"You are lucky, you have been pardoned." In a brick kiln at the foot of Mang Mountain, a green-robed official announced to the public.
The hundreds of prisoners sitting on the ground were stunned.
They had been working for several years, and they were all a little overwhelmed when they left suddenly.
"Before we leave, each person should receive a piece of money, a piece of silk, a piece of woolen cloth, and one more day." The green-robed official obviously did not want to say more. After making the announcement, he left directly.
The guards' faces rarely softened, and they no longer shouted curses and whips. They brought dried meat, vegetable soup, cheese, corn rice and other food, and even some wine. They just heard them say: "Open the door."
Eat and drink in your belly, but there is still not enough."
After seeing the delicious food, the faces of the coolies in the brickyard suddenly became vivid.
Under the heavy physical labor and harsh discipline management, many of them were not only physically devastated, but also suffered a huge mental blow. In short, they were numb and were not too far away from the walking dead.
In the difficult life, the only thing that excites them may be the occasional extra meal - generally speaking, when Luoyang city construction requires a large number of bricks, the brick kilns will operate at full capacity, and extra meals are often served at this time.
The sound of chewing, the slurping of soup and the soft sighs of contentment could be heard in the venue.
Some people ate in a hurry, and the food accumulated in their throats. They were so anxious that they took a few mouthfuls of broth. After they recovered, they picked up their rice bowls and wolfed down the meat.
No matter how good a man is, if he enters the brick kiln, he will have to peel off his skin even if he doesn't die. What's more, the best among the prisoners have long been selected to join the Forbidden Army. Those who enter the brick kiln are all weak soldiers with little ability - maybe talk about it.
Not as good as the Lei Bing, but in terms of physical fitness and technical experience, they are certainly not superior.
In fact, not all of the people here are prisoners. In fact, there are many criminals, some of whom are even former officials.
The hard life has taken a particularly heavy toll on them, but they have their families around them and their overall mental condition is pretty good.
The dishes were served one after another. As I said before, enough is enough!
Everyone was shaking their heads while eating and drinking, gradually began to whisper to each other, and the expressions on their faces became more and more colorful.
"Everyone!" a middle-aged guard said suddenly, "will you have a livelihood after your release?"
Everyone who was eating and drinking was stunned, and no one answered for a while.
"Looking at your bearish looks, I know you don't have any livelihood." The guard laughed and said, "If you can't survive, you can still work in the brick kiln."
Everyone was stunned now. Have they not been released yet?
"Don't think too much." The guard smiled and said, "Those who are paid will be paid four hundred dollars a month."
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that the so-called release before was just to tease them.
In fact, four hundred yuan a month is already pretty good. Now that Henan is at peace, grains from all over the country are constantly being imported into the capital, and the price of grain has stabilized at more than thirty yuan a dou (10.832 kilograms). With this little money, you can buy almost eleven or two dou.
The food is more than enough to feed one person, and it can feed two people.
Some people may say that when a warrior is training or going on an expedition, he eats three liters of noodles (3.25 kilograms) a day, which is nine buckets a month. This amount of money is enough to support a person. But don't compare ordinary people with warriors.
This is not an army formed by hungry people. They are professional warriors with a lot of training. Not only do they need three kilograms and two to three taels of bread every day, they also have pickles to add salt, and vegetable soup with a little oil to accompany the bread.
Eat. Every once in a while, you should also add dried meat, cheese, fruit, and wine to mix it up, so that you can have the strength to train and fight.
As far as ordinary people are concerned, even those who do physical work cannot meet this standard. It is perfectly fine to cut it in half. In today's world, not everyone has enough to eat. They are hungry every day and their stomachs growl, but they still can do it.
There are plenty of people to work with.
Therefore, four hundred dollars a month is really not bad. If there were not too many projects and a real shortage of people, how could we offer this price?
"If you want to stay and work, come to me after eating." The middle-aged guard said: "The imperial court has given me a favor. Xu Er and others built a house near the brick kiln and settled down. They settled in Henan and Luoyang counties. They came to the kiln every day.
field
When you start working, your wages will be settled on the day of each month. You can receive money or food, but I advise you to wait until you receive food."
Everyone lowered their heads and started eating and drinking again. The guard didn't take it seriously, but also brought some food, and sat down to eat and drink.
If these captives and prisoners who are about to be released are interested, they will naturally come to them. If they don't have the intention, don't force them.
In fact, there are not many places for them to go. They either work in the brick kilns, which they call "bitter kilns," or they work as tenants to cultivate the fields. Other than that, there are basically no other options.
As far as the original intention of the Shangguan officials is concerned, they definitely want these skilled workers to stay. The construction of Luoyang and the immigration and reclamation have created a huge demand for various building materials and iron tools. Correspondingly, the demand for skilled workers and apprentices is also extremely high.
The production capacity is seriously insufficient just by relying on field workers to do odd jobs during slack periods.
In addition, the brick kiln is not without any technical content. Once people are familiar with it, the number of bricks produced per month will increase. Shao Sheng has been reforming agriculture for 20 years and can already support a group of workers and apprentices who are completely separated from agricultural production.
There isn't much pressure.
****
In a farm next to this brick kiln, Tong Ping Zhangshi and Pei Zhi, Minister of the Ministry of Punishments, made a surprise inspection in a simple vehicle.
It is said to be a surprise inspection, but when an official of this level goes on inspection, it is difficult to make it truly sudden unless no one is notified in advance.
Pei Zhi had notified him in advance, so as soon as he arrived at the farm gate, the officials came to greet him.
Pei Zhi greeted the officials expressionlessly, then looked up at the wooden sheds, prison cells and other facilities, and strode in. Officials and guards followed suit.
This is actually a pilot farm cooperating between Sinong Temple and the Ministry of Punishment - once the Ministry of Punishment is involved, you will know who is working here.
"Prime Minister Pei, please come this way." The farm supervisor respectfully led the way.
Pei Zhi nodded and entered the prison area.
The prison was very clean, not a single stone, not a single fallen leaf, not a single stain could be seen. The prisoners were sitting on the floor, sewing - no, they were twisting hemp ropes expressionlessly.
"I saw prisoners cleaning ditches outside the city. Why don't these people go out to work?" Pei Zhi asked.
"Prime Minister Pei." The supervisor explained: "These are thieves who committed crimes while serving their sentences, so they were imprisoned."
In short, they were deprived of the right to serve their sentences outside prison and instead served in prison for reform through labor, and they were unable to see their families again.
Yes, since the Northern Dynasties, exiled prisoners can take their families with them if they wish.
This is a disguised form of immigration to increase the population in remote areas.
Right now, this farm is actually exploring how to survive in an uninhabited place, getting familiar with its management methods, and laying a solid foundation for formal promotion.
Pei Zhi continued to walk forward unhurriedly.
He walked through a long corridor. There were cells on both sides of the corridor. They were made of wood and were not painted, exuding the smell of logs.
The cell area is actually not small. Two rows of large bunks are adjacent to each other. The prisoners sleep in two rows with their heads facing each other. The bunks are not numbered and there is no baffle in the middle, so in theory, 40 people can sleep, and 140 people can sleep.
also.
There are towels, shoes, wooden bowls and other items on the bunk. Under the bunk, there are boxes, baggage, pockets, tools and all kinds of broken things that were picked up.
Clothes, rice bowls, water bags were hung on the walls of the cell, and needles, thread, and other items for mending clothes were placed on the shelves.
It can be seen that the conditions of the prison are actually very good. After all, it is the most beautiful place in Luoyang.
After walking around for a while, Pei Zhi left the prison area and climbed to a high tower in the courtyard, looking at the cultivated farmland, orchards, and pastures in the distance.
"Is it strictly enforced that the fields cultivated by prisoners belong to the prisoners?" Pei Zhi asked.
"It was executed." The supervisor immediately replied.
According to the results of the discussion between Sinong Temple and the Ministry of Punishment, in principle, the prisoners are forced to open up territory in the wilderness and transform the natural environment, starting with survival and farming.
cultivated fields,
All the grain, meat, fruits and vegetables produced in the fields belong to the prisoners, except for a small part that is used to maintain the operation of the prison farm.
As long as the prisoners' performance is not too bad, they can live outside the prison. They can build their own wooden houses or adobe houses without anyone taking care of them. If their family members come with them, they can live together.
After serving the prison sentence, you can officially settle in the local area. The property accumulated during the prison sentence can also be retained, and you can become a good citizen from now on. When the population around the prison is large enough, it can be revoked and officially converted into a prison under the jurisdiction of the county or township.
A certain village.
Looking at its mode of operation, it is obvious that it is prepared for the northwest and northeast directions. In ancient times, exile basically meant that prisoners were dispersed and resettled in a certain village, allowing them to live with ordinary people. But what if there is no one there at all? Or
Even if there are people, they are vicious barbarians, what should I do?
Shao Sheng's highest order was to build a pioneer prison and centrally manage prisoners from all over the world. If enemies come to kill them, they will live in the prison and be given weapons to fight against the enemy together. If nothing happens, they will farm outside the prison. After serving their sentences, they will
, become ordinary people.
As for whether the prisoners will rebel, it doesn't matter. They are all scum. If they rebel, they will be suppressed. They won't feel bad at all if they are killed. What's more, they have property and hope, do they really want to rebel? Pioneer Prison
, there will be no tax until it is officially revoked.
"Write up your thoughts on the charter and submit it to the Ministry of Punishment. The saint is more concerned about this matter.
Next year, prisoners may be assigned to Andong Mansion to build a pioneer prison." Pei Zhi got off the tower and said, "Write well, this is your chance."
"Thank you, Prime Minister Pei." the supervisor said in surprise.
When prisoners were dispatched to Andong Mansion, there were hundreds of them. I heard that there were also exiled prisoners from Jingnan, Hangzhou, Fujian and other towns. The number was really quite large, almost enough to build two prisons.
The origins of these people are complicated, but almost none of them are good people. If you go to an uninhabited place to cultivate land, you may not see anyone for a whole day, and you may even get lost and die in the wilderness. It is said that you are serving sentence outside prison, but in fact it is just leaving a small prison.
, just entered a bigger prison.
Let's see how they behave when the Khitans come to kill them.