Our family has been rebelling for generations, and you've become the top scholar in the imperia

Beijing.

Dongfang.

The news that the Xishan Coal Mine was hiring workers to mine spread quickly. After all, the fact that they were paid two taels of silver a month, with a month's advance payment, was something that no one in the capital had ever seen or even heard of before.

Two taels of silver could have hired two coal miners, but now only one is being hired. Qin Feng, the new official in the Ministry of Works, must be a fool.

With wages so high, is there any profit to be made?

"Hehe, I admit that Qin Feng is indeed good at governing the West Ward, but... all I can say is that he is good at spending money. He throws out huge sums of money. If Vice Minister Ren had done the same back then, the East Ward would not have lost."

Inside a restaurant.

Several officials from the Nanlin Party sat together, their faces flushed from drinking.

One of them said with a disdainful smile:

"Now his true colors are showing. He's running the Xishan Coal Mine, paying each worker only two taels of silver a month. Does he really think the workers will be grateful? Just wait and see, the Xishan Coal Mine will go out of business in a month. When that happens, so many workers won't get paid, and since they've signed employment contracts, they'll definitely cause trouble!"

"We don't need to lift a finger; he'll take care of himself."

The others laughed and agreed, completely acknowledging this.

Everyone here comes from a distinguished family with businesses all over the Great Zhou Dynasty. How could they not understand the ways of business?

Open source and cost reduction are the fundamental solutions.

With so many workers, at market prices, they would only earn one or two taels of silver a month. Now, they're paying an extra tael for no reason, which means they've lost over a thousand taels of silver a month, and more than ten thousand taels of silver a year.

"Don't worry about him. If he can't continue operating, he'll naturally go to the palace to apologize."

"The envoy will arrive by tomorrow at the latest. Qin Feng needs to entertain the envoy regarding the Xishan Coal Mine matter, so he won't be able to manage it all."

"We'll see what he does then. I heard the envoys who came this year were difficult to receive, especially the barbarians from the grasslands, who have been trying to raise the annual tribute."

This issue was discussed.

The expressions on their faces became somewhat solemn.

Although the Great Zhou Dynasty was powerful, the common people did not know the reasons behind it, but the officials knew very well.

Take the nomadic tribes of the grasslands as an example. The reason why they have remained stable for many years and have never experienced war is due to the annual tribute.

In other words, the Great Zhou Dynasty had to bestow annual silver upon the grassland barbarian tribes every year, and the amount increased year by year.

From the initial 20,000 taels of silver per year to the current 60,000 taels of silver per year, it is said that the grasslands want to increase the annual silver to 100,000 taels this year.

"This matter is difficult to handle. The Great Zhou has been stable for so many years. War would be detrimental to the court. Military officers have not had any military achievements for many years. If war breaks out..."

An elderly official opposite him stroked his chin with one hand and spoke with a sinister look in his eyes.

The words were not finished.

But the other officials understood perfectly well what the other party meant.

The court is now dominated by civil officials, while military generals have no say. Even when going to war, civil officials must accompany the army.

This is the power that the cabinet fought so hard for over many years to win back.

However, if war were to actually break out, the status of military officers would rise rapidly, which neither the Nanlin Party nor other civil officials would agree to.

On this point, all civil servants share the same demand.

"Don't even think about it. It's only 100,000 taels of silver a year. The imperial court can afford it. As long as the grassland barbarians don't cause trouble, they're just uncivilized savages. What difference would 100,000 taels of silver make?"

"Yes, yes, Lord Li is right. If the national treasury can't provide it, then the Emperor's private treasury should!"

"Let's drink. Barbarians are hard to get along with. If Qin Feng angers them, it might be an opportunity for us."

"..."

A group of people clinked glasses and drank heavily.

……

the other side.

Xishan Coal Mine.

Whether it's Qiu Tuizi or the factory guards who came with him, they are now in charge of registering the employment contracts of ordinary people.

To get a coal mine fully operational, at least a thousand coal miners are needed.

"Fortunately, I got a lot of silver when I raided the Prince of Yun's mansion, otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to afford to pay the wages in advance."

Qin Feng sat in a teahouse in the distance, gazing at the crowded streets.

I couldn't help but sigh softly.

"Sir, the transport team has arrived. This man is named Old Xu, and he owns the largest transport team."

Just then.

Liu Tu walked over with a middle-aged man with dark skin.

"This humble servant greets Lord Qin."

"Get up, sit down!"

Qin Feng smiled and helped the person up, then helped them sit in a chair.

"These past few days haven't been easy, have they?"

"yes!"

Old Xu nodded hurriedly.

It's not just hard to get through, it's unbearable.

With the Xishan Coal Mine shut down, their transport team had no work at all. They had so many workers and donkeys to feed, and it cost them a lot of money every day.

to be frank.

He hasn't been able to sleep at night for the past two days.

It's unclear how long the Xishan Coal Mine will be shut down. If it's only for half a month or a month, his entire transportation team will probably have to disband; they simply can't hold on.

Even so, he still has the largest transport team. I heard that in the past two days, many smaller transport teams have laid off their workers and simply quit.

The Ministry of Works shut down the Xishan Coal Mine, and more than a dozen of the former mine owners were killed. Even the Prince of Yun's mansion was not spared, and its property was confiscated.

The coal needed to be transported to the capital, a journey of over thirty miles, and they were indispensable.

However, no one knows what the transportation price will be now that the Ministry of Works is operating the Xishan Coal Mine.

I used to talk to mine owners, and although the profits were low, at least I could make a little money.

Talking directly to officials now would probably yield no profit at all; these people are all incredibly stingy with money.

"I am prepared to dismiss all transport teams."

"what?"

Upon hearing this...

Old Xu immediately knelt on the ground.

"Please, sir, give us a way to survive! Without using the transport teams, how will we get the coal to the capital? We can negotiate the freight, but if all the transport teams are cut off, we'll all be left with no way to make a living!"

"Stand up and speak!"

Qin Feng glared at the other person with annoyance.

"I haven't finished speaking yet, why are you in such a hurry? What I mean is that in the future, the Ministry of Works will hire the transport teams themselves. In other words, those of you who want to stay and work will sign transport employment contracts with the Ministry of Works and be paid according to the amount of work done."

These words were spoken.

Old Xu suddenly raised his head, looking puzzled.

Pay silver based on quantity?

Isn't this the same as before?

How much is the freight fee for hauling a truckload?

"For the time being, you will still use horse-drawn carts to haul coal, but... in the future, I will lay wooden tracks all the way to the vicinity of the capital, so you should prepare in advance, and you won't need so many workers in the future."

Qin Feng had carefully considered this issue.

I also checked it out at the Ministry of Works.

With the skills of the craftsmen of the Great Zhou Dynasty, designing wooden rails should not be a problem. This thing would be much faster for transportation, and a single cart could carry several thousand kilograms of coal, which is a significant improvement over current transportation methods.

The key point is that it saved a lot of money.

At least it doesn't require so many animals to pull it, nor does it need too many workers to accompany it. A single trip on the wooden rails only needs a few people at most.

This greatly reduced costs.

"My lord, the messenger has arrived!"

Just then.

Cao Liang hurriedly ran over from a distance and said in a low voice.

"Where are we? Come, let's go greet the envoy. Old Xu, if you agree to this, in the future, transportation will only require your one transport team. I can guarantee that you will earn no less than two hundred taels of silver a year. Think about this carefully."

Qin Feng left with a single sentence.

They hurriedly left Xishan Coal Mine with their men.