The Soldier of the Red Mansion

Chapter 301 The Extraordinary Wang Xin
Wang Xin requested to see Zhang Jifu again but was refused. He was confused about Zhang Jifu's attitude.

Zhang Jifu had no reason to refuse him.

Although he was rejected, Wang Xin was not too worried. While pondering what kind of trouble Zhang Jifu was up to, he also took the opportunity to go to the Bureau of Armory to learn about the extent to which the court had imitated the Portuguese and the Hongyi cannons in recent years.

Including muskets.

The weaponry bureau of the Great Zhou Dynasty easily replicated it, and using processes such as five-times and nine-times iron refining, they produced arquebuses that were both excellent and inexpensive.

Wang Xin was able to calculate the cost of arquebuses at the Ordnance Bureau. Although the Ordnance Bureau's arquebus prices were sky-high, these things could not be hidden from Wang Xin. Although he did not directly do business, he was involved in a lot of it.

Wang Xin was well aware of the prices, shipping costs, and labor costs in the Great Zhou Dynasty.

The imperial palace of the Great Zhou Dynasty was the same imperial palace where the Ming Dynasty was located.

The twenty-four directorates outside the inner palace were inherited, and such a large group of institutions would inevitably lead to an increase in the power of the inner court.

The palace eunuchs, from top to bottom.

The Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial was the highest-ranking eunuch, in charge of all twenty-four directorates, including affairs with the outer court. Therefore, this position was always held by Dai Quan, an old eunuch who served the retired emperor.

Below is the Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial.

There is only one Grand Eunuch, while the number of Writing Eunuchs is not fixed and is ultimately determined by the specific duties they concurrently hold.

The gun barrel comes first.

Even without this saying, the ancients understood this principle.

Therefore, Qiu Shi'an, the Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial, who was also the Chief Eunuch of the Inner Court, led the Eastern Depot and managed the Embroidered Uniform Guard. He was the second most powerful eunuch.

Then came Xia Shouzhong, the eunuch serving the emperor.

It's a bit of a misnomer.

The main reason was that the emperor was the crown prince.

No one wanted to offend him; in fact, many wanted to build a good relationship with him.

Then there were the eunuchs who held positions such as those in the Imperial Horse Administration and the Bureau of Armory.

There was a eunuch named Mingli, who was in charge of the military affairs bureau and was also Dai Quan's adopted son. Two years ago, he was training cannons and muskets in the capital. When the court needed to inspect and verify his skills, he was the eunuch who stepped forward.

There was a Bureau of Armory and a Bureau of Military Equipment in the capital.

The Bureau of Armory was supervised by the inner court, while the Bureau of Military Equipment was established by the Ministry of Works' Department of Imperial Stud and Inspection.

The former is mainly responsible for research and development, manufacturing special weapons and innovation, focusing more on the research and production of firearms, and absolutely not on large-scale promotion.

If large-scale deployment is to be carried out, the Ordnance Bureau will be responsible for the manufacturing and supervision of conventional weapons nationwide, ensuring product quality through a five-year inspection system and adopting standardized production management.
After running around for two days, Wang Xin finally figured out the relationship between the two government offices.

It cannot be explained in just a few words.

The power dynamic between eunuchs and civil officials—who can truly submit to whom—is far more complex than can be explained by official documents from the court.

Wang Xin picked up a musket manufactured by the Armory Bureau and tried it out again and again.

A eunuch asked with a smile, "General Wang, which is better, the arquebuses we manufacture here or the arquebuses used by your Datong Western Army?"

"Of course, the musket here, Father-in-law, is better."

Wang Xin said without hesitation.

The eunuch didn't care whether Wang Xin was telling the truth or not. What he said in front of everyone was what he needed to hear. The eunuch grinned from ear to ear and said to the people around him, "Listen to this, General Wang says so. When Godfather comes in the future, just tell him the same thing."

Several eunuchs in charge nearby echoed his sentiments.

Eunuchs have godfathers, and godfathers have god-grandfathers.

The godfather they were referring to was Mingli.

When Mingli learned that Wang Xin had gone to the Bureau of Armory, he specifically instructed his subordinates to treat him well and not to stop him. This is why Wang Xin was able to gain such a deep understanding of the situation, something that ordinary generals were not qualified to do.

Wang Xin laughed and said, "Such a fine musket is a waste to leave in the warehouse. Please give it to me, Father-in-law."

The old man was amused by Wang Xin.

He had never seen such a shameless person before. He laughed loudly, "It's not that I don't want to give it to you, but the Ordnance Bureau only has a few hundred. How many can they give you? You should wait for the Ordnance Bureau. Your godfather has already agreed to the Ministry of War's expansion of production."

Expanding production requires the eunuch's consent.

If it's for official business, officials are probably unwilling to easily bow down to eunuchs; they can simply drag it out, since it's all the court's business anyway.

However, the fact that the Ministry of Works was able to back down so quickly, even though the process was slow, was actually quite fast, and it was probably for the sake of profit.

How many mouths are waiting to be fed in the relevant government departments?

Wang Xin knew perfectly well what was going on, and shook his head: "Relying on the Ordnance Bureau is like waiting for the sun to set. After several years, I won't even get a single piece. It's better to rely on my father-in-law; he's more reliable."

"No wonder your godfather likes you; you're a thoughtful person."

The eunuch was in a great mood.

There aren't many people who can be so fair, even if they are generals.

"Don't look down on us just because we are incomplete. Those civil officials outside are always talking about righteousness and morality, and they say we are the worst. I'm telling you this honestly because I think you are a reasonable person. If you really want to get things done, you'd be better off with us eunuchs."

The eunuch thought that his godfather valued this man, and that the man was a military general, so in order to please his godfather, he tried his best to win over Wang Xin.

“We eunuchs are the most loyal. General, don’t disbelieve me. Time will tell. Once you’ve spent more time together, you’ll know which side is better.”

Will a eunuch faction come along?

Wang Xin found it amusing.

They just didn't agree too much.

He neither hated eunuchs nor would he side with them.

If he were to side with the eunuchs, Zhang Jifu would be the first to sever ties with him, and Lin Ruhai and Jia Zheng would have no choice but to keep to themselves; they couldn't bear that reputation.

He weighed the musket in his hand.

These arquebuses were few in number, probably because they were supplied to the emperor's inner circle, even if they weren't actually used there. Because they were kept under the emperor's watchful eye, their craftsmanship was truly exquisite.

Although Datong adopted an assembly line operation method, the forging method was still mainly manual. With large-scale production, although significant progress was made, the precision was still slightly inferior to that of the skilled craftsmen in the inner court.

If each musket is roughly the same size, then a bayonet can be used.

With bayonets and muskets, musketeers were able to defend themselves when facing cavalry after leaving the wagon formation, although this ability was weak. But having it or not having it makes a big difference.

Market demand is the top priority.

Skilled craftsmen can accelerate the pace of technological development.

These military craftsmen, who were only employed by the imperial court, were equivalent to those with formal training, while those from Datong were considered folk masters.

It's not that amateur experts are inferior to formally trained experts; sometimes amateur experts are just good at technology and make bold statements. However, formally trained experts are more comprehensive and have a more complete grasp of the systematic structure.

Getting too close to the eunuchs might cause trouble, but for the sake of the military craftsmen who have inherited their skills for generations, it's worth taking a little risk.

"Upholding justice."

Wang Xin cupped his hands in greeting and said earnestly, "I'm a rough man, I don't understand any grand principles, I only know how to fight, and all I care about is winning battles. I don't care about or want to bother with other messy things."

"Haha."

"How could you be a boor?"

Seeing Wang Xin's heroic bearing, Bing Gonggong clearly couldn't reconcile the man before him with the image of a boorish fellow, so this was his way of expressing his opinion.

Even without explicitly stating it, achieving this much is enough. The eunuch smiled and said, "I must tell my godfather later that he was right about General Wang."

Wang Xin then revealed his purpose: "Eunuch Mingli once told me that if I needed help, I should go to him, but how could I dare to trouble him with my own trivial matters?"

Bingzhong did not doubt that Wang Xin was lying to him.

He dared to deceive himself with his godfather's words; when the truth comes out, he'll be in deep trouble.

Bingzhong was speechless.

That was an overreaction.

It turned out they needed something from them.

He's clearly a pretty boy, but he acts like a boorish man. Is that really the truth?

The Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs was a large government office.

Located in the northeast corner of the imperial city, the reason why the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs was set up here, rather than in the important warehouse area in the northwest, was partly because there was a gunpowder bureau in the northeast.

Therefore, the research and manufacturing of gunpowder took place here.

It was too dangerous, so it was placed in the northeasternmost corner of the imperial city, about five or six miles away from the palace, but not in the outer city. If it were blown up, wouldn't it injure the residents?

The Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs was the foremost directorate in the inner court.

With the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs personally overseeing the situation, they dared not neglect it.

This is a practice that the Great Zhou Dynasty inherited from the Great Ming Dynasty.

The Ming Dynasty's approach was based on its early understanding of gunpowder.

With the advancement of gunpowder research and the influence of Western firearms in recent years, some people have petitioned to move the gunpowder bureau away.

However, once the gunpowder bureau was moved out, it would easily fall into the hands of the Ministry of Works, which the eunuchs were unwilling to accept. For various other reasons, these suggestions were not adopted.

But even those in the Directorate of Ceremonial were afraid of dying.

Based on the original system, more management systems and so on were established.

However, regulations are regulations, and with each layer of stricter rules, whether they are actually implemented at the grassroots level is another matter entirely.

"Wang Xin is from one of the four great families. Would he really side with us?"

"Is he one of the four major families or one of Zhang Jifu's men?"

A eunuch put down his teacup, his face full of hesitation, and asked suspiciously, "Some say this person is a member of the Wang family, some say he has Zhang Jifu behind him, and he's even involved with the Emperor. This person's background is too complicated. Who can really explain it clearly?"

Except when they went to the emperor's side or sat in the inner court, everyone spent the rest of their time at the Directorate of Ceremonial in the northeast.

However, our ancestors spent most of their time by the side of the Sage, or discussing matters with the Cabinet.

The three ancestors were by the emperor's side.

The people in the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs were basically the people of the old ancestors.

These adopted sons, who held important positions, couldn't help but gossip when they heard their peer Mingli mention Wang Xin, who had asked the Bureau of Armory for several skilled military craftsmen.

"He."

When Mingli spoke of Wang Xin, he became quite animated. The more he learned about him, the more Wang Xin resembled the three-surname servant in traditional operas—a true Lu Bu among men.

Is this person very capable?
Of course, extremely large.

Since he has never lost a game, Mingli is even more interested.

"Although he is a member of the Wang family, he and Wang Ziteng are like oil and water. The two have been at odds for a long time. However, the four major families are not the same as they were in earlier years. They have all gone their separate ways. Therefore, there are still people in the four major families who support him."

"As for Zhang Jifu and his group, they are mostly just cooperating for profit."

After listening to Mingli's words, one of the eunuchs thought for a moment and said, "He is indeed a loyal minister."

"what?"

Mingli was stunned and asked, "Eunuch Mingshen, what makes you say that?"

"Although this person resembles Lü Bu, and despite his ability to cooperate with anyone, he is actually only loyal to the Great Zhou. He fought against the Japanese pirates before and is now fighting to eliminate the Hu people. He is a rare and loyal general."

The eunuch Ming Shen was in his early thirties, making him the youngest among them.

As Dai Quan's godson, Ming Shen was also the youngest of them all. People love their youngest sons, and Dai Quan also doted on this godson, so he had considerable influence.

"So his intention to join us was also a lie?"

Ming Shen shook his head.

“This person never mentioned siding with the eunuchs from beginning to end, so how could he be lying?”

"That makes no sense."

"Isn't this just playing us for fools?"

Ming Shen ignored him and looked at Ming Li, asking, "You're the only one among us who has seen him. What do you think of him?"

Mingli was stunned.

Seeing that everyone was waiting for him to speak, and thankfully he had thought about this person the day before and had sent someone to investigate him, he quickly said, "He is young but very capable. Don't underestimate him because of his youth; he can command respect."

Ming Shen became increasingly certain and couldn't help but sigh with emotion.

"No wonder both the Emperor and Grand Secretary Zhang were willing to keep this person."

Seeing that everyone was puzzled, Ming Shen did not hide anything and patiently explained, "Just like Lin Ruhai in the past, the Sage was willing to keep Lin Ruhai. Although Lin Ruhai was on the Emperor's side, his existence was more beneficial than harmful at the time. The same principle applies now. Compared to Lin Ruhai in the past, our Great Zhou needs such a person even more."

After this person's explanation, most of them suddenly understood.

"The first factor is the person's attitude, and the second is their ability. If someone has the right attitude but lacks the right ability, or if someone has the right ability but lacks the right attitude, then they are not sure what they are looking for."

Ming Shen laughed and said, "That fat Feng was quite capable when he was young, but unfortunately he has been raising bandits to enhance his own power over the years. As for Luo Ming, he is loyal and righteous, but unfortunately he is not capable enough. He not only delayed the soldiers who followed him, but also almost ruined the emperor's grand plan."

Mingli made up his mind and no longer hesitated.

"Then let's lend it to him for a while."

"Really lending it?" Someone hesitated, unsure, and said, "Let's ask our godfather first."

Mingli refused outright.

His expression was resolute.

"We can't ask our godfather about everything. He's taken on enough trouble for us. Let him have an easier time."

Unlike the artisans in the Ordnance Bureau, the artisans in the Ordnance Bureau were arguably the most skilled in the world when it came to weaponry.

Because the artisans in the Armory Bureau were specifically responsible for research and development, while the artisans in the Ordnance Bureau were mainly responsible for production.

Every craftsman was registered in the inner court.

Over the years, not a single craftsman from the Bureau of Armory had fallen into the hands of outsiders, let alone vassal states or border powers. So, transferring the craftsmen to Wang Xin was fine as long as nothing went wrong, but if something did go wrong, it would be a major incident.

Ming Shen glanced at Ming Li subconsciously.

Why would someone take on such a huge responsibility just to get Wang Xin, whom they've only met once, just so that the other party would feel indebted to them?
It seems that Mingli knows something that they don't.

That guy named Wang Xin, there's probably something to say about him.

(End of this chapter)