All Heavens and Worlds Modified History System

Chapter 32: If you are not in your position, you will not seek your own government.
The silver of the Ming Dynasty has strong purchasing power.

Even though grain prices were high, one tael of silver could buy more than 100 kilograms of grain.

If eaten sparingly with wild vegetables, it is enough for a family of five to eat for more than a month.

Chen Ran was in great need of money at this time, and when he saw someone wanted to give him a gift, he immediately felt relieved.

This is a good thing.

After thinking about it, he erased the word "noble" and wrote the word "rich" instead.

After this change, all the wealthy families in the city would send gifts.

It was not changed to include everyone in the city so as not to add burden to ordinary people.

When King Chuang entered the city, he seized a huge sum of money worth tens of millions of taels. It was no big deal for the wealthy to give him some gifts.

"That." Chen Ran thought of an important thing. "If we get married, who will pay the gift money?"

"Huh?" Zhang Shize was obviously stunned. He probably didn't expect to be asked this question.

His expression was a little strange. "What belongs to the man belongs to the man, and what belongs to the woman belongs to the woman."

The origin of share money comes from the "Village Drinking Ceremony" system of Zhu Yuanzhang, the first emperor of the Ming Dynasty.

'The customs are honest and sincere, the people are friendly to each other, relatives help each other in times of poverty and hardship. In times of marriage, death, and illness, neighbors help each other.'

Among these, the wedding gift is the most important.

"I see." Chen Ran suddenly realized, "Very good, very good."

Seeing him like this, Zhang Shize felt helpless and simply explained, "I have accepted the gift money, and I will have to return the gift in the future."

Once you receive someone's share of money, you have to return it when they do something for you in the future.

"Yeah, got it." Chen Ran said perfunctorily, his mind already wandering, "How about getting married in advance?"

Zhang Shize'（＊￣（エ）￣）'

Even if a small family wants to marry off their daughter, they have to go through the procedures of three matchmakers and six betrothals, and then choose an auspicious day.

As the legitimate granddaughter of the Duke of England, the procedures would take at least several months. How could it be done in advance?
If he didn't feel that he couldn't beat him, he would have wanted to use his status as the brother-in-law to teach this guy a lesson.

Chen Ran really didn’t understand this, after all, he had never been married in the modern world.

In his mind, a wedding is nothing more than two families inviting their relatives and friends to have a meal together.

"Why don't you go back and ask the Duke of England what he thinks." Chen Ran thought about getting the job done before leaving for Dongjiang Town.

This was definitely not because he was greedy for Qiu Niang's charming body, but purely to collect membership fees from the wealthy families in the capital.

As for the return gift, I'm in Dongjiang Town. If I have the ability, I can send the invitation over the ocean first.

"I don't think so." The young master had no choice but to stand up and go back to ask his grandfather, "How can such a matter be rushed?"

Another sentence that was not said was, "You are in such a hurry, just like the daughter of the Duke of England, who is eager to get married."

"Go ask first." Chen Ran said seriously, "If it doesn't work, we'll think of a way."

Anyway, he would not give up such a huge sum of money.

Instead of using the money to build Jiangnan gardens, it would be better to use it as military expenditure to fight against the Jiannu.

When going downstairs, Zhang Shize met several officials and doctors from the Ministry of Works.

Judging from the direction they were going, it seemed they were going to look for Chen Ran.

"Why does this brother-in-law want to go to the Ministry of Works?"

The Ministry of Works of the Ming Dynasty was responsible for construction, logistics, water conservancy, and manufacturing.

In the eyes of civil servants who valued pure conversation, this was a tough job because it required work.

But in Chen Ran's view, this is a huge treasure mountain.

Of course, if you want to enter the treasure mountain, you must have money to pave the way.

"My Lords, you are polite~~~"

"Sir, you are polite~~~"

After a simple exchange of pleasantries, the musicians started playing music and the young lady sang a cappella.

This is a serious matter, so there won't be things like adults hugging girls and touching them.

The underground heating in the box was hot enough, and after three rounds of wine and five kinds of dishes, the people from the Ministry of Works soon felt the effects, their faces flushed.

There is no way around it. In Middle-earth, serious matters are basically discussed over the wine table.

This has been the case since ancient times.

After the musicians and the singing girl received their rewards and left, Chen Ran put down his wine glass and started to talk about business.

"My Lords, I think Lord Zhou has already informed me of what I want. Would you be willing to help me?"

He was the commander-in-chief of a town, a position of great power and influence, and was even granted a title and became a nobleman.

But he is a military general after all, and the civil officials can essentially ignore him.

We are not from the same system, and you can't control me. What can I do if I don't give you face?

So at this time, you need to use your connections.

These officials from the Ministry of Works may not give face to Chen Ran, but they have to give face to Lord Zhou.

Mr. Zhou is a serious civil servant.

"Sir." Hu Jing, a doctor from the Ministry of Works, hesitated for a moment but finally spoke sincerely, "If you want weapons, armor, gunpowder, and ammunition, we can provide as many as you want. But you want craftsmen, which is really asking too much."

There are no fools among the civil servants who can survive in the imperial court.

These people in the Ministry of Industry knew very well that although they usually treated the craftsmen under the Ordnance Bureau as harshly as if they were pigs and dogs.

But they knew very well that making weapons required craftsmen with rich experience passed down from generation to generation.

It was not just a task for the imperial court. Generals from all over the country also had to have these craftsmen make goodies when they came privately to buy them.

If we hand these craftsmen over to Chen Ran, wouldn't that make them goose that lays golden eggs? A group of people agreed, saying that this matter is not easy to handle, and that we can't ruin someone's job for the sake of Lord Zhou's face.

Chen Ran didn't care about it. He just nodded slightly and took out a thick stack of banknotes and placed them on the table.

"Two hundred taels for a skilled craftsman and his family."

He understood the thoughts of these civil servants too well. He tapped the thick banknotes with his fingers and said, "Here is 40,000 taels. I want 200 skilled craftsmen and their families."

As the saying goes, one travels thousands of miles to become an official just for money, with a huge sum of 40,000 taels of silver placed in front of them, all the officials from the Ministry of Works breathed rapidly, their eyes wide open, staring at the banknotes.

"I know what you are worried about." Chen Ran's ultimate move was not yet finished. "I have asked Elder Zhou to help with the activities and help you transfer to other places."

At this point, his smile became more playful. "Don't meddle in other people's business. Since I'm not in the Ministry of Works anymore, what does it have to do with you if the Ministry of Works loses these craftsmen?"

A carrot and a pit.

When you are in the Ministry of Industry, you naturally have to consider your position.

But they are no longer in the Ministry of Industry. Those craftsmen were taken to Dongjiang Town. What does it have to do with them?
As for how the people who fill their places later will jump up and down and curse, who cares?
Several officials from the Ministry of Works looked at each other, then took the silver bills and divided them among themselves.

Once the most important things are done, the rest will be easy.

"Bows, crossbows, muskets, armor, weapons, cannons and ammunition, all the military supplies I want."

"As for the price, I will give you the price according to the market price. I will not shortchange you even a penny."

After that, Chen Ran nodded and said, "In terms of quality, it must be good. If there is any problem, since Lord Zhou can arrange for you to be transferred to other places, he can also arrange for you to stay in the prison."

"Be at ease, sir."

Everyone laughed, "When we do business, we value integrity."

Basically, everything that was officially issued by the imperial court was unusable. For example, most of the muskets would explode and become scrapped the first time they were fired.

It is not impossible to get something of good quality if you want it, you can just pay for it privately.

"In addition to firearms craftsmen, I also want to find some other skilled craftsmen. Those who are good at building villages and cities, good at river engineering, and good at farming. The more the better, and the price is negotiable."

After everyone in the Ministry of Industry left happily, Chen Ran continued to pour himself a drink. After finishing his glass, he muttered to himself, "The country's most important equipment has been used for private profit. This Ming Dynasty, hey."

"I want to save the Ming Dynasty of the people of Middle-earth, not the Ming Dynasty of the civil officials."

He still didn't leave the best restaurant in Beijing because he had another appointment.

In the evening, the guests finally arrived.

There were three people coming, and the leader was none other than my old friend Cao Huachun, Eunuch Cao.

"Sir."

After the greeting, Cao Huachun took the initiative to introduce Chen Ran, "This is Fang Yong, the eunuch in charge of the Arms Bureau."

Fang Yong is a man with a fair complexion and no beard. He is in his early forties and is the protagonist of this banquet hosted by Chen Ran.

The scale of weapons manufacturing in the Ming Dynasty was huge, from the imperial court to the local areas.

The most important manufacturing organization is the Weaponry Bureau under the Yuheng Qinglisi of the Ministry of Industry.

There is another one, which is the Military Equipment Bureau, one of the eight major bureaus of the Imperial Household.

In fact, these two departments belonged to the same department as early as the Hongwu period, called Baoyuan Bureau.

The Baoyuan Bureau originally minted coins.

Later, the Baoyuan Bureau continued to mint coins, while the function of manufacturing weapons was divided into two parts, namely the Weapon Bureau and the Armory Bureau.

After saying some long-admired words, Cao Huachun continued to introduce another eunuch, "This is my godson, Cao Demeng. The emperor has already decided that this little bastard will go to Dongjiang Town."

"Grass fierce?"

Chen Ran looked weird, and almost couldn't hold back his words, "Can you still do that?"

Although he is called a little bastard, he is actually over 30 years old and looks quite burly.

He had a square face and a handsome appearance, but when he spoke, his words were respectful and flattering, "Sir, when we get to Dongjiang Town, I will rely on you to take care of us."

"Okay, okay, sit down."

It was still the same process. Chen Ran presented 30,000 taels of silver notes, and soon 200 skilled craftsmen from the Armory Bureau would be transferred to Dongjiang Town with their families.

In addition, he also bought a large amount of supplies, especially gunpowder.

After all, firearms are useless without gunpowder.

"Sir." Fang Yong's attitude was very good, and he explained seriously, "The maximum is 15,000 kilograms. We really can't take out more than that."

"Why?"

"First, the Jiannu invaded and the capital was in a state of devastation. All roads were cut off and supplies could not be delivered."

"Secondly, Lord Sun came to Liaodong to command the army and asked for a large number of things, especially gunpowder, and he specifically asked for most of it."

"Third, after the New Year, the imperial court will distribute military equipment and supplies to various departments as per the rules. Other things are easy to deal with, but gunpowder is really hard to deal with."

"I understand." Chen Ran was slightly moved. "I understand."

Fang Yong breathed a sigh of relief, and then explained, "After the Wang Gongchang incident a few years ago, the court did not allow too much gunpowder to be stored in the capital."

The so-called Wanggongchang Incident refers to the huge explosion that occurred in Wanggongchang in the southwest of the capital in the sixth year of the Tianqi reign.

Wang Gongchang was the Imperial Household’s Armory Bureau, where lead gunpowder was manufactured.

It is said that the gunpowder in the gunpowder magazine exploded, causing devastating damage and more than 10,000 deaths and injuries.

Later generations listed this incident as one of the three major natural disaster mysteries, along with the Indian Dead Hill incident and the Russian Tunguska incident.

"understand."

Chen Ran picked up the wine pot and changed the subject, "I also want to get some horses. Is there any way to do this?"

Hearing this, Cao Huachun slapped his thigh and said, "What a fate, De Meng is the eunuch supervising the Imperial Horse Administration."

(End of this chapter)