Chapter 892: Sword-wielding Battle

The War Bureau is located to the east of Taiye Pond, close to Qianming Gate and Xiyuan. Because it is one of the 24 yamen of the internal officials, compared with the Ordnance Bureau under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Industry, the position of the internal officials has always been higher, not only are there more craftsmen under the control of the department, but also the research and development of new firearms is often made from here, and the officials in charge of firearms of the Ministry of Industry run here twice in three days, and sometimes they do not get a good face from the eunuchs in charge.

However, all this has changed dramatically because of what happened a month ago. The treasure money division was on fire, and then it was found that firearms were mixed in the ban, and the ambassador and deputy ambassador of the War Bureau were first dismissed from their posts and sent down to the prison of the internal officials and prisons in the palace, and then they were directly killed by the cane, and then the master of ceremonies directly sent someone to come over, check the past account books, count the firearms and gunpowder, and the result was a shocking deficit, it is said that the brochures sent directly made Fan Hong lift the table, as for what was the reaction to the emperor who sent it to the top, then only God knows.

Therefore, the military war bureau has long stopped what firearms and gunpowder and other things, gloomy clouds and mist shrouded inside and out, but whenever they heard a hint of wind and grass, they immediately worried about whether Dongchang sent someone to arrest it, less than a month of effort, in the past, the long bucket waist has been cut by a small half, and in the end it is so haggard that they even hope to give a clear word from above, which is better than hanging up and waiting for death.

Looking forward to the stars and looking forward to the moon, this afternoon, the military battle bureau that has not seen the light of day for a long time finally waited for a group of people, only to see the two people at the head, and immediately someone had weak legs - this is the forbidden palace, so except for the craftsmen in service, the rest of the people are eunuchs, and the eunuchs don't care about other skills for the time being, the news is first-class well-informed, and the first level of recognition is skilled. The young and thin man on the left, dressed in an embroidered collar shirt, looked inconspicuous, it was Lu Feng of the Admiral Dongchang, and the younger one next to him was Zhang Yue, the squire of the military department.

Lu Feng came here first to arrest people, and Zhang Yue ...... It is said that there were many people who scolded the military battle bureau to the blood, but Zhang Yue was the one who spoke the most sharply. Thinking about it, he almost made the Treasury Division of the Ministry of War carry the black cauldron, this former first person in the current Ministry of Arms in the Treasury Division, where is it so easy to swallow his breath?

The ambassadors and deputy envoys of the War Bureau all fell off their horses, and the remaining disciples and grandchildren honestly knelt on the ground to greet them, and when Zhang Yue and Lu Feng in front approached, the middle-aged eunuch at the front took the lead and kowtowed to everyone, but they didn't wait for any sound for a long time. The waiting time was unusually painful, and they didn't know how long it took before they heard a faint voice.

"Which of you knows gunpowder proportioning?"

This is completely different from the question that everyone expected, and for a while, the crowd was silent, and no one answered. After a long silence, the voice asked slowly, "Then who understands craftsman assessment?" ”

Still silence and silence.

When Zhang Yue's third question "Who knows what needs to be paid attention to in weapon maintenance" came out, and the scene was still silent, Lu Feng finally couldn't help it, and suddenly shouted angrily: "I don't know this, I don't know that, what's the use of asking your group of wine bags and rice bags to be in the war bureau?" Come on, take all this waste with you! ”

This shout finally woke up the ignorant eunuchs. Before anyone could pounce, a person crawled out of the crowd on his knees, hand and foot, and then said with a crying voice: "Father-in-law Lu spares his life, Master Zhang spares his life, and the little one can draw!" ”

Zhang Yue came over today, followed by a number of people from the Ordnance Bureau of the Ministry of War, including Li Cheng and Ruan's elder brother Ruan Qin. The reason why Lu Feng will go with him is because the emperor finally has a conclusion about the military war situation and decides to reprimand him from top to bottom, and he thinks that these people have been in charge of this place for many years, rather than replacing them with a new batch of lieutenants who don't understand anything, it is better to leave a few. But as soon as he asked three questions, he regretted it, daring to love Lu Feng was right, these people are really wine bags and rice bags!

However, just when he was ready to ignore this, a eunuch jumped out and said that he could draw! At this moment, looking at the pitiful guy with a pitiful face, he looked at it for a moment and nodded at Lu Feng: "Give him a piece of paper and see what he can draw." ”

For this little thing, Lu Feng naturally couldn't refute his face, and immediately the accompanying Dongchang fan stepped forward to give him a pen and paper. At this time, the others suddenly had hope and shouted one after another. Zhang Yue was impatient when he heard this, and directly pointed to a person who came up, and then asked in a deep voice: "You said that you will assess craftsmen?" ”

"Yes, yes, yes......" The one who spoke was a middle-aged eunuch, who was pressed in front of Zhang Yue at the moment, he couldn't wait to show the most touching smile in the world, and his head was even more like a chicken pecking rice, "The little one will assess the craftsman." These are cheap bones, the most lazy, nothing more like to pretend to be sick, as long as the inspection is strict, plus the whip, keep them obedient, and they can produce as many things as they want......"

Before he could finish his words, he suddenly felt a strong force from both of his arms, and when he came to his senses, the person was dragged away. His surprise was not trivial, and he shouted that he wanted to defend something, but unexpectedly, a heavy blow suddenly came from the back of his neck, and the originally sharp and thin voice was cut off at once. This move frightened several people who were still scrambling just now, and they had to look at Zhang Yue with some kind of fearful gaze.

"I'm not asking about his so-called assessments. The emperor asked you to work in the War Bureau, not to let you use a whip as an overseer. If you don't even have the slightest knowledge of firearms and weapons, what's the difference between them and other places? If it's like the answer just now, then it doesn't bother, and I don't have that much to spare! ”

His words and the example just now finally frightened the eunuchs who were still a little lucky, so when an individual was dragged out, most of them did not dare to squeak and beg for mercy, and only one shouted that he would test the gun, so he was also stayed. Soon, the middle-aged eunuch who claimed to be drawing drawings walked over with a worried face holding a thin piece of paper, Zhang Yue took it and took a look, found that it looked like that, and then handed it to Li Cheng.

Li Cheng really didn't want to deal with Zhang Yue, but he had just been promoted to Langzhong of the Ministry of Works, and at the same time, he was in charge of the Ordnance Bureau, so he had to come. At this time, he took the thing and looked at it, he originally wanted to be perfunctory, he became serious, and looked at it carefully for a while before nodding and saying, "It's really a good painting." ”

"Alright, leave him behind."

Zhang Yue himself looked at the picture and felt that he was quite level, and at this time, Li Cheng, an expert, recognized it again, and he immediately made a decision. Seeing that the eunuch was amnesty, he hurriedly stepped forward and kowtowed to thank him, Lu Fengli ignored it, and directly ordered the two entourages to take another eunuch outside to test the gun. All of a sudden, everyone was patrolling this huge place.

The War Bureau is located close to Xiyuan, naturally because Xiyuan also has an inner school field, and what weapons can be used on the spot for testing, but it has been a long time since the founding of the country, and these rules and regulations and other things have gradually been abandoned. More than a dozen warehouses were guarded by the iron general, and the iron lock was even more rusty, and it could be seen that no one had entered it for a long time.

Lu Feng, who was blushing with an iron face, directly ordered someone to smash open the door and enter, only to see the neatly stacked boxes inside. can open one of the willow boxes, Zhang Yue casually took out a handcuff, but found that the things inside had rusted, so he handed it to Li Cheng next to him. After reading it one by one, several officials from the Ordnance Bureau of the Ministry of Industry did not say a word, but Lu Feng was even more annoyed. You must know that the War Bureau, like the Gunpowder Bureau in the northeast corner of the Forbidden Palace, is to call the internal weapons as soon as possible in case of a change.

"Fortunately, the emperor replaced all these rice buckets, and it is a big disaster to keep them!"

After scolding, Lu Feng looked at Zhang Yue and asked, "This craftsman won't go with you." Our family originally thought that fortunately, the military battle bureau here was well guarded before, and no one had a chance to take advantage of it, but now it seems that those people just came in, and all they got were scrap! These slacking guys have to clean up well, and our family has to go back to report to the emperor. Rest assured, there will be a handy of people here, so that the situation will not happen again. ”

Zhang Yue didn't want to be silenced by a group of people who were regarded by others as chilling all the time, so he naturally nodded when he heard this. Sure enough, seeing Lu Feng leave with a large number of people, the remaining officials of the Arsenal Division of the Ministry of War and the Ordnance Bureau of the Ministry of Industry immediately breathed a sigh of relief, even Li Cheng, who had been an official for many years. Everyone took a turn around the military battle bureau, and found that all the places where the great eunuchs lived were repaired to be spacious and bright, but all the places where the craftsmen worked were low and dark, and when they arrived at the residences of those craftsmen who specialized in the research and development of firearms, they all frowned from top to bottom, even if the officials of the ordnance bureau were accustomed to seeing the simple places of craftsmen, they also felt that the current situation was too much.

It's still cold now, but the kang in the house is cold at this moment, as if it wasn't hot at all last night. There were some tattered quilts on the Chase bed, and there was even an indescribable smell of rancidity. Even the cold Beijing officials didn't want to step into that room, and although Zhang Yue didn't want to find guilt, he still let the craftsmen who were kneeling on the ground in fear get up first, and then went inside and quickly turned around.

"It is undoubtedly a fool's dream to expect any good firearms from the man who lives in this broken house!"

Zhang Yue was naturally annoyed - thinking that when he was in the Arsenal Department of the Ministry of War, it was easy to say that Zhu Di, the Emperor of Yongle, rewarded craftsmen according to the merits of firearms and the development of new firearms, so new firearms sprung up like mushrooms after a rain, and the efficiency of the army's outfit was also extremely high. He had heard of the situation on this side of the War Bureau, but he didn't expect it to be so bad. He summoned the eldest craftsman and asked a few more questions, but seeing that he was still hesitant and did not dare to answer, he said lightly: "Except for two, the rest of the internal officials of this military battle bureau have been imprisoned for punishment. ”

Those craftsmen were desperately exploited by the lieutenants on weekdays, even the rations and clothing, and they were already frightened like frightened birds. Although Zhang Yue was kind and pleasant at this time, and said that the internal officials were all in prison, how could they dare to believe it easily. The old craftsman hesitated for a long time, and finally his heart turned sideways, and he only held back a sentence.

"Adult, small...... The little ones have been serving in the palace for more than two years, and they can bear anything else, but they can't see their families. I beg the adults to let the younger ones go on vacation for a few days to reunite with their families. After that, the little ones will do their best to do their best, and they will never dare to be lazy. ”

After more than two years of being detained to work here and not seeing his family, what is the difference between this and slave labor!

Even if they still know the lives of ordinary people, they don't feel deeply about those who are poor and miserable, so everyone is changed at this time. Zhang Yue took a deep breath and tried to suppress the anger in his heart, and then said lightly to Li Cheng next to him: "The craftsmen over there in the Ordnance Bureau shouldn't be like this, right?" ”

"Naturally, the Ordnance Bureau will not exploit people like this. As long as the quota is completed every month, you can go home and reunite with your relatives, if there is an excess and a reward, if there is any whimsy, after the official has tried it, it will be reported for another reward, and he will never serve for more than two years without letting him see his family. Li Cheng is not young, he has long passed the age of blood and strength, but at this time, he still couldn't help but say such a thing in one go, and only in the end did he stop his mouth slightly, "My lord, this matter should be allowed to them." ”

"It's not just that they were allowed holidays, how did those officials deduct the rice from their bowls, and now they want to spit it out!" Zhang Yue coldly put down the sentence, and saw that the craftsmen still seemed to believe it or not, he knew that it would be useless to talk in the vernacular, so he nodded and said, "This is a fake thing, the official will say it for you, and now the firewood, charcoal, rice, grain, bedding, clothes, etc. in this house will be sent immediately when I turn around." ”

How could these craftsmen ever hear the official speak like this, and at this time they were stunned, so they had to thank them suspiciously, and wanted to kneel down and kowtow again, but they were stopped by Zhang Yue. When the group was sent out of the courtyard, someone dared to pull the last middle-aged man who looked like a small official to ask, and learned that this was the senior official of the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Industry, and the leader was the Zhang Shilang, and they only understood, and the elderly craftsman who was the leader couldn't help but fold his palms together and muttered.

"It's really Lord Zhang! This time we're saved! ”

And after Zhang Yue got out of the military battle, he gave a few words of instructions to a celebrant eunuch who accompanied him all the way, and then took the group to the school field in Xiyuan again. As soon as he arrived, the two eunuchs from Dongchang escorted the eunuch who claimed to be able to test guns, and said with a disdainful face: "My lord, this guy just talks about a set of sets, what kind of crosshair charge, but he can't shoot a single shot with a fire gun, let's take people back." ”

Zhang Yue had just walked around the craftsman's premises, and he was annoyed in his heart, and when he heard this, he agreed without thinking about it. However, when the eunuch saw that he could not escape this catastrophe, he was so frightened that his legs weakened, and when people came forward to drag him, he struggled weakly twice and shouted: "The adults spare their lives, the small ones report, and the small ones expose...... Suo Lianzhou, who is now transferred to the Imperial Pharmacy, didn't understand anything when he was here......

Before he finished speaking, this unlucky guy was dragged away by the fan of the East Factory who suddenly took off his jaw. Seeing this scene, several officers of the Ministry of Industry and the Ministry of War were startled, and Zhang Yue waved his hand to signal that they didn't have to pay attention, and when he came out of Xi'an Gate, he saw Ruan Qin confused and puzzled a few times and wanted to ask questions, so he said lightly: "When he says this, he will draw a gourd in the same way when he arrives in the East Factory, and shout it in front of me, but he is just trying to make things bigger, don't pay attention to such a villain." ”