Late Tang

(Thanks to bv6579 and Zero Zero kkexin for their support, thank you!)

Liaogang is the abbreviation of Liaoyang Iron and Steel Factory. This large iron and steel factory was built in Liaoyang City, Liaozhou, Liaodong Province. Because of its large scale and strong technology, it is very famous among Qin Fan. City, on Jinshan Road.

In September of the first year of Guangming, the people working here were still some apprentices under the age of 50 and elderly people over 15 years old, because many young and strong men were mostly conscripted to the front line, or were united soldiers. , either township soldiers or militiamen, and many people were even recruited to serve as transporters, and many people were transferred to build roads and mines.The workers are so busy from morning to night that they can't stand their backs. [-]-year-old Gao Duo is now an apprentice in this factory.

Before he arrived and finished processing the batch of forgings at hand, the old squad leader of the one-eyed veteran in his 60s had already thrown another bundle of forgings at his feet, and he was about to pick up the burned ones. Put the horned rough into the vise with the wide open mouth...There are iron products, cast iron and steel everywhere around you. If you want to deal with them, you have to work harder. Don't even think about rest. If you don't work hard, just work hard Don't even think about getting paid.

At noon, the workshop was suffocatingly hot and dense metal powder was flying in the air, making my throat itchy.The hands were heavy and heavy, and the back and shoulders seemed to be filled with lead.He wanted to catch his breath, but he couldn't, the squad leader was right behind him.It is not so easy to go to the toilet.A shift lasts two hours, and they can only go to the toilet twice at most. Each time, they have to wait for the wooden sign that says "relieve hands" to be unused before they have the opportunity to replace it with a work sign.Only during the 5 minutes of going to the toilet can they be allowed to temporarily put down the work in hand.

On Gao Duo's left and right are two 14-year-old and 15-year-old boys respectively. Like him, they all fled from the Central Plains to Qin Fan, and then arranged to come to Liaodong.Because of their father's service in the army, they got a place as an apprentice in a factory.Although the apprentices in the steel factory are very tired, they have to work three shifts a day for six hours.However, for those new immigrants who were just ordinary farmers with no family background and no culture, being able to learn a craft in a steel factory is a good thing that will be useful for a lifetime, and they will not worry about running out of food wherever they go.

The two lads were so tired that they were just slowing down a bit. After a while, the team leader found out. The veteran who was said to have been the team leader shouted angrily, "If you produce waste products, defective products!" He waved his huge fists back and forth in front of their eyes as he shouted, "I'm going to teach you a lesson, little rascals."

Gao Duo took this opportunity to quickly drop the work in hand like those young people with active brains, and stayed motionless, looking at the yelling team leader, taking the opportunity of his yelling, just to rest.After the one-eyed old team leader found out, he was so angry that he waved his fists even more fiercely, and roared at everyone.

"Damn guys, you guys are fighting on the front line and waiting for all kinds of equipment made in the rear. You are just sweating a little in the rear, but your dad is bleeding on the front line. Do you know that every day you fight, you have to How many arrows and shells will be consumed? How many knives and guns will be wasted? You are lazy here, just to put your father in danger. Don’t you want your father to come back? Damn little bastard, if you don’t want to, do it quickly , the one with the highest output and the best performance this month can get [-] catties of potato flour and [-] catties of lard. Work hard."

Hearing these rewards, the eyes of a group of tired young people suddenly brightened.This is a lot of grain and oil, even if it is only the first in the team, the [-]-jin canned whale meat is not bad.After entering the first year of Guangming, the people of the Qin Dynasty discovered that the food supply, which was always plentiful, began to shrink. Now the average food supply for a middle-aged man is only two liters of rice, and there is only one liter of rice for a middle-aged male. Half a liter, women and old people only have one liter.This is much less than the previous food quota, and many non-staple foods are also being tightened. Meals lacking oil and meat will only increase the appetite.Especially for workers like Gao Duo who live in a big first-tier city like Liaoyang, they don't even have a place to grow or pick some wild vegetables, and they have to buy food and drink with various tickets.They are all middle-aged and poor, and there are a bunch of Gao Duo's children, but only his parents have jobs, plus his apprentice's share. They eat porridge every day, and they don't see any meat for a long time.This is a headache for their growing brothers and sisters.

Earning twenty catties of canned whale meat is very tempting.

This kind of life can't help but remind him of the days when he first came to Qin Fan. Before coming, their hometown was Caozhou, Henan, which was Huang Chao's hometown. As early as when he was a child, there was already a mess there. , across the Yellow River in the north of Caozhou, is the San Francisco of Hebei who have never listened to the court. Caozhou has long been a place full of thieves and a nest of salt dealers.Moreover, the Yellow River often flooded. At that time, it was either drought or flood, and locust plagues every few years, coupled with military disasters and bandits, life was much more sad than it is now.Later, Wang Xianzhi raised troops in Huangchao, officers and soldiers conscripted the nest, several parties fought, and the soldiers were like bandits. They couldn't survive there.A family of young and old followed the refugees all the way to the east, went to Dengzhou, and finally settled in Liaodong.

When I first arrived in Liaodong, the family was allocated land. At that time, there were not so many people in Liaodong, nor was it so lively.There are ten members of their family, each of whom is divided into 320 mu of Yongye field and 240 mu of open field. There are four members in his family, and they are divided into 140 mu of land and [-] mu of open field, plus six Those who did not become small were divided into half, and they were also divided into [-] mu of permanent land and [-] mu of open field.In total, there are [-] mu of permanent farmland and [-] mu of open field, which was unimaginable when I was in Henan.However, the land allocated to the family is all wasteland, and they have to reclaim it by themselves. After reclaiming, these raw lands are not fertile enough, so they can only be planted in rotation, with one year off every year, and the yield is not high in the first few years.

Even so, their family reclaimed the land with cattle, horses and farm tools rented by the government. The government also borrowed money to help them build a large yard and dug a fish pond at the entrance of the yard.Tired is tired, but life has a purpose.

Later, my father was selected as a united soldier. At first, he only went to train during the slack season, but gradually he was often called up, and sometimes he even had to transport supplies to the front line. Gradually, he simply had no time to come back.Up to now, Gao Duo's father has not come back for three years, and has been traveling around, busy delivering various supplies.Even his grandfather, who was 48 years old two years ago, was conscripted into the township army, and last year he was also conscripted to transport supplies to Bohai.

The family used to rely on their father and grandfather to farm. Now that the two strong laborers left, leaving his mother and grandmother with a group of underage children, it was impossible to plant so much land.In the end, my father wrote a letter and asked them to rent out the family land to those new immigrants. In recent years, many people have to be resettled to the north, and some people refused to go, so they stayed.But the ones who remained could not get any land, so they could only work in the workshops and mines, or farm the fields for these early immigrants.

After the family's land tenant was given to others, the family entered Liaoyang City, and their father asked someone to find them several jobs.The mother and grandmother worked as servants for a school lieutenant in the city, the grandmother took care of the children, the mother cooked for his family, and he joined this Liaogang as an apprentice. The younger brother is studying.With the rent of the land in the country and the salary of doing things in the city, I can live on.It's just that now the food is purchased by ticket, and the food supply is shrinking, and their family is beginning to be hungry.

Many people don't understand why there is such a powerful and invincible Qin army, but their life is getting worse and worse?

Gao Duo couldn’t figure it out, and neither could many of his fellow workers. Their world was limited to a small, smoldering factory, and most of them didn’t have much education, although the factory also had literacy classes at night.But after busying the third shift for six hours, it was so late, everyone dozed off long ago, who still had the energy to learn to read and write?

The one-eyed old team leader also knew a lot of words when he was in the army, and he likes to go to the factory to get those out-of-date newspapers and read them with pleasure.Whenever there is any good news, he will always tell them the first time excitedly. Therefore, they can often hear a lot of good news in the newspaper from the mouth of the old team leader. For example, some time ago, General Zhang Zimian Breaking through Yanmen Town, the hometown of the Shatuo people, General Liu Xun defeated the Hu people in Jincheng, and killed a very high-ranking Khitan.Another example is that His Royal Highness King Qin personally conquered Beyond the Great Wall not long ago, annihilating all the barbarian invaders in one fell swoop.

In short, the good news is that the Qin army is invincible and invincible. His Highness King Qin is unparalleled in wisdom, wise and decisive. They have added two new towns in the north of Yanmen and Datong.Moreover, the invasion conspiracy of Shatuo and the Khitan people was defeated.However, behind the continuous good news, Gao Duo felt the changes around him. The production tasks in the workshop were increasing, their rest time was getting less and less, and they were rushing to work more and more. Although their salaries had not changed, However, their important materials such as grain, oil and non-staple food are getting tighter and tighter.Some foods began to appear on the black market, all kinds of edible things, but they were surprisingly expensive.

"What's the matter with us?" After two hours of busy work, at lunch time, worker Xiaoyong asked the one-eyed team leader in a puzzled manner while picking porridge and biting a cornbread.

A group of teenagers all looked at the team leader. Except for some technicians, most of the young and strong workers in the steel factory have been transferred away and have not returned yet.Now they are the boys and the old men who are in charge of the factory. They are doing the work of the workers in the past, but they are still receiving apprentice wages, and they can't even eat enough.

"This is only temporary." The old team leader's words were a little weak, "You have also seen that we have won battles one after another, one victory after another, and we have won one piece after another. Our Qin Fan is the strongest."

"But we can't get enough to eat, and we are doing more and more work." Gao Duo looked at the team leader with some excitement, "The land in my hometown, the grain harvested this summer, the county only left them There was very little rations, and the rest were purchased. For our family’s food, the county grain station directly gave us banknotes, but we couldn’t buy food for what we needed banknotes. Now our family only relies on With less and less food stamps, my brothers and sisters can’t get enough to eat. Leader, I want to know, what’s going on? Aren’t we always winning? Aren’t we getting stronger and stronger? Is the child getting worse and worse?"

The old team leader was also very confused, he also couldn't figure it out.

At this time, a voice sounded behind them.

"Boys, this is only temporary. The war is consuming our money, food, and supplies. But now, as you have heard and seen, the war has come to an end. Although we are still using troops in the Northeast, at least we have Our west and south sides have been stabilized, and we will be much more relaxed if we only maintain the northern front. Don't worry, this kind of life will last for a year at most, and we will be better next year. Everyone grit their teeth, Hold on for another year!"

Everyone turned around and found that the person who said this was a new deputy factory director of their Liaogang Iron and Steel Group. He was only in his 30s and [-]s, with a resolute face and sharp eyes. For ordinary clothes, the starch is a little whitish.It fits so well on his body, making him look more like a soldier.One of his arms is empty, and he has no right hand.It is said that he was originally the leader of a village army. Not long ago, he marched west with the King of Qin. In the battle of Baishuiluo, he was brave and made great achievements, but he also lost an arm.Because of this, he was finally arranged to retire from the army and change jobs, and became a deputy factory director of Liaogang.

Worker Xiaoyong plucked up the courage to look at the new deputy factory director, "Director, is this true? If you persist for another year, life will improve, my father and the others will be able to come back, and every month will be the same as before. Have you received enough food to eat?"

"When I was in Yanjing, I heard King Qin's promise with my own ears. Now, I also promise you that life will get better in a year at most."

"Factory Manager, we keep winning, why is everyone's life going backwards instead? According to the newspaper, other feudal towns are also fighting. They are much weaker than us, such as Chengde, Weibo, and the former Shatuo, Huangchao grass bandits, etc., why do they often lose battles, but they are always fine? Even sometimes the more they fight, the more soldiers they fight?"

The deputy factory manager looked at Gao Duo who asked the question and smiled: "This is a very good question. Our Qin Fan is under the leadership of King Qin, who is a wise, intelligent and kind-hearted Highness. Our Qin Fan is walking in a good way. The road of sustainable development pursues that everyone has clothes, houses, and food, children are supported, old people are supported, patients are treated, children can go to school, adults have jobs, and old people have To be able to get support, what we pursue is the prosperity of the people and the strength of the country. Therefore, we have the order of land equalization, the law of dividing the land into acres, the priority of education, and the protection of the government. All of these require huge investment. The purpose is to let everyone live a good life." He paused, and continued, "As for other feudal towns, why did they lose the battle, but didn't see that they were defeated immediately, and some even fought more and more? They Don’t you need logistics? No, they need it too. But why are they okay if they lose a battle, but our life has declined when we win a battle? Because they are different from us, why? I believe there are many people here who used to live in other feudal towns , you know very well that in places other than Qin Fan, your taxes are much heavier than here. In addition to the two taxes, you also have various additional fees and miscellaneous fees. What they want is to plunder, rob, plunder and rob the people's property, money and food to maintain."

"What is the consequence of that? The consequence is that the soldiers are like bandits. They arrest the strong men and force them to join the army, and enter the people's homes to rob food. What they do is just to catch the fish. In the end, when the people are robbed, even the seeds are robbed. , there is no more food, they even eat meat directly from killing people. But we can't do that, the Qin Fan under King Qin's rule, the Qin Army under his command, never did this. There are also salaries paid, road construction and grain transportation, and wages are paid in the same way. Grain purchases are also paid. Living standards are indeed a little bit backward now, but that is only temporary. Because of the wars in the previous battlefields, it was not right or not fully Dealing with the invading enemy is also to protect the people of Qin Fan from being plundered and robbed. But that is only temporary, everyone gritted their teeth, tightened their belts, and persisted in the past together. Because our tomorrow will be better."

After saying this, Gao Duo and a group of apprentices nodded thoughtfully.Maybe it's really just temporary, and the food is really tight now, and the stomach is not full, but looking back, this is much better than the life in their hometown in Caozhou before they moved here.When I was in my hometown, the government suppressed bandits and forced the young and strong to transport luggage. Not only did they not get paid, but they had to bring their own dry food and carts.The family's food was forcibly taken away by the government, and they did not give them any money.At least, everything about Qin Jun followed the rules.

If you can overcome this difficulty by persisting for a year, then persevere again.

"Factory Manager, I just received the news that the group of workers in our factory who were conscripted will return to the factory today!" The young factory clerk trotted over to report.

The deputy factory manager raised his eyebrows and said happily: "Have everyone returned?"

"It's just the first batch, and the rest will come back in several batches, but I heard that they will all return before the year."

"Then do you want to go again?"

"I heard that there is no need for it. The mission will be over when I come back this time." Xiao Sun replied.

Gao Duo couldn't help interrupting their words, and asked excitedly: "Then the Liaoyang united soldiers and township soldiers recruited by my father and grandfather have come back this time?"

Xiao Sun nodded, "The united soldiers and town soldiers from Liaoyang have also returned. They came back one step ahead of the workers in our factory. It is estimated that they are almost outside the city. A welcome ceremony was held, and now many people have gone outside the city to wait for the welcome."

The deputy factory manager waved his left arm vigorously, "Immediately issue a notice that work will be suspended this afternoon, and everyone in the factory will go outside the city to welcome these returning heroes!" (To be continued.)