Ming Dynasty: My Father Zhang Juzheng

Chapter 118 Production Standardization!
The Military Equipment Bureau was located in a secluded place on the back street of Dongzhimen. It did not occupy a large area, only about 70 to 80 acres.

It flourished during the reign of Emperor Chengzu. At that time, the Shenjiying Camp was the main force of the Beijing Camp, and the status of the Military Equipment Bureau naturally rose as well.

However, after the collapse of Tumu Fort, the Shenji Camp was completely damaged and the power of the military officers fell into the hands of others.

After the civil officials took control of the Armory Bureau, they simply turned it into a money-making machine. Over time, the Armory Bureau became a useless existence.

Today, there are still about 200 craftsmen in the Arsenal.

Although these people were freed from slavery, the high redemption costs and limited skills forced them to stay and serve in the Armory.

It was already noon when Zhang Yunxiu arrived at the Arsenal.

Liu Gui, the head of the Ministry of Works, and Sun Yuan, the ambassador of the Military Equipment Bureau, were already standing here, and then they led Zhang Yunxiu to the small hall in the inner room and asked him to sit down.

The small hall is about five or six square meters, and contains only a few old pieces of furniture and a simple set of tea sets.

"The place is a bit simple, I hope Mr. Zhang won't blame me." Liu Gui smiled and poured a cup of tea for Zhang Yunxiu, saying with some apology.

"What are you talking about? We are not here to enjoy ourselves." Zhang Yunxiu smiled and shook his head, and went straight to the point. "Tell me, how long will it take to make 300 bird guns?"

Liu Gui and Sun Yuan looked at each other and replied, "It will take at least three or four months."

"So long?" Zhang Yunxiu was a little dissatisfied.

Sun Yuan stood up and said with a smile, "Oh, Mr. Zhang, that's not a long time. Making a bird gun is a technical job and we can't be careless. Take the barrel for example. Even a skilled hand would need seven or eight days to polish one. Add in the other processes, and it would take at least fifteen days."

"It would be good if we can get these two hundred people out in three months."

"Of course, I'm talking about a quality bird gun, not one of those junk guns out there that explodes after just a couple of shots."

Zhang Yunxiu thought about it and felt that it made sense.

But this time was still difficult for him to accept. He tilted his head and pondered for a moment, then suddenly raised his head and asked, "What if we invite some craftsmen who can make bird guns from the folks?"

"I'm afraid their craftsmanship is not that good." Liu Gui was a little worried.

"Let's give it a try first to see if it works. By the way, you have to leave a small hole at the front end of the bird gun you make." Zhang Yunxiu said, picking up a pen and paper and drawing something like a small round hole at the bottom of the muzzle.

"What is it used for?" Sun Yuan glanced at Zhang Yunxiu and asked suspiciously.

"It's used to mount a bayonet." Zhang Yunxiu smiled and gestured, "It's about six or seven feet long, with a single-sided blade. You can attach it anytime you encounter an enemy, and you can also remove it anytime you want."

"This is a good idea." Liu Gui and Sun Yuan's eyes lit up.

After asking about the basic configuration of the Military Equipment Bureau, Zhang Yunxiu became interested. He looked at the two of them with a smile and said, "Since we are here, take us to see the place where the Military Equipment Bureau makes guns and cannons."

"That place is dirty. Zhang Sicheng is waiting here. Let's go and call the craftsman for you." Sun Yuan smiled and stopped him.

"What's so dirty about it? Can a craftsman go there? But can't we?"

Zhang Yunxiu waved his hands, his tone unquestionable. Sun Yuan and Liu Gui couldn't persuade Zhang Yunxiu, so they could only take him to the right side of the official hall.

On the right side is the area where the craftsmen live and work, and on the left side is where the officials are.

There are clear distinctions and strict hierarchies.

There were about twenty bungalows on each side of the avenue. On the clotheslines in front of the bungalows, clothes of men and women were hung together.

The men were working inside, while the women were squatting in front of the door, washing clothes and cooking.

This woman was also a sparrow beside the beating drum. She had already amassed her courage and was very brave when she saw a large group of minor officials surrounding her.

Not only was he not afraid, but he was chattering and pointing at the group of people.

After walking less than ten meters along the bungalow, Zhang Yunxiu smelled a pungent odor.

The smell of sweat, foot odor, urine and feces intertwined together to form an indescribable smell.

Zhang Yunxiu only felt an itchy throat and his stomach was churning.

"Zhang Sicheng, why don't we go back?" Sun Yuan seemed to have gotten used to it and said while covering his nose.

"No, it's okay. How far is it?" Zhang Yunxiu suppressed his nausea, put his hands on his knees, looked up and asked Sun Yuan.

"It's only another half a quarter of an hour away." Sun Yuan put his left hand in front of his brow, looked far into the distance, pointed at a four-cornered eaves in front and said, "Look, it's there after that crooked tree."

Zhang Yunxiu forced himself to cheer up and followed Sun Yuan as he walked quickly forward.

After walking along the bungalow for a while and turning a small earthen slope, four or five courtyards appeared faintly among a grove of white birch trees on a depression.

Inside, a craftsman wearing only a single layer of clothing was busy working.

"Let's go and have a look."

Zhang Yunxiu was suddenly shocked and walked forward quickly, followed by Sun Yuan, Liu Gui and other officials.

At this moment, a thin man in his fifties was leaning on the armchair in the left courtyard, with his legs crossed, smoking a pipe with a look of enjoyment on his face.

Taking a puff of his pipe, the old man stood up, looked at a strong man and shouted, "You fool, you are really stupid. This is about to be quenched, why are you still stupid?"

"And you, you bastard, it takes you ten days to grind a gun barrel, and you turned it into this mess? If I were you, I would just jump into the moat and drown."

"Xiao, Xiaoxiao, you bastard. When you become a master in the future, don't say that this skill was taught by me. I can't afford to lose face. Remember?"

The old man's words were harsh and cunning. He cursed that person in all directions, with the three generations of the family as the radius.

All the men who were scolded by him became tense and moved their hands very quickly.

"Feng Laoer, what the hell are you yelling about!" An angry shout was heard, and the old man looked back and saw a dozen people standing at the door.

"Hey, Mr. Sun, Mr. Liu is here!" The old man smiled flatteringly, trotted forward a few steps with his trousers tucked in, nodded and bowed, "These bastards are not doing their best, I'm just giving them a lesson."

After saying this, he rolled his shifty eyes around at Zhang Yunxiu.

"What are you looking at? This is Zhang Sicheng. The emperor wants your military equipment bureau to manufacture 300 blunderbusses and deliver them within three months at the latest. Is there any problem?" Sun Yuan glared and pulled Old Man Feng's gaze back.

"Isn't three months a bit too tight?" Old Man Feng frowned and looked at Zhang Yunxiu eagerly.

"Mr. this"

Zhang Yunxiu smiled and was about to speak, but Old Man Feng waved his hands repeatedly and said with a bitter face, "You are calling me Old Master, I am Feng Lao Er. If you call me Old Master, I will shorten my life."

"Okay, Feng Lao Er." Zhang Yunxiu nodded in agreement, and then said, "We see that there are more than 40 craftsmen in your small courtyard, and there are more than 100 craftsmen in these small courtyards added up. It is not impossible to make 100 bird guns in a month, right?"

"Oh, my dear master, making bird guns is a technical job. Not every craftsman here can make one." Feng Laoer showed his two big yellow teeth and explained repeatedly.

"How many people can make a bird gun?"

“Five ten people left and right.”

"Fifty?"

This number is much smaller than Zhang Yunxiu imagined.

He frowned and pondered for a moment, then suddenly thought of something and said, "How about this? You can remove those processes that anyone can do."

"This way, those skilled craftsmen can save time and only have to complete the crafting of the bird gun at the end."

This is assembly line production, and the production should be standardized as much as possible.

Only through standardization can the quality of bird guns be guaranteed.

Feng Lao Er grinned and praised: "This is a good idea, but we need to assign more people to sharpen the gun barrels, some to forge iron, and the rest to assemble the bird guns."

"Okay, tell Sun Yuan how many people you need." Zhang Yunxiu pointed at Sun Yuan and continued, "I won't play tricks on you. In addition to your current wages, for every bird gun you make, after it passes the inspection, I will give you one or two taels of silver as wages."

"How you distribute the rest is up to you."

"Since the master said so, we are confident." A gleam of light flashed in Feng Laoer's turbid eyes.

In the past, he would shoot ten muskets a day and earn about the same amount of money.

It’s different now. The more he works, the more he gets. He wishes he could work for twelve hours every day.

Glancing at Zhang Yunxiu, Feng Lao Er asked tentatively, "Master, if we use up all the muskets ahead of time, will the extra shots still be charged?"

"Didn't you say that playing 300 games in three months would be enough?" Zhang Yunxiu laughed and looked at Feng Laoer with narrowed eyes.

Feng Laoer and Sun Yuan both scratched their heads and smiled awkwardly. Zhang Yunxiu restrained his expression and said seriously, "Three months, you can make as many as you can. We will provide the iron, and each musket will be counted as one tael of silver as a reward."

"But I have to say that the quality has to be up to standard."

"Okay, Master, just wait and see. We will definitely put the bird gun in your hands intact." Feng Lao Er patted his chest, then turned his head and looked at the stunned craftsman, "Did you hear me clearly?"

"Listen carefully!" the craftsmen shouted at the top of their lungs.

Seeing that the morale was good, Zhang Yunxiu didn't want to stay here any longer, so he stepped on his wind-fire wheels and fled away from this smelly place.

After returning to the small hall, Zhang Yunxiu drank two cups of tea in succession, and then said with lingering fear: "Starting tomorrow, we must tidy up the place where the craftsmen live. What kind of talk is this?"

"Yes." The two replied.

"We can get the iron ourselves. The first batch of pig iron will be delivered tomorrow. You have to hurry up." Zhang Yunxiu urged.

"Don't worry, Zhang Sicheng, we two will fight to the death."

The two of them bowed and replied in unison. Zhang Yunxiu nodded slightly and made a big promise for them: "This Military Equipment Bureau has great potential. If you work hard, your future will be bright."

"Then let's thank Zhang Sicheng for his advice."

As soon as the words fell, the three of them burst into laughter.

When Zhang Yunxiu returned home, it was already the afternoon.

As soon as he sat in his own small living room, Zhang Fu skillfully refilled the tea, and then reported everything in detail: "Sir, I have bought all the pig iron you asked me to buy."

"A total of more than 10,000 kilograms."

"how much did you spend?"

"More than two thousand taels of silver."

"so cheap?"

"They were all obtained from Tangshan, Hebei." Zhang Fu covered his lips with his hands and smiled mysteriously.

Zhang Yunxiu knew the trick and did not dwell on it any more. He just ordered Zhang Fu to deliver the pig iron back as soon as possible.

Even though this ten thousand pounds of pig iron is a lot, the iron used to make the bird gun is all wrought iron.

After refining, it would be considered good if it could weigh 6,000 kilograms.

(End of this chapter)