Chen Jingke took Li Shimin and his party on a detailed tour of the factory area. What shocked them the most was undoubtedly the loom factory.
The machines in other factories only play an auxiliary role. The steam loom truly replaces labor and is purely operated by machines.
Chen Jingke said: "The speed of these looms is ten times that of an expert weaver. In fact, it can do fifteen times or more."
"It's just that these machines are the first batch. There may be design flaws. For safety reasons, the speed is set at ten times."
"The academy has made targeted improvements based on the operation of these machines. The speed of the next batch of machines can be increased to more than fifteen times."
Many people expressed disapproval of this speed.
It's only ten times faster. The price of this machine is enough for them to hire ten weavers to work for ten years.
Changsun Wuji glanced around, a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth, and said: "People will get tired, but machines will not."
"So overall, this machine is dozens or hundreds of times more efficient than a human being. Jing Ke, am I right?"
Chen Jingke smiled and said: "What Mr. Zhao Guogong said is true. This machine can run at ten times the speed without interruption for a whole day."
"It is impossible for a person to weave for a whole day without stopping. There are very few people who can weave for an hour without taking a rest."
Those who disapproved showed expressions of sudden realization and no longer dared to show any contempt.
Sure enough, there is a reason to be expensive.
Many people have already thought about whether to open such a factory at home.
Immediately, someone asked: "Master Chen, I wonder how much a loom like this costs?"
Chen Jingke did not answer directly, but said: "These are experimental looms. The price will not be determined until new products are released next year."
"But even if the new product is finalized, I'm afraid it won't be available for sale for a long time... It's not that we don't want to sell it, but the production is limited."
"Now we are lacking everything, including skilled craftsmen and steel... The looms produced in our factory are not enough for our own use."
Everyone looked disappointed. It was really uncomfortable to see a lot of money under their noses but not being able to earn it.
Li Shimin said from the side: "What you are doing is wrong. I remember you often said that eating alone will not end well. How can you keep all such a good machine for your own use?"
Chen Jingke smiled bitterly and said: "It's really not me who is the only one, but the output is really limited... This weaving factory was not opened by me, but by the Lou Taoist Temple, but I didn't make a penny."
"It's just that everyone knows about our relationship with the Corridor Taoist Temple. There is really no way to bypass them and sell the machine to outsiders."
Li Shimin said: "Well, didn't you say that there is a shortage of craftsmen and steel? You are allowed to go to the Ministry of Works and the general supervisor to select a hundred craftsmen, and I will ask the Ministry of Works to provide you with a batch of steel."
"When steam engines and looms are produced, you will keep 30% for your own use and 70% for external sales."
Chen Jingke hesitated and said: "Thirty percent is too little, how about 50%?"
Li Shimin said without any doubt: "Sanqi, if you don't agree, forget it."
Chen Jingke said gloomily: "Hey, you can't just take away people's right to bargain just because you are a saint."
Li Shimin glared at him and said, "What did you say?"
Chen Jingke shrank his neck and said quickly: "Nothing, I agree, the saint is really wise and powerful."
Everyone smiled, and at the same time they couldn't help but sigh, Chen Zhenren was really favored.
Xiaoxiao made a joke, and Chen Jingke said seriously: "The machine needs people to operate and maintain it. We can help with training for these."
"But there is a condition. Everyone who buys a machine must abide by the manual. If anyone violates the regulations in the manual, we have the right to take back the machine."
Everyone could not help but frown. Although they had not seen the specific employment manual, they had seen the treatment of these workers.
There are minimum salary restrictions, a four-hour working day, weekends, and national statutory holidays.
You can also work overtime, but the overtime pay is three times your salary.
There is also a weekly overtime limit, which cannot exceed seven hours at most.
If you are injured during work, the factory will be responsible for treatment, compensation, etc.
Coupled with some miscellaneous terms, it is simply not too generous.
This is not like hiring some workers to do the work, it's just like hiring an uncle.
Someone immediately raised questions.
Chen Jingke knew this would happen a long time ago and said: "You are all successful and famous people. If you open a factory just to pursue financial gain, it will be too inferior."
"As the saying goes, if you are poor, you can be good for yourself; if you are rich, you can help the world... Let me be more arrogant. When we are in our position, what we pursue should be to help the world and the people, and to be famous before and after death."
"I gained more money by enslaving and exploiting workers, but I was stabbed in the back by everyone, and was recorded in history books as being rich and unkind."
"Open a factory to benefit the people, change the fate of hundreds or even thousands of poor families, and become a well-known benevolent person. Which of these two options do you want?"
Many people looked thoughtful, but more people still disagreed.
Chen Jingke also saw their thoughts and said instead: "So, have you ever thought about who the goods produced in the factory are sold to?"
"The self-sufficient people in the countryside? They can't even guarantee food and clothing. How can they buy these goods? Sell them to people in the city? How much can they digest?"
"So we have to make some people rich and then sell goods to these rich people."
"Workers receive good wages. What will they do if they have money in their pockets? Dig a hole and sell the money?"
"No, they will find ways to change their lives and buy all kinds of goods."
"In this way, the money will be back in your pockets after going around in a circle, and it will also earn you a good reputation."
"In this process, the court can also receive taxes... It can be said that this is a win-win situation."
Many people were even more confused by his explanation.
Wouldn't it be enough to just pay a low salary and put all the money in your own pocket? Why go around in circles like this?
Li Shimin often chatted with Chen Jingke, and he was the first to react and praised: "Okay, Jingke's method is very good. The employment manual you compiled should be popularized all over the world."
"When I get back, I will ask the queen to implement this method in all royal workshops, and in the future I will promote this method to the world."
Chen Jingke said from the bottom of his heart: "Your Majesty is wise."
When the others saw that the emperor had spoken, they couldn't say anything else.
Currently, the largest business group in the Tang Dynasty is the royal workshops controlled by the Queen, with tens of thousands of people working here.
If the Royal Workshop uses the "Working Manual", the influence will be too great, and it can indeed form a rule system in the entire country.
Besides, even the Queen’s workshop uses this manual, how dare others not follow suit?
After coming out of the factory, everyone got on the train again and finished the last section.
The last section is from the factory to the shipping terminal, which is about five miles.
Usually when the factory purchases raw materials and sells goods out, the goods are all shipped from this pier.
When the train was halfway through, it happened to see a convoy of oxen and horses transporting goods.
The queue was very long, stretching for more than a mile.
Chen Jingke said: "These people are from poor families around them, and they make a living by transporting goods to the factory."
Li Shimin nodded and said thoughtfully: "The train will probably be a disaster for them, right?"
Chen Jingke said in a serious tone: "Yes, these porters make a living by helping the factory transport goods. With the train, they will lose their jobs."
"Actually, it's not just them. When trains are built all over the world, porters who rely on freight for a living will probably lose their jobs."
Li Shimin was stunned. He had indeed not considered this issue. But the matter was not complicated. He could understand what Chen Jingke said with just a brief thought.
Yes, what should we do with these porters?
Thinking of this, his mood suddenly became heavy, and he said: "This is a good question. The court must make preparations in advance, otherwise it will cause big trouble."
Chen Jingke also said cautiously: "The best way is to open more factories and provide new jobs for these people. In this way, it will not only solve the survival problem of these people, but also benefit the world."
"Our factory is about to expand. Some of these porters will be recruited, and the rest can also work as coolies at the dock to load and unload goods."
"And once the train station is built, a small town will be formed here. As the number of people increases, various needs will arise, and people will come to open various shops."
"It won't be long before a commercial town will be formed here to support more people."
Li Shimin can understand this. A grand canal has nurtured several large cities and countless people have benefited from it. The train station will definitely have similar effects.
"So although the opening of trains will cause some people to lose their jobs, it will create more job opportunities."
"The difference lies in how the court arranges these new job opportunities to benefit more people."
Li Shimin nodded and said: "Go back and write a memorial to me."
Chen Jingke said: "Here."
This incident also made Li Shimin wake up from the excitement brought by the train and start to think more.
He knew very well what the people would do once the imperial court made it difficult for them to survive.
Although we are now an agricultural society, most people are tied to the land.
However, there are also many people who do not have land, and there are also many people who live by doing business, relying on goods, and working as coolies.
For example, among the hundreds of thousands of water transport workers, water transport is the most affected by train traffic.
Those canal workers must be settled well, otherwise there will be great trouble.
Not building railways?
Impossible, he knew how much the train helped Datang, so he couldn't stop eating because of choking.
Then we can only find ways to accommodate those who have lost their jobs due to trains.
And we can’t wait until the train is repaired before starting the resettlement. By then, everything will be too late, and we must make preparations in advance.
When the train arrived at its destination, Li Shimin got off and started walking around, and found that there was already a prototype of a town here.
There are tea shops, restaurants, inns, and all kinds of snacks and other items.
Soon he discovered something unusual and said: "This place is in good order. Who made the plan? Who is in charge of the management?"
Chen Jingke said: "I did the planning, and the management was done by the local stingy men. However, both the academy and the factory area sent people to assist in the management."
Li Shimin nodded slightly. This stingy man was most likely a puppet, but Chen Jingke did not directly send his own people to manage it. Instead, he found a court official to act as a puppet. At least he respected the court on face.
He has decided to bring some officials over later, not only to supervise the factory, but also to let these people learn new things like how to manage a railway station.
After going around in a circle, he took the people on the return journey.
This time the train did not stop along the way and drove all the way to Yanpingmen.
What surprised Chen Jingke was that there were tens of thousands of people guarding the place, and they cheered loudly when the train returned.
Obviously, curiosity about new things makes many people choose to wait for the train to return.
The train incident has already spread throughout the capital and has become the hottest topic at the moment. Wherever there are crowds of people, someone is guaranteed to be talking about this matter.
It’s just that most people don’t know much about trains, don’t know why they run, let alone what they will bring.
Many people don't know the name of the train, but call it Iron Ox, but this does not affect everyone's enthusiasm at all.
The same rice feeds all kinds of people. Some people think trains are good, while others think they are bad.
People think bad things have many reasons, one of which is that they affect Feng Shui.
Moreover, when the train is running, it will make huge vibrations when the train is running, which will shake the fate of the country.
Although there are not many people who hold this idea, since it is related to Feng Shui and luck, it is not a trivial matter, so some people brought it to the court.
Most people in the court were surprised by this. It is not surprising that there are such rumors among the people. What is strange is that someone dared to bring this rumor to the court.
Do you doubt Zixiaoguan’s status as a Taoist holy land, or do you doubt Dr. Sun’s status as a living god?
Moreover, the emperor personally commanded the civil and military ministers and celebrities to ride the train in person. Isn’t it obvious enough what this means?
You are objecting under the guise of Feng Shui at this time. It is because the old man has eaten arsenic and has become impatient.
Li Shimin also admired such a daring minister and praised him mercilessly.
He also believes that such capable ministers should be reused. It just so happens that the next step of the imperial court is to develop Lingnan, so go and make contributions there.
So no one dared to use Feng Shui and luck to talk about things anymore.
However, since someone proposed this theory, the court had to give an explanation, and Taishi Ling Li Chunfeng was pulled out to do some calculations.
The result is naturally that the train was a rare thing that benefited the Tang Dynasty and would only increase luck.
Taoists also mobilized collectively to advocate that trains are auspicious and not harmful.
After some manipulation, the matter was over and the train was officially accepted by everyone.
Every day, many people stand beside the railway to watch the train.
Even for a long time in the future, going to the west of the city to watch the train will be a sight in Chang'an.
As Chen Jingke said, trains brought unprecedented spiritual impact to the people of the Tang Dynasty.
The study of geophysics has gone from being ignored at first to becoming the most profound and mysterious knowledge.
Studying in academies has become a place that many people yearn for.
