novelAbuy Chapter 009 The Apocalypse Emperor's New Toy
Chapter 009 The Apocalypse Emperor's New Toy
Chapter 009
Yongcheng Agricultural Implements Manufacturing Bureau, Office.
"Chen Lang, what's wrong with you? Let's fight and sell ourselves; that's the only way to make real money!"
Song Yanniang thought that Chen Ying could make a fortune by inventing the iron plow, but she did not expect that Chen Ying would hand it over to the county and only get a supervisory position in the manufacturing bureau.
The problem is that the chief administrator is not an official on the payroll, but a local official in Yongcheng. His income is allocated according to the Yongcheng treasury. For example, Chen Ying's monthly salary is only one shi and two dou.
"Yan Niang, a common man is innocent, but possessing a treasure is a crime!"
Chen Ying explained, "Yan Niang, do you really think we can protect such a new plow that we've forged?"
Song Yanniang fell silent. She knew very well that it was now a world where the strong preyed on the weak.
Their Song family was actually a branch of the Song family of Guide Prefecture. Their ancestor was Song Wan, the younger brother of Song Yang. In terms of seniority, Song Xun, the former Minister of Personnel in the Ming Dynasty, was Song Xianze's great-uncle.
Unfortunately, the Song family of Yongcheng had long since declined. If their main branch in Guide Prefecture had produced many talented individuals and been ranked among the four major clans and eight great families of Guide Prefecture, they would have been completely devoured by the gentry of Yongcheng long ago.
Chen Ying smiled and said, "Bo'an, what do you think?"
"My brother-in-law's workshop is called the Yongcheng Agricultural Implements Workshop. The sign is government-owned, the iron is allocated from the government granary, and the craftsmen are disaster victims serving as laborers. To put it bluntly, it's a government-run job. Since it's government-run, the plows it makes naturally belong to the government."
Song Xianze explained, "But the government has no money. Guide Prefecture and its seven counties were flooded, and the treasury was empty long ago. Even if Magistrate Sun wanted to buy it, he couldn't come up with tens of thousands of taels of silver. So my brother-in-law simply gave it away for free. On the surface, it was generous, but in reality, it completely tied the construction bureau and Magistrate Sun's achievements together."
"The newly plowed fields sent out and the reclaimed land in each village are the achievements of Magistrate Sun. The greater the achievements, the faster Magistrate Sun will be promoted, and the more stable the position of the Construction Bureau will be, as it is the source of these achievements."
"When Magistrate Sun is promoted and the next magistrate arrives, will he dare to easily touch the plows that our supervisory bureau has made everywhere? He won't dare."
Song Yanniang seemed to understand but not quite, then looked at Chen Ying, her brows gradually relaxing.
Song Xianze continued, "We've given away these plows for free, but we've incurred a debt of gratitude. The village heads, wealthy families, and even ordinary farmers have used our plows and are indebted to us. In the future, when we need to buy land, hire people, or even start other businesses, these people will be readily available help. And also…"
"Brother-in-law, this project is using iron from the official granaries and government relief grain. It seems like a loss, but in reality, it hasn't cost us a penny. Yet, we've built such a large workshop, trained hundreds of craftsmen, and made a name for the Yongcheng Construction Bureau!"
"Once this disaster is over, the government can't support this business forever. At that time, my brother-in-law can rightfully take over the workshop and turn it into his own property. And then, with our skills, manpower, reputation, and the favors we owe the whole county, what business can't we do?"
Chen Ying clapped his hands and laughed: "Bo'an, Bo'an, you see things clearly!"
Song Xianze showed no smugness: "Brother-in-law, this scheme is very well laid out. However... with such calculations and such binding, if one day... the county magistrate has other ideas, or the court's stance changes, you, the supervisor of the construction bureau, will be the first to be pushed out to take the blame..."
"Bo'an, you're right. The tighter the binding, the greater the risk in the future."
Chen Ying sighed and said, "When are we born and not gambling? Soldiers gamble that they will have food to eat tomorrow, farmers gamble that the weather will be good this year, and merchants gamble that they will not encounter bandits on their next shipment. I, Chen Boying, have just placed a bigger bet."
"In this world, you can't survive on small fry. You either cower in a corner waiting to be crushed, or you stand up. The bigger the storm, the more expensive the fish!"
Although Chen Ying was unaware that Li Xiaojie and the other six clerks and officials in Yongcheng County had all filed complaints against him, and even Sun Chuanting was doubting his abilities and whether he could handle the matter well.
Chen Ying could only do his best. As soon as the refining furnace was completed, he began the drying process without waiting. Once the furnace started drying, he led the laborers and craftsmen to start smelting pig iron.
While Chen Ying taught the craftsmen how to work by dividing the process into steps, the iron plow molds were also made. The entire manufacturing bureau employed a three-shift system, with the furnace running continuously even when people were resting.
Even at midnight, Chen Ying was still supervising production at the Manufacturing Bureau. His adoptive father, Chen Youshi, and his mother, An Shi, were also not resting. Chen Youshi tried several times to remind Chen Ying to rest earlier.
He couldn't bring himself to say it.
Why is Chen Ying working so hard?
Isn't it because his father is useless?
If he had worked hard enough back then, he would have been the one to inherit the title of centurion, and Chen Ying wouldn't have needed to work so hard.
"Smack..."
Chen slapped himself hard; he truly regretted it at that moment.
"Old man, what's wrong?"
"It's okay, there are just mosquitoes!"
An knew perfectly well that Chen was sometimes unhappy, but she didn't know how to comfort him.
Life is tough, and surviving is incredibly difficult.
After a busy night, the Yongcheng Agricultural Implements Manufacturing Bureau successfully produced ten iron-shafted plows. In fact, a total of twenty-three were produced, thirteen of which had quality problems.
Left with no other choice, Chen Ying had to have the parts melted down and recast.
These ten iron plows, still warm, were transported by Sun Jian to Yongcheng County.
Along with these ten iron-shafted plows and a court report, along with two new plows, they were also sent to Guide Prefecture. When Zheng Sanjun, the prefect of Guide Prefecture, saw the iron-shafted plows, he immediately conducted an experiment. Seeing the actual effect, he immediately wrote a court report and sent it to the Henan Provincial Administration Commission.
Huang Yanshi, the Henan Provincial Surveillance Commissioner, was originally the leader of the Chu Party, an important member of the Qi-Chu-Zhe Party, and a political opponent of the Donglin Party. He was transferred to the position of Henan Provincial Surveillance Commissioner in August of the first year of the Tianqi reign, a high-ranking official of the third rank.
The problem is that this is not what Huang Yanshi wanted. His best option was to stay in the capital and serve as a censor, where he could give orders and expose the hypocrites of the Donglin Party.
Unfortunately, he was driven out of the capital and had no chance to return to Beijing after arriving in Henan, but this iron plow gave him hope.
……
May 28th, the third year of the Tianqi reign (1623), in the capital.
At the third quarter of the hour of Yin (3:45 AM), before the summer morning light had pierced the eastern sky, the lamps in the West Warm Pavilion of the Qianqing Palace in the Forbidden City had already been lit.
In the West Warm Pavilion, various woodworking tools, such as planes, chisels, ink lines, and carpenter's squares, are displayed in the multi-compartment cabinet against the wall. This was the woodworking workshop of the Tianqi Emperor.
Emperor Tianqi, Zhu Youxiao, rolled up his sleeves to his elbows, revealing his lean forearms. With his left hand on a piece of sandalwood and his right hand holding a narrow chisel, he was carefully carving out the stamen of a lotus flower.
The candlelight danced on his face, reflecting a focused, almost pious expression.
He was only nineteen years old this year, with a handsome face and a youthful innocence in his eyes and brows, but there were faint dark circles under his eyes. At this moment, all his attention was on that lotus flower, and he did not even notice Wang Tiqian, the Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial, who walked in quietly.
"Your Majesty..."
Wang Tiqian bowed and said, "Huang Yanshi, the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner of Henan, has presented something, saying it is a new type of agricultural implement."
"Agricultural implements?"
Zhu Youxiao was slightly taken aback: "What kind of agricultural implements?"
Wang Tiqian presented a memorial: "Inspector Huang attached a memorial stating that this object is called the Iron Plow, invented by a military household in Guide Prefecture. It can reduce the effort required for plowing the land by 40% and increase efficiency by 40%. It is specially presented to His Majesty for review."
"Where are the things?"
Zhu Youxiao didn't even glance at the memorial. Two eunuchs carried the iron plow into the warm pavilion and gently placed it on the ground.
Zhu Youxiao couldn't wait to lift the red cloth covering it. He squinted at it for a while, then reached out to touch the plowshare.
"Is this high-quality steel?"
Zhu Youxiao had a passion for craftsmanship since childhood, and the master craftsmen in the palace workshops taught him a lot about the intricacies of iron smelting.
Pig iron is brittle, wrought iron is soft, only refined steel has both hardness and toughness. However, refined steel is time-consuming and labor-intensive. A good knife takes more than half a month to forge, and the cost is high. It has always been used only for military equipment and famous weapons. I have never seen it used to make plowshares.
He looked at the iron shaft, which was also made of fine steel. The curve of the shaft was very precise. He ran his fingers along the curved surface and could feel that the center of gravity was evenly distributed in the middle of the shaft, which was to save effort when holding the plow.
Looking at the plowshare, its curved surface is as smooth as a mirror, designed to ensure smooth turning of the soil without it sticking...
"Isn't this hundred-times-forged steel forged through countless hammer blows?"
Zhu Youxiao saw no signs of forging, which greatly intrigued him: "This is interesting."
Wang Tiqian, who was standing nearby, breathed a sigh of relief. The Emperor was a recluse and rarely paid attention to anything other than carpentry. It was unusual that he could stare at these farm tools for so long today.
"Wang Banban, tell me, if this plow really can save 40% of the effort and increase the yield by 40% as the memorial states, how much more grain can farmers across the land harvest in a year?"
Wang Tiqian was taken aback, and hurriedly bowed, saying, "This servant is dull-witted, this...this...this servant cannot calculate it."
"Even I can't calculate it."
Zhu Youxiao pondered for a moment and said, "But it's a good thing nonetheless. Henan has just suffered a disaster. If this can help, the autumn harvest might be larger and fewer people might starve to death."
"That military household? Chen Boying, a military household member of Guide Guard... only twenty-one years old?"
"That's what the memorial says."
"At twenty-one, he can improve iron smelting methods and design such ingenious agricultural implements... he's a true talent!"
Wei Zhongxian, the Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial and the Director of the Eastern Depot, rushed over.
He was now fifty-five years old, with a fair complexion and no beard, long and narrow eyebrows and eyes. He wore a bright red python robe, yet his steps were light and silent. After entering the pavilion, he lifted his robe and knelt down: "This servant greets Your Majesty."
"stand up."
Zhu Youxiao laughed and said, "A new type of iron plow has arrived in Henan. Have you seen it?"
Wei Zhongxian rose, his hands clasped at his sides, and said, "This servant saw him last night. Huang Yanshi was a third-class Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination) in the Jia Chen year of the Wanli reign (1604), and served as the Supervising Censor of Guizhou Circuit. Later, he was transferred to Henan, where he served as the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner for two years. His reputation was acceptable..."
Wei Zhongxian knew that the enemy of my enemy is my friend. Huang Yanshi, the leader of the Chu Party, had always stood on the opposite side of the Donglin Party. Two years ago, when Huang Yanshi was demoted and sent out of the capital, Wei Zhongxian was still being suppressed by Wang An, the Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial.
The Donglin Party was able to rise to prominence because they staunchly supported Zhu Changluo during the succession struggle in the Wanli era, and after Zhu Changluo's sudden death, they supported the crown prince Zhu Youxiao to succeed to the throne, making them meritorious officials who helped Zhu Youxiao to become emperor.
It's a great pity that the Donglin Party, which initially aimed to stabilize the country, later turned into fighting for the sake of fighting, becoming devoid of any bottom line or principles.
Wei Zhongxian didn't mind his Zhejiang and Hubei factions praising him, and Huang Yanshi made the right bet.
Wei Zhongxian did speak well of him: "He repeatedly submitted memorials requesting a transfer, but his requests were not granted."
"I am asking about the plow, and the person who made it."
"This servant has already sent someone to investigate. Chen Boying is a hereditary military household of Guide Guard. His ancestors were hereditary centurions, but the family fortunes declined by the time of his father, Chen Youshi. This man was quite unruly in his youth and often committed petty theft."
"After the Yellow River breached its banks this year, this man improved iron smelting techniques and created this iron-shafted plow. Zheng Sanjun, the prefect of Guide, and Sun Chuanting, the magistrate of Yongcheng, both greatly appreciated him and appointed him as the head of the Yongcheng Agricultural Implements Manufacturing Bureau. Now he oversees hundreds of craftsmen and produces more than a hundred plows every day."
"Has this unruly fellow suddenly become enlightened?"
Zhu Youxiao laughed and said, "That's interesting, Wei Banban. Do you know why I enjoy woodworking?"
"Your Majesty possesses extraordinary ingenuity and unparalleled craftsmanship..."
"Because wood is honest. Whatever its grain is, that's what it is; whatever force it's meant to bear, that's how much force it can withstand. If it's planed flat, it's flat; if it's chiseled through, it's through—it's honest and straightforward, crystal clear. Unlike people..."
Zhu Youxiao paused for a moment: "This plow is just like the wood I like. It's straight where it should be straight, curved where it should be curved, and sharp where it should be sharp. It doesn't play tricks."
"What does Your Majesty mean?"
"Let's wait and see."
Zhu Youxiao said slowly, "If this plow can truly make a difference in disaster relief in Henan, and if Chen Boying is truly talented... I will not hesitate to reward him."
He looked up at Wei Zhongxian: "Huang Yanshi has rendered meritorious service by presenting the plow; he is permitted to return to the capital and be transferred to the position of Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works. Have him write a report detailing the implementation of this plow in Henan and submit it to us."
"Yes."
"As for that Chen Boying, have the Eastern Depot... keep an eye on him. Don't alarm him. I want to see what else this kid can do."
"This servant understands."
Zhu Youxiao sat alone behind the desk and looked at the iron plow again. He recalled the joy he felt when he was fourteen years old and made a complete mortise and tenon table on his own for the first time.
At that time, the late emperor was still alive. He stroked his head and said, "My son has ingenious ideas. If he can apply them to the affairs of the state, it will surely be a blessing for all the people."
But in the end, he failed to use this ingenious idea for national affairs.
The court was rife with factional strife, and the border was engulfed in constant warfare. The memorials were filled with requests for money or grain, which he neither understood nor wanted to understand.
Only when I'm hiding in this warm room, carving wood, can I find a moment of peace.
But this iron plow from a thousand miles away suddenly reminded him of the phrase "the blessing of all people".
"Chen Boying..."
Zhu Youxiao said in a low voice, "Don't disappoint me..."
Upon hearing this, Wei Zhongxian's eyes flashed, and he thought to himself, "Chen Boying, this kid's ancestors' graves are emitting auspicious smoke!"