Chapter 1639, surpassing Europe in an all-round way
In a teahouse in Songhu, Leonardo da Vinci imitated the Ming Dynasty and came here early, ordered a pot of tea, some breakfast, and a newspaper. He drank tea and had breakfast while reading the newspaper.
Listen to the tea guests chatting in the teahouse.
"The emperor issued an autumn harvest decree, requiring the officials in all parts of the Ming Dynasty to do a good job in the autumn harvest and ensure food security!"
"The Egyptian Canal was affected by the war between Spain and Egypt, and the stock price fell below 200. In order to protect Ming Dynasty's interests in the Mediterranean, the imperial court decided to send ten more main warships to the Mediterranean and five more warships to the Red Sea."
"Half a month ago, a war broke out between Spain and France. Both sides suffered heavy losses and France suffered a tragic victory. The King of Spain issued a battle order and raised a hundred thousand troops to prepare for the attack in France."
"Half a month ago, on the golden coastline of West Africa, a war broke out between the Spanish fleet, the Persian fleet, and the Korean fleet. The two sides fought fiercely, and in the end Spain won miserably."
Da Vinci looked at the news items in the newspaper, and when he saw the back, he couldn't help but frown.
"Europe is thousands of miles away from the Ming Dynasty. Even if the fastest horses are used to deliver news day and night, how could this news from a month ago appear in the Ming Dynasty's newspapers?"
Along the way, Da Vinci became very aware of how far the distance between Europe and the Ming Dynasty was, and he was tired of taking the boat. However, what happened in Europe could be known to the Ming Dynasty very quickly.
Even if the people of the Ming Dynasty established an effective post system that could deliver messages quickly, it would not be as fast as this.
This made Da Vinci really puzzled. How did the Ming people transmit information quickly?
With doubts, Da Vinci continued to read.
"The Ministry of Industry announced that the Jiangxi-Guangdong Railway is about to start construction. It plans to build it from Nanjing to Jiangxi, run through the north and south of Jiangxi, and then connect to Guangdong. It is possible to build this railway from Guangdong to Guangxi, Jiaozhi, and Xianglin Provinces in the future, connecting Indochina.
Once it is completed, we are expected to be able to eat fresh Nanyang fruits and Nanyang vegetables in winter throughout the Ming Dynasty."
"Yesterday, an earthquake occurred in Fujian and Ryukyu. The earthquake was strongly felt. There is no news of casualties yet."
"The second half of the year is the season when typhoons are intensive and frequent in the southeastern coastal areas. The imperial court issued a red warning, requiring ships passing along the coast to avoid typhoons to reduce losses and casualties."
Da Vinci continued to read the news one after another, and the more he read, the more surprised he became.
The Ming Empire was so huge, but news from various places could be transmitted to the entire Ming Dynasty through newspapers the next day. This is really incredible.
At the same time, from this newspaper, we can also clearly understand some of the current situation in Ming Dynasty.
The political situation is stable, the economy is prosperous, and the people live and work in peace and contentment. Even in the Ming Dynasty, railways and highways are being built continuously. News of the completion of some roads can be seen in newspapers, and reports about railways can also be seen.
"You must take the train and the railway in person. I heard that there are trains in Nanjing and Jinling that can directly lead to the capital of the Ming Dynasty."
Da Vinci took out a small notebook and wrote this down silently.
After arriving in the Ming Dynasty, he heard too many new things, and the one he heard the most about was trains and railways.
At this time, the conversations of other guests in the teahouse attracted Leonardo da Vinci's attention.
"Old Wang, how come you are healed so quickly?"
"Of course, it's nothing. It's just an operation, a cut on the stomach, and then the rotten section of intestine is cut out, and the disease will be cured naturally."
"Well, I thought you were almost dying at that time."
"Isn't that right? It is said that the emperor also suffered from this disease and was cured through surgery. Now the emperor is in the prime of his life. Long live the emperor."
"Yes, yes, I've heard about this too."
"Fortunately, we have a hospital here in Songhu, otherwise we would have to go to Beijing and Tianjin for this operation."
"Is their medical skills really that amazing?"
"Of course. I'm telling you, it's definitely better to go to a hospital for medical treatment. The medical skills are superb. The key is that for serious illnesses that require surgery, only hospitals can do it."
"The current world is good. The imperial court is vigorously building hospitals in various provinces, popularizing medical knowledge, and various new medical techniques and medicines are emerging."
"Back then, I had a brother who suffered from jaundice, but he couldn't survive it and died in his early teens. But now, jaundice can be easily cured."
"Isn't that right? In recent years, the imperial court has invested a lot of money in this area, especially in giving birth to children. In the past, many children died. Now, after passing training, spreading some common sense, and drinking more boiled water, the mortality rate has been reduced.
It has been greatly reduced, and now every household is very lively."
"Yes, yes, this is how I saved my life. If before, this disease was not cured at all, but now in more than a month, I am alive and well."
""
Da Vinci listened carefully and frowned in thought.
"I have long heard that the Ming people's medical skills are unparalleled in the world. There are many diseases that only the Ming people can cure. Now it sounds like this is really the case."
"The intestines are rotten and can be cured by surgical removal."
"It's like taking a stab in the stomach, but it can also cure the disease."
Da Vinci found it incredible. He had been obsessed with anatomy and medicine for a while, and now he heard that the Ming Dynasty actually used surgery to treat diseases. They disemboweled people's stomachs and cut out rotten intestines to treat diseases. What a feeling.
It's incredible.
While he was thinking about medical skills, there was another table of guests talking next to him that surprised Leonardo again.
"I just can't figure it out. Why are we not allowed to use slaves here in the Ming Dynasty? This labor is too expensive. To hire a worker, we pay five taels of silver and include food and accommodation. It is really too expensive.
"
"No, the key is that even five taels of silver may not be able to recruit enough workers. My factory is still short of dozens of workers."
"If I can use slaves, I will quickly spend a sum of money to buy hundreds of slaves."
"Don't mention this matter. Last year, the court thoroughly investigated this matter. Many factories that used slaves were closed down and heavily fined."
"I heard from the people above that this is to protect the mainland of Ming Dynasty, because this mainland is the holy land of our descendants of Yan and Huang, so no slaves can appear."
"What does this have to do with slaves?"
"I think so too, but there is no other way. This is the law. If it is not allowed to be used, it is not allowed to be used. We can only recruit workers, and they will provide food and accommodation. They must be treated well. Otherwise, if they just leave, we can only stare.
.”
"Isn't that right? Business is good now, but we don't have enough products to sell, so that's all we can do. I've arranged late-night snacks for the workers in my factory, and I have to give red envelopes and gifts during festivals and so on. That's it.
, some people will still resign.”
""
"The salary is five taels of silver a month?"
"Food and accommodation are also included?"
When Da Vinci heard this, he was immediately dumbfounded. The labor of the Ming Dynasty was too expensive.
He now knows the value of silver very well. A silver dollar is very valuable and durable. Zhao Han gave him dozens of taels of silver at the beginning, but now he still has more than 20 taels left. When he arrived in Tianzhu, Xiong
Lan also gave him dozens of taels of silver as payment.
Along the way, Da Vinci ate well and drank well, without any intention of wronging himself. However, the money was very easy to spend. For a meal, a few dozen coins would be enough. For a night's stay, there would be
You can live quite well with more than 100 yuan.
This Ming man only earns 5 taels of silver a month. Calculated, he will earn 60 taels of silver a year. The key is that he also has to cover food and accommodation. Such expensive labor is unthinkable.
Here in Europe, to hire a person to do something, you often only need a little food. Even if you have food, countless people will come to do the work for you.
Five taels of silver, a European family cannot spend much money in a year.
But here in the Ming Dynasty, five taels of silver could not hire enough workers.
It is said that the Ming Dynasty has a population of hundreds of millions, which is far more than the population of Europe. Logically speaking, this labor should not be expensive. After all, it will naturally become less valuable when there are more people.
However, hiring a worker here actually costs five taels of silver a month, which is too expensive.
"This Ming Dynasty has really surpassed Europe in all aspects!"
Da Vinci sighed in his heart. Just after seeing it in Songhu, he had to admit that the current Ming Dynasty and Europe are not in the same dimension and in the same era. To provide you with the best
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