The Tang Dynasty started from saving Empress Changsun

Chapter 420 Proposal to Abolish Slavery
Li Shimin not only agreed to the proposal to set up medical carriages, but also agreed to set up a railway department and railway patrols.

The Department of Railways specializes in railway construction, operation management, etc., and railway patrols are to maintain train order.

Chen Jingke and Li Shimin had a disagreement on the affiliation of the railway patrol.

Chen Jingke believes that one matter does not bother the two masters, and the railway patrol and arrest can be directly under the jurisdiction of the railway department.

Li Shimin believes that the railway patrol must not be assigned to the Railway Department, but an additional iron arrest department has been established.

The two perform their duties and cooperate with each other to check each other.

After listening to his analysis, Chen Jingke also had to admire his foresight.

Li Shimin really didn't know what the future of the railway would look like, but he found an analogy, water transport.

The person in charge of water transportation is the transshipment envoy, who was originally just an ordinary official of a small size, and he was not even ranked in the court.

However, within a few years, this authority expanded to a shocking level.

Thousands of water transport ships and hundreds of thousands of water workers are under his management.

Moreover, the water workers are particularly cliquey and xenophobic, sometimes even ignoring the laws of the country for internal interests.

Fortunately, there are a group of elite old foxes in the Great Tang Dynasty Hall at this time. When they found something wrong, they immediately took measures to split the powers of the transfer envoys.

Therefore, the current Tang Dynasty does not have a unified transfer envoy yamen, but has been split into different departments.

Doing so does increase management costs and make water transportation more complicated.

But it avoids the emergence of an interest group, and reduces many corruptions and violations of the law from another aspect.

Although the train has just emerged, its potential is far greater than water transport, and it will inevitably become a huge force in the future.

Decentralization of power must be mixed with sand from the very beginning to prevent the tail from becoming too big.

The Department of Railways and the Department of Railways may have collusion of interests, but there must be differences in interests between the two departments at the same level, and it is impossible to keep pace in everything.

Hearing this, Chen Jingke really admires Li Shimin, this is the real long-term vision.

Therefore, it is necessary to split its powers to different departments in advance. Although it will bring a lot of management troubles, at least it will cut off the possibility of the birth of Iron Boss from the root.

"Woooooooooooooooo..." With the sound of a whistle, the train began to slow down, and then slowly stopped at the platform.

The school of study has arrived.

Li Shimin looked at the clock, it was 10 hour, [-] minutes, [-] miles away.

The speed is not particularly fast, but considering its load capacity and endurance... He once again confirmed an idea that trains will change the future.

The other people in the car were also surprised. The speed was too fast, and it was very stable with almost no bumps. They had never ridden in such a smooth car.

Usually they are not willing to travel far, but they are afraid of the exhaustion of the journey. If there is a train, they don't mind going out more.

More people still consider the transportation capacity of the train. With it, the north with inconvenient water transportation can also be connected.

At this time, they fully understood why Li Shimin attached so much importance to the train, and they took the train themselves to express their support.

Saying a thousand words and ten thousand is better than letting them take a ride in person.

Just by looking at their expressions, Chen Jingke knew that the greatest resistance to promoting trains in Datang had disappeared.

Of course, this is also due to the Datang Venture Group being in power at this time.

This group of people is not a conservative generation, on the contrary, one is more ambitious than the other.

Especially when Datang restarted enfeoffment, who wouldn't want to win a feudal country and make themselves a vassal king.

At this moment, if anyone dares to say that the world is peaceful, it should be said that soldiers should enter Kuma and release Nanshan, and the designation will be sprayed.

At this time, the train station has been protected by the guards, and there is no outsider inside.

In fact, the train station was only opened for the first time today, and even if it was not cleared, there were no people there.

However, no one dared to ignore the emperor's safety, and the protection that should be done still had to be done.

Li Shimin led a group of people around here, and then went down to the Academy surrounded by everyone.

It has been more than half a year since Qiuxuan Academy was built, and this is the first time he has come here. The teachers, students and even all the staff are very excited.

A line is in line to welcome his arrival.

Li Shimin said happily: "Seeing this group of students is like seeing the future of Datang."

Fang Xuanling also said with deep emotion: "Yes, I used to be puzzled by Chen Zhenren's actions, but now I know that he is far-sighted."

Wei Zheng also agreed: "Chen Zhenzhen's Gewuxue is indeed advanced. I heard that many academies in many places don't pay much attention to Gewuxue, so I will reprimand it immediately."

Kong Yingda, who was already a minister of the Ministry of Rites, said in shame: "This is my mistake, please be punished by the sage."

Li Shimin waved his hands and said, "It's not your fault, it's because people in the world despise Gewuxue. When they see the train, they will change their mind."

Chen Jingke's heart moved, and he took the opportunity to say: "It's just the train, I'm afraid it's not enough to change the opinions of the people in the world."

"The prosperity of the world is for profit, and the hustle and bustle of the world is for profit. Only by letting them see the benefits brought about by learning to study things can people get involved."

If these words were placed after the great rise of Neo Confucianism, they would definitely be drowned by spittle stars.

We scholars read sage books and cultivate morality. How dare you say that we are doing it for profit?

Bah, ignorant villain.

But this is the early Tang Dynasty, and everyone is not ashamed to talk about profit.

So instead of scoffing at his words, everyone took them seriously.

Seeing this, he was overjoyed, and hit the iron while it was hot: "Many people regard the study of objects as a craftsman's study, so they feel contemptuous..."

"I have no objection to this. Craftsmanship is indeed a part of Gewuxue. What I want to say is that it is time for a change in the craftsman registration system."

Hearing the words, everyone looked at each other in blank dismay, obviously did not expect him to bring up such a thing at this time.

The craftsman registration system has been implemented since Guan Zhong initiated it until now, who dares to abolish it easily?

Li Shimin didn't seem surprised at all, and asked, "Tell me your reason."

Chen Jingke directly went back to the source, starting with Guan Zhong's original intention of establishing the craftsman's register: "Guan Zi's original intention was not simply to restrain the craftsmen, but more to improve the status of the craftsmen and stimulate their enthusiasm."

"The most important bloodline in the pre-Qin period, the powerful will always be the powerful, and the head of Guizhou is the head of Guizhou..."

"After the rich and powerful, even a mediocre person can go out and enjoy the glory and wealth. Even if the head of Guizhou has the talent to help the world, there is nowhere to display it."

"Guanzi's establishment of craftsman registration actually gave the craftsmen a semi-official status and improved their status."

In that era, ordinary people could obtain the status of half an official, that is, Guangzong Yaozu.

Later, the military merit system of the Qin Dynasty broke the status restrictions and gave Qianshou a chance to change his destiny.

Craftsmanship is no longer a means to encourage craftsmen, but has become a shackle to enslave craftsmen.

If Guan Zi was still alive, he would feel very sad to see his good governance turned into bad governance.

Are artisans really that bad?impossible.

Where did the pens, inks, papers and inkstones used by craftsmen come from?Who made the pots and pans used?Where did the strong bows and swords, cannons and warships come from?
Without craftsmen, everyone is still living a barbaric life of drinking hair and blood, how can there be a civilized society today.

While enjoying the benefits, belittle them at the same time, it's just picking up the bowl to eat and putting down the bowl to scold their mothers.

The last few words were a little heavy, which made everyone feel a little uncomfortable.

Li Shimin reprimanded: "Stop talking nonsense, this policy is not created by us, how can we blame us? And we are not trying to change it."

Chen Jingke knew that he was defending himself, so he got off the donkey along the slope, bowed and said: "The boy made a mistake, I hope all the seniors will be forgiven."

The expressions on everyone's faces returned to normal.

Fang Xuanling asked: "Although the craftsman registration system has many criticisms, it does retain a large number of skilled craftsmen for the court. If the craftsman registration is cancelled, will these skills be lost?"

Chen Jingke replied: "To lure them with profits, if learning skills can make them profitable, the people will naturally flock to them."

"And an issue that you have overlooked. There was no paper in the pre-Qin period, and reading and literacy were only the right of a few people."

"At that time, the inheritance of memory could only be passed on by word of mouth. Once the person who mastered the skill had something wrong, it would lead to the loss of the skill."

"It's not the case now. Confucius taught without discrimination and made learning popular. Later, the appearance of paper made learning go down further."

"The emergence of printing and the establishment of the academic and political system have completely made learning popular all over the world."

"A craftsman who masters technology can write down his skills in words, so that others can learn and explore slowly from the books."

"For example, "Qimin Yaoshu" written by the sage Jia Sixie has preserved a lot of techniques for future generations so that they will not be lost."

"I, Tang Dynasty, should also compile my own book on agriculture and industry to record the skills of hundreds of schools so as not to be lost."

Fang Xuanling asked again: "If you promise to make huge profits in everything, you may spend a lot of money."

Chen Jingke said: "My Tang Dynasty is not short of money, what I lack is population and all kinds of talents. Not only the craftsmen, I even want the sages to cancel their lowly status, so that my Tang Dynasty will immediately have millions more. population."

"Cough." Seeing that his words became more and more outrageous, Li Shimin coughed dryly to stop him, and said:
"Okay, the matter of craftsman's registration is important and we will make a decision after going back to discuss it. Now let's take us to visit the academy."

"Here." Chen Jingke also knew that enough was enough. Anyway, the suggestion had already been made, so just slowly figure out a solution in the future, and there is no need to rush for a while.

Immediately, he took everyone around the academy for a tour.

Classrooms, office areas, dormitory areas, libraries, etc., the longest stay is the workshop area.

Two types of machinery, steam looms and trains, have already been produced here, and it is impossible not to pay attention to them.

In the third workshop area, Li Shimin faced a small machine that was lifted by about one meter and asked, "What is this?"

Chen Jingke introduced: "This is a sewing machine for sewing clothes. Who... Han Xiaogou came over to show the saint."

Han Xiaogou walked out from the crowd, first saluted everyone, and then moved a stool to sit in front of the sewing machine.

He took out a piece of cloth, folded it and put it under the needle, and when he stepped on the sewing machine, there was a "thump, thud, thud, thump" sound, and the cloth more than one foot was sewn in the blink of an eye.

Han Xiaogou took off the cloth and handed it to Li Shimin with both hands: "Please have a look at the saint."

Li Shimin took a look and saw that the feet were dense and even, and pulled them with his hands to find that they were very strong.

He couldn't help saying: "Well, it's beautiful and strong, and it's very fast, and it's also a machine that benefits all people... Zhuqing, take a look too."

Speaking of handing the cloth to other people, everyone praised it after seeing it.

Li Shimin asked: "Why can this thing be produced and sold?"

Chen Jingke replied: "This is just a prototype, it is too bulky and prone to failure."

"Next, we will simplify its structure, reduce costs, and reduce failure rates. When the machine is mature, it will be mass-produced and sold."

Li Shimin praised: "Very good, I look forward to the day when it is finished."

Li Shimin was even happier when he saw a new and highly practical machine.

After that, he met the students in the playground and encouraged them.

The old students are okay, but the new students have never experienced this, and they are all as excited as if they had been beaten.

Then everyone came to the train again and went to the second station, the factory area station.

The site of this station is very large, highlighting a spaciousness.

Of course, it was built a bit more spacious in consideration of the large cargo throughput here.

The security in the factory area is even better. The imperial army has three steps, one post, five steps and one sentry.

The workers in the factory area were all extremely excited. This is the emperor, and I never expected to see it with my own eyes in this life.

Li Shimin was also very kind, waving his hands to greet the workers on the way.

They were even more amazed when they visited the production workshops afterwards. Everything inside looked different from other places.

It's like entering another world.

Looking at the people who were in shock, Chen Jingke was very proud, and took the opportunity to say: "If such factories are opened all over the world, how powerful and rich our Tang Dynasty will be."

"And what restricts all of this is nothing but population... We need people to farm the land, otherwise there will be no food to eat."

"The army is needed to protect it all, to expand the borders... where do the workers in the factories come from in this situation?"

"These workers were recruited from the slums and trained at great cost."

"Even if we want to expand the scale now, we have to worry about where to find so many workers... That's why I said to abolish the cheap registration."

"I know you will definitely say, isn't it better to work with slaves? Even the wages are saved."

"But workers who work for nothing, and workers who work for money, are their enthusiasm the same?"

"Normal workers can produce ten products a day, and servants can only produce one or two...Except for that little labor cost, who do you think earns more?"

"And these slave workers will inevitably feel unbalanced. If someone intentionally messes up and destroys the machine..."

"I won't say how expensive this machine is. By then, the loss will outweigh the gain."

Everyone couldn't help nodding their heads. It was not uncommon for serfs to destroy farm tools.

They don't feel sorry for the cheap farm tools. This machine is a treasure. If it is broken, it will be a serious injury.

In this case, it is really not safe to use slave workers.It is better to raise wages a little bit than to risk the destruction of the machine and use slave workers.

Of course, thinking this way does not mean that they support the abolition of slavery.

If the slaves are really abolished, who will serve them?
What they think is that if they open their own factories in the future, they cannot use slave workers.

It is best to find a good family to come to work and pay them a higher salary.

Chen Jingke didn't expect to abolish the cheap registration system with just one visit, which is unrealistic.

He just planted this seed first, and when industrialization has progressed to that point in the future, even if they don't want to abolish it.

(End of this chapter)