At midnight the next day, the open space in front of the Ministry of Works Department was filled with people. Li Mu moved a chair and sat on a high slope. He looked at the people below and nodded to Yu Wengui, indicating that he could take roll call.
Yu Wengui took the roster, and starting with himself, he called the officials' names first, and then called them one by one in the order in which they came to work. When Yu Wengui called someone who didn't come, Gongsun Kang wrote down a name next to him.
It took an hour and the roll call was over. Gongsun Kang handed the list of those who had not arrived to Li Mu and said: "Report to your lord, the officials who have not arrived are: Qian Zhen, the chief, and Wang Yuan, the chief. There are seventy-three craftsmen who have not arrived, and they are all following the two.
The chief…”
"You went to build a garden for Duke Zhao, right?"
Gongsun Kang nodded awkwardly.
Li Mu waved his hand to let him stand aside, stood up and faced hundreds of craftsmen in the open space, and said: "In recent days, I have been busy with chores, so I am free today. I called everyone here today to get to know each other.
My official, Zhulu Marquis Li Mu, has been appointed by His Majesty as the doctor of the Ministry of Works, responsible for the affairs of the Ministry of Works! There is also a little thing that I want to let everyone know. Those who have not arrived today, from now on: officials are no longer in the Ministry of Works
The officials and craftsmen of the Ministry of Industry are no longer the craftsmen of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce. They will be sent to the border city of Dingxiang to help the local refugees rebuild the city."
Discussions suddenly started, and no one expected that this young doctor from the Ministry of Works would actually do such a big thing as soon as he took office. He dismissed two heads of the Ministry of Works and assigned 73 craftsmen, which was unprecedented.
Something!
Yu Wengui and Gongsun Kang were also startled. They looked at each other. Yu Wengui came closer and whispered: "My lord, Qian and Wang, the two principals, are going to Zhao Guogong's mansion to help. This..."
Li Mu glanced at him and said: "Are they officials of the Ministry of Industry of the Tang Dynasty or domestic slaves of the Duke of Zhao? As the chief of the Ministry of Industry, I failed to call him twice. He is so arrogant and despises me and the court.
, if you don’t pay attention to the officialdom of the Tang Dynasty, what is the use of it? How dare you mention Zhao Guogong? I dare to say that this matter must be done by the subordinates of Zhao Guogong’s house who take advantage of the power of others. Zhao Guogong is the humerus of the country and the pillar of the Tang Dynasty. How could he do it?
Are you doing something for personal benefit? Don't talk nonsense and insult the name of Duke Zhao!"
Yu Wengui was choked, opened his mouth, said nothing, and returned to his original position with his hands. He looked at each other with Gongsun Kang, and both of them showed helpless expressions. They thought that Li Mu had given in, but they didn't expect him.
It was a big move, but neither of them could figure out what Li Mu relied on to dare to tease Changsun Wuji's tiger beard. Was he tired of living?
Li Mu faced the craftsmen who had not recovered from the shock and continued: "The major event I am going to announce today is closely related to everyone. They say that there are three things a new official should do when he takes office. I like to be straightforward, so I won't
Burn them one by one, just come together, everyone listens!"
Li Mulang said loudly: "The first thing I want to do is to reform the Ministry of Works. I know that everyone here is working as a corvee. There is no salary, and the food and accommodation are not good. Not only do they have to bear the construction tasks of the imperial court, but they also have to be dragged away.
Go out and work for nothing. From today on, the situation will be very different. I am happy to tell you that except for court corvee, you will not be forced to do anything other than court corvée. This is my promise. I am in office.
One day, this statement will be effective!"
"The second thing is that I want to assess the craftsmen. In the past few days, the Japanese officials have drawn up regulations and divided the craftsmen into three types. One is the laborer, the second is the technician, and the third is the technician. The laborer, as the name suggests, is just a craftsman.
A person who can contribute but does not know how to do it. A technician is a person who has a certain skill. Carpenters, blacksmiths, etc. can be regarded as technicians. A technician can be regarded as a foreman. He is not only a technician, but also can lead workers to complete tasks.
"
"You may ask why such a distinction is made. Let me tell you now that because the Ministry of Works is about to start construction, the shanty towns you live in now will be demolished and rebuilt soon. I will imitate the various buildings in the city here.
According to the workshop system, craftsmen’s workshops are built specifically for craftsmen to live in. According to different levels, the houses they live in are different. For laborers, there are four households in one courtyard, for technicians, there are two households in one courtyard, and for technicians, they have their own courtyard. Do you understand?”
When it came to the matter of building a house, Yu Wengui had to speak and said: "Sir, it is not appropriate to say this lightly. Building a house requires money. The Ministry of Industry is very poor now. Where can the money come from to repair...
…”
Before Yu Wengui finished speaking, he saw Li Chongyi behind Li Mu. He took a bag from behind, opened it and poured it on the ground. There were countless strings of copper coins. Yu Wengui's mouth immediately closed. He was rich.
What else do you say?
"The third thing is that I want to lead everyone to make money!" As he said that, Li Mu took out a picture from his arms and unfolded it so that everyone could see clearly: "Here, Chongrenfang. The place I circled is now
It was purchased by a wealthy man in Longxi and will be demolished and rebuilt into a new building today. I took over the business and used it as a test for craftsmen. From today on, all craftsmen are divided into three batches. One batch is responsible for the corvee, and the other batch is responsible.
There are a group of people who work in Chongren Square in the Construction Engineering Department. They rotate every day and accept assessments. Except for the first time they work, they must be present for assessment purposes. On other days, it is voluntary, and they will be paid for working. If you do not work,
You don’t get paid for your work, it’s that simple!”
One of the craftsmen was bold and asked, "Sir, I wonder how you can pay this salary? How much will you pay for a day's work?"
"Good question!" Li Mu answered: "The tentative decision is: three meals a day, one hundred cash per day for laborers, one hundred and fifty cash per day for technicians, and three hundred cash per day for technicians! This is the base number. It depends on the situation.
add!"
"One hundred articles a day!" Another discussion broke out among the craftsmen. They came to Chang'an to serve as corvees, and they had no intention of making money. If the government could provide them with money when they returned, it would be a matter of burning incense.
Now there is actually a salary of one hundred cash per day. You must know that most of these people come from small places. The consumption in their hometown is not as high as in Chang'an. One hundred cash can buy two or three buckets of rice in some places. If you earn this in Chang'an,
If you save money and return to your hometown, wouldn't you suddenly become a rich man?
Li Mu took everyone's looks into his eyes and said: "I would like to remind you that you can only make money when you contract external projects. You are here to serve as corvees, so you still have to do the work you should do. Just like the imperial court
No money will be paid for the assigned tasks, such as building crafts workshops. But you can rest assured that as long as I am in office, I will be guaranteed three meals a day. Even if I pay for it myself, I will still meet this minimum standard!"
There is nothing to say about this. Everyone is here to do corvee work. When Li Mu didn't come, they all worked without a penny. Besides, the craftsmen's workshop was also built to accommodate the craftsmen, so who could have any objections.
"Okay! Now that everything has been said, I will ask Chief Gongsun to roll the names. Those whose names are called will take the assessment today and will set off in a moment!"
After speaking, Li Mu said to Yu Wengui and Gongsun Kang: "Choose one-third, bring the tools, and Gongsun will take them to Chongrenfang later. The remaining people will be arranged by Yuan Wailang according to my requirements."