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

Chapter 506: Luxurious Fairness and Industrial Transfer

After Xu Fan gave the order, Li De said with a distressed look: "Your Majesty, if you increase the salaries of the craftsmen like this, no one will be willing to go to the settlements."

After Li De became the false prime minister of the Han Dynasty, he was in charge of the affairs of military reclamation, agriculture and water conservancy project construction.

Among these, agriculture and water conservancy construction are relatively easy to handle. The Han Dynasty has 2 billion special funds every year to build canals and rural roads to subsidize farmers.

With the addition of new farming techniques, fertilizer technology, and the popularization of water pumps, the per-acre grain yield in the Han Dynasty has been increasing, and the grain production capacity in Guanzhong has generally reached 3 shi per acre.

The annual income of an ordinary farmer can exceed 12000 coins. If the rural area near the city has some side businesses, such as selling vegetables, fruits, chickens, ducks and other poultry, it is easy to earn 2 to 3 coins a year.

These people are definitely high-income earners among the farmers in Dahan. According to Dahan's standards, farmers with an annual income of over 3 are considered middle-income households, and those with an annual income of are considered wealthy households, which is considered a well-off family in Dahan.

Medical care, education, and housing will not be obstacles for this family. Of course, not being an obstacle does not mean there are no problems. Being able to afford medical treatment does not mean that all diseases can be cured, and being able to go to school does not mean that you can definitely get into a university. But in general, the farmers in Guanzhong are the happiest group of farmers in the world.

But because the conditions in Guanzhong are so good, the people in Guanzhong are even more reluctant to go to other places to settle down.

What's the matter with Jiangnan, which is praised as a land of fish and rice? Can it compare with Guanzhong, the land of abundance? The Western Regions, which are known for jade and agate, are just a place with wind and sand. Liaodong and Nanyang are just places for foreigners.

The people in Guanzhong proudly believe that their hometown is the best place in the world, and they are not willing to go to other wild places.

Therefore, for Li De, the most troublesome thing every year was to arrange the quotas for military reclamation in Guanzhong. No one wanted to leave the rich Guanzhong, but the emperor valued fairness and distributed the quotas for military reclamation equally to all counties in the world.

Places like the desert, Hebei, and Shuzhong are either densely populated with many mountains and little land, or have extremely harsh environments. They are generally satisfied with the military settlements arranged by the court. After all, they have no other options in their hometowns, and they can get a small piece of land by settling and reclaiming land.

But in the wealthy counties such as Guanzhong, Sanchuan, Chen, and Kuaiji, the places where they live are the richest places in the world. Why would they be willing to go to a cold and miserable place?

So every year, he had to capture people to cultivate the land, just like fighting a guerrilla war. And now the court was going to increase the minimum salary standard, which was obviously extremely beneficial to these industrial counties, so his work of cultivating the land naturally became more difficult.

Xu Fan comforted him, "Reclamation and salary increase are complementary. If you settle hundreds of thousands of young and strong people every year, the industry of the Han Dynasty will not be able to absorb the young and strong people who reach adulthood every year. Moreover, without the market for reclamation, the industry of the Han Dynasty will easily be saturated. By then, let alone increasing the salary of the craftsmen, I am afraid that the salary will even decrease."

"Moreover, our Han Dynasty has occupied so much land, but if we don't have our own people to open up these lands, these lands will only be lost again. The reclamation policy is a policy that benefits our entire Han Dynasty, so the people of our Han Dynasty must also bear this responsibility."

Maybe it was because he had been the emperor for too long. Xu Fan felt that fairness was a luxury and a precious thing. In order to maintain fairness, the Han Dynasty had to spend hundreds of millions of dollars every year just to make sure that everyone shared the responsibility of reclamation. But the consequence of this was that all classes in the Han Dynasty were dissatisfied, but because the pressure was shared, everyone could suppress this dissatisfaction.

No wonder so many powerful dynasties in history conquered such a large territory, but eventually lost it. Arranging hundreds of thousands of people to guard the border every year is no less than fighting a big war every year, and appeasing the dissatisfaction of the people inside the country. Under the feudal dynasty's inherently unequal system, this was simply impossible, and the feudal bureaucrats were unwilling to do such hard work.

They could only do simple things, such as stationing an army to guard this vast land, but an army without the people is like a tree without roots and water without a source, and eventually it disappeared without a trace from this land.

Even if industrial countries do this, they are still exploiting their own people, forcing them to have no choice but to live in exile.

Thinking of historical experience, Xu Fan had an inner expectation that large-scale annual reclamation like that of the Han Dynasty would end after him. If he did not find a way to do this difficult task, his descendants would simply not be able to do it.

Without enough civilians stationed in the area, it is unknown whether the Han Dynasty can maintain half of its current huge power.

On September 19th of the 21st year of the Han calendar, the Shaofu Ling went to the government office.

As soon as Chen Aimin sat down at his workstation, Zhang Yang smiled mysteriously and said, "Aimin, there is great news."

Chen Aimin took out his abacus and prepared to work nonchalantly, "What good news?"

Zhang Yang smiled and said, "The court is about to issue another decree to equalize wealth. Our salaries will increase by 10%, and will continue to increase in the next few years."

"Yeah!" Chen Aimin nodded and started fiddling with the abacus.

"What? You young people really don't know how to be grateful. You take everything for granted. A few years ago, our salary was not even half of what it is now. Rice is expensive in Chang'an. If it weren't for the good welfare benefits of the court, I would have become a shopkeeper with this salary. With the increase in salary this time, I plan to buy a house in Chang'an City, close to the middle school, so that Yuner can study better."

The other Han officials in the Shaofu were also extremely excited today. Everyone was happy to have their salaries increased.

Sure enough, in the afternoon, the Shaofu officially issued a notice that the salary of all of them would be increased by 9%, starting from September of this year.

At the same time, this order was also issued to all the major factories in Shaofu, and public opinion propaganda also began to follow.

Zhou Bo, the Prime Minister of the Han Dynasty, published an article in the September special weekly of the Han Monthly, which advocated a full-scale attack on the well-off governance.

The article focuses on the "Minimum Salary Standard" policy of the Han Dynasty, saying that this policy is the chariot for the Han Dynasty to achieve a well-off society. The Han Dynasty will continue to increase the minimum salary according to the speed of industrial development. This policy will allow 50% of the people in the Han Dynasty to have an annual income of more than 30,000 yuan within three years, and 70% of the people in the Han Dynasty to become well-off within six years. Zhou Bo then imagined that when he ended his term, the Han Dynasty would basically have achieved a well-off society.

Zhou Bo's article caused a sensation throughout Guanzhong and even the Han Dynasty, and major monthly newspapers in the Han Dynasty reprinted his article. In the past, the Han Dynasty had the "Equal Wealth and Honor Law", but it was only a temporary measure.

Now the imperial court wants to formalize and legalize this policy, and the editors of all major newspapers have written articles discussing the impact of this policy on the Han Dynasty.

Among the editors who supported this decree, they believed that this was the only way for the court to achieve the Great Harmony, and it was the most feasible and clearest way. The progress every year could be clearly seen, and the Great Harmony ideal would no longer be far away.

The editor who disagreed with the decree believed that the policy was too radical and would have the opposite effect, just like Zigong's redemption of people. The workshops in the Han Dynasty were not so easy to run, and a large number of workshops closed down and went bankrupt every year.

This decree will continue to increase the production costs of Han workshops until these workshop owners can no longer bear the increased costs and are eventually forced to close down and go bankrupt. When the workshops are closed down, the craftsmen will not be able to increase their salaries or even find jobs.

The forces in favor and against were almost equal, and the two sides fought fiercely over the monthly report, which more than doubled the market for the newspaper industry in the Han Dynasty. Many people who did not read the monthly report formed a consumption habit. The workshop owners in Guanzhong wailed and complained to the people around them that their salaries were increasing too fast and too high, and that their factories could no longer operate.

Many workshop owners also directly threatened that if the court continued to increase salaries, they would have no choice but to move their workshops to other places with lower salaries.

Many workshops have even started to take action. The labor cost in Guanzhong is too high, the court is strict, and the competition is great. The headquarters of the Mohists is still in Guanzhong. These Mohists always organize craftsmen to oppose them. Moreover, the people in Guanzhong are too cunning. If something does not meet their wishes, they will go on strike and protest. Now the court has to make a minimum salary decree, requiring them to increase the salary of craftsmen every year. In the past, the court cut the meat every few years, but now it is going to cut the meat with a blunt knife, and does not want them to survive at all.

Throughout late September, hundreds of workshops in Chang'an City retreated. Some of these workshops retreated to Shangjun, some to Beidi County, and some to Longxi County and Jincheng County. Some merchants even thought that since the railways were open, they might as well move their workshops directly to Hexi. Even if the freight costs increased, it was better than the increased salary expenses. Now the salary of a craftsman in Chang'an City was equivalent to that of five craftsmen in Hexi. Who could afford this? So the Han Dynasty's textile industry began to shift to those relatively poor counties.

The entire Chang'an city was filled with cheers from the craftsmen in Guanzhong. The demonstrations in support of the court's promulgation of the "Minimum Salary Standard" lasted for more than ten days.

Almost every day after completing their tasks, the craftsmen would spontaneously organize themselves together. They would gather from various streets to Zhuque Street, forming a group of tens of thousands of people. Finally, they would gather outside the Jianzhang Palace, celebrating with singing and dancing, which in turn led to a wave of economic boom.

But the citizens of Chang'an were only happy for half a month. Soon, notices of the reclamation order were posted all over the city. This year, 5000 people would be conscripted for reclamation. The government would draw lots based on the household registration to decide who would be selected. All of a sudden, the people of Chang'an began to panic and prepare for the reclamation.

Guanzhong, Bashang Steel Plant.

Zhang Yang and Chen Aimin came to the manager's office.

Zhou Mo, the manager of the steel plant, cordially entertained them: "Two young brothers, please have some tea. This is top-grade Xiangshan Maojian, newly harvested this year. Drinking this tea can refresh your mind and prevent all diseases."

Zhang Yang took a sip and said with a smile: "Manager Zhou, my brothers and I came to the factory only to inform the Shaofu of the order. The court has issued an order that your factory has been allocated 100 quotas to go to the reclamation. I hope that Manager Zhou will complete the task assigned to you by the court."

Zhou Mo said, "Can you two explain the situation of our factory to the Shaofu Ling? The factory is preparing to expand production. We are already short of manpower, and we have to recruit craftsmen from outside. We can't find 100 young and strong people to settle and cultivate the land. Even if the court issues a decree, it must be implemented according to the actual situation. Didn't the emperor say that specific problems should be analyzed specifically? The settlement order is prepared to solve the problem of those idle vagrants, and every craftsman in our steel plant is working hard to build a well-off society for the Han Dynasty. They can play a greater role in the steel plant."

Zhang Yang smiled calmly and said, "Manager Zhou, you think too highly of us brothers. We are just clerks who convey orders. How can we be qualified to question the good or bad of the court's policies?
You can see the emperor and the Shaofu Ling frequently. If you feel that the Tunken Ling is not suitable for you to dominate the steel mill, you can meet the emperor and the Shaofu Ling to plead your case. What's the point of talking to me like this?"

Zhou Mo said dissatisfiedly: "Old Yang is really something. I thought that he would be able to fight for some rights and interests for us after he became the Shaofu Ling. In the end, he did worse than Da Tiechui. If I had known it would be like this, I would have let Da Tiechui continue to manage the Shaofu."

Ever since the Han Dynasty established the military reclamation office, there has been chaos in Guanzhong at this time every year. However, because of the presence of Big Hammer, the military reclamation law has not had much impact on factories like theirs. That is, in the past two years, they have been required to provide fifty or sixty quotas for military reclamation every year, but this year the number has nearly doubled. This makes Zhou Mo feel that Yang Xiong, the Shaofu Ling, is not as good as Big Hammer.

Zhang Yang pretended not to hear Zhou Mo's complaints. He was an official with a salary of two thousand stones and could meet with the emperor's elders at any time. No matter how much he complained, it was not their business.

The two men left the steel mill quickly, and on their way out, the craftsmen they met glared at them, thinking that they had brought disaster.

Chen Aimin said a little aggrievedly: "We are just conveying orders, but these craftsmen act as if they want to eat us."

Zhang Yang said calmly, "You'll get used to it. These people are living well in Guanzhong, but the imperial court wants to take them to the outer frontier to cultivate the land. If this happened to me, I would not only be angry but also want to beat them up."

Chen Aimin said: "But reclamation is the duty of every Han citizen. Han is not Qin. It is too unfair to treat reclamation as corvée and give it to a few people. It will also reduce the recognition of the people in the reclamation with the court. Back then, the Southern Border Army of Qin was dissatisfied with the reclamation of Qin and left them in the south for more than ten years. Later, the emperor rebelled against Qin, and the huge Southern Army watched the Qin Empire destroyed."

Zhang Yang said with a smile: "That's just what's in the history textbooks. It doesn't say that most of the so-called Southern Xinjiang Army are the remnants of the six kingdoms. When this army came to the Central Plains, whether it would fight against our Han army or the Qin army, it's still unknown."

Then he complained a little: "Life in Guanzhong is good. The higher-ups just want to stir up trouble like this. Every year, they give us a lot of extra tasks for no reason. I don't know how many families have turned against each other and fathers and sons have become enemies because of the reclamation. I really don't know when this reclamation order will end?"

Chen Aimin was surprised and said, "It's just a reclamation order. How could it be so exaggerated that it would cause brothers to turn against each other and fathers and sons to become enemies?"

Zhang Yang asked: "Why not? Do you have any brothers or sisters?"

Chen Aimin said: "I am the eldest son in the family, and I have four younger brothers and sisters. The youngest sister is 6 years old this year, and the oldest brother is 15 years old this year."

Zhang Yang said, "That's it. The number of places for reclamation is randomly selected. Even Han officials like me can't escape. Think about it. The court has chosen your family. One of you and your second brother has to leave Guanzhong. No matter who your father chooses, it will hurt the other son. Will the chosen one hate his father and even his brothers?"

"I have seen this kind of thing too many times. Fortunately, my eldest son is less than 10 years old this year. I just need to focus on his grades, get him into college, and then find him a good job. Only then can he avoid the reclamation order."

"How could the Colonization Order disturb the people so much?" Chen Aimin couldn't believe it. He had always believed that this was a policy that would benefit the Han Dynasty in every way. The imperial court had always supported the people in reclaiming land with policies. Farmers who increased their population could obtain new land. The increase in the family population would not reduce the resources they possessed. Several of his teachers praised the Colonization Policy as the fundamental national policy of the Han Dynasty and a century-old national policy.

Zhang Yang said: "Didn't you see what happened at the Bashang Steel Plant just now? If they were willing to settle and reclaim land, would they look at us like that? Fortunately, there are many people in Guanzhong. Unless you are particularly unlucky, you will generally not be selected. Those who are selected can only consider themselves unlucky."

Then he sighed and said, "Let's go. We still have to notify two factories today."

Du County, sewing machine manufacturing factory.

For the first time ever, Zhao's father took a train to Du County and found Zhao Wu and said, "Is your factory still short of manpower? Can you let your brothers work here?"

However, the brothers behind his father looked at Zhao Wu expectantly.

Zhao Wu said with a bitter face, "You all come to Du County to work, so what's the difference between going to Hexi or even the Western Regions to cultivate the land? From what I heard, Duke Ji of the Western Regions will give 500 acres of land to everyone who goes to the Western Regions, and will also allocate a few tenants in the Western Regions. This is a good job of becoming a landlord in the Western Regions."

Zhao Wu didn't want to keep his brothers. Since he was running a workshop, he had to find a way to lower the salaries of the craftsmen. If these brothers came to his workshop, if he paid them too high, the other craftsmen would be dissatisfied. If he paid them too low, these brothers would also be dissatisfied. Instead of being caught in this dilemma, it would be better not to recruit these relatives.

Father Zhao was dissatisfied and said, "How can this be the same? It only takes one day to get back to Chang'an by train from Du County. If we go to the Western Regions, it is unknown whether we can return to Guanzhong."

Zhao Wu said: "A good man should have ambitions. This is 500 acres of land. Planting cotton can earn tens of thousands of dollars a year. This is not better than staying in the countryside in Guanzhong. My brothers have to work in a workshop and can never earn this much in a year."

(End of this chapter)