Rise From the Humble

"Brother Zhu, no matter whether it is the master blacksmith or the apprentice blacksmith, I have already paid their salaries in advance. You will only have to take care of the food." Li Shu said to Zhu Ping'an in a charming way.

It was so considerate that they even paid my salary in advance. What more can a husband ask for when his wife is like this?

Zhu Ping'an looked at Li Shu with a moved face. If he hadn't thought about the wrong times, he would have held Li Shu and chewed it.

Li Shu saw Zhu Ping'an's eyes that wanted to eat people into his stomach, how could she not know what he was thinking, it was broad daylight, what was he thinking, she immediately glared at him with blushing cheeks and said, "Let's talk about business. , Brother Zhu, you should pay attention to a few situations. The lame blacksmith’s name is Ou Zhige. He must be given one or two hours of free research time every day. He wants to study those dangerous firearms. During this period, you must not touch him. Nearby, he himself was lame from the explosion; and there was the one-eyed blacksmith named Zhang Hong. He once went to Nanyang to steal the Hongyi artillery. He was an Anxi Huihui and could not eat pork, donkey meat, dog meat, or drink wine. He could not eat other things. Nothing; and…”

"Yeah, okay, thank you sister Li for reminding me, I'll take note of it." Zhu Pingan nodded with a smile and responded.

"Uncle, their salaries are very valuable. Just five blacksmiths earn several thousand taels of silver a year." Qin'er mentioned the salaries of several blacksmiths and couldn't help but said with pain, "Uncle, how can you We need to exploit their abilities, let them work hard, and make them get value for money.”

"Haha, the wool comes from the sheep, and most of the salary is used by them to buy saltpeter, sulfur, iron ingots and other materials."

Li Shu smiled like a little fox, pointed to the endless carriages filled with materials behind her, covered her mouth and explained in a low voice.

"Talent is the most expensive in any era. Sister Li sent me these blacksmiths, especially the three firearms craftsmen. Their value is immeasurable. If used properly, one firearms craftsman can be enough to defeat thousands of troops. Several thousand. The salary of two is a bit too much, but it is worth it. With these three firearms masters, our Zhejiang Army will be even more powerful. Sister Li has really helped me a lot. In the future, our Zhejiang Army will make great achievements, and your contribution will be half of it. "

Zhu Ping'an believed that the salary of several thousand taels of silver was worth it, and now his camp was in urgent need of firearms craftsmen.

After all, I am not a science student. I only know a general idea about gunpowder and fire blunderbuss, and I can provide some ideas and directions for improvement. However, I am not very capable in terms of how to improve and implement it in practice.

Now with these firearms craftsmen, I have ideas and directions that are hundreds of years ahead of me, such as black powder, matchlocks, flintlock guns, etc. I know a little bit about them and can guide them in the right direction. In terms of direction and road, I believe that one plus one can achieve the effect of about one hundred.

Zhu Pingan is a little more confident about the future of the Zhejiang Army, and his eyes are shining like the morning sun.

Looking at the confident Zhu Pingan, Li Shu's eyes were full of stars.

"Suozhu, go to the camp and ask Dagang to bring his logistics battalion out to meet the master blacksmith and supplies. No matter what stage they have reached in selecting the leader of the logistics battalion, tell Dagang to put it down for the time being and bring people over quickly."

Zhu Pingan stopped a guard guard and said one after another.

"promise."

Suozhu responded and ran away quickly.

"You craftsmen have worked hard all the way. When you arrive at Zhejiang Army, you feel like you are at home. Don't worry, we, Zhejiang Army, will not treat you badly." Zhu Ping'an smiled and walked up to the blacksmith and apprentices.

Seeing Zhu Pingan, the supreme commander of the Zhejiang Army and a high-ranking official of the Ming Dynasty, treat them with such courtesy, the five blacksmiths and the apprentices were all excited and moved. This was the first time that they had received such attention and courtesy.

Since Guan Zhong, the prime minister of Qi State in the Spring and Autumn Period, proposed the theory of separation of industries among the four people, which divided people into four major social groups according to their occupations - scholars, farmers, workers, and merchants, the status of sergeants, farmers, workers, and merchants in feudal society has also been the same. The basics are laid.

Blacksmith is a type of craftsman. As the third-ranked handicraft producer, craftsmen were exploited and had no freedom in the long-term feudal society that emphasized agriculture and suppressed business. Their social status was low. In particular, there was a saying that "playing with things loses one's ambition". Being looked down upon by others in society is easy to get rid of.

The Ming Dynasty belonged to the peak of feudal society. The feudal hierarchy was strict and there were also craftsmen, which was even more despised.

Now, Zhu Ping'an treated them with such courtesy, how could they not be moved and moved.

Soon, Liu Dagang trotted over with their battalion, "Young Master, I have met Madam."

After Liu Dagang arrived, he met with Zhu Ping'an, and then went to meet with Li Shu.

Li Shu nodded slightly.

"Dagang, you bring these five master blacksmiths and apprentice blacksmiths to settle in the camp. No matter the tents, bedding, toiletries, etc., use the latest and best. The treatment of these five master blacksmiths is similar to that of your camp, and everyone is arranged Camp alone, blacksmith apprentices are treated the same as sentry commanders, two apprentices per camp. In addition, ask people from your camp to drive the carriage to the main camp, sort the materials into categories, store them in the warehouse, and make sure they are moisture-proof and fire-proof, so that nothing can go wrong. These supplies are all good stuff.”

Zhu Ping'an gave Liu Dagang careful instructions and warned him again and again.

"Ah, such a high salary?" Liu Dagang couldn't help but be surprised when he heard the treatment of the master craftsmen and apprentices.

He is a standard Ming Dynasty thinker. In his opinion, these blacksmiths, whether they are masters or apprentices, are just working craftsmen. They were born as craftsmen, scholars, farmers, merchants, and their status is not as good as that of their farmers. Why do you give them so much? High treatment.

"Gao? If I hadn't worn out the handsome tent, I would have given it to them. Dagang, each of them is the treasure of our Zhejiang Army. Each one of them can support a battalion. If used properly, If so, one firearms craftsman is enough to defeat thousands of troops. I tell you people in the logistics camp to be careful and take good care of them. If any one of them loses a hair, the responsible person will be severely punished according to military law."

Zhu Ping'an patted Liu Dagang's shoulder, smiled softly and shook his head, emphasizing him again.

"Are they so powerful?" Liu Dagang looked doubtful. How could a blacksmith be able to withstand thousands of troops?

"Of course, our Zhejiang Army will have to rely more on them in the future. You will know how powerful they are in the future." Zhu Pingan said seriously.

Although he didn't believe that the blacksmith was so powerful, Liu Dagang believed in his young master and nodded vigorously and said, "Don't worry, young master. Since the young master values ​​them so much, we will definitely take good care of them as treasures and never let them lose a hair." . If they lose a hair, sir, you are the only one asking me."