Chapter 27: Zhuge Lianghui

It's just that the Zhuge Liang Hui imagined by He Xi is completely incompatible with everything in front of him.

He Xi thought that he and this "expert" would sit down at the meeting and have an intimate conversation, so he borrowed a yamen from the Ministry of Industry. The master craftsmen of the Ordnance Bureau were all called, and it evolved into what it is today.

He sat on the stage, and dozens of gray-haired old craftsmen knelt underneath.

There were also several eunuchs standing behind him.

It didn't look like a meeting at all, but it looked like a promotion.

This is the treatment of craftsmen in this era. It is simply impossible to respect. There is also no right to express opinions. Some only have the right to obey orders.

He Xi said: "Everyone, old people, sit down and talk." ”

These craftsmen still couldn't believe it, and finally dared to get up under He Xi's repeated supervision. As for seating, there are not enough chairs in the yamen, and I don't know where to find some mahogany benches. It's time for everyone to sit down.

So after they all sat down, He Xi still felt that it didn't look like a meeting, but like a teacher teaching students. However, He Xi didn't care about these details, coughed twice, and said: "Everyone knows that in ancient times, there was a Suiren clan, who invented drilling wood to make fire, so that the people of the world could eat cooked food. There are nests, imitating birds and beasts to make houses. so that the people of the world have a fixed place to live. There are ancestors who make clothes to save the people of the world from the cold, which are all people who have contributed to the world in ancient times. What I do is also the work of craftsmen, so I never think that craftsmen are cheap jobs, not only are they not cheap jobs, but they are very important. Since ancient times, there have been people who have used this to get rich, such as the Sui and Tang dynasties, Yuwenkai supervised the construction of Chang'an City. Luoyang City is also regarded as an important minister, and its name goes down in history. There is glory and wealth, even in the past hundred years, there is one thing you should have heard of, the former Song Dynasty and Mongolia competed. The Mongols attacked Xiangyang for several years, and the city was fortified, with countless casualties. If Xiangyang can be held, then the southeast half of the former Song Dynasty can be protected, but the Yuan people ordered the craftsmen of the Western Regions to make a return cannon, and a cannon broke through the Xiangyang City Tower, and the Lu family was discouraged, so the power of the craftsman could affect the general trend of the world. Must not be heavy. Therefore, today's younger generations are ignorant, and they ask the elders to give advice. ”

After saying that, he bowed.

In He Xi's thoughts, shouldn't everyone applaud him for acting like this?

But the scene was silent, and it seemed that there was even the sound of a needle dropping.

Every craftsman didn't dare to speak as if he was stupid, and looked at He Xi in a daze. Don't know what to do?

It's not their fault.

Applause is essentially a kind of etiquette, and it says when it is time to applaud. Most modern people understand it. However, the people of the Ming Dynasty did not have this etiquette. Everybody doesn't understand, as for other reactions.

Sorry, craftsmen were the lower class of society in the Ming Dynasty, and many people in the lower class of society were cautious. It is better not to do it, not to do it wrong, because they cannot afford to do it wrong. They don't understand what He Xi is going to do?

Don't know how to react?

Then there is no response.

What's more, they couldn't understand what He Xi was saying.

He Xi quoted the classics, and it was the Suiren clan, the Youchao clan, the ancestor, the Yuwenkai, and the battle of Xiangyang. Most craftsmen have not heard of it. Many of what they said to He Xi did not understand.

Even if there are a few who understand, they can't believe it.

For example, Foreman Ge.

Foreman Ge is now gray-haired. I'm getting older, and I've heard about the battle of Xiangyang. After all, the first battle of Xiangyang has been until now, and it is not more than a hundred years old. Foreman Ge had heard a lot about it when he was a child.

Of course, the most important thing is that the ancestor of Ge Gongtou was a craftsman of the Song Dynasty.

After all, this is also normal. Many of the craftsmen's crafts are passed down from family to family. Outsiders are rarely passed on. Foreman Ge can be regarded as a representative of craftsmen by Fu Zhong, and it is definitely not because of his age. It's about having good craftsmanship in your hands. Coupled with the impartiality of people, many craftsmen are convinced, so that there is such a status.

Therefore, Foreman Ge still has an impression of the first battle of Xiangyang that year. I also have some understanding of the return gun.

It's just that he knows a little too well.

Whether it is the Song Dynasty, the Yuan Dynasty, or the Ming Dynasty, craftsmen are all called people. He didn't believe that He Xi could do this if he said this, even if He Xi wanted to do this, after so many years of tradition, what could He Xi do alone?

However, there was one thing he noticed. Etiquette must be asked for by others, and He Xi behaved like this, which is a bloody cost. Perhaps this is an opportunity for the Ge family.

A great opportunity.

This embarrassing situation did not last long. After all, He Xi is also thick-skinned. coughed slightly, ignored the cold field just now, and went straight to the point. said: "Because of the war in the southwest, a large number of ordnance needs to be mobilized, and the number of Nanjing arsenals is not enough, so it is necessary to urgently build a batch of ordnance, the most important of which is 100,000 pairs of armor." It will be made by the end of the year. ”

As soon as these words came out, the craftsmen below were suddenly noisy.

Without him, they are all great craftsmen. It's not just the technology that's good, they're responsible for certain production tasks. After all, officials do not directly manage artisans, and generally find people of high moral standing among the artisans to manage.

Therefore, these great craftsmen are also responsible for organizing production.

Naturally, I know what the concept of 100,000 pairs is.

"Quiet." He Xi said: "Say it one by one, Ge Lao, you come and say." ”

He Xi was only familiar with Foreman Ge. Just let him speak.

Foreman Ge said, "My lord, Mingjian. It's not a small prevarication, it's really a thing, it's impossible. Now it is only three months until the end of the year, and there is simply not enough manpower to make nails and weave. ”

He Xi said: "Send more people, okay?" ”

Foreman Ge was silent.

He Xi said: "This is the emperor's order, and it can't be sloppy." Let's discuss, is it okay to send more manpower? ”

The craftsmen whispered, and finally it was Foreman Ge who spoke, and Foreman Ge said: "My lord, we just calculated, but it still can't work, although it is not difficult to hit the armor, but the craftsmen needed also have some skills, and it is not possible to use it by pulling one person." And there are only so many blacksmiths in Nanjing City, even if other blacksmiths are called, it is not enough. At most, 20,000 pairs will be made at the end of the year, and it is already working day and night. ”

He Xi said: "Then do you have any way?" For example, reducing the number of processes? Or improve the process and reduce man-hours? ”

For a while, He Xi was faced with a death-like silence.

He Xi was a little disappointed.

These craftsmen are completely unmotivated. He Xi didn't think that the production process of Daming armor was perfect. Even if there are no revolutionary improvements, there should be ways to improve some efficiency.

It's just that none of these craftsmen took the initiative to say it.

However, empathy, He Xi can also understand. It's easy to increase efficiency, but it's hard to go down. Once there is this precedent. In the future, the imperial court will not calculate according to the latest records. If that's the case, these craftsmen will be pointed at the backbone by the people below.

There are even people who will pay with their lives for what they are saying now.

Because when many officials manage craftsmen, they don't care so much, they force people to death.

He Xi could only say it himself. said: "Ladies and gentlemen, I have an idea, the more than 100 armor pieces on our armor are changed to more than a dozen pieces, in fact, it saves a lot of time? ”

"What do you think?"

There was silence again.

However, He Xi could see from the eyes of these craftsmen that he seemed to have made some common-sense mistakes.

He Xi said: "Old Ge, is there anything wrong? ”

Foreman Ge could only stand up again and said, "What the Lord said is very true, but it is just -----" Foreman Ge didn't know what to say.

He Xi smiled lightly and said; "If Ge Lao has anything to say, just say, I'm not so careful."

Foreman Ge said: "It's just that in this way, there will be no reduction in working hours, and there will be an increase in working hours." ”

He Xi said: "How do you say this? ”

Foreman Ge said: "The nail piece is no more than the width of a palm, and a long one. It doesn't take long to fight, but if the nail piece is expanded, the time required will also increase, and the time required to play a heart shield is several times that of the nail piece, and it is difficult for the average apprentice to master. You can only let the craftsmen fight, it will only be slower. ”

He Xi understood.

He'd seen the nail hit, the young one. It is the apprentice who wields the sledgehammer, and he uses the most force, but it is brute force. The master uses a small hammer to master the heat. It was replaced with a larger piece of armor, such as a cuirass. You can't let the apprentice get started.

In this way, fewer people are involved in production. Slower efficiency.

In fact, ancient craftsmen were not fools. If this had worked, someone would have used it a long time ago.

He Xi said: "If you don't use people, just push the sledgehammer with water power and use it to smash, isn't it better?" ”

Seeing that He Xi didn't care, Craftsman Ge secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Listen directly to He Xi's question. Suddenly there was some helplessness. He Xi felt that the atmosphere was exactly the same as his previous question.

That is, he got it wrong with some common sense. continued to ask, "Do you still ask Elder Ge to solve my doubts?" ”

Foreman Ge said: "My lord, the pieces we use to make nails are all pig iron. ”

"Pig iron?" He Xi repeated. I still haven't figured out what happened to pig iron.

Foreman Ge said helplessly: "My lord, pig iron is brittle, you can't beat it directly, it will crumble." So you can only use it after heating, and then beating. ”

He Xi suddenly understood. Why didn't ancient China use hydraulic forging to make armor? It's not that I don't want to, but I can't. Materials science is the key to everything. What is needed is not hydraulic forging, but a sufficient amount of steel.

That is, large-scale steelmaking technology.

He Xi fortunately grasped the core of the problem and asked: "If there is enough steel, can we make armor like this?" ”

Foreman Ge said: "What your lord said is very true. It's just that adults first smelt iron into steel, and it is better to directly make pig iron into armor. ”

He Xi asked, "Do you still ask Elder Ge for advice?" ”