Late Ming Dynasty: Oops, I am surrounded by the Donglin Party

Zhang Shikang frowned as he looked at the note in his hand. At this moment, he had two questions in his mind.

Why did Yang Sichang secretly obstruct the Ministry of Revenue from sending food and fodder to the Beijing camp?

And why did the Jinyiwei tell him this news?

It is certain that Luo Yangxing of the Jinyiwei is very close to the Donglin Party, but he is not familiar with the Jinyiwei and the Jinyiwei has no obligation to help him.

As for whether it was Brother Chongzhen who instructed it, that is even more impossible. After all, that brother was still counting on Yang Sichang to wipe out the bandits.

The Jinyiwei secretly passed this news to him, and they must have wanted Zhang Shikang and Yang Sichang to fight each other. Then who would benefit?

There is only one answer - Donglin Party!

Because Yang Sichang was not a member of the Donglin Party, which was why Emperor Chongzhen dared to use him, Zhang Shikang finally figured out some clues.

After all, the head follows the butt. The power of the Donglin Party in the Ministry of War has always been neither up nor down. The only one leading troops outside is Hong Chengchou, and Yang Sichang is definitely a thorn in the eyes of the Donglin Party.

As long as Yang Sichang was killed, Hong Chengchou would most likely become the successor, but if it was possible to kill them, they would have done it long ago.

So you found me?

But you, Yang Sichang, are not the fish caught by Jiang Taigong, why are you taking the bait?

I didn't provoke you. You suppress your bandits and I train my soldiers. Why are you picking on me, old man?

With this thought in mind, Zhang Shikang walked into the gate of the Ministry of Works.

After all, he was not here to call for punishment, so Zhang Shikang asked his generals to wait outside the Ministry of Works.

Someone from the Ministry of Revenue had come to inquire earlier. Zhang Shikang was quite polite and just said that he was here to see Fang Fengnian, the Minister of Works. When the man heard that he was the governor of the Beijing Camp, he took him to the duty room of the Ministry of Works.

Fang Fengnian's words became much more pleasant. When he saw that the person who came was none other than Zhang Shikang, the dandy son of a British family, he immediately stood up and said with a smile as if he were bathed in spring breeze:

"Hey, Admiral Zhang, what brings you here?"

To Zhang Shikang's ears, these words revealed a hypocritical and sour taste. It is easy to tell whether a person is praising others sincerely.

In fact, Zhang Shikang roughly knew the impression he left in their minds. They just regarded him as a dandy who was uneducated, rude and unreasonable, but had a father behind him. They had the mentality of giving in if possible and not wanting to get involved in any scandal, but in fact they despised him very much in their hearts.

However, Zhang Shikang didn't care. As long as you don't provoke me, I don't care what you think.

"Well, it's nothing urgent. I heard that the firearms of the Ministry of Industry are very powerful, so I wanted to take a look. I just don't know if it's convenient for me to do so."

Zhang Shikang glanced at the officials in the duty room and smiled back.

Fang Fengnian originally thought of sending a chief officer to deal with the matter, but after taking a look at the ragged soldiers from the Beijing camp at the gate of the yamen, he changed his mind:

"Admiral Zhang, what's the inconvenience? I just came out of the morning court, so I have some time. How about I take you around?"

"That's fine. Thank you for your help."

Although it was a bit strange for the Shangshu to serve as a guide himself, Zhang Shikang didn't care.

Fang Fengnian ordered someone to prepare a carriage and first took him to visit the artillery workshop of the Ministry of Industry to see the smelting process of various types of artillery of the Ming Dynasty.

Zhang Shikang was not very interested in artillery. The artillery technology of the Ming Dynasty was getting more and more distorted, and the artillery that was being cast was also super huge. He took a look and left.

Fang Fengnian was talking and laughing along the way, but he only talked about interesting things in the capital, so Zhang Shikang could only nod perfunctorily.

In fact, he would rather the Minister of Works tell him about firearms, such as the production and improvement of bird guns, or the advantages and disadvantages of the bird guns currently being produced by the Ministry of Works.

In the end, Zhang Shikang discovered that the Minister of Works was a fake. He was good at speaking, but he knew nothing about firearms and even looked down on them.

Zhang Shikang finally understood why the Ming Dynasty's bird guns had not made any progress after more than a hundred years of use.

It was not until he arrived at the musket workshop that Zhang Shikang was truly opened to the world. The workshop was filled with rows of small houses connected together.

Each room is not big, only about five or six square meters. In each room there is a craftsman polishing gun barrels and other objects, and next to them there are finished products that have been polished and assembled.

These craftsmen were not even dressed as well as the soldiers in the Beijing camp. The original colors of their clothes could no longer be distinguished, and their legs were badly worn out from grinding gun barrels and had many patches on them.

The whole person looked numb, like a robot in a factory.

Zhang Shikang saw that the firearms produced by this craftsman were different from those used by the Beijing Army, so he asked Fang Fengnian:

"Master Fang, what is the name of this gun?"

"Oh, this gun is called the Rumi Gun. It was the blueprint that Zhao Shizhen obtained from the envoy of the Rumi Kingdom during the Wanli period. However, the current fire gun is an improvement on that blueprint."

Fang Fengnian knew a little bit about it, so he didn't hide it.

"What are the advantages of this gun compared to the bird gun equipped by the Beijing Camp?" Zhang Shikang asked again.

He picked up a Rumi gun and weighed it. It was about six or seven pounds. This Rumi gun not only had a rear sight compared to the bird gun, but also a front sight, and there was also a card slot at the end of the bed.

When asked about more professional aspects, Fang Fengnian was at a loss and pointed at the craftsman who was polishing and said:

"Didn't you hear what Admiral Zhang asked? Why don't you come over and explain? You are so tactless."

Zhang Shikang frowned.

Craftsmen had a very low status these days. Zhang Shikang frowned because those other civil servants did not know the importance of craftsmen. You, the head of the Ministry of Works, actually treated craftsmen in this way. It would be strange if the craftsmen had the energy to innovate!

The craftsman stood up and said with a little fear:

"In reply to the two adults, if you are talking about the old-fashioned bird gun, the range of the Rumi gun is similar to that of the Rumi gun, but the Rumi gun can be fired with both hands, so the accuracy is better.

The front sight of the Rumi gun is farther away from the eyes, making it less likely that the eyes will be burned by the flame when firing.

Sir, please look, the slot at the end of the Rumi gun bed can be equipped with a steel knife in wartime. If the enemy approaches, it can also be used as a saber to fight the enemy.

This gun uses four qian of medicine and three qian of lead bullets. Once you become proficient, the loading efficiency should be two points faster than the bird gun."

It was obvious that the craftsman knew a lot about the Rumi gun. He listed the characteristics of the Rumi gun in one breath. Zhang Shikang secretly gave this man a thumbs up. This is called professionalism.

"I wonder how many complete guns this old man can make in a day?" Zhang Shikang asked casually.

"Hahaha! Admiral Zhang is joking." Fang Fengnian shook his head and said happily:

"A skilled worker can only make one complete Lumi gun in a month."

Although Zhang Shikang knew that the industrial level was very low at that time, this result was still far beyond his expectations. Seeing Zhang Shikang's doubts, the craftsman said:

“Your Excellency may not know that no matter whether it is the Rumi gun, the bird gun, or the turtledove-foot gun, the most difficult part is the gun barrel.

Gun barrels are all made of fine iron. It takes ten pounds of crude iron to produce one pound of fine iron. Only gun barrels made of fine iron are strong, durable and not easy to crack.

However, the iron is too strong, which makes it difficult for us to drill the gun. Drilling the gun is a laborious task, but it is too delicate to be delegated to others. Each of us can only drill about an inch a day to make a gun like this. It takes 24 days to make a small gun. "

The craftsman was quite honest and spoke in a steady manner. He looked very reliable, so he asked again:

"How much salary do you get a month?"

The craftsman didn't know why Zhang Shikang asked this. He looked at the Minister of Works Fang Fengnian with some fear, as if asking if he could answer. Only after getting a positive answer did he dare to say:

"I am a craftsman employed by the Ministry of Works, and my monthly salary is higher, eight cents and a half a month."

Zhang Shikang frowned. Eight cents and five fen was not as good as the lowest-ranking servant in the Duke of Yingguo's Mansion. The Duke of Yingguo's Mansion not only provided food and accommodation, but also paid one tael and two cents of silver per month.

"What about those who don't work?"

Those who work in the office and those who don't actually come from artisan families, but some artisans usually make a living in their registered places. When the court needs more craftsmen to rush the work, they will be summoned.

"In reply to your Excellency, the craftsmen who have been summoned will not receive monthly wages, but will be provided with two meals a day."

What a miserable word.

After listening to the craftsman's self-narration, Zhang Shikang suddenly narrowed his eyes and smiled at Fang Fengnian:

"Master Fang, our Ministry of Industry has so many workshops, so there must be many firearms craftsmen, right?"

It takes a craftsman a month to make a qualified gun. This efficiency cannot be increased. The only way to increase it is to add more craftsmen.

Fang Fengnian was a little frightened by Zhang Shikang's sudden smile, but he still said:

"That's for sure. There are six or seven hundred craftsmen responsible for making the Rumi guns alone. If the Ministry of War pushes us too hard, we will have to summon more craftsmen."

"I wonder if Lord Fang would be willing to give me a few of the musketeers?"

Fang Fengnian thought that Zhang Shikang would make some excessive demands, but when he heard that he just wanted a few craftsmen, he was immediately relieved. He was even willing to give up his possessions. How could those lousy craftsmen be worthy of such a request?

"Okay, okay. There are a few craftsmen in the Beijing camp who can repair muskets. It can also reduce the trouble for my Ministry of Works. I wonder how many Admiral Zhang wants?"

Zhang Shikang held up three fingers:

"How about thirty? If you are in trouble, a few less will do."

Fang Fengnian pondered for a moment.

"Okay, thirty. I will have someone give you their household registration documents later. But Admiral Zhang should know that I need to report this to His Majesty."

"Of course I should, but I have to choose carefully, is that okay?"

Fang Fengnian was stunned for a moment, wondering what such an uneducated guy like Zhang Shikang could come up with, and after hesitating for a while, he agreed.

Zhang Shikang apologized to Fang Fengnian with a chuckle, then pulled the craftsman outside, deliberately avoiding Fang Fengnian.

Fang Fengnian felt something was wrong.

"Old man, are you willing to follow me to the military camp? I will give you two taels of silver per month and three meals a day. How about that?"

Zhang Shikang climbed onto the craftsman's shoulder, not minding the dirt, and spoke to him in a very intimate manner.

The craftsman only heard Fang Fengnian calling the young man who was clinging to his shoulder "Admiral", and thought that he must be an official of high rank, but he was really frightened by Zhang Shikang's closeness.

Two taels of silver per month, more than twice what I get now, and three meals a day. Is this a good thing?

However, this craftsman knew that if these masters wanted to take him away, there were ten thousand ways to do it. It didn't matter whether Yueyin was a scam or not. He would be bullied and exploited wherever he went. He only cared about one thing:

"I wonder, sir... I am in the military camp. Do I need to go with the army? It's not that I am afraid of death, but I have an old mother and young children at home. I..."

"Ha! Don't worry, you are my treasure. I won't let you go to the battlefield!"

After receiving the guarantee, the craftsman obeyed and said:

"I am willing to follow you, my Lord."

"It's not enough for you to go alone. You've been working here for so long, you should know who is the most skilled among these musketeers, right?"

The carpenter nodded.

"I'll leave in a moment. You can quietly write me a list of 30 people. Remember, think carefully about it. As long as you have the ability, OK."

As he spoke, Zhang Shikang took out a piece of silver weighing about five taels from his pocket and stuffed it into the man's arms.

The craftsman's heart beat faster as he held the silver. After the craftsman nodded, Zhang Shikang walked towards Fang Fengnian as if nothing had happened and asked to see the Ministry of Industry's firearms inventory.

I thought Fang Fengnian would refuse, but he agreed happily. Plus, he was so generous to the craftsman just now, so Zhang Shikang always felt it was very strange.

But he didn't think much about it and followed Fang Fengnian. The warehouse where the muskets were stored was very close to the craftsmen's production site.

Under Fang Fengnian's instructions, the soldier in charge of guarding quickly opened the door of the warehouse.

But in the warehouse, rows of Rumi guns were neatly stacked, all of them were brand new, and the barrels were greased to prevent rust.

"There are more than 8,000 Rumi guns here, all newly made in the Ministry of Works workshop." Fang Fengnian pointed to the rows of muskets.

Zhang Shikang's eyes widened. Damn it, there are so many sophisticated Rumi guns in the warehouse, but the ones given to my Beijing Camp are all junk?

……