

  This is also the truth. No one from the Zhang family has yet gone to Xinzhou to rule, which means that the power in Xinzhou is not complete now. Although there is already a Governor's Mansion, Yang Shiqi is absolutely reliable.

  But Zhang Anshi had to make sure that before his son became an adult, or he retired to Xinzhou, there would not be a new family in Xinzhou quickly.

  If this kind of family is formed quickly, it will not be a good thing for the Zhang family.

"In addition..." Zhang Anshi continued: "If the whole family did not migrate from Xinzhou, then people who go to Xinzhou often have some thoughts in Daming. I am thinking about the future exchanges between Daming and Xinzhou. And some more."

  In Xinzhou, the land is vast and sparsely populated, but the resources are extremely rich. This is a piece of fertile soil, but precisely because it is fertile soil, it is necessary to hug Daming's thigh. Only by joining the trading system of Ming Dynasty can there be a future.

  This is also the reason why Australia in later generations, when the colonial system of the British Empire almost fell apart, was still reluctant to maintain its loyalty to the British Empire.

Therefore, the bond of family ties is very important. The more people in Xinzhou have a heart for Daming, the easier it is to accept the rule of the Zhang family entrusted by Daming. Many soldiers and civilians in Daming are connected with Xinzhou by blood, which will naturally affect Daming's attitude towards Xinzhou. continent's national policy.

In Xinzhou, Zhang Anshi obviously took a different path from other vassal kings. Most of the other vassal states went to places where the natives were more dense. Victory over the local natives militarily.

   Zhang Anshi relied on only this kind of blood connection.

In addition, Zhang Anshi still has some small selfishness. Whether Xinzhou is far away or close is not close. If the relationship between each other deepens, a large number of people and business contacts will inevitably have a great demand for ships, and they will be better and faster. There will also be a huge demand for ships!

  This also has huge development for the future shipping industry.

  After hearing this, Zhu Di seemed to agree, without much hesitation, he nodded and said, "This...I'm sure."

"As for this guard..." Zhang Anshi paused, and then continued: "Your Majesty, there is already a guard in Xinzhou, and I am wondering whether this guard can be changed to a sea guard and established at a port in Xinzhou. Water village, practice boats."

"As far as I know, pirates are rampant in Java, Luzon and other waters, but His Royal Highnesses Zhao Wang and Ning Wang are now focusing on land. There are not many natives on the land in Xinzhou. It is only necessary for the common people to protect themselves. Some locally established inspections can solve the safety problem. It is better to simply change this guard into a navy guard to wipe out pirates in the nearby waters. It can not only eliminate pirates, but also cooperate with Zhao Wang and Ning in Luzon, Java and other places Wang Junma."

   "Set up a navy?" Zhu Di opened his eyes slightly, lowered his head as if thinking for a while, then looked up at Zhang Anshi and said, "What about the ships and other firearms needed?"

  Zhang An Shidao: "We can find a way to make it locally. Of course, this will not cost the court's silver. The ministers will come out with the money."

  Zhu Di said: "That's fine."

  The sea area is too big, so big that Zhu Di has no scruples.

  As a large number of Ming's ships began to go to sea one after another, the pirates who needed it seemed to be eyeing the fat, so there were reports of pirates attacking the ships of Ming from time to time.

   Part of Zhu Di's current ship needs to explore and explore the world. The other part is to continue to sail to the Western Ocean. The purpose of the cruise is to deter all countries in the world.

   In addition, there are a large number of merchant ships, but it is difficult for merchant ships to really kill pirates, because the purpose of merchant ships is to have a deeper draft and accommodate more cargo.

  So this kind of ship can't add too much protection, and the speed is not fast, which leads to the fact that even if it encounters pirates, even if the people on board are enough to protect themselves, they cannot chase the pirates.

  If Zhang Anshi establishes a navy in Xinzhou, Java, and Luzon to carry out cruises, this will greatly alleviate the safety problems of the routes in this area.

  The more Zhu Di thought about it, the more he felt that this proposal was very good, so he said: "I agree with this."

  Zhang Anshi happily said: "Thank you, Your Majesty."

  Zhu Di then said: "Your machine gun is very powerful, how much can you make every month?"

  Obviously, what Zhu Di misses most now is the machine gun.

"More than a dozen." Zhang Anshi said: "This is already the fastest speed, but in my opinion, how many machine guns can be produced is second, and the most difficult thing right now is the problem of ammunition. Its The rate of fire is too fast, and the consumption of bullets is extremely astonishing, and it is very difficult to manufacture this special bullet, I... now I am also trying to find a way to see if I can improve it."

  Zhu Di said: "We must try our best to improve."

  Zhu Di paused, and then said: "Tell the truth, how many bullets can you make in a month?"

Zhang Anshi said: "Only 30,000 to 50,000 rounds. If more craftsmen are recruited, the output may be increased to hundreds of thousands of rounds. But the gain is not worth the loss. After thinking about it, we still have to work on the tools. But... Your Majesty, now Now that the thing has been created, in fact, as long as you are willing to work hard, it is only a matter of time to break through this shackle."

  Zhu Di thought for a while and said: "One hundred thousand hairs per month, you first recruit a group of craftsmen to make them for me. As for improving production, you also have to recruit a group of people to work hard."

  Zhang Anshi smiled wryly: "Your Majesty...this...is a bit difficult."

   "Difficult?" Zhu Di looked at Zhang Anshi in surprise: "Why is this so difficult?"

   "There are not so many skilled craftsmen." Zhang Anshi replied honestly: "After all, there are other projects that need to be studied. In addition, so many skilled craftsmen are called for mass production, and it takes..."

  Zhu Di: "..."

  Zhu Di walked back and forth a few steps with his hands behind his back, and then said: "The most indispensable thing for my Ming Dynasty is manpower. I will just send you as many craftsmen as you need."

   Who knew Zhang Anshi shook his head again: "Your Majesty, this craftsman is not that craftsman."

  Zhu Di: "..."

"Ordinary craftsmen, what they can do is simple manufacturing, but if it involves things like machine guns, it is a bit difficult to improve it with their skills." Zhang Anshi paused, then continued Said: "Most of my craftsmen in the Ming Dynasty can't read big characters, and don't know how to calculate, but to truly become a craftsman, these are indispensable."

"Besides... this alchemy is even more difficult to get involved. The danger of alchemy is not small, so repeated experiments are required, the results of the experiments must be recorded, and at the same time, the experiments must be compared. There is nothing here. If there is no one who can read and write, and has a high level of arithmetic, it will be impossible to complete the slightest mistake."

"I have encountered such a problem right now. In my Ming Dynasty, anyone who can read and write, and has a good foundation in arithmetic often disdains to be a craftsman, but there are not many such craftsmen, and many projects cannot be promoted. Now I can't wait to use one person as if it were ten people. But if it is used in this way, it will easily distract these rare artisans, and if they are negligent, it will be tantamount to putting them in danger."

Speaking of this, Zhang Anshi sighed, and said with a somewhat gloomy mood: "Your Majesty, just a few days ago, there was an explosion in our workshop, which killed and injured many people. Your property is a trivial matter, but the loss of a person is unbearable."

  After hearing this, Zhu Di finally understood what Zhang Anshi meant.

  These craftsmen are very important, without such craftsmen, then this machine gun may be just a thing of ingenuity and obscenity, and it cannot be applied on a large scale at all.

   And...with a machine gun, who knows what else will be made in the future!

  It can be said...these powerful things are extremely important to Da Ming. Once Da Ming stops, it will be a huge loss.

  However, as many projects progress, the shortage of manpower becomes more serious. In the past, if he only made one or two small gadgets, there must be brave men under the heavy rewards. Zhang Anshi can always gather dozens or hundreds of people.

  But it’s different now. For a single machine gun, the manpower required for mechanical manufacturing, alchemy, and smelting may be hundreds or even thousands, and it’s just a machine gun.

  If there were no continuous stream of scholars willing to join this ranks, the machine gun that Zhang Anshi let Zhu Di see was actually nothing but the so-called 'auspicious'.

  Auspiciousness was given by the heavens immediately, and the randomness is too strong, but in fact, it is impossible to apply it on a large scale.

  Zhu Di's face became more and more solemn, and he said: "In this way, you mean..."

Zhang Anshidao: "Your Majesty, do you still remember what I said about scholars, farmers, and businessmen? If scholars, farmers, and businessmen are all citizens of Ming Dynasty, they are all equally important to Ming Dynasty, regardless of high or low, or... think of a way to elevate the status of skilled craftsmen. It may attract aspiring scholars from all over the world, with the dream of becoming a craftsman, to enter this industry. Only when this trend is reversed and everyone realizes the importance of craftsmen can the problem of manpower be solved.”

Zhang Anshi paused, and then said: "My Ming Dynasty does not lack manpower, just like my Ming Dynasty opened the imperial examination, so there are hundreds of thousands of people in the world studying hard, just to get fame, and they have worked hard all their lives. What a grand occasion it is to make a fuss. In the same way, if the status of a craftsman is comparable to that of a scholar, then my engineering studies in Ming Dynasty will be all-encompassing. What is a mere machine gun?"

  Zhu Di said thoughtfully: "I finally understand what you mean. No wonder you said those things to me yesterday. I only thought you were just taking this opportunity to ridicule scholars."

  Zhang Anshidao: "Your Majesty said such a thing, how can I be such a person?"

  Zhu Di pondered, and said: "I will think about this matter."

"There is one more thing." Zhang Anshi paused and said: "Mr. Dingguo, and some of the meritorious officials' children, hope to go to the workshop to learn how to make this machine. Of course, they have a young temper. I'm afraid they are just temporary. Rise..."

   "Let them try it. Xu Jingchang bastard."

  When Zhu Di mentioned Xu Jingchang, he became very angry.

   Throughout Daming, he cared most about the two families.

One is the Zhang family. This Zhang family does not refer to Zhang An's family, but Zhang Yu's family. After all, Zhang Yu died in the battle to rescue him. The Zhang family's orphans such as Zhang Fu and Zhang Fu. Nature is extra care.

  The other one is Xu Jingchang. On the one hand, Xu Jingchang is the nephew of Empress Xu. After Xu Da, he will take care of him.

What's more, when Zhu Di was in trouble, no one was optimistic about it. Almost everyone regarded Zhu Di as a rebel, but Xu Jingchang's father, Xu Zengshou, was already the governor of the five armies and an extremely human minister, but he was still in the crucial position. At that time, he passed military secrets to Zhu Di, and finally he was killed.

  Xu Jingchang inherited the title at a very young age. Seeing that this kid is mediocre, Zhu Di was so angry that he couldn't help but want to catch him and beat him up.

Zhu Di cursed angrily for a while, and then said: "This guy... no one controls the urination, if this continues, it will be a disaster sooner or later. I will never tolerate him and let him let him go. If he wants to learn, then let him Let him try it. But..."

Speaking of this, Zhu Di looked up at Zhang Anshi, his expression also became solemn, and said: "Xu Jingchang, this kid, has always been stubborn. He has been orphaned since he was a child, and people in the government usually rely on him and try to please him in every possible way. I am worried." ...Don't delay this kid."

  Zhang Anshi smiled and said: "Don't worry, Your Majesty, I will take good care of him, and there will be no trouble in the custody."

  After hearing this, Zhu Di took a fixed look at Zhang Anshi, then nodded and said, "Well, you have always been organized in your affairs, and you are his brother-in-law, so you shouldn't have any major problems."

   Immediately afterwards, Zhu Di took all the generals to test the machine gun.

  Under the guidance of Zhang Anshi, Zhu Di personally manipulated the machine gun, and began to shoot with a rattling sound. All of a sudden, the blood spurted and he was extremely powerful.

  He couldn't help but said happily: "Haha, interesting, interesting."

   Everyone shouted long live.

   When the hunt was over, Zhu Di drove back to the palace contentedly.

   Zhu Zhanji insisted on riding a pony to accompany him, and Zhang Anshi also rode side by side with him.

  Zhu Zhanji said: "Uncle, I don't think that machine gun is very powerful."

   "Yes, yes, it is not as good as your riding and shooting." Zhang Anshi didn't bother to argue with the children, so yes yes is right.

  Zhu Zhanji said: "But when I think about it carefully, the real power of this thing is not in this."

   "Huh?" These words caught Zhang Anshi's attention.

I saw Zhu Zhanji said: "Since such a thing can be made, why not learn from it? You can make better artillery, and you can have better chariots and horses. This is a mechanical technique. As long as you understand the mystery here, Maybe... many things can be integrated."

After a pause, Zhu Zhanji continued: "It's like learning poetry. Once you learn how to compose poems, then writing lyrics and essays will not be an obstacle. Uncle, you need to work **** engineering. I will see you in the future." Useful."

  Zhang Anshi couldn't help looking at Zhu Zhanji with strange eyes.

  So Zhu Zhanji couldn't help saying: "Uncle, what do you see me doing?"

  Zhang Anshi said: "Sure enough, my uncle didn't love you in vain, and taught you by precepts and deeds on weekdays. My family, Zhanji, will definitely have great achievements in the future."

  Zhang Anshi naturally knew that Zhu Zhanji in history was both civil and military, and extremely smart.

   What surprised Zhang Anshi was that Zhu Zhanji had an imagination that was beyond the reach of ordinary people when he was young.

  Actually, this is also understandable. Adults often have a fixed mindset. When they see a machine gun, they will only be shocked by the power of the machine gun and imagine how to use it to kill the enemy.

But Zhu Zhanji is different. At this time, Zhu Zhanji not only learns the emperor's art from Zhu Di, but also has the best general in the world to teach him how to command troops and ride and shoot, and the best Confucian in the world to teach him classics and history. .

  In addition, Zhang Anshi, who has been a man for two lifetimes, took him to broaden his horizons. In terms of dealing with people, his mother, Mrs. Zhang, is even an expert, and she taught Zhu Zhanji properly.

   It can be said... This little guy who has accumulated almost all the top resources in the world seems to have revealed a way of thinking that is more difficult to understand than ordinary people.

  Zhu Zhanji tilted his little head at this time and said: "But... why didn't the ancients know this? It's really strange. The ancients wrote poems and lyrics, and all of them were unwilling to work."

  Zhang Anshi glanced at him with relief, and said: "Because people who want to work cannot read and write, so they can't accumulate these things. And people who can read and write don't bother to work."

  Zhu Zhanji remained silent and continued to ponder.

  Zhang Anshi didn't bother to tell him the standard answer, he just expressed his own opinion, but God knows what the reason is. After all, there must be many reasons for the formation of anything. It's better to let Zhu Zhanji think for himself.

   Zhu Di returned to the palace, and after being ecstatic, he gradually calmed down.

  Zhang Anshi's words appeared in his mind again and again.

  He had a melancholy look on his face, it was obvious that these words had already had a great effect.

  However, what he is facing is the social ethos that has been formed for thousands of years, and there are deep-rooted thoughts that all things are inferior but only reading is high.

  And these words, the so-called reading is a very narrow sense, this reading is only limited to reading the classics of sages.

   "Your Majesty..." Yi Shiha cautiously appeared beside him, smiling authentically.

  Zhu Di put his mind away, raised his head and said, "What do you think about this hunt?"

  As soon as these words came out, Yi Shiha immediately thought of the machine gun, so he said, "The servants are all shocked, there are still..."

  Zhu Di shook his head and said: "No, although I was also petrified, I was really frightened."

   "Ah..." Yi Shiha hurriedly said, "Is Your Majesty worried about something?"

"Of course I'm worried." Zhu Di said, "Manpower can have such supernatural power. What a terrifying thing. If Zhang Qing's family can find a way to gather a large number of craftsmen to make it, then... I was thinking, this world is so big, four There are barbarians everywhere, since the opening of the sea, I only know that there are as many barbarians in the world as a cow's hair, could it be that there is no barbarian in one place... and there are extremely smart people like Zhang Anshi?"

  Yi Shiha hastily said: "Your Majesty, you are too worried, my Ming Dynasty is the king of heaven."

However, Zhu Di was very sober, not in the mood to enjoy himself, and said very honestly: "If the kingdom of heaven is a state, how could even the Khitan occupy the Central Plains in the north, how could there be Jurchens acting fiercely, and how could there be Tatars who ruled the world? Don’t talk about the words, use them to talk to the people and coax the people, that’s right, but if you use these words to deceive yourself, you will stumble.”

After a pause, Zhu Di went on to say: "I heard that there are many barbarians who admire merchants, such as the Semu people. Will there be people who admire skillful craftsmen in this world? Maybe after decades or a hundred years, these people With such a magical weapon, why did it appear in the territory of Ming Dynasty?"

   "If that's the case...how can I win? I was surprised and frightened when I saw this thing. If there is such a thing in the world, then there may be something sharper than this in this world. How can I resist then?"

  Speaking, Zhu Di stood up and continued: "People have no long-term concerns, but they must have near-term worries. If I don't want to be long-term, my children and grandchildren may suffer. After thinking about it, I am about to change."

   "Go and call Master Yao and Jin Zhonglai, I have important matters to discuss with them."

  Yi Shiha took a deep look at Zhu Di, and then said: "Your maid obeys the order."

  (end of this chapter)