lady

Chapter 1012
On the second day, after the early court, the eunuchs notified the four ministers, Jin Rong and Cheng Dahui of the cabinet respectively to go to the emperor's imperial study to discuss matters.

Liu Chengzhi was the person in charge who directly arranged for the blowers to be used in the smelting workshop.Because this is something the emperor is concerned about, and because Liu Chengzhi wants to know whether the steam engine that is too popular now can really be used.Therefore, he has been paying close attention to the trial process of the blower.

He really didn't expect that with dozens of craftsmen in a private workshop, within two years, a wind wheel that was automatic without wind could be produced, thus changing the smelting process handed down by the ancestors.

However, the fact is that such a private workshop not only greatly increased the output of iron products, but also greatly reduced the impurities contained in iron materials.

This cognition made Liu Chengzhi feel a little sour, not a good taste.

The Ministry of Industry was in charge of him for many years, and after that, His Royal Highness King Fu was in charge of the Ministry of Industry.However, one of the main materials of the imperial court has been in their hands for so many years without any improvement.

Not long after His Royal Highness Fu left the court, a folk workshop that King Yu took a share in took only two years to bring about such a huge change in the smelting situation.

Does this mean that he and Fu Wang are too mediocre, not only did not have the ability to develop good craftsmanship, but also did not pay attention to discovering excellent craftsmen.

Liu Chengzhi even suspected that the emperor would think that they did not take court affairs to heart.

As the smelting workshop uses blowers to smelt and output more and more stable, Liu Chengzhi's emotions have been fermenting in his heart for a long time.

This morning at the court, first he saw Cheng Dahui appear, and after the court dismissed, the emperor summoned them to the imperial study, Liu Chengzhi already guessed what the emperor was going to discuss.

Liu Chengzhi followed Han Yanhui slowly, thinking about Cheng Dahui's position in front of the emperor.

The Ministry of Industry has been in his hands for many years. Before Fu Wang was in charge of the Ministry of Engineering, he was in charge of various affairs of the Ministry of Industry.

Over the years, officials from the Ministry of Industry have come and gone, promoted and transferred, but still more than half of the officials have been trained by him.

Now, the emperor has placed Jiang Yifan in the Ministry of Industry, which has already made Liu Chengzhi very nervous. He is always thinking about the corruption case uncovered by the Crown Prince and the Ministry of Household Affairs.

The Ministry of Households in charge of the crown prince is much stricter and more logical than his husband in charge of the Ministry of Industry.The emperor also noticed that there were problems with the treasury, grain, and taxation of the Ministry of Households, but he couldn't do anything about it.But Jiang Yifan only spent two years in the household department, and the officials of the household department made two private accounts, completely sending the prince away from the position of crown prince.

Now this fellow came to the Ministry of Industry to stir up trouble again, and his family also has a daughter-in-law who is good at fortifications, so Jiang Yifan can quickly familiarize himself with the specific affairs of the Ministry of Industry.

Now that someone like Cheng Dahui pops up again, in two years, I'm afraid that the position of minister of the Ministry of Industry will be Cheng Dahui's, right?At that time, even if Fu Wang can recover, the original foundation will probably be broken.They never had another chance to run a department.

…………

The emperor invited all the important ministers to come over to discuss matters.But in fact, when these bigwigs entered the imperial study, the emperor just arranged things unilaterally, and did not ask any of them for their opinions.

He first asked Cheng Dahui to introduce the details of the greatly improved smelting technology to everyone.Then bring Cheng Dahui back and use the blower to smelt the materials to Han Yanhui, and let the four ministers of the cabinet go back and see by themselves.

The emperor told the four elders, after reading it, each handed in a report, explaining the benefits that the prosperity of the smelting industry could bring to all walks of life in the world.

The second is about patent laws and craftsman ratings.

There is no longer any need to discuss the patents of steam engines and blowers. They were developed by Qijia Machinery Workshop and successfully used in iron smelting furnaces.As long as this machine has a patent, it belongs to Qijia Machinery Workshop, and no one has any objections.

However, regarding the craftsman's grading...the four elders didn't say a word.

The craftsman rating system introduced by the Ministry of Rites is based on the achievements of craftsmen and their contributions to the court and the people of the world.

The artisan level is divided into one to eight levels.The junior level is a first-level master, and the highest level is an eighth level.

Approved by the imperial court, a craftsman who is rated as one to three levels already has dignity: he does not kneel when he sees an official, and his immediate family members are not required to serve corvee, which is somewhat different from the commoner class.

Craftsmen at levels [-] to [-] also enjoy the benefits of not kneeling when they meet officials and not submitting to corvee.In addition to these two items, Lumi also enjoys imperial subsidies.The quantity is not much, and you can get eight, nine, and ten shimi a year respectively.

Ten stones of rice is indeed not much, but just this amount of Lumi can allow a family of five to have a rest and buffer time under short-term embarrassment, and the family can save their lives.

Craftsmen from the seventh to eighth ranks, except for not taking corvee, not kneeling when they see officials, and fifty shi Lumi a year.There is also a political benefit: if there is a grievance, you can bypass the yamen at all levels and directly appeal to the emperor.

In fact, for eighth-level masters, the last one is the most important.This article fundamentally guarantees the various rights and interests of the craftsman, not only will he not be bullied for nothing, but he will not suffer because someone covets his craftsmanship.

The emperor's intention was very clear, that is to ask the Qijia machinery workshop to re-approve the use of steam engines and blowers during the period between the new year's new year and the opening of the government office next year.After the opening of the yamen on the sixteenth day of the first lunar month, the blower was officially purchased from the machinery workshop for smelting.It is equivalent to the imperial court buying the first industrial machine from Qijia Machinery Workshop.

After confirming that the blower is used for smelting, the mechanical workshop can not only apply for the patent of the steam engine and the blower.At the same time, it can also report to the imperial court and rate craftsmen who have made outstanding contributions.

This outstanding contribution is not only the artisans involved in the development of steam engines and blowers, but also the artisans who have made outstanding contributions in the development of agricultural tools and the development of construction equipment.

…………

Great progress has been made in the smelting process, which can fundamentally solve the shortage of ironware and iron materials.It is harmless for the imperial court to give more praise to relevant craftsmen and folk workshops, and it will not shake the foundation of the country.

However, if a few craftsmen of the fifth, sixth, or even seventh or eighth ranks are really selected, and these people who make a living by doing hard work can actually receive the salary of the imperial court, this is a precedent for violating the sages.

That is to say, from now on, those who do not read the books of sages and live by working hard will one day be able to surpass scholars.

Those who were born as scholars can't bear this kind of thing, can they?

Liu Chengzhi endured it for a long time, finally stood up, and said: "Your Majesty, this is not just to grade craftsmen, but to let craftsmen enjoy the support of the court. This kind of thing has never happened in history, should it be handled with caution? "

Wei Xin also got up and said, "I think so. The imperial court may wait a few more years until the steam engine and blower really show their effectiveness, or wait until the industry in the world has changed because of this. By then It will not be too late to evaluate.”

　My head is dizzy, I can't keep going, the next chapter will be added tomorrow, for sure.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)