The Armory was originally managed by eunuchs, and the reason for its establishment was very simple, which was to cast weapons for the royal guards.
It can be said that when the Ming Dynasty was first established, the emperor made a clear distinction between the imperial court and his own royal family.
The place where weapons were cast for the court armies in various places was the Ministry of Works, but the place where weapons were cast for the emperor's imperial guards was the Bureau of Military Equipment. In other words, the Bureau of Military Equipment was the emperor's private weapons manufacturing base, used to equip the emperor's private army.
In terms of the division of the army, there were garrisons in various places, which were under the jurisdiction of local officials and the court; but in the capital there were personal troops, which belonged to the emperor and were directly dispatched by the emperor without being controlled by anyone.
To put it bluntly, the imperial guards enable the emperor to resort to violence when there is a conflict between the imperial power and the power of the ministers.
However, this situation became worse and worse as time went on. Civil officials had been weakening the emperor's power for a long time. They even dismissed the emperor's personal army, let alone the military bureau.
It is even more impossible to allow the Military Equipment Bureau to grow stronger. It must be eliminated.
Starting from the Battle of Tumu, the Armoury Bureau had 3,163 artisans, but by the time of the Longqing Emperor, only 1,781 remained. The manufacture of military equipment fell entirely into the hands of the Ministry of Industry's Arsenal.
In such circumstances, the Armory is just a decoration.
Just now, Zhu Youxiao thought of a possibility, which is to hand over the Military Equipment Bureau to the Academy of Craftsmen.
Originally, Zhu Youxiao was still thinking about the positioning of the Academy of Craftsmen, but now it seems that it can be used as the original Military Equipment Bureau.
Since many of the Eighth Bureau's responsibilities were already being handed over to the Imperial Household Department, why not just assign the Armory Bureau to the Hundred Craftsmen's Academy? Having the Ministry of Industry and the Hundred Craftsmen's Academy compete would also boost their development, killing two birds with one stone.
After reaching this conclusion, Zhu Youxiao nodded in satisfaction. He had finally solved this problem. The most critical issue was whether he could appease both Xu Guangqi and the Ministry of Works.
You know, Zhu Youxiao had to consider the emotions of officials in the Ministry of Works. The previous purge had already made many people panic, and it would not be a good thing to forcibly suppress the Ministry of Works now.
If the Academy of Hundred Craftsmen can really do a good job, it will still be in time to abolish the Ministry of Industry's Ordnance Bureau.
After figuring this out, Zhu Youxiao turned to Chen Hong, who was standing not far away, and said, "Go to the cabinet and tell Xu Guangqi that I can't give him Wanggongchang, but I can give him the Bingzhang Bureau."
"Yes, Your Majesty. I'll go right away." After saying this, Chen Hong turned around and walked out.
Looking at Chen Hong's back, Zhu Youxiao sighed. He had finally gotten things done.
After this matter is done, I can feel at ease to consider other things, which are more important to me.
There are only a few difficult issues facing the court right now. As for the affairs of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, it is enough. The other government offices are also doing well. The academy is also progressing quickly, so there are no major issues left.
I could consider getting some money out. Relying solely on killing people and confiscating their property wouldn't work. I needed a stable source of income. How could I get it?
It might be a good idea to ask the Ministry of Internal Affairs to find someone to cooperate with.
joint venture?
These two words suddenly appeared in Zhu Youxiao's mind.
It seems worth a try, but who should do these things?
His father-in-law Zhang Guoji might not be a suitable candidate, and Fang Zhenghua doesn't seem to be suitable either, so he can only find a more suitable one.
But this person is really not easy to find. Thinking of this, Zhu Youxiao couldn't help but feel a headache.
This requires a person who knows how to do business and is trustworthy. There are really not many people like this.
Zhu Youxiao didn't know who was the right person to do the job, and he didn't quite understand this.
The eunuchs in the palace might not be enough, so he had to look for someone outside. He needed someone like lawyer Hu Xueyan, a red-top businessman.
Let someone check to see which ministers under him have the bigger family business; you can also check the nobles and relatives and give them an official position when the time comes.
The reason for doing this is actually very simple. On the one hand, it is to show how much we value them; on the other hand, the reason is even simpler. When we want to deal with them, we don’t need to find any reasons, we can just convict them directly. The charge of corruption is a good reason to make them plead guilty and accept punishment.
After thinking about this, Zhu Youxiao decided to do it, and he could look for the candidate slowly.
Looking at Chen Hong who was walking back, Zhu Youxiao said, "I have something for you to do. Go and find out which ministers in the court have the biggest businesses. Let the Imperial Guards investigate."
"Yes, Your Majesty. I will arrange it right away." Chen Hong agreed quickly.
Although Chen Hong didn't know why his emperor wanted to investigate this, since the emperor wanted to investigate, he had to investigate it, and he had to work hard and not make any mistakes.
Chen Hong is very clear about this in his mind. This is the most important means to consolidate his position.
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