met free Chapter 619: I knew Yang the Madman was no good!
Chapter 619: I knew Yang the Madman was no good!
When Xu Da actually arrived at the Ningyang Ironworks, he discovered that it was just a workshop in name only.
Whose workshop occupies several acres?
Whose workshop has several blast furnaces for steelmaking?
Yang Shaofeng smiled and introduced the workshop to Xu Da.
"Strictly speaking, this place cannot be called a workshop, but should be called a mining area."
"Although the quality of the iron ore is not very good, it has the advantage of being able to be mined in the open, which is much safer than mining underground."
"The people mining here are mainly locals from the vicinity of Dongzhuang."
"It's also thanks to the oxen that Xu Xiang sent over a few years ago. Right now, Ningyang County mainly relies on animal power for farming, which has freed up some young and strong men to work in the mines."
Xu Da immediately felt much better.
After all, it's all thanks to me... no, it's all thanks to the oxen that I, the Grand Commander, sent.
Xu Da smiled and nodded, then asked, "How much can the able-bodied young men who come to work at the mine earn in a day?"
Yang Shaofeng said, "According to the rules set by His Majesty a few years ago, a young man's daily wage is sixty coins. However, because mining is physically demanding and requires better food, there is an additional twenty coins of food allowance per day."
"In addition, there will be an extra 20 cash high temperature subsidy per day in summer and autumn, and an extra 20 cash heating subsidy per day in winter and spring."
“Food, clothing, and housing are all paid for by the mine.”
"Three meals a day. In the morning, it's steamed buns, pickled vegetables, soy milk, and noodle soup. For lunch and dinner, it's three dishes and a soup. The three dishes are one meat dish, one half-meat dish, and one vegetable dish. The soup is not fixed."
Xu Da felt increasingly uneasy as he listened.
The daily wage is sixty coins.
The daily food allowance is twenty coins.
The daily high temperature and heating subsidy is another twenty coins.
So, a young man in Ningyang County can earn 100 coins a day?
One hundred coins a day, that's three strings of cash a month?
Row.
You, Yang the Madman, said that mining is heavy physical labor, so it's okay to pay a little more.
However, the mine provides three meals a day, clothing for all four seasons, and even accommodation. So, these young and strong men in the mine earn only three strings of cash a month.
Yang Shaofeng said confidently, "Does Prime Minister Xu know how much salary a ninth-rank official receives each month?"
"A ninth-rank official's monthly salary is five shi of rice."
“One shi of rice is worth five guan of cash. A ninth-rank official receives a monthly salary of five shi of rice, which is equivalent to twenty-five guan of cash.”
"Compared to twenty-five strings of cash, is a salary of three strings of cash a lot?"
Xu Da was stunned for a moment, and didn't know how to refute Yang Shaofeng.
Yang Shaofeng smiled and continued to mock, "If Xu Xiangru is interested, he might as well go and see those officials involved in the plowshare case, the blank seal case, and the black coal mine case."
"Which of these people lives off their salary?"
This is what the Qing dynasty's revision of the Ming history referred to as "the meager official salaries of all time."
It was also the officials of the Ming Dynasty who were clamoring about the low standards of their salaries.
Based on the standard of five strings of cash per shi (a unit of dry measure) of rice, the able-bodied men at the Ningyang County iron mine couldn't even afford one shi of rice with their monthly wages.
However, a ninth-rank official could receive five bushels of rice.
Yes, the young and strong still had land, and the grain and vegetables were grown by their own families. They could also raise chickens and ducks themselves. Three strings of cash could be considered as net income. However, the officials, who received a monthly salary of five shi of rice, had to sell a portion of it to exchange for meat, vegetables, cloth, and other necessities.
The problem is that even if they sell a portion of their salary, the officials still have far more income than a young, able-bodied miner or coal miner.
Moreover, how many officials in the Ming Dynasty relied on their salaries to live?
If it were the norm for officials to live off their salaries, then Hai Rui shouldn't have become famous.
This is similar to how a case of assault in the middle of the night can cause a huge uproar in some place, while a shooting in the United States every day rarely makes the news.
After making a few casual sarcastic remarks, Yang Shaofeng simply skipped the topic and instead led Xu Da to continue wandering around.
"The county's plan for this area is to develop Dongzhuang Town, which is mainly based on iron ore, in the next few years."
Don't worry about whether Dongzhuang Town is larger than some lower-level counties or richer than a typical medium-sized county; it's just a town.
"The other places with mineral deposits are similar. They all need to build corresponding mining areas around the underground mineral deposits, and then form towns one after another around the mining areas."
"The only troublesome thing is that Ningyang County is still a poor county with a sparse population, lacking both farmers and miners."
"If Prime Minister Xu can bring back some laborers during his northern expedition against the Yuan, that would be even better."
Xu Da glanced at Yang Shaofeng again and sneered loudly, "So you're just after Hu Yuan's laborers!"
Ok?
If I don't care about Hu Yuan's laborers, then what do I care about?
With a dark expression, Yang Shaofeng led Xu Da straight to the weapons workshop.
"These are swords and knives produced by the Ningyang County Arsenal."
Yang Shaofeng flicked his finger against the sword, and heard a buzzing sound from the blade. He then reached out and plucked a hair, placed it on the blade, and with a gentle breath, the hair broke in two.
Xu Da's pupils contracted slightly, and he said in a deep voice, "To cut a hair in two!"
Yang Shaofeng gave a slight snort, took out a few copper coins from his body, stacked them on an anvil, and then chopped down hard.
"boom!"
Several copper coins popped open with a snap, and Xu Da was completely dumbfounded, exclaiming, "It can cut through iron like mud!"
Xu Da had seen many fine swords and blades that could cut through iron like mud and sever hair with a breath.
But is the sword in Yang Dianfeng's hand one of those famous swords?
No!
This thing was a sword he casually picked up after arriving at the armory.
In other words, all the swords in the entire armory were these kinds of precious swords that could cut through iron like mud and sever hair!
Xu Da said in a deep voice, "How many of these swords can you produce here every day? Can you equip the soldiers in the garrison on a large scale?"
Yang Shaofeng shook his head rather bluntly and replied, "Although I am willing, I am powerless to help."
"After all, due to the shortage of manpower in mining, only a few hundred swords like these can be produced each day."
"If Xu Da could bring in more mining laborers to Ningyang County, perhaps the output could be even higher?"
Although the farming tools used by the people of Ningyang County, such as hoes and shovels, are made of the same high-quality steel as the swords used by this official, Ningyang County simply lacks manpower for mining.
What can you, Xu Da, do?
Xu Da's face immediately darkened.
Just know.
I knew Yang the Madman was no good!
After all the twists and turns, it's still all for the workers!
Xu Da snorted and said, "Hu Yuan has no laborers for the time being. However, the Ming Dynasty should have several thousand laborers."
Yang Shaofeng was slightly taken aback and asked, "Laborers from the Ming Dynasty? Several thousand?"
Xu Da snorted again and said, "Last month, didn't the Six Guards in the capital suffer a fire?"