At the Dongchang station, two captains stood upright at the door.
Seeing Xiao Chen and the other two, the captain guarding the gate nodded friendly towards them as a greeting.
"Has Mr. Factory Master come back from the palace?" As soon as he walked through the door, Xiao Chen turned around and asked again.
"I'm back. Judging from the expression on the factory owner's face, there must be something happy." A captain replied with a smile on his face.
In the yard, a few magpies landed on the branches of the bare old locust trees and played "quacking".
Xiao Chen and the two walked along the path among the vegetation towards the Dongchang Hall.
Lin Shangli had just returned, and the emperor's words today seemed to give him a reassurance. The worries of the past few days had long since dissipated.
Holding the Dahongpao that Xiao Lizi had just brewed, Xiao Chen walked in before he could even take a sip.
"Mr. Factory Master." Xiao Chen saluted and laughed playfully, "Is there anything good today? Just now, my subordinate walked into the yard, and the magpies on the branches were chirping non-stop."
The joy on Lin Shangli's face was not concealed. He put down the tea bowl in his hand and said: "Today, I handed over the banknotes you handled in Yizhou to Zhizhou to the emperor. Not only did the emperor confiscate it, he also asked us in Dongchang to build our own small treasury.
.”
"What does your Majesty mean by this? Does this mean that even the economic power has been handed over to our Dongchang?" Xiao Chen was stunned and asked.
"Economic power? It can also be said that this should be an indirect expression by the emperor that he values Dongchang and cultivates Dongchang." Lin Shangli said with a smile.
Xiao Chen walked to the chair opposite Lin Shangli and sat down, but his mind was full of thoughts.
Chengzu of the Ming Dynasty had already tasted the sweetness of killing someone with a borrowed knife. Allowing alms from the treasury was just a reward for Dongchang.
Although Ming Chengzu had always been cruel, deep down he still wanted to be a "benevolent king" supported by all officials.
Faced with those officials in the government who did not work hard but could not find any official fault, Dongchang, especially Xiao Chen, who had been blessed with Qilin Ziyi, would use the sharp knife in his hand to eliminate them if they made the slightest mistake. For Ming Ming
For Chengzu, it was really handy to use.
For many years, he knew that many ministers in the court were incompetent, but Ming Chengzu did not take action. First, there was no suitable reason, and second, keeping these "waste" would better arouse the dissatisfaction and jealousy of others.
, thus serving the court even more, and hoping to one day replace those "waste".
This was the cleverness of Ming Chengzu, and it was also the point where he always felt dissatisfied in his heart.
Nowadays, there are too many "balance" roles in the imperial court. Only by using Xiao Chen's hand to get rid of them one by one can he avoid the reputation of "killing the donkey".
As compensation for Xiao Chen and Dongchang, it is to give them greater power to satisfy their vanity, thereby becoming more advantageous and unfavorable.
But Xiao Chen couldn't express his thoughts.
As a human minister, you are to assist the emperor in governing the world. As long as the country is prosperous and the people are strong, and the world is peaceful, it doesn't matter if you take the blame for the emperor.
"Mr. Factory Lord, the Emperor allows our Dongchang to set up our own small treasury, does that mean we can control this small treasury ourselves?" Xiao Chen looked at Lin Shangli with a playful smile as he poked his head.
Looking at Xiao Chen's malicious eyes, Lin Shangli leaned back and said, "You kid, what are you planning?"
Xiao Chen scratched his ears in embarrassment: "Look, the winter in our capital is so cold. When the brothers performed tasks at night, they were all shivering with cold. Can you withdraw some money from the small treasury and give it to all the brothers?
Are you going to make another batch of new cotton clothes?"
Lin Shangli's eyes widened: "What is this small treasury for? It is our Dongchang's welfare treasury. I have already considered the rush to make new cotton clothes. There is no replacement for one set, so each person has to rush to make two sets."
"Then I'll thank the factory owner for my brothers." Xiao Chen stood up and saluted Lin Shangli solemnly.
"Stop, stop, stop, saluting me so suddenly, there must be nothing good going on. If you have any other requests, tell them at the same time." Lin Shangli waved his right hand and glared at Xiao Chen again.
Xiao Chen didn't say anything. He walked to the table with a charming smile, picked up the tea bowl in front of Lin Shangli, and handed it over with both hands: "Mr. Factory Master, please have some tea."
Taking the tea bowl, Lin Shangli had a look of disdain on his face: "When did you learn to flatter me?" Then he laughed again, "If you have the ability, just do this and serve me every day."
Xiao Chen chuckled: "Our Dongchang is also the direct lineage of the Emperor. Going out represents the Emperor's face. It doesn't matter to me, a bachelor like Captain Duan, but my brothers have many families.
They are working hard on the front line, and their monthly salary may not be able to solve the problem of food and clothing for their family."
"I was wondering if the factory master could slightly increase the salary of these ordinary captains?" Xiao Chen said with a flattering look on his face, bowing his body.
Lin Shangli did not answer, but pointed to the chair opposite: "Sit down first."
Seeing Lin Shangli who suddenly became serious, Xiao Chen had no choice but to retreat to the chair and sit down.
Slowly putting down the tea bowl handed over by Xiao Chen, after thinking for a moment, Lin Shangli said: "In other border guards, an ordinary captain's monthly salary is less than two taels of silver. In our Dongchang, because we are the direct descendants of the emperor, the ordinary captain
The lieutenant's salary is three taels of silver. If you live alone in the capital, these three taels of silver can just solve the problem of food and clothing. If you have parents and a wife and children, these three taels of silver are really not enough."
"Take the Thirteenth Army as an example. There are not many people with wives and children, but there are a lot of people whose parents are still alive. Their parents are in relatively good health. If they are old or frail, you can imagine the life at home.
." Xiao Chen leaned forward and said softly.
"Sigh." Lin Shangli sighed, "At present, there are more than a thousand ordinary school captains in Dongchang. If the salary increases too much, if our small treasury cannot be replenished in time, we may not be able to maintain it for long. Let's see.
, we will increase the salary of ordinary school captains to five taels of silver per month on the basis of the imperial salary. Those with wives and children will increase it by one tael, and those whose parents are still alive will increase it by one tael."
Hearing this, Xiao Chen's eyes flashed with relief, he stood up from the chair again, faced Lin Shangli, and knelt down on one knee with a "pop" sound.
"Xiao Chen thanked the factory official for all the ordinary captains in the East Factory."
"Okay, get up." Lin Shangli waved his hand, "I know you are thinking about your brothers, how can they not be my brothers?"
"Don't worry, Mr. Factory Master, I will do my best to enrich our small treasury in the future." Xiao Chen stood up and smiled strangely.
"Handling the case first, just replenish the small treasury." Lin Shangli's eyes narrowed to a slit.
