13. Xu Yuan Burning Boat II

"Zichun's life is open and upright, and everything is considered for the country. Since the war between Song and Xia last year, he has been responsible for the supply of money and grain in the northwest. He has never made a mistake. Even His Majesty has appreciated it. Will the small reform of transportation make someone anxious? Lv Xiang really underestimated Zichun!" Xu Yuan drank three brews of wine excitedly.

Ouyang Xiu took the opportunity to say a sentence: "Xu Yuan said Ding!"

"What!" Xu Yuan was stunned, "Uncle Yong just said that Xu Yuan was nailed!"

"Exact" Ouyang Xiu answered firmly.

"What's the meaning? It's all the old thing the year before last. If it hadn't been for the war between me and Xixia and the tightness in the front, someone would not have burned the ship and nailed the nail, let alone killed the owner of the boat on the spot. They actually teased me to think that the boat had sunk and sank. There was no evidence, but they didn't know that he cut corners when building a ship, and the nails would not say "Faling," Xu Yuan said with a blushing face.

"If it hadn't been for the sinking of many ships during the transshipment, you wouldn't have been famous. This is God's will!" Ouyang Xiu continued to eat.

"Yes, it's true that God gave Zichun a chance to get ahead. Of course, I would like to thank the officials for their appreciation of Zichun!"

"Why don't you do it again!" Ouyang Xiu picked up a piece of braised pork for Xu Yuan.

"Reuse the old trick?" Xu Yuan stopped his chopsticks and frowned.

"Didn't you think of it?" Ouyang Xiu asked Xu Yuan. Sometimes he felt that Xu Yuan was too young, not like a 53-year-old at all, and he was not as scheming as him.

"Is it that Uncle Yong wants Zichun to burn the boat..." Xu Yuan wrote a few words on the table with his chopsticks.

"Yes!"

"It's too risky. The boat factory in Beijing is not as good as others. Those ship merchants will never dare to mess around. In case of a mistake, Zichun's career will be over!" Xu Yuan said worriedly.

"Don't worry, I have sent someone to find out. The boathouse of Xiangfu is not under the jurisdiction of the seven departments. It is Lv Xiang's property. Even the craftsmen there have been clear. The nails they consume every day are absolutely insufficient!"

"What's the point of burning it!" Xu Yuan looked at Ouyang Xiu and wanted to know what medicine was sold in his gourd.

"It's like this..." Ouyang Xiu pulled Xu Yuan and whispered in his ear for the purpose of burning the ship.

The next day, Zhao Zexin took office and came to the Dagong Boat Workshop on the east bank of the Huimin River to inspect the shipbuilding progress here. At that time, Zhao Ze wrote in his diary:

This is the first time I have seen ancient craftsmen shipbuilding. I was shocked. There are thousands of workers on the river bank who are busy at the same time, cooperating seamlessly, just like a well-trained symphony orchestra. The difference is that they hold hammers, chis, saws, planes, axes and rulers in their hands, instead of cello and lifts. Piano, violin, big, horn, trumpet, flute, piccolo, big drum, small drum, tambourine, and other exquisite musical instruments.

Nevertheless, I also admire these ancient working people very much. I am moved by their wisdom, their diligence and their simplicity.

What an incredible thing it would be if this was in my hometown. Thousands of people start to build a big wooden boat at the same time, which will definitely attract countless audiences. Even the local radio station will come to the scene to shoot, and interview the workers there in real time to ask them how they feel, when they think the ship can be completed, what their families think of their work, and the salary is Whether you are satisfied or not, how is the working environment, and other issues that people are concerned about.

But here, no one came to interview them, no one cared about them, and no one came to ask for warmth. Only me, a few accompanying officials, the owner and supervisors of the boat workshop here sat under the pergola like watching a play and listened to the chiefs here report on the shipbuilding. I don't know. The accompanying officials didn't understand the terms of shipbuilding.

They didn't remember the complicated ship's utensils such as sails, masts, oars, paddles, rudders, piers, and pots.

They didn't listen to the hull structure of the deck, the bottom of the cabin, the superstructure, the flying cabin, the cabin, etc.

And their introduction to the classification of ships. The unit of weight is actually 'Dendrobium', not the tonnage of our image, but from the 200ndrobium 'boat' to the 'cruit' warship of 500ndrobium, I can guess that this is similar to the tonnage.

As for the impact of the main scale of the ship on stability, I don't think most of the accompanying officials around me understand it. Some of them actually say that the bigger the better, as long as they can install more grain and grass, they don't care about wood.

I have seen the scale of this shipyard, which is one of the best along the coast. The materials they use for shipbuilding are piled up like mountains, and there are as many as 2,000 workers alone.

I have asked several workers how their food is, how their salary is, and they are not satisfied with this place. If there is anything they want to say to me, I will truthfully report to the official.

Guess what their expressions were at that time. They actually regarded me as the master of Qingtian. They all gathered around and knelt on the ground and cried, "The owner of the boat shop deducted their salaries, not only did not pay them on time, but also forced them to rush to work day and night. If anyone dares to say it, the punishment will be doubled. Several senior officials have come before. The inspection here was that they just walked casually and didn't even ask. These craftsmen dared to be angry and dared not say anything. God finally opened his eyes and met a kind official who actually cared about their life and death!"

I was angry at that time. I immediately asked someone to catch the owner of the boathouse and questioned him on the spot. Was the craftsman telling the truth? He hesitated for a long time and actually came up with a sentence: "Lord Zhao, you are sent by Lv Xiangye. Our owner also knows Mr. Lv Xiangye. These craftsmen are slandering"

There is no need to ask. Just listening to the words of the owner of the boat workshop, I will know that he has a problem, because he actually hinted that I am a member of Mr. Lv Xiang. Don't ask about it.

What is he? He is just the supervisor of the shipyard. He actually talked back to me. Even for the sake of those poor craftsmen, I would be a villain. Thinking of this, I immediately called Chao Fang over and asked him to take someone to blame the owner of the shipyard until he beat him and begged for mercy. But at this time, another person came. When his guard of honor was still a miles away, it attracted the attention of my own soldiers.

Someone rushed in and told me that my boss's transfer made Lord Xu Yuan come!

This is the first time I have seen Xu Yuan - Xu Zichun, my boss. He is not tall, his eyes are very bright, and his body exudes the unique elegance of Jiangnan literati. Although he is over half a hundred years old, he is very energetic. There were many officials around, and it seemed that the whole shipment had moved the government office.

When he came to the shipyard, he was very polite and talked to me for a few words, but the more I got, the more frightened I became, because Xu Yuan said that there was something wrong with the ship built here. Once it was launched, it would capsize. In order to get the evidence, he ordered someone to burn a newly built ship on the spot, which hurt me for a long time.

Even those craftsmen screamed. At first, I thought that Xu Yuan had done too much, and he actually burned the ship that he had worked hard to build, which was made by those craftsmen with painstaking efforts.

In order to get justice for those craftsmen, I also threatened Xu Yuan and said, "If he can't get any evidence, I will sue the official family. He is born out of nothing and a waste of the empire's taxes!"

Xu Yuan didn't mind what I said. When the big ship burned out, he sent someone to fish up all the nails of the ship. Once he passed the scale, according to the regulations of the transportation department, the weight of the nails was one-third less.

"Lord Zhao, you can see that these craftsmen dare to fake under the eyes of the officials. I don't know if Lord Zhao has heard of it. The year before, when the capital looked for the northwest to ship grain and fodder, many ships sank. The reason is that the craftsman did not put enough nails into the ship when building a ship, so that The shipwreck caused by the shipment of heavy grain and fodder. I don't know how Lord Zhao will explain it!"

"This!" I was speechless, so I had to be silent.

After laughing for a moment, Xu Yuan pulled me to a place where there was no one and said to me, "Lord Zhao, we should support each other as officials of the same dynasty. If the grain shortage of Beijing can't be solved in three months this time, you and I will suffer. First of all, those imperial historians will impeach you and me, whether it is Lord Yao or Lv Xiang. It has nothing to do with it. Do you know the seriousness of this situation..."

"Of course, the subordinate knows, but the subordinate has just arrived, and he doesn't know that these craftsmen are falsting. If it hadn't been for Lord Xu's surprise inspection, the subordinate would have been kept in the dark."

When Xu Yuan heard me say about the surprise inspection, he suddenly smiled and praised, "What a surprise inspection. If you don't do this, once these boat owners receive the wind, they will hide the problematic ships. At that time, you and I can't catch the handle at all. Once the day of the accident happens, it's still you and me who are unlucky, so I will do what I do today. Lord Zhao, forgive me. I hope that from now on, we will unite sincerely and carry out the reform of transportation to the end and satisfy the officials!"

"Yes, yes, the subordinate understands, the subordinate understands!"

This is the experience of my acquaintance with Xu Yuan. From that day to the end of the month, I spent my time inspecting the large and small shipyards around Bianliang. Because I have learned from the past, I will give a strict lecture everywhere and order each shipyard to engrave the name of the shipyard, even the main craftsman. The name of the owner of the boat shop should also be engraved.

Once there is a problem in the future, it is okay to sit in the right seat, and the rewards and penalties are clear. Which shipyard is responsible for the shipyard? At that time, it will be killed or scraped.

Perhaps this is an unintentional move, but it has become an unwritten rule in the future history of shipbuilding in the Song Dynasty. In fact, it has long existed in later generations, but this era has not been noticed that this is an important link in the standardization of military equipment production and the beginning of the implementation of the system.

After experiencing the shipyard nail incident, Zhao Ze became cautious and more stable. He would discuss everything with Shao Dazhi and Wu Liang until everyone felt that he could do it. After all, a person's power is limited, and brainstorming can do things well. This is ancient times, such as If he wants to get along in the undercurrent, Zhao Ze must do so.