Compared with the gloomy mood of the manufacturers' owners and shopkeepers, the atmosphere among the grassroots managers, technicians, and workers of each manufacturer is completely different.
In a relatively remote small restaurant on the same street as Fugui Restaurant, a group of young people were also drinking and chatting, discussing and confirming their future ideas.
"Old Wang, are you still going to Dashi Country?"
"I won't go. I will go work in a government-run factory next month. The salary should not be much worse than that of Dashi Country. The key is that I don't have to travel so far. I heard that in the future, we may be divided into houses and cars. If I become a Managers may enjoy official status.”
"I won't go either. Our factory is likely to become a government-run factory. People from the yamen have already been here. Our boss and shopkeeper are considering whether to sell the factory to the yamen..."
"I also heard that government-run factories will build their own schools so that children don't have to spend money to go to school, or they will subsidize half of it..."
"Government-run factories are guaranteed. Even if they do not receive the same treatment as officials in the future, the regulations of the imperial court will definitely be implemented honestly, and they will not say one thing and do another like private employers... "
"However, I read in the newspaper that they seem to be saying that after the country advances and the people retreat, and all kinds of factories and business houses become owned by the imperial court, we ordinary people will no longer have the possibility to be our own bosses and make big money..."
"Yes, I heard about it too..."
"You two never thought about opening your own factory, your own business, or becoming your own boss before. Why are you suddenly worried about this now?"
"Besides, it seems that the court has not stopped us from opening our own factories, right? The Yamen has not forced the acquisition of private factories, right? They are all discussing it. If you want to sell it, you can sell it, if you don't want to sell it, don't... …”
"Just read what's in the tabloids. The fundamental reason is that if the yamen don't come forward, the bosses won't be willing to implement the new regulations honestly."
"Yes, the imperial court now requires that the minimum wage be increased every two years. It is also planning to increase the rest time to four days per month like the Great Food Country. The key is not to lower wages."
"The bosses always try to find ways to shirk the blame. It is said that there are policies from above and countermeasures from below. But government-run factories must implement them, and workers will definitely go to government-run factories, and no one will work for them."
"They just don't want to pay more, and they are worried that all the workers will run away and no one will work, so they oppose the opening of factories in Yamen."
"That seems to be the truth..."
"I thought too much before..."
There were people talking about it all over the city. From workers to managers to shopkeepers and owners, almost everyone was involved.
Because this reform affects the vast majority of the urban population.
In fact, this discussion and public opinion turmoil is not only spreading in Edo itself, but also continuing to brew in most areas of the entire Ming Dynasty.
Because the establishment of government-owned manufacturers was carried out simultaneously throughout the Ming Dynasty.
The public opinion response in most areas was very similar to that in the Edo area.
There is a lot of worry among the bosses. Ordinary workers and grass-roots engineering and technical personnel are all thinking about changing jobs in government-owned factories.
Relevant news quickly exceeded the scope of Ming Dynasty.
Royal families, courts, and businessmen from various countries in Europe and the West have also seen relevant news one after another.
They immediately began a very serious discussion and analysis.
The most critical question is whether to follow suit or not.
Most countries were discussing among themselves, but some people hesitated for a while and then asked directly.
Queen Charlotte of the United States and Crown Prince Charles of France both sent telegrams directly to Zhu Jingyuan personally.
The issues are very similar. Can we follow the example of the government-owned consortiums and government-owned manufacturers established by Ming Dynasty?
After Zhu Jingyuan saw the news, he thought about it for a moment and made a similar reply:
You can learn it selectively, but it is recommended to control the amplitude and scope a little, and not be as direct as Ming Dynasty.
Your country's royal family and court's ability to control the people is far less than that of the Ming Dynasty.
Your strength is not strong compared to the civilian population.
If you completely copy Ming Dynasty's plan and directly harm the interests of private capital, it may make some groups take risks.
This may jeopardize your personal safety...
Zhu Jingyuan gave Charles and Charlotte a reminder, but in fact he had already taken corresponding precautions.
After the construction of large-scale government-run factories began, Zhu Jingyuan himself could not go out without going out, and he also avoided participating in any public and public activities as much as possible.
Although, even with the Ming Dynasty's plan, yamen at all levels did not force private manufacturers to death, they just directly participated in the competition.
But there is no guarantee that someone will not go bankrupt because of this, and then want to take revenge on society, or even take revenge on himself, the representative of the royal family.
Since the end of the World War and the opening up of the six major industries, Zhu Jingyuan has vigorously encouraged and promoted the development of private manufacturers through the Aviation Industry Association and Machinery Industry Association. In these years, Zhu Jingyuan has been relatively relaxed about his personal safety.
Because on the whole, I basically did not harm anyone’s interests in this process. The key is to seek benefits for the main forces in society. From businessmen to workers and technicians to bureaucrats, most of them support me.
If you occasionally show your face in public, there will be no problem if you are prepared.
The situation now is complicated, and Zhu Jingyuan is honest.
Zhu Jingyuan can now only obtain feedback from the people through newspapers and his own staff.
As the reform continued, Zhu Jingyuan found that the response from the people was not much different from what he expected.
Of course, the group of bosses is relatively repressed. They feel the competition and administrative pressure from the court and yamen.
Of course they are quite disgusted with this kind of system reform, but they are also powerless to stop it.
There were continuous clamoring in various private newspapers, claiming that this situation of national advancement and private retreat would inevitably affect the development of Ming Dynasty.
Some tabloids even directly said that the Ming Dynasty's prosperous era was coming to an end, the market would definitely continue to cool down, and the finances in the coming year would definitely be ugly.
However, the reaction of the real workers at the bottom is the opposite. They are all waiting for the government-owned manufacturers to become bigger and stronger while planning to change jobs.
The end of the year is coming soon, and the fiscal data in various places in Ming Dynasty are indeed not very good. Many places have experienced huge fiscal deficits.
Because without sufficient budget, a large amount of additional financial funds were temporarily allocated to invest in construction and acquire various basic industries.
In Ankang's eight-year fiscal budget, relevant types of expenditures were directly implemented and increased significantly again.
Budgets for other categories will certainly be affected.
In particular, many budgets to support specific industries and industries, that is, budgets that might have been given directly to private manufacturers, or used to reduce or reduce taxes on certain manufacturers, have been transferred to the construction of government-owned manufacturers.
After the relevant news was confirmed, that is, there will be no corresponding subsidies and various reductions and exemptions next year, it immediately triggered strong opposition from relevant manufacturers.
At the same time, the Central Court of the Ming Dynasty has also officially issued an order to formally implement the mandatory ten-hour work system and the requirement of at least four rest days per month starting from the eighth year of Ankang.
As a result, public opinion about competing for the interests of the people and the advancement of the state and the retreat of the people reached an unprecedented peak from the end of the seventh year of Ankang to the beginning of the eighth year of Ankang.
Zhu Jingyuan just stayed at home and in the Yamen and did not go out.
Eight years after entering Ankang, a large number of violations by manufacturers broke out in various parts of the Ming Dynasty, including Edo.
A large number of private manufacturers received large fines because they refused to implement the latest labor system.
These are actually the typical cases that the yamen specifically targets.
Throughout the eight years of Ankang, if you read the news in some newspapers, you will feel that it is a gloomy and bleak state.
For private manufacturers, they all feel the same way.
Since the end of the world war, private manufacturers, which have been in high spirits, have felt unprecedented pressure in the eight years of Ankang.
Employment competition suddenly intensified, administrative enforcement was suddenly strict, and bosses and shopkeepers complained endlessly.
However, the atmosphere among workers has become significantly more relaxed than in previous years.
The market did not appear depressed at all, but seemed to be becoming more prosperous.
The reason is actually very simple. Workers' wages have not been reduced, but they have more time to rest, and the number of people consuming in the market has also increased.
At the end of the eighth year of Ankang, when various reports for the new year came out, many officials started laughing.
Ankang's fiscal revenue has grown by more than 20 points in eight years!
The key is that the forecast for next year is also very optimistic, and the growth rate may increase.
The reason is also very simple. Not to mention reasonable tax avoidance by private manufacturers, tax evasion and tax evasion are repeatedly prohibited.
It is difficult for government-owned manufacturers to evade taxes, and any extra profits must be paid directly to them. This is all income.
In the past two years, government-run manufacturers have just started operating, and those that have made profits are mainly light and small industries, and the amount of income is not high.
Moreover, it is still in the investment stage as a whole, and the direct surplus of government-owned manufacturers is not much.
When large-scale industries start to make profits and enter the income stage as a whole, this income will be even more considerable.
The income from the industries affiliated to the Ming Dynasty consortium is directly handed over to the imperial court and the corresponding level yamen, which is similar to the imperial court making money directly.
At the same time, new benefits for court officials have been gradually implemented in the past two years.
So the atmosphere in the bureaucracy is quite relaxed and pleasant.
After the eight years of Ankang, Zhu Jingyuan's term in the Edo region is also coming to an end.
The reforms in Edo, Nara, and Korea have also begun to bear fruit.
After the Spring Festival in the ninth year of Ankang, Zhu Jingyuan no longer directly participated in local affairs.
While reviewing and summarizing the achievements of the past two years, waiting for the new appointment from the court, he packed his things and prepared to leave.
The general education examination certificate system has been fully implemented in Edo, Nara and North Korea.
All local residents have obtained simultaneous examination certificates.
All administrative and civil affairs affairs in the three places will be based on the general education examination certificate, and no other identity information will be consulted.
This is a very exaggerated achievement.
Two years is definitely not a long time when it comes to administrative reform. Under normal circumstances, it would be impossible to do such a thorough job.
Because Zhu Jingyuan had made the request at the beginning, the difficulty could be reduced for those who failed the exam multiple times, and those who did not cooperate with the exam would be forcibly sent to Mozhou to open up wasteland.
So the reason why this score appeared is that those who failed the exam were eliminated.
Of course, there are reasons for deliberately achieving political achievements, but Zhu Jingyuan feels that in this case, some tough measures are also needed.
Nowadays, among the people in Edo, Nara, and North Korea, the phrase "if you fail the exam, I will send you to Mozhou to mine" has even become a popular saying to deceive and scare children.
After the Lantern Festival in the ninth year of Ankang, Zhu Jingyuan received a new appointment from the court and letters from his father and mother.
Zhu Jingyuan first looked at the court appointments.
"The Chief Envoy of Shaanxi Province participates in politics and oversees local military, political and foreign affairs in the Western Regions, Snow Region, Anxi, Mongolia, Xianbei and other places."
The position of Chief Envoy of Shaanxi Province is nothing in itself. Although this is Zhu Jingyuan's first time to actually serve in the interior, Zhu Jingyuan has already been prepared.
This is a must-have link in administrative training. People who have been working in the inland for a long time should be transferred to the coast. People who have been working in the coastal area for a long time should be transferred to the inland. Those who have been working in the south for a long time should be transferred to the north. Those who have been working in the north for a long time To be transferred to the south.
The Chief Envoy of Shaanxi Province participates in politics and is nominally the assistant official of the Chief Envoy.
The area under the jurisdiction of the Shaanxi Chief Envoy of the Ming Dynasty included most of the three provinces of Shaanxi, Ningxia, and Gansu in later generations, as well as parts of Qinghai, Sichuan, and Inner Mongolia.
It is quite large for a province.
However, compared to the scope of his own job, the area for subsequent supervision is even more ridiculously large.
The appointment itself is just a general term, and there are specific areas of actual responsibility below.
Zhu Jingyuan looked at the list of place names, gestured at the map, and found that the actual area was larger than he thought.
All areas of the Ming Dynasty's sphere of influence to the west of the 400 mm precipitation line, to the east of the Great Food Country, to the north of the Tianzhu region, and on the Shenou Continent were under their own supervision.
The area of these areas has expanded countless times compared to the original three provinces of Edo, Nara, and Korea.
My father is really big-hearted. All the military and political affairs of such a large area are handed over to a prince.
However, the problem is also huge. The internal components of these regions are very complex.
There are provinces under the direct jurisdiction of the central court, there are former internal vassals that have been abolished, and there are still external vassals that still exist.
The Principality of Western Xianbei, the Principality of Kazakhstan, the Principality of Khiva, and the Principality of Persia are all included in this scope.
The situation in these areas is countless times more complicated than that of Edo, Nara, and North Korea.
The biggest question is, should the reforms that I have implemented at home be implemented in these foreign vassals?
The original treaty with these foreign vassal monarchs guaranteed that the vassals would not be withdrawn or reestablished.
However, there was no provision that the Ming Dynasty would not interfere in the internal affairs of the Ming Dynasty. It even explicitly required that local laws must not violate the laws of the Ming Dynasty. The local monarch must be loyal to the Ming Dynasty emperor and cooperate with the jurisdiction of the Ming Dynasty court.
However, before that, for foreign vassal states such as Kazakhstan, Khiva, and Persia that actively joined, the central court of the Ming Dynasty almost did not interfere in the daily affairs of the local areas except for garrisoning troops and collecting taxes.
For vassal states such as the Western Xianbei Principality and the Principality of Egypt that joined the Ming Dynasty due to war treaties, some supervisory officials were only arranged on the basis of the vassal states that actively joined to supervise the local monarchs' active integration into the Ming Dynasty system.
There will be no forced interference in actual administration, and actual daily affairs are still handled by the local monarch.
In fact, many of the customary traditional systems in these foreign vassals violated the laws of the Ming Dynasty, especially the beliefs and marriage-related customs in remote areas, but the central court had no real actual interference.
Could it be that this time I went to the Northwest just to let myself deal with these things?
With these thoughts in mind, Zhu Jingyuan opened the letter his father wrote to him alone, and immediately confirmed his guess.
Dad just wants to try to transform the "traditions" of these feudal states and places.
Moreover, my father's original intention was to go directly to Yili so that he could have a deeper understanding of the local situation and handle local affairs as quickly as possible.
But a place like Yili is too far away. My father himself was a little hesitant to send a prince to a place like this.
Coupled with the strong opposition of his mother, he changed his mind to work in Shaanxi.
Shaanxi is the west gate of the core area of the Ming Dynasty, so it is reasonable to be responsible for the management of northwest affairs here.
(End of chapter)
