The ordnance supervisor is still far away on the outskirts of the city, and the journey is not short. And when Tang Lei took Xiao Mo outside the yamen, he didn't take his sedan chair, but sat in Xiao Mo's carriage with Xiao Mo.

As the carriage drove towards the ordnance supervisor on the outskirts of the city, in the carriage, Xiao Mo and Tang Lei, who were sitting facing each other, had a somewhat awkward and strange atmosphere.

I saw that Tang Lei kept saying worthless polite words to Xiao Mo, but his expression was hesitant, as if he wanted to say something but hesitated, and his mind did not belong.

In the end, Xiao Mo secretly sighed in his heart and asked directly, "Lord Tang just said." I am equal to a person in the court, and I should support and help each other, and the lower officials think so. And Lord Tang seems to have something difficult at the moment, why not explain it to the lower officials, maybe the lower officials can help Lord Tang a little. ”

After hearing Xiao Mo's words, Tang Lei's face relaxed slightly, but he let out a long sigh and said to Xiao Mo: "Zirou, you are now our own person in the Ministry of Industry, and the old man will tell you about the difficulties of the Ministry of Industry now." ”

"Your Excellency, please speak, and the lower officials will listen carefully.

Xiao Mo chuckled.

Tang Lei's face showed a look of helplessness, and said: "Zirou, you also know the situation of my Dachu, there has been no war for a hundred years, and after this war in the north, the most stressful is not the military department responsible for the dispatch of soldiers, nor the household department responsible for grain, grass and military salaries, but our Ministry of Industry." "Since the outbreak of the war, our Ministry of Industry has been criticized from all sides, or most of the various ordnance stocks in the Ministry of Industry have been rotted and rusted and cannot be used, or our Ministry of Industry is inefficient. The equipment used to support the front line is slow to manufacture, but the old man is speechless. "There has been no war for a hundred years, I have been stable and prosperous, overhauling civil engineering everywhere, and most of the responsibilities of the Ministry of Engineering have been transferred to civil engineering, water conservancy and other things, although I am becoming more and more proficient in construction. But the manufacture of all kinds of ordnance is gradually becoming unfamiliar. It is true that the armaments in the inventory of our Ministry of Industry are no longer usable, but who has ever thought about how much it costs to maintain the many military hanghangs in the inventory every year? And how much money does the Ministry of Household allocate to my Ministry of Industry every year? And how much money does it cost every year just to maintain the water conservancy and city walls of various places? The rest of them were a little reluctant to even pay the officials of the Ministry of Industry, and they didn't expect that with the strength of my Great Chu, there would be such a big war, so the various equipment in stock could not be maintained for many years, so how can we be blamed? Hearing Tang Lei's complaint, Xiao Mo nodded.

Xiao Mo has already heard the Eight Sages King say, although it is said that the Ministry of Industry is slack and the officials are useless, but for this era, it is also human nature, and it is really impossible to blame anyone.

Seeing Xiao Mo's understanding, Tang Lei's face showed a hint of gratitude, and he continued: "Twenty days ago, the Eight Sages King asked our Ministry of Industry to rush to produce 30,000 strong bows and 500 crossbow carts. How long does it take to finish? As for the ballista, not to mention, but up to His Majesty, down to the courtiers, they only know to accuse our Ministry of Industry of being unfavorable. Hearing Tang Lei say this, Xiao Mo vaguely thought of Tang Lei's purpose of being so attentive, and asked hesitantly: "Lord Tang, but what's wrong with the Ordnance Division?" Tang Lei hesitated for a moment, then finally nodded and said: "Zirou, you don't know, there are not enough craftsmen in the hands of the Ordnance Department who can make strong bows and ballistas, and the Ordnance Department relies on the craftsmen under its name to operate, and the status of the craftsmen in our dynasty is generally not high, and they can only get a piece of money that is only enough for food and clothing on weekdays, if there is something to do." There is still an extra reward, so the stonemasons, masons, goldsmiths, etc., under the Ministry of Works, are still stable, after all, the reward they receive every year is enough for them to live a comfortable life, but the bowsmiths are different, for a hundred years, there is no place for them at all, and where is the reward? So over the years, those archers have tried their best to get rid of the identity of the craftsman, and even escaped directly from the Ordnance Division, the old man remembered their life hardships, and did not delve into it, but he did not expect the war to break out. There are only about 30 craftsmen who can make bows and arrows, and all of them are inexperienced. After hearing Tang Lei's words, Xiao Mo couldn't help but smile bitterly, no wonder the efficiency of the Ministry of Industry is so slow, but it is difficult for a smart woman to cook without rice.

Suddenly, Xiao Mo seemed to think of something, looked up at Tang Lei seriously, and said slowly: "Lord Tang, yesterday morning, you told Your Majesty that you wanted to complete 30,000 strong bows in a hurry. It will take ten days, and now 12,000 have been produced, please tell the lower officials, is this really the case? Seeing that Tang Lei's body shook after hearing his words, and his face turned slightly pale, Xiao Mo sighed in his heart, and finally found the purpose of the Ministry of Industry to treat him so diligently, and asked hesitantly: Lord Tang, but what is wrong with the Ordnance Division.

"Tell the truth to Zi Rou, to this day. The Ordnance Division only made 8,000 strongbows and 110 ballistas. The reason why he told His Majesty that there were still ten days left to complete the production was that he didn't want His Majesty to worry too much, but in fact, he wanted to complete the production in the amount requested by the Eight Sages. At the very least...... Twenty days. ”

Looking at the look of shock on Xiao Mo's face, Tang Lei hurriedly explained: "However, this is only the worst estimate, in fact, the main reason why the speed will be so slow in the early stage is because before the strong bow crossbow cart is made, it is still necessary to train craftsmen first, these days with the continuous production, those craftsmen are already much faster, maybe the time will be shorter." ”

Then there was a long silence.

And after Tang Lei's words, Xiao Mo really didn't know whether to cry or laugh for a while.

Don't want Your Majesty to worry too much? I'm afraid that I am afraid of the reproach of the ministers, Your Majesty will go to your official position, right?

At the time of this war crisis, these officials of the Ministry of Industry were still just thinking about shirking their responsibilities and deceiving their subordinates, Xiao Mo's heart was full of disappointment...... and disgust.

However, this emotion did not last long, and Xiao Mo began to think about how to clean up this mess for Tang Lei.

But Tang Lei saw that Xiao Mo was silent, but he thought that Xiao Mo was hesitating to report this matter to Emperor Chu Ling, and he was quite flustered for a while. Xiao Mo is just a six-grade official, and Tang Lei is one of the six Shangshu, a second-grade member of the court, but looking at the looks of the two at the moment, it seems that Xiao Mo is Tang Lei's official.

"This ...... Zirou, in fact, it is not a big deal, the 8,000 strong bows and 120 crossbow carts in the early stage have been transported to the front line, which can meet the needs of the moment, and we rush to make it day and night, and the strong bow ballistas manufactured will be transported to the front line one after another, and it will definitely not be missed, but the time has been extended for a few days. ”

Seeing that Xiao Mo was still silent, Tang Lei added uneasily: "Actually, Lord Wang Han knows about this matter. ”

Hearing that Tang Lei used the privy envoy Wang Han to suppress him, Xiao Mo's heart flashed a trace of disgust again, but it was useless to accuse each other now. Second, he didn't want to offend the officials of Wang Han's family because of this, so he raised his head and said to Tang Lei lightly: "Lord Tang misunderstood, you just said that I am equal to a person in the court, and I should support and help each other, and the lower officials will not spread this matter." What's more, Lord Tang also has Lord Tang's hardships.

Hearing Xiao Mo's words, Tang Lei's face showed a relaxed look, and he even claimed that it was, praising Xiao Mo for having the righteousness of a friend.

But at this time, Xiao Mo didn't bother to be so polite to Tang Lei, and just said: "The reason why Xia Guanzhou is pondering is thinking about how to deal with it. Tang Lei's eyes lit up and asked, "What good strategies does Zirou have to teach me?" Xiao Mo smiled lightly and said, "Lord Tang." It is estimated that you have been managing the Ministry of Engineering for many years. These days, I only pay attention to the Ordnance Division, and forget about other places. "Oh? How so? Tang Lei asked.

Xiao Mo sighed lightly and said, "Originally, I had my own way to increase the speed of the strong bow crossbow cart, and I have promised Your Majesty that I will definitely finish the strong bow crossbow cart required for the front line within seven days. But that was based on the premise that the Ordnance Department had already produced 12,000 strong bows and 200 ballistas, but now it seems that in order not to break his promise, he can only think of other ways to make up for it. Have you ever thought of supplementing with the power of the people? "Folk" Tang Lei was slightly stunned, thinking that he had thought of Xiao Mo's thoughts, but shook his head with a wry smile and said: "Zirou is talking about those craftsmen of the folk? I'm afraid I'm going to disappoint Zirou, I'm afraid Zirou doesn't know that bows and arrows are controlled in our dynasty. Although there are many skilled craftsmen among the people, there are not many who can make craftsmen. Xiao Mo shook his head and said: "My lord misunderstood, what Xia Guan said is not a folk craftsman, but a folk hunter, as far as Xia Guan knows, I am in Lanzhou, Xuanzhou and other places are many stops, and there are many hunters in it, and these hunters have at least one bow and arrow in their homes, why don't you buy them from them?" Although their bows and arrows are certainly not comparable to the strong bows made by the Ordnance Division, they are also useful. In this way, the difference between the four thousand strong bows should be made up."

When Qi Lei's eyes lit up, Xiao Mo added: "Moreover, although there are few folk craftsmen who can make bows and arrows, these hunters generally have such skills, although they are not systematic, but if they are recruited in one place, it will also be quite complementary to the next plan of the lower officials."

At this moment, the carriage stopped, and the Ordnance Division finally arrived.