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

Chapter 709, Distribution Issue

Xiayang First Automobile Factory is the pride of the entire Chenjun industry. It is the factory in the Han Dynasty that has exceeded 1 billion in annual output value the fastest, and the factory that has exceeded 10 billion and 20 billion the fastest. In less than ten years since its establishment, it has become one of the top ten factories in the Han Dynasty. One-third of the factories in Xiayang are providing supporting services for it.

There were naturally many people coming to such a factory to study and visit. When Claudius and his companions arrived at the Xiayang First Automobile Factory with Liu Ruyi's letter of introduction, the factory manager learned that they were Romans and arranged a Roman master craftsman to entertain them.

"Anthony, why are you here?" Claudius asked in surprise.

Anthony was also a little surprised, but he quickly calmed down and said, "I majored in mechanics, and being a master craftsman in Xiayang First Automobile Factory is where I can give full play to my strengths. I'm not the only one here, Marcus, Brutus and others are here too."

Claudius thought for a moment and said, "I came to the Han Dynasty this time to introduce their automobile production line and manufacture our own cars. Come back, you will learn something useful this time."

For Claudius, meeting Antony and his men here was an unexpected surprise. There was a large group of skilled craftsmen composed of Roman citizens who had mastered the technology of manufacturing cars, so they did not need to hire Han craftsmen, which could greatly save their costs in manufacturing cars.

You should know that the income of craftsmen in the Han Dynasty was already high, and the cost of their going to Rome for technical guidance was even higher, generally two to three times higher than that in the Han Dynasty, with a salary as high as 3 to 10 coins. This not only greatly increased the production costs of Roman factories, but also caused dissatisfaction among technical craftsmen in Rome, because their salary was only 3000 to 5000 coins, only one-tenth of that of Han craftsmen.

Anthony said, "Sir, it's not easy for you to manufacture cars. This is more than ten times more difficult than steam engine technology. It requires not only highly skilled craftsmen, but also highly skilled workers. Take the Xiayang First Automobile Factory as an example. There are 2000 craftsmen in this factory, including more than master craftsmen. The craftsmen with the lowest education are all middle school students. Master craftsmen are required to have academic qualifications and a major in mechanical manufacturing."

Walker was surprised when he heard this request and said, "There are 30,000 high school students in this factory alone, which is more than the high school students in the entire city of Rome!"

Claudius was also somewhat stunned, because the entire Roman Empire had only a few hundred thousand high school students, and even fewer bachelor's students at the university level. Not counting the international students returning from the Han Dynasty, there were roughly tens of thousands of bachelor's students graduating in Rome every year.

Finding that they didn't believe him, Anthony said, "I'll take the Archon to visit our production line, and you'll understand."

Then Anthony brought a few people wearing safety helmets and entered the factory. There was a skybridge-like corridor inside the factory, which was specially used for visitors to move around.

Inside the factory there are countless lathes and machines running, and the craftsmen inside are busy with their work in a tense and orderly manner. Anthony looks at the scene with pride.

"The automobile industry is the jewel in the crown of the Han Dynasty's industry. The precision machine tools required to produce these auto parts are an order of magnitude higher than steam engines, and the equipment is much more complex. It is difficult for ordinary craftsmen to operate these machines. Some specialized machines can only be operated by craftsmen who have graduated from technical secondary schools."

Claudius and others were shocked to see these functional machines installing parts one by one on the chassis of the car. Those parts seemed to fit so perfectly, and it didn't take long for a Chenjun Star to be assembled.

Walker was surprised and asked, "A Chenjun Star was produced so quickly?"

Chenjun Star (van) is the lowest-priced and most productive car in the Han Dynasty. It is positioned as a family car for ordinary craftsmen and farmers in the Han Dynasty. It sells for around 5 coins in the Han Dynasty, which is roughly half a year's income for a craftsman and a year's income for a farmer.

In Rome, Chen Jun Star was also the most popular car among the Romans. Another reason was that it was cheap. After being transported by sea, the Chen Jun Star arrived in Rome and its landing price was only 7 coins.

Although this price is very high for the Romans, it is not out of reach. Small landlords, small factory owners, small nobles, and knights in Rome can all afford it. The most important thing is that this car is durable, not easy to damage, has strong horsepower, and can be used as a family car. It can also carry a lot of cargo. There is an external hook at the rear of the car. For 1 yuan, you can buy an external truck bed, which can be turned into a small truck. It is versatile and has a full range of functions. It does not require complicated maintenance. In addition, it has a large output and is easy to repair, which is very suitable for the current national conditions of Rome.

Anthony proudly said: "This assembly line can produce a Chenjun Star in 5 minutes, and more than 3 vehicles a year."

He also contributed to the construction of this production line.

Walker immediately calculated that the annual output value of this assembly line was 21 billion. This number made him feel nervous. The annual output value of all his industries combined was less than one-tenth of this number. The automobile industry was so profitable that he looked at the assembly line as if he saw a river of gold.

He immediately said firmly: "We must build a car factory. Rome is also a global power. We must have our own cars. As a Roman noble, I will build a car factory for Rome even if I have to sell everything I have."

Then he looked at Anthony and said, "Master Anthony, you are also a Roman. I think you also want to see Rome have its own car. I am willing to hire you as the director of my new factory with an annual salary of 15 Chinese coins."

He felt a pain in his heart when he said the number 15. This amount was comparable to the annual expenditure of a Roman aristocratic family, but in order to attract talents, he was still bleeding a lot.

But building a car factory definitely requires professional talents. Anthony was able to work as a master craftsman in the largest car factory in the Han Dynasty. Obviously, his skills were extremely outstanding and even impressed the Han people. He was exactly the talent he needed. At worst, he could find a way to get rid of him after the car factory got on track.

But Anthony said calmly: "I am a master craftsman here, with a monthly salary of 1 coins and 2000 salaries. Chen County implements a four-point profit policy. One quarter of the profits of the automobile factory go to shareholders, one quarter to managers and master craftsmen, one quarter to craftsmen, and the rest is used for technology research and development.

So a quarter of the car factory's profits are distributed to us as dividends. Last year, my dividend was 22 yuan, and I received 40 yuan for the whole year. Judging from the situation in the first half of this year, the factory's performance is better than last year, so I should be able to receive 50 yuan this year."

Claudius and others looked at Anthony in astonishment. Although they had heard that the Han craftsmen had high incomes and good welfare benefits, they had never thought it would be this high.

What is 40 Han coins? Let's put it this way. The consul Claudius's income added up to only about 200 million Han coins. The income of the Roman provincial governor was only about 20 Han coins. Anthony's income was higher than % of the nobles in Rome. This income was comparable to the income of a middle-class noble family.

No wonder the foreign students in Rome don't want to stay in Rome. Ninety-nine percent of the people in Rome want to stay in the Han Dynasty. Thinking of this, Claudius looked gloomy. Rome obviously couldn't afford such a high amount of money to retain talents. But if the foreign students were leaving like this, what hope would Rome have?

When Walker heard about this policy, he jumped up and said, "What kind of devil's policy is this? It's so unfair. As an investor in the factory, I can only get 1/4 of the profits. Is the person who made this policy a devil from hell?"

The policy was so horrible to Walker that he had to repeat the word "devil" twice.

Anthony said, "What's unfair? To build a factory, although the investment of shareholders is indispensable, the hard work of craftsmen is also indispensable. The craftsmen don't even get half of the profit, which is not much." Walker said angrily, "It's not even half. I invested money in the factory and worked hard to manage it, but I didn't get as much as you craftsmen. How can this be true?"

Anthony said calmly: "This is the contradiction between the distribution of profits between the organizers and the producers. Rome is a country belonging to the aristocrats and senators, so you can get 1% of the profits, but the Han Dynasty is a country belonging to the people. The distribution system of this country naturally favors the people. Giving you 4/ of the profits is already a consideration because management is a high-tech job."

Walker shook his head and said, "You are asking for too much. I can't afford to open a factory like this."

Anthony continued, "Income is actually secondary. The Han Dynasty has pensions, a free medical system, and very complete welfare benefits. As long as your annual income exceeds 10 yuan, the quality of life you enjoy is almost the same as that of a million or even tens of millions of yuan. The key is that in the Han Dynasty, we are respected and can realize our own value."

"The reason why this factory is so efficient is the result of the joint efforts of all our craftsmen. At Xiayang First Automobile Factory, no matter the factory director, senior managers and master craftsmen, or front-line operators, or even the most ordinary transporters, everyone respects each other and wants to improve the factory's production efficiency. Everyone is a comrade who can be trusted. In this factory, there is no difference in class, only in terms of skills. Everyone is a craftsman with different division of labor and a screw in the huge system of the factory. Here I can get the respect of a skilled craftsman."

Anthony looked at Walker with disdain and said, "Our Roman craftsmen have not changed their slave-owner mentality. They regard the factory as their own land and the craftsmen as their own slaves. They think that the few hundred dollars they pay can buy out the craftsmen's time for one day. Those factory owners don't even want to implement the Han Dynasty's 8-hour, 5-day work system. They think that 10 or 12 hours of work is too little for the craftsmen. They think that the craftsmen's rest time is an infringement of their interests. They wish the craftsmen would become machines and die on the job."

As a capitalist, Walker is accustomed to this. They take my money and work for me. This is not a matter of course. According to my Roman tradition, apprentices do not receive wages, but now I am paying them wages. This is an unprecedented great philanthropist.

But Claudius was embarrassed. Their Roman Pax Romana claimed to be learning from the Han Dynasty, studying the Han system and following the path of Pax Romana.

He also knew about the situation of domestic craftsmen. Most of them only earned a few hundred or a thousand dollars, and they had to work twice as long as the Han people. But there was nothing that could be done about it. Rome's territory was not as large as that of the Han people, its technology was not as good as that of the Han people, and its factory efficiency was not as good as that of the Han people. If it had to learn from the Han people to implement the eight-hour work system and various welfare benefits, all these textile factories in Rome would have to go bankrupt.

Although the Han Dynasty's share of the textile industry has been decreasing in recent years due to higher wages, and it only occupies the mid-to-high-end textile market, Rome's textile industry has risen rapidly, but Rome is not without enemies. Not to mention the powerful Huns' cloth, their quality is higher than that of Roman cloth, and the price is lower.

What Claudius envied the most was that the Han Dynasty launched the second scientific and technological revolution, the internal combustion engine began to replace the steam engine, and oil became the blood of industry. The Huns could now earn billions just by buying oil. With this money, the Huns' Chanyu also began to improve the treatment of Huns' craftsmen, reduce the land tax for farmers, and implement an eight-hour work system, a pension system, and an unemployment benefit system in the Huns. This series of systems not only allowed Huns' craftsmen to have money to consume more cloth, but also made Huns' cloth begin to lose its competitiveness.

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Rome's second powerful enemy was Carthaginian cloth. The two sides fought fiercely for the market in the Mediterranean region, and neither side had a competitive advantage. Rome occupied the northern market, while the Carthaginians occupied the entire Yanzhou market. Of course, both sides also drooled over the Han Dynasty's cloth and garment market and were trying to find ways to expand the Han Dynasty's market. However, their actions were extremely unsuccessful because Indian cloth and garments began to emerge and became the most powerful enemy of Rome and Carthage.

Under such brutal competition, Rome's light industry could be defeated if it was not careful. The owner of a Roman textile factory even said to him: "The Xiongnu textile workers were defeated by us Romans because they slept two more hours. If we also implement the eight-hour work system, the Roman textile factories will be defeated by the Carthaginians, and then the entire Daqinzhou textile industry will belong to the Carthaginians."

He also did not expect that the competition with the Carthaginians would be so fierce. Roman craftsmen had increased their working hours from ten hours to twelve hours. The Romans and Carthaginians competed with each other and tortured each other. Although their competition was fierce, the factory owners did not earn much more money because they kept the price of cloth too low.

Claudius explained, "Rome cannot compare to the Han Dynasty. Our technology is inferior to that of the Han Dynasty, but we have to invest the Han Dynasty's funds to build industrialization. The craftsmen can only endure hardships first, even for one or two generations. Only when the industry is upgraded, they can also work eight hours a day, have two days off a week, and have their own pensions like the craftsmen of the Han Dynasty. This is my guarantee to the Roman citizens as the Roman consul."

Anthony shook his head and did not believe this. He had been to both the Han Dynasty and Rome. Rome had only learned half of the Han Dynasty from the beginning. It seemed that it was taking the essence and discarding the dross, but it was very likely that the dross that was discarded might be the essence of the Han Dynasty system. Mohist school often gave lectures in factories, and he had listened to many lectures. He knew that once interests were sacrificed, no one would fight for them for others. He did not believe that slave factory owners like Walker would improve the living conditions of Roman craftsmen after making money.

Claudius continued, "Now that I'm in Chen County, I want to learn about your life in the Han Dynasty. I'll treat you to a midnight snack tonight. How about you help me notify everyone?"

Anthony agreed.

That night, Anthony and other Roman students gathered together, then walked to the night market in Dahan and found a barbecue restaurant.

Claudius said loudly to the boss, "Bring two large plates of roasted whole lamb, 20 kilograms of spicy crayfish, 10 kilograms of beef skewers, grilled squid, 20 servings of snails, servings of various vegetables, and a box of iced fruit wine." Then he looked at Anthony and the other dozen people and smiled, "Your appetite hasn't decreased, right? Can you finish all this?"

Marcus laughed and said, "We have to go to the front line of production every day. How could we not be able to finish this little food?"

"Aren't you a master craftsman? Why do you still have to go to the front line of production? Are the Han people discriminating against you?"

Anthony said: "No, this is the system. If the master craftsman does not go deep into the production line, how can he improve the production equipment?"

"It's good that you haven't been bullied." Claudius said, "Boss, that's all for now."

The boss replied: "Okay, please wait a moment."

Their group filled up two large round tables, and bottles of chilled fruit wine were opened.

Claudius smiled and said, "I haven't been to a night market like this for a long time. In the past, we used kerosene lamps, but now we have electric lights. Even the night market has become more lively."

Anthony nodded and said, "In the past ten years, the Han Dynasty has been fully promoting the electrical revolution, and the momentum of development has become even faster. Now the entire Han Dynasty has become an extremely huge construction site. Craftsmen are frantically building thermal power plants, power grids, railways, dams, and a new type of closed road called a highway. It has four lanes in both directions and can allow cars to travel at a speed of 100 kilometers. This highway will greatly speed up the speed of logistics and information dissemination in the Han Dynasty."

Marcus said: "The industrial population of the Han Dynasty is increasing. Now 6% of the population of the Han Dynasty live in cities. Every city in the Han Dynasty is expanding. Now there are more than 30 cities with a population of over one million. The population of these big cities alone is larger than that of Rome. When the achievements of the Second Industrial Revolution are fully implemented in the Han Dynasty, the national strength of the Han Dynasty will be so strong that it is beyond our imagination."

Claudius smiled and said, "Although the Han Dynasty is making rapid progress, we in Rome are also catching up. We have our own large steel mills, telegraph networks, and increasingly dense railways. The textile industry is also becoming more and more developed. Not only do we occupy half of the Qinzhou market, but we also export to the Han Dynasty. Although the price of cloth is low, it is an industrial product."

"In fact, not only the Han Dynasty has changed a lot, but Rome has also changed a lot. The cattle and horses that plowed the fields in the countryside have now become tractors, and the kerosene lamps on the streets have begun to be replaced by electric lights. The city is expanding, and the former wilderness has now become high-rise buildings. This year, we in Rome plan to double our power generation capacity, build 800 miles of railways, and construct three new industrial zones."

"Rome is making rapid progress. I think you can realize your life value not only in Han, but also in Rome. After all, your progress is driving the progress of your own country. In Han, you are just outsiders who come to enjoy the wealth of Han, but in Rome, you are builders. Building Rome into the same as Han, don't you think this is an extremely grand cause?"

(End of this chapter)