novelonline Chapter 2094: Prioritization (asking for guaranteed monthly ticket)
Chapter 2094: Prioritization (asking for guaranteed monthly ticket)
Chapter 2094: Prioritization (asking for guaranteed monthly ticket)
Because he was going to the Imperial Household Department, the Ninth Prince got off the car at Xihua Gate.
Although he did not work in the Imperial Household Department, he had a palace pass and could enter the palace directly.
When passing by the Imperial Household Department, the Ninth Prince went in.
If you really want to use craftsmen from the Internal Imperial Household Department, you have to report to this government office.
However, there was no definite news, so the Ninth Prince did not go to find the Chief Steward Ding Zaobao, but went to the Twelfth Prince's duty room.
The twelfth prince was writing at his desk. When he heard the noise, he looked up and saw that it was the ninth prince coming in. He quickly stood up.
"Brother Ninth..."
"What are you busy with?" The Ninth Prince came closer and looked at the writing on the desk with a strange look on his face.
The twelfth prince was not dealing with official documents, but copying scriptures.
The Ninth Prince looked a little unhappy and asked, "What does Ding Zaobao mean?"
Now that he has secured his position as chief steward, is he starting to exclude the twelfth prince?
The twelfth prince saw that he had misunderstood, and hurriedly explained: "I have already looked at the official business this morning. It was my younger brother who wanted to copy a few sutras to offer to the Buddha before the birthday of Medicine King Bodhisattva..."
If it wasn't for the twelfth prince being bullied and having his power taken away, the ninth prince's expression would have relaxed, and he would have asked with concern, "You're fine, why did you think of copying the sutras? Is Madam feeling unwell?"
The twelfth prince nodded and said, "I haven't been sleeping well lately. I'm worried."
She was the adoptive mother of the twelfth prince, and an old lady respected even by the emperor.
The Ninth Prince did not say anything, but only said: "It is probably because of the change of seasons. Ask the imperial physician to take his pulse twice more. He should be well again in a while."
The key point is that Aunt Su Ma is over 90 years old, and she is still strong and healthy at this age. She only has a minor problem like insomnia. She is considered very blessed.
Like Prince Yu, there are many elderly people in their fifties and sixties who are bedridden.
He thought of the Queen Mother's joy at Baiwang Mountain yesterday, and said to the Twelfth Prince, "My Fifth Brother and I have set up a few Mongolian yurts in Haidian, and have selected a few Mongolian cooks and Mongolian musicians to stay there. Would you like to take a day to take Madam over there for a look?"
It seems that people become nostalgic when they get old.
If the Imperial Grandmother is like this, will Madam Su be like this too?
The twelfth prince was stunned when he heard this.
Among all the princes, he was the only one who had never accompanied the emperor on a northern tour, and naturally had never seen a yurt.
However, he had heard it many times from Aunt Su Ma.
Vast grassland.
Winding river.
Swift eagle.
White yurt...
"This... isn't appropriate, is it? That was prepared by my fifth and ninth brothers for the Empress Dowager..."
The twelfth prince was tempted, but hesitant as he was afraid of causing trouble for his ninth brother.
The Ninth Prince said, "It's okay. The Empress Dowager had already visited here yesterday. I'll exchange the yurt for some silver and keep it as a place to rest during the outing..."
At this point, he remembered that Su Nanny was not just an ordinary palace maid, but an elder respected by the emperor, so he reminded her: "If you have this plan, you should not act on your own. You should report it to Khan Ama."
The twelfth prince nodded and said, "Yes, I know... I just don't know if I can go over and take a look first, so I can talk to Madam later..."
The Ninth Prince said, "Of course I can. Since you are free, come back to Haidian with me at noon. The farm is only a dozen miles away from Changchun Garden. It will take less than 25 minutes to get there by horse."
The twelfth prince doesn't like to go out and doesn't like to trouble others.
But the yurt still has great appeal to him.
"Was the Imperial Grandmother happy yesterday?"
The twelfth prince asked carefully.
"Yeah, I was smiling from ear to ear...We were eating Mongolian food, listening to the Khorchin Chaoerqin and other music, and the drinking songs that my fifth brother found. He even found the Mongolian Deer Chess. The Empress Dowager was happy, and the children also gained some knowledge..."
The Ninth Prince said, thoughtfully.
Except for Khan Ama's uninvited visit, everything else was fine.
It seems that Khan Ama's arrival also has benefits.
That was Khan Ama's filial piety towards the Empress Dowager.
The Empress Dowager is not Khan Ama’s biological mother, and the servants in the palace are the best at deceiving their superiors and subordinates.
Only when Khan Ama repeatedly expressed his respect for the Empress Dowager did the people in Ningshou Palace dare not cause any trouble.
The twelfth prince listened and felt longing.
The places that the Queen Mother likes, Mammy should also like, right?
That was where Mammy lived when she was a child.
For example, I have moved to Qianxi Wusuo for more than ten years, but the place I miss most is the rear courtyard of Ningshou Palace.
After the Ninth Prince finished talking about family matters, he remembered the important matters and said, "Oh, by the way, accompany me to the Imperial Household Department..."
The Twelfth Prince agreed immediately without asking any questions.
After leaving the Imperial Household Department, the 12th Prince asked, "Brother Nine, do you want to see the porcelain?"
What he thought of was that the medicinal wine from the official distillery needed containers, and the more exquisite the better.
The Ninth Prince shook his head and said, "That porcelain is not made in the Imperial Household Department. Even if it is made in the outside world, it is only used by officials of the first rank and above. It is too grand and against the rules. I will go to the Clock and Watch Department."
The Twelfth Prince saw that He Yuzhu, Zhou Song and the others were all empty-handed and thought that his Ninth Brother did not look like he was here to repair the clock, so he could not guess the reason for a moment.
Seeing his puzzled expression, the Ninth Prince told him about the clockwork mechanism and said, "Western toys sold outside cost dozens of taels of silver each. I want to use them on Buddha statues and deity statues, making them more delicate, and then sell them to Mongolia and Jiangnan."
If we really want to carry out large-scale production, it would be more appropriate to put the production and sales under the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
However, the Ninth Prince felt that this was a piece of fat meat, which he had painstakingly prepared. If those people in the Ministry of Internal Affairs were to be corrupted by embezzlement, he would be disgusted to death.
It is best to become private property.
In that case, there won’t be so many people involved and there will be fewer drawbacks in the middle.
As for the craftsmen employed by the Imperial Household Department...
You can give the royal shares dividends...
The Ninth Prince suddenly understood.
I have been working too hard lately.
If this is considered a government-run enterprise and is under the Lifanyuan, then after a year it will be my own turn. Wouldn't that be a loss?
In just two or three hundred steps, the Ninth Prince had made up his mind.
He said to the twelfth prince, "I haven't heard of many new clocks made by the clock department in recent years. Is it because there are not enough craftsmen?"
The twelfth prince really knew something, and said, "Forty years ago, although there were foreigners working in the palace, they were only clock repairers. The clock department could only repair clocks, not make them. Even if there were a dozen eunuch apprentices, they could only make clock cases. Forty years ago, two foreign monks from France and Italy came in as clock makers. Only then did they start trying to make clocks. They made one the year before last, but the quantity was small. The palaces that got new clocks were Ningshou Palace, Yuqing Palace, Yanxi Palace, and Yiku Palace. Madam also got one."
After hearing this, the Ninth Prince said, "How many apprentices have been selected this time? This foreigner can't stay in the palace forever. It would be a pity if he can't learn it when he returns."
The twelfth prince said, "We have selected fifteen eunuchs, all of whom have some skills in bronze work, and they should be able to learn almost everything."
The Ninth Prince nodded and said, "That's good. It's not something that's difficult to decipher. It has been across the ocean for more than a hundred years. We can't let our children and grandchildren use foreign clocks and let the foreigners take advantage of us."
The two brothers were talking when they arrived at the Internal Workshop.
When the chief physician heard the news, he hurried out to meet him.
The Ninth Prince thought of the matter of managing the ministers and asked the Twelfth Prince, "Have you arranged someone to manage this place?"
If a minister of administration is arranged, if the Ninth Prince wants to use people here, he must give a greeting first.
The twelfth prince shook his head and said, "No, there are only two stewards in the Ministry of Internal Affairs now. Lord Ha is also busy, and Steward Ding is in charge of several other government offices."
The Ninth Prince thought about it and agreed.
In the past, the Imperial Household Department had mostly been directly consulted by the Emperor, so the Ninth Prince was not familiar with the news from the Clock and Watch Department.
The two brothers followed the chief doctor to the watch factory.
This is a house with five rooms, which is considered to be a relatively large workshop in the Neizokuan.
There are more than two foreigners inside.
In addition to the two people mentioned by the Twelfth Prince, there were also their four assistants and two interpreters.
Together with the fifteen eunuch apprentices selected from the palace and one eunuch in charge, there were about twenty people in the room.
The Ninth Prince could speak French and Italian, so he asked the two foreign masters about the development of the watch department in the past three years.
The older foreigner was in his fifties, with gray hair. He said excitedly, "The output was low the year before last, with only twelve in half a year. Last year it was slightly higher, with twenty-seven. This year the apprentices can start working, and they made twenty-two in one spring. This way, we can make more than a hundred clocks for His Majesty the Emperor this year..."
Now, in the finished product room next door, there are twenty-two new clocks that have not yet been inspected and put into storage.
The Ninth Prince listened and felt both happy and sad.
The output in the first year was small, and it was not a problem that the output was in small quantities and unevenly distributed, so it would not be easy to reward these princes.
But the next year, weren’t there more than twenty clocks?
Why hasn't it been their turn yet?!
The prince is the prince. The treatment of these sons has been different from that of the prince for more than one or two years.
The foreigner was also helpless when talking about the finished product. He spread his hands and said, "But we can't make a hundred clocks. The money allocated by the Ministry of Internal Affairs is twice that of last year. By July, we will have no materials..."
The Ninth Prince looked at the eunuch in charge and asked, "Didn't you report it?"
The eunuch in charge said, "Master Jiu, we need to reserve time in the second half of the year for the inspection of the clocks in each palace."
"Stupid! Where are the old people from the clock shop? Isn't it enough to use them to repair the clocks?"
Brother Ninth said.
These foreign priests traveled across oceans to preach and did not stay in any country. No one knew when they would leave.
While they are in the palace, they should continue to make new clocks and let the fifteen eunuchs apprentice until they have mastered the craft.
The Ninth Prince looked at the doctor in charge beside him and said, "Khan Ama attaches great importance to the clock and watch department. Please write a memorial to announce the good news and also mention the lack of materials. Don't delay."
The doctor in charge quickly agreed.
The Ninth Prince looked at the foreigners again.
Compared with clockwork toys, the clockmaking process is more important.
At this rate, in a few years, not only the princes themselves, but even the emperor’s grandchildren would be able to receive watches as rewards from the palace.
The Ninth Prince was not in a hurry to call for help.
Let's wait for news from the emperor to see if there are any other arrangements.
If the Emperor thinks that the number of homemade clocks should be limited, then I will borrow them from others.
If the Emperor agrees with me, I will come back next year to borrow someone.
The Ninth Prince can still distinguish the important and the urgent...