Rebirth of Zhu Di's son

Chapter 241 Income of workers and peasants in Yongle 25 years

The first year of Qianxi.

The sixth day of March.

After morning morning.

Zhu Gaoxu called Jian Yi, the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, Song Li, the Minister of the Ministry of Industry, Xia Yuanji, the Minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs, Fang Xiaoru, the cabinet advisor and a scholar of the Wenyuan Pavilion, and Yang Shiqi, a cabinet advisor and a scholar of the Wenyuan Pavilion, to Wuying Palace.

He looked at Xia Yuanji, who was sitting on the third chair on the left, and asked loudly: "Xia Qing, let me ask you, how much did the farmers on the outskirts of the capital last year produce if converted into silver dollars?"

Xia Yuanji thought for a moment and replied respectfully: "Your Majesty, farmers can generally be divided into three categories: middle farmers (owner farmers), tenants, and hired workers. There is a big difference in the annual income of the three."

"Tell me carefully." Zhu Gaoxu nodded.

"Yes."

Xia Yuanji said slowly: "Middle farmers in the suburbs of Beijing mostly own farmland ranging from a few acres to more than ten acres, and at most they will not exceed forty or fifty acres."

"The suburbs of Beijing are dominated by wheat cultivation. The wheat yield per mu of land varies between two to six stones depending on the fertility of the land. If calculated as a compromise, a middle farmer with five acres of land will earn an annual grain of The income is about twenty dan.”

"Based on the lowest market price set by the imperial court last year, which was eight silver dollars per stone of wheat, this middle farmer with five acres of land had an annual income of about 16 silver dollars last year. After wheat, he grows beans, and after beans, he grows milt, millet, and soybeans. The cultivation of millet, millet and other crops, as well as sweet potatoes and winter potatoes, can easily sustain a family of five in a year."

Zhu Gaoxu asked: "What is the income of tenants and employees?"

Xia Yuanji replied: "Your Majesty, compared with the annual income of middle farmers, the annual income of tenants and hired workers is much lower. Due to the impact of low land rent in Huangzhuang, tenants in the suburbs of Beijing rent land from landowners, and the land rent paid It’s basically [-]% to [-]%.”

"If there is a bad harvest, tenants often have to borrow money from banks. This makes the tenants' annual income only reach [-]% or [-]% of that of middle peasants, which can basically maintain the normal expenses of the family."

"When you talk about basic maintenance expenses, does it include situations where there are children at home?"

Zhu Gaoxu asked again.

Xia Yuanji immediately replied: "Your Majesty, this is naturally included. After all, with the promotion of planting sweet potatoes and winter potatoes, even hired workers who are not as good as tenants can often have enough to eat."

Zhu Gaoxu said: "As far as I know, there are two types of hired workers: permanent workers and temporary busy workers. They just sell their efforts for the landowners to sow spring and autumn harvests in exchange for income. They cannot decide how to cultivate the fields or what crops to plant."

"What your Majesty has learned is basically consistent with the information I got from visiting the people. The income of hired workers is generally divided into industrial silver, food rice, plate wrapping silver, farm tools silver, firewood and wine silver, etc."

Xia Yuanji respectfully answered: "If we put all these incomes together and calculate it, the daily wages are about fifty cents, which is still enough to support the family. Generally speaking, the annual income of employees has doubled compared with that in the early years of Yongle. Ichiban.”

"Therefore, in the suburbs of Beijing, whether they are middle peasants, tenants, or households with hired workers, in addition to men working in the fields and occasionally going to the city to do part-time work to earn wages, women have also begun to undertake the hand-woven fabrics of cloth, silk, etc., which are paid by textile workshops on a piece-rate basis. Products, as well as various hand-made pottery tableware models, are sold to various pottery workshops near the suburbs of Beijing.”

"After a year, these families can finally save some money after excluding the expenses such as food, drink, weddings, funerals and gifts. Especially the tenants and hired workers living in the suburbs of Beijing, compared with the barely enough food in the early years of Yongle, it is simply too much. It’s the day you’ve always dreamed of.”

Hearing this, Zhu Gaoxu nodded and said, "I have said before that 'women can hold up half the sky', and it seems that it has become a fact."

"This is thanks to the propaganda and education of Jinling Women's Hall for more than 20 years."

Xia Yuanji said respectfully.

Zhu Gaoxu paused, looked at Song Li, Minister of Industry, and asked: "Song Qing, do you know how much the annual income of the craftsmen near the suburbs of Beijing was last year?"

"Your Majesty, the craftsmen in our Ming Dynasty are divided into 'official craftsmen' and 'civilian craftsmen'. Due to their different industries and work matters, the income gap between the two is also very huge."

Song Li, the minister of the Ministry of Industry, quickly replied.

Zhu Gaoxu nodded and said, "Tell me more carefully." "Your Majesty, the craftsmen who are currently engaged in mounting jade ultimatums in the Zongren Mansion earn one or two and a half taels of labor and food per month, and their annual income is about 18 taels, which is the same as the annual income of middle peasants. almost."

Song Li respectfully said: "However, ordinary craftsmen who are responsible for minting matters in the Baoyuan Bureau of the Royal Bank are given one and two cents of labor and food silver per day. After conversion, the annual income is more than 40 silver yuan."

"Ah."

Zhu Gaoxu made a heavy nasal sound to show that he was listening.

But Song Li was silent for a while, and there was nothing more to say.

Zhu Gaoxu frowned and said: "Song Qing, what you just mentioned are all the craftsmen who work for the royal family. Let's talk about the official craftsmen who work for the local government and the income of private craftsmen."

He knew very well that there were only a few craftsmen working for the royal family, and the income of most craftsmen in the world was actually quite meager.

"I have recently been busy presiding over the construction of the giant sea ship "General", and I have not been able to visit the people, understand the people's sentiments, and ask your Majesty to punish me."

Song Li stood up quickly, knelt down in fear, and respectfully apologized.

"It is indeed an important matter to supervise the construction of the giant sea ship, the General. I don't blame you, just get up."

Zhu Gaoxu knew that the Great General was a steam-powered paddle-wheel ship manufactured by the Ministry of Industry before Zhu Di abdicated. He couldn't blame Song Li at this time, so he raised his hand to signal.

Then, he looked at the other four people in the hall and asked, "Who can tell me the annual income of other craftsmen?"

Fang Xiaoru and Yang Shiqi looked at each other and then chose silence.

Jian Yi, the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, was about to speak, but Xia Yuanji, the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, spoke first: "Your Majesty, as far as I know, the income of the official craftsmen working in the Suzhou Weaving Bureau is four buckets of rice per month."

"How much does an ordinary craftsman earn?" Zhu Gaoxu asked.

Xia Yuanji thought for a while and replied respectfully: "Your Majesty, I know that the craftsmen engaged in textiles, apart from the meager industrial silver paid by their employers, their other income combined is less than one silver dollar per year."

“As for the income of cooks, painters, carpenters, stonemasons, masons, blacksmiths, dyers, doctors, butchers, tailors, barbers, painters, shipwrights, papermakers and other craftsmen, their incomes often vary from person to person and from place to place. different."

Zhu Gaoxu suddenly became interested. He did not expect that Xia Yuanji could name so many types of craftsmen in one breath.

"For example, the chefs at the Sihai Restaurant in the capital can earn between two and eight silver coins per month. The barbers at the Sihai Hair Salon can even earn dozens of silver coins per month when business is good."

Xia Yuanji spoke enthusiastically and eloquently: "Especially after the imperial edict issued by His Majesty became popular in the world, a large number of shipwrights and sailors were hired by wealthy businessmen, and the commissions continued to rise. It is said that a sailor from Taicang with three years of sea experience Or a shipwright, the annual commission is 100 silver dollars."

He was referring to an article in the edict of Zhu Gaoxu’s accession to the throne, that is: “In the mountains, rivers and lakes outside the government’s jurisdiction, people are allowed to go to cut wood, collect water, fish and hunt, etc., and free trade is allowed, such as overseas ownerless islands, northern Nurgan forests, and deserts. The northwest wilderness and other places."

This order is a disguised form of encouragement for the private sector to expand overseas, explore unowned lands overseas and on land that are not within the jurisdiction of Daming Prefecture County, discover natural minerals or products, and hunt wild beasts such as wild horses and bison in exchange for free trade. money.

"Also, in recent years, more and more middle peasants have surplus money, and the number of families renovating their ancestral homes or building new houses has also increased year by year. Therefore, the workmanship of masons and blacksmiths is also very optimistic."

Xia Yuanji added another sentence.

Zhu Gaoxu nodded and said, "Does Xia Qing know the details of the businessman's income in recent years?"

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(End of this chapter)