At the end of Qin, I became a son of the plane

Chapter 500: The Shaofu with numerous hills and the arrogant steel factory

November 3rd, the 20th year of the Han calendar.

Chen Aimin worked as a Han official in the Shaofu for three days. Finally, he could empathize with the feelings of the cattle and horses in later generations. Every day at dawn, he hurried to the Shaofu Yamen to start a day's work, and could not go off work to rest until it was completely dark.

Didn't the court popularize the four-hour work system? It's clearly more than five hours.

Chen Aimin knew nothing now and could only follow the old clerk Zhang Yang. Every day he either moved documents or used an abacus to calculate accounts. He never imagined that such a small clerk with a salary of only 100 stones would have so many things to do.

After lunch, Chen Aimin made a cup of tea, sat at his workstation, took out an abacus and planned to continue calculating the account books. The Shaofu Order had been replaced, and Yang Xiong wanted to have a preliminary understanding of the Shaofu, so he naturally had to take stock of the Shaofu's financial situation, which resulted in the Shaofu being particularly busy during this period.

"Xiao Chen, come with me to attend the Shaofu meeting." Zhang Yang suddenly appeared beside Chen Aimin and said.

"Ah! Someone went to attend the Shaofu meeting?" Chen Aimin was shocked. Was his identity exposed?

Zhang Yang rolled his eyes and said, "What are you thinking! I can only take notes at the Shaofu meeting. I see that you make good tea, so you will be in charge of serving tea and water. When the meeting starts later, you will stand in the corner beside me and listen quietly. If you see any senior official is short of tea, quickly serve them."

Chen Aimin breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Yes."

Zhang Yang and several Han officials prepared the venue, while Chen Aiming was responsible for making tea and placing cups of it on the table.

Soon, the senior officials of the Shaofu, led by Yang Xiong, took their seats.

Zhang Yang, as a clerk, prepared the records on the side, while Chen Aimin just stood in a corner.

"Comrades, this is my first time as a Han official. The emperor is forcing me to do this. I am better at making machines, and I don't have much experience in managing such a large Shaofu."

The steward present laughed and said, "Old Yang, we are all family members. How can it be difficult to manage? As long as the workshops below are well done, you, the Shaofu Ling, can also make great achievements by governing by doing nothing."

Shaofu can be said to be the base camp of Mohism. Most of the generals and managers there are Mohists. They have worked with Yang Xiong for more than ten years. The people there are either his colleagues or his subordinates, so the atmosphere on the scene is very harmonious.

Yang Xiong said: "The emperor still has higher requirements for our Shaofu. He requires our Shaofu workshop to be more professional and technical, and become an economic engine to drive the development of the Han Dynasty."

"The emperor asked us to do things that other workshops could not do, and to have a sense of innovation and development. So after taking office, I focused on the innovation of the Shaofu. My plan for the Shaofu is to resolutely develop high-tech and high-end manufacturing industries, and to reduce those workshops with low technology content, low profits, high competitive pressure, and poor efficiency."

"I have looked at the information of the Shaofu these two days. The court asked me to sell off as many textile workshops as possible two years ago, but I found that many people did not follow the emperor's order."

"It's fine for the garment factory to retain the textile industry. After all, to make clothes you have to buy cloth, which is also a link in the industrial chain. Having a textile factory can reduce costs. But why does the steel mill also retain a textile factory? Can steelmaking and weaving go together? Why does the carriage factory also have a subordinate textile factory? Does the interior of the carriage have to be covered with carpets? The emperor has always advocated specialization, requiring us to master a technology and maximize the production efficiency of a product. Insignificant workshops like this can only waste your energy and money and hinder the development of the factory."

Liu Jie, the master craftsman of the Chang'an Chariot and Horse Factory, said: "Shaofu Ling, a textile factory is really indispensable. There are more than 5000 young and strong people in my Chang'an Chariot and Horse Factory. I will build a textile factory to balance the yin and yang. Otherwise, many people will not even be able to find a wife."

At this time, Zhou Mo, the manager of Bashang Iron and Steel Plant, shouted, "Your Chang'an Chariot and Horse Farm is still in Chang'an City, where can't you find a wife? Our Bashang Iron and Steel Plant is full of men and weak in women. The emperor said that the steel plant was too polluting, so he moved us out of Chang'an City and came to the village of Bashang.

A certain steel plant has more than 8000 craftsmen, all of whom are top-notch young men. The supporting machinery plant and steam plant are also mostly young and strong. Unfortunately, our place is dozens of miles away from Chang'an City. It is very difficult to find a wife in Chang'an City. If we don't build a textile factory, how can the young men in our factory start a family and start a career? And after they start a family, where can their wives find jobs? It is impossible for them to live apart, right?"

"We are naturally aware that the emperor has been asking us to specialize in recent years. Steel mills should make steel, and carriage factories should produce carriages. We should not waste energy on unnecessary industries. However, the reality is very complicated. Unless the court helps us solve this problem, we can only find a solution on our own."

Yang Xiong was stunned. He basically had no management skills in the Shaofu system. He was a bit like a professor in a laboratory in later generations, who was specifically responsible for testing Xu Fan's ideas, so he managed a laboratory, not a factory.

Yang Xiong said: "I will find a way to let the emperor solve the problem of artisans getting married, but these workshops that are not related to the industrial chain must be cleared out."

Then Yang Xiong continued, "There is another question. I found that many factories have patrols, fire stations, and even special post stations. These are not official offices of the court. How do they get into the factories?"

This was the first time even Chen Aimin had heard of this. He asked Zhang Yang in a low voice, "These are not things that the Internal Affairs Secretary should do. How can I, the Minister of the Imperial Household, still manage the local area?"

Zhang Yang whispered, "You know nothing about my Shaofu's power. Half of the affairs in Guanzhong are under the jurisdiction of my Shaofu. The Internal History is just a younger brother to my Shaofu. This is still in Chang'an City. My Shaofu opened a kerosene factory in Shangjun. Most of Shangjun's tax revenue comes from our Shaofu kerosene factory. In Shangjun, our Shaofu's words are more effective than those of the local county governor."

Chen Aimin was extremely surprised. Isn't this a country within a country? He didn't expect that the power of the Shaofu was so great. However, when he thought about the financial contribution that the Shaofu paid to the court every year, it was equivalent to two or three powerful vassal states in the pre-Qin period. The power of ordinary local counties could not match that of the Shaofu.

Zhou Mo said: "This is due to historical reasons. For example, our Bashang Steel Plant was moved to Bashang. At the beginning, this place was just a wasteland with only a few poor villages. It was not even a township. Naturally, there were no Han officials to manage this area. Later, after the steel plant was built, the craftsmen always had a place to live, so we built the Craftsmen's Village."

"But problems soon arose. The craftsmen in our steel mill had high incomes, while the farmers in the Bashang area had low incomes. There were always some rangers who were jealous of our craftsmen's incomes. Since the steel mill was established, craftsmen have been blackmailed by rangers from time to time, and there have been many cases of deaths. The lives and property of the steel mill craftsmen are not protected. With such a security environment, how can we produce steel with peace of mind?

Unfortunately, this place is very far away from the county seat and Chang'an City, and there is no time to report to the authorities, so we can only set up our own factory protection team. Later, the factory protection team was incorporated into the court and became a roving police force to catch thieves.

Under the attacks of my factory protection team, the public security in Bashang improved rapidly. Those robbers who committed extortion and evil were either caught by us or fled Guanzhong. In the past 10 years, there has not been a case of anyone daring to rob the craftsmen in my Bashang Steel Plant.

The same reason applies to the establishment of the post station. Bashang is too desolate, and the craftsmen who are taking a break need to go to Chang'an for sightseeing. They also have the need to communicate on weekdays. However, the Lantian County Government does not have enough financial resources to set up a post station in Bashang, so my steel plant has to pay for its construction. Later, infrastructure such as primary schools, middle schools, and clinics were slowly built up because of the craftsmen's needs.

Zhou Mo said proudly: "It can be said that without me taking over the steel plant, there would be no prosperous city today."

Through Zhou Mo's words, Yang Xiong could fully imagine that in the rural areas of Guanzhong, a steel plant would rise from the ground, and more and more people would gather around the steel plant. In a few years, a steel city was born. All the facilities here, including officials, were for the steel plant. Sure enough, the affairs of the Shaofu were complicated and not so easy to do. That night, Chen Aimin dragged his tired body back to his home.

Chen Xiu looked at his eldest son with some distress and said, "You are just a minor official with a salary of 100 dan. How come your life is more tiring than that of your father, the emperor?"

Xu Fan, who was reading the newspaper, felt a little offended. Selecting people based on their merits is a very profound skill. If he could not arrange a qualified prime minister, he would be like Zhu Yuanzhang and other emperors, with endless tasks to deal with every day.

But he is not a workaholic like Zhu Yuanzhang. People in later generations have been working like oxen and horses. If he still works like an oxen and horses after traveling through time, then his travel through time would not be in vain.

Chen Aimin said, "I heard from my colleagues that although the Shaofu has a lot of affairs to deal with, it is not normal to be so busy. It is just because of the change of leadership this year, and there are many account books that need to be reorganized, so it is a bit busy. It will be better in the future."

Xu Fan asked, "You have been working in the Shaofu for a few days. What do you think of the Shaofu?"

Chen Aimin thought back to what he had seen at the meeting today and said, "The Shaofu is a high-ranking official, and it is worthy of being the first of the Nine Ministers. My colleagues are all very capable. When I was in the academy, I thought I had some talent, but now compared to these colleagues, my ability is far inferior to theirs."

Xu Fan smiled and said, "It's not that you are not as capable as them, it's just that you haven't adapted to the rules of the Shaofu yet. Moreover, abilities can be cultivated. You have to remember one sentence: use it or lose it. Practice is the best way to cultivate a person's abilities."

Chen Aimin thought about it and told Xu Fan what had happened in today’s meeting.

"Father, you said that those workshop associations that were put together here and there were not very powerful at all. A financial crisis could destroy such associations. But reality seems to force these factories to build some factories like this?"

Xu Fan sighed and said, "The core of industrial development is competitiveness. You must have products that others do not have, so that the factory can earn excess profits. When other factories also have such products, your production costs must be lower than others, so that you can compete. Unlike these side industries, they cannot increase the competitiveness of these factories. The steel mills do not have the ability to make the production costs of the textile mills lower than other textile mills. The factories built in this way can only drag down the steel mills' main business."

He had seen this kind of situation too many times in later movies, TV shows and novels. Because industrial development was restricted and difficult to upgrade, too many young people were unemployed. Faced with the reality of the difficulties, they could only stuff those young people into the so-called tertiary industry. This situation had dragged on for more than ten years, to the point where it had to be resolved. Everyone knows what happened next. This was almost an action to change the foundation of the country.

Because the consequences were too serious, Xu Fan wanted to divest non-core industries from the factories built by the Han Dynasty, as well as the welfare facilities of these factories, so that they could go into battle lightly and compete with workshop owners all over the world.

But obviously this is just Xu Fan's wishful thinking. There is no specific analysis of the specific problem. Even after Xu Fan repeatedly ordered, the factories under the Shaofu still did this because they had this need. If the Han court could not help them solve this need, then they could only solve this need by themselves.

"After all, the court's industrial layout is unreasonable, and these problems also require the court to patiently solve them."

November 13th, the 20th year of the Han calendar.

After Yang Xiong had a general understanding of the situation of the Shaofu, he began to inspect all the Shaofu's workshops. His first stop was the Bashang Iron and Steel Plant. There were several minor officials from the Shaofu inspecting with him, and Chen Aimin was among them.

Yang Xiong knew that the emperor wanted Prince Ai Min to learn more about the situation below, so he took him out for inspection whenever he had the chance.

Bashang Steel Plant is the largest steel plant in Chang'an City, with an annual output of 500 million jin of steel. After they developed the converter three years ago, the production cost of steel dropped dozens of times, and the production capacity increased hundreds of times. Now they can produce tens of millions of jin of steel a year. Now the price of one jin of hundred-refined steel in the Han Dynasty is fifty coins. The annual sales of steel alone reach 500 million, and the annual sales exceed 3 billion. It is the factory with the largest sales in the entire Han Dynasty. In the future market, Bashang Steel Plant will be the top high-tech companies such as Microsoft and Tesla, and it is the biggest pillar of the entire Han Dynasty's industry and commerce.

"Old man, the Minister of the Imperial Household is here to inspect. Please open the door." Chen Aimin had the lowest qualifications among the inspectors, so naturally he was the errand boy.

The gatekeeper looked at Yang Xiong and his group, calmly put away the newspaper in his hand and said, "I need to report to the factory director first, you wait a moment."

Soon the manager Zhou Mo laughed and said, "Old Yang is sorry. The steel plant is an important place after all. Accidents can happen if you are not careful, so the management is a bit strict."

Yang Xiong said: "It's nothing. The rules and regulations of a certain laboratory are stricter than yours. Even if the emperor comes, he must register first. It's okay if there is no accident in the steel plant, but if there is an accident, it will be a major accident. Being able to strictly implement the rules and regulations shows that you, Zhou Mo, manage very well."

In this way, some people entered the Bashang Steel Plant under the guidance of Zhou Mo. There were many craftsmen walking around in the factory, but when these people saw the inspection team of the Shaofu, they did not feel frightened, but instead looked proud.

Chen Aimin asked Zhang Yang in the carriage, "Why do I feel like the craftsmen in this factory are looking down on us? Even the gatekeeper is so arrogant. Isn't our Shaofu the superior of the Bashang Steel Factory?"

Zhang Yang said, "You haven't adapted to the environment of my Shaofu. In my Shaofu, the more capable people are, the more arrogant they are. The financial income provided by Bashang Steel Plant to the Han Dynasty is comparable to that of a county in the Han Dynasty. Last year, even though it was affected by the economic crisis, the people of Bashang Steel Plant handed over 10 billion yuan in income, which helped the court solve a big problem. The emperor even praised Bashang Steel Plant. Therefore, in Bashang Steel Plant, whether it is a manager or an ordinary craftsman, everyone is arrogant."

Another Han official laughed and said, "Today is considered good. Our Shaofu Ling is superior to Manager Zhou Mo in terms of both seniority and ability. When Chen Shaofu was in office, he was less senior, and Manager Zhou Mo would rush to our Shaofu office and slam the table at any time. He broke two of Chen Shaofu's tables. We can only make one steel table with Chen Shaofu."

Chen Aimin was enlightened when he heard these secrets. He never thought that such a steel plant could create such a huge fortune. Thinking about it this way, this little bit of arrogance was nothing.

The group put on their helmets and, under the guidance of Zhou Mo, came to the blast furnace production. He pointed to a huge movable graphite furnace and said, "This is the most advanced graphite steelmaking furnace in our Han Dynasty. One furnace can produce tens of thousands of pounds of 100-fold refined steel. Mr. Zhang, the master craftsman of the steel plant, has experimented with several steel formulas and found several tool steels that are stronger, tougher and more wear-resistant than 100-fold refined steel. They are especially suitable for making various machine tools, grinders and other machinery. This has become a new profit point for our steel plant."

Zhou Mo also had to say that the Mr. Zhang mentioned in a respectful tone was Zhang Ying. Back then, Zhang Ying wanted to build a 50-jin blast furnace, but Zhou Mo thought it was too radical and did not agree. Who would have thought that some nouveau riche from Sanchuan County would come to his Ba Shang Steel Plant to snatch talent and ask Zhang Ying to design a 50-jin blast furnace.

When the Sanchuan County blast furnace was successfully ignited and produced iron, the entire Central Plains was in an uproar. After all, it was the world's number one blast furnace, and the sensation it caused was imaginable. A consumer market in Luoyang City suddenly became a steel production center.

Zhou Mo was anxious, fearing that he had cultivated a strong competitor, so he went straight to Luoyang City to apologize and invited Zhang Ying back. Then, under Zhang Ying's leadership, the Bashang Iron and Steel Plant began to build a 50-jin blast furnace and started to develop a new type of graphite dry pot, which led to the success of today's converter.

Yang Xiong smiled and said, "With these advanced tool steels, the efficiency of steam engines will be even higher. You, Bashang Steel Factory, must always maintain this characteristic. It is not a big deal for you to reproduce what others have. You must create products that others do not have. Bashang Steel Factory must always lead the trend of steel in our Han Dynasty."

(End of this chapter)