The lack of talent in arsenals and shipyards affected the pace of development.

The solution proposed by Wang Kefan is very simple, the first is to cultivate it by himself, and the second is to introduce it from the outside world.

Craftsmen rely mainly on training.

In order to meet the needs of arsenals and shipyards, the teaching cycle of Shigu Academy can be shortened, some crash courses can be held in a targeted manner, and a group of craftsmen can be trained in a few months. The craftsmen who come out of the crash course will certainly only have one or two single skills, but in large-scale division of labor, everyone is not necessarily required to be a generalist.

There are two steps to managing talent.

The first is to select from the existing craftsmen. In later generations, there were many ordinary workers who took up leadership positions, and they also grew up step by step through continuous learning and training, and the selection of officials from ordinary craftsmen could also broaden the channels for promotion and allow more people to be motivated.

Wang Kefan has mentioned this method a long time ago, and there are such examples in Hengyang Arsenal, but it has not yet become a common phenomenon. In this era, craftsmen are all inferior people who operate lowly industries, and the selection of them as officials will inevitably be criticized by the scholars, and even Fang Zhengzheng himself is a little repulsed, so it has not been promoted.

Wang Kefan gave a death order this time, no matter whether Fang Zhengzheng can figure it out or not, he must implement it if he understands it, and he must implement it if he doesn't understand it, at least half of the missing management personnel must be selected from the existing craftsmen.

The second step is to bring in talent, and in addition to civilian officials, it is also necessary to bring in a certain number of retired officers.

The civil officials are reluctant to become craftsmen because they have no future in the future, as long as this problem is solved. If the standard of treatment is raised, those civil officials will also flock to it.

"The arsenal and the shipyard are so important, I think they can be upgraded. The chief official has the rank of civil official of the fourth grade, which is the same level as the Taoist prefect, and the officials at all levels below are also promoted together, even if it is just a craftsman who is in charge of dozens of people, he can also give an official of eight grades and nine grades...... However, in some key positions, it is necessary to set up according to the military position, and this factory belongs to the Chu army. Don't make a mistake ......."

There is no shortage of such examples in later generations, and there are many large factories under ministries and commissions, and the administrative level is as high as that of the local government. Hengyang Arsenal and shipyard are so important that they can enjoy this treatment.

As Wang Kefan talked eloquently, Fang Zhengzheng's eyes widened more and more.

The arsenal was originally hung under the grain road, and Fang Zhengzheng was only a fifth-grade official. Now it has suddenly risen to the fourth grade. He has entered the ranks of middle and senior leading cadres. You must know that the fourth grade is a hurdle for civil officials, as long as you serve as an official of the fourth grade, you will either be the prefect of a prefecture or a Taoist member, and in the province you will be the deputy of the feudal officials, such as the left and right senators of the political envoy yamen.

He was still in a daze, and the sound of congratulations kept coming from the left and right. Ye Jinghai and others had a good relationship with him, and they all congratulated him in low voices.

Wang Kefan smiled. While thinking, he continued: "If you are willing to come to the arsenal to serve, you can hang another military position when you are in office, and pay another military salary from the Chu army, and after the term of office expires, as long as you are outstanding, you can put it in the local office, if you want to go to the center of the imperial court, this town can also recommend it in person." ”

In this era, except for the civil officials from Shilin, most of the others were illiterate or semi-literate, and in general, the comprehensive quality of civil officials was significantly higher than that of others, and in the arsenal such a highly professional unit, some posts were still inseparable from these Ming Dynasty intellectuals.

Ye Jinghai took over the conversation and said with a smile: "Wang Junmen, this is too partial, I simply shouldn't be this sailor battalion officer, go to Fang to observe his subordinates to be a steward, and I can get another military salary, how good it would be!" ”

This was originally a joke, but Shi Lang looked unimpressed, his nose squirted out, and protested to Ye Jinghai - Fang Zhengzheng, that guy is proud, you are still holding his stinky feet, which side is it?

Ye Jinghai didn't see it, turned his face and put away his smile, and persuaded Wang Kefan: "I heard what the military gate just said, and some generals should be selected to go to the arsenal, and the students think something is wrong. Those generals can't read a single basket of big characters, and their tempers are short-tempered, and sending them to the factory is not only useless, but I am afraid that it will cause trouble. ”

Wang Kefan smiled and nodded: "What you said is right, it is definitely not possible to send it directly, but people will change, they can learn if they don't know how to read, and they will be tempered to teach them the rules, and after they finish learning, they can come in handy if they are sent to the factory." ”

The arsenal is for the service of the army, and cannot be out of touch with the army, and the selection of a group of retired officers to be placed in the arsenal is conducive to communication and cooperation between the two sides. As for the problem of ability, it can be solved through guò pre-post training, and two training courses will be held at the Jinggangshan Military Academy, so that those retired officers will be able to meet the requirements of the arsenal after graduation......

There was a buzz in the room.

At this time, several issues were discussed, but everyone was still unsatisfied, and they held their own small meetings. This kind of in-depth discussion can check and fill in the gaps and further open up ideas, and Wang Kefan did not stop it, but also participated in the discussion.

Fang Zhengzheng frowned, thinking about something.

He and Shi Lang have the wrong temper, and they are not bad with Ye Jinghai, seeing him alone in a daze, Ye Jinghai joked: "Fang Observation, you have been promoted and made a fortune today, why are you still full of sadness, are you afraid that we will force you to have a treat?" ”

Fang Zhengzheng shook his head and said, "It's not easy to do!" Wang Junmen did take care of me a lot, and gave me all the conveniences I could, but at least I had to wait until half a year later, before I could slowly see the results, even if I could build a few more cannons in the past few months, it was still not enough for the sailors, and I was afraid that I would delay the big thing and not be able to explain to the military gate. ”

After the expansion of the Chu army, all battalions were in urgent need of artillery, and in order to meet the needs of the front line, the artillery made by the arsenal had to be distributed to the infantry.

Wang Kefan couldn't help frowning.

The starting point of the arsenal is too low, and it can only take one step at a time, slowly improving the conditions and gradually increasing the production capacity. However, whether it is the improvement of technical level, or the cultivation of talents, as well as the increase of capital investment, a process of realization is required...... At the end of the day, it just takes time!

Some of the problems of burning eyebrows cannot be solved slowly and step by step, and we have to find another way.

"Shi Lang, I want to ask you, can the sailor use the cannon made by the imperial court's military department?" If you don't have enough ability, you have to ask for foreign help.

"As long as it's a Furlong cannon, it's fine." Shi Lang is not two hundred and five, facing Wang Kefan, he quickly stood up, and replied in a proper manner: "The cannon is still the best made by the Franc machine, our Daming and the Tartar side are all imitations, the Franc cannon was originally used on warships, and the one made by the imperial court can be used for water warfare." ”

Naval gun!

The Ming Dynasty's imitation of the Fu Lang cannon was originally a naval gun, as long as the quality was qualified, it could be used on a warship.

"Well, I'm going to the court this time, why don't I have to ask for a few cannons for you!" Wang Kefan said a few in his mouth, but in his heart, he thought about dozens or hundreds.

The Ming army was not good at field warfare, but was good at defending the city, and attached great importance to the cannon as a weapon to defend the city, and the Longwu court adhered to the consistent tradition of the Ming Dynasty, and was also actively imitating the new artillery of the Portuguese. This matter was presided over by Pang Tianshou, the eunuch of the inner court, the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Industry worked together, and Emperor Longwu himself was also very concerned, which was regarded as a key project of the Longwu Imperial Court, and the quality of the cannon produced was not bad.

But it's a pity that most of these cannons, which are easy to make, are arranged in Liangguang and placed on the city wall as decorations. This is undoubtedly a great waste, if the Qing army really hit Guilin, even if the city wall is full of cannons, it is nothing more than to make the Qing army spend more effort, and it is impossible to turn the tide of the war.

It's a big deal, the Qing army can withdraw from the range of artillery and use the method of long-term siege to siege the city, and any kind of weapon, no matter how powerful, if it loses its ability to maneuver, it is almost like waste.

Take it!

Only by taking these cannons and installing them on the warships of the Chu Army's naval divisions can they take the initiative to attack and play a greater role.

……

Wang Kefan attached great importance to the sailors, spent two days inspecting, and after the inspection, he returned to Changsha by boat again.

For a whole day, he locked himself in the cabin, summed up the inspection work in the previous paragraph, and worked until late at night, and for a whole day, he did not go out of the room, did not communicate with Gu Yanwu, Huang Zongxi and others, and even snubbed Fu Shihua and Zhu Ji.

The purpose of the inspection is to find and solve problems, and along the way from Nanchang to Changsha, Wang Kefan not only saw the achievements, but also found a lot of problems.

Similar to the Hengyang Arsenal, the entire Chu army and the Chu Xun group had problems of one kind or another, military, economic, cultural, and political...... There is still a lot to be done in all aspects, and the control over the local authorities needs to be further strengthened, and all this will take time to be resolved.

But time waits for no one, the Chu army is developing, and the Qing army is not sleeping well, how long Jiang Jiu can support it, and when the Qing army will go south again, it is unknown.

Time waits for no man!

"Some things are not well thought out, and the action is too slow!" Wang Kefan regretted it very much.

With the continuous expansion of Chu Xun's power, the difficulty of management has increased significantly, and all kinds of things have been summarized to Wang Kefan, waiting for him to make a decision, immersed in these specific management work, and the macro aspect is less considered.

However, Wang Kefan knows that the macro is actually more important, and if there is a deviation in the major policies and strategies, and some important things are not prepared for a rainy day, it will cause irreparable losses.

Today's Chuxun Group manages a half province, hundreds of thousands of troops, and millions of people, which is almost the same as a country, and it is too difficult for Wang Kefan to manage it alone.

"There should also be a 'cabinet', at least a think tank." Wang Kefan needs assistants, especially senior assistants who can help him think.

He suddenly wanted to know what Gu Yanwu and Huang Zongxi thought about going down this way. (To be continued......)