Chapter 1029
The time has come
Chapter 1029 The time has come
For the past six months, Pan Yun has been staying in the palace, devoting himself entirely to the Ministry of Works, ignoring all worldly affairs, and even skipping trips to Japan. This is a stark contrast to his previous enthusiasm for participating in reforms.
Is it really true that one should draw their sword to help those in need, and then be able to cleanse their heart if they don't see it?
The ministers were skeptical, but the emperor had already given his word: "Minister Chen, allocate funds to the Ministry of Works and have them send a batch of thermometers to the Imperial Observatory and various prefectures."
The Ministry of Industry produced several types of thermometers, most of which were used in industry.
Pan Yun's abilities were limited by his own. At that time, the thermometer was made to control the temperature of smelting. It was Miao Zhen who saw this and suggested making a measuring tool that could measure the temperature of the weather.
Therefore, the craftsmen of the Ministry of Works pooled their wisdom and invented thermometers for various purposes, one of which was used to measure the temperature of the human body.
Unfortunately, due to poor communication between departments, or because the imperial physicians either distrusted or were not interested in it, the human thermometers they made were never put into use.
Pan Jun tried it, and the effect was quite good; the temperature measurement was quite accurate.
If the Imperial Medical Academy doesn't need it, let's put it in the hands of private pharmacies and clinics for now. Ordinary people can also buy it, and we should try to keep the price low.
However, good things also need promotion, so Pan Yun turned to Hu Cheng, the Minister of Works, and said, "Let's have our Ministry of Works publish a newspaper too."
Hu Cheng: "Huh?"
“How about calling it the Art of Helping the People? We can publish the inventions and collections of our Ministry of Works, as well as their usage methods. We can also discuss with people in the countryside the tools and techniques for helping the people,” Pan Yun snorted. “Scientific research is very expensive. Doesn’t the Ministry of Revenue often cut off our funding? We’ll earn it ourselves. And there’s the Imperial Medical Academy. They don’t believe in the thermometer we invented. In the future, they’ll have to beg us to make it.”
Hu Cheng, balding, said, "Grand Preceptor, our Ministry of Works has added 68 people this year, including 12 officials with ranks and 56 craftsmen, but it's still not enough. Each person has to do the work of two. How can they find time to run a newspaper?"
"Yu Qian and the Minister of Personnel want people. Didn't they say that the court has a serious problem with redundant officials? They want to transfer the redundant people here. They need to be able to learn and have some knowledge of tools and arithmetic."
Hu Cheng looked at her silently: "They've been transferred. Of the twelve people who came, three are newly appointed Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations), and the remaining nine are all redundant staff transferred from other places."
Pan Yun raised an eyebrow and asked, "Useless?"
Hu Cheng sighed: "Apart from the two who have powerful backers and do nothing, the rest are very hardworking. But it's the Ministry of Works, and hard work alone isn't enough."
Pan Yun: "Let them learn! If they can't learn, they should resign. The Ministry of Works is such an important place. We should reserve positions for people who can serve the country. This is not a retirement home. As for those two with powerful backers, don't tell me who their backers are. If they don't work, just get them out of here. If you ask, just say that's what I said."
Pan Yun snorted, "If we talk about contributions to the country and the people, we craftsmen have made no less contributions, but our status, reputation and remuneration are too little. Is that fair? It's not fair, but we clearly have the heart and ability to serve the country, yet the channels for serving the country are blocked. It's simply outrageous."
Hu Cheng was overwhelmed with emotion. He understood that the Imperial Advisor was telling him that the time was ripe.
After Pan Yun left, he immediately went to the Ministry of Personnel with a proud and arrogant demeanor.
When the officials of the Ministry of Personnel saw the official document submitted by Hu Cheng, they dared not speak out in anger, so they threw it into the cabinet.
The cabinet, upon seeing this, closed the door and discussed it.
Some expressed strong opposition, while others remained silent.
After discussing it, everyone looked at Yu Qian and said, "Grand Secretary Yu, Minister Hu's memorial was clearly instructed by the Grand Preceptor to abolish the artisan register. Will the salt-making households, musician households, and even military households be abolished next?"
Yu Qian glanced at them and thought to himself: Why would Pan Yun cancel the military household system?
She will only greatly improve the treatment and status of military households, making their status equal to, or even higher than, that of civilian households.
If she intended to abolish military households, she would have taken the opportunity of the corruption scandal in the Guangdong Military Region last year to transfer the land reclamation to the Ministry of War, so that she could abolish military households in the next step.
But she was different. She not only strongly supported the investigation of corruption in the military, but also used most of the confiscated money to appease military households, redistribute land to military households that had lost their land, and help them settle down. She also opened schools in the military so that the children of soldiers stationed in the army and soldiers who had settled in the land could attend school for free.
In the past six months, under her guidance, the Ministry of Works has even entrusted the Ministry of War with the production of some military equipment.
He was the Minister of War. Through him, Pan Yun allowed some garrison posts to set up arms workshops. Do you think arms workshops only produced things like arrowheads, gun barrels, spears, and gunpowder?
Big mistakes.
Pan Yun could also have them produce cotton-padded clothes, quilts, bicycles, and various hardware products.
Of course, the items produced by the weapons workshops in each region are different, and will be determined based on the local production materials.
Iron smelting takes place in areas with abundant iron ore, with a focus on hardware products and various heavy weapons.
Areas suitable for cotton cultivation tend to focus on textile production.
This year, the Ministry of War authorized two military units stationed in Henan to produce cotton-padded clothes and quilts.
That's right, authorization.
Because the Ministry of Works' technology wasn't given away for free; it had to be purchased.
After purchasing the technology, they still needed to spend money to buy new types of textile machines, looms, forging presses, and so on from the Ministry of War.
They even had to pay money to borrow artisans from the Ministry of Works for instruction.
In just six months, Yu Qian's Ministry of War owed the Ministry of Works an astronomical sum.
Fortunately, Hu Cheng was very understanding and did not force him to repay the money. Instead, he paid back a little bit each quarter, giving him a chance to breathe.
Otherwise, with such a huge debt, even someone like Yu Qian would have to think twice before deciding whether to take it on.
But in just six months, Yu Qian saw the benefits brought by the military workshops in various places.
When Emperor Taizu Gao was cultivating land, he was only thinking about food and drink, but he forgot that in addition to food, soldiers also needed to wear clothes and armor.
The uniforms for soldiers in the Ming Dynasty were issued by the Ministry of War, which in turn had to pay the Ministry of Revenue.
When the Ministry of Revenue is short of money, it's like a skilled cook trying to cook without rice; when it has money, it's stingy and can list ten or eight items that are more urgent than its own.
Apart from the border troops who could apply for some funding for their weaponry, the other garrison soldiers often lacked clothing and armor.
As the Minister of War, how could Yu Qian not feel distressed seeing his soldiers shivering in the winter and dressed in rags in the summer?
Once these weapons workshops opened, they could not only be self-sufficient, but also sell their weapons to the general public.
The people working in the military workshops were all sons of military families, and regardless of gender, they all had a stronger spirit than ordinary people.
As a result, the quilts made from them are very thick and have a sufficient amount of cotton, and the cotton clothes are even more sturdy and have a dusty gray color, making them especially suitable for working people.
So even though the first batch of products from several weapon workshops came out in February, they still sold out quickly, and even though the weather was getting warmer, there were still a lot of orders.
All of this is preparation for this autumn and winter.
(End of this chapter)