Chapter 17 in Foshan III

"A few years ago, this generation gathered people in the city to storm the government." He Wuyu said: "Disobedience. They are all unruly people. How important the manufacturing bureau is, if it is handed over to this generation, I am afraid that it will not be settled in the future. ”

Zhang Xuan said lightly: "I am also a Ming rebel. ”

When He Wuyu heard this, his heart was suddenly shocked. For a moment, I felt chills all over my body. Sweat through heavy clothing. said: "Xiaguan, Xiaguan didn't mean that." Please be a general. ”

"Alright." Zhang Xuan said: "Make things clear. ”

"Yes. Be. He Wuyu said.

He Wuyu paused for a moment and said, "It's been a few years now. Far from it, in the second year of the Apocalypse, the head of the Seven Elements protested in front of the Lingying Temple. In the seventh year of Chongzhen, the head of the Seven Guilds besieged the officials of Nanhai County, and things were almost out of control. There have been many incidents, not these two things. It can be seen that it is unruly and untamed. For the sake of the manufacturing bureau, please also ask the general to consider carefully. ”

Zhang Xuan listened to He Wuyu's words and doubted his beliefs. But he couldn't listen to He Wuyu's words.

And he intuitively felt that there was something wrong with it.

It's not that Zhang Xuan looks down on these guilds, there are certainly some rich people among these guilds. But it is too far from being a rich man like the four major families, but it is just a small people, and if this kind of person is not forced to a dead end, how can he confront the government?

There must be something hidden in it.

It's just that He Wuyu is clearly preconceived. It seems that the truth cannot be heard from He Wuyu.

"I see." Zhang Xuan said. Zhang Xuan sent off the guest lukewarmly, and then called Wang Cannon over.

Although Wang Cannon has now been transferred to an artillery general, he has not let go of his ability to strike iron. Even though some of the hands are raw, the eyesight is still there. Zhang Xuan specially called Wang Dacang over as a technical consultant.

After all, Zhang Xuan is a blank for both modern and ancient iron-smelting technology.

"General." Wang Cannon said.

Zhang Xuan said, "Sit." ”

After Wang Dacang sat down, Zhang Xuan asked, "What do you think of the technology here in Foshan?" ”

Wang Cannon's eyes were almost glowing, and he said: "General, these are all masters, and the small ones are eye-opening." Wang Dacang had a fan's expression, he was in his forties, and he was as excited as a teenager.

On the attainment of the king cannon in the blacksmith. A good hand at best. More than that. And what is Foshan, is the center of South China's iron industry. As mentioned before, the essence of smelters. Nothing more than Foshan. It's like three graduates who entered Tsinghua University and Peking University for observation.

If you don't understand it at all, it's like Zhang Xuan, but it's just a lively look. Only people like Wang Cannon who are in the door can see how great and difficult it is. Zhang Xuan asked, and he almost chattered: "I never thought that there is a 'baking' step for casting iron here in Foshan. Ordinary mud molds, after watering, are all naturally shaded, but I don't want Foshan to have such a wonderful method----"

"Alright." Zhang Xuan interrupted Wang Cannon's words. If Wang Cannon said something else. Zhang Xuan may have intended to listen for a while. It's just a clay mold. In Zhang Xuan's heart, although the clay mold is good, it is a technology that needs to be eliminated. He didn't bother to listen to any technical details, and asked, "You also know that I want to establish a manufacturing bureau in Foshan." This manufacturing bureau needs to be managed by someone, and I think you should leave the artillery team for a while and stay in the manufacturing bureau for a while. How is it? ”

Wang Cannon said: "The little ones listen to the orders of the general. ”

For this transfer, Wang Cannon not only had no complaints, but had some small surprises. For Wang Cannon, he is first and foremost a blacksmith, not a general, and letting him lead the artillery is also to drive ducks to the shelves, and there is no way to do it.

Zhang Xuan said: "I will find a way to squeeze out a little bit of silver." But to do things, you must first win people. In your opinion, who do you need most in Foshan Town? ”

Wang Dacang thought for a while and said, "If you can, can the general pull the Xian family into the manufacturing bureau?" ”

Zhang Xuan said: "Why so? Why not pick the people inside the guild? ”

Wang Dacang said: "The people below can be selected from the guild, but some people must be drawn from each family. Didn't the general find out? The guilds are just a family, with a dozen people at most and four or five people at the least. And like the four families. Hundreds of people were working at the same time in each furnace. ”

"It's not a small prevarication, such a thing, the small one really can't do it."

Zhang Xuan also understands this, not to mention anything else, just that iron-making blast furnace requires a lot of manpower, loading and unloading, and slag cleaning. There are also transportation, and so on, and a total of more than 100 people are dispatched together.

And there should be people working at other stations. After all, the Xian family is not able to smelt pig iron tightly.

This kind of production scheduling is really the ability of insiders in this big family, and transferring people from the guild may not have such ability. Even Nanjing may not have such talents, the reason is very simple, Nanjing is directly purchased iron processing, and not such a one-stop down.

"Why Xian Zijing?" Zhang Xuan asked.

"The general laughed, that is, the head of the Xian family seems to be easier to deal with, if other old fritters are allowed to enter the manufacturing bureau, the little ones don't know what to do." Wang Cannon said.

Zhang Xuan said: "You are self-aware. ”

Wang Cannon said: "The small ones can have today's status, all of them depend on the support of the generals, and the small ancestors and ancestors have no time to prepare the generals." The little ones have long been content. ”

Zhang Xuan thought about it and felt that Xian Zijing was also the most suitable. In addition to the reason that Wang Cannon said, there is another reason. It is the current crisis of the Xian family. No matter where you look at it, the Xian family is in crisis, and there is discord in the external environment and internally. There are other families eyeing each other.

These usually seem to be a harmonious mess, but if they should make a move, they will never be able to help but start.

And Xian Zijing's ability is also a problem.

It's not that Xian Zijing doesn't have any ability at all, but he is young and vigorous, and he has few setbacks since he was a child, so I'm afraid he can't lower his head and make compromises. Not just one person can do it. Without external help, the Xian family may not be able to sustain itself.

Zhang Xuan's judgment was not wrong, in the Qing Dynasty, the Foshan clan changed from four major families to three major families. The Xian family was removed. The reasons for this are complex. But I think it must be inseparable from Xian Zijing.

But despite this, Zhang Xuan also depends on Xian Zijing's attitude. If you give a face without shame. Zhang Xuan has other methods, but those methods are not very friendly to some people in Foshan.

Zhang Xuan asked Wang Cannon to avoid and sent someone to invite Xian Zijing over.

After Xian Zijing came in for a while, he said neither humbly nor arrogantly: "The student meets the general." ”

Zhang Xuan said: "The head of the Xian family. The imperial court needs a large number of ordnance because of the use of troops, and such a big event, can not be in the hands of the people, I came to Foshan is to select the site of the Guangdong Manufacturing Bureau, I have long heard that Foshan iron industry is in the world. Today, it really lives up to its name. It is very happy to see the head of the Xian family again, such a young talent. It's just that I don't know if the head of the Xian family is willing to join the manufacturing bureau? ”

Xian Zijing listened to Zhang Xuan's words, and his heart was shocked, he never expected it. Zhang Xuan came to Foshan for this purpose. After Xian Zijing reacted, he was immediately ready to refuse. Xian Zijing also knew that it was not him who Zhang Xuan wanted to recruit, but more than 1,000 craftsmen in his family.

There is no other reason. The various government-run factories of the Ming Dynasty are simply nightmarish for craftsmen.

Many craftsmen must bring their own dry food, bring raw materials, and create the specified items within the specified time, otherwise they will be heavily punished, and the silver taels allocated from above, after being divided into layers of profits, are in the hands of craftsmen, which is not enough to support their families.

Therefore, the craftsmen of the Ming Dynasty sold their children and daughters, and even damaged their bodies, in order to escape the government's recruitment, that is, they were in the process of cleaning up.

The Xian family is not good now. But then it was time to compare with whom. Compared with other big families in Foshan, it is not good, but as long as the Xian family property is sold. Without tens of thousands of taels of silver, you can't take it at all, and even if the price is lowered, it won't be less than 10,000 taels.

There are 10,000 taels, even if Xian Zijing does not do the iron industry from now on, he can take the imperial examination with peace of mind. Yes, too.