The First National Preceptor of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 10

Xu Tian smiled awkwardly, feeling embarrassed, and then recounted the whole story in detail, while Uncle Du listened attentively.

"Take today's events as a lesson. Only when you have personally experienced and encountered trouble will you truly be more cautious in the future."

"The lesson I learned is that I was too careless before." It was during the New Year, and the atmosphere in Dingxiang City was rather restless. I was unconsciously influenced and let my true nature show.

"However, you have also benefited from this misfortune today, as you have actually met Li Su Jiedu and Huang Sima directly and even had a conversation with them."

He might become your benefactor in the future. It is said that General Li Su lives a secluded life and rarely receives outsiders; it's estimated that ordinary people would never actually meet him.

"Thanks to Governor Li's intervention, I was able to escape easily and even received twenty strings of cash." At this point, Xu Tian's impression of Li Su was fairly good.

However, in the end, it was only a fleeting encounter.

The two chatted for a while longer, and Xu Tian finally roughly figured out the ranking of official positions in the prefectures of this era. He was no longer completely confused and couldn't tell which way was which.

The position of Prefect was the highest-ranking official at the prefecture level, nominally the top administrative leader, equivalent to the Party Secretary of a prefecture-level city in later times.

Then, in order, came the three giants: the Prefectural Governor, the Chief Secretary, and the Sima, roughly equivalent to a deputy secretary or mayor, all of whom had considerable influence.

Then below them are the managers of various departments, called "military officers," who are responsible for specific matters in their respective areas and follow the instructions of the higher-ups, similar to bureau chiefs.

Furthermore, even officials holding the same official position may not necessarily have the same rank, as this is related to the level of the region they are located in.

The prefectures and counties were also divided into three grades: upper, middle, and lower, which were related to the number of households. For example, Dingxiang City belonged to the upper prefecture, and the officials such as the governor of Dingxiang City were of higher rank than the same officials in other prefectures in Shannan East Circuit.

Regardless of the size of the prefecture or county, these officials were theoretically appointed by the imperial court in Chang'an, but in practice, they could also be recommended by high-ranking officials.

For example, when Li Su returned to Dingxiang City, he brought many meritorious subordinates with him, some of whom held positions in the prefectures and counties, which was nominally approved and recognized by the imperial court.

Today, Xu Tian only met the governor and the military commander, but not the deputy governor or the chief secretary.

The position of Jiedushi was not a post in a prefecture, but rather a post in Shannan East Circuit, which was a high-level circuit and leaned towards military affairs, equivalent to a military region in later times.

Unlike the provincial level in later generations, the Dao level in this era was a relatively nominal level, and there was no similar position.

However, a military governor usually also serves as the prefect of the prefecture he governs, and at the same time, he also serves as the observer of other prefectures under the same jurisdiction, and has the power to interfere with and supervise the affairs of these prefectures.

When Xu Tian returned to the shop, everyone was relieved to see that he was unharmed.

To be honest, everyone knows that he is the backbone of the store. The nominal owner of Huazilou is Wang Anping, but it was actually founded by Xu Tian. With him around, Huazilou will not collapse, and even if it does, it can make a comeback.

By the sixth day of the Lunar New Year, most of the staff had returned to the store and started preparing for the reopening, as there were many things that needed to be prepared in advance.

The restaurant opened for business on the first day after the New Year. It was packed with customers, who arrived early to order. Everyone in the restaurant was busy the whole time, just like when the restaurant first opened.

However, this was just a surge in demand after a week of closure, and things returned to normal two days later.

The next day, the brothers Wang Dasong and Xiaosong brought fish over for the first time after the New Year, and also paid their belated New Year's greetings.

Later that day, Wang Anping and his family of three left with the two brothers. He had already planned before the Lunar New Year to visit his elder brother's parents and then visit his father-in-law's family to offer New Year's greetings.

As the saying goes, "A year's plan starts in spring," and Xu Tian was at home planning for the year.

The factory in the south will resume construction next month. The plan is to complete the initial construction of the factory in the first half of the year, build the iron and copper smelting furnaces, achieve results in metal smelting, and start carpentry work. Whether it's recruiting or training people, we must get it done.

In the first half of the year, the rickshaws we envisioned at least needed to be prototyped and the entire process explored and finalized before they could be mass-produced and put into the market.

In addition, we need to develop practical movable type printing, which is a powerful tool for gaining fame, reputation, and positive reviews. It is a revolutionary technology and can be said to be much more important than rickshaws.

Then, we can't stop working on chemistry either. We need to explore some common chemical processes and methods for preparing substances. This is technical reserve, which is related to the next step of development and is also very important.

After much deliberation, I still feel that I am alone and lack the strength, energy, and intelligence to achieve my goals as planned.

It's really difficult to balance the desire for rapid development with the need to maintain secrecy and protect oneself.

In short, we must begin vigorously cultivating and selecting reliable talent from the very beginning of the factory's establishment. As for the future, we can only take it one step at a time. Even if technology leaks are unavoidable, we must ensure that the most advanced and complete technologies remain in our own hands.

A few days later, Zhang Qi also came to discuss the start of construction with Xu Tian. Xu Tian slightly modified the previous rough plan and designated a piece of land as a soap workshop.

Recently, Du Erlang informed him through Du Bo that the monthly production of preserved eggs could be increased to one thousand this year, and the production of soap could also be increased to five hundred per month.

Although the prices of these two items have gradually decreased, they are still in short supply and will basically not be available on the market.

Previously, the head of the household was in charge of these things, and they were secretly made in the backyard. However, as production gradually increased, it became less appropriate to keep them in the backyard.

The backyard has limited space and isn't very secure, so we might have to move it to the factory depending on the situation.

The ten-acre construction site is now divided into five main sections: a soap workshop, a metal smelting workshop, a carpentry workshop, an assembly workshop, and a living area. This makes the site much more compact, but it's the only option for now.

With this plan, it seems that the current factory area is still a bit small, only ten acres. If production is to be expanded in the future, the area will definitely not be enough.

However, it's not easy to deal with the fact that the factory is currently occupying farmland, which is farmland along the river. It is at least medium-sized or higher-grade farmland, so it is not very legal.

However, what to do in the future is a matter for the future; we'll think about it carefully then.

The plan is to start construction on the living area first, so that it can be put into use immediately once it is built. This is also the most troublesome part, as it requires building kitchens, dormitories, and even digging a well.

Since it was a new house, Xu Tian suggested building an insulation layer, but Zhang Qi immediately rejected it, arguing that it would be too expensive, not durable, and troublesome to maintain later. So he didn't insist.