The Craftsmen Bureau was located in the outskirts of Xianyang.
Even though he did not have much expectations for this place, when he really saw it, the dilapidated scene still surprised Xia Qi.
A small courtyard built with mud was the office space of the Craftsmen Bureau.
There were two hideous cracks on the wooden plaque hanging on the door.
When he entered the courtyard, he saw a pile of tools commonly used by craftsmen, like a warehouse.
The only thing that made Xia Qi slightly satisfied was that the courtyard was clean.
It meant that the three old craftsmen who stayed behind at the Craftsmen Bureau were still diligent.
That's right, as an organization directly under the imperial court, the Craftsmen Bureau only had three old craftsmen over forty years old.
Zhao Gao, who had brought Xia Qi here, gathered the three craftsmen and briefly introduced Xia Qi before bidding farewell.
Even though the Mo Family still had some factions in Great Qin, they were still able to control the Great Qin Empire.
However, the status of the lower-level craftsmen was far from being comparable to the people of the Mo family. It could even be said that the difference was like clouds and mud.
The Mohists were upright and upright scholars, and in Great Qin's social structure, they were at the top of the food chain.
However, craftsmen were considered to be in a lowly profession, and their status was only slightly higher than slaves.
The three craftsmen standing in front of Xia Qi did not have surnames. They only had first names. They were Zhui, Jing, and Zhuo.
Back when Lu Buwei was reforming, the three of them were all apprentices of the Craftsman Bureau and did not learn much. That was why they were not selected by the Imperial Household and could only stay in the Craftsman Bureau to waste their time.
In the blink of an eye, more than twenty years had passed.
Standing in front of the three of them, Xia Qi said,"From today onwards, I will lead the Craftsmen Bureau. These few days, I will arrange for you to do something. Whether the Craftsman Bureau can turn the tables will depend on this matter!”
The three old craftsmen looked at each other.
Obviously, the three of them were all dull and not good at talking.
Especially when facing a prince like Xia Qi, he didn't dare to say much and only nodded submissively.
Facing these three people, Xia Qi immediately lost interest in talking.
Seeing the dilapidated Craftsman Bureau, Xia Qi knew that he would be busy.
The Craftsman Bureau that he was talking about was naturally through the method that he was best at.
That was to earn money!
What did the Craftsman Bureau do?
This was an organization that combined invention, production, and production into one.
It would not be an exaggeration to say that this department had the ability to lead Great Qin's production tools.
However, it was still too far away to consider this matter.
The first plan that Xia Qi made when he entered the Craftsman Bureau was not just to make money.
Earning money was secondary. To Xia Qi, this was as simple as eating and drinking.
His main goal was to take revenge on Wang Jian!
In the process of the Qin destroying the six countries, this old man had tricked him several times.
After destroying the Six Nations, he had also set himself up.
Previously, the old man had cheated people just to take advantage of their money.
Now, he had stuffed himself into a pit with money.
Xia Qi was able to become the richest businessman in the world in a short span of more than ten years. He did not rely on smiling and welcoming people to make money.
Xia Qi scoffed at the saying that it was never too late for a gentleman to take revenge.
If they didn't take revenge, it was because they didn't have the ability. If they had the ability, who wouldn't take revenge on the spot?
In the past, he did not have any power or people in his hands. He could not possibly use money to kill Old Wang, right?
However, it was different now.
Even though the Craftsman Bureau was in dire straits, it was enough for Xia Qi.
In all fairness, Wang Jian was not some great villain.
This old man had become the only person in Great Qin who had been given the title of Marquis Che because of his military merits. His contributions were so great that no one in the world could compare to him.
Xia Qi did not deny Wang Jian's contributions and his loyalty to Great Qin.
However, that's another matter altogether. If he didn't get back at me, I wouldn't be able to think straight!
Xia Qi only had a rough idea of how to exact revenge.
Before he carried out his plan, he needed to solve a problem.
That was the problem of the ownership of the money he earned through the Craftsman Bureau.
This was no small matter.
In the past, even if the craftsmen of the Craftsmen Bureau invented sharp tools that were of great use to the country, they would not receive any rewards.
Not to mention the craftsman, even General Meng Tian, who was currently stationed at the border, did not receive any rewards after she invented the writing brush.
The writing brush looked simple, but the process of its invention could be said to require both inspiration and hard work.
Back then, when Meng Tian was leading the army outside, she was extremely tired of writing battle reports.
At that time, there was no writing brush, and the method of engraving on bamboo slips was already outdated. Usually, they used a wooden stick to write with ink.
The wooden stick was hard and did not absorb ink. After a few strokes, it had to be dipped in ink again.
Meng Tian was very impatient.
Once, when he was hunting, he caught a rabbit and saw the rabbit's tail dragging on the sand, leaving traces.
Meng Tian had an idea.
This thing has a future!
Thus, he plucked the rabbit's fur and inserted it into a wooden stick to make a pen. It was indeed much more convenient to write.
However, the problem was that the rabbit fur was hard and easy to split, and the words written were intermittent.
After using it for a while, Meng Tian grew impatient and threw it into the stone pit that was used to catch rainwater in front of the door.
After a few days, he occasionally thought of this matter. He picked up the pen and saw that the rabbit fur was extremely soft.
Meng Tian was not a careless person. She immediately guessed that there must be a way to make the rabbit fur soft.
At this time, how could people know the difference between acid and base of water?
Meng Tian could only try them one by one. After a long time, she finally found the most suitable water to soak the brush in.
From then on, the writing brush was officially born.
However, he did not receive any reward. Brother Zheng only mentioned something in his reply, which made Meng Tian so happy that she could not close her mouth for a few days.
Meng Tian's family and business were big. She did not care about this little reward, so she could be selfless.
But Xia Qi knew that this was wrong.
Meng Tian's invention of the writing brush was just an accident.
The invention of new tools mainly relied on craftsmen.
However, under the status of craftsmen, there were no rewards for the invention of new tools.
Without the stimulation of benefits, who would take the initiative to do it?
Even if he took ten thousand steps back, he would not dare to do anything without a clear rule.
Xia Qi had a lot of goods in his stomach, and many of them were epoch-making weapons.
Any one of them would earn enough money for the Craftsman Bureau to take off.
Although Brother Zheng had already acknowledged Xia Qi as his son.
Xia Qi knew that with this identity, it was unlikely that Brother Zheng would want this money.
However, just because Brother Zheng had no objections did not mean that others had no objections.
After all, the Craftsmen Bureau belonged to the country, so there was a lot to say about the distribution of profits.
When the Craftsmen Bureau saw the huge profits, there would definitely be people who would jump out and want a share of the profits.
Xia Qi didn't expect the ministers who looked down on craftsmen to show mercy.
Therefore, there must be rules and regulations for the distribution of benefits.
Only in this way could the Craftsman Bureau be invincible in the future.
The solution that Xia Qi thought of was very simple-intellectual patent protection!
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