Daming Crazy Emperor

Chapter 406

Time flies by, and it is almost New Year's Eve in a blink of an eye.

The New Year's Eve in Beijing or in Wubei City is different from other places.

In other places, all kinds of festive New Year celebration activities are usually started on the New Year's Eve, but in the capital city and Wubei City, the celebrations started on the day of the New Year's Eve.

Because the annual craftsmen's skill competition must start from the day of Xiaonian.

This artisan household skill competition is equivalent to the assessment of the craftsmen's level. The higher the level, the more wages.

Therefore, the annual craftsmanship competition is the most important day for all craftsmen in Daming, even more important than the Chinese New Year.

At the moment, almost all craftsmen in Daming gathered around Wubei City and the capital, so on the day the craftsmen's skill competition started, the capital and Wubei City began to celebrate, even more festive than the New Year.

Although the prince Zhu Youxiao is not a craftsman, he is extremely keen on the craftsmanship competition of this craftsman.

Before the new year came, he kept telling Taichang, father, father, hurry up and take the annual leave, let's go to Wubei City to watch the craftsmen compete in skills!

Taichang actually attaches great importance to the improvement of craftsmen's skills, because this is one of the important foundations for the rapid development of Daming!
Therefore, he did not hesitate to agree to Prince Zhu Youxiao's proposal, and to take the annual leave after the New Year's Eve, and, on the day of the New Year's Eve, he joined Prince Zhu Youxiao and other interested ministers , Get on the train and go straight to Wubei City.

At this moment, the passenger train between Beijing and Wubei City has been opened several times, and being an emperor these days has special treatment, Song Yingxing specially built a luxurious special train for him.

Although this special train has ten carriages, the interior decoration is extremely luxurious, especially the middle carriages, which are almost all arranged according to the interior of the palace.

The study, bedroom, dining room, meeting hall, etc. are all similar to the layout of the palace.

Sitting in the luxurious dining room, Taichang watched Prince Zhu Youxiao and Xin Wang Zhu Youjian follow a group of ministers to raise money, enjoy the table full of delicacies from mountains and seas, and feel the festive atmosphere of the New Year. He couldn't help feeling deeply in his heart.

Over the past few years, Daming has really changed with each passing day!
Back then, Prince Zhu Youxiao specially built a big sled to participate in the first artisan skills competition. At that time, they ordered people to drive the sled carefully to Wubei City, and the accompanying master guards were all brave In the severe cold, riding on horseback, everyone's faces were blue from the cold.

Now they are sitting on the train, enjoying the delicious food leisurely, and the accompanying master guards are the same, so they don't have to brave the severe cold to ride their horses.

It is only more than 100 miles from the capital to Wubei City, so they don't need to rush. Although the train is not running at full speed, it is not a problem to drive seventy or eighty miles an hour.

They set off in a leisurely manner in the morning and arrive at noon. In the afternoon, they can watch the craftsman's competition and return to the capital by car. Moreover, lunch and dinner can be settled on the train without any delay.

The benefits brought by this technological development are simply too numerous to enumerate!

After they leisurely finished their lunch, they arrived at the Military Equipment City, followed by a burst of gongs, drums, and firecrackers.

Taichang took his prince Zhu Youxiao and a group of important court officials to the stage that had already been built, and solemnly said a few words of encouragement, and the annual craftsmen's skill competition began.

The artisan skills competition at this moment is different from before. Except for the first and second levels, it is still a test of handwork, and at the third level, various machine tools and equipment will be used.

Because most of the work in Wubei City is now done with machine tools, this will naturally be included in the focus of the assessment.

For example, the third level of blacksmith skill assessment is to make a standard hinge within a quarter of an hour.

Hinges have naturally been around for a long time. Civilian doors, windows and wardrobes are basically equipped with hinges, and the Aegis ship does not know how many hinges are installed.

Therefore, the demand for hinges has always been quite large, and making hinges is also a very important skill for blacksmiths.

The hinge looks simple, but it is quite troublesome to process.

Not to mention how to open the holes for the nails, just the round hole rolled out in the middle of the hinge and the smooth round pin are very troublesome to process.

In the past, when there were no machine tools, let alone a quarter of an hour, a skilled craftsman could make a hinge in an hour.

This time it was different.

The iron plates on both sides of the hinge are cut out directly with a shearing machine, and there is no need to beat and beat for a long time like before.

The holes for the nails on both sides can be drilled with a drill press, and there is no need to chisel them with a chisel.

The hole rolled out in the middle of the hinge is also easy to process. Just sandwich the two hinges and punch it with a special punching machine, and the rolled hole will be half formed.

Then, use a special forging machine and a special forging hammer to beat it a little bit, and the two hinges are ready.

As for the round pin in the middle, it is simpler, just use a lathe to turn it, and then use a grinder to grind it out.

Looking at this familiar scene, Taichang couldn't help but think of a scene in a play.

It seems that during World War II, a prisoner was a hinge maker, and an officer walked over suddenly, holding his watch and telling the hinge maker to make a hinge as quickly as possible.

That guy made a hinge in a few minutes.

As a result, the officer counted the hinges he made that day, and immediately pulled out a pistol to kill him!
why?

Because he can make a hinge in a few minutes, he should be able to make hundreds of hinges a day.

But he only made more than ten hinges in half a day!

In other words, he spends most of his time doing foreign work!
There is no way, he is a prisoner who works for others for free, so naturally he will not work hard.

Thinking of this scene, Taichang suddenly asked Bi Maokang, "Meng Hou, what is the level of most craftsmen?"

This one.

Bi Maokang heard this, thought about it carefully, and then said seriously: "Last year, most of the artisan households were around the second level, and the second-level artisan households accounted for [-]% to [-]%. This year, there may be an extra third-level artisan households." Twenty percent, that is to say, there should only be fifty or sixty percent of the second-level artisan households left."

Taichang nodded slightly and said, "What do you mean, most of the wages of craftsmen are now two or two a month?"

Bi Maokang roughly estimated, then nodded and said: "Yes, Your Majesty, if calculated on average, the wages of craftsmen are about two taels a month."

Hearing this, Taichang said without hesitation: "It won't do, their wages are too low. You know, at this moment, a merchant can earn more than ten taels a month just by doing some business. The wages of artisans can't be too low." Otherwise, if things go on like this, their working efficiency will become lower and lower, and some craftsmen will even rack their brains to think about starting their own business."

Indeed, if it continues like this, merchants can casually earn 30 taels or even [-] taels a month, while craftsmen only earn [-] or [-] taels a month, everyone will feel unbalanced!
Bi Maokang nodded, and then asked, "Your Majesty, how much wage increase do you think is appropriate for them?"

Taichang shook his head slightly and said: "It's not a question of how much to raise, but a question of enthusiasm. You have to make them work hard."

Uh, what about this?
Bi Maokang thought for a while, and then said helplessly: "The emperor forgives the sin, but the humble minister is dull, and he will not be able to think of a way for a while."

This is very simple!

Taichang said without hesitation: "Let's do this. Let's change the artisan household system again. In the future, the wages of their class representatives will remain the same. However, the things they make will be processed according to the quantity. For example, a hinge is worth a penny. He makes [-] hinges a day and adds [-] Wen to his wages. However, the wages can only be calculated if the hinges are qualified, and it can’t just be based on the quantity, not on how well it is done.”

This seems to be just a small change, but it is a big change for craftsmen!
What are these artisans working for?
To put it bluntly, it is to make money to support the family!

With such a calculation of the wages, all the craftsmen are still working hard!

Adding one hundred wen a day means three thousand wen a month, which is three taels of silver!
This salary is more than doubled!
Is it difficult for a craftsman to make a hundred hinges a day?
It's not difficult!
As long as they work harder and keep working, they can make a hundred hinges a day without any problem!
Even if they work overtime and work day and night to make two hundred hinges a day, it is possible!
Hearing this, Bi Maokang couldn't help but say: "Your Majesty, not only will the craftsmen's wages be doubled, but the output of many things will also be doubled. If they can't be sold out by then, won't it be a big loss?"

Wouldn't it be nice to double the output?

Daming has already started to fight for hegemony in the world, and there will be plenty of markets at that time, so it is not afraid to double the output!
(End of this chapter)