1635 Han style rises again

Chapter 1013 Protection of Workers' Rights and Interests

January 1685, 1, New Year's Eve, Jianye.

Before 06:30 in the morning, Yang Annong was woken up by the whispers of his father and elder brother, and had no choice but to sit up from the floor.

"Little San, did you make a fuss?" Yang Shuigen saw his son leaning against the wall with sleepy eyes, lost in thought, and said cautiously: "How about I go out with your elder brother for a walk, and you can go back to sleep again?"

"It's already bright today, so I don't need to sleep anymore." Yang Anlin moved his gaze from the window, and said disapprovingly: "In Gangu Fort (now the small town of Tennant Creek in the Northern Territory of Australia), at this time, I We have already finished our breakfast and are ready to drive the cattle and sheep out to graze.”

"What do you know!" Yang Shuigen rolled his eyes at the eldest son, "Little San works in a big city like Jianye. Every day is very hard. At the end of the day, he has to work for more than ten hours in a row, so he can't guarantee a good rest! It's not like you , You only need to drive the cattle and sheep to the grass, you can wrap your coat, and let the cat continue to sleep under a tree."

"Oh..." Yang Anlin couldn't help but look at his brother sympathetically upon hearing this.

It's true, when I first arrived in Jianye City two days ago, I just waited until after nine o'clock in the evening before leaving the factory.Then he took the two of them to eat something casually, and then returned to this low-rent house with an area of ​​less than [-] square meters.After a brief wash, before even chatting, she actually lay directly on the makeshift floor bed, snoring loudly.

However, I heard from the third brother that he can now earn 12 yuan a month, which is double the amount when he first came here seven years ago.Excluding the rent and daily food expenses, if you save a little, you can save five or six yuan at the end of the month.Calculated in this way, you can save 70 yuan a year.

But in Gangu Fort, he never saw so much cash throughout the year.In ten years, I managed to save more than 100 yuan, but last year, I only slightly renovated the house and barn at home, and then spent all the money again.

This time, taking advantage of the Chinese New Year, I took my old father to Jianye City to visit my third brother who hadn't returned home for five years. I wanted to ask him to borrow some money, thinking about buying a carriage. Help others to pull goods, or pull some passengers to the train station.

Last October, the long-awaited train finally arrived at Gangu Fort where they were located from the hot spring town in the north (now the small town of Mataranka in northern Australia), and then turned a corner from here and continued eastward. , and finally connected to Shanyang County (now Mount Isa, Australia), realizing the connection between the northern railway network of Hanzhou and the eastern railway network.

After the railway was completed, more than a dozen trains passed Gangubao every day, which stimulated the flow of local people and goods.Every day, a lot of livestock and wool will be transported by train to Jianye Mansion in the north, or to Guangling Mansion in the east (now Townsville, Australia).Some villagers who wish to see the world will also generously spend a few big dollars to buy a ticket and take the train to those big cities that were once out of reach.

Yang Anlin saw those economical villagers in the town buy horse-drawn carriages, rush to the train station, invite guests to the station to ride, or be hired by businessmen to help transport goods and earn a lot of money. Very excited.If you can borrow hundreds of 80 yuan from the third child and get a carriage, wouldn't it be an extra income for the family.

Hearing that his elder brother wanted to borrow money, Yang Annong couldn't help but hesitate a little.

When he first came out to work, in order to show his filial piety, he sent almost all the wages he earned back home to supplement the expenses of the whole family.When I became an adult, I thought that I would eventually establish my own family and start a business, so I gradually reduced the amount of money I sent home.Over the years, I have also saved more than 260 yuan, all of which are deposited in the account of Hanzhou Bank.

In October last year, through the introduction of a co-worker, I met a gentle and lovely woman, and the two fell in love with each other.I was still thinking about going to her house to propose marriage when the time was right, and then the two of them would buy a small house and live a peaceful and beautiful life together.

It is very embarrassing to say that I have already reached the age of 23 and have not yet married a wife.When his elder brother was around, he added a nephew to him.Today, the eldest brother is just 30 years old, and there are five sons and daughters in total, and the oldest is already in middle school.

Thinking about the hard work of the eldest brother, he not only has to honor his parents, but also raises so many children in his own family.In addition, there are two younger brothers and sisters under them. Although they can rely on their parents for a living, they also need the care of the elder brother.

Thinking of this, Yang Annong secretly sighed, and immediately agreed to the elder brother's request to borrow money.In Jianye City, there are many unmarried young men like him in their twenties, so it's okay for him to postpone his marriage for a year and start a family.

"Little San, if you're too tired, don't accompany us on a stroll around the city, go back and have a good rest."

After breakfast, the father and son came to wander around the city with great interest. The noisy and crowded roads, the shops lined up along the street, all kinds of businessmen and scholars, and the towering and magnificent buildings on both sides of the street, all made Yang Shuigen and his son from the countryside It was dizzying.However, seeing the third child yawning from time to time while walking, Yang Shuigen couldn't help feeling sorry for his son's hard work.

"Father, it's okay." Yang Annong smiled and waved his hands, "I'm used to being busy on weekdays, but it's a little uncomfortable to suddenly stop during the Chinese New Year."

"Well, working in the city can indeed make money. But the working hours in this factory are too long. The busiest spring plowing and autumn harvesting in our countryside are also day and night, but it will be over after a month. How can it be like you, how can your body bear it like this every month and every day?"

"Father, our factory is not always so busy." Yang Annong comforted his father, "Look, during Chinese New Year, Mid-Autumn Festival, and His Majesty's Longevity Day, the factory has holidays. Oh, yes, come on The cabinet issued a decree last month, requiring all factories and commercial companies in our country to give workers and associates two days off every month. During the holidays, wages and salaries must not be deducted.”

"That's good, that's good!" Yang Shuigen nodded again and again, "If you want to say that you love the people like your son and sympathize with the people, you have to belong to the emperor of Daqi. More than 30 years ago, if the emperor hadn't sent a boat to Daming to pick us up, our lives would be hanging by a thread. Your father starved to death in the wild long ago, becoming a pile of bones. Naturally, you little bastards are not enjoying this colorful world now!"

"Father, as the citizens of the Qi State, we work hard to create wealth for the country, so we deserve what the country... By the way, it's development dividends."

Yang Annong thought about it carefully. In the newspaper I read a few days ago, there seemed to be an article that mentioned a few words. In the past 50 years of development, the country has gradually developed from a poor and white state to a prosperous and powerful country today. The development of the country over the years should be The results and the economic dividends obtained will give back to the people and actively improve the people's livelihood in the country.

There are also some articles calling for reducing the labor intensity of grassroots workers, appropriately increasing workers’ wages and benefits, and punishing many domestic factories and commercial companies for their long working hours, frequent industrial accidents, and endless incidents of corporal punishment and abuse of workers. Necessary improvements and corrections.

Under the guidance of this kind of public opinion, the cabinet government issued the "Regulations on the Work and Rest Guidance of Workers" last year, stipulating that workers have the right to rest on the statutory holidays designated by the government, and enjoy two more days at the beginning and middle of each month. Another law, the Worker Injury Protection Law, was promulgated, which requires factories and commercial companies to have the obligation of economic compensation for workers who are injured and disabled due to work.

In addition, the cabinet also ordered the Ministry of Civil Affairs, the Ministry of Industry, the Ministry of Commerce and other competent departments to start a nationwide review of the implementation and promotion of the Workers’ Insurance Law promulgated five years ago, so as to ensure that the workers’ pension insurance policy can be implemented. to the point.

In view of the acceleration of the urbanization process, in order to improve and guarantee the living environment of workers entering the city, the government has led the construction of a large number of low-rent apartments in several major industrial cities in China since five years ago. Houses are leased to migrant workers.

Yang Annong’s low-rent apartment in Jianye City is small in size. There are only simple supporting furniture such as beds, wardrobes, tables and chairs in the house, which can meet basic living needs. The room is even cheaper by two cents.

In addition to the one-bedroom apartments for bachelors like him, the low-rent apartments also have two-bedroom, three-bedroom, and four-bedroom family apartments to fully meet the housing needs of different renters.

In this way, there are a large number of factories that earn money by working in the city, comfortable and stable housing, and the government has successively issued various laws and regulations to protect the rights and interests of workers. In addition, the city has a variety of recreational methods, and the bustling and bustling market is very convenient. Quick way of life, let me ask, in this environment, who would want to go back to the closed and barren inland towns? ——
For the prosperity and excitement of Jianye City, Count Pablo Alvarez, vice chairman of the West Indian Affairs Council of the Kingdom of Spain and special condolence (apology) envoy, was extremely shocked.

Unexpectedly, a country in the New World that has risen for less than 50 years is so rich and powerful!

After half a year of back-and-forth negotiations, coupled with one bad news after another from the American territories, the Spaniards finally realized the situation they were in.With their current strength, they can't do anything to Qi State at all, um, or to be precise, they can't beat Qi State at all, they can only blindly be beaten passively.

In addition, the unreasonable Louis XIV once again made a territorial claim to Spain very arrogantly when the Kingdom of Spain fell into disputes with Qi.This time, they set their sights on Sardinia and the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean Sea. Holding a pile of "ancient" documents retrieved from an unknown corner, they asserted convincingly that the two islands are legally It should belong to France, and the Spaniards are required to "return" the above-mentioned islands to France immediately.

At the same time, in order to maintain the peace of the Mediterranean, Louis XIV also asked the Kingdom of Spain to withdraw all the troops and ships stationed in Sicily, so as not to threaten the coast of France.

Faced with the greed and shamelessness of the French, the Spaniards were deeply angry.But in the face of the French army staring at the side of the Pyrenees, the Spaniards felt a little bit of chills, and they were a little helpless.

Even if the Kingdom of Spain can rely on the mountainous terrain to block the French Army on the north side of the Pyrenees, in the Mediterranean Sea, the kingdom's weak navy and a dozen ships cannot cope with the stronger French navy.

Under such circumstances, no matter how the Kingdom of Spain faces the threat of force from France in the future, it has become the unanimous consensus of the Kingdom to end the war with Qi as soon as possible, ensure the security of the homeland, and prevent the Kingdom from continuing to lose meaningless blood. .

In the name of the King of Spain, Qi Guo made an apology and made compensation. Although it harmed the majesty and honor of the royal family, it was not unacceptable.Besides, in the past few decades, the dignity of the royal family has been tarnished and trampled more than once. Well, as long as you get used to it, it doesn't matter.

As a result, the Kingdom of Spain, which no longer cared much about face, quickly reached an armistice agreement after several rounds of negotiations with Qi's general representative in Europe.In terms of the division of territorial forces in the Americas, the two sides took 38 degrees south latitude as the boundary (probably located near the port of Mar del Plata, Argentina today), and "ceded" half of the La Plata area to Qi State in exchange for the territory occupied by Qi State. City of Buenos Aires.

Regarding the division of North American territories, the two sides are temporarily bounded by 34 degrees north latitude (probably located near present-day Los Angeles, USA), and they belong to each other and do not invade each other.

In fact, no matter whether it is the Kingdom of Spain or the Kingdom of Qi, they are not very satisfied with this result.

Spain has always regarded the entire Americas as its own territory, and does not allow any country to get involved.But for more than a hundred years, as their own strength continued to decline, so that they could not protect the food on the plate, several European powers such as Britain, France and the Netherlands entered America one after another to seize territory.Now, even a New World country in the Indian Ocean has come to rob the Spaniards of food, eating Patagonia, half of La Plata, and Upper California in one bite.This made the Kingdom of Spain feel an unprecedented sense of crisis and urgency, so it wanted to take advantage of the time to take a breather to strengthen its national strength and expand its dilapidated navy, hoping that one day, it could completely expel Qi.

However, the state of Qi is limited by the small population in the American territory, so it cannot eat too much territory at once. It can only rest temporarily, immigrate slowly, try to accumulate strength, wait for a suitable opportunity, and then bite off a few pieces of meat from the Spaniards. Come.

Count Pablo Alvarez, as the special envoy sent by His Majesty the King to Qi for condolences (apology), was very unhappy along the way. Most of his trip to the mainland of Qi would inevitably be humiliated.When he took the Dutch East India Company's fleet to the east, he was unwilling to step out of the small cabin except for occasionally going to the deck to breathe the wind.He knew that the Dutchmen on board would laugh at him and laugh at him from the bottom of their hearts.

After the fleet arrived in Cape Town, the accompanying Qi State diplomats invited him to board a Qi State warship and head for the mainland of Hanzhou.

After boarding the Qi people's ship, the whole journey suddenly became easier.Count Pablo Alvarez was even more surprised that almost every ten days and a half months, the Qi warship would stop at a port for a short rest and replenishment.From South Africa, to East Africa, to the Red Sea, as far as Persia, India, and Malacca, there are almost all overseas territories and key sea points controlled by Qi State.

It turns out that the hegemony of the Indian Ocean claimed by the people of Qi is really not a big deal.They actually controlled the entire Indian Ocean, thus monopolizing the entire eastern trade.

Well, this time, taking advantage of my visit to the mainland of Qi, I want to take a good look at what kind of world power our Kingdom of Spain has provoked.

(End of this chapter)