My eunuch godfather

Chapter 33 Preparations for Construction

Nanxiawa in Xuannanfang.

The Black Kiln Factory, which was known as one of the "Five Great Factories of Beijing" along with large building material factories such as Liulichang, dug soil to fire bricks, forming this depression.

Apart from the illegal brick kiln, the surrounding area is desolate, consisting mostly of farmland and even several mass graves.

For this reason, Zhang Kun set up the main camp of the river engineering battalion here.

First, build a road connecting the large tracts of requisitioned farmland to the official road leading north from the black kiln factory.

However, they leveled the land and built simple shacks to house five thousand people.

Most of the river workers were disaster victims with relevant experience, so they built the shelters very quickly, completing them in less than a day.

Next are the camp's public toilets, canteen, bathhouse, market stalls, hourly lodgings, laundry facilities, and other facilities.

As for the enclosed houses, Zhang Kun wanted to offer the construction of them as a reward:

Based on their performance in the first five days of work, the team with the best performance in each camp will be given a five-day holiday to build a small house for themselves and their families.

In turn, the team that performs the worst in a row will be the last to leave the shack and move into the enclosed house.

It can't be said that Zhang Kun was heartless. The bricks, tiles, thatch, timber, and craftsmen for building the house were all paid for by the river engineering camp.

Moreover, on the fifth night after the house was completed, the river workers would be treated to a feast to celebrate moving into their new home.

"Many of you are veteran river officials, and I will need to listen to your advice on the specifics of the work."

While constructing the main camp, Zhang Kun summoned the artisans from the Southern Garrison of the Embroidered Uniform Guard who had been assigned to the river works camp, and said gently:

"I have only one requirement for you right now, and that is that you complete all the work, including building the dam, digging the bottom, and transporting materials."

To estimate the approximate total, so that I may make accurate measurements.

In fact, there were already many engineering methods in the world that were no less advanced than those of later generations:

For example, in order to promote the establishment of the Daju Jiumen City Moat Project, Zhang Kun proposed the so-called "separate employment for each gate".

Both the current practice of "segmented employment" and the traditional "segmented employment" are essentially the same as phased construction projects.

The difference is that the former was forced to pay in installments due to insufficient funds.

The latter is due to limited personal management ability; even Liu Bang could only "command 100,000," let alone ordinary engineering officials.

For example, Zhang Kun's formation of a professional engineering team was relatively rare at the time, but not unheard of.

For example, Zhang Kun is collecting data and compiling reports on project breakdown, budget, quantities, construction progress, and cash flow.

Similar tables for working hours, wages, and work limits also exist today, but they are relatively simplified.

"Sir, I know quite a few characters,"

One of the military craftsmen, a tall and strong man with thick eyebrows and large eyes, respectfully addressed Zhang Kun:

"In the tenth year of the Wanli reign, a major dredging of the moat at the nine gates of the city was carried out, and the Ministry of Works should have records of it."

If the documents in the archives are detailed enough, we can calculate the total number much faster!

"Very well, I will request the files from the Ministry of Works."

Seeing the craftsman's eagerness, Zhang Kun smiled and asked, "What's your name?"

"Reporting to the foreman, my name is Ge Dajin!"

"Your idea is excellent, you deserve a reward!"

Zhang Kun had Xu Xin take out a small ingot and reward Ge Dajin with it, then smiled and said to the other military craftsmen:

"If any of you have any good ideas, those who can read should write them down on a note, and those who cannot read should ask someone to write them down for them, and then hand them to me."

"If the idea is useful, I will definitely reward you!"

The craftsmen were very excited. This Supervisor Zhang not only didn't put on airs like an official, but he was also very generous.

Logically, these military craftsmen should be under the overall management of Xu Bengao's brother-in-law, Guan Jiang.

It was Zhang Kun's eunuch godfather who personally wrote a letter to Xu Bengao, along with a more complete new project proposal from Zhang Kun.

They indicated that Zhang Kun was the most suitable person to lead the project, and the fewer obstacles there would be, the better.

Zhang Kun's new project proposal is richer in content than the previous version, and includes a large number of charts, making it look very professional.

After reviewing the new project proposal, Xu Bengao decided to follow Zhang Ye's advice and have his brother-in-law hand over the pipe-making job to Zhang Kun.

Of course, this relationship between the brothers-in-law also came with conditions:

The river engineering camp was supposed to have 300 craftsmen, but in reality, only half of them were employed; the other half's salaries went to them.

Zhang Kun was very dissatisfied with this:

You, surnamed Xu, weren't you hoping this project would help you get rid of the "acting manager" label?

You've already started drawing salaries without working before even starting construction! How short-sighted!

What Zhang Kun didn't know was that his idea of ​​using the Chongwenmen Propaganda Department to make a fuss was far more effective than expected.

The greedy Wanli Emperor, seeing how sensible Xu Bengao was, helped him divert the annual tax revenue of 5 taels from Chongwen Gate into the imperial treasury.

The emperor was overjoyed and was already inclined to remove the title of acting manager from Xu Bengao.

Having heard rumors, Xu Bengao is actively running around to prevent any eunuch from the Directorate of Ceremonial from interfering.

Even if they could borrow money from Zhang Ye, they should prepare as much as possible for themselves.

......

After returning to the capital, Chen Jizong insisted on staying in Nanxiawa for the first few days to participate in the affairs of the river engineering camp.

However, Chen Jizong was completely bewildered by the account books and ledgers that Zhang Kun had written and drawn.

The river engineering camp was well-organized under Zhang Kun's management, and Chen Jizong's interference would only be a hindrance.

Other tasks, such as training soldiers and guarding the camp, could be handled by Zhou Zhong or even his younger brother Chen Jishi.

Since Xu Bengao had only been to the main camp once, Chen Jizong felt there was no need for him to stay any longer.

Chen Jizong consulted with Zhang Kun and, seeing that Zhang Kun did not object, began "working from home".

That afternoon, Chen Jizong played with a pair of newly arrived twin lotus flowers at a certain courtyard, and returned home yawning.

They found a sedan chair parked in front of the hanging flower gate. After asking the servants, they learned that it was their cousin's husband who had come to visit.

Chen Jizong's cousin-in-law was also a deputy commander of the Imperial Guard, but for several generations no one had been appointed to a high-ranking position, and the family was not prosperous.

"Acting in office" means holding a real position, while the opposite is "receiving a salary," which means having an official position but no real power.

At the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, there were only over 20,000 military officers.

Because the military officers in the garrison were hereditary and their positions were not replaced, and as soldiers continued to be promoted, the number of soldiers had exceeded 100,000 by the Zhengde era!

The problem of redundant officials was most serious in the capital's guards, especially the Embroidered Uniform Guard, because there were many eunuch brothers and nephews, civil officials and military officials' sons who had received imperial favors.

There were only 200 officials in the early Ming Dynasty, but the number increased to more than 1700 during the Jiajing period. Each commander of a thousand households could have more than 20 commanders and deputy commanders!

While the Imperial Guards were not as redundant as the Embroidered Uniform Guards, their redundancy was still quite severe.

Therefore, many people like Chen Jizong's cousin-in-law who received stipends were not as well off as Zhang Kun, who was only a centurion.

"Brother Jizong, your brother here has recently struck it rich, I've hooked up with a big shot!"

My cousin's husband said mysteriously to Chen Jizong:

"We're going to Qingfeng Restaurant for drinks tonight. That important person has heard of you and said that if you'd like, you can come along."

"Who's the important person?"

"Come with me and you'll find out. What, do you have plans for tonight?"

"No, not at all..."

In the evening, Chen Jizong followed his cousin-in-law to Qingfeng Restaurant and entered a private room.

There weren't many people, and the person sitting in the second seat was actually an acquaintance, Zhang Guotai, the grain supervisor of the river work camp.

Zhang Guotai was Zhang Ye's adopted son, ranked thirty-fifth, and concurrently served as the deputy commissioner of the Chongwen Gate Propaganda Department. He was the god of wealth for the river works camp.

Sitting at the head of the table was a middle-aged man with a fair complexion and no beard. Chen Jizong had a vague impression of him and seemed to have seen him somewhere before.

"Ji Zong, this is Li Cheng, the Imperial Eunuch of the Imperial Horse Administration, who oversees the Imperial Horse Administration's warriors and the Four Guard Battalions!"

Chen Jizong remembered!

Li Cheng is also Zhang Ye's adopted son, ranked fourth. The two met once at Zhang Ye's birthday banquet, but never spoke.

What does he want from me through my cousin-in-law?