Daming: The system rejected my request for salted fish

He doesn't even care whether he can catch the person or not. It would be best if he can, but there's no need to worry too much if he can't.

It was nothing more than the leak of the blueprints of the steam engine and the rifled flintlock rifle. The consequences were not completely unbearable.

The two craftsmen who were taken away had not been with the Academy of Science and Technology for long, and their knowledge and experience were very limited.

If talents like Song Zhong and Sun Chang were taken away, Wei Wu would be really anxious.

Moreover, without the support of machine tools and relevant professional knowledge, it would not be easy to manufacture steam engines and rifled flintlock rifles, let alone mass production.

With the current development progress of the Institute of Science and Technology, and with sufficient electricity supply, it will probably not be long before firearms are updated again.

So, instead of wasting time worrying about useless things, it is better to focus your energy on the right things.

However, one learns from one's mistakes. In order to prevent the same thing from happening again, Wei Wu changed the rules of the Institute of Science and Technology.

First, the Academy of Science and Technology is divided into the internal and external colleges. The internal college is mainly responsible for conducting major core scientific and technological research work.

And not everyone can enter. Except for the earliest craftsmen, everyone else needs to go through numerous tests.

After passing the assessment, there is still household registration review and residence investigation report. Only after passing all of them can the family be moved before officially entering the inner courtyard.

The main task of the Outer Court was execution, including the manufacture of rifled flintlock rifles and the modification of treasure ships.

In addition, protective measures around the Institute of Science and Technology have also been strengthened. Even outposts have been set up on the other side of the Yangtze River, and soldiers will patrol continuously.

It may sound useless, but it is actually very good. After all, there is no perfection in this world, and even the best plans will have loopholes.

In the following period, Wei Wu continued to impart knowledge to the craftsmen every day to enhance their foundation and background.

That day, Wei Wu was in class when he was suddenly interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Mr. Vice President, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, Mr. Mao Xiang, has arrived and said he has something to tell you."

"Okay, I get it."

Wei Wu responded casually, then turned to look at the craftsmen who were listening to the lecture and said:

"You guys review what I just said first. I'll test you when I come back."

After leaving the craftsmen with learning tasks, Wei Wu turned and left the classroom, walking towards the gate of the Institute of Science and Technology.

Yes, it’s the direction of the gate.

In the past, Mao Xiang could come directly to the Institute of Science and Technology, but now, because of the previous incident, Zhu Yuanzhang personally issued an order.

Except for the craftsmen of the Academy of Science and Technology, no one can enter the Academy of Science and Technology without permission, even with his permission.

If you want to enter the Institute of Science and Technology, you either have to be brought in by Wei Wu himself, or you can only stand outside the door and wait for the person you are looking for to come out.

So now Mao Xiang could only stand at the gate of the Academy of Science and Technology. Fortunately, Wei Wu did not let him wait for long and came over quickly.

After bringing Mao Xiang into the Institute of Science and Technology, as soon as the two sat down, Mao Xiang started to speak:

"Marquis Changle, the craftsman named Li San has been found, but he is now a corpse and has been dead for a long time."

Upon hearing this, Wei Wu frowned slightly and asked:

"Is it an internal conflict, or some other reason?"

Mao Xiang nodded and answered truthfully:

"He had injuries on his legs, but the cause of death was strangulation. It's likely an internal conflict or he was abandoned because he had no further use."

"But we didn't find any blueprints on him. I guess they were taken away by the other craftsman named Hu Ji."

After hearing Mao Xiang's description, Wei Wu nodded slowly, and then asked another question.

"What about Hu Ji?"

"Hu Ji escaped, and just as we suspected, he escaped by water from Yangzhou City via the canal."

As he spoke, Mao Xiang took out a piece of paper from his arms and handed it over.

"This is the confession of the Yangzhou City Gatekeeper. The clue was found from him."

Wei Wu took the confession and examined it, while Mao Xiang continued to speak:

"When the imperial court issues a wanted notice, they always change the horses but not the people. They are expedited through the post stations to various parts of the country, so they must reach Yangzhou faster than them."

"But my men waited in Yangzhou for a few days but found no trace of the two craftsmen, so they felt something was amiss."

"So they arrested the gatekeepers and tortured them, and finally found out that during that period, two gatekeepers had accepted bribes and let people pass without checking."

Mao Xiang paused for a moment before continuing:

"One of them has been verified to be unrelated to this case. He was a city official who bought a dead cow and was worried about being discovered by the government."

"The other was a merchant transporting goods into Yangzhou. He didn't violate any regulations; he just wanted to avoid having his goods inspected."

"If I'm not mistaken, the craftsman named Hu Ji was hiding in the cargo, but by the time we found him, the ship had already left!"

"Right now, we can only find out that it was a businessman from Jin. We can't confirm who it is specifically. We need more time to investigate."

After Mao Xiang finished speaking, Wei Wu nodded calmly and said:

"Got it. I'll have to trouble the Imperial Guards to continue investigating this matter and do their best!"

Then the two exchanged a few pleasantries as usual, and Mao Xiang got up and left.

In fact, Wei Wu knew very well that it was useless to continue investigating because the craftsman named Hu Ji would definitely not be caught.

First, too much time has passed and it is difficult to trace the waterway. Second, there is someone to help, and he is a licensed merchant.

It can be seen from the confession that the gatekeeper did not even check the merchant's pass.

There are so many merchants coming in and out of Yangzhou City every day. Without a pass, there is no way to find out who that merchant is.

Since the matter has become a foregone conclusion, he is too lazy to pay attention to it anymore and should focus on the renovation of the treasure ship.

In the following time, Wei Wu would run to the shipyard after teaching the craftsmen every day to supervise the quality of the renovation.

After all, this is an important means of transportation for conquering Japanese pirates, and no carelessness is allowed.

He would personally test-sail each treasure ship that had been renovated, and only give the go-ahead after making sure there were no problems.