Chapter 56 I have to leave first because of an emergency

The name of the engineer in Anlu County is "Shi", which means suitable, and means to cut one's feet to fit the shoes.

His family was originally a leather craftsman in Shangqiu, Song State. According to the old man in the family, he followed the Mohists into Chu State more than a hundred years ago, but that is not important. After entering Chu State, his family has been making leather for the King of E of Chu State for generations. Jing has Yunmeng, which is full of rhinoceros, rhinoceros, elk and deer, making armor and leather is perfect.

After Qin State seized Jianghan and established Nanjun, his family was included in the list of craftsmen and was fed by the government. Because Qin State also established a reward and punishment system for handicrafts, the armor and leather made by his family were excellent and were rated as "the best" for three consecutive years, so they were awarded the title of Gongshi. From then on, they had a higher status than other craftsmen.

By Shi's generation, the title had been passed down for three generations, and he had made many meritorious deeds, rising from a Gongshi to a Bugeng. Shi also became a county engineer. Although he was only a 200-stone official, it was the limit that a craftsman could aspire to.

With his status, he no longer needed to cut fur and make armor and leather by himself, but Shi's daily work did not lighten at all. The county engineer was equivalent to the county industrial and commercial bureau and the mining bureau in the future. There were too many things to manage...

The first thing he had to manage was the official workshops in Anlu County.

Anlu County was a large county with tens of thousands of households, and the needs for food, clothing, housing and transportation were huge, so there were many workshops.

There was his family's old business of leatherworking, dealing with wild animal leather transported from the surrounding areas of Yunmengze every day, or livestock leather collected from various villages and towns. It should be noted that even if the cow in the stables of the village died, the meat, skin, tendons and horns of the cow could not be taken by the villagers, but should be handed over to the government. The government would sell the meat publicly and give the leather to the workshop to be salted and scraped. Most of these leathers were cut into armor plates, then woven into armor, and continuously sent to the arsenal for storage, and equipped on the county soldiers in wartime...

In addition, there were woodworking places for making cars and boats; gold-making houses for smelting farm tools and weapons; and pottery workers for making all kinds of pottery and measuring instruments...

In addition to the general craftsmen, the people working in these government-run workshops also included many slaves and concubines, most of whom were punished as slaves for crimes and assigned to the workshops to do hard and dirty work such as mining and scraping.

Just after dawn on the first day of the twelfth lunar month, Anlu County was still shrouded in thick white fog. Gong Shishi had already gotten up and went to inspect the workshop to see if the craftsmen and officials had started work on time.

He had no choice but to pay attention, because a few days ago, the county had issued a new order from Xianyang, requiring the counties of Nanjun to increase the production of armor, shields, and weapons this year, which was twice the output of previous years!

People in the Engineering Department speculated that since so many armors and weapons were made in the border counties, the king might want to use troops against the State of Chu, either this year or next year!

Regarding military equipment, Gong Shishi was worried. He could guarantee the output, but the key was the quality of the armor and the size of the weapons. It was really difficult to meet the standards.

When Nanjun sent people to inspect last year, he was fined two armors because the weapons made in the workshop did not meet the standard size, and more than 8,000 yuan was gone. This year, the county's requirements were even more stringent, and Gongshi Shi had to urge the workshops to work overtime.

So when Gongshi Shi was inspecting, he said to the craftsmen earnestly: "The law says that if the same object is made, its size, length, width and breadth must be equal! You must make the same size of the tools, especially weapons and containers. The name of the craftsman who made each tool is on each tool. If you are not careful and the county finds out that the size is not right, this engineer will definitely track it down and punish it severely!"

What made Gongshi Shi angry the most was this regulation. The craftsmen of Qin must cast tools according to the fixed standards set by Xianyang.

For example, the local pottery liter used to measure rice must be made according to the "Shang Yang square liter" that has been passed down in Xianyang for more than a hundred years. The volume is set at 16 and a half cubic inches. When the officials from Nanjun checked, the error of Anlu's square liter must not exceed 5%, otherwise it would be a violation.

This is even more true for weapons. When making crossbows, the sizes of different hanging knives made by different craftsmen in Anlu County and Jingling County must be consistent, so that they can all be installed on the crossbows made in Jiangling County...

Engineer Shi didn't know that some people in later generations called this extremely strict process "standardized production". He only knew that if unqualified armor and weapons appeared for three consecutive years, his career as an engineer would be over. Perhaps his title would be stripped, and he would continue to do his family's old business, grinding leather...

So, when Engineer Shi returned to the courtyard where the government office was located, before he took off his heavy winter clothes, he heard someone outside offering the "grain pounding artifact", and he was very impatient.

"Another country craftsman came to offer treasures?"

The Qin State had strict rewards and punishments, so those small country craftsmen often hoped that the things they offered would be rewarded, such as being exempted from one shift or a reward of hundreds of dollars. However, people in remote areas often treat anything they get as a treasure. In fact, it is ordinary. Gong Shishi has seen a lot. How could it be possible that everyone sent a "He Shi Bi"?

The story of He Shi Bi is widely circulated in Nanjun. It happened in Chu several hundred years ago. Bian He, a Chu citizen, offered the Bi twice, but both times it was considered fake. He was punished with amputation and lost both feet. It was not until the third time that it was accepted, and thus the world's most precious He Shi Bi came into being...

But Qin was not the King of Chu. As long as the person who came to offer the artifact did not do anything beyond his job, he had to accept it regardless of whether it was good or bad. Then he told them in a pleasant manner that this thing was useless and would not get any reward. You can go wherever you want...

Therefore, even though Gong Shishi did not want to see it, he still asked people to bring the two treasure-offering people from Yunmeng Township up. It was nothing more than a waste of half a moment.

Soon, two people carrying an object entered the courtyard of the engineer's office, attracting the attention of all the officials in the courtyard.

The one walking in front was a young man of seven and a half feet tall, wearing a brown cap and a dark brown linen shirt, obviously a public official. The person behind him was eight feet tall, and judging by his attire, he was probably a soldier or a craftsman.

After he came up to him, he put down the object in his hand, and the public official skillfully bowed to the engineer Shi: "I am the public official Heifu and the craftsman Yu from the sunset in Yunmeng Township, and I greet you, the engineer!"

Yu, who was standing next to him, also imitated him and bowed awkwardly.

"Heifu?"

The engineer Shi seemed to have seen this name before, and the clerk next to him told him that this was the warrior who was famous for capturing three thieves in October.

"What a brave man!"

People at that time valued brave men, so the engineer Shi couldn't help but praise them. His attitude towards the two of them also improved a little. He let them in. After checking their test results, he began to patiently listen to Hei Fu's introduction of the instrument they brought to the county town...

"I dare to tell you, the engineer, this instrument is called a treadle pestle, which was made by my brother-in-law by chance..."

After listening to the introduction, the engineer Shi couldn't help but be suspicious. From ancient times to the present, rice has been pounded with hands, but the two people in front of him said that they could pound rice by stepping on a wooden pole, which is faster and more labor-saving?

"Can this instrument really make pounding rice more efficient?"

"Engineer, please look, this is the record I made for my brother-in-law."

Hei Fu took out a piece of wood and handed it to him. The engineer took a look and saw that it was densely written with records of pounding rice with a treadle pestle every day for more than half a month. Every time, Hei Fu looked at the sun and pounded for about half an hour, and the millet he pounded ranged from 5 to 7 dou, and once he even pounded 8 dou!

The county engineer was more and more surprised. First, he was surprised that Hei Fu recorded it so carefully, as if everything was within his plan. Second, he was doubting whether this treadle could really pound so much millet in half an hour?

Qin officials paid attention to effectiveness, and the county engineer did not waste time asking. At a command, two minor officials came up with several slaves.

"Carry it to the county warehouse! Whether it is true or not, we will know it after a try!"

His engineer's office was not as grand as the official office exclusively for the county magistrate and the county lieutenant. There was only a small courtyard and a few rooms for office work, and the county warehouse was behind the courtyard.

The county warehouse not only had ready-made stone mortars, piles of millet and rice, but also nearly a hundred slaves who were sentenced to "pounding" and were responsible for pounding millet.

Heifu stood up and made another suggestion: "Master Engineer, it would be best to let two slaves of similar height and strength use the pestle and mortar to pound the grain at the same time, so that the difference will be more obvious."

"That makes sense."

Master Engineer Shi nodded, accepted his suggestion, and said: "You two should go to the county warehouse together and teach those slaves how to use it, and everything will be clear."

Heifu looked embarrassed: "I haven't told Master Engineer yet. Heifu is only here to accompany his brother-in-law. I have something urgent to do, so I have to leave first..."

"How dare you!" Master Engineer Shi was a little unhappy: "Since you are here to offer the utensils, you should wait until the results come out. What can you be so anxious about? Could it be that you are in a hurry to become an official?" The reason why he said this is because today is the first day of December, which is the day when the selection of officials at all levels begins.

Coincidentally, Heifu is really in a hurry to go for an interview to become an official.

Hei Fu nodded helplessly and pointed to the wall and said, "Master Engineer, I won't go far. I'll go to the government office next door."

The engineer was stunned: "The courtyard next door is where the chief clerk of this county handles affairs. Are you really going to..."

Hei Fu smiled and said, "Yes, I was summoned by the county and ordered to be assessed by the chief clerk to see if I can be qualified for the position of Huyang Pavilion Chief. The assessment is today. I hope Master Engineer will understand. The time is approaching, and I really have to go first!"

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