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

Chapter 656: Dismissal of Craftsmen and International Division of Labor
September 51, 2st year of the Han calendar, Chang'an City, Lantian Coal Mine.

Shaofu Ling Liu Heng took a carriage to the mine closest to Chang'an City.

At the factory gate, the factory director Ouyang Jie brought a group of coal mine executives to welcome the Shaofu Order. There were also many craftsmen and their families around, all of whom had grim expressions. Only the young children were watching this scene curiously, unaware of what was about to happen.

Secretary Wang Ying said, "Director, should we ask the others to leave? This will have a bad influence."

Ouyang Jie, with a head full of white hair, said with a hint of resentment: "The mine is about to be gone, what bad influence can there be? I am also old, why should I care about any bad influence!"

Last year, the Han Dynasty completed the handover between the old and the new. The new prime minister was Chen Lei, the secretary of the interior, and the acting prime minister was Fang Hao, the secretary of the Ministry of Finance, Dian Qing, the Minister of Agriculture, and Zheng Qi, the chief censor. This was also the first time that the Han Dynasty had no founding fathers in its senior positions. The founding generation of the Han Dynasty officially came to an end.

The emperor's confidants also began to work in the Nine Ministers. Among them, Chen Mai remained as the Minister of Accounts, Zhang Pijiang was promoted to the Minister of Internal Affairs, and Yuan Ang was the new Minister of Construction. Construction officially became one of the Nine Ministers of the Han Dynasty. As the development of Jiangnan had come to an end, the original Colonization Command of the Han Dynasty was merged into a department under the Grand Minister of Agriculture this year, and its authority was greatly reduced.

Liu Heng was the Minister of the Imperial Household, Feng Tang was the Minister of Agriculture, Jia Yi was the Director of the Ministry of Railways, Guan He was the Minister of the Chancellery, and Liu Chang was the Minister of the Imperial Guard. Among this period of high-level officials of the Han Dynasty, the emperor's confidants accounted for half of the Nine Ministers, and most of them were in important executive departments.

The new Han high-level officials also have their own tasks, which are to increase revenue and reduce expenditure, so as to make adequate financial preparations for the upcoming peak of pension demand in the Han Dynasty. The emperor has issued a red line task to Chen Lei and other high-level officials, that is, the financial expenditure of the court must be reduced by 3%, and the financial expenditure must be increased by % within five years.

Among them, Liu Heng, who took over the Shaofu, had an extremely heavy task, because Shaofu was an important financial revenue-generating department of the Han Dynasty. After becoming the Shaofu Order, Liu Heng had to start preparing to increase revenue and reduce expenditure. To increase revenue, he had to vigorously develop several high-tech industries, and to reduce expenditure, he had to eliminate some backward production capacity.

Because Xu Fan had done a good job of institutional construction in advance, the Shaofu of the Han Dynasty had no historical baggage. In the nearly fifty years since its establishment, there have been many prosperous leading industries, but every year there are also many backward production capacities that are eliminated. In the Han Dynasty, there is no workshop that cannot fail. In Xu Fan's view, the Han Dynasty's factories are the cells of the Han Dynasty's body, and backward production capacity is the bad cells, so there should be a reasonable elimination mechanism.

Therefore, in the beginning, the textile industry was the pillar industry of Shaofu. However, due to the low industry threshold and high competitive pressure in this industry, 7% of Shaofu’s hundreds of textile factories have closed down in the past few decades. Up to now, Shaofu only controls 7 large-scale textile factories. These 50 textile industries have withstood years of fierce competition and are still the leaders of Dahan’s textile industry in all aspects. They can also bring hundreds of millions of profits to Dahan every year. These are excellent factories that can withstand market competition.

What the Han Dynasty is going to eliminate again is minerals, the fifth industry among the four pillar industries. Compared with the textile industry, the mining industry in the Han Dynasty has developed by leaps and bounds in the past fifty years, with production capacity increased by hundreds of times. Mining has now truly become one of the four pillar industries, with an annual output value exceeding one trillion yuan.

Although the mining industry is developing rapidly, many small and medium-sized mines need to be eliminated, and the Lantian Coal Mine is one of them.

The main reason why Lantian Minerals is too close to Chang'an City is that the development of mining has a great impact on the environment of Chang'an City. In addition, mining requires explosives, which are extremely dangerous to Chang'an City. This time, the Shaofu wants to save money and eliminate a large number of small and medium-sized mines, and Lantian Minerals is ranked first.

This is also the reason why Ouyang Jie was dissatisfied. He came to Lantian Mine at the age of 20 and has been the factory director here for decades. However, when he was about to retire, he was greeted with the news that the mine was going to be closed. It was difficult for him to accept this.

When Liu Heng got off the carriage and saw Ouyang Jie and others, he went up to shake hands and said, "Hello, Director Ouyang." Even though Ouyang Jie didn't have a good look towards him, he didn't care. Then he shook hands with the senior executives of Lantian Mine one by one with an extremely gentle attitude.

At this time, a craftsman at a mine said, "Master Liu, can you please not close our mine? Half of the coal in Chang'an was transported from here. The Lantian Mine has made great contributions to the Han Dynasty. Not to mention that the mine has equipment worth hundreds of millions. How much money will it waste if it is closed like this?"

Other craftsmen followed suit and pleaded, "Master Liu, the mine should not be closed."

Liu Heng said sincerely to the craftsmen around him: "The Lantian Mine has made great contributions to the Han Dynasty, and no one can deny this. But the current situation is that the Lantian Mine is only 20 miles away from Chang'an City. The mine is too close to Chang'an City. Every year, the sand and dust raised by the mine can blow into Chang'an City, which has seriously affected the air quality of Chang'an. The Lantian Mine has completed its mission. But don't worry, the court will not ignore everyone. Whether it is the retired craftsmen or the craftsmen in the mine, they will do a good job. I came here this time to solve this matter."

Many mine craftsmen felt pain in their hearts when they heard Liu Heng's words. They knew that the court had made up its mind this time. In fact, this was not the first time that the news of closing the Lantian Mine was heard. There was such a call ten years ago.

Ten years ago, the permanent population of Chang'an City exceeded 200 million, plus the number of migrant workers was over 2 million. With such a large population, a large number of factories and welfare facilities, even though Chang'an City now has six- or seven-story buildings, its area has still expanded by more than times, and Lantian is also one of the directions of Chang'an City's expansion.

At the Lantian Mine, blasting ore with explosives and mining, as well as a large number of tractors and trains transporting ore, all brought about a huge amount of dust. Even the large number of trees planted around the mine as dust-proof belts were still ineffective. Therefore, there have been calls for the closure of the Lantian Mine for forty years.

There were only Liu Heng, factory director Ouyang Jie and craftsman representative Deng Tong in the reception room.

Ouyang Jie said sadly: "Is it really irreversible?"

He had spent his entire life in the mines and really didn't want to see his life's work disappear.

Liu Heng said firmly, "There is no room for recovery. The sooner the mine is closed, the better. It will be best for the mine if it is closed this year. Our Shaofu has received a large order from the Roman Empire in Daqinzhou. They brought 100 billion coins and want to develop five major industries, including mining, steel mills, textiles, cement, and machinery. They want to establish a preliminary heavy industry system. The original equipment of the Lantian mine is worth 2 million coins. It could only be scrapped, but now it can be sold to the Romans at a discount of 4000 million. I can assure you that all this money will be used to relocate the craftsmen."

Craftsman representative Deng Tongdao: "We craftsmen have no objection either."

Mohist School understood the movements of the Han Dynasty's top leaders and knew that the Han Dynasty would eliminate a large number of small factories and mines in order to build several heavy industrial centers and improve production efficiency. He also knew that the closure of the small coal mine in Lantian Mine was inevitable.

Led by the manager of Lantian Mine, Liu Heng came to the meeting room of the mining area. At this time, there were hundreds of craftsman representatives below the meeting room, and everyone looked unhappy.

The feelings these craftsmen have for the mine are no less than those of the craftsmen of later generations. The Lantian Mine is their small world. They live, work and live here. Although the work in the mine is hard and they are covered in dust every day, their income is the highest in Chang'an City. Instead of feeling inferior, they are proud of being the craftsmen of their mine. Under such circumstances, everyone has a strong sense of belonging to the minerals.

Then Liu Heng looked at the craftsmen and said, "At the end of February, the mine will be officially closed. Of course, the Lantian Mine, as a meritorious contribution to the Han Dynasty, will not be forgotten. The court will transform the mining area into a park, and the people of Chang'an City can come here to play. The residential area will be transformed into a museum, which will display the history and achievements of the Lantian Mine, so everyone does not have to worry that their contributions and achievements to the Han Dynasty will be forgotten."

After Liu Heng finished his speech, Factory Director Ouyang Jie clapped slowly, and the craftsmen in the audience also clapped one by one. Naturally, the applause was thunderous, but most of the craftsmen had red eyes.

There were even many elderly craftsmen who muttered to themselves in a daze: "The mine is gone! The mine is gone!"

Liu Heng continued, "Then the court will make arrangements for everyone. Managers over the age of 8 will be allowed to retire according to their benefits, and craftsmen over the age of can also retire early. For the remaining craftsmen, if you are willing to accept the court's arrangements, you can go to other large mines. The court has also arranged a technical school for you to learn technology for a year. During this period, the court will pay % of your salary. After you have learned the technology, you can go to other factories."

The mine is a heavy industry. The retirement age for craftsmen here is 55, and for management is 60, but now they can all retire early. This is a good thing for craftsmen, as they can receive their pensions early. Of course, some craftsmen are unwilling to retire, because even though the pensions for miners are the highest among Han craftsmen, they are only half of their salaries, which is not a good thing for many craftsmen who want to continue to make money. As for the management of Lantian Mine, most of them do not want to retire early. At their current age, it is difficult for them to learn the skills.

But soon Liu Heng continued, "There is another option. The Romans hope that our Han Dynasty will support some of their technical backbones. They are willing to pay double the salary. Although this income is high, it requires going to Rome, which is tens of thousands of miles away, and it will take at least three years to return to the Han Dynasty. Those who want to go to Rome can go to the Shaofu to sign up. The Romans have purchased machinery worth tens of billions this time, and they need thousands of skilled craftsmen to operate the machines. At the same time, Rome is undergoing industrialization and needs a large number of experienced management talents."

This option really excited many people. Although Rome was far away, they did not have to retire early and they would get double the salary, which was a good choice for many people.

The meeting went very smoothly. Liu Heng's biggest worry, that the craftsmen would not accept the work, did not happen, which made him feel relieved. At the same time, he also felt a little grateful to the Romans. If they had not brought in orders worth tens of billions, it would not have been so easy for the Shaofu to eliminate these backward production capacities. But now with this money, 90% of the problem of placing the craftsmen has been solved.

Lantian mining area, big bathhouse.

Liu Heng, Ouyang Jie and Deng Tong were sitting in the bathhouse.

Liu Heng instructed: "In the next period of time, the craftsmen may be in a bit of a state of mental disorder. Please keep an eye on them to prevent any accidents."

It is a good thing that the craftsmen have a strong sense of belonging to the factory, but it also has a disadvantage. When the factory goes bankrupt, some craftsmen who cannot adapt themselves to the situation cannot accept it emotionally and die. For the Shaofu, this is a major accident. When the newspapers report it and the people sympathize with the craftsmen, it will be difficult for many factories to liquidate.

Ouyang Jie said: "Don't worry, Mr. Liu, we miners are all strong men and will not do cowardly things like committing suicide."

But at this moment, singing suddenly came from the bathhouse.

"The most hateful things are those poisonous snakes and ferocious beasts that eat the flesh and blood of the craftsmen! Once they are completely eliminated, the flaming red sun will shine all over the world." There is a hint of sadness in the song.

At first it was just one person singing, then more and more people sang, and soon it became a chorus.

This is a song written by the emperor for craftsmen. For many craftsmen, this song is the source of their strength.

Deng Tongdao: "I will deploy more people in the mining area and arrange night shift patrols."

Then Deng Tongye sang: "~~~~If the heart is there, the dream is there, it's just starting from the beginning~~~~."

Soon the song resonated with the craftsmen, and they all sang along: "~~~~If the heart is there, the dream is there, it's just a matter of starting over~~~~."

Ouyang Jie said tiredly, "When will the Great Harmony World that the Emperor said be successfully built? I don't think I can see this world."

Ouyang Jie is actually a person who doesn't like change. This is why he has stayed in Lantian Mine for decades. The fifty years since the founding of the Han Dynasty have been the fifty years with the greatest changes in the world. The changes in the Han Dynasty over the past few decades have made him feel that he can't keep up with the times, and he is even more worried that he will be abandoned by the times. The closure of Lantian Mine this time has made him feel unprecedentedly tired.

Deng Tongdao: "The Emperor said that the Han Dynasty has always been on the road to building a world of great harmony. This is a constant pursuit and we cannot stop. If we stop, we will never be able to achieve a world of great harmony."

Liu Heng asked with a smile: "Does Deng Mo know why this is happening?"

Deng Tongdao: "The pursuit of a harmonious world is actually a kind of continuous development of productivity. But if we stop, the wealth of the world will stop growing, but the population of the world cannot stop growing. The result of this model is that the wealth distributed to each person will gradually decrease. In this case, let alone a harmonious world, I am afraid that the Han Dynasty will fall from a wealthy society to a well-off society, with only enough food and clothing, and finally people will starve to death again."

Liu Heng sighed: "Only by constantly pursuing progress can the Han Dynasty keep moving forward. Although the craftsmen will suffer under this model, the people at the bottom of society also suffered in the Qin Dynasty."

On the other side in the imperial palace, Xu Aimin summoned Chen Mai and Zhang Pijiang to discuss matters.

Xu Aimin handed a letter to Chen Mai and said, "This is a letter from my third brother. He wants the court to release some work visas so that Indians can work in the Han Dynasty."

Chen Mai looked at the numbers on his subordinates' report in astonishment and said, "The king actually wants 100,000 work visas. This is too much. It will affect the labor market within our Han Dynasty."

One hundred thousand work visas is not a very large number for the Han Dynasty, but the Han Dynasty has more than one vassal state, Tianzhu. If the loophole is opened, should the number of vassal states in Nanyang be increased? Should the number of vassal states in the New World be increased? Should the Xiongnu Kingdom increase the number of craftsmen? If all are increased, the salary of craftsmen in the Han Dynasty will at least be reduced by half. Even the Han Dynasty court cannot control this. After all, the court cannot let factories not use cheap labor.

Zhang Pijiang took the letter, in which Xu Aijun also explained the reason. He wanted to build a steel base with steel mills as the main component in Tianzhu, but Tianzhu's fiscal revenue was limited, and most of it had been spent on Tianzhu's infrastructure over the years. The effect was also extremely significant. Tianzhu's railway mileage exceeded tens of thousands of miles. Of course, the price was that all the money Tianzhu earned from cotton, iron ore, and spices was invested in the construction of infrastructure centered on railways.

Now India is extremely short of foreign exchange, so Xu Aijun thought of the labor market in Han Dynasty. Even if an Indian does the worst job in Han Dynasty, he can earn 3 yuan a year. Excluding food and clothing, 10 Indian workers can earn at least 10 billion yuan in foreign exchange a year. The King of India also promised that all the money earned would be used to purchase mechanical equipment for Han Dynasty.

Zhang Pijiang said: "This is mainly because the international division of labor is not perfect. In fact, the global demand for industrial products of our Han Dynasty is huge, which may exceed the limit by ten times. However, these countries use their money like the King of India to buy our Han Dynasty's goods. Even if there is a huge market worth tens of billions in Rome this year, it is just a one-time deal for them to plunder the property of the Roman elders. It is impossible for Rome to have such a huge amount of foreign exchange next year."

After the main force of the Roman Southern Army was destroyed, the Northern Army was unstoppable. In less than half a month, Claudius led his army to capture the city of Rome.

At this time, differences arose within the Roman Pax Romana. The radicals, led by Claudius, believed that the Roman senators should be purged and their property should be used to clear the way for Rome's next industrialization. The majority, led by Fabius, believed that as long as the senators who were mainly engaged in the slave and usury industries were purged, the other senators would be forgiven if they handed over their land.

Fabius's faction eventually became the mainstream opinion of the Society of Great Unity. The reason was very simple. The main members of the Society of Great Unity were descendants of the elder families. They could defeat their own families, but it was difficult for them to ruthlessly cleanse their own families.

The Datong Society cleansed out the families of senators who were slaves and loan sharks. Other senator families were not cleansed even after they handed over their land and paid a certain amount of property. Of course, Rome had prospered for hundreds of years, and even if only dozens of senator families were cleansed, this was still an extremely huge fortune. The members of the Datong Society took this money to the Han Dynasty to buy machinery, which accelerated Rome's industrialization process.

(End of this chapter)