"Comrade Commander? How big an official is he?" Su Hao asked Hao Tong.
Hao Tong felt quite helpless about Su Hao's ignorance. In front of his superiors, he couldn't explain too much to Su Hao. He simply replied: "The commander is a military attache from the third rank. You can figure it out yourself."
The county magistrate is a seventh-rank official, the prefect is a fourth-rank official, and the commander of the Nanchang Guard is actually a third-rank official. This is an amazing high-ranking official. Although the Ming Dynasty emphasized civility over military affairs, the status of military attachés was far lower than that of the same rank.
The rank is even a few grades lower than that of a civil servant, but in any case, he is from the third rank, which is infinitely higher than him, a master with no name and no status.
"Student Su Hao, please give my regards to Master Fang. The student didn't know that Master Fang was here, so he missed the welcome. Please forgive me for not welcoming him from afar." Su Hao quickly and respectfully saluted Fang Shu, and at the same time let Fang Shu enter his room.
Home door.
Fang Shu still maintained his airs, and seeing that Su Hao was very polite, he waved his hand, returned the gesture symbolically, and said a few polite words such as "interruption", but he also seemed quite reluctant.
.
After entering the room and sitting down, Fang Shu took out two things from his arms, put them on the table, and asked Su Hao, "Su Hao, do you recognize these two objects?"
Su Hao took a closer look and found that these were the telescope and white silk map that Hao Tong had "borrowed" with violence. It seemed that Hao Tong did not go to Yunnan with the things, but just went to Nanchang Mansion and sent Nanchang Guards
The officials moved here.
In the early years of the Ming Dynasty, a large number of military guards were set up in Jiangxi. Later, because it was far away from the border, there were no wars. Some military guards were gradually removed. By the Wanli period, Jiangxi Dusi had a total of 3 guards and 11 guards.
Qianhu Post. Among them, Nanchang Guard is a guard command post. It has one commander of the third grade, two command colleagues of the third grade, and four commanders of the fourth grade. It has 5 thousand household posts under its jurisdiction, with a total of 5,600 people.
Officers and soldiers. In addition, there is a martial arts school under Nanchang Guard that specializes in training officers.
Hao Tong was a soldier of the Yunnan frontier army, but because the commander-in-chief Deng Zilong came from Jiangxi and was a veteran in the army, he had some old friendships in the Jiangxi military circles. Before Tu Wenhuan returned to Yunnan, he specifically told Hao Tong and Deng Kui,
Let them go to Dusi or Nanchang Guard colleagues to solve problems when they encounter problems. After Su Hao built a telescope and drew a contour map, Hao Tong realized that these were two inventions that had a major impact on the army. Such things are
It was necessary to report to the superior immediately, so he forcibly borrowed the telescope and map, borrowed a fast horse from the inn, and galloped to Nanchang. He handed these two things into the hands of the Nanchang Guard Commander.
After that, something else happened. After more than ten days of delay, Nanchang Guards sent the commander Fang Shu and Hao Tong to Fengcheng to meet Su Hao.
Su Hao didn't know the connection between them. When Fang Shu asked about the telescope and the map, he nodded and replied: "These two things were designed by students and made by craftsmen. They make adults laugh."
Fang Shu said expressionlessly: "The senior officials from the Ministry of War and the Department of Defense have all seen these two items, and they all think they are unique. I just don't know where you learned this skill, so I specially asked my general to come and verify it.
This matter is of great importance and you must not hide it in the slightest."
Su Hao's heart trembled, and he couldn't help but glance at Hao Tong. Hao Tong stood beside Fang Shu, with his head lowered. He didn't look at Su Hao, obviously he didn't want to get involved. Su Hao felt slightly annoyed, and he contributed
Both of these technologies are beneficial to the military. Not only does the military have no intention of rewarding them, they also send someone over to act like an interrogator. What is this?
"Sir Huifang, these two techniques were figured out by the students themselves and were not taught by outsiders." Su Hao simply didn't push it on the Folangji people. This was invented by me. What can you do to me?
Sample?
Fang Shu said: "Are you convinced of this?"
"How are you sure?" Su Hao replied firmly.
"He is indeed a genius!" A smile appeared on Fang Shu's face. It turned out that his previous performance was just pretentious, and he wanted to bluff Su Hao to see if he could deceive the truth. Now when he saw Su Hao
Hao insisted that he invented it himself, and he stopped pretending.
On the day Hao Tong ran out of Su Hao's house, he had already sent the telescope and map to Nanchang Guard. After inspecting these two things, the commander of Nanchang Guard knew that they were crucial to the military, so he did not delay
, immediately reported the matter to the Jiangxi Dusi, who then sent a fast horse to Nanjing and reported the matter to the Nanjing Ministry of War.
Officials from the Nanjing Ministry of War were quite shocked when they saw these two things. They arranged for people to go to the Miscellaneous Manufacturing Bureau, Ordnance Bureau, Baoquan Bureau and other units under the Ministry of Industry to find the old craftsmen and inquire repeatedly. The answers they received were all from
I have never seen anything like this. Therefore, the Ministry of War in Nanjing sent an official letter to Jiangxi Dusi, requesting Jiangxi Dusi to confirm who the inventor of these two things was, and requested that this person be recruited into the military for reuse.
This back and forth process took more than ten days, which should be considered a very fast pace in an era without modern transportation and communication tools. After receiving the letter from the Nanjing Ministry of War, Jiangxi Dusi arranged for Nanchang
Wei sent Fang Shu to Fengcheng to handle the matter.
"Su Hao, if the telescope and the contour method you invented can be used in our army, it can increase our army's combat effectiveness by 30%. Wu Shangshu of the Nanjing Ministry of War is full of praise for these two inventions of yours.
He asked this general to come and ask you if you would like to serve in our army?" Fang Shu asked.
"Serve in the army?" Su Hao was stunned, "Master Fang, how can a student join the army and serve in the army if he has no power?"
Fang Shu said: "Those who have a plan don't need bravery. Think of Zhuge Kongming during the Three Kingdoms, who was not known for his bravery. Brother Su is talented and intelligent. If he can join our army and serve, he will have a bright future."
"What can I do in the army?" Su Hao asked.
Fang Shu said: "The craftsmen from the Ministry of Industry in Nanjing have already seen the manufacturing method of this telescope. They feel that although the design is very clever, it is not difficult to imitate it. But after people from the Ministry of War saw the high-line map, they
They all say that although they know its meaning, they don't know how to survey and map it, so I still need to ask you to pass it on to the scouts in our army."
"No way, I invented this telescope, and you are going to copy it like this?" Su Hao said with a depressed look. Think about it, there was no patent protection law back then. If the military wants to copy it, how can you get it?
How about them? The principle of the telescope is very simple. As long as the military gets a sample, it can imitate it. It can't keep it secret even if it wants to.
Seeing Su Hao's reluctant look, Hao Tong raised his head and interjected: "Master Su, I have already presented this matter to Zhang Dusi. What Zhang Dusi means is that since the telescope was created by Master Su,
It would be better for the military to purchase it from Master Su. Zhang Dusi also knows that this colorless glass is valuable, so it is not inappropriate to say that a telescope costs 100 taels of silver."
"Are you telling the truth?" Su Hao's eyes lit up. The Zhang Dusi that Hao Tong was talking about, Su Hao had heard Tu Wenhuan mention before, was Zhang Hong, the chief seal of Jiangxi Dusi. He was the top military leader in Jiangxi Province. This person was related to
Tu Wenhuan worked in the Ministry of War in the past and had some personal relationships. If he sends word that he wants to purchase telescopes from Su Hao and can pay 100 taels apiece, that would be great news.
Fang Shu chuckled and said: "This is true. The Nanjing Ministry of War also asked the Miscellaneous Manufacturing Bureau of the Ministry of Industry to estimate the price. They said that it would cost a lot to refine this colorless and translucent colored glaze. Calculate
Due to the wear and tear during polishing, I'm afraid I won't be able to make one for 100 taels. If Jiangxi Dusi can purchase it for 100 taels, the Nanjing Ministry of War also plans to buy one or two hundred units."
"Well... this is indeed a bit difficult, but since it is needed by the Ministry of War, students should find ways to overcome the difficulties. The military protects the country and the people, and it is natural for me to share the worries of the military." Su Hao held it in with all his strength.
Smiling, pretending to be upright and awe-inspiring, the other party replied.
Su Hao had already learned from Hao Yizong that due to deviations in the production process, the cost for craftsmen in the Ming Dynasty to produce colorless and transparent colored glaze was very high. In addition, the management costs of the workshops under the Ministry of Industry were astonishingly high, and ordinary people only had 1 tael.
Things that can be made with only silver may cost 10 taels of silver at the Ministry of Industry. The Ministry of Industry said that the cost of a telescope is more than 100 taels of silver, which is why.
As for Su Hao's production cost, Hao Tong actually knew very well that a telescope was only worth 1 tael of silver. But obviously, he did not reveal this secret to his boss, so that it would be a waste for Su Hao.
Obtain the order price of 100 taels for a telescope. Now it seems that the Nanjing Ministry of War alone wants one or two hundred telescopes. Calculated at 100 taels for a telescope, that is a large order of 10,000 to 20,000 taels of silver.
ah.
Hao Tong, buddy! Su Hao said secretly in his heart.
Fang Shu said: "You can leave the telescope to a private workshop instead of doing it yourself to avoid suspicion. Zhang Dusi wants to recruit you into the army because he wants you to teach a group of people who are proficient in surveying and mapping for the military.
Map-making scouts, armies everywhere now lack such talents."
"If we just want students to be taught surveying and mapping, there is no need to force them to serve in the army, right? You just need to send these people over and I will give them lectures." Su Hao said.
Fang Shudao: "Su Hao, it is Zhang Dusi's intention to recruit you to serve in the army. With a military status, it will be more convenient to do something. Don't worry, if you plan to take part in the imperial examination in the future, you can do so at any time.
Get rid of this military status. If you don't want to take the imperial examination, you will have a good future by taking this military career."
"Is that so? Then I wonder what position Zhang Dusi has arranged for the students." Su Hao asked.
Fang Shu took out a piece of paper from his arms, put it on the table, and said: "This is a petition for hundreds of households issued by the Nanjing Ministry of War. If Brother Su is willing, just fill in your name on this petition."
, you are a member of the sixth rank of our Ming army."