Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

“This watch is great!”

"Everyone in the Weiwei Temple should have one."

Putting the watch on his wrist, Liu Qiao said happily.

You can see the time just by raising your hand, which is really important during joint operations.

If every police officer in Weiwei Temple had a watch, it would be more convenient when carrying out arrest operations.

Wu Mengming also took a watch, felt the benefits of the watch, and asked the temple priest:
"How much is this watch?"

“How many can you build?”

The old temple priest smiled and said to the two of them:
"This watch is not expensive, only eighty taels of silver."

"If the watch workshop of the Imperial Household Department places an order, it might be even cheaper."

"Oh, I forgot to mention this before. The patent for this watch has been licensed to the watch workshop. For every watch made, the inventor will be given two taels of silver."

This is the strategy adopted by the watch workshop to obtain the right to produce without paying for the patent.

Most craftsmen do not have dedicated workshops, so they choose to authorize watch workshops and use patents to earn profits. If they want to produce by themselves, they will have to pay patent fees to the Imperial Household Supervisor because many patents for watch parts are in the hands of the Imperial Household Supervisor.

Because of this, many craftsmen, after developing new styles of watches, did not produce them themselves, but instead concentrated on inventing in the intention of obtaining a reward.

After hearing this explanation, Liu Qiao and Wu Mengming thought that they could buy watches at a lower price thanks to the relationship between Jinyiwei and the Imperial Household Supervisor, but there was a limit to how much they could get at a discount, and it was impossible for them to get a discount of only half.

Even if it was reduced to 60 taels, that was the annual salary of a ninth-rank official. It would take an ordinary police officer two or three years to save up that much.

Therefore, it is simply not feasible to equip all police officers with watches. At most, only officers can be given watches.

Considering the number of officials in the Weiwei Temple, and thinking that if such an expensive item was only allocated to the Weiwei Temple, other Jinyiwei agencies would definitely be dissatisfied, Liu Qiao said:
"It seems that this watch cannot be specially made for Weiwei Temple."

"Let's go back and discuss it and see if we can get the Logistics Department to pay for it."

I paid for the watch together with Wu Mengming, and then went back to discuss it carefully.

The old temple keeper was a little surprised to see the two people taking out money, and wanted to give it to them directly without charging any money.

But Liu Qiao knew that a single gift exceeding ten taels would be taxed, so how could he be willing to accept things from a stranger?
The payment of taxes will be recorded in the Taifu Temple, and you may be questioned by the Supervisory Office.

Failure to pay taxes was a more serious matter, because the emperor repeatedly emphasized that paying taxes and serving in the military were the two major obligations of citizens, and refusing to fulfill them could result in the loss of citizenship and the power to hold an official position.

Liu Qiao, knowing the emperor's temper, did not dare to make a mistake in this regard. He now only accepted gifts from close people, and the value of a single gift did not exceed ten taels of silver, and the total amount in a year did not exceed one hundred taels.

Anyone who could receive a gift from him could be considered his confidant. An old temple priest whom he had just met was not qualified to receive a gift from him.

Therefore, he directly took out a Shuntian Bank silver note of one hundred taels, signed and sealed it, asked the salesperson in the temple to take it, and then gave himself twenty taels in change.

Wu Mengming next to him did the same thing, holding the 40 five-cent notes he had received as change and sighing:
"The banknotes here only have subsidiary notes and silver bills, which is really inconvenient."

"It would be great if silver dollar notes were issued someday. It would be more convenient to spend money and get change."

Liu Qiao held the thick banknotes, put them into his wallet, and said with a smile:

"Forget about the silver dollar notes for now. It won't be easy for the parliament to pass them."

"There have been a lot of problems with using subsidiary currency notes now, so how can we just issue silver dollar notes?"

"I think it's better to hope for small-denomination banknotes. Who dares to refuse to use Shuntian Bank's banknotes?"

The implementation of subsidiary currency notes in Shuntian Prefecture was basically smooth. However, it is impossible to say that there were no problems. The Weiwei Temple, which was responsible for public security, had to deal with many disputes related to subsidiary currency notes.

Moreover, for the dignitaries and merchants in the capital, the denomination of subsidiary currency notes was still too small. They preferred the silver notes issued by Shuntian Bank and often carried them with them.

However, the minimum denomination of silver notes was 100 taels, which was too high for daily use. Many people thought that it should be increased to 10 or 50 yuan, which would be more convenient.

However, Shuntian Bank refused to issue it, citing the regulations of the Gold Reserve Association. Now people can only put up with it and receive silver dollars or five-cent subsidiary notes as change.

Liu Qiao and Wu Mengming were both impatient to carry heavy silver dollars, so they took 50 cents in subsidiary currency notes. The 40 50 cents in subsidiary currency notes were quite thick, and they filled their wallets to the brim, and they couldn't help but complain.

Of course, this was a happy trouble for the two of them. Ordinary people didn't have much money, so they naturally didn't find the subsidiary notes inconvenient.

Their biggest worry now is that the subsidiary currency notes will become treasure notes. When many people get paper money, the first thing they think of is to exchange it for silver coins or spend it.

Some people even refused to accept subsidiary currency notes, causing many disputes.

The Weiwei Temple has dealt with many such matters and is very familiar with them.

After casually discussing these things, Liu Qiao and Wu Mengming looked around the newly opened Bell and Drum Tower Market and bought some things. When they were about to go back, they said:
"Take the Imperial City Road in the east and go to the Inner Palace Prison."

"This watch workshop belongs to the Imperial Household Department. Let's see if there is a more suitable watch."

He took Wu Mengming and others to the Neifujian's office outside the palace.

Because the Imperial Household Department was responsible for managing enterprises outside the palace, it also had an office outside the palace. It was near the newly opened Dongyang Gate in the imperial city, not far from the bell and drum tower.

Liu Qiao and others took a carriage and arrived here quickly. Wang Chengen happened to be there, and after hearing Liu Qiao's purpose, he smiled and said:
"Your suggestion is very good. The emperor has ordered that officers in Liaodong be equipped with watches to help them keep track of time."

"Watches are still too expensive nowadays, so they are only given to majors and above."

"The Imperial Household Department is already studying ways to reduce costs. Once the price of a wristwatch drops to thirty taels of silver, we can give it to more officers."

"It just takes time. You can wait a little longer."

Liu Qiao was unwilling to wait any longer, because he knew that Zheng Shiyi had been the head of the Jinyiwei for three years. Given the current emperor's temper, Zheng Shiyi might retire after five years. Now he had to make more achievements to take over after Zheng Shiyi retired.

So after thinking about it, he said:
"At thirty taels of silver a piece, most officials can afford it."

“Even if the police officers grit their teeth, they may be able to afford it.”

"Eunuch Wang, I think it would be better to let the officials buy it themselves and give it to them at the price of thirty taels of silver per piece."

"When the price of watches drops, the Imperial Household Department won't have to lose money."

Wang Chengen listened to Liu Qiao's proposal and pondered for a while, then said:
"I can do this for you Jinyiwei, but not for Liaodong officers."

"This watch, like the compass and telescope, is a must-have item in the military and is used in battles."

“What if someone is short of money and doesn’t buy it, and the war is delayed?”

"But your suggestion is not bad. We can give your Jinyiwei officials a discount. Everyone can buy a watch at the price of thirty taels each with their work certificate."

"The loss will be borne by the Imperial Household Supervisor as a subsidy to you."

This statement was very grand, but in fact, the Jinyiwei was used as a test subject. It takes a little bit of trial and error to find out which process improvements can reduce costs when manufacturing watches.

Whether there are any problems with these processes needs to be discovered during use.

In the past, Wang Chengen distributed them to the people in the Imperial Household Department for use. Now that he was letting the officials of the Embroidered Uniform Guard pay for the test samples, he was naturally more willing.

As long as you pay attention to the warranty or replace it with a new one, it won’t be considered a scam.

Liu Qiao didn't know about these production tricks and thought Wang Chengen was giving him face, so he hurriedly said:
"Then I would like to thank you on behalf of my colleagues in the Royal Guards!"

"In this style, can it be customized specifically for Jinyiwei?"

"And can it be adjusted for armor so that you can wear a watch while wearing armor?"

Wang Chengen heard Liu Qiao's detailed explanation and knew that he really knew something about watches. He said seriously:

"Someone in the watch workshop has already brought up this matter."

"The Armor Bureau has specially improved the armor and added a hand guard that can protect the watch."

"Another idea is to add a pocket watch to the armor so you can put a pocket watch, compass, etc."

"Don't worry, the Arms Bureau will take all these into consideration."

After explaining in detail the usage of military watches, Wang Chengen said:
"The most difficult part now is actually the glass used in watches."

"The current glass is too brittle. Even with the hand guard protecting it, the glass on the dial will shatter if you chop it with a knife."

"This is one of the reasons why watches are expensive. On the contrary, pocket watches are protected by a case, so the requirements for glass can be lower, and they are not easily worn out."

"I think ordinary police officers can buy pocket watches, which are cheaper."

Compared to wristwatches, pocket watches can be made thicker and can be covered with a case to protect the glass on the dial.

This means that the production requirements for pocket watches are lower than those for wristwatches, and the cost is naturally lower as well.

On the contrary, if the watch is too thick, it will be uncomfortable to wear on the wrist; adding a case will make it inconvenient to watch. Therefore, it is best to expose the glass on the dial directly.

Wang Chengen now feels that glass is indeed a big problem.

Not to mention the high-strength glass needed for military watches, large watches also require large pieces of glass, which is also difficult to manufacture nowadays.

Not to mention that the emperor also asked him to study mirrors and glass windows, which also required large pieces of glass.

He felt it necessary to offer a reward so that the craftsmen could solve the problem as soon as possible.
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Coincidentally, Bo Jue, who was researching sights at the Equipment Academy, also encountered difficulties with glass.

The Type 4 Electric Gun he made is similar to the Sharps rifle, both of which are firearms focused on long-range shooting.

Therefore, there is a great need for a scope and the cost must be reduced.

Bo Jue has solved the difficulties encountered in installing a scope on a musket step by step.

However, reducing the cost of the scope really made him feel difficult.

Until now, the cost of the Type 4 electric gun with a scope still exceeds 200 taels. This is equivalent to the price of a cannon, and the army cannot afford it at all.

If the cost problem is not solved, the weapons he made will not be popularized:
“The problem of glass grinding must be solved.”

"The Wensi Institute and the Equipment Institute don't have craftsmen who specialize in this area, so I'll do it myself."

"We will set up a research institute and apply for funding from the president."

"Even if Lu Xiang disagrees, he can still apply to the Technical Committee."

Because of the flintlock musket issue, his relationship with Lu Xiang was not good. In addition, the musket he was researching was also in competition with Lu Xiang, so he did not expect Lu Xiang to provide funding.

However, after he submitted his application for the establishment of the institute, he received a reply very quickly. Lu Xiang agreed to his request and allocated 2,000 taels of silver as the initial cost of establishing the Institute of Optics.

He was also advised to cooperate with the Imperial Household Department to obtain more funds:
"The Imperial Household Department's Arms Bureau, which makes telescopes, and the clock workshop, which makes clocks, also encountered problems with glass."

“Your research institute can work with them to tackle this together.”

"If there is a shortage of manpower, we can apply to the Ministry of Industry to transfer the craftsmen who make medicinal jade."

Medicinal jade is colored glaze, also known as fake jade. It is fired in such a way that it looks as much like jade as possible, and is used as a substitute for jade.

This led to the Ming Dynasty's glass industry leaning towards white or colored glass, but there was not much accumulation in transparent glass.

However, during the firing process of medicinal jade, many "defective products" will definitely appear. These things that do not look like jade were waste in the past, but now they may be used.

For example, the glass used in watches does not require as high a light transmittance as the glass used in telescopes. It only needs to be able to see the dial clearly. However, it does require high strength and wear resistance. Perhaps some kind of transparent medicinal jade that was burned before can meet the requirements.

Lu Xiang asked Bo Jue to seek help directly from the Ministry of Industry and transfer the craftsmen who could make medicinal jade.

After Bo Jue received the advice, he was very touched. He thought it would be fine if Lu Xiang didn't trip him up, but he never thought he could get help.

Thinking about some rumors in the Equipment Academy and Xu Sen's leaving in anger, he felt that there must be a misunderstanding. He also had a misunderstanding about Lu Xiang before:

Dean Lu doesn't sound so stingy. It's obvious that he is very tolerant!

Lamenting about this matter, Bo Jue revealed his intention to communicate more, and Lu Xiang said:

"We are all researching weapons, so we should really communicate more."

"Isn't the Emperor promoting a collective council? He also requires management personnel, technical personnel and the other personnel to work together and hold a three-in-one meeting at least once a month."

"We engineers are all technicians. I think we should hold a technical meeting to discuss the problems encountered during research."

The Three-in-One Conference was proposed by the emperor based on Lu Xiang's approach, and is therefore counted as Lu Xiang's achievement.

So he supported it very much, and now he proposed to hold a special technical seminar to gather skilled craftsmen from various government offices to discuss some non-confidential things.

Bo Jue agreed immediately:
“We should definitely have a meeting!”

“Three cobblers are better than one Zhuge Liang.”

"I think our seminar can be called Zhuge Meeting."

"Let's pool our wisdom and see if we can solve the problem."

Together with Lu Xiang, he called together engineers from Wensi Academy, Equipment Academy, and Imperial Household Supervision Office to discuss the problems encountered in the research. (End of this chapter)