vstars Chapter 576 Shipbuilding
Chapter 576 Shipbuilding
"Me?" Qiu Cheng pointed to the tip of his nose with his index finger, still wanting to confirm.
"Yes, Lord Qiu, this matter is very important to His Highness the Second Prince. He is always worried about entrusting it to someone else."
I originally volunteered to oversee the shipbuilding project, but perhaps the Second Prince felt I was too young and incapable of handling the matter, so after much consideration, he decided to let you, sir, take charge of it.”
After Jiang Xiaoqi finished speaking, Qiu Cheng no longer harbored any resentment and felt that he was still the Second Prince's most trusted subordinate.
Sending the message through Lord Jiang was probably for security reasons.
After all, it was more convenient and less troublesome for Lord Jiang to enter and leave the palace than to contact me directly.
"Since His Highness trusts me so much, I naturally cannot let him down. Please ask Lord Jiang to convey to His Highness that the shipbuilding project is entrusted to me, and I will certainly not disappoint him."
I will oversee the skilled craftsmen to build the ship as quickly as possible, so that Your Highness can do whatever you want and go wherever you wish!
Qiu Cheng wasn't stupid. Shipbuilding sounded like a tough job, but he didn't have to do it himself.
However, shipbuilding often requires tens or hundreds of thousands of taels of silver, and Your Highness should not casually entrust it to others.
This ship is going on a long voyage; if it is built with substandard materials, it could lead to people losing their lives in vain.
Therefore, it is normal for the Second Prince to entrust this matter to himself, since he would not trust anyone else to do so.
Qiu Cheng was only concerned about the money involved, fearing that others might embezzle the Second Prince's silver.
However, he didn't consider that besides himself, Jiang Xiaoqi, and Qiu Feng who didn't hold an official position, what other useful people did the Second Prince have?
None of them are as good as Hu Changkui. Back then, he had more than a dozen men and seven or eight guns.
Those candidates whom Qiu Cheng and Qiu Feng secretly contacted and sponsored are now beyond help. The only thing they can do is to study hard behind closed doors, pass the imperial examination as soon as possible, and enter the court as officials before they can truly start doing things.
"As expected of Lord Qiu, when His Highness mentioned this matter, he said that besides you, he could not think of anyone else who could be in charge of such a crucial matter."
As you know, the cost of building a seagoing vessel is no less than tens of thousands of taels of silver. If it is built larger and made with more robust materials, it can easily cost more than 100,000 taels of silver.
With so much silver at stake and no one trustworthy to watch over it, how can the Second Prince feel at ease?
"Oh dear, that's exactly right. Those people in the Ministry of Works know how to build ships and can give orders, but their hands and feet... well, they're not necessarily clean."
Do you, Lord Jiang, still remember that seven-arched bridge in the southern part of the city? It was built by the Ministry of Works, and it collapsed!
After much investigation, they finally brought out a minor official to take the blame. In reality, this official hadn't even received fifty taels of silver; it's obvious who got the lion's share.
Ministry of Works? Minister Wu's Ministry of Works?
Jiang Xiaoqi was somewhat surprised. Surely Lord Wu wouldn't be so confused?
The collapse of the Seven-Arch Bridge in the south of the city caused a great uproar, resulting in ten deaths and sixteen injuries. In the end, a minor official without any official rank was actually made to take the blame.
"This... Lord Wu from the Ministry of Works doesn't seem like someone who would embezzle or break the law, how could he be?"
"Who said anything about Lord Wu? There are plenty of people in the Ministry of Works. Oh, right, aren't there some members of the Jiang family among them?"
"Yes, my great-uncle is currently serving as a vice minister in the Ministry of Works."
"Then your grandfather certainly wouldn't be corrupt, but isn't there also a vice minister?"
Qiu Feng seemed to know a lot about the people and affairs of the Ministry of Works. He went through the whole process for Jiang Xiaoqi, telling him who was reliable and who was unreliable from top to bottom.
"Thank you for clearing up my doubts, Lord Qiu. Although my great-uncle works in the Ministry of Works, I really know very little about it. After listening to what you said today, I have a much clearer understanding."
Qiu Cheng waved his hand, "It's nothing, it's all nothing. You're new to officialdom, it's good for you to learn more."
However, it's probably not appropriate for me to be solely responsible for shipbuilding, given the enormous sums of money involved.
"What Your Highness means is that the magistrate of Tongzhou County should assist you. If there is anything that needs to be done, you can simply give the order to the local magistrate."
"Oh? The magistrate of Tongzhou County?"
Jiang Xiaoqi smiled but remained silent. The magistrate of Tongzhou County was his father. He didn't believe that Lord Qiu hadn't investigated in private. What was he pretending for? He couldn't even fake it.
"Yes, Lord Jiang Wenqing has two capable advisors under his command. You can directly assign them to your duties, which should relieve you of a lot of worries."
Both of them had been in Tongzhou for many years and were familiar with the local docks; entrusting them with anything would save a lot of trouble.
"So that's how it is. This Magistrate Jiang is also surnamed Jiang. Could he be a relative of Lord Jiang?"
"Yes, it is my father. Although he is a bit unruly and lazy, his character is still acceptable and he will not interfere with your important business."
Yes, that's my dad. He doesn't do anything wrong, but he won't cause any trouble either. Just give him a fishing rod, and he can play by himself all day.
Upon hearing this, Qiu Cheng pondered to himself that although Jiang Wenqing was Jiang Xiaoqi's father, he could not completely trust him.
However, with the assistance of the local magistrate, things became much easier.
"In that case, we'll have to rely on Magistrate Jiang then," Qiu Cheng said, cupping his hands in greeting.
"It's all part of my job, sir, you're too kind."
By the way, as far as I know, there's a timber distribution center near Tongzhou with plenty of timber. If we could reach a cooperation agreement with that lumberyard, it would save the adults some effort in purchasing materials.
Jiang Xiaoqi was referring to the imperial timber factory of the previous dynasty, which supplied timber exclusively to the royal family.
After the previous dynasty withdrew from the historical stage, this royal lumberyard became privately owned.
"Oh? There's a lumberyard like this? That's much more convenient, but what about the price?"
"Sir, you can go and find out more first. If the price is too high, then we can think of other ways. The timber from Sichuan is also quite good."
"Very well, Lord Jiang, you've gone to a lot of trouble. I'll go and find out more when I get to Tongzhou Wharf."
"Rest assured, sir. My father has been in Tongzhou for many years and has a good relationship with the people. If there is anything that the people need to help with, then this matter can be entrusted to my father, and he will definitely be able to handle it properly."
Jiang Wenqing built relationships with the people by fishing every day. Whether they were woodcutters, peddlers, fishermen, or boat people, they all became familiar with Magistrate Jiang.
Jiang Xiaoqi initially didn't want to involve the Jiang family, but he wanted his father to be involved in the voyage and shipbuilding.
Even in the future, it's not impossible to go to sea with them.
By the time the ship is built, who knows what the situation will be like in the court, and I might not even be able to leave.
With my dad on the boat, I'll consider myself a participant.