Lord Harland.

Chapter 288 Steam Mine Cart
Through these years of experience, Li Cha discovered that the quality of those who have attended elementary school is far better than that of the illiterate.

After five years of military and national education, they have not only developed the habit of observing discipline, but also have some military experience.Being able to read text, being proficient in basic calculations, and developing a little discipline.Relatively speaking, it saves a lot of effort to train such people into grassroots officers and skilled workers.

Li Cha knows in his heart that in various scientific research institutes, most of the members are consumables, and those who can really do research are actually only a few with outstanding talents.The IQ gap between humans may be greater than that between humans and pigs.

However, to become a consumable for a research institute, certain knowledge is also required.When illiterate people arrive in this kind of department, their eyes are basically smeared, and they are incompetent for any job.If you want to cultivate an illiterate into a talent, you need to pay a very high time cost and waste a lot of effort.

Harland Territory Middle School has been established for three years, and middle school students will graduate this year.

These middle school students not only learn more courses, but also add geography, history, law, biology, and scientific practice. The knowledge they have learned is also more profound, and their quality is higher than that of primary school graduates.

However, there are only more than 30 middle school students graduating this year, which is rare compared to the 10 population of the Harland Territory.These graduated middle school students are already the group of people with the highest IQ and knowledge in Harland.

This year, Harland invented the steam engine, and there are far from enough mechanical talents.The demand for high-end talents in the territory is very strong, and the dozens of middle school students graduating every year are like a drop in the bucket for the Harland Territory.

Middle school graduates are so rare, their future is of course brighter than primary school graduates.

This group of people, Li Cha, was basically arranged in various research institutes, and a few people were arranged in the Mage Association and became assistants in the research of magicians.Three others chose to stay in school and became middle school teachers, enriching their educational capabilities.

The middle school teachers in the Harland Territory earn three gold coins a month. This salary level is slightly higher than that of the town mayor in the territory, and roughly the same as that of the army squadron leader.But the mayor of a town must have gray income.

In any case, in Harland's territory, those with an annual income of more than [-] gold coins are already high-income earners.Such income exceeds that of a freeman family with four laborers.

The price of goods in the territory of Harland is relatively low, and the annual income of [-] gold coins can already lead a very rich life.

Besides, being a middle school teacher has a high social status, and you can often meet the high-level people in the territory, and you are very respected.There is no need to face danger and fight various enemies.

According to the current development, middle school teachers will undoubtedly be an enviable profession within ten years.

Ten years later, as a large number of middle school students graduate, their academic qualifications will depreciate, their salaries will decrease, and their status will also drop.

For example, the current primary school teachers' social status has dropped a lot, and their salaries have also dropped a lot, and their treatment is no longer comparable to that of grassroots bureaucrats in Harland's territory.

After so many years of development, there are more than 2000 primary school graduates.As the saying goes, scarcity is the most precious thing, and if there are too many people, the weight will decrease, and the value of academic qualifications will be severely depreciated. Primary school teachers are no longer talents that are urgently needed in the territory, and social status is gradually returning to normal.

Since two years ago, elementary school graduates have not been assigned jobs.This policy has dampened the enthusiasm of the middle class to send their children to school.

However, in the current situation of Harland's territory, going to school is still an important channel to change one's destiny.

Going to elementary school means that you can understand official documents, not only will you not be deceived by grassroots bureaucrats, but it will be easier to learn breathing techniques after joining the army.Although they cannot directly enter the government as civil servants, primary school graduates still have a much higher platform than illiterates. The jobs provided to them are basically mental work, and their salaries and social status are also better.

Really smart people are still sparing no effort to make children literate and read.

Human beings have different physical talents and IQ talents, so they will naturally differentiate into classes.The first batch of middle-class free citizens in the Harland Territory, many of them had very ordinary IQs, talents, and abilities. They were able to earn gold coins and achieve a class leap, mainly due to chance and coincidence, catching up with the rapid development of the Harland Territory. dividend.It's not that their own quality surpasses that of ordinary people. With more and more free people, the involution of the population in Harland's territory becomes more and more serious. A considerable number of middle-class families will fall into the lower class and become ordinary people.This is determined by personal quality and ability, like the wheel of history, no one can stop it.

Whether their children are allowed to go to school is the key factor for whether their children can stabilize their class in the future.

Because there are more and more primary school graduates, and the base is getting bigger and bigger, Li Cha established a second middle school this year.This middle school was built in the swamp basin, between Fort Lightning and Fort Fire.The school is fully completed this winter.After the goddess's birthday next year, the enrollment will start.

Unlike elementary school, Harland Territory Secondary School does not charge tuition fees. After enrollment, there is a living allowance, one silver coin per month, which is enough for the daily expenses of the students and does not need to increase the burden on the family.

Limited by educational resources, the selection of middle school students is very strict, and all the students selected are gifted.

If you want to be admitted to middle school, you not only have cultural courses for exam-oriented education and assessment, but also examine students' memory, logical thinking ability, study habits, self-control and so on.

Only one out of ten primary school graduates can go to middle school. About 70 primary school students graduated from the Harland Territory this year, and less than [-] were admitted to middle school. On average, a middle school can only enroll students in one class.The reason why the threshold is set so high is that one of the important factors is the lack of educational resources in Harland Territory.

Talents who can teach middle school students are very rare in the territory of Harland.

The scientific development of the Chenxi plane is at a relatively low level. According to the standards set by Li Cha, the courses for middle school students are already relatively difficult.A teacher who can teach middle school is regarded as a knowledgeable person in the morning light plane.

Because of the serious monopoly of knowledge, there are many difficulties in cultivating talents. The people who master knowledge are not only the nobles, but also the church.

There are actually only six or seven people in Harland's territory who can teach middle school students.Even Richard, Sophia and other knowledgeable magicians have to teach middle school students when they are free.

In a school, there are only seven or eight qualified middle school teachers. They need to teach three grades of middle school students. On average, each person is responsible for nearly twenty students.If it weren't for the fact that three of the middle school students who graduated this year stayed in the school, the enrollment scale of middle schools would not be able to expand.

The current talent distribution, the top priority is the major research institutes.Especially the Machinery Manufacturing Research Institute is the top priority of Harland's development.

Although middle school education is important, Li Cha only cultivates talented people, and temporarily establishing two middle schools is enough.It is estimated that it will take another three or four years to train more middle school teachers and establish a third middle school.

More than a dozen middle school teachers and four or five middle school administrators are all highly paid workers, and their combined annual salary is close to [-] gold coins.

There are now about [-] elementary school teachers in the Harland Territory, and their salary is close to [-] gold coins a year. In addition, the annual cost of books, chalk and other teaching aids also consumes a lot of money.

Even if elementary school students can charge a tuition fee, but now Harland Ling Primary School charges not high, four silver coins per school year, and the tuition fees of more than 4000 elementary school students add up to [-] gold coins, which cannot make up for the shortfall in investment at all.

This year, the net investment in education in the Harland Territory has exceeded [-] gold coins. Adding the investment in medical treatment, the cost has exceeded [-] gold coins.

This kind of investment is close to half of the investment of government bureaucrats.It is higher than the disability pension issued by the government every year.

Although the fiscal revenue of Harland Territory has a surplus and has made great progress every year, the pressure on military expenditure is huge, and Richard is still afraid to increase investment in education.

After the Commodity Fair ended, it was early November in a blink of an eye.

In the first ten days of November in northern Xinjiang, the lowest temperature at night is close to minus [-] degrees.

If there is not enough fuel, there will undoubtedly be a large number of people who will freeze to death in winter.

In several provinces in northern Xinjiang, many elderly people cannot survive the winter every year, and some poor serfs freeze to death in the shacks.

There are coal mines in the territory of Harland, and the output last year has exceeded [-] tons.The free folk basically have the money to buy enough coal for the winter.

The conditions of indentured slaves are worse. More than a dozen people live in a shed, and the indentured slaves who have a family only have a log cabin. On average, each person can only get [-] catties of coal.

During the four to five months of winter in northern Xinjiang, an average of [-] jin of coal is not enough. In October and March, when the weather is not too cold, the indentured slaves need to collect winter fuel as a supplement for coal.

This year the coal mine added some workers and dug a third pit.The steam pump was used in the new mine, and the efficiency has been greatly improved.

On November [-]th, Li Cha came to inspect the coal mine. Cha Weisen, the person in charge of the coal mine, waited at the foot of the mountain early, and went down the mine with Li Cha.

The coal mine discovered in the Harland Territory is mainly a shallow mine, and the mine is not deep.

There is very little gas in the mine, and the safety is guaranteed to a certain extent.

After descending the mine along the slope, Li Cha spotted a steam engine at first sight. He turned his head and said to Chavison: "The steam engine is installed on the mine cart, is it working?"

"The Mechanical Research Institute just made the first steam mine car the day before yesterday. It took half a day to install it in the coal mine, and it hasn't been tested yet."

"I happened to be here this year. You guys open the mine cart, see if it works?"

Hearing what Richard said, Chavison said in a bit of a dilemma: "It is said that this steam mine cart is not safe, or the Earl will go up first, and I will ask the miner to start the steam engine."

Chavison was 50 years old, and he was the first group of freedmen to enter Harland's territory.Being able to live to the age of 50 has already made Chaveson feel that he has been favored by the goddess of dawn.

When Chavison first entered the territory of Harland, although he looked a little old, he was actually a man in his 30s, and he was quite prestigious among the slaves.

After entering the territory of Harland, Chavison first became a grassroots manager, and then was transferred to the exploration team because of his rich experience.It has been eight years since he was transferred to the mine manager after the coal mine was discovered.

Under his leadership, the output of coal mines has grown from small to large, and this year has exceeded [-] tons.

Under the mine, a town was established from scratch, and the towns are basically the families of the coal miners, plus some free people living nearby, the number has exceeded a thousand.

Chavesen's position is half a level higher than the mayor of Meishan Town, equivalent to a deputy county official.

Chavison is very satisfied with his current life, and he respects Richard from the bottom of his heart for saving his life.Although he is old and frail, he is still willing to work hard for Li Cha.His original intention was not to put Li Cha in danger.

Although Chavison had good intentions, Li Cha still didn't appreciate it very much.He needs to see for himself how the mine cart works, and see if there is any way to improve it.

"I am a magician with six rings. I can release a magic shield to protect my own safety. What can I do?"

Seeing that Li Cha was not very happy, Chavesen could only order the miners to ignite the coal while standing in front of Li Cha.If he is in danger, he will lose his life first.

Richard squeezed Chavison away and carefully observed the operation of the steam engine.

As the boiler boils, hot steam gushes out violently, driving the main wheel to rotate slowly, and the main wheel drives the winch to tighten the steel cable.

The steel cable tightened and immediately pulled the mine carts. The steam engine was so powerful that it could pull four mine carts at a time. In just a few minutes, more than [-] tons of minerals were pulled out.

Normally, it takes about a dozen people to carry [-] tons of coal out of the mine every day.Even if horse-drawn rails are used for transportation, six horses and six drivers are needed.

Now a machine can do this job in just a few minutes.From today, it is already an easy task to transport coal from the mine, only one boiler worker and one mechanic are needed.

Seeing this scene, Chavison's eyes widened immediately. The scene he saw with his own eyes directly changed Chavison's three views, making him unbelievable.

Although the Dawn Plane has extraordinary power, and Chavison has seen magicians release magic, but the power of the machine is so powerful that it still makes Chavison a little confused.

"If steam engines are installed in every mine, I am sure that the output of coal mines will increase to 15 tons next year."

Seeing Chavesen muttering to himself, Li Cha thought to himself.

"There are about [-] workers in the coal mines in Harland Territory. The average annual output of each person is [-] tons. One person can dig [-] tons of coal a day. The production efficiency is actually not high, and it will be serious in later generations. Losing money. The coal bosses mined this amount of coal, which is not enough to pay wages to workers.”

According to the history that Li Cha knew, the British did not use steam engines in the 200th century, and their coal mining efficiency was higher than that of Harland, and the annual coal mining volume exceeded [-] million tons.

Various circumstances show that the mining technology and production technology of the English in the seventeenth century were more advanced than that of Harland's territory.

Of course, the coal mines in Harland Territory are state-owned mines, and the squeeze on miners is not as good as that of the English.

In sweatshops in the [-]th century, the life expectancy of workers was about six years. The early capitalists did not treat workers as human beings at all, and oppressing workers was worse than using animals.

(End of this chapter)