Bringing the Railway to Daming

Chapter 36: Lao Zhu's Evaluation, Selection of Officials [Seeking Follow-up Reading]

Forbidden City.

Fengxian Hall.

Zhu Yuanzhang was still handling state affairs.

Su Quan entered the hall and bowed, "Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you."

"Flat body."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Zhu Yuanzhang withdrew his gaze from the memorial and looked at Su Quan. He said, "Su Quan, although I asked you to report on Liu Kuan's words and deeds today when he joined the Science and Technology Department, there is no need for you to rush over here at noon, right?"

Su Quan still had a warm smile on his face in front of Zhu Yuanzhang.

He said, "Your Majesty, I am not here to report on Vice-President Liu's words and deeds, but I have something to report. Of course, if Your Majesty wishes to hear about Vice-President Liu, I can also share some of that information."

Zhu Yuanzhang also smiled and said, "Okay, first tell me what you want to report."

Su Quan took out the memorial he had spent some time writing in the morning.

Li Gui stepped forward and transferred it to the imperial desk.

As Zhu Yuanzhang was reading the memorial, Su Quan said, "This morning, during the meeting at the Science and Technology Department, Vice Minister Liu mentioned the issue of blackboards and chalk, saying that these two items are most suitable for use in schools to help teachers teach students."

"I believe this is very true, so I have written this memorial, earnestly requesting Your Majesty to introduce and promote these two items to official schools across the country. This can be considered as our Science and Technology Department's contribution to the great cause of education."

After reading the memorial, Zhu Yuanzhang asked, "Are these blackboards and chalks really that useful?"

"Well, I believe what Vice Minister Liu said is true."

"So you haven't seen the blackboard or chalk yet?" Zhu Yuanzhang was a little speechless, then said, "Let me tell you, although that kid has a special background, he's still young after all, and sometimes his views and actions may not be reliable."

"We've appointed you as a doctor in the Science and Technology Department not only to assist Liu Kuan with major projects like building trains, but also to help him keep an eye on things. Do you understand?"

Su Quan put away his smile and replied, "I understand."

Zhu Yuanzhang added, "This blackboard and chalk do seem to be beneficial for teaching, but we'll have to see them in person and use them to determine their effectiveness."

"Didn't he want to order these two items? After they're made, have one delivered to Fengxian Hall so we can see them."

"According to the order."

Zhu Yuanzhang continued, "Tell me, what else did Liu Kuan say and do this morning?"

Su Quan immediately recounted the events of Liu Kuan convening a "meeting" of officials and letting Liu Yan serve as the meeting recorder and secretary.

After hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang smiled and said, "This guy's idea of ​​using people to do things is quite interesting. Okay, you can leave now."

"Wei Chen retire."

After Su Quan left, Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Zhu Biao and said, "Biao'er, this Liu Kuan is indeed a man of later generations. His thoughts, words, and actions are all different from those of us Ming people. It is quite worth pondering."

"You will be responsible for overseeing the establishment of the medical school and the convening of the medical exchange conference. You can consult Liu Kuan later and listen to his ideas. If you have any doubts, you can also consult him."

Zhu Biao nodded with a smile, "I understand."

"Okay, you should go back and have lunch too."

"So does Father."

"Ah."

A few days before, Zhu Yuanzhang not only reduced the six ministries to one, restoring the normal six-minister system, but also boldly established the Cabinet and the Grand Council.

In addition, Du You, Gong Xiao, and Wu Yuan, the four former auxiliary officials, as well as Liu Zhongzhi, the Minister of Rites, Wu Bozong, the Hanlin Reviewer, Bao Xun, and Yu Quan, a total of seven people, have been selected as Grand Secretaries to form a cabinet.

At the same time, Li Shanchang, Xu Da, Li Wenzhong, and the Minister of Personnel Li Huanwen were appointed as ministers of the Grand Council, and the Hanlin academician Wu Chen and Zhao Minwang, one of the original four auxiliary officials, were appointed as assistants to the Grand Council, thus establishing the Grand Council.

Although the Cabinet and the Grand Council had only just been established and were not yet fully operational, with these people sharing the burden, the father and son had fewer government tasks to deal with every day.

Although Zhu Yuanzhang was always worried that the cabinet would not handle affairs to his liking, and he frequently conducted spot checks and carefully read various memorials related to minor matters, he had to admit that after someone shared the government affairs with him, he was indeed not as tired as before.

Of course, in his mind, the Cabinet and the Grand Council were still in the trial operation stage, and the Grand Secretaries and Grand Councilors were all temporary.

If he felt that something was inappropriate, he would not mind replacing people, or even changing the functions and rules of the cabinet and the Grand Council.

···
after lunch.

Liu Kuan brought a thermos and a can of tea from his home and came to the Science and Technology Department of the Ministry of Industry.

After making himself a cup of tea, Liu Kuan took out a few sheets of white paper, refilled the fountain pen with ink, and started writing and drawing on the paper.

He was thinking about what kind of person to assign to the vacant position in the Science and Technology Department to assist him in his work.

He had a general idea during lunch.

The staffing structure of the Science and Technology Department is relatively flexible, so there is no need for him to fill up all the positions right away.

After all, he didn't know many people in Daming, so he could ask Su Quan to recommend a few people first. It would be enough for now. When he found someone suitable among his acquaintances in the future, it wouldn't be too late to recommend them to the Science and Technology Department.

After sorting out the specific ideas, Liu Kuan went to the big house in the middle to find Su Quan.

Su Quan was drinking afternoon tea and reading leisurely.

After Liu Kuan came in, Su Quan put down the book, and also let Liu Kuan notice the title of the book.

It turned out to be the Song Dynasty version of Shen Kuo's "Mengxi Bitan"!
Although Liu Kuan was a little surprised, when he thought about the fact that this was the early Ming Dynasty, only a hundred years after the Song Dynasty, and Su Quan was an official of the Ministry of Works, he felt that this scene was quite normal.

He suppressed the idea of ​​borrowing "Dream Pool Essays" and prepared to talk about business first.

"What's the matter, Deputy Liu?" Su Quan asked.

After becoming familiar with Liu Kuan, he didn't always use the honorific "Your Excellency".

Liu Kuan said, "Doctor Su, I have an idea about recommending officials, and I came to discuss it with you."

"Fei Lang Liu, please feel free to tell me what you think."

Liu Kuan said, "I don't have any idea about the position of Deputy Director yet. As for the Chief, I think there must be someone who is well versed in engineering and familiar with various technologies. Hmm, it would be best if he is also good at inventions."

'This person is the industrial designer I want to train!'

Liu Kuan thought so in his heart at the same time.

Su Quan listened and pondered for a moment before saying, "I can think of someone like you mentioned, but he's not an official. He's just an idler."

In fact, in the middle and late Ming Dynasty, not to mention the craftsmen, there were many people like the ones Liu Kuan mentioned among the scholars, such as Wang Hui, Song Yingxing, Xu Guangqi, etc.

Unfortunately, it is now the early Ming Dynasty. Although the former Yuan Dynasty inherited some technologies and even developed another part, it suppressed Han culture as a whole and caused a lot of scientific and technological knowledge to be lost.

More importantly, even if there were a few scholars who were well versed in engineering, they would hardly appear in history books. Naturally, there would be no historical celebrities in this field for future generations.

Therefore, when Liu Kuan heard Su Quan say that there was such a person, although he was not very surprised, he was quite happy.

He asked, "Who is this person? Where is he now?"

Su Quan said, "This man is called Guo Tianwen. He is said to be a descendant of Guo Shoujing, the former Grand Historian of the Yuan Dynasty. He previously lived in Suzhou."

"However, based on my understanding of this person, after hearing about the cross-river bridge and railway, he will definitely come to the capital."

"Actually, finding Guo Tianwen isn't difficult. The hard part is getting him into government service. A friend of mine once tried to persuade him to become an official, but he said he was used to a life of leisure and didn't want to step into officialdom."

"Although Your Majesty can issue an order to forcibly recruit them, if they are unwilling, I'm afraid they may not do their job well even if they are sent to the Science and Technology Department."

Liu Kuan was moved by what he heard and asked, "Doctor Su's point is, the key is how to persuade this person to join the Science and Technology Department?"

Su Quan smiled and nodded, "That's exactly what I meant."

Liu Kuan asked again, "Is Guo Tianwen interested in crafts and ingenious objects?"

"good."

Liu Kuan smiled instantly, "Then this matter will be easy to handle - Doctor Su, just go find this person, and I will be responsible for persuading him."

"OK."

Su Quan actually didn't say something - he felt that if Guo Tianwen knew that Liu Kuan appeared with the cross-river bridge, he might willingly come to work in the Science and Technology Department.

Liu Kuan continued with the previous topic, saying, "I think the Science and Technology Department still needs two or three capable officials who can handle matters related to this field, preferably ones who also have some understanding of craftsmanship."

"Later, when we build trains, we may divide it into multiple projects and carry them out simultaneously. I can't handle it all by myself, so I need reliable officials to supervise it."

Su Quan nodded and said, "Such officials are easy to find. I'll recommend a few later and you can make your choice after the interview."

Liu Kuan thought to himself, isn’t this just an interview?

It suits his taste.

Liu Kuan added, "In addition to the several principals, I also hope to select a few to a dozen students from the Imperial College who are interested in engineering and ingenuity to serve as clerks in the Science and Technology Department."

Su Quan frowned upon hearing this. "The Imperial Academy is mostly populated by Confucian scholars, and few of them are interested in craftsmanship or ingenuity."

"Moreover, most of these students are aiming to become officials. If you ask them to become clerks, I'm afraid not a single one would be able to do so."

Liu Kuan was not troubled by this and said, "If there are no such students in the Imperial Academy, please ask Your Majesty to issue an order to recruit young, literate craftsmen from all over the country to serve as officials in the Science and Technology Department."

"Our Science and Technology Department has many major tasks to accomplish in the future. Building trains is just the first. For long-term planning, we must start cultivating suitable talent now."

"Also, the Ming Dynasty now uses a recommendation system to select officials. Even if you're a clerk, you might still be able to become an official, right? Perhaps we can recruit a few suitable people from the Imperial Academy."

"I understand your idea." Su Quan nodded, then changed the subject, "Besides the officials who need to be employed in the Science and Technology Department, do you have any ideas about selecting craftsmen?"

　Please collect, read and vote.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)