The Song Dynasty on the Sand Table

Chapter 436 Taking You to Meet Someone

Yue Wenxuan and Yang Tian had arranged for several hundred sailors and were just about to leave when they heard a commotion of voices coming from the lakeside in the distance. Turning around, they saw that it was Tang Tingshu, who had brought several thousand Manicheans with him.

Not far from the barracks of the Chuzhou Navy, there was a shipyard "State-run by the Northern Song Dynasty", which was also established by Tang Tingshu.

He was bringing laborers who couldn't be taken in by the cement factory to visit his shipyard, and also to let some people with some carpentry skills stay and work there.

Seeing this, Yang Tian couldn't help but want to check on his old subordinates.

Yue Wenxuan then led him into the shipyard.

As soon as Yang Tian entered the factory, he saw rows of brand-new small wooden boats, all of them small sampans, the kind that could only carry a few people.

Tang Tingshu pointed at the small boats and shouted, "Is there anyone among you who can build such boats?"

Yang Tian laughed: "Our Manichaeism has been entrenched in Dongting Lake for many years, with the best navy in the world and countless excellent boatmen. Many people could build a ship of this caliber with their eyes closed."

Sure enough, someone in the crowd immediately shouted, "This kind of boat is too simple!"

"It's too easy, I can make it anytime."

Tang Tingshu: "If you build this most basic type of ship in this factory, you'll earn at least five silver dollars a month, and up to ten silver dollars..."

The group of men had been following him all the way and already knew that one silver dollar was roughly equivalent to one string of cash. Upon hearing this wage, they were overjoyed: "Sir, if you can get this much wage for such a simple ship, what if I can build an even more powerful ship?"

Tang Tingshu led them forward again. Ahead was a medium-sized merchant ship under construction. Tang Tingshu said, "Anyone who can build this kind of ship is a mid-level shipwright. The minimum wage is eight silver dollars, and if you do a good job, you can earn up to fifteen silver dollars."

The Manichaeans were overjoyed; shipbuilding was truly their specialty. A group of them shouted, "I can do this job! I can do this job!"

Tang Tingshu: "Don't worry, we still have senior shipwrights. However, the Shouzhou shipyard doesn't need senior shipwrights. We need to go to Chuzhou or the coast, where we have more advanced shipyards that need top-notch shipwrights to build large ships, and the wages will be even higher."

Without a second thought, the Manichaean masters immediately said, "We can become senior shipwrights! Please take us to a larger shipyard."

Tang Tingshu: "Alright, next, all the shipbuilding masters, please stand aside and separate according to your abilities. I will register you. Don't lie about your skills. If you claim to be a senior shipwright and go to a large shipyard but don't know how to build large ships, you will be fired. When you come back to the small shipyard from afar, there will be no place for you here. You'll be devastated."

These words startled the masters, and even some of the cunning ones who wanted to take advantage of the situation and sign up randomly quickly gave up the idea.

After all, technology cannot be faked. You can hide the truth for a while by lying, but you'll be exposed once you start working.

Each boatman assessed their skills and obediently chose the level that suited them best.

Yue Wenxuan pointed at them, then turned to Yang Tian and said, “Look, just a moment ago, they completely forgot about the concept of ‘equal status’! The ‘the capable rise to the top’ principle implemented in our Northern Song Dynasty is more suitable for them.”

Yang Tian looked embarrassed: "This...this is indeed..."

Yue Wenxuan gently patted his shoulder, comforting him, "Actually, I grew up under the guiding principle of 'equality for all,' and I sincerely hope that everyone in this world can be equal. But... the weight of the soul can be equal, but the status of one's position cannot be equal, and the idea of ​​'equalizing the noble and the lowly' is the same. I think 'equalizing the noble and the lowly' doesn't need to be completely rejected; it can be refined..." The weight of the soul is equal?
Upon hearing this, Yang Tian felt as if something was growing in his brain.

After thinking for a long time, he suddenly sighed: "Young Master Yue, I think you're still fooling me... If there's inequality in positions and income, then equality of souls is just self-comfort. If your boss asks you to drink, would you dare not drink? If you wouldn't dare, how can you talk about equality of souls? Others think a fish costing 100 coins is cheap, but you think a fish costing 10 coins is expensive. How can you talk about equality of souls then?"

"Hahaha!" Yue Wenxuan laughed three times, then said no more.

The two continued north...

On the way to Shouchun, we passed through the bustling city of Lu'an, the largest city in southern Shouzhou. It was a city with a large population and the Northern Song Dynasty had been operating there for over a year, with several factories and a local garrison.

Several hundred of Yang Tian's men stayed here as soldiers, and several hundred more stayed here as workers.

And so the two continued northward, with Yang Tian's subordinates "splitting off" along the way.

Yang Tian knew that such a differentiation was inevitable, so he didn't say anything more.

When the two arrived in Shouchun and joined forces with the main force of the First Legion of the Northern Song Dynasty, Yang Tian only had 5,000 soldiers left. Of course, these 5,000 soldiers also brought more than 10,000 family members, so the group was still very large.

Upon seeing the city of Shouchun before them, Yang Tian and his men were speechless, their mouths agape for a long time.

Shouchun City had been completely repaired by this time. The entire city wall was made of cement, and the long, gray-white wall was majestic, imposing, and extremely powerful.

Yang Tian couldn't help but gape: "Building things with cement is really fast and efficient! If we didn't use cement, it would take at least several years to build such a magnificent city."

The Manichaeans were used to guerrilla warfare in the lakes and few had ever seen such a majestic city. When they arrived at the city walls, they all felt ashamed of their own insignificance.

Yang Tian turned to Yue Wenxuan and bowed: "Young Master Yue, many of my subordinates have chosen their own paths along the way. Only these last five thousand soldiers, who are elite warriors, do not want to choose those strange paths. They and their families are waiting for Young Master Yue to make arrangements for them."

Yue Wenxuan nodded and smiled: "Actually, I've already thought it through! I want to arrange for you and these five thousand elite soldiers to join the navy."

"what?"

Yang Tian's mind went blank for a moment: "Navy?"

Yue Wenxuan: "You're a smart man, you must be able to see that the Northern Song and Southern Song will eventually be unified, and at that time we'll need a navy to deter the Southern Song's coastal areas south of the Yangtze River. And afterwards, our Great Song will have to fight a decisive battle with the Jin Dynasty, at which point we'll also need a navy to strike deep into the Jin army's heartland..."

Yang Tian suddenly understood: "I understand! But my men are only good at fighting on inland rivers and lakes. If we want to go to sea, we will probably need more training and a general who understands naval affairs to lead us."

"Of course, I've already made arrangements," Yue Wenxuan said with a smile. "Let's go, I'll take you to the beach to meet someone."

(End of this chapter)