Chapter 1785 Industrial Age - Treatment of Workers
'The discovery of America and the voyage around Africa opened up new horizons for the emerging bourgeoisie. The markets in East India and China, the colonization of the Americas, trade with the colonies, the increase in means of exchange and goods in general enabled commerce, navigation
Industry and industry have reached an unprecedented surge, thus rapidly developing revolutionary factors within the collapsing feudal society.'
'The previous feudal or guild mode of industrial management could no longer meet the increased demand with the emergence of new markets. Factory handicrafts took its place. The guild masters were squeezed out by the middle classes of industry;
The division of labor between industrial organizations disappeared with the emergence of division of labor within individual workshops.'
'..., the proletariat has gone through various stages of development, and its struggle against the bourgeoisie began at the same time as its existence. First it was a single worker, then a worker in a certain factory, and then a certain person in a certain place.
Workers in one branch of labor fight against the individual bourgeois who directly exploit them. They attack not only the bourgeois relations of production, but also the tools of production themselves; they destroy competing foreign goods, smash machines, burn down factories, and try to restore
The lost status of the medieval worker.'
After listening to Li Taiyuan's explanation, the following words came to mind. He suddenly remembered that he summoned Lian Zining back to Beijing a few years ago and heard him talk about the embroidery people who had appeared in the industrial park in Hangzhou in order to be able to
Earn more money, open a workshop, and at the same time disclose some family skills that were originally passed down from male to female.
'Has the handicraft industry in the Ming Dynasty developed to this point? It is equivalent to the industrial level after the opening of new shipping routes. The behavior of destroying machines has already appeared. Is it possible that sheep cannibalism will also happen? No, sheep cannibalism will not happen. After all, it will not happen in the Ming Dynasty.
There are fewer people and more land. Although Britain only had more than 4 million people when sheep cannibalism occurred, its territory was even smaller, only England and Wales totaling 150,000 square kilometers. The population density was greater than that of the Ming Dynasty; not to mention that the merchants of the Ming Dynasty also had Mongolians.
There is a way to exchange iron pots and tea leaves for cheap cattle and sheep, so that the sheep will not eat people.'
While Yun was thinking divergently, Li Taiyuan and Li Xiaoxing stood in front of him uneasily. The Suzhou uprising did not cause much noise. Only about ten people died, and the property was not lost.
There are not many, at least not many gentry who open factories, but both Li Taiyuan and other gentry engaged in industry and commerce in Suzhou attach great importance to it. This is the first time that a factory has been smashed in the Ming Dynasty, and the handling of this matter is likely to be
It was followed by future officials and became a common practice; and Tang Zong's decision was too unfavorable for them. Once it became the final penalty, wouldn't it mean that in the future, as long as the craftsmen think that the factory has affected their lives, they can smash the machines? How can they make money?
?As for hiring guards to protect the workshop, there are thousands of craftsmen. How many people must be hired to protect them? They are not allowed to die; silk reeling or textile workshops are different from other workshops. The majority of the machinists are women, and it is impossible to let the machine work.
Workers came to protect the factory. For their own interests, the gentry must not let Tang Zong's decision become the final punishment.
In fact, when this incident just happened, when Tang Zong invited all the gentry to the Yamen to discuss how to deal with the aftermath, some people felt that something was wrong. Tang Zong was a very capable person, and anyone would praise him, but
He had always had strong opinions on the gentry who opened factories. Tang Zong firmly believed in Confucianism and believed that agriculture was the basis. The development of industry and commerce was just to collect more industrial and commercial taxes and reduce the exploitation of ordinary people. For the gentry to open large factories and make a lot of money
They have long been dissatisfied, and this civil uprising will most likely favor the craftsmen.
The gentry in the city held a small meeting before going to the government office, and decided that Li Taiyuan should not speak in the government office, and others would be responsible for talking to Magistrate Tang; if Magistrate Tang's treatment was too unfavorable to them, Li Taiyuan would go to the capital to see His Majesty.
, please handle it with Your Majesty. They believe that His Majesty encourages the development of industry and commerce and will not favor craftsmen like Tang Zong. Li Taiyuan was not willing to take on this matter, but other companies believed that he had been received by His Majesty and also had a title, so they insisted on
He takes on heavy responsibilities, but he can only agree to them if he shirks them.
The development of the matter was just as they thought. Tang Zong was extremely partial to the craftsmen. The gentry outside the city who made a living by lending money and collecting rents were indifferent to the matter because it had nothing to do with them. They even supported the prefect Tang's disposal, allowing Tang Zong to ignore their opinions.
, decided to forgive the craftsmen. After repeated arguments to no avail, Li Taiyuan had to rush to the capital to see His Majesty.
After a while, Li Taiyuan didn't see His Majesty speaking, so he had the courage to ask: "Your Majesty, I dare to ask Your Majesty what you think of this matter."
"Li Qing, are you telling the truth?" Yun came back to his senses and asked.
"How dare I commit the crime of deceiving the emperor in front of His Majesty? If I had told a lie just now, I am willing to suffer the punishment of Ling Chi." Li Taiyuan knelt down and said. Li Xiaoxing also knelt down again.
"It doesn't have to be like this, dear ladies, get up quickly." After they got up, Yun asked, "How do you treat the machinists in the factory?"
"Salary?" Li Taiyuan didn't understand the meaning of this word.
"It's about the wages given to the machinists, whether there is any other money given to the machinists during the holidays, how long the machinists have to work every day, how the food is, etc." Yun said.
Li Taiyuan probably understood what His Majesty meant, and said: "Your Majesty, in the silk reeling workshops set up by the ministers, the wages for the machinists are based on the amount of silk reeling. Twenty dollars per reeling reel, and wages are paid on the first day of every month. Third Festival
(New Year's Eve, Dragon Boat Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival) each has a reward of a certain amount of money, and the machine worker who reels the most silk every month also has a reward of a certain amount of money."
"Working means working from sunrise to sunset, with a half-hour break at noon for a meal and a rest; one meal at noon is brown rice, fried vegetables, and meat soup. If an employee is sick, ask a doctor to see him.
, but just pay for the medicine on the first day, and then you have to pay for it yourself. If there is an emergency at home and you need money, you can advance your wages without interest..." Li Taiyuan said a lot, and tried to count the benefits for machinists as "benefits"
'Speak out everything.
"How much silk can a machinist reel in a day?" Yun asked.
"An unskilled machinist can do about two and a half jobs, a skilled worker can reel in two and a half jobs, and a skilled worker can reel at most three jobs a day," Li Taiyuan answered.
"Can child labor be used? That is, people under the age of fifteen?"
"It's generally not necessary, unless you are strong and strong. Although silk reeling requires sitting down, it is not easy. The average little girl can't stand it, and the efficiency is lower than that of adult female workers. It is not cost-effective. Don't talk about little girls, even if
She is an adult woman, so I don’t want anyone who is too thin.”
"The sky is long in summer, and the sky is bright at Yin time and dark at Xu time. Does it take so long to work?" Yun asked again.
"No." Li Taiyuan said hurriedly: "The earliest time to start work is around 9 o'clock. The machinists are all women and they have to cook at home. It's too early for them to come."
"It's been six hours." Yun said softly, and then said to himself: "Based on the calculation of two taels of silk reeling per day, it is forty money, which is one thousand two hundred money a month. Even in Suzhou like this
In a place where a woman earns so much money in a month and still has a full meal, this treatment cannot be considered low."
"Do all silk reeling factories treat people like this, or is it just your family's silk reeling factory?" he asked again.
"Everyone is. Not many women are willing to show their faces, and it is not suitable for men to do silk reeling. Only those who live in Suzhou can do it. The wages are too low and no one is willing to do it.
I can only give you so much," Li Taiyuan said.
“Sure enough, in the true budding period of capitalism, when the bourgeoisie had not completely destroyed the traditional mode of production, in order to steal people from landlords and traditional handicrafts, the capitalists had to offer higher wages. When the traditional mode of production was completely destroyed, the capitalists had to pay higher wages.
After the destruction, they had enough cheap labor, so they began to lower wages and make the workers' lives worse than death, until the workers united to launch a strike to improve their wages. Compared with future workers, today's workers are very happy.
"Yun whispered to himself again softly.
"I already know the details of the Suzhou civil uprising and have made a decision in my mind. However, your Li family is involved in this matter. Even if you dare not lie in front of me, I dare not make a conclusion based on your words. I have sent someone
Send a message to all officials in Suzhou Prefecture to report the reasons for the civil uprising in detail. I will deal with it after reading the reports from Suzhou Prefecture officials." Yun raised his head and said. He would not completely believe a capitalist's words. No matter it is a capitalist
Anyone who has something to do with something will definitely tend to describe the incident from their own side. The so-called objective description is completely nonsense. He must read the report from Suzhou officials.
"Yes, Your Majesty." Li Taiyuan and Li Xiaoxing agreed quickly.
"My dear friends, please step back," Yun ordered. Li Taiyuan and Li Xiaoxing hurriedly bowed and left.
After leaving Qianqing Palace, Li Xiaoxing looked at no one around and said to Li Taiyuan: "Father, how do you think your Majesty will handle this matter in the end?"
"Let us and the craftsmen each be punished by fifty." Li Taiyuan said: "After all, there are tens of thousands of people. They are not rebelling or resisting taxes. The court cannot deal with the craftsmen too harshly; His Majesty also encourages development
Industry and commerce will not sit back and watch the losses of those who set up factories. So in the end, it is the major 50 boards. It is neither good nor bad."
"Fortunately, we met His Majesty before the officials of Suzhou Prefecture reported the incident to the capital, otherwise things would have been terrible. Among the civil and miscellaneous officials in Suzhou Prefecture, except for the Jin Yiwei who are not under the prefect's control, who is not under the prefect's control?
Who dares to write something different from the prefect? If everyone agrees, your Majesty will most likely favor Tang Zong. Fortunately, we arrived in time," he added.
"Fortunately. I hope Your Majesty will not be too partial to the craftsmen." Li Xiaoxing also sighed.