Bringing the Railway to Daming

Chapter 51 Two Memorials, Li Mu Jian Xin [Seeking Follow-up Reading]

Leaving the Iron Smelting Office again.

Liu Kuan took Wang Buqun, Gong Zheng and others to check the materials that had been transferred in advance by the Ministry of Works, and then left the ironworks and returned to the post station in Liuhe County.

at night.

Liu Kuan lit a candle and wrote quickly with a hand-rubbed fountain pen, writing down two memorials in a row.

The first one was a petition to open a cross-river bridge highway.

Originally, Liu Kuan simply wanted to suggest opening the bridge surface road directly.

But as he put pen to paper, he realized things were not that simple.

Before the construction of cross-river bridges, people relied on boats to cross the river.

If the bridge road is opened directly for free and unconditionally, I am afraid that people will flock to it and choose to cross the bridge instead of taking the ferry - after all, the cross-river bridge, as a "fairy bridge", has a huge appeal to the people.

This will cause at least two bad things.

One reason was that there were too many civilians and vehicles crossing the bridge, making it difficult for the Ming army to maintain order, resulting in crowding, trampling, and even civilians falling into the river.

Secondly, even if the boatmen who previously relied on carrying people across the river did not lose their jobs, their daily income would drop sharply, making it difficult for them to support their families.

As for the possibility of the bridge being damaged, it is actually the least thing to worry about.

After careful consideration, Liu Kuansui suggested in his memorial that the people should pay a toll before crossing the bridge.

As for the amount of the bridge toll, Liu Kuan suggested that it be set at twice the cost of crossing the river, and then reduced to half in the future when people were no longer curious about the bridge.

At the same time, they repeatedly reminded Zhu that if the bridge was really opened, they must send troops to maintain order on the bridge and at both ends to avoid accidents.

The second memorial was his initial idea of ​​converting the Liuhe Iron Works into a steel plant.

This matter involves many reforms to the existing ironworks and craftsman system of the Ming Dynasty.

Although Zhu Yuanzhang had given him the power to act at his own discretion at the Liuhe Iron Works before he came, what he had to do involved the national policy of the Ming Dynasty after all. Even if he only used the Liuhe Iron Works as a pilot project, he should have informed Zhu Yuanzhang.

The same sentence as before.

Lao Zhu gave him special treatment, but he couldn't take advantage of it to act recklessly - since he knew Lao Zhu's character, it was always better to take it easy.

When writing the second memorial to Zhu, Liu Kuan also put down on paper some specific ideas for reforming the various systems of the ironworks...

Iron shed.

This was where shift workers and laborers lived.

Although it is called a shed, it is not really just a shed. There are walls made of wood, earthen bricks, mud and grass on all four sides, which are enough to shelter from wind and rain, but there are no windows.

Regardless of whether they were the shift workers' huts or the laborers' huts, they were all in a long row.

The only difference is that the huts for the hard laborers are a bit dilapidated, and some parts are even rotten due to the passage of time, leaking wind and rain.

There are large bunk beds in the sheds, and apart from that, there are some wooden cabinets and stools made by craftsmen.

As for proper tables and chairs, that was out of the question.

After the rooster crowed three times, Zhang Qiba, who lived in the westernmost shed in the first row, nudged his eldest nephew, who was still sleeping beside him, with his elbow.

"Don't sleep anymore, get up!"

Zhang Qiba's shout was quite loud, and the other eight people in the same bunk bed all stood up and got dressed upon hearing it.

If you have straw sandals, you should wear them. It is especially cold in the mornings in autumn, and the cold air can easily enter the body through the soles of the feet.

If they fell ill in this ironworks, the little money they brought with them might not be enough to pay for their medical treatment and medicine, and they would most likely die from the illness in a foreign land.

Although Zhang Daniu was woken up by Zhang Qiba, he was the last one to get out of bed.

He was young and strong. He put on his trousers and picked up the bucket to fetch water from the well. There were four young men among the shift workers in the dormitory. Since they were all from Huangzhou, Huguang, they made a rule that the task of fetching water would be divided into two groups and take turns every day.

After the water arrived, Zhang Qiba first poured it into two large pottery jars, placed them on the earthen stove that had just been lit, and put a small piece of salt in one of the jars.

In fact, the public kitchen has hot water, but they need to exchange it for their food rations.

Their rations were not enough after being deducted by the insects in the public kitchen, so how could they be willing to exchange them for water?
So I boiled water for myself early in the morning before going to work.

In fact, if the rules on the field did not forbid it, they would all like to cook their own meals. That way, not only can they eat their fill, but they might even have some left over to take home.

The stove boiled water quickly. After the ten people sharing the same bed had finished their simple wash and brushed their teeth, they used the water they had fetched to wash a few pieces of clothing. The water in the ceramic jar also boiled.

Zhang Qiba poured it into two clean wooden barrels and added well water to boil them again - there were ten of them, most of whom did heavy work, so they needed to drink a lot of water every day.

After adding a few more pieces of firewood to the stove, Zhang Qiba estimated that it would be just enough to boil the two jars of water. He then took the craftsmen in the same shop to the public kitchen to eat.

Breakfast was a bowl of coarse multi-grain porridge and a spoonful of bland salted vegetables. It seemed like a lot, but compared to the rations and salt they had handed in, this amount of food was not much.

At first, Zhang Qiba and others argued with the clerk in charge of the public kitchen about this, but the public chef always had various excuses, which made them unable to refute even though they knew they were at a disadvantage.

They also thought about reporting to the ambassador of the iron smelting factory, but when they heard that the clerk was the nephew of the deputy ambassador, they gave up the idea.

People are looked down upon when they leave their hometown, so they dare not offend the deputy envoy of the iron smelting factory for such a small matter.

As long as the official doesn't go too far, they can endure it for a few months.

After breakfast, the group went to the brick kiln to work.

Uncle Zhang Qiba and nephew Zhang Daniu were both kiln workers, skilled in both brick and ceramics. Their service at the Liuhe Ironworks involved not only producing bricks and tiles for building houses, but also firebricks for repairing the ironworks.

Originally, the work was not too hard, but the superiors did not provide enough manpower, so this group of people were exhausted most of the time.

After working for less than an hour today, Zhang Qiba saw several officials in green and blue robes walking towards him, accompanied by several minor officials and dozens of soldiers.

Zhang Daniu was not concentrating on his work to begin with, so he whispered, "Uncle, it seems to be the official who exempted us from kneeling when he came to inspect yesterday."

Zhang Qiba shouted, "Stop looking around and work hard!"

Soon, the official and his entourage arrived at the site dedicated to brick-making.

Then several minor officials on the field came running over and shouted, "Stop what you're doing and gather over there! Deputy Liu wants to speak to you!"

Although the Liuhe Iron Works is large, it has already been built and not many fire bricks, blue bricks, etc. are needed for daily repairs, so there are only five small brick kilns here.

Each brick kiln is managed by ten brick-making craftsmen.

That means there are a total of fifty brick-making craftsmen.

Hearing the clerk's shouting, Zhang Qiba and fifty others gathered in the open space in front of the small kiln, some quickly some slowly.

Then the young official in green robe began to speak loudly in a strange official language.

"Everyone, I know that you are all brick-making craftsmen. Not only can you make blue bricks and green tiles, but some of you can also make fire bricks and glazed tiles."

"The other day, our Science and Technology Department's Director Wang came to ask if anyone would like to try firing a new type of fire brick, but none of you agreed."

"Can anyone tell me why no one agreed?"

After hearing this, the brickmakers all looked at each other with different expressions, but none of them said a word.

However, Zhang Qiba heard his eldest nephew standing behind him muttering, "This official must be stupid. Who would be willing to do something that has no benefits but is easy to be blamed?"

Although Zhang Qiba thought so in his heart, he still wanted to kick his nephew - this nephew is not afraid of death. What if the officials hear it?

Then the green-robed official said, "Even if you don't tell me, I know it. You just think it's easy to get blamed for no good."

"It turns out that this official is not stupid." Zhang Daniu muttered again.

The official suddenly raised his voice and said, "Today, I solemnly promise you all that any craftsman willing to take charge of this project will be rewarded with ten strings of cash, regardless of whether it succeeds or not!"

"If you can produce a new type of fire brick, I'll reward you thirty strings of cash! Furthermore, as long as you follow my orders, even if you fail, I won't bear any responsibility!"

After hearing these words, the brickmakers who had been silent suddenly became agitated.

Zhang Daniu patted Zhang Qiba on the shoulder and said excitedly, "Second Uncle, if it works out, there will be thirty strings of cash. If it doesn't, there will still be ten strings of cash!"

Zhang Qiba was also very moved after hearing this.

These days, ten strings of cash can buy a lot of rice.

If he could get thirty strings of cash, it would be like he didn't have to serve in the army this year, but instead earned several months' wages, and his family could have a good New Year!
But he immediately calmed down and thought to himself: This official is so generous, will it be difficult to burn the new type of refractory bricks?

But even if it fails to be fired, there will still be ten strings of cash.

Is this official lying?
But in front of so many people, the official wouldn't go back on his word, right?

Just as Zhang Qiba was hesitating, he heard Lu Jia, the foreman of another kiln, ask, "Master, is what you said true?"

The official in the green robe laughed and said, "How could I lie in broad daylight, in front of everyone? If you don't believe me, I can even swear in public."

Lu Jia is a local craftsman. Although his skills are ordinary, he is quite clever.

Hearing this, he hurriedly said, "Since the master has said so, how can I not believe it?"

"Then are you willing to take this job?"

"The grassroots are willing!"

Hearing this, Zhang Daniu got anxious and poked Zhang Qiba in the back, "Second Uncle! Such a good job was actually taken by that guy Lu Jia. His skills are far inferior to yours!"

Zhang Qiba now regretted not stepping forward to take on the job, but he was not prepared to fight for it anymore.

But then the official asked again, "Is there anyone else who wants to take over?"

Immediately, a foreman asked, "Master, can we still take it?"

The official smiled and said, "I had hoped that all five of your kiln craftsmen would take this job. With one more team, our chances of producing the new type of fire bricks would increase. If anyone else takes the job, I'd be delighted."

The foreman from Henan immediately said, "I'll take it!"

Zhang Daniu poked him in the back again. Seeing this, Zhang Qiba no longer hesitated and almost said in unison with the remaining two foremen, "I am willing to take on this job as well!"

···
Liu Kuan chatted with five groups of craftsmen in the small kiln until noon before leaving with his entourage.

On the way, Liu Kuan said to Wang Buqun: "If we encounter difficulties in doing things, we should find out the reasons and solve the difficulties."

"Just like the matter of firing the new type of fire bricks, if nothing unexpected happens, seventy strings of cash can solve it."

"Of course, the most important thing is that this can achieve the effect of 'establishing trust' and make it easier for our Science and Technology Department to carry out its work at the iron yard."

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　　Good night~
　　
　
(End of this chapter)