Tianjin Port is the largest port in the northern part of the empire.
After the Spring Festival, dock workers began to get busy.
There are usually only one or two 10,000-ton cargo ships every week, but this year there are several every day.
Dock worker Huang Defa took off the towel hanging around his neck and wiped the sweat from his forehead.
In Tianjin in March, the weather had not warmed up at all. He was wearing thin clothes, but he was still dripping with sweat.
Huang Defa sat on the stone steps by the roadside. He took out some tobacco from his pocket, put it on the folded paper, and rolled it into a cigarette.
He held the cigarette in his mouth, took out a match and struck it hard to light the cigarette.
Huang Defa took a long puff of cigarette and blew out a round smoke ring.
The daily labor intensity of these dock workers is extremely high.
Only when you have your free time, smoke a cigarette and drink some wine, can you feel happy.
He can earn fifteen taels of silver coins by working at the dock for a month.
He worked hard in his hometown farming for a year, and after deducting the agricultural tax paid to the court, he could earn more than 20 taels of silver coins every year.
Now the mother-in-law and the grown-up boy at home are tending the few acres of land, while he goes out to work with the villagers.
He can save more than one hundred taels of silver coins in a year, which is a huge amount of wealth that his father could not save in his whole life.
Huang Defa was smoking when he saw foreman Li Dayan finished smoking a cigarette and stood up again.
He was brought out of the village by Li Dayan. Most of them, dock workers, came to work with Li Dayan, and his prestige was very high.
Huang Defa frowned and said: "Brother Li, the guy is here again.
We were called out at three o'clock in the morning and have been working until now.
I just heard the sound of the bell tower, and it is already past eleven o'clock.
If you haven't eaten breakfast or lunch, you really won't have the energy to work.
Li Erhu, who lived next door to us, worked hard all night and died of vomiting blood while carrying glass.
His foreman not only has to compensate Li Erhu for his pension, but also compensates the merchant for the loss of his goods."
Li Dayan stared at his big eyes like copper bells.
"Huang Defa, you kid, don't criticize me.
I was also a dock worker who carried bags, so of course I knew that I couldn’t carry out these tasks without enough food.
The owner of the goods is too anxious this time. If we can finish the work on time, we will be given an extra ten cents per package.
I have said something related before, everyone is willing to earn this hundred cents.
You all have to carry almost a hundred bags, which is just an extra tael of silver coins.
This is just one or two silver coins, and you can find a fair-skinned and beautiful girl in Firework Alley."
Li Dayan saw that all the dock workers were convinced, and he said: "I have ordered lunch boxes for everyone, and the lunch boxes will be delivered shortly.
Now, during my break, I will tell you something.
I know there are many singles among you who can feed the whole family without starving.
If you are willing to immigrate to Europe, each of you will be given a settlement fee of thirty taels of silver coins.
If you are willing to continue working at the dock, you will also become a foreman and manage the local dock workers.
If you want to farm in the countryside, there are farms with three to five hundred acres of land.
As farmers, you direct the local people to work."
When Huang Defa heard foreman Li Dayan say this, he stood up and asked in surprise: "As long as we go to Europe, we can become a foreman like you, or become a landlord in the countryside."
Li Dayan glanced at Huang Defa, took a deep breath of cigarette, and blew out the smoke ring at Huang Defa.
"Your kid also wants to live in Europe. You are a member of a big family. Your parents haven't passed away yet, your mother-in-law is still at home, and there is a young boy who has just entered elementary school."
Huang Defa scratched his head and said: "As the eldest son in the family, I must be filial to my parents.
But my land is useless and cannot be used for anything. I think it is just right for him to go to Europe and become a master.
If I continue to let him hang around at home, I'm afraid he will make my father angry to death.
The foreman didn't mention the quota just now, I want to put my brother into the team."
Li Dayan thought that he could win over someone, so the big shots rewarded him with two taels of silver coins.
The only requirement is that you cannot use force, and there is also an age limit. You cannot be too young or too old.
There are no restrictions on the rest. He can recruit as many people as he wants.
Li Dayan took two puffs of cigarette, and finally nodded and said: "For the sake of our friendship, I will take care of your brother's matter for you."
After saying this, he looked at the crowd and said: "You people are already twenty-six, seventy, or even thirty years old, and you are still single, and you can't even get a wife.
When my father was young, anyone in their thirties could become a grandfather.
It's hard for you to find a mother-in-law here in the empire.
If you are willing to immigrate to Europe, the big shots above have already spoken. When you arrive in Europe, if you don't have a wife, you can directly send your wife.
Even though she is a blond and blue-eyed ghost woman, she is still better than no woman at all."
After Li Dayan said these words, many dock workers were moved, and some of them were even ready to pull their brothers over.
Li Da looked at the growing list of names on the paper, and a smile appeared on his lips. Each of these names meant that he had received two taels of silver coins.
…………………………
In Tianjin Linhai Industrial Zone, factory owner Sun Dezhi saw that the factory opposite his factory had closed down.
Sun Dezhi smiled, this was the factory of his nemesis Chen Yidian.
All their factories produce bearings.
Colleagues were enemies. Sun Dezhi had been praying for something to happen to Chen Yidian's factory, but he didn't expect it to come true.
He swaggered into the periphery of Chen Yidian's factory, raised his feet and looked inside the factory.
The machines in the factory have stopped running, and there is not even a single worker in the factory.
Sun Dezhi was very puzzled. Chen had told him to get a big order before one o'clock.
This massive order required his factory to run for half a year before it could be fully delivered.
These factories, which rely on orders to make a living, are most afraid of lack of orders and the factory cannot survive.
Sun Dezhi was really surprised that Chen had no shortage of orders at all, so why did he suddenly close down?
He walked around Chen Yidian's factory and met Zhao Huawen and Li You, two people who also ran factories nearby.
Sun Dezhi clasped his hands and asked, "Brothers, do you know what happened to Brother Chen?"
Zhao Huawen curled his lips and said: "What else can happen? Lao Chen is bankrupt.
He can only resell the factory at a low price, and no one has taken it over yet."
Sun Dezhi was still surprised when he heard that his old rival had gone bankrupt.
"Brothers, I remember that Chen Yidian has just received an order and is going to continue to squeeze the workers in the factory to deliver the order as soon as possible so that he can pick up the next order."
Li You said helplessly: "According to what I know, Lao Chen was completely motivated by greed, which led to the bad consequences.
In recent times, orders for industrial products have surged due to demand from major vassal countries.
Now is still the stage of surge in orders.
The empire's industry and commerce were truly prosperous as never before.
Various large-scale machines were in short supply, and giant ships of 10,000 tons were manufactured as quickly as dumplings.
There are too many factories in our industrial zone. When everyone communicates, everyone has a smile on their face.
We thought this state could last for several years.
As the reconstruction of the newly established vassal states is basically completed, their demand for various industrial products will decline.
Who knew that the kings of these vassal states were not human beings at all?
It would be great if they recruit immigrants from the countryside who are illiterate enemies.
These princes and kings have set their sights on the workers."
Zhao Huawen sighed and said: "It is the workers who best meet the requirements of these princes and kings.
The workers have been working in the factory for a long time, and their discipline and obedience have been trained.
Use them as the core to form an army.
Whether it is powerful in combat, no one can say for sure.
But he will definitely become the best army with discipline and obedience.
When the princes and kings discovered the potential of the workers, they would not let go of the large workers.
In addition, most of the workers are young people, and they are more motivated than the elderly.
These princes and kings targeted workers and recruited a large number of workers at great cost.
Lao Chen's factory usually exploits its workers too hard.
The princes and kings extended an olive branch, and these workers chose to immigrate one after another.
Of the more than 3,000 workers in our factory, more than 800 have been poached by the King of Tang.
This is the result of the action of one prince and king. If all the princes and kings do this, how many workers can we save?
Now, while there are so many orders, workers are constantly running away.
If this situation continues, my factory will cease to exist."
When Sun Dezhi heard the two neighbors say this, he frowned even more.
If his factory encounters this kind of situation, it will end up like Chen Yidian.
Fortunately, he usually does not exploit workers seriously. After the loss of workers, he also recruits new workers in a timely manner.
Sun Dezhi never understood the specific situation of the outside world and thought it was a normal resignation of workers.
He clasped his hands into fists and returned to his factory in a daze.
Sun Dezhi immediately sent out his confidants to understand the current workers' thoughts.
He saw the collected information and found that the current situation was not optimistic.
Many workers are waiting and watching.
Once they think the treatment in the factory is not good, they could only endure it silently before, but now they can lift the table.
When Sun Dezhi discovered this problem, he immediately lit a cigarette and stuffed himself in the room.
There have been many orders during this period, and workers have been clamoring for a raise in wages.
They, the factory owners, believe that the orders received this time are just a short-term burst of orders.
If you raise wages now and orders decrease in the future, it will be very difficult to downgrade the company.
They, the factory owners, unite and as long as no one suddenly raises wages, the situation can be maintained.
Who would have known that these princes and kings did not respect martial ethics, but they actually took a fancy to these workers and poached them at extremely high prices.
Sun Dezhi was choking on the smoke and coughing, and then he walked out of the house.
At this time, we can only increase wages and benefits for workers.
Most people are unwilling to leave their hometowns. The treatment in the two places is not much different, so they are still willing to stay in their hometowns.
…………………………
The sixth prince, Su Sheng, had packed up the belongings of the Tang Palace and was preparing to bid farewell to his father and mother.
He has completed all the preparations before the founding of the country, and he is the first prince to prepare.
The sixth prince, Su Sheng, was in the countryside of Henan. The countryside of the Enlightenment Empire had been hollowed out, and a large number of young people had entered the factory to work.
He immediately changed his target and began to compete with stingy factory owners to rob young workers.
Sixth Prince Su Sheng's operation started smoothly, and these factory owners did not guard against workers changing jobs at all.
He recruited a large number of workers and sent them to Tang Dynasty on passenger ships.
A large part of the money raised from the listing of the development company was used to pay for the settling-in expenses of these young people.
The sixth prince Su Sheng got dressed and was about to take a car to the palace.
As soon as he got in the car, he saw his aide Yu Dehai getting out of his car and running over in a hurry.
The Sixth Prince Su Sheng rolled down the window and asked Yu Dehai: "Mr. Yu, what happened?"
Yu Dehai wiped the sweat from his forehead, took a few breaths, and then said: "His Royal Highness the King of Tang, officials from Tianjin County, Songjiang County, and Guangzhou Prefecture jointly wrote to Your Majesty.
These officials impeached His Highness the King of Tang for forcibly abducting people, interfering with factory production, and competing for profits with the people."
The sixth prince Su Sheng burst out laughing.
"Strive for profit with the people, this is such an ancient slogan.
Don't worry, Mr. Yu, my father will be even more happy when he sees me recruiting a large number of workers.
My father attaches more importance to industrialization than many people imagine."
After the sixth prince Su Sheng finished speaking, he took a car to the palace.
He met with his father and mother and concubine, issued instructions to them, and prepared to leave the empire.
What Tang Wang Su Sheng did quickly spread to the ears of other princes and kings.
King Rui Su Lei always believed that everything was under his control.
He had prepared so many things in advance, but he was just a bit unlucky.
“It’s just a little bit off, and I’m almost ready.
Thanks to Huang Liudi for bringing the ideas, it is simply impossible to completely copy the previous vassal states.
At that time, farmers were still starving. As long as they were given land and food, these people would happily immigrate.
Now that the rural areas of the empire are much richer, if we think about a large number of immigrants, we will need to pay more costs."
King Su Meng of Liang learned about this. He stood up and said: "It's time for me to take action. My uncle has asked the Chahar tribe and several better Mongolian tribes to settle in the territory of Liang.
The Mongolian nomadic tribes are the most powerful nomadic tribes in the world, and they will definitely be able to suppress the local aborigines easily."
Liang Wang Su Meng was not in a hurry to get first place. He knew that if he wanted to go to the territory safely, he had to keep a low profile.
King Su Ming of Qi did not pay attention to this matter at all. All his affairs were handled by his mother.
When Wu Wangqi learned the news, he drank a cup of tea and said to himself: "The minds of little guys are very flexible.
We old guys, we also need to let the little guys see it, we are still young."
King of Chu Lu Chenyang read the data compiled by his confidants. At this time, the news of the departure of the sixth prince Su Sheng caused a small sensation.
King Lu Chenyang of Chu ordered: "We cannot fall too far behind and contact the veterans on this list.
As long as some of them are willing to immigrate to Chu, we don't have to wait any longer and can leave at any time."
The princes and kings were surprised that the sixth prince Su Sheng moved so quickly.
They urged their confidants to prepare themselves to leave the empire.
They want to go to the Arab region and Europe to write their own chapter.