The Great Industrial Ming Dynasty Started from Beiping

Chapter 663 Zhu Gaochi’s helplessness

The total population of Zhejiang Province in the Ming Dynasty reached more than 26 million. If Yingtian Prefecture excludes the population of the capital, then the total population of Zhejiang Province is the largest province in the Ming Dynasty.

The population of 26 million represents a huge consumer market in this region.

The high-level agricultural and economic environment has been consistent with historical development. It is still a tax-rich area of ​​Ming Dynasty, exceeding the sum of many provinces. The tax revenue of the entire seven western provinces is not as good as one-fifth of Zhejiang Province.

Like a huge bottomless pit, while the imperial court was working hard to relocate the population, the Zhejiang Province was endlessly sucking in the surrounding population. In contrast, the population of Jiangxi Province had only grown from 9 million to 1,000 over the past few decades. More than two million.

The personnel following Zhu Zhanji's inspection came from many departments, including the Research Department.

"The industrialized environment and frequent changes in work are actually very unfavorable to married women. On the one hand, the increase in children in the family, and on the other hand, the pressure on the family economy, forcing many children to be unable to study smoothly and enroll in education very early. factory."

"Although His Royal Highness the Prince has formulated many plans very early, it seems that it is not possible to take into account all aspects at present. As the Ming Dynasty Industrial Bureau has entered a development bottleneck, private commercial banks have developed rapidly, and the poorest families like to send their children outside. Work is already the choice of most people.”

"The birth of the youngest child means that the older children must go out to work. Even families with high incomes are eager to let their children go out to work. The coal mining industry is not included in the Ming Dynasty Industrial Bureau, and the wages in the mining industry are high, so children from mining families can Make a lot of money in the mines.”

"According to research, a shearer in a local mining area can earn one yuan and eighty cents per month, while his twelve-year-old son, who works as a coal hauler in the mine, can earn almost one yuan and three cents per month. Both father and son work in local mines. While working in the field, my mother stayed at home to take care of her four younger brothers and sisters.”

"The local government can't stop it, because if their children are not used, the miners under the mine owner will be very dissatisfied and angry, and will think that the mine owner is unkind, so in order to appease the miners, the mine owner also More manpower is needed, so there are many teenagers in the mining area, mainly from miners’ families.”

"There are even children under the age of ten. In order to successfully join the factory, their parents lie and exaggerate their age. The mine owners and local officials turn a blind eye because it prevents the children from joining the work and earning. Money is immoral in local public opinion and in the hearts of those involved.”

Ningbo Mansion.

Yin County.

Wantong Garment Factory.

The workers arranged the cut pieces of cloth, then turned the handle with their left hand and fixed the two pieces of cloth with their right hand. The needle of the cutting machine worked up and down. The new manufacturing method put high demands on the workers.

They need to know how to operate machines and more techniques, but wages in garment factories are not low. In order to make up for the lack of skilled workers, garment factories recruit a large number of apprentices.

Qualified tailors earn up to one yuan and seventy cents per month, and apprentices earn one yuan per month.

The traditional agricultural environment of less than ten acres per household and low food prices made it impossible for farmers to catch up with the level of economic development by relying on agricultural production capacity. The bankruptcy of small workshops eventually caused a large number of local people to join the factory.

Many landlords transformed themselves and opened factories.

Everyone knows the benefits of starting a factory, but the funds to start a factory are never available to ordinary people. It is only possible with boldness and luck, and more people can only work hard.

The high labor cost alone is a huge sum of money, not to mention the cost of machines and factories.

A man in his forties led his son to the foreman and begged for mercy with a smile. The foreman looked at the teenage boy, who had been told by his father at home that he was very honest.

The foreman didn't say much. He gave the man some thin noodles and happily made the boy an apprentice.

The man was a porter. Before he separated from his son, he asked his son to be obedient and diligent. Because of his worries about the unfamiliar environment and his past fantasies about factories, the young man stared nervously at his father.

The boy finally left with the class leader. This is where the adults work, and he will be an adult from now on.

The class leader randomly found a worker, handed the boy over to him, and told him who had such and such a baby, and that he would start with him in the future. The man looked at the boy for a few times, but also didn't say much.

There are new people in the factory every day, most of them are the children of the workers, and everyone is used to it.

The Workers' and People's Union Department was already the most famous department in the Ming Dynasty. There were public offices from the imperial court to local governments, plus the Taxation Department and the Inspection Department, which were the "three big mountains" above the heads of the factories.

Even if it is a factory owned by a private trading company, they do not dare to violate the bottom line.

Although I "cut corners" on lunch breaks and meal times, I still abide by the system on the whole.

At noon, he followed his master to the cafeteria to eat. Sixteen-year-old Zhao Changhe looked around from time to time, but did not see his father. After eating, he followed his master back to the workshop to work until the evening.

From the first day of novelty and excitement, it only took a month to become numb.

Day after day, year after year.

Zhao Changhe served as an apprentice for one year. According to factory custom, he had to become a full-time employee after two years. The apprenticeship period was three years. His luck came when Taisun visited Zhejiang Province and brought many new regulations.

The maximum apprenticeship period in the factory is one year, and the rights and interests are protected by the Ministry of Workers' and Civilian Union.

Although the factory did not ban the use of child labor, it raised the threshold for using child labor and protected the rights and benefits of child labor. After Zhao Changhe learned about it, his family was very supportive.

Even more fortunately, Wantong Garment Factory became the list of factories Taisun inspected.

Therefore, factory owners immediately implemented the new regulations.

Several staff members quickly recorded it.

"According to the survey at Wantong Garment Factory, there are 500 children there. They come from poor families, mainly from surrounding villages and towns. The ages of these children range from seven or eight to teenagers."

"The working hours there are six hours in total, including meal time. One hour is used for eating. These children's hands are generally deformed and their development is delayed. Although according to the original plan, the best arrangements are made every night Teachers teach these children, but overall these children's progress is slow."

"Wantong Garment Factory is an ethical factory in general. There are also more black factories that recruit many black child workers, from vassal countries, as well as children of domestic domestic workers such as Goryeo."

"In order not to be discovered, the factory did not allow the children to leave the factory, and even chained them up. Except for girls, it was slightly looser. But if they thought the girls were suspected of running away, the factory owner would also chain their ankles and use them again. A long iron chain locks the buttocks, and whether it is eating, drinking, or going to the latrine, someone will hold the chain."

"Their parents did not object to the inhumane environment. Instead, they chose to send their children to factories, because only these illegal factories can take in their children and give their children a cheap salary."

"According to the conclusion of the survey, the biggest difficulty in punishing violations of laws such as the employment system and the workers' rights protection system does not lie with the factory owners, but is the main demand of the people."

"Including the existence of most illegal factories, they are also welcomed by foreign workers such as Korean maids. Banning these factories will not be beneficial to the local government, but will be considered immoral by the common people."

"Taken together, most of the local officials chose to ignore it, which not only won the approval of local public opinion, but also satisfied the factory owners and the people. Therefore, if the court wants to forcefully ban these factories, it will arouse the anger of the people. disgust."

Zhu Zhanji flipped through the report. After traveling in the past few months, the excitement at the beginning became more and more calm. He couldn't help but sigh: "It's not easy to govern a country!"

When Yang Pu heard his grandson's sigh, he smiled happily.

The fact that His Highness Taisun has today's insights shows that His Highness Taisun has learned more knowledge and understood more truths than before leaving the capital, which is a good thing for the country.

"Governing a country is not an easy task. It requires consideration from political, economic, cultural and other aspects, and it also has to face various complex interests and conflicts. It is rare for Taisun to have the understanding he has today. "

Yang Pu smiled.

Zhu Zhanji heard his master's teachings and couldn't help but said: "This national event is really difficult to describe in words." Zhu Zhanji thought of what he had seen and heard some time ago.

My father used the Workers' and Civilian Union to protect the rights of workers and banned the use of foreign workers in factories, all for the sake of the people. In fact, there were a lot of violations of the law in the local area, and it was difficult for the court to intervene.

Zhu Zhanji believed that he could never understand it just from books. Only by seeing the phenomenon that happened could he understand the words described.

The situation in Zhejiang Province is so complicated. Considering the current situation in the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Zhanji no longer easily thinks that he can do well just by following the principles in the book like when he was in the capital.

I also understand that my father, who in my eyes is omnipotent, often laments that governing a country is a great science, which is difficult to learn in a lifetime.

But young Zhu Zhanji is confident.

He thinks that he is very young, and as long as he tries his best not to make mistakes, he can live up to the expectations of Grandpa Huang and his father. In the Ming Dynasty, he will definitely not do worse than his father.

Just as the children of workers hope to surpass their parents, young Zhu Zhanji also hopes to surpass his father.
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then.

There was a businessman named Zhang Qi, who gained huge profits by provoking local wars and became the largest cotton merchant in the Western Regions. This local wealthy businessman was also favored by the Zhejiang area because of his capital agility. attract.

Goryeo's stock bank achieved unprecedented success, and the capital of businessmen increased exponentially. In contrast, Hezhong Trading Company proposed the Wanjin Account model, which attracted many businessmen.

Hezhong Commercial Bank adopted the model of Heji Commercial Bank. Over the years, it attracted people's investment and built one comprehensive commercial building after another in the cities of Ming Dynasty. With abundant annual turnover and huge cash flow, it became a large and important business group.

In the process of the Ming Dynasty's laws becoming increasingly perfect, the scale of business groups such as Hezhong Trading Company became larger and larger.

The elderly Zhang Qi came to Zhejiang in person and saw the economic level of Zhejiang. He couldn't help but sigh that even though the Western Region Province was developing rapidly, it was still far behind compared to Zhejiang Province.

Hezhong Commercial Bank proposed to buy land and open commercial buildings in all cities of the Ming Dynasty, establish a commercial system all over the world, and become the largest trade terminal, surpassing the terminal trade system of the Ming Industry Bureau in one fell swoop.

If it were an ordinary trading house, the businessmen would not be so excited, but the success of Hezhong Trading Company over the years has proved that the slogan of Hezhong Trading Company is not false.

The businessmen gave high approval to the business ideas proposed by the big boss Wang Ren, so people were very interested in joining Wanjin Account.

"The Wanjin Account model was not invented by me. There are successful precedents."

At the business exchange meeting, Wang Ren said in public that people were listening to his speech.

High rise building.

The entire floor was covered with new carpets and exquisite decorations, which made it look magnificent. Everyone who attended had a certain amount of capital. Under the circumstances, they seemed gentle, courteous, and modest.

The staff skillfully used the steam engine to go up and down the stairs, delivering sumptuous food and expensive drinks to the merchants.

"The Kaizhong method was originally founded by Emperor Taizu. Mainland merchants transported grain to Shaanxi and other border areas. They recruited local people to farm the land in order to reduce the burden on the court and make profits for themselves. They also proposed the Wanjin account model. Everyone works together and the money earned is shared through shares.”

"Now Heji Trading Company will be like this. It has changed from a small-scale IPO to a public offering. Any interested comrades can join Hezhong. Comrades will work together to make Hezhong bigger and stronger, and finally get the profits they want. .”

"Moreover, Goryeo's stock bank has proved the success and advantages of this model. I firmly believe that the future Hezhong Trading Company will definitely become the leading business group in the Ming Dynasty through the Wanjin Account model."

Wang Ren almost said more than Heji.

Wang Ren acknowledged the size advantage of Daming Industrial Bureau, but Daming Industrial Bureau had limitations. Its positioning was no longer that of Daming Industrial Bureau, but rather that it surpassed He Kee Trading Company, its strongest rival for many years.

But he held back, because he didn't want to make Heji famous on such an important occasion in the super-standard chamber of commerce that he had spent all his time organizing.

Hezhong Trading Company is a fat sheep recognized by businessmen.

Wanjin Account is not without foundation. In recent years, with the successful experience of Korea Stock Bank, businessmen recognized Wang Ren's ability, so they all took out funds to join Hezhong Trading Company's Wanjin Account.

They enjoy dividend rights and do not participate in management rights.

Overnight, Hezhong attracted millions of dollars in funds, real cash.

There is no way to make money faster than this in the world.

Encouraged by Hezhong, Heji would not let Hezhong surpass him. Soon Zhang Bo also imitated Wanjin Zhang, which was also a great success, and he obtained more than 6 million in funds overnight.

The wealth that Ming Dynasty had developed through productivity over the years was officially circulated in the business district, and its scale was staggering.

The Ming Dynasty Industrial Bureau is huge.

However, the coal mining industry has been split up, and the railways have also been split up. More and more splits are being made. Stability is the core of the Ming Dynasty Industrial Bureau, which is related to the livelihood of millions of workers. No one dares to innovate easily.

Under the fierce competition between the two leading companies, Hezhong and Heji, the company's reputation has surpassed that of many other industries in the Ming Dynasty Industry Bureau.

In the textile industry, garment industry, weaving industry, etc., private commercial banks have developed faster than the Ming Dynasty Industry Bureau. Many traditional factories in the Ming Dynasty Industry Bureau have been unable to get orders and can only rely on internal orders to survive.

Gao Zhen, the chief shopkeeper of the Ming Dynasty Industrial Bureau, formally proposed to the court to open a series of factories such as textile factories, weaving factories, and garment factories in Goryeo. He wanted to use the low-cost labor force in Korea to restore the competitiveness of the Ming Dynasty Industrial Bureau in these industries.

Multiple reports from the Research Department were also put on Zhu Gaochi's desk.

Based on the detailed information, Zhu Gaochi couldn't help but sigh. This is why later modern Western sociologists first recognized the advantages of capital and then proposed the reasons why egoism caused by capital harms society.

Why are you always looking at China?

Zhu Gaochi couldn't help but frown.

Domestic people are increasingly reluctant to leave their hometown, and capital has begun to flow back.

The richer the Ming Dynasty was, the more people were reluctant to leave.

Compared with countries like Portugal and Spain, the Ming Dynasty still stayed in Nanyang. It seems that it is no longer possible to rely on private capital. Capital is profit-seeking, and it will definitely go where there is wealth.

After all, administrative measures are still needed. In this case, Zhu Gaochi is actually not willing, because there will be more complaints from the people.

Zhu Gaochi focused on the cabinet.

The royal family cannot become the focus of conflicts.

(End of this chapter)