From Wei Zheng's eyes, it can definitely be seen that the craftsmen in the craftsman camp are all old blacksmiths with rich forging experience.

In this case, the problem of the craftsman is ruled out.

There is no problem with the craftsmen, and the craftsman camp has not been able to create qualified muskets, so there is only one problem left, the supply of refined iron, the raw material for making muskets, is insufficient.

However, another problem arose in this case, Datong Mansion was an important military town to hold the Beijing Division. No matter how mediocre and bold the people in the imperial court are, they don't dare to do too much in the armaments of Datong Mansion.

Since the imperial court gave Datong Mansion enough fine iron, the fine iron for the craftsmen to make muskets was still insufficient. Then there is only one reason left, the fine iron given by the imperial court to Datong Mansion has been eaten by the corrupt officials of the Datong Mansion garrison.

As the general manager of the craftsman camp, such a big thing will definitely not escape his eyes.

What's more, the well-dressed artisan in front of him is the culprit of reselling the fine iron in the army.

So, at the signal of Wei Zheng, the two tiger and leopard army guards were quickly arranged to the side of the master of the craftsman camp.

At the same time, several shirtless blacksmiths were also brought to Wei Zheng by the guards......

Under Wei Zheng's questioning and support, several blacksmiths did not dare to conceal it, and under the sharp eyes of the general manager of the craftsman battalion, they told how the raw materials of the craftsman camp were insufficient and how the food and salary of all the craftsmen in the craftsman camp were in short supply.

Especially when he heard that these blacksmiths only had a few bowls of wild vegetable porridge every day, they still had to complete a large number of forging tasks stipulated by the imperial court. Wei Zheng was completely furious......

With a sneer on his face, he ordered Zhou Shuyuan: "You guys lead the way, let's go to Mr. Zhang Qian's house to have a look......

A small Qianzong of the artisan household camp actually owns a house in Datong Mansion with an area not lower than the prefect's yamen. See what you want and don't want to see. The solemn expression on Wei Zheng's face became even stronger.

He asked Mr. Qian, who was already pale in front of him, "Mr. Zhang." What else do you have to say? ”

"Plop ......" at this time. Even a fool knows what Wei Zhengyi is referring to.

A "plop" sound sounded, and the white-faced Craftsman Camp Qianzong fell directly to the ground and began to kowtow to Wei Zheng.

While kowtowing, he shouted to Wei Zheng and begged for mercy: "Please spare your life...... These are all things that the king has asked the king to do, and the lowly duty is only to act according to orders. Moreover, most of the silver obtained from the resale of armaments in peacetime was given to the king to garrison, and only a small part of it was taken by the humble post. Please check the commander-in-chief and spare the humble duty...... I am willing to take out all the money I have embezzled over the years and hand it over to the Chief Soldier, and I ask the Chief Soldier to spare his life......"

Wei Zheng looked at Mr. Qian in front of him coldly and said, "A small amount of silver can buy such a big house, it seems that it is very profitable to resell armaments...... Now I finally know why there is not even a decent piece of iron armor in the garrison arsenal of a huge Datong Mansion, it turns out that it was all eaten by your gang of moths......"

Speaking of which. A trace of murderous aura quickly appeared on Wei Zheng's face, and then. said to Mr. Zhang Qian, who was still kneeling on the ground in front of him and kept kowtowing: "Mr. Zhang Qian, it's not that I don't want to let you go, it's that the white craftsmen in the craftsman camp won't let me let you go." In order for these craftsmen to return to their hearts and serve me in the Haw Par Army, I must give them your head as a greeting gift. ”

Then, he ordered directly to Zhou Shuyuan: "General Zhou, immediately pull him out and cut him down...... As for the Zhang Mansion in front of him, it was raided in accordance with the rules. All the silver taels obtained were given to the craftsman battalion as funds. In addition, I still have a lot of things to know about going to the craftsman camp to find someone who can talk to Zhangfu. ”

"Adults spare their lives, adults spare their lives......"

As Zhang Qianzong's plea for mercy came to an abrupt end outside Zhang's mansion, a group of soldiers of the Haw Par Army also began to rush into Zhang's mansion under the command of their respective commanders and began to raid them......

At this time, an emaciated old blacksmith who looked malnourished at first glance walked tremblingly in front of Wei Zheng under the leadership of his personal guard.

"My lord, at this time, the old blacksmith Wang recommended by the white blacksmith in the craftsman camp, he has been in the craftsman camp for the longest time, and he knows the most about the craftsman camp......" The guard introduced to Wei Zheng with a respectful face.

Wei Zheng nodded, and after signaling the guards to go down, he directly said to the blacksmith Wang who was kneeling on the ground with his legs in front of him: "I'll call you Wang Lao!" Get up, it's cold on the ground, and don't break your legs. In the future, I want Elder Wang to create more and more sophisticated weapons for our soldiers? ”

After the old Wang Lao stood up from the ground with excitement, he was just about to say some words of gratitude to Wei Zheng, but Wei Zheng had already spoken again.

"Elder Wang, the purpose of my search for you, the guards should have told you on the way. The head of your artisan battalion has been cut off by me because of reselling armaments and deducting military salaries. Now, I would like to learn from you about the real strength and level of our craftsman camp...... We must not let everyone's excellent technology be wasted on building cold weapons without any technical content. ”

After hearing the news of Qian Zong's beheading from the mouth of the chief soldier, Wang Lao knelt down in front of Wei Zheng again because of his excitement.

I don't know where the courage came from, and I shouted to Wei Zheng and said gratefully: "Lord General Soldier, thank you Lord General Soldier on behalf of the white craftsman of the craftsman battalion." Help us get rid of this corrupt official who specializes in drinking the blood of soldiers......"

Wei Zheng waved his hand and said: "Don't say more about these words, if you really want to thank me, everyone will build me more sophisticated weapons from now on." However, what I want to know now is the true level of the craftsmen in the craftsman camp, can you build muskets......"

"Musket...... Lord Commander, you are also underestimating these craftsmen in our craftsman camp. Not to mention muskets, even artillery, we can build them. ”

"Among the various artillery pieces that the army is equipped with now, in addition to the Hongyi cannon, we can build other artillery."

"It's just that the fine iron allocated to us by the imperial court has been exchanged for silver by the original Master Qian. And our artisan battalion can only use pig iron to make some cold weapons for the soldiers to use. ”

"Artillery ......" Hearing these two words, Wei Zheng's eyes suddenly lit up, and he asked excitedly.

Elder Wang replied confidently: "Lord Commander, just two years ago, under the order of the imperial court, our craftsman battalion specially built a hundred artillery pieces of various kinds and handed them over to the imperial court. So, for us, there is absolutely no problem in building artillery, as long as you give us enough raw materials for the craftsman's camp. ”

After getting the repeated confirmation of the old blacksmith Wang, Wei Zheng couldn't help but let out a cry in his heart.

"I can finally build my own artillery, and I don't need to rely on battlefield capture."

Then, looking at the eyes of the old blacksmith Wang, it was as if he had seen a pile of gold ingots, and his eyes were full of heat.

After a short period of contemplation, he said with a firm face: "Elder Wang, since you were recommended by everyone, it means that your prestige in the craftsman camp is very good. Now, I have officially decided to appoint you as the deputy general manager of the craftsman battalion, and for the time being, I will manage the craftsman battalion first. ”

"Now the soldiers are raiding your original Qianzong's house, and I have just given an order that all the silver taels and grain obtained from the raid will be sent to the craftsman camp as funds."

"As for the salaries and treatment of the craftsmen in the craftsman camp, they are all distributed according to the salaries of the craftsmen of the Haw Par Army's original weapons workshop, and they will definitely not treat everyone badly. Ensure that the craftsmen have sufficient food and salary to support their families, and then build weapons for the soldiers in a down-to-earth manner. ”

"Maybe Vice President Wang doesn't know that this time I came to Datong Mansion to take office, and I also brought hundreds of craftsmen. At that time, all these craftsmen will join the craftsman camp. Everyone joined forces to build more and more advanced and sophisticated firearms for the soldiers. ”

In the blink of an eye, he changed from a craftsman with the lowest status to a six-rank military general in the imperial court, and in the face of Wei Zheng, who was eclectic in employing people in front of him, Wang Lao was directly taken aback, and he didn't react for a while.

Because, since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, the management of household registration has been very strict. If your master is a craftsman, it indicates that your children will be inseparable from the craftsman's profession. Not only can you not be an official, but you can only be a craftsman who is looked down upon, looked down upon, and has the lowest status.

However, the chief soldier in front of him not only made himself an official, but also directly gave himself a high-ranking official from the sixth grade. This sudden surprise made Wang Lao feel like a dream, full of unreality.

Until Wei Zheng left the palace, Wang Lao was still standing in place, dumbfounded with a face full of eyes, motionless......

"Lord Wang...... Lord Wang...... The chief soldier has already left......" Zhou Shuyuan, who was left to finish, reminded Wang Lao, who had just been appointed as the deputy general manager, with a smile on his face.

"Gone...... I, I haven't thanked the chief soldier yet, kowtow to the chief soldier......" Elder Wang, who reacted suddenly, said with a complicated expression of surprise and panic.

and planned to chase after Wei Zheng......

Zhou Shuyuan decisively pulled it back, and said with a smile: "Lord Wang, Lord Zongbing has already gone far, if you go to chase it now, it is absolutely impossible to catch up." Besides, our commander-in-chief doesn't like the kind of subordinates who are good at sycophancy, as long as you do a good job, take a good craftsman into the camp, and create more firearms for the commander-in-chief, it is the best thank you to the commander-in-chief. ”

Boss Wang, who slowly calmed down, assured loudly: "Please tell Lord Zhou that my blacksmith Wang is fighting for this old life, and I will also make better firearms for Lord Commander......"

Improve the salary of craftsmen, promote craftsmen to officials, and specialize in the management of craftsmen in the art industry. In addition, the Haw Par Army's original weapons workshop brought various advanced production technologies into the craftsman camp.

The total number of people in the craftsman camp directly exceeded 700 people. As for the overall strength of the craftsman camp, at this moment, it can already be described by the words 'today is not what it used to be'. (To be continued......)