Expedition to Europe

About six months ago, the steel plant in Wanghai Prefecture began to be established.

After the New Year, about 6,000 workers came to Pontianak in Wanghai Prefecture to officially start the construction of the steel plant.

Most of these 6,000 workers came from Annan and Lanfang, and some were new immigrants from the Republic of China.

Of course, most of the new immigrants served as foremen or team leaders, and their status was always much higher than that of the Annan people and local aborigines.

Although the Lanfang government gave various benefits to new immigrants, such as housing and land distribution, there would always be some people who were unwilling to farm, or disdained farming, so these people were assigned to various factories, and they would all be workers in the future.

Although Lanfang's industry already has a huge plan, so far, except for the oil field in Daqing, the others are still drawings. If new immigrants want to become workers, they must first build factories.

So these workers who originally thought they could become "city people" in one step, their first job was to build factories.

This is understandable, but in the eyes of some people who are unwilling to be "mediocre", this is equivalent to a waste of talent, and they will naturally feel "unfair".

Coupled with the instigation of some people, a major strike finally occurred.

After four months of construction, the steel plant has actually taken shape. The land here has been leveled, and all kinds of materials are fully supplied. At present, the factory buildings and workers' dormitories have been completed, and large equipment has been put on site for assembly. In at most half a year, the steel plant will be basically completed.

Is it fast?

Compared with the people who go to get off work on time every day, this speed is indeed fast.

But compared with the Chinese who work day and night, this speed is reasonable.

Once the hardworking Chinese see hope, their enthusiasm is unparalleled. Although the Pontianak government has repeatedly reiterated that it is necessary to combine work and rest, almost everyone will choose to work overtime. They want to finish the work as soon as possible so as to get more rewards.

Those Annan people and local aborigines were hired. According to the agreement signed in advance, the construction period was set at one year. For every day of early completion, the Pontianak government would give a certain reward.

Of course, this incentive method has also become recognized evidence of the cruel exploitation of capitalists in the eyes of some people.

Well, in the eyes of some people, no matter what the rich do, they can become evidence of exploiting workers.

The strike at the Pontianak Steel Plant immediately attracted the attention of the Pontianak government. That morning, Prime Minister Huang Bohan flew from Surabaya, the seat of the Lan Fang government, to Pontianak to work with the Pontianak government to resolve the matter.

This was the first workers' movement in Lan Fang and the first mass incident after the establishment of Lan Fang. How to deal with this incident has important reference value for handling similar incidents in the future, so let alone the government, even the Daily News sent reporters to Pontianak.

In the temporary tent that has always served as the headquarters, worker representatives are negotiating with representatives of the capital and the government. Outside the tent, soldiers with live ammunition were on guard. Under a big tree farther away, Huang Li and Wu Qing were sitting on bamboo lounge chairs waiting, and both of them looked unhappy.

"It's true what the "Internal Reference" said. These old Russians really have bad intentions. These idiots are also crazy. They actually believe those old Russians. They have studied for so many years, and their knowledge has gone to waste!" Huang Li's expression was sinister, and he kept cursing.

"Just be quiet. Are you willing to send us to Turtle Back Island?" Wu Qing kept flashing a big cattail leaf fan and complaining.

Huang Li and Wu Qing led the 32nd Regiment back to the Republic of China. As a result, due to improper handling, the "Tianjin Wharf Incident" occurred. The two should have been fired, but Qin Zhiyuan only demoted them one level and fined them for half a year because they had made great contributions in Europe.

Huang Li and Wu Qing are both senior employees. They both have shares in LLL Company. Although the shares are not much, they are much more than their salary. Therefore, they don’t care about fines.

It’s okay not to care about money, but there are things that make them care.

Because of the mistake made this time, the two were excluded from the Northern Expedition Corps and transferred to Pontianak as the garrison commanders. They are still two people in the team.

Now it has become a blessing and a curse. Wu Qing is no longer restrained in front of Huang Li. He complains when he should complain and laughs when he should laugh. The relationship between the two has improved a lot.

"What do you mean I should be quiet? What decisions I make are not agreed by you? If you, the chief of staff, disagree, what can I do?" Huang Li certainly did not admit it.

"Humph, I'm giving you the power now. You should arrest and beat them later. Don't be polite." Wu Qing didn't even raise his eyebrows.

"Arrest? Do you dare to arrest?" Huang Li was still frightened.

After experiencing the "Tianjin Wharf Incident", Huang Li was extremely wary of mass movements. As the saying goes: Once bitten by a snake, you will be afraid of the rope for ten years. Huang Li did not think that violent resolution was a good idea.

"Tsk! Don't you see who is causing trouble? If it were our soldiers, maybe Master Qin would still talk nicely. Now facing these little monkeys, do you think Master Qin and Master Huang will condone them?" Wu Qing has seen through the world.

Qin Zhiyuan and Huang Bohan now have supreme reputation in Lan Fang. In some areas, Huang Bohan's reputation is even higher than Qin Zhiyuan's.

If Huang Bohan and Huang Jinsheng had not gone to France to connect with Qin Zhiyuan, Lan Fang would still be nowhere to be seen, the Dutch would continue to rule here, and the lives of the Chinese would still be in dire straits.

So for Lan Fang, Qin Zhiyuan as a "protector" is of great significance, and Huang Bohan as an "initiator" has also made great contributions.

That's why Wu Qing and others respect Huang Bohan as "Master Huang", and Huang Bohan's portrait is printed on the 50-yuan version of the banknote.

"Humph, since you can fight and capture, it doesn't matter if you kill one or two people." Huang Li was angry.

After experiencing the shame of the "Tianjin Wharf Incident", Huang Li has gone from one extreme to another.

The "Tianjin Wharf Incident" has now been determined to be a misunderstanding caused by some people's deliberate provocation.

But for Huang Li and the soldiers of the 32nd Regiment, the "Tianjin Wharf Incident" is a shame, and they will remember it for the rest of their lives.

The original text is in Liu # 9 @Shu/Bar!

"Even if it's killing, we don't need to do it ourselves, it will just tarnish our reputation. Think about who the acting governor of Indochina is. Will he let our Master Qin suffer a loss?" Wu Qing saw through it.

That's right, the current acting governor of Indochina is Bastien. If someone needs to be killed, Bastien will do it.

The reason why he is called "acting governor" is that the French Army Department still reserves this position for Qin Zhiyuan, waiting for Qin Zhiyuan to take office, so Bastien is only acting governor.

Huang Li and Wu Qing were chatting lively outside, and the verbal battle in the tent was no less intense.

"... So we demand that the eight-hour work system be implemented resolutely, and the working hours cannot be extended at will, and work must be stopped when the weather is hot. At the same time, the workers must improve their treatment level and get equal pay for equal work with those French and Germans..." Zheng Daling made demands as a worker representative.

"Wait a minute, don't make so many demands at once, let's talk about them one by one." Huang Fugui, the representative of the capital side, who is also the Minister of Industry of Lan Fang and Qin Zhiyuan's personal butler, said slowly.

"Regarding the eight-hour work system, I have a statistic here. France currently implements an 11-hour work system. The UK and the US do not have specific regulations, but usually the working hours are more than 11 hours. Our eight-hour rule is very humane. Even if it exceeds the working hours, there will be corresponding compensation. Isn't it wrong to let workers earn a little more? Are you sure that your request is the request of all workers?" Huang Fugui's voice was not loud, but the content of his words was a bit heartbreaking.

"As for equal pay for equal work, those French and Germans are blueprint drawers, and you are construction workers. The jobs you do are inherently different. How can you get equal pay for equal work? If you are asked to draw blueprints, can you draw them? If you can draw them, then there is no problem with equal pay for equal work, but if you can't draw them, why should you get equal pay for equal work with those people? You keep saying you want fairness, but they have been learning and receiving all kinds of education since they were born, while you have been playing since you were born, and you can't even recognize all Chinese characters now. If those people are making the same amount of money as you now, do you think this is fair?" Huang Fugui finished speaking, looking at Zheng Daling who was dumbfounded, waiting for Zheng Daling's rebuttal.

Zheng Daling was speechless. Zheng Daling had only been in Russia for a few months, and his understanding of the Bolsheviks in Russia was originally half-understood. Even many real old Russians didn't quite understand what the concept of Bolsheviks was. Zheng Daling certainly couldn't explain it clearly, and he had no experience fighting against an old hand like Huang Fugui.

After waiting for a long time, Huang Fugui did not get the response he wanted, so he continued to talk: "If you have joined the factory for 30 years, and finally become a master, with the experience of a tenth-level fitter or a tenth-level lathe operator, and can earn thousands of francs every month, now a group of young men suddenly come and ask to earn as much as you, what would you think?" Huang Fugui is realistic.

After being with Qin Zhiyuan for a long time, Huang Fugui also learned to steal concepts, and he is very skilled in this.

"We didn't receive enough education because we didn't have the opportunity. If we had the opportunity, we would not be worse than them." Zheng Daling is ambitious.

"Okay, now you admit it, at least at this stage, there is indeed a gap between you and them, so what basis do you have to ask for equal pay for equal work?" Huang Fugui did not talk about the future, but only about the present.

While talking, a secretary came in quickly, handed Huang Bohan a telegram, and then whispered a few words.

Huang Bohan looked at the telegram in his hand, his face was uncertain.

After reading it, Huang Bohan handed the telegram to Huang Fugui and stood up: "Okay, no need to talk!"

No need to talk?

Zheng Daling suddenly cried out in his heart that something was wrong!