Chapter 276: People from the Ma Family

"Pop, pop, pop..."

Following a burst of firecrackers, Wang Ying, beaming with joy, led the officials of the Armaments Department into the Nanfang District of the Chengde Workshop.

Behind him, a portion of the veteran craftsmen, newly recruited craftsmen, apprentices, and laborers from the Armaments Department filed in, the number reaching over twenty thousand.

Zhao Xu had long been waiting for Wang Ying and the others at the administrative office in the Nanfang District.

After several days of preparation, the Nanfang District was officially put into use.

Seeing Zhao Xu, Wang Ying and all the officials bowed in salute.

Wang Ying said, "Your Highness, all the craftsmen and officials for the Nanfang District have arrived."

Zhao Xu nodded.

The Chengde Workshop is very large, with the Nanfang District and Beifang District each having an area as large as a university campus.

Therefore, the twenty thousand people entering the Nanfang District did not appear crowded.

"I will spare you the superfluous words; the significance of the Nanfang District is to expand the production capacity of the Armaments Department. Whether it is Artillery or Flintlocks, I have given you the craftsmen and I have given you the place; I must see a significant increase in the output of the Armaments Department," Zhao Xu said to Wang Ying.

Wang Ying still felt a bit of pressure.

He knew very well why Yan Wang was so anxious.

The situation around Yanzhou was currently very unfriendly, and a great war could break out at any moment.

And a very important part of the victory or defeat of the war was the firearms being built by the Armaments Department.

"This subordinate understands, please rest assured, Your Highness," Wang Ying said, bowing.

At this moment, Zhao Xu looked toward the craftsmen again.

Coming to the Nanfang District this time, besides wanting to put pressure on the officials of the Armaments Department, he also wanted to give the craftsmen motivation.

Only then could production be carried out in full swing.

So he walked to the high platform in front of the Armaments Department office and said to the craftsmen below, "In the Nanfang District, you have clean houses to live in and there will be dedicated cooks to prepare meals for you to eat; you can fully devote your energy to your work."

He paused and said, "In addition to the monthly Silver promised to you by the Government Office, the Armaments Department will also tally your daily work volume and give you rewards based on that amount; it is not impossible to earn two taels of Silver every month."

"Two taels of Silver." The craftsmen were shocked.

They would be very satisfied to get one tael of Silver, and they did not expect there to be a chance to get two taels of Silver.

Listening to what Yan Wang meant, it was that whoever did more work would get more.

Simply put, it was more pay for more work.

Wang Ying nodded slightly.

Yan Wang had never mentioned this matter to him before.

He had only said that the administration of the Armaments Department would also be regularized in the future.

Perhaps this was the "regularization" that Yan Wang spoke of.

However, Yan Wang had truly seen the crux of the problem.

During this period, he had discovered that the craftsmen of the Armaments Department still had behaviors of slacking off.

No one wanted to do a little bit more.

And now, judging by the spirited appearance of the craftsmen, it seemed that Yan Wang had grasped their vital point.

"Thank you, Your Highness!" After the excitement, the craftsmen bowed to Zhao Xu one after another.

At this time, Zhao Xu handed a booklet to Wang Ying, "Study the management system of this Nanfang District carefully and promulgate it for implementation."

Wang Ying opened it impatiently.

He saw that quite a few things were written on it, such as at what watch the Nanfang District would have a curfew at night.

What kind of punishment craftsmen who went out without permission would receive.

Besides these systems similar to laws, there was the issue of rewards and punishments for work volume that Yan Wang had mentioned.

This "work volume" was also a fresh term, but he could understand it; it was just the amount of work done.

Handing the thick booklet to the official beside him, Wang Ying broke into a cold sweat.

It seemed he would have to organize all the officials of the Armaments Department to study it together.

Having urged the officials and spurred the commanders.

Zhao Xu got up to return to the Prince's Mansion; after all, for every hour he stayed longer, the production of the Nanfang District would be delayed by an hour.

Wang Ying saw him off outside the gate of the Nanfang District and then returned.

Then he heard shouting.

The officials of the Armaments Department first assigned housing to the craftsmen.

Then they let them go to the canteen of the district to take a look.

Finally, they were led by different officials to their own Workshops.

In the afternoon, white smoke rose from the district.

The entire Nanfang District began to operate.

Someone reported the news to Zhao Xu.

He nodded with satisfaction.

"I will just go to Fanyang again tomorrow," Zhao Xu thought to himself.

Before the great war, he had to implement all the development plans for Yanzhou.

Only then could all aspects of Yanzhou operate as normal during the war; otherwise, it would be delayed again.

At the same time, he had another purpose for going to Fanyang, which was to have Chen Shou build a special kind of structure.

This structure was particularly beneficial for the construction of Warships.

Just as he was thinking, Feng'er suddenly came in and said, "Your Highness, the city gate guard reports that people from the Ma Family have arrived at the West Gate."

"The Ma Family!" Zhao Xu's eyes turned, and he said, "Let them in."

Feng'er acknowledged the order and left.

Before long, a man who looked like a middle-aged general arrived at the Prince's Mansion with his guards.

After removing the sword and Weapon he was carrying, he entered the Prince's Mansion alone.

"General Ma Jin pays his respects to Your Highness," the general said, bowing.

"Rise," Zhao Xu waved his hand, and after a moment of recollection, he remembered who this person was.

When Ma Xuan used to chat with him, she had mentioned that she had a cousin.

This cousin was named Ma Jin.

Within the Ma Family, he was also a rather powerful figure.

Thinking of this, he said, "Ma Jin, General Ma, I have heard Prefect Ma mention you before. It is a pleasure to meet you, a pleasure indeed."

Upon hearing this, Ma Jin's expression suddenly became somewhat unnatural, and he then revealed a look of sorrow, "Your Highness, please do not mention my elder brother; I still cannot bring myself to believe it."

Zhao Xu sighed slightly, "I also feel it is a pity. I had quite a bit of admiration for Ma Han; he was an upright man."

"That is indeed true, but the person has already passed away. It is a pity, a great pity," Ma Jin said.

Then, he changed the subject, "However, besides having Ma Han as his legitimate son, my elder brother also had an eldest son who is equally tall and graceful with an extraordinary bearing. My arrival this time is at his request."

"Oh?" Zhao Xu feigned ignorance, "I have not heard the Prefect mention him."

Ma Jin smiled awkwardly, "This child was always highly regarded by my elder brother, so he was sent to the Imperial Academy in Jinling to study. Now that my elder brother has met with misfortune, he has already returned to Xian City and inherited the position of Head of the Family of the Ma Family. He is Ma Chong."

"So that is how it is. It seems I am truly ill-informed," Zhao Xu said.

"He was previously obscure, so it is normal that Your Highness did not know of him. But the Head of the Family has always respected Your Highness. My coming here this time is to discuss with Your Highness how to jointly repel the Western Liang troops," seizing the opportunity, Ma Jin said loudly, "After all, this is also the Imperial decree of the Emperor."

Zhao Xu sneered inwardly.

When Ma Xuan was around, he could not fully trust the Ma Family.

Now that Ma Chong, whom he did not understand and who had intricate ties with the Dou Family, was in power, he trusted them even less.

But the miserable thing was that he had no choice but to cooperate with the Ma Family.

This was the order of Zhao Heng.

And he also did not want all the losses to be borne by Yanzhou.

So he said, "For the Head of the Ma Family to be concerned about Jinzhou immediately after inheriting the position of Head of the Family is truly loyal and devoted. However, how does the Ma Family intend to cooperate with me?"