Forbidden City, Wenhua Palace.
In the somewhat strange atmosphere, the old emperor coughed lightly, breaking the somewhat subtle atmosphere, and then spoke again:
"Jingyuan has already talked about the meaning of minimum remuneration. Now, Lao Jiu, please continue to talk about it. How should you set this remuneration amount?"
Zhu Jianfeng himself is certainly not stupid. After being analyzed by Zhu Jingyuan so straightforwardly, he immediately understood what should be done:
“We should not use the actual minimum wage as a standard, but should use the income level of the lowest group of citizens with families whose lives remain basically stable.
"This standard, according to the data I found before, should be at least seven to eight yuan in banknotes per month. If you want to raise two children, you need at least twelve yuan...
“However, this will definitely harm the interests of ordinary small businessmen and factory owners at the grassroots level, and may even lead to the closure of many shops and factories.
“Because they definitely can’t afford it, or are unwilling to pay more than six yuan a month, let alone twelve yuan.
"This will also affect the stability of the country. Workers are common people, and small businessmen are also common people. We cannot tear down the east wall to pay for the west wall!"
Zhu Jianfeng felt that what he said was very reasonable, and it was indeed something he had really considered before.
But he didn't know that his current reaction made both the old emperor and Zhu Jingyuan quite helpless.
Because the night before yesterday, when Zhu Jingyuan made the request, he had already given relevant suggestions. Of course, it cannot be said to be perfect, but it did give direction.
Although the old emperor Zhu Zhongliang already had ideas about his current heir, Zhu Jianfeng was his favorite son after all.
Now faced with his seemingly natural questions, the old emperor continued to remind him with a little patience:
"So Jingyuan said the night before yesterday that the minimum labor remuneration standard will first be implemented in the newly opened sugar, tea, iron, automobile, machine, and shipbuilding industries.
“New industries and new manufacturers will be tracked and supervised by the imperial court and implemented simultaneously. Manufacturers who are unable to enter should not enter these industries.
"In other industries, wait until the peace talks are over and then gradually advance it. That will be your generation's business, and I will no longer care about it."
The old emperor's reminder ended here, but Zhu Jingyuan felt that the old emperor had not finished speaking, so he subconsciously added:
“The reason why manufacturers are unwilling to pay more to hire ordinary workers is that there are a large number of unemployed refugees in the city, and they are willing to work for three yuan in silver notes.
“The new industries that are about to open up are all high-profit industries, and the manufacturers that are able to enter are those with small assets.
“In order to seize the opportunity to start construction quickly, they should directly recruit unemployed refugees to work on a large scale. This will first stabilize the order in the civil unrest areas.
“As new industries expand to absorb refugees, the impact of the minimum wage standards they enforce will spread, attracting existing workers from other existing industries.
“In order to maintain production capacity and prevent all workers from being snatched away by new factories, the original manufacturers can only follow the rules of the new industry and take the initiative to increase labor remuneration.
"After workers' labor remuneration increases, workers' spending in the market will increase, and the income of small shops and small factories will also increase, and they will have money to pay higher wages.
"So after the new industry reaches a certain scale, it will not be difficult to fully roll out the minimum labor remuneration standard. The government only needs to take advantage of the situation and print more money at the same time."
Zhu Jianfeng was stunned again. What is the structure of your child's brain?
How did you develop this way of thinking? How come I never noticed it before?
Did you come up with all of this on the fly the night before? Is this what a fifteen-year-old should be capable of?
Even a thirty-year-old like me might not be able to plan these things immediately on site!
At the same time, the old emperor nodded secretly listening to Zhu Jingyuan's addition. He had not considered these matters carefully before, but he did not expect that Zhu Jingyuan had already made a plan.
The old emperor raised his eyes to look at Zhu Jianfeng again. Looking at his obviously shocked and confused expression, he couldn't help but frown.
The old emperor's current mentality is very complicated, mainly because he has discovered more and more shortcomings in his previously satisfactory heir.
Simply asking him to consider selling the royal family's interests would not know how to maximize the effect.
If the minimum labor remuneration and pensions are not properly implemented, it will become a simple transfer of benefits from the royal family to the elite, while the elite will not transfer benefits to the people at the bottom.
If things go on like this, it will be like before the Renwu Dynasty, where the imperial power will continue to weaken, the elites will expand and fall, the people at the bottom will have a hard time, and then the Ming Dynasty will be over.
On the other hand, Jingyuan just said it casually, and it was so transparent and clear that people could directly understand what the policy goals were.
It was obviously a rush to put the product on the shelves that night, but the plan actually revealed on the spot now seems to be one after another.
The royal family transferred its benefits to nurture the elite, and the elite transferred its benefits to appease the bottom class. This restored stability to the country and the country and maintained the ruling order of the Zhu Ming Dynasty.
The transfer of interests from the royal consortium may make some members of the clan feel resentful towards him and the court, and will certainly weaken the power of the imperial power.
However, according to Shizu's posthumous chapter, this was something that had to be done as the dynasty developed, and reform meant compromise.
Moreover, he also proposed an upgrade plan for the consortium, which in turn would enhance the power and control of the consortium and slow down the decline of imperial power.
To complement it, there are already flying machines, which is a new industry with huge potential and extremely high profits.
Then there is the design and construction of larger-scale warships, which can double the displacement of existing warships and build them in larger batches, which can also divert the energy and manpower of the consortium.
While maintaining internal stability, it can also benefit from external negotiations to some extent, which will in turn stabilize domestic order.
As long as the consortium can make money, the salary received by the clan will not be reduced, and the number of high-level positions available to the clan will not be reduced, but will be replaced overall.
In this way, the clan, the elite, and the lower class can all benefit, and there will be no major problems with the reform.
As for various minor problems, the incomprehension and hatred of a few people, these are things that even a saint cannot avoid.
The thoughts in his heart were scattered, and the old emperor's expression was a little serious. He said to Zhu Jianfeng, half scolding and half reminding:
"Go back and think about it carefully. Follow Jingyuan's ideas and re-plan the matters at hand. Don't let others remind you.
"If you really can't do this job well, then find someone else to do it."
Zhu Jianfeng suddenly woke up and had no time to think about Zhu Jingyuan's brain problems.
All his energy was focused on the old emperor's last two sentences, which were too serious.
If you can't do it well, let someone else do it. What does it mean?
Are you just talking about the Labor Bureau? Or the official position of Minister of Civil Affairs? Or something else?
In this case, such ambiguous words make it impossible not to think about it.
The problem is that at this time, Zhu Jianfeng still instinctively considers things other than the matter itself. This may be the most important reason for his frequent mistakes.
Otherwise, with his knowledge and ability, it would be impossible for him to completely miss the things Zhu Jingyuan mentioned.
Facing the questioning from the old emperor and Zhu Jingyuan, his reaction would not be so unbearable.
Mainly because of the frequent and cordial interactions between the old emperor and Zhu Jingyuan, it was even more difficult for him, who was already anxious, to control his emotions.
He still doesn't realize this himself.
Now he just bowed and answered tremblingly:
"My son...understood."
The old emperor looked at his reaction and sighed helplessly in his heart.
They are all his own children, and they are still children that he once liked very much. Seeing him becoming more and more reckless and ignorant, the old emperor feels a little distressed.
But as the emperor of Ming Dynasty, he should carefully examine the reaction of potential heirs when facing pressure.
If you cannot resolve these pressures independently, you are really not suitable for taking on big responsibilities.
