Back in the small room, Chen Kan had a clear understanding of the shabby of the treasure banknote division.

Except for Li Shi, the other officials and scribes were all like craftsmen, working shirtless.

Chen Kan even suspected that if he hadn't come today, Li Shi would probably have been on the front line by now.

After resting for a while, Chen Kan decided to clarify the doubts in his heart first.

"Master Lee."

"The lower official is here!"

Li got used to it and hurriedly stood up.

"Go and tell everyone, stop work first, Ben Hou has something to say."

Li Shi was stunned for a moment, and then a flash of surprise suddenly flashed on his face unconsciously.

"Xiaguan is going, this is going."

Li Shi trotted out all the way out, for fear that Chen Kan would regret it, and as soon as he went out, he began to shout: "Stop, Lord Hou has an order, stop work today, stop work today......"

Li Shi's voice spread far and wide, and even Chen Kan, who was in the room, heard it.

Chen Kan could still hear a hint of surprise from his mouth.

After hearing Li Shi's shout, the originally busy craftsmen first showed a blank look on their faces, and then the whole person suddenly relaxed.

"Finally, it's time to rest."

When many craftsmen heard Li Shi's words, they couldn't help but burst into tears with excitement.

"What are you crying about, didn't you hear what Master Hou said, stop work and rest today."

The craftsmen gathered together in twos and threes, and many people were afraid that they were dreaming, so they couldn't help but ask their companions to pinch him.

The sharp pain in their bodies told them that they were not dreaming, but that they could really rest.

"Come here from this official, Master Hou has something to say."

Li Shi's tone was extremely exaggerated, and he danced and beckoned a group of craftsmen to gather towards the place where he was.

Two lean figures ran out of the crowd, one of them burrowed into the room, and when they reappeared, they were wearing green official uniforms.

Chen Kan had already come out of the room, and when he saw that Li Shi had finally changed the craftsmen from tools back to people with seven emotions and six desires with just one sentence, his brows furrowed even tighter.

It was also at this time that Chen Kan discovered that there were far fewer craftsmen in the treasure banknote division than he imagined.

When he first came in, he saw the busy craftsmen, and he thought that there should be thousands of people, but now that all the people are gathered together, it looks like there are more than three hundred.

In other words, because of their busyness, Chen Kan had the illusion that there were many people.

Chen Kan came to Li Shi's side with his hands behind his back, frowned, and said, "How long have they not rested?" ”

Li Shi's face was bitter, and he said, "Back to Master Hou, they... They have been busy since His Majesty ascended the throne last year. ”

"What?"

Chen Kan couldn't help but be taken aback, and his face suddenly became solemn: "You mean, they have been working since last year?" ”

"What about Yuan Zheng, what about Xiu Mu?"

"Don't they have time to rest?"

Li Shi smiled bitterly: "My lord, I joked, since Your Majesty ascended the throne, the treasury has withered, and treasure money is needed everywhere to make up for leaks. ”

"Then why is there such a small number of people in the entire Treasure Money Division?"

"What about the younger generation of craftsmen?"

Chen Kan asked with a solemn face.

He clearly remembered very well that since the great grandfather set the four people, whether it is a military or a craftsman, it is passed from father to son.

But why are there only these old people now?

Chen Kan looked at Li Shi sharply.

Li Shi opened his mouth, but lowered his head helplessly.

Chen Kan looked at the two people who still had various supplies on their faces and had just changed into official uniforms.

I saw a trace of grief and indignation in the dodging eyes of the two, but when they met Chen Kan's inquiring eyes, they were silent.

Chen Kan looked at the craftsmen below again, and without exception, the craftsmen who were swept by Chen Kan's gaze all lowered their heads.

Chen Kan instinctively felt that something was wrong, these people definitely had something to hide from him.

Chen Kan's face was terrifyingly gloomy.

The atmosphere of the entire treasure money division instantly became dull.

Many craftsmen wanted to defend loudly, but when they saw Chen Kan's young face, their eyes instantly dimmed.

"Master Hou, your subordinates may know why there are only so many people in the Treasure Money Division."

Just as Chen Kan was about to use strong authority to suppress, a familiar voice suddenly sounded behind his ears.

Chen Kan looked back and saw Zhang San looking at the shirtless craftsman in front of him with a pitiful face.

"Say!"

Chen Kan coldly spit out a word in his mouth.

When Zhang San heard this, he couldn't help but shrink his shoulders.

He knew that the Hou Ye at this time was already in a moment of anger.

When the three officials heard Zhang San's words, a flash of despair flashed involuntarily in their eyes.

Zhang San leaned close to Chen Kan's ear and said in a low voice as low as possible: "Master Hou, if your subordinates guess correctly, the descendants of these craftsmen may have already broken away from the craftsman's status." ”

Zhang San's voice was not loud, but it was still listened to by the craftsmen below.

A look of despair flashed on the faces of the craftsmen, and a moment later, under the leadership of Li Shi and the two officials of the lifting department, they knelt in front of Chen Kan in an uproar.

Li Shi said: "The lower officials deceived Hou Ye, and asked Hou Ye to punish him." ”

The craftsmen began to beg for mercy: "Master Hou spares his life, and the villains are also forced to do so." ”

The sudden change made Chen Kan a little stunned.

"What are you doing here?"

"Master Hou, it's not that the villains are unwilling to follow the household registration system set by the great grandfather, they really can't survive."

Some of the elderly craftsmen in the room suddenly began to cry.

"Master Hou, please have mercy on us."

"The villain has knelt down for you."

The three officials of the Treasure Money Division knelt in front of Chen Kan, their faces full of bitterness.

Li Shi said: "Master Hou, now, there is nothing to hide from the lower officials, there are no young craftsmen in the Treasure Banknote Division, they are the last batch of craftsmen in the Treasure Banknote Division." ”

Chen Kan looked at Zhang San with an inquiring gaze, and since Zhang San said that he knew the reason, Chen Kan didn't plan to let Li Shi say it.

To put it simply, Chen Kan no longer trusts anyone in the Treasure Banknote Division.

Seeing that Chen Kan was unmoved, Li Shi knelt back with a bitter face.

Zhang San only felt that his scalp was numb from Chen Kan's eyes, and he couldn't help but scratch his head subconsciously.

"My lord, do you know about the recruitment system of craftsmen?"

Chen Kan squinted at him: "Nonsense, hurry up." ”

Zhang San cautiously peeked at the craftsmen kneeling in front of Chen Kan, and said in a low voice: "My lord, the imperial court does not give money to recruit craftsmen. ”

Chen Kan was stunned for a moment, and then suddenly felt like a lightning bolt in his heart.

Then his face changed, and he began to smile bitterly.

"I see."

He understood.

No wonder these craftsmen looked horrified when they asked that question.

Feelings: They think of themselves as Chen Papi, who was sent by the imperial court to investigate the craftsman.

Thinking about the joints, Chen Kan felt extremely bitter in his heart.

This is the household registration system that Lao Zhu is proud of.

He originally thought that only the military status would be like this, but he didn't expect the craftsman status to be more serious.

To put it simply, after Lao Zhu ascended the throne, he formulated a hereditary system of military registration and craftsmanship.

Even the son of the craftsman must also be a craftsman.

In this way, the imperial court will have craftsmen who will never run out.

But he didn't take into account the fact that the artisans relied on their crafts to make a living.

But... When the imperial court requisitioned craftsmen, it did not pay the corresponding salaries to the craftsmen, which means that the craftsmen had to work for the imperial court.

Originally, the craftsman could rely on his own craftsmanship to support his family, but after being requisitioned by the imperial court, the craftsman had no income, not to mention, but became a white eater.

The artisan family relied on craftsmanship to support the family, and it became a family to support the artisan household to work for the imperial court.

In the long run, artisan households will either become fugitives, or simply find connections or even spend money to find the government to change their household registration.

This fell into a vicious circle, with fewer and fewer artisans, and it became more and more difficult for the imperial court to recruit craftsmen.

Once a craftsman is recruited, he will be used to death.

Seeing that the time spent working for free for the imperial court was getting longer and longer, other craftsmen simply started a family escape or passed on the heirs of the family to others.

All in all, if this continues, it won't be long before the craftsmen of the Ming Dynasty will disappear completely.

Chen Kan stood so high that he ignored the possibility at first.

Now that he suddenly understood, his face couldn't help but show a look of pathos.

He really didn't expect that the craftsmen of Daming would have such a miserable life.

No wonder the Treasure Money Division is such a big yamen, but there are only so many people, and it is no wonder that the treasure money division is so busy that it needs the chief officer of the yamen to go to the front line.

Zhu Di has ascended the throne to the present, rewarding meritorious heroes, giving foreign envoys, and appeasing all places, where money is needed.

A large amount of treasure money was squandered by Zhu Di.

As a result, the craftsmen of the Treasure Money Division worked continuously for almost a whole year.

It's no wonder that when I just entered the treasure banknote division, I have the illusion that I look at craftsmen like tools.

Isn't it just a tool?

With such a large amount of work on so many people, it's no wonder they were so excited to hear that today's work was stopped.

Let's ask, in such a situation, who would want their children to become artisans?

Chen Kan looked at Li Shi apologetically, then turned his head to look at the craftsman who was kneeling on the ground, and said apologetically: "I'm sorry, Ben Hou really didn't know that your life was so miserable. ”

The craftsman closest to Chen Kan saw Chen Kan's appearance, and couldn't help laughing miserably: "This is fate, don't blame Hou Ye, the villains only beg Hou Ye not to report the matter here to the imperial court, and the villains are willing to be driven to death by the imperial court." ”

"I just ask Master Hou to let the villain's whole family have a way to live."

When the other craftsmen heard this, they couldn't stop kowtowing to Chen Kan.

"I beg the Hou Ye to be gracious, I beg the Hou Ye to be gracious."

Seeing the craftsmen behaving like this, Chen Kan's mouth was filled with bitterness.

He suddenly understood Li Shi, an eight-rank petty official.

Today's scene, even if it was not arranged by Li Shi, must have been promoted by him behind the scenes, and the purpose was to report the embarrassment of the craftsman to the court through his own mouth.

Otherwise, the Treasure Money Division would not have gone uncovered up.