The third volume sailed in the Ming Dynasty

Qin Haoming's sharp eyes swept over, and the majesty of the superior emanated unconsciously, Chen Meichun smiled bitterly, arched his hand and lowered his voice to explain:

"Zhang Lin doesn't have any mouth disease, maybe he has never met Qin Du at close range, so he is restrained in his heart." As he spoke, he turned his head to look at Zhang Lin, smiled and said with relief:

"Zhang Lin, Governor Qin is approachable, don't be too reserved."

"Yes, yes...... The lower officials know, the lower officials know ......"

Zhang Lin nodded again and again, wiped her forehead with her hand, her eyes flickered, and she looked a little helpless.

Qin Haoming was a little speechless when he saw this, in fact, he thought that Zhang Lin had some ghost in his heart at first, and he was afraid to see him.

But now it seems that the other party is clearly a real person who is too honest, and he was frightened by the official title on his head.

Sighing, Qin Haoming asked in a more gentle tone:

"Lord Zhang Lin, according to records, you have not passed the scientific examination, and no one has recommended you, but you have only slowly sat in the position of Lang official step by step, right?"

"Yes, yes, Qin Du, villain...... No, Xia Guan's father was a craftsman in the Smelting Bureau.

Therefore, when Xia Guan was thirteen years old, he had already worked in the bureau as a worker, and he worked for two years to become a craftsman, and then he worked for another three years, and then he became a craftsman......"

At this point, he seemed to feel that he was too chattering and closed his mouth a little overwhelmed.

Seeing this, Qin Haoming asked with a smile: "Craftsman? Is it an apprentice? ”

"Exactly, Lord Qin Du!" Chen Meichun, who was beside him, explained in a low voice: "According to the practice of the Ming Dynasty, newcomers can only do miscellaneous work in the first two years when they come to the Smelting Bureau.

After two years of work, you can become a craftsman, learn the craft from the craftsman, and then work for another three years, if there is no gross negligence, you can become a craftsman......"

"Craftsman? Another name for a craftsman? ”

"No, no, no......"

Chen Meichun shook his head and corrected: "A craftsman is a craftsman, and a craftsman is a craftsman." ”

As he spoke, he explained the difference between the two to Qin Haoming in detail.

Originally, a craftsman refers to a craftsman who has changed from an apprentice to a full-time worker, and although he has a certain amount of experience, he generally does not have the ability to make tools on his own, and can only serve as an assistant to the craftsman.

A craftsman, on the other hand, is a mature craftsman who has a wealth of experience and is able to create utensils on his own.

To use the most direct analogy, it is an experienced craftsman who casts a waist knife, keeps an eye on the fire with tongs in hand, and directs the rest.

The craftsman is the assistant who holds a heavy hammer on the side and hammers the iron embryo hard at a time under the command of the craftsman, and as for the one who pulls the bellows, it is the craftsman, that is, the apprentice.

And the least influential, at best, is to move ore and firewood, and it is rare to even enter the shed once.

To put it bluntly, only craftsmen can be considered regular workers and will be registered on the register of the Metallurgical Works, while the rest are only temporary workers and apprentices.

According to Qin Haoming's understanding, he learned that in the title of craftsman, there is also a craftsman, which refers to those more experienced old craftsmen.

Specialized in some more delicate work, for example, for the household department to create a mold for money and so on.

According to Chen Meichun, it is a very long time to go from an inexperienced helper to a craftsman, enough to make a teenager grow to a full beard.

"Does it need to be so rigorous?"

"yes, isn't it easy, how many years hasn't changed? Now it can't be compared with the private iron-smelting workshops......"

Chen Meichun shook her head again, and helplessly explained some of the shortcomings of the Smelting Bureau to Qin Haoming.

Daming Metallurgical Bureau is mainly responsible for iron smelting or steel making, and production management is divided into two ways: government and private.

In the 34th year of Wanli, the Fujian Provincial Government Department stipulated that the iron ore mines were allowed to set up furnaces privately, and the private iron smelting industry was thriving because of the flexible employment of personnel, while the government-run iron smelting industry was increasingly sad.

Qin Haoming glanced at Chen Meichun with a strange expression, then put aside the roster in his hand and asked, "Chen Zhongcheng, are the craftsmen in the smelting bureau mainly blacksmiths?" ”

"Yes!" Chen Meichun nodded and said: "In my smelting bureau, there are about more than 400 craftsmen, of which sixty percent are good at ironmaking, followed by carpenters, and stonemasons are the least...... After all, this is the Metallurgical Bureau, not the Construction Department of the Ministry of War. ”

"Hmm."

Qin Haoming nodded, and then asked some more questions, which made Chen Meichun and the other four retreat and take care of themselves.

And himself, with tea in his hand, stood at the window of the house, silent in thought.

Looking at the wasteland outside the window, Qin Haoming sighed slightly.

It is undeniable that the current situation of the Smelting Bureau is really miserable, and it can be said that it is poor and white!

The only thing that is gratifying is the craftsmen in the smelting bureau, who are all craftsmen who have honed their craftsmanship step by step to become full-time workers.

Even Zhang Lin, Li Xin, Gong Ruihong and other Lang officials have survived from helpers and apprentices, and I believe that they are familiar with striking iron and creating utensils.

It's just that he is too unconfident, and he is only submissive, which makes Qin Haoming feel a little sad. You know, this is the equivalent of an engineer.

However, it is no wonder that in the imperial court system, the Ministry of Industry has always been at the bottom of the six ministries of the imperial court, and it is not without reason that people who want to come to the Ministry of Industry are accustomed to being too humble.

Just as the officials of the Ministry of Officials walk with their toes high, who calls them the heads of the six departments?

As for the Ministry of Industry, to put it mildly, it is purely a craftsman in official uniforms, and I believe that the vast majority of the officials of the other five ministries of the imperial court hold this prejudice.

As a department under the Ministry of Industry, the status of the Smelting Bureau is needless to say, it is simply an existence that is called by the rest of the imperial courts, which makes Qin Haoming really unacceptable.

It is obviously the department responsible for technology research and development and improvement, but the status of the Metallurgical Bureau is very different from the Military Casting Bureau of the Ministry of War.

It must be innovated, and this idea is becoming clearer and clearer in Qin Haoming's heart.

If the Ming Dynasty wants to develop, in addition to weapons, it is the development of science and technology.

What is the equivalent of the Smelting Bureau, that is, the scientific research institute of later generations, and it is a practitioner with hands-on ability.

The Ministry of Water under the Ministry of Industry requested to improve the waterwheel and find the Metallurgical Bureau; The War Casting Bureau under the Ministry of War felt that the weapons created today were backward, so they looked for the Smelting Bureau; The household department needed a new large-scale mold for casting copper coins, and went to the smelting bureau.

As for status, returns, hehe, almost nothing.

There are six departments and twenty-four divisions of the imperial court, and their status is high and low, noble and low, but he never thought that the gap between them is obvious to this extent.

Recalling the brand-new official uniforms worn by other officials, and looking at the official uniforms with many patches on Zhang Lin, Li Xin, Gong Ruihong and others, Qin Haoming didn't even have the strength to scold.

No, first of all, we must change their status and burst out their enthusiasm for labor and creative wisdom, so that this is the right path for development.