Gao Gong mentioned that the border army should strengthen its armaments, which of course Gao Shishi was very concerned about, after all, there are some military industries in his plan, and they are mainly concentrated in firearms, but at present, due to some current conditions, it is not possible to start construction casually, let alone launch it indiscriminately.

There are at least three main problems here:

The first is the military production system of the Ming Dynasty, whether it is the Beijing camp or the border army, its military production, especially armor and firearms, is the industry of the imperial court, that is, the so-called official camp.

The government-run industries of the Ming Dynasty are roughly divided into the following categories: government-run handicrafts under the leadership of the Ministry of Industry; government-run handicrafts under the leadership of the Ministry of Internal Affairs; the government-run handicraft industry under the leadership of the Ministry of Households; the government-run handicraft industry under the leadership of Du Siwei; The government-run handicraft industry under the leadership of the local government.

For example, the Ministry of Industry is responsible for military production, the Ministry of Internal Affairs is also responsible for military production, the Metropolitan Health Office is more responsible for military production, and even some local governments can start military production themselves. The Ministry of War can also issue instructions on the production of these military industries, such as putting forward quality or quantity requirements, and so on.

But in any case, the military industry is rarely opened by individuals, and firearms are the most tightly controlled by the imperial court. [Wufeng Note: As mentioned earlier in this book, the Ming Dynasty did not prohibit the people from owning cold weapons such as bows and crossbows, swords, etc., but it strictly prohibited the manufacture and possession of flags, armor, firearms, etc.] ]

Gao pragmatic has little interest in products such as flags and armor, even if the armor manufacturing in the era of cold weapons can actually be regarded as a "high-tech industry", he is not interested at all.

In his opinion, the business of cold weapons does not need him to help Daming, and it is enough to improve the method of iron smelting and steelmaking, build a few steel plants in suitable locations, and provide Daming with some better steel.

He wants to get involved and have a deep impact on nothing but firearms.

But having said that, just to provide some new technologies for the government-run industry, in Gao Pragmatic's view, first, the effect may not be enough, because the production system of the Ming Dynasty itself has problems, and it cannot complete the needs with quality and quantity; The second is that Gao Pragmatic thinks it is not cost-effective - Gao Pragmatic has never been a saint, so that he has no selfishness and is dedicated to the public. He felt that it was better for him to make this profit than to let the corrupted waste department take it to the detriment of the public and private interests, at least he could make money while maintaining quality and quantity, which was really a public and private situation.

In addition, there is another ulterior reason that he has another plan that needs to be supported by the military production capacity at hand, otherwise even if he can really replace Zhang Juzheng in history in the future and succeed in reforming, it is difficult to predict the fate of himself and his followers...... is good at seeking the country, clumsy at seeking a glorious life, and is not going to have it.

However, at this time, it was not Gao Shishi's turn to start his reverie, and Gao Gong had already continued: "When I am really strong and strong in the Ming Dynasty on a different day, I will advance and retreat freely, which is the long-term plan." Therefore, even if Tonggong succeeds, we must not stop there, be satisfied with the present, lose the sense of adversity, and do not want to forge ahead. ”

Gao Gong said: "I will ask the border ministers to break the norm, really rectify, and ask Your Majesty to send talented ministers or outspoken science and technology officials to the border inspection and supervision, to see that the money and grain have accumulated a little compared with the previous year, the dangers have been increased and repaired compared with the previous year, the soldiers and horses have been supplemented compared with the previous year, the equipment has been rebuilt compared with the previous year, and the other Tuntian salt laws and everything have been expanded a little more than the previous year, etc., and so on, so that they can't be like in the past, and take money from the center in empty vernacular - it's okay to ask for money, you have to show real results!" ”

Gao Pragmatic listened, his heart was very pleased, secretly thinking that Gao Gong is worthy of being a master of practical learning, and the content he just mentioned to ask the emperor's special officials to inspect is also the thing that border officials must "cultivate with a solid heart", the requirements are very specific, very intuitive, and quantifiable, so they also have strong operability. If it is handled in this way according to what he said, then the actions and inactions of the border ministers, and the quality of their grades will be easy to evaluate, and there will be a basis for supervision and responsibility.

In the end, Gao Gong said: "In addition, we have to reformulate the reward and punishment system for border ministers, and those who are effective in rectifying must have the same merit as killing the enemy; If the rectification is ineffective or the border defense deteriorates during the term of office, it will be punished as a 'missed opportunity'. ”

After listening to this, Gao Shishi found that he had little to add, so he had to agree first, and then turn the topic back to what he cared about, and said, "Since you also plan to ask Your Majesty to send more people to inspect the frontier, so that the center can better understand the real situation of border defense, why not start with your nephew this time?" ”

"You?" Gao Gong shook his head: "You can't go." ”

Gao was a little anxious and asked, "Why can't I do it?" ”

"I'm not saying you can't do these things." Gao Gong smiled: "But, in what capacity are you going?" In what name do you go? ”

He didn't wait for Gao to answer pragmatically, so he continued: "Your identity in the official face is just the prince's companion, but the prince is only the prince, and he has no power to interfere in government affairs, you are his companion, you don't want to accompany him to study in the palace, but go to the border town to hang around, guess what those officials will say?" ”

"And for the same reason, you can't find a convincing name for you to go to the border town to meddle in this matter openly." When Gao Gong said this, he looked at his nephew, who was too wise to speak, and said slowly: "So you can probably only go to the border town in a private capacity, and you may feel that your private identity is more suitable to deal with this matter, right?" ”

Gao Pragmatic was in a daze, but he didn't dare to be sloppy with the third uncle at this time, so he could only honestly say: "What the third uncle expected was very ......"

Gao Gong snorted lightly, glared at him, and said: "Your private identity is easy to use - you are my Gao Gong's nephew, Zhang Fengpan's nephew, when you come to Xuan and Da, Wang Chonggu, Wu Dui and others will always take care of you in the face of me and your uncle, and some of your words may also be interpreted as the meaning of me and your uncle...... That way, you'll be able to get out of it and steer things in the direction you want to see, right? ”

Gao pragmatic opened his mouth, but he didn't dare to respond directly. Gao Gong snorted coldly again and asked, "I still say that, you think that this will be easy to do." But have you ever thought about it, in this case, what will those science and Taoist officials say? Have you ever thought about it, what will Zhao Zhenji, the elder of the cabinet who is in charge of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, say? ”