Da Ming: Father, step aside, I'll be the prime minister!

Chapter 168 Zhao Shizhen, the Ming Dynasty's Master of Firearms!
The lobby of Ruijin Silk Shop.

A young man dressed in plain clothes with sharp features slowly stepped in. He looked up at Zhang Yunxiu, who was sitting in the main hall. His Jinyiwei official uniform and embroidered spring knife were particularly eye-catching.

He glanced again at Zhao Rui, who was sitting in the subordinate's seat. The latter was winking at him, looking very nervous.

The young man sighed inwardly, gritted his teeth, and respectfully bowed to Zhang Yunxiu.

"Your humble servant Zhao Shizhen greets Your Excellency!"

"puff--"

Upon hearing this name, Zhang Yunxiu, who was about to drink tea, almost spat it out and looked at the other person in disbelief.

"Zhao Changji? Zhao Shizhen?"

Zhao Shizhen sensed something was wrong, but still answered.

"Reporting to my superior, I am Zhao Shizhen, the Registrar of the Court of State Ceremonial."

Zhang Yunxiu turned to look at Zhao Rui, who said somewhat embarrassedly.

"Don't you remember, sir? Chang Ji is my cousin. I have been searching for craftsmen all over the country, from North Zhili to South Zhili, but the craftsmen I have found are either all talk and no action or completely illiterate."

I found Chang Ji by chance. He had some knowledge of craftsmanship and had even developed firearms, so I thought I'd let him give it a try.

The protective face shield and this spinning machine were both made by Tsunekichi.

As he said this, Zhao Rui felt a little guilty and couldn't help but pick up a handkerchief to wipe the sweat from his forehead.

Zhang Yunxiu frowned deeply, finally remembering that he had indeed heard Zhao Rui mention this person when they were making the masks.

However, in the past, Zhao Rui always referred to the other party by his courtesy name, "Zhao Changji".

So much so that Zhang Yunxiu didn't notice for a moment.

Today, when the other party identified himself as Zhao Shizhen, I remembered him.

As for why Zhang Yunxiu reacted so strongly.

Speaking of which, Zhao Shizhen is a very famous figure in history.

Born into an official family, he was a student at the Imperial Academy in his early years. He was learned and talented from a young age, and his calligraphy was so skillful that it was described as "bone-like and flesh-like, and its reputation spread throughout the world," making him a popular figure.

Because of his calligraphy, he was summoned to the palace by the Wanli Emperor and appointed as the registrar of the Court of State Ceremonies.

Of course, Zhao Shizhen is most famous not for his calligraphy, but for his later contributions to the development of firearms in the Ming Dynasty.

Although Zhao Shizhen was a scholar, he had considerable experience in the research and development of firearms.

In the 25th year of the Wanli Emperor's reign, he presented the emperor with a report entitled "Eight Harms of Military Strategy".

It describes a variety of firearms such as the "Thunderbolt Cannon", "Rocket Cannon", and "Eagle Cannon".

He improved a number of technologies, such as increasing the range of the Lumi gun to three or four hundred paces, the Xunlei gun being able to fire multiple bullets in a short time, and the breech-loading design of the Chedian gun.

These inventions, among others, were even quite advanced compared to the firearms technology of Western countries at the time.

Therefore, it is not that the Chinese did not value firearms. From the discovery of gunpowder in the Song Dynasty to the development of firearms technology in the Yuan and Ming Dynasties, it has been developing continuously.

But why did firearms and other scientific technologies stagnate after the Ming Dynasty? Whether this was related to the later dynasty is intriguing.

With this in mind, Zhang Yunxiu's impression of Zhao Shizhen was not bad.

Clearly, the reason these two brothers were so nervous was because of an old incident.

After thinking for a moment, Zhang Yunxiu said with a smile.

"Sit down."

Zhao Shizhen felt as if he had been granted a pardon. He bowed again before sitting down in the lower seat, only daring to sit on half of his buttocks.

But the next sentence made him break out in a cold sweat.

Zhang Yunxiu asked, "How long has Registrar Zhao been serving in the Court of State Ceremonial?"

Zhao Shizhen was startled, a bitter expression appeared on his face, and he cupped his hands in greeting.

"In reply to your question, sir, I have been fortunate enough to be appreciated by the Holy Emperor since the third year of the Wanli reign, and have been serving in the Court of State Ceremonial for six years."

Zhang Yunxiu scrutinized the other party: "An ordinary official, after six years of hard work, should have been promoted to a higher rank, or at least should not still be a mere eighth-rank registrar. Do you have any complaints?"

Zhao Shizhen broke out in a cold sweat.

He recalled an incident from four years ago, when Zhang Juzheng's "seizure of mourning" incident broke out, and five ministers in the court were flogged in succession.

Zhao Shizhen was young and impetuous. He listened to a few words of instigation from others and became a scapegoat, trying to gain the reputation of being an "upright minister" by using his poems to protect the ministers who were being flogged in court.

In fact, he was of low status and his words carried little weight. Even if he spoke, it would have no effect on helping the ministers who were being flogged. Instead, it would only displease the emperor and Zhang Juzheng.

If it weren't for his reputation for being outspoken and his solitary nature, he would likely have been flogged and exiled to the frontier. These few lines of poetry earned him a "good reputation," but also caused him to waste six whole years in the Court of State Ceremonial.

In fact, historically, Zhao Shizhen served as the registrar of the Court of State Ceremonial for a full eighteen years because of his "great love for criticism".

This is just the beginning.

Originally, Zhao Shizhen was already disheartened, but he would often curse Zhang Jiangling and then bury himself in the research of "craftsmanship" to relieve his distress.

Unexpectedly, he met his cousin Zhao Rui, who was doing business in the capital.

Thinking of this, a bitter look appeared on his face, and he cupped his hands in greeting to Zhang Yunxiu.

"I hope that Magistrate Zhang knows that if I had said I had no complaints before, that would have been a lie. But ever since I developed these 'miracle tools' for Magistrate Zhang, I would rather give up this position as registrar than fail to serve Magistrate Zhang with all my might!"
These are my heartfelt words, and I hope Magistrate Zhang will grant my request!

After saying that, he got up from his seat, knelt down straight in front of Zhang Yunxiu, and kowtowed.

It should be noted that although the Ming Dynasty had the custom of kneeling and bowing, it was only limited to situations where there was a significant difference in status between the two parties. In fact, officials in the court generally did not kneel and bow to each other.

Zhao Shizhen kowtowed repeatedly, his head thumping loudly, all traces of his former toughness gone.

Fearing that Zhang Yunxiu might take his anger out on him because of past events, Zhao Rui also spoke cautiously from the side.

"My lord, this matter is all my fault. I had been searching for renowned craftsmen in various places, and finally found my cousin. He had a leisurely job at the Court of State Ceremonial and was fond of studying firearms and various crafts. I thought that having him assist in the development of this 'mask' was the best choice, but I never expected..."

After saying this, Zhao Shizhen also kowtowed again and earnestly said.

"My lord, I deeply regret my past actions. Since developing the mask, I have repented and am begging for your forgiveness!"

Zhao Shizhen really can't live without this workshop!

In fact, he was initially resistant as well.

But after seeing the design drawings for the "protective mask," his desire to develop the device completely overcame his resentment.

Speaking of which, Zhang Yunxiu is simply a genius in engineering!
The craftsmanship involved in making this "protective mask" is far more exquisite than anything he had ever handled before!
In order to complete the production of this "protective mask", Zhao Shizhen worked day and night on the research, and he devoted himself to the task according to the blueprints.

Unlike previous research, when Zhao Shizhen was studying firearms, it was not uncommon for him to get stuck for ten days or half a month if he could not find any books or blueprints to refer to after encountering a bottleneck.

However, after helping Zhang Yunxiu with his work, whenever Zhao Shizhen encountered a problem, he only needed to mention it to his cousin Zhao Rui, who would then take the problem to Zhang Yunxiu for advice and receive a perfect solution!

This perfect research and development process was like divine assistance to Zhao Shizhen, making him increasingly reliant on Zhang Yun's guidance and his views on Zhang Yun more and more.

Over time, this has even led to path dependence.

He became increasingly fascinated by the feeling that his research could yield results.

Otherwise, why would Zhao Shizhen be so respectful?

You should know that in the past, he was known for his sharp tongue, saying that he "was very fond of criticizing people and would not even show respect to high-ranking officials."

Needless to say, he didn't even give a friendly look to the Zhang faction, let alone the "anti-Zhang faction" of the righteous stream.

The fact that people can now "bow and scrape before the powerful and wealthy" demonstrates just how powerful the influence of "hobbies" can be.

Zhang Yunxiu glanced at Zhao Shizhen, seemingly unconcerned.

In fact, he didn't think it was a big deal.

There are too many people who contradict their father, Zhang Juzheng. If we were to fight and kill every single one of them, wouldn't we become a nightmare for ghosts?
Furthermore, Zhang Yunxiu had no intention of keeping the craftsmanship of the "protective face mask" and the "textile machine" a secret from the beginning.

Even the various processes used by Xishan Workshop in mining coal are kept secret only for the key technologies.

Even more impressive than these inventions was his ability to draw blueprints continuously from morning till night.

As a time traveler who is knowledgeable about nearly five hundred years of technological development, isn't it ridiculous to be afraid that the ancients will copy and imitate?

Let's briefly review Zhao Shizhen's life.

This person is indeed a rather "pure" individual, a low-budget version of Hai Gangfeng, emphasizing "daring to speak out," but lacking any political wisdom.

It was precisely because of this personality that Zhao Shizhen offended too many people in history.

As a result, he was framed as the instigator in the "seditious book case" that arose during the later struggle for succession.

Ultimately, he died from exhaustion, which is quite a regret.

Most importantly, this kid is talented!

In the future, Zhang Yunxiu also plans to develop firearms and conduct major scientific research such as steam engines. Talented people like Zhao Shizhen are indispensable.

Having made up his mind, Zhang Yunxiu still maintained the demeanor of a superior, glancing at Zhao Rui beside him as he spoke.

"Master Zhao, would you be willing to vouch for your cousin?"

(End of this chapter)