Chapter 1065: No One Knows Which Comes First, Accident or Tomorrow

Feng Bao was a bit disappointed with the monsters; they didn't even have the courage to challenge His Majesty.

If His Majesty was too difficult to deal with, didn't they dare to deal with a thirteen-year-old Crown Prince?!

Indeed, they didn't dare, mainly because they were afraid the Emperor would go crazy.

The Great Ming had finally waited for a wise monarch. If they dealt with the Emperor's family and drove the Emperor crazy, then things would be big. Even Zhang Juzheng had retired, and no one could stop His Majesty.

Not repeating the old events of the end of the Hongwu years could be considered a consensus among the wealthy households. Now the meat-eaters of the Great Ming liked to do the most, which was to coax His Majesty and not let His Majesty mess around.

The arrogant spirit of the Jiajing years was completely gone.

Regarding the fact that the princes died one after another during the Jiajing years, and only the Prince of Yu was left in the end, Hai Rui, who returned to the capital in the first year of Wanli, said it very clearly: the two dragons not meeting was just a compromise to let the son live.

On the day Zhu Yijun returned to the capital, he fell ill.

After he traveled to Jinan, he had some symptoms of a cold. The great physicians Chen Shigong and Pang Xian suggested not to continue north, but to stay in Jinan Prefecture to recuperate for three to five days. In terms of His Majesty's body, recuperating for three to five days would be completely fine

Worried that news of his illness would reach the Northern Yamen and cause unnecessary trouble, bringing danger to the Crown Prince, the Imperial Heir, and the Empress Dowager, the Emperor forced himself to rush back to the capital. Returning to the capital was equivalent to returning to his lair and gaining certainty; even those with ambition would not dare to act recklessly.

Such back-and-forth travel and the exhaustion of the journey were by no means without a price. The distance between Shuntian Prefecture and Songjiang Prefecture is 2,400 li, and the two places have different climates and microorganisms. With such travel, the symptoms of being unacclimated were exceptionally severe. Added to this was Zhu Yijun's extreme diligence in governance; with all these factors combined, after dragging on for a few days, the problem became serious.

After Zhu Yijun forced himself back to the capital while ill, he developed a fever of 40 degrees that very evening. This temperature terrified both Chen Shigong and Pang Xian. They exhausted every method and struggled for a full hour before it finally began to subside, but the thing the Grand Imperial Physicians feared most still happened: his tonsils began to inflame and suppurate, and symptoms also appeared in his lungs.

It's bad! This was the first thought and idea of the Grand Imperial Physicians.

For His Majesty, who had an exceptionally strong and healthy body, this was something that had never happened before.

The next morning, after Zhu Yijun had become slightly more clear-headed, he summoned Zhang Juzheng, Qi Jiguang, Shen Shixing, and Li Rusong to the Imperial Study in the Tonghe Palace. He gave instructions for his funeral arrangements and, in the presence of numerous ministers, had the imperial edict written out, though he did not affix the seal.

If, unfortunately, he were to pass away, the Crown Prince would ascend the throne, and these four would be the ministers assisting the state, working with the Crown Prince to lead the Great Ming forward.

"Zhi'er is reasonably intelligent, but he cannot be considered a genius. If he does anything out of line, I must trouble you all to offer more counsel and forbearance." Zhu Yijun leaned against the back of his chair, his face pale, and coughed gently twice; his lips had lost all color.

"Your Majesty, this minister dares to ask, to what extent has your health failed?" Zhang Juzheng had not expected that after only one day back in the palace, His Majesty's complexion would be like this. He had thought of countless possibilities, even the assumption that the Crown Prince could not wait.

Zhu Yijun shook his head and said, "I overestimated myself. I should have listened to the Grand Imperial Physicians' advice to stay in Jinan Prefecture. Do not make things difficult for the physicians of the Imperial Hospital. This body is just like governing a country; a minor illness has been dragged out into a major one."

"Yesterday, it already reached the stage of pneumonia. Whether I recover or not depends on these few days; it's a fifty-fifty chance."

Zhu Yijun did not hide the state of his health. At this point, he only felt that there were still too many things he hadn't finished. He felt a little regret, but not much. He had truly exhausted all his strength; if he hadn't done well, it was indeed due to a lack of talent.

"I am not as open-minded as Duke Wen Cheng or Duke Wen Ding. The Dinghai Academic System, the Yiwei Military System, and the Land Return Edict—in the end, I am still a bit unreconciled." Zhu Yijun had three major unfulfilled wishes: the Dinghai Academic System, the Yiwei Military System, and the Land Return.

He had nothing to worry about regarding Zhu Changzhi. He was lucky to have a very good mother; even if Zhu Yijun were gone, Wang Yaozhuo would still educate Zhu Changzhi very well.

"Your Majesty is blessed with great fortune and will naturally be protected by Heaven; nothing will happen." Zhang Juzheng's complexion changed several times. For His Majesty to say this, it was clear he was fully aware of the process of his worsening condition and that no one had poisoned him. This was what Zhang Juzheng found most stifling.

"In my life, I have only prayed to Heaven for the sake of the myriad people, that the Great Ming might have more favorable weather; for other things, I do not pray." Zhu Yijun revealed a slightly weak smile, waved his hand, and said, "I am tired. I summoned you all just to give instructions for my funeral arrangements. If I pull through, this imperial edict will still remain valid."

Zhu Yijun was a man of his word. The Crown Prince's status had been determined long ago; as long as the Crown Prince did not rebel, Zhu Yijun would not depose him. Shen Shixing and Li Rusong were also the pillars of the Wanli era; there were no better candidates to entrust the state to.

As for what drastic changes might occur after his death, that was not something Zhu Yijun could control. No one could control what happened after they were gone.

"We ministers take our leave." Seeing that His Majesty was truly somewhat tired, Zhang Juzheng hurriedly bowed and took his leave, departing the Imperial Study with the remaining three.

The Emperor did not hide the fact that he was ill, and the news quickly spread. At first, no one cared, because the fact that His Majesty liked to fish was known to everyone.

Who knew if this Emperor felt there were treacherous officials in the court and had deliberately set a trap, waiting for people to drill into it?

At the beginning of the eighth month, Lu Kun and his rebellious party had just been executed; the ambitious had not yet been wiped out.

But as Zhang Juzheng walked out of the Yicheng Marquis's mansion and went to the Grand Secretariat, and began to issue orders to the Six Ministries to prepare for the possibility of the Emperor's passing, almost everyone inside and outside the capital was terrified.

His Majesty was only thirty-two years old, and he was about to leave?! But thinking of how Great Ming Emperors generally did not live long, this speculation immediately caused panic among the people.

Six days later, Qi Jiguang walked out of the Grand General's mansion and went to the Northern Camp. After arriving at the Northern Camp, Qi Jiguang never came out again. Soon, a transfer order caused everyone to worry: Ningyuan Marquis Li Chengliang was urgently recalled to the capital.

On the seventh day, the Yanxing Tower Trading House began to close its market, which meant that the imperial court had made preparations for the Emperor's passing, and even the storage of gold had pressed the pause button.

On the eighth day, the Capital Battalion began to station itself at the vital points of the capital's nine gates, while the Embroidered Uniform Guard began to impose martial law around the Imperial City. The Dashilan was pulled out from the watchtower, and the Imperial Way and some streets were closed, not allowing anyone to approach.

On the ninth day, after a cold wind blew through the capital, autumn thunder rumbled and shook the sky. Dark clouds pressed down on the city, and a rainstorm fell like raindrops. There was a feeling that "the mountain rain is coming and the wind fills the building." This heavy rain was called "Heaven's Weeping" by the people.

Since the "Heaven's Weeping," all the temples inside and outside the capital had become bustling with incense. The wealthy households of the Southern City all went to the temples to pray for His Majesty's blessings. This spontaneous behavior quickly reminded people that every winter without snow, His Majesty would go to the Prayer Hall to pray for the world.

On the tenth day, the Emperor summoned the four ministers entrusted with the state again, and in the presence of the four ministers, he affixed the seal to the imperial edict. If the Emperor were to pass away, this would be his last testament.

"If I don't come out again, I'm afraid I'll have to receive you all on my sickbed." Zhu Yijun looked very low in spirit. He endured the torture of his illness and, to put the ministers at ease, even cracked a joke.

But no one could laugh.

Zhu Yijun waved his hand and said, "No one knows whether accidents or tomorrow will come first. You all need not be sorrowful; you may all withdraw."

When Zhang Juzheng walked out of the Tonghe Palace, he did not say a word, looking somewhat lost.

The Emperor was very ill, and it was not a pretense, because he was visibly much thinner. Even the stamping of the seal on the imperial edict was done by Feng Bao, the eunuch in charge of the seal. For so many years, the stamping had always been done by His Majesty himself.

"That is my son! He is now ill to this point! You are blocking me and not letting me go in! Feng Bao, you dog slave, how bold you are!" Empress Dowager Li stood in front of the Imperial Study door, but was blocked by Feng Bao, who would not let her go in to visit.

Her son had been ill for ten days, and Feng Bao had blocked her for ten days.

"His Majesty says it is pneumonia and that it is contagious." Feng Bao was so scared he shivered, knelt on the ground, and kowtowed several times before saying with some sadness.

Empress Dowager Li had heard this reason for ten days. She had been able to endure it in the past few days, but today she finally could not endure it any longer and was about to explode. But soon, Chen Shigong walked out of the Imperial Study and led Empress Dowager Li into the sleeping palace.

"Your Majesty... is nearing the end." Chen Shigong waited until Empress Dowager Li reached the bedroom door before trembling and telling the family about His Majesty's condition.

Since seeing the ministers, the Emperor's body had begun to deteriorate rapidly. His face was sallow, and even his body temperature had dropped rapidly. Just a moment ago, His Majesty's body temperature had dropped to 33 degrees. Humans are warm-blooded animals, not cold-blooded animals. At this temperature, it could basically be announced that the Emperor was truly going to die.

Upon hearing this, Empress Dowager Li felt as if she had been struck by lightning. The blood on her face from her rage immediately turned deathly pale. She only had two sons; one had gone far away to Jinshan, and the other was nearing death. She stared blankly at Chen Shigong, unable to hear what he was saying. Her legs went weak, and she sat on the ground, two lines of clear tears flowing down.

"How could this be? How could it be like this?" Empress Dowager Li muttered to herself; she didn't even know what she was saying.

Meanwhile, inside the bedroom, Wang Yaozhuo was tightly gripping her husband's hand, rubbing it incessantly. She hoped that the heat from her rubbing could make her husband's body warm up. She wanted to keep her husband, but the increasingly cold hand made her body tremble uncontrollably.

Zhu Yijun, lying on the bed, suddenly opened his eyes. Although he couldn't see very clearly, he still judged that this was his wife. He wanted to smile to comfort her, but he couldn't open his mouth. He felt very, very tired, his eyelids were somewhat heavy, and he slowly closed his eyes again.

"Husband!" Wang Yaozhuo naturally noticed this scene. Seeing her husband's eyes close, sorrow welled up from within. She couldn't cry out loud, only tears.

The Emperor's body temperature seemed to have risen with this awakening, but this situation made Pang Xian even more terrified, because no matter how you looked at it, it looked like a "flash of light before death."

All night long, the Emperor's body temperature was around 35 degrees, but he never woke up, and he could not take any water or food; he couldn't drink even a drop of water.

By the time it was near noon on the eleventh day, the Emperor's body temperature began to drop again. Pang Xian and Chen Shigong went outside to discuss the condition, but the two looked at each other in silence, not saying a word. At this point, they were also powerless to save him.

"Damn it, I'm truly damned! When His Majesty wanted to leave, I should have remonstrated to stop him." Chen Shigong gripped his hands tightly and punched the wall with extreme anger. At the time, the Grand Imperial Physicians had asked His Majesty to stay, but His Majesty wanted to leave. The Grand Imperial Physicians couldn't stop him, and they also felt that His Majesty's body had always been very healthy and nothing would happen.

The result was this kind of wishful thinking, which led to such a major mistake.

"Two Grand Imperial Physicians! His Majesty... His Majesty... You two hurry in and take a look!" A small eunuch ran out in a hurry. He didn't pay attention to his feet, tripped on the ground, and fell directly, but he still shouted loudly.

Pang Xian and Chen Shigong ran into the sleeping palace in a hurry. The Emperor's body temperature was rising rapidly. In less than a quarter of an hour, the temperature rose to 42 degrees, and his heartbeat was accelerating, and even his breathing became rapid.

Such a terrifying high fever made Pang Xian and Chen Shigong feel extremely horrified. They could only apply ice cubes to His Majesty's forehead to prevent the high fever from damaging His Majesty's brain.

The high fever lasted for a full hour before it dropped to 39 degrees.

"Water." Zhu Yijun slowly opened his eyes. He felt as if his throat was smoking. His voice was extremely hoarse; he couldn't even hear what he was saying himself, but Chen Shigong immediately used a spoon to feed the Emperor a little warm boiled water, which was boiled water that had been left to cool in a sealed container.

On the twelfth and thirteenth days, the Emperor spent his time in this cycle of repeated high fever and cooling, but he was already able to drink some sugar water.

"I'm hungry." Zhu Yijun wanted to support his body to sit up, but he had no strength. He ate some liquid food and fell into a drowsy sleep again.

By the fifteenth day, Zhu Yijun was already able to get out of bed and began to resume his diet. He felt that his body was recovering rapidly and even wanted to process two memorials.

As soon as he stated his request, Wang Yaozhuo cried. There was no other way, so Zhu Yijun had to recuperate for another three days.

During these three days, he summoned the ministers entrusted with the state again and told them that he was gradually recovering, which made the ministers heave a sigh of relief.

It was not until the eighteenth day that he began to look at memorials. In eighteen days, the memorials had piled up like a mountain.

When the first memorial with the Emperor's vermilion mark arrived at the Grand Secretariat, the Embroidered Uniform Guards began to remove the Dashilan. When the Emperor was able to process dozens of memorials a day, the Capital Battalion left the nine gates and returned to the Northern Camp, and Qi Jiguang also left the Northern Camp and returned to the Grand General's mansion.

It was not until the Emperor issued an imperial edict to convene a Grand Court Assembly that Zhang Juzheng returned from the Grand Secretariat to the Yicheng Marquis's mansion to harvest his sweet potatoes.

On the twenty-third day of the ninth month, the Emperor's Grand Jade Carriage appeared in front of the Yicheng Marquis's mansion as usual. According to people close to the Yicheng Marquis's mansion, they saw with their own eyes that His Majesty was walking with the vigor of a dragon and a tiger, and his body had fully recovered.

On the twenty-fifth, the Emperor convened the Grand Court Assembly as scheduled.

To put the court ministers at ease, Zhu Yijun waited until all the ministers had entered the hall before he walked from the Chengtian Gate into the Imperial Palace, walked across the Inner Golden Water Bridge, walked across the Huangji Gate, climbed the steps, walked into the Huangji Hall, walked onto the moon terrace, and sat on the dragon chair. Even Zhang Juzheng and Qi Jiguang attended this Grand Court Assembly.

The ministers all saw His Majesty the Emperor; His Majesty was visibly thinner, and much thinner at that.

"We ministers pay our respects to Your Majesty. Long live Your Majesty, long live, long live."

The mountain-shaking shouts came. The ministers performed the grand ceremony, five kowtows and three bows, to pay homage to the Emperor. This was specifically instructed by the treacherous official Gao Qiyu of the Ministry of Rites: His Majesty had just recovered from a serious illness, so the etiquette must be complete and must not be simplified.

His Majesty's illness might strike a blow to His Majesty's prestige; engaging in these tedious formalities was to make people feel awe.

"My illness has caused the whole court to be in turmoil. I have added trouble to you all. Now that I have recovered, you may proceed as usual." Zhu Yijun sat down and let the ministers forgo the formalities before speaking. Once he spoke, his voice was full of vigor.

"I did not follow the medical advice and refused to stay in Jinan, thinking I was still young and could handle it. But this illness is truly unforgiving. I must indeed follow the medical advice. Look at this turmoil; it has delayed too many things. I need to deal with these piled-up memorials slowly. I also ask you ministers to be patient." Zhu Yijun spoke again.

Because of his physical condition, he had delayed too much official business. Fortunately, Zhu Changzhi was also able to handle some routine matters with the help of the ministers; otherwise, he would have owed even more.

"Your Majesty, this minister requests a suburban sacrifice to look up to the protection of the ancestors, that His Majesty's dragon body has recovered, and to comfort the ancestors." Zhang Juzheng stepped out of the ranks to request a suburban sacrifice. The suburban sacrifice was to inform the ancestors and also to inform the world that His Majesty's body had fully recovered.

"Granted." Zhu Yijun nodded and said, "Duke of Dingguo."

"This minister is here." Xu Wenbi stepped out of the ranks and bowed.

"I must trouble the Duke of Dingguo to preside over the suburban sacrifice." Zhu Yijun asked the Great Ming's High Priest to sacrifice at the Imperial Tombs.

"Your Majesty, the king serves Heaven with brightness and Earth with observation, following the meaning of Yin and Yang. This minister requests a sacrifice at the Altar of Land and Grain to respectfully inform Heaven and Earth." Shen Li stepped out of the ranks and bowed to request an edict.

"Granted."

"Your Majesty, this minister requests to send envoys to sacrifice to the three mountains, four rivers, and five peaks. The rivers and seas are the greatest of the hundred rivers, and the mountains and peaks are the world's harvest. Respectfully inform the four directions that the dragon body is healthy." Gao Qiyu stepped out of the ranks again and bowed to request the sacrifice.

"Isn't this a bit too troublesome?" Zhu Yijun felt that it was a bit too much of a fuss. Getting sick had alarmed the ancestors, alarmed Heaven and Earth, and even alarmed the four directions.

"It is not troublesome. This minister firmly requests it." Gao Qiyu bowed again and said very stubbornly. His Majesty felt that he had only had an illness, but the entire Great Ming had been on tenterhooks for more than twenty days. If they didn't sacrifice, how could they settle the hearts of the people of the world?

"Alright then, granted." Seeing Gao Qiyu's determined attitude, Zhu Yijun had no choice but to grant the request.

The ministers present actually knew that His Majesty's hesitation was mainly because he felt it was a bit too expensive.

Zhu Yijun did not deal with state affairs. This Grand Court Assembly of his had only one purpose: to announce that he was still alive and very healthy. After confirming the sacrifice matters, he announced the end of the court session; he still had a pile of memorials waiting for his vermilion mark.

After Zhu Yijun processed a portion of the memorials, Zhang Hong seized the opportunity to say, "Your Majesty, Grand Imperial Physician Chen and Grand Imperial Physician Pang have been waiting for a long time."

"Why didn't you say so earlier? Summon them." Zhu Yijun put down the memorials he was about to process and said hurriedly.

"We ministers pay our respects to Your Majesty. Is Your Majesty's holy body at peace? Our medical skills are not refined, and we failed to save the Emperor in time. Our crimes deserve ten thousand deaths." Chen Shigong and Pang Xian knelt down to plead guilty as soon as they entered. If their medical skills had been a little better, they wouldn't have let His Majesty fall into life-threatening danger.

"No need for formalities." Zhu Yijun shook his head and said, "It was I who did not follow the medical advice. You two are my life-saving benefactors. I heard from Attendant Zhang that I was already nearing the end. How did I survive?"

"Nearing the end" meant he was about to die. It was simply miraculous that he could recover.

"Your Majesty has practiced martial arts since childhood, never stopping through wind and rain. This time, you were seriously ill for several days and lost thirty catties of flesh." Chen Shigong answered His Majesty's question truthfully.

The Grand Imperial Physicians could only marvel at the miracle of life. They all felt that His Majesty was about to leave, but after repeated high fevers, he actually survived and his body recovered rapidly. If it weren't for his decades of persistent practice of drilling troops and horses, I'm afraid this serious illness would have taken His Majesty's life.

Losing thirty catties of flesh meant there was something to lose. This time, what was lost was not only fat but also muscle, and mainly muscle.

After nearing the end, even his will was blurred. The body's instinct saved the Emperor's life.

Zhu Yijun thought of the inflammatory storm from his wisdom tooth extraction before; his body was indeed strong enough.

Pang Xian couldn't help but say, "This minister requests Your Majesty, for the sake of the country and the people, to cherish your body. Your Majesty is already thirty-two years old this year. Your body is healthy, but even an iron body cannot withstand such tossing. If you are ill, you should recuperate."

If His Majesty were to collapse, it would be hard to say how much of the achievements of the Wanli Reform could be preserved. Pang Xian's words were already very direct. A king is not selfless; His Majesty's body is not just his own body, but also the country and the people. He really cannot continue to ignore medical advice and act according to his own whims.

His Majesty was no longer young; he was thirty-two.

"The Grand Imperial Physician's lesson is correct. I will definitely follow the medical advice. This turmoil in the world is my fault. There will be no next time." Zhu Yijun said with a smile, "When you leave later, each of you take a piece of down clothing. I hope the Grand Imperial Physicians will continue to protect my safety."

"We ministers thank Your Majesty for your great grace." The two bowed again to thank him.

Down clothing is mostly made of fine goose down, sandwiched with cloth and silk. The fine down from a goose's belly is the best, sealed with crisscrossing stitches.

This is down jackets and down quilts. The Great Ming's development of down is gradually maturing—geese, ducks, and dodos. Among them, the dodo's down has the highest yield and the best quality.

Zhu Yijun's imperial manor has a dodo enclosure with 220,000 poultry of various kinds, using closed sheds and rotational farming. This one bird enclosure alone can earn 30,000 taels of silver for the inner treasury every year and can maintain the livelihood of nearly a hundred common people.

Zhu Yijun also often takes the high-quality items from it for rewards.

This thing is still expensive and cannot enter every household. Generally, only those above the level of local gentry and gentry can afford to wear it.

With the continuous expansion of farming scale and the popularization of folk poultry farming workshops and farming technology, the cost will gradually decrease. If even the common people can afford it, then the Wanli Prosperous Age will be well-deserved.

Clothing, food, housing, and transportation are the livelihoods of the common people and the major affairs of the country.

Zhu Yijun sent away the two Grand Imperial Physicians and held a memorial in his hand. This memorial was written by Lin Fucheng, a fifth-rank Doctor of Investigation of Things, and Li Zhi. The content had seven points in total. The two of them had spent a full five years researching and visiting the major government-run factories directly managed by the imperial court.

Compared to before the establishment of the government factories, what kind of changes had occurred in the lives of the craftsmen?

First, the craftsmen's enthusiasm for childbearing was very high, generally between five and seven children. The reason for this phenomenon was naturally that the labor remuneration of the resident craftsmen could afford to raise so many children. Moreover, the government factories also had perfect nursery classes, elementary schools, middle schools, and craftsman schools. Children could enter nursery classes starting from the age of three.

Second, the craftsmen's labor remuneration had seen a great increase. The income structure included labor remuneration, start-of-work silver, and dividends from the equity system. Especially the dividends from the equity system, from an annual salary of only six taels of silver before the Wanli Reform to twenty-two taels of silver now, the principle of "labor gets its reward" had been implemented.

Third, the phenomenon of craftsmen hiring others to perform their duties had been greatly changed after Ling Yunyi corrected the excessive human sentiment of Duke Wen Cheng. Previously, a large number of craftsmen hired apprentices outside the factory to replace them in working at the government factory, while they sought other jobs outside the government factory.

This phenomenon had been greatly curbed, allowing the craftsmen's production enthusiasm to be greatly improved.

Fourth, the resident craftsmen actively participated in politics. The proportion of craftsmen's children participating in the imperial examinations, becoming scholars, provincial graduates, and metropolitan graduates was rising rapidly. In this year's provincial examination, the number of provincial graduates from Shuntian Prefecture who were from resident craftsman backgrounds had already exceeded twenty percent. This was a gratifying achievement, but similarly, in places without government factories or where government factories had just been built, the proportion of provincial graduates from craftsman backgrounds was still not high.

Fifth, the main demands of the resident craftsmen were still concentrated in three areas: strengthening the security of the government factories, increasing labor remuneration, and increasing rest time. Especially security; gambling dens and evil spirits targeting resident craftsmen emerged one after another. Increasing the number of retired soldiers handling government factory regulations could make the security of the government factories better.

Resident craftsmen worked twelve days and rested one day; this time was really too long, and they had to work at least six hours a day. The work of resident craftsmen was very heavy, but the craftsmen were also worried that rest would lead to a decrease in remuneration, so they were also quite conflicted about this demand.

Sixth, some of the Great Ming's craftsmen were gradually becoming old and frail, and some craftsmen's anxiety about retirement was very strong.

Seventh, the Great Ming resident craftsmen's work-related injury pension policy had been fully implemented. Correspondingly, the craftsmen felt dissatisfied with the increasingly heavy "Government Factory Regulations." These safety production regulations were really too many, but the factory's requirements were extremely strict, so they could only follow them.

"This is interesting." Zhu Yijun finished reading the two men's heavy memorial.

To prevent craftsmen from drinking, craftsmen had to walk across a single-plank bridge before starting work. It was a three-inch-wide, nine-fold single-plank bridge. If they couldn't walk across and fell off, there would be a punishment: they would not be allowed to work for that half-day. Missing half a day of work meant earning half a day less money.

Some craftsmen really couldn't control themselves and would secretly drink a little during their short lunch break.

Moreover, gambling dens were also very common. Around the government factories, there were all kinds of small gambling dens, and the regulation office couldn't catch them all. Later, the government factory came up with a punishment of "hanging at the gate," which meant that whoever went to gamble would be hung at the gate for a day. The effect was extremely good. Hanging was not painful; what was hung was a sitting basket.

But sitting on it and accepting the pointing and criticism from other craftsmen was excessively shameful.

Government factories did not allow corporal punishment, but for some craftsmen who refused to mend their ways, the government factory was not without methods.

Regarding the issue of retirement, the Ministry of Works had actually provided a method. Resident craftsmen were on the craftsman register and could recommend their sons to enter the factory. However, if the son was not promising, even with a recommendation, he still couldn't pass the selection, so the government factory couldn't be blamed for being heartless.

As for other methods, they were a bit too expensive, and the imperial court couldn't afford them at the moment.

Zhu Yijun made vermilion marks on the issues that the craftsmen were more concerned about in this memorial. For example, regarding rest time, he changed it from resting one day every twelve days to resting one day every six days, and the working time per day was reduced from six hours to five hours. Working for such a long time was useless because people are living things and will get tired, and working while tired will reduce work efficiency.

Many of the systems here were determined when they were first established. At that time, the government factory had nothing, and there weren't even many craftsmen, so naturally, it had to be so heavy. Now that the government factory had developed for so many years, it should indeed make some changes.