Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

Zhang Pu had a very fruitful year, not only achieving the highest honors in all three imperial examinations but also receiving a noble title.

At the Tongzhou Arsenal, he mingled with the craftsmen and, through scientific experiments, successfully found the best match for copper-based paper-cased bullets.

For this achievement, he gained the trust of the craftsmen and was rewarded, receiving the title of baron when the war was celebrated.

At the Tongzhou Arsenal, his biggest takeaway was that while ordinary workers might have power when they came together, the real productive force was in the hands of engineers and senior craftsmen.

He said to the emperor:

"The reason I was able to solve the management problems at the Tongzhou Arsenal was because I recognized where the power lay and gave more benefits to the engineers and senior craftsmen who had mastered the technology."

"The same applies to the establishment of agricultural companies. Both management capabilities and technical strength are the core of agricultural companies."

Zhu Youjian nodded and said approvingly:

"The fact that you recognize this shows that you've put your heart into it."

"As I said before, in the era of Great Harmony, resources are abundant and people have high moral standards, so they can be distributed according to individual needs."

"But in a moderately prosperous society, distribution should be based on contribution and factors of production."

"These factors of production include not only capital and land, but also the labor of workers, the technology of engineers, and the management of managers."

"You recognize the importance of labor, technology and management, and you can improve the combination of these three aspects and put forward suggestions for improvement. I am at ease entrusting the Management Science Institute to you."

Zhu Youjian praised Zhang Pu highly, and was very satisfied with his method of separating managers, technicians, and ordinary workers into committees to put forward improvement suggestions.

With the mutual supervision of the three committees, management and technical personnel participated in the work, and a well-established process was implemented.

Ordinary workers now have channels to participate in management. They can formally submit proposals through the workers' committee at the three-in-one meeting to reform unreasonable rules and regulations.

During his months at the Tongzhou Arsenal, Zhang Pu organized the workers to revise almost all the rules and regulations, and gained their approval.

Zhu Youjian was very satisfied with Zhang Pu's work, especially his division of the workers into three groups, which reduced the pressure of a general disturbance.

So he found various reasons to grant Zhang Pu the title of Baron.
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Zhang Pu smiled, and Liu Lishun, though not quite understanding, listened attentively.

Then he heard Zhang Pu say:

"His Majesty previously requested that 10% of the profits from the shares be distributed as bonuses to the employees."

"Senior management personnel receive 2%, and other staff receive 3%. The remaining 5% is used for medical, pension, maternity, work injury insurance, and housing provident fund."

"After conducting research, I found that the rewards for technical personnel who truly possess the skills are still relatively low, and some people can obtain higher incomes by leaving the factory."

"I believe that an additional 10% or 5% should be allocated as a reward for technical personnel."

According to local custom, it is usually 'six silver coins for four people'.

The relevant research report had been submitted to Zhu Youjian's case long ago, and Zhu Youjian had been thinking about this matter.

He agreed with improving the treatment of engineers and skilled craftsmen because he knew that the industrial age was coming.

However, different companies have different natures, so generalizations cannot be made. After thinking it over, he said:

“For technology-driven enterprises like Tongzhou Ordnance Factory, technical personnel certainly deserve higher compensation.”

"But for commercial and service companies like Daming Shipping Group, managers are more important."

"Therefore, I believe that we should properly classify enterprises. For technology-driven enterprises, we can allocate an additional 5% as rewards for technical personnel. Of that, 2% should be awarded to those who develop new technologies."

"And we will set aside at least five percent of the profits as a fund for new technology research and development. This money will be used as long as the company is profitable."

"In the future, large enterprises such as Tongzhou Arsenal will be restructured in this way. Small enterprises can be appropriately increased to reach 60% per person and 40% per unit."

This was Zhu Youjian's refinement of Zhang Pu's suggestions, with a greater emphasis on innovation.

He will also establish various awards in the future to encourage innovative companies and individuals.

For internal enterprises, a phase-out system will be implemented, mandating the elimination of a certain percentage of old tools each year and replacing them with more efficient new tools. This aims to encourage technological advancement and continuous development in machinery.

He believed that as long as progress continued in this way, he would eventually see the steam engine.

The challenges that hindered the development of steam engines, such as steel quality, precision machining, and sealing technology, will be overcome one after another.

Once someone designs a good plan, it can be manufactured.
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Zhang Pu pondered carefully and felt that it was more complete than his previous proposal. He then asked the emperor:
"Aside from tech companies, will other companies remain unchanged?" "Won't the management and technical staff of those companies harbor resentment?"

Zhu Youjian laughed heartily and said:

"Of course it cannot remain unchanged."

"The most important thing for these companies is their business; they can be called business-driven companies."

"Therefore, their rewards should also start with new business and be more detailed."

"In general, I think we can take the profits from the previous three or five years and give 10 or 20 percent of the profits that exceed the average to the managers."

"Technical staff in these companies are treated the same as management staff and share in the profits."

"The guaranteed minimum is two percent, which is a bonus that you receive as long as you make a profit."

It can be said that this fluctuation is quite large, and it is very troublesome to manage.

Zhu Youjian instructed Zhang Pu to establish a special Institute of Enterprise Management at the Academy of Management Sciences to continue researching this issue.

Meanwhile, the employee shareholding requirement for listed companies remains unchanged, with a minimum of 10%. Companies may, as needed, establish additional share incentive programs for management and technical personnel.

For example, the agricultural company mentioned earlier could set up separate rewards for agricultural technicians and managers.
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Zhang Pu was delighted by this, because it meant he could continue to maintain influence over the business world.

Thinking of the engineers and skilled craftsmen who control productivity, he then tried to propose:
"Engineers and senior craftsmen are just as important as managers. I believe that the Academy of Sciences could also establish an engineering branch."

"Recruit craftsmen and engineers with technological inventions to serve as researchers in the engineering institute."

This was an attempt to maintain influence among engineers and skilled craftsmen. Given Zhu Youjian's emphasis on craftsmen, he should have agreed.

However, after consideration, he felt that the current ten branches of the Chinese Academy of Sciences were not yet perfect and it was not appropriate to add more.

In particular, he considered the Academy of Arts and Sciences to be the Academy of Engineering, and there was no need to establish a separate Academy of Engineering.

He said to Zhang Pu:

"Craftsmen create things through the study of things."

"An engineering institute can be established in the Institute of Physics to specifically study the principles of creation."

"This is more in line with the Chinese Academy of Sciences' positioning and will also make them more respected."

It is an undeniable fact that artisans were discriminated against during the Ming Dynasty. Zhu Youjian (Emperor Zhu Youjian) aimed to gradually elevate the status of artisans, including gaining the recognition of engineering among scholars.

Zhang Pu, however, was somewhat unwilling, because he wanted to control this power, and asked again:

"Not all engineers and craftsmen are knowledgeable, but they control the productive forces. Should we ignore them?"

Zhu Youjian said with a smile:

"Of course we will not ignore it. Those who serve the country can take up positions in the Academy of Arts and Sciences or the Academy of Equipment, and have official positions, honors, or even noble titles."

"However, what you said about controlling production power also makes sense. We can establish an Engineering Management Research Institute in the Management Science Academy and absorb these craftsmen who are not good at academics but are good at organizing personnel for production."

"Those who are only good at their own work and have extremely high skills can be recruited into the Wensi Academy as artisan officials or worshippers."

"The Institute of Arts and Sciences can establish a Institute of Technology, and the Institute of Engineering Science can also establish a Institute of Technology Research."

Zhang Pu was given this authority, but not completely left to his own devices.

For him, checks and balances are almost instinctive; he can't put all his eggs in one basket.

Zhang Pu was basically satisfied after obtaining the Institute of Engineering and the Institute of Engineering Management.

He believes that with his abilities, it will not be difficult to invite talents from the Institute of Literature and Art and the Institute of Equipment to join him.

The craftsmen he met at the Tongzhou Arsenal could also be selected to join the company.

The Royal Academy of Sciences will surely grow stronger under his leadership and become an institution on par with the Hanlin Academy.

Holding the word "science" bestowed upon him by the emperor, Zhang Pu was very confident! (End of Chapter)