Chapter Ninety-Four: Transforming the Smelting Plant

The first thing Zhang Zhimu encountered at the smelter was that there were deaths every day, both prisoners and workers. There is even a special corpse collection team here, whose job is to find out where there are dead bodies, and then pull them down the mountain and bury them hastily. Here, human life is like a mustard.

The food of the workers is basically half bran and half grain, and they are not enough to eat at all. The prisoners were even more mixed, with porridge as thin as water at each meal, and heavy manual labor in harsh conditions. A lot of people just couldn't stand the hunger and tiredness and collapsed.

The second thing is that the living environment here is simply intolerable, and almost everyone has lice on them, including the so-called managers. Not to mention the living environment.

Zhang Zhimu first asked all the prisoners to be handcuffed and shackled, saying that these people could not escape. Outside there were our cavalry watching.

There are a total of 16 large and small iron-making furnaces here, and according to the situation, Zhang Zhimu asked four furnaces to be stopped first. The rest just don't stop the furnace and run slowly.

Then, Zhang Zhimu asked Li Jing to return to the kiln. Let him tell the rest of the cavalry to come and help take over the smelter; told Huang Yukun to prepare clothes and clothes for 3,000 people, which can mobilize women inside and outside Xiurong City to help with it; Inform Wushan to use some quicklime and cement first; Let Li Yunhe come over and help get a set of devices that can use the waste heat of the iron-making furnace to heat water, and build a bath here, there is no water lifting equipment here, so build a pool a little higher, and the water is pulled up from the river next to it by oxen and horse-drawn carts. The most important thing to do immediately is to bring the food over as soon as possible. A little earlier, you can reduce the number of deaths.

Zhang Zhimu stipulated that both prisoners and workers would work at half the intensity these days, and that all workers and prisoners would have the same food, and that they would not dare to overfeed everyone at once, and that rice porridge would be served in limited quantities, but four meals a day would be served. Such small and frequent meals give their stomachs an adaptation phase. By the next day, each person can add a steamed bun in addition to porridge.

After Zhang Bingchen came, he arranged those who were too poor in physique and those who were sick together, and opened a small stove to supplement nutrition. There are meat dishes, and some even have milk and eggs. After the new clothes and new clothes were brought in, Zhang Zhimu asked him to throw out all the things in the shack where the workers lived and pile them into a pile, and after the shack was cleaned, the ground was sprinkled with lime for disinfection. Since the bath had not yet been repaired, hot water was brought for everyone to wash, and then new clothes were put on, and then all the old clothes were thrown on the pile of old things, and they were completely destroyed by fire.

After washing and changing into new clothes, the people of the entire smelting plant have a new mental outlook. At night, the hut was filled with new mats, and everyone was given new bedding.

In the past few days, Lu Chengxiang and their side have made rapid progress. These original account keepers were originally dissatisfied with those officials who only knew how to be greedy and didn't know how to do a good job, and they all wanted to behave well in front of the new owner, especially the treacherous and cunning Lu Chengxiang, who was full of smiles when he saw everyone, and united these people very well. The work is moving fast. Now it has been found out that the arrears of officials of all sizes are more than 5,000 taels of silver. Among them, Liu Baoxue, the mine manager, owed more than 3,000 taels of silver.

When Li Dong and Lu Chengxiang came to the room where Liu Baoxue, the mine manager, was detained, and showed him the account book, Liu Baoxue was a little confused. I owe so much money. I don't even remember it, and I wonder why I don't get rid of these hateful accounts, or remind myself. Thinking about it again, if he didn't fall, no one would dare to say such a thing in front of him. But I can't help but admit the note I signed one by one. I had to nod my head and admit it. Lu Chengxiang asked him, "What are you going to do with this silver?" This Liu Baoxue said that he would not spit when he died, Lu Chengxiang said: "If your affairs are not solved, other things will not be able to continue, and I will accompany you today to wait for a result." In the end, Liu Baoxue, the mine manager, said: "I want to meet your boss, and when the time comes, I will say everything more than you want." ”

There was no way, Lu Chengxiang had no choice but to invite Zhang Zhimu over. In fact, Zhang Zhimu also wanted to meet the mine manager for a long time. Liu Baoxue said: "I want to talk to Zhang Dongjia alone. Lu Chengxiang and the others went out.

Zhang Zhimu poured Liu Baoxue a glass of water, and Liu Baoxue drank all the water. Putting down the water glass, Liu Baoxue said: "Zhang Dongjia, I have heard your name for a long time. I think just because you can take this smelter down at such a low price, you are not an ordinary person. How about we make a deal? Zhang Zhimu said: "Don't get me wrong, this price is the price set by the prince of Jin himself, and I don't even have a chance to repay the price." If you want to make a deal, it depends on what kind of capital you have. ”

At this time, Zhang Zhimu liked this Liu Baoxue a little. At this time, people are still sober and know how to save themselves. is not like those who usually show off their might, and when they encounter trouble, they only know how to kneel and beg for mercy.

Liu Baoxue said: "Zhang Dongjia bought this mine just to make money. First, there is still a lot of money owed to the mine, and it may not be found in the accounts, so I will try to get it back for you, about 10,000 taels of silver. It's a small amount of money in front of you. Second, I can take care of this smelter for you. Your newly appointed factory director, who just came in, used to be just a furnace manager here. He didn't have the ability to manage such a smelting plant with thousands of people. And I have been dealing with this smelter for four generations in my family. The Ministry of Industry was able to let me manage this smelter, of course, my family made a lot of money, but both the Ministry of Industry and the mine supervisor still recognized my ability. ”

Zhang Zhimu wanted to use this Liu Baoxue from the heart, this person has a clear mind, and the most important thing is that he can grasp Zhang Zhimu's heart and know what the owner wants. To be honest, Liu Baoxue has completely convinced Zhang Zhimu. However, Zhang Zhimu knew that this person was proud of his talent, and if he didn't put out his fire well, it would be troublesome to use it in the future.

Zhang Zhimu said: "We can do business, your first one." I'm very satisfied, if you can handle the matter of more than 10,000 taels of silver, I can consider it and ask Lord Song to intercede for you. I think that at this moment, Lord Song can still give me this face. As for the management of the smelter you mentioned, I won't bother you. I think we can manage this smelter. In fact, the smelting plant under your management is dirty and messy, chaotic and inefficient. If you don't need a car or a horse, you have to use someone to do it. People die here every day, and my smelter doesn't want to be like this. Moreover, we make steel and iron, and in the future we are going to use coke, not charcoal. We may not be able to use your solution. ”

When Liu Baoxue heard that he was saved, he was very happy, but Zhang Zhimu's belittlement of him, he felt that he couldn't stand it. Then he said, "Since the owner has promised to help me, I will definitely help you get the money back." As for what you said about the management of the smelter, I would like to share my opinion, would the owner be willing to listen to it? ”

Zhang Zhimu said: "Please speak, you're welcome. ”

Liu Baoxue said: "This smelter was originally a mine, so we are called mine director, not factory director. This government-run mine is allocated silver by the imperial court every year, and most of the iron is directly transferred by the Ministry of Industry. It stands to reason that we don't have to worry about money. However, we know that these mines and smelting factories are all places where silver is produced, can those officials of the Ministry of Industry and the mine supervisors of the imperial court guard the fat and not think of a way? So they also have to sell some iron. In this way, the accounts of the smelter cannot be too clear. Actually, I can't even remember who the IOU was for the thousands of taels of silver or for myself. Generally, these strips will be offset by the end of the year, and they will not leave traces. As for the management in the factory, to be honest, there are some things I can't do. Speaking of which, I am the mine manager, but those deputy positions also come in through various relationships, and everyone has to have a little real power, and I wanted to change it at first. I didn't expect that I couldn't move at all, and if I had to get it again, it would be difficult for me to protect myself. And I can't do without this iron-making furnace, I see this iron-making furnace every day, and my heart is steady. So I would like to ask the owner to keep me. I am familiar with this mine and the smelter, even if I give Li Dong and them a start, if there is a backstage like Yaogang, this smelter can make money every day. The ore of this mineral is all iron sand, and the iron production rate is high. At the current scale, it will be no problem to do it for 50 years. ”

Zhang Zhimu said: "Since you have the heart to cooperate with us, you should do the things in front of you first, and I will consider the rest." At this time, Zhang Zhimu wanted to keep him in his heart.

After a few days of hard work, the health of both the workers and the prisoners improved significantly. The workers in front of the furnace and the prisoners who beat the stones wore masks according to the regulations. Zhang Zhimu first arranged for some workers to renovate the roads in the factory area, all of them were paved and tamped, and drainage ditches were dug on the roadside. The ore from the mine can be pulled directly to the iron-making furnace by horse-drawn cart. Mining ore does not require prisoners to chisel with drills and hammers. Li Wei led some people to train a blasting team for the mine, and the prisoners only needed to use a drill to shoot the blast hole, stuff it into the black **, and ignite it from afar. Just load the ore into the car and pull it away. The work efficiency has been greatly improved. There were many people left, and Zhang Zhimu arranged for them to carry out environmental transformation. All the buildings can be washed with water, and they are washed with water, and the dust and soil are covered with new soil, and many trees are transplanted, and shrubs are planted on both sides of the road. Everything that can be seen and is not messy has been remodeled. Zhang Zhimu also knows that with the current level of technology, it is impossible to completely solve the problem of pollution. But what can be done now, must be done well.

After hard work, this Liu Baoxue asked the smelter for more than 12,000 taels of silver for his dead debts. In the past, this was a government-run smelter, and no one collected the debts, because it was not their own to take it back, and it offended people. Those who can owe money to the smelter have some skills. But when Liu Baoxue took the IOU and went to the door one by one, Lu Chengxiang only used a few words to solve the problem. Later, Zhang Zhimu really pleaded with Lord Song for him, and Lord Song also made a favor. In fact, what Liu Baoxue sold was no longer the property of the government-run smelting plant. He can do it or not.

Zhang Zhimu also tore up Liu Baoxue's silver IOU in front of him. Liu Baoxue was moved to tears and asked Zhang Zhimu to take him in. Zhang Zhimu said: "That's it, it's not appropriate for you to stay here, if you want, you can go to the Yaogang headquarters and be an assistant to Li Yunhe." No matter how good you are, you have to start all over again. Of course, Liu Baoxue is very willing.

Most of the money owed by the other people in the smelter was handed back. Some people can't take it out at once, so they have to slowly deduct it from their salary.

After completing the handover procedures with Lord Song, he sent Lord Song away. Zhang Zhimu's last job at the smelter was to screen the prisoners. To say that the Ming Dynasty is still very perfect in terms of management, especially in the management of prisoners, it is even more meticulous, and everyone's files are clearly recorded.

When Lord Song led these people away, he didn't bring anything, including the files of these prisoners. just asked Zhang Zhimu not to release the prisoner privately. Only when there is a general amnesty in the imperial court can it report to some prisoners who need to be released, and they can only be released if they are approved. Zhang Zhimu asked: "What about the dead?" ”

Lord Song smiled and said, "Buried." Then escalate. ”

"To whom?"

"To whom? Maybe you want to report it to the prince, it's useless to report it to me. Ha ha! I'll go back and ask you who I'm going to report to. Lord Song said.

Zhang Zhimu knew that from this point of view, the Ming Dynasty had been defeated. Isn't that a mess? That's more than a thousand prisoners. The prince was reluctant to accept it because he couldn't kill them all, that is, someone had to watch and take care of the food.

The prisoners who were sent to serve in the army were punished more severely than those who were sent to the army, and the conditions here were harsh, and they were starved and cold, and they could die at any time.

Zhang Zhimu focused on the more than 200 prisoners he rescued, starting with their files.

picked up their files, and Zhang Zhimu couldn't stop reading them one by one. After reading these files, Zhang Zhimu's heart was beating excitedly. He knew that when he came to this era, the most worthwhile thing he spent was to buy these more than 200 people. It's a talent pool.

There were three jinshi, twelve lifters, and sixty-five talents. And there are more people in the army. Among them, there were two garrisons, five generals and thirty generals of the infantry army, and four generals and ten generals of the middle army and battalion of the chariot soldiers; Fifteen sailors (captains) and so on, in short, they can enter the list of more than 200 people, all of them have some status. Otherwise, he is really not qualified to enter the list of important criminals in the imperial court.

Zhang Zhimu first gathered a total of 90 of these jinshi, juren, and xiucai together and held a symposium. Several rows of tables were set up, and tea was served to everyone. There are also people waiting next to it, and when the tea is finished, someone will refill it soon. Zhang Zhimu wanted to appease these literati first.

These people are all brains, since they knew that Zhang Zhimu saved them, they were happy and began to wonder, what is this Zhang Zhimu going to do to save these people?

But soon, the food and even the environment here have been greatly improved, and these people are even more curious about this Zhang Zhimu. Anyway, survival comes first, and when Zhang Zhimu comes, at least everyone's survival is guaranteed. Although I don't know Zhang Zhimu yet, I feel that this person's conscience is at least not bad. These people here can also see that these people summoned by Zhang Zhimu today are all literati. They are also eager to know what this Zhang Zhimu is going to do.

When these people have almost drunk the tea, they are almost talking. Zhang Zhimu came out and stood in front of everyone, and said to everyone: "The people I invited today are all scholars. When it comes to poetry and writing, everyone is my teacher. According to the etiquette of a scholar, I should bow to everyone. Saying that, Zhang Zhimu gave everyone a salute.

At this time, the people below suddenly fell silent. They're a little confused, no matter what status they were before, but now they all have a common identity - prisoners. Moreover, the person who saluted them turned out to be the benefactor who rescued them, and the one who could now control their fate. For a while, many of them had blank minds, and for many years, their only effort here was to live as much as possible, and they had no dignity at all, hoping to receive a few fewer whips every day. Now, some people respect them so much that they are not used to it for a while, so let's just say that today's tea, I can't drink enough. It's so commonplace, I haven't drunk it in years. It tastes so good now.

After saluting, Zhang Zhimu sat down at a high table in front of him, so that he could see everyone, and everyone could see Zhang Zhimu.

Zhang Zhimu said: "You may be a little strange, why do I salute you prisoners. I tell you, yesterday I looked at your files, and after reading them, I don't think you are criminals. You people, who have been studying hard since childhood, have long understood the affairs of the world, and many of you are worried about the country and the people. As a result, some were framed by political opponents; Some are framed by the prison of words; What is really at fault is also unintentional, and can only be regarded as negligence. and they will not come here to suffer the sins of the cattle and horses. Listening to Zhang Zhimu's words, some people began to sob.

Zhang Zhimu continued: "You should all be the pillars of the country, and it is a huge waste for the country to put you here to beat stones; It is also very unfair to you personally; The damage to your family is also enormous. Fortunately, today I took over and I want to do my best to minimize the damage caused by this mistake. Of course, it's impossible to hope that I will let everyone go all at once. If so, the imperial court will soon know. As a result, I didn't even have the opportunity to get in here and hit stones. Everyone laughed together.

"If you all go home, it won't take you two days, and the guys who framed you will find a way to get you back again, and you may never have a chance to hit the stone again. So what to do. First, I'm definitely not going to let everyone go back to hitting stones again. Such an insulting thing cannot happen again. I have an idea that I can make the most of your strengths and make a proper arrangement for everyone. Do you think it's okay? ”

When I heard that I didn't have to go back to hit the stones, I didn't believe it in my heart, it all came too fast.

Zhang Zhimu said: "We have set up a cultural and educational department under the Yaogang Commerce and Trade Corporation. Now Mr. Lo Bingyi is in charge of management. Mainly from scientific research and education work. Among them is the work in education. I think that if you participate in the work there, you can not only play to your strengths, but also earn a good salary. Isn't that a good thing? ”

The people below, Weng's suddenly discussed. Many people began to cry uncontrollably. They never imagined that they would be able to engage in this cultural work. Now they don't realize that the job pays very well.

Zhang Zhimu continued: "I have two preliminary plans, one is to set up a school to teach children to read and train employees; The second is that there is an intention to compile a dictionary. Zhang Zhimu said this, and it was quiet below. Because these people understand that compiling a dictionary is not an easy task. This should be the work of the imperial court.

Zhang Zhimu knew what these people were thinking, and said: "It stands to reason that this matter of compiling a dictionary should be handled by the imperial court. But how can the imperial court have the energy to do these things now? Let's organize the compilation of a concise and commonly used dictionary first, and then slowly improve it. Many of us may spend a lifetime perfecting this dictionary. I hope you will participate in this work. ”

The people below have expressed their willingness to participate. It is the dream of every literati to participate in such work.