The craftsmen from Beijing were still very satisfied with the treatment given to the craftsmen by the security army, but they were still a little worried about what would happen to the elderly, women and children in the team. Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

Zhang Chu listened to the craftsman's question, and said with a smile: "The old man is the most valuable person in our Zhongyang, you think about it, these old people used to be the best craftsmen, but their physical strength could not keep up, so they were surpassed by the young people, but the fineness of their workmanship has not changed, and they have the most experience." In our factory in Zhongyang, a lot of heavy physical work has been replaced by water-powered machinery, and the old craftsmen only need to point out from the side. By then, it is possible that the old artisans will earn more money than the young people. Don't be jealous. As for women and children, you don't have to worry, our textile factory in Zhongyang recruits a large number of female workers, as long as women can work, they can work in the textile factory, the salary of female workers is not less than that of male workers, then women do not have to rely on men to support, they will talk a lot harder, if you can't earn money, you have to rely on your wife to support it. There is also a special school in Zhongyang that enrolls children of all ages. If your children are smart enough, they can go from elementary school to university, and after they come out, they can become government officials, and if they are dexterous, they can become high-level craftsmen in factories, and their monthly income is no less than that of being an official. ”

"The children of craftsmen can also be officials." The artisans asked one of their top concerns.

"Of course, the children of craftsmen can become officials, and the children of officials can also become craftsmen. In our Zhongyang, people are not divided into high and low by occupation, there is no difference between all walks of life, as long as you have the ability to do anything. Those who work hard will have a bright future. Zhang Chu painted a beautiful picture of the life of craftsmen in Zhongyang.

"It would be great if that was the case, we are willing to go to Zhongyang with you." In the Ming Dynasty for hundreds of years, craftsmen were included in the craftsman register from birth, and their descendants inherited it from generation to generation, and they were not allowed to leave their nationality and change their careers, and the status of craftsmen was even lower than that of ordinary households, let alone compared with officials and magnates. Zhang Chu said that the descendants of craftsmen in Zhongyang can also become officials, which of course has a great attraction to craftsmen. And now it's not just a matter of status, the craftsmen of the late Ming Dynasty have become a problem to eat under the exploitation of officials at all levels, and everyone has no heart to think about the level of status.

"Rest assured, our security forces are a team of the poor, we defend the interests of the poor, and we will protect all those who work hard. I would also like to inform you here that in the near future I will be enacting a new decree guaranteeing that the old craftsmen who have worked for the security forces will be provided for in old age, as you will see shortly. Zhang Chu has been thinking about the provision of old workers and disabled soldiers for a long time, and now he has eyebrows, and he just takes this opportunity to blow the wind to everyone.

The old age is a prosperous scene that the Chinese have pursued for thousands of years, and it would be great if they could catch up, and the craftsmen were very happy.

Seeing that the work of these foremen was almost done, Zhang Chu struck while the iron was hot and asked the foremen to go down separately to do the work of the craftsmen. Although many workers are still skeptical, it is difficult for them to leave their hometowns and come to this unfamiliar place, and live without everyone. And the strict craftsman registration system of the Ming Dynasty made the craftsmen not know where they could go. Even if he fled back to the official army, it is difficult to say whether his identity will be recognized. Everyone had to follow the security army to Zhongyang together, anyway, having a place to eat and survive is the most important thing.

The craftsmen in the artisan camp soon quieted down, these craftsmen have long been numb by the difficult life, there is not much difference between working for the rebels or working for the government, the court that they have served faithfully for generations has not brought them anything to be nostalgic for, but the leader of the rebel army has drawn a big pie for everyone, if what he said can really be realized, the craftsmen feel that there are no regrets in this life.

After a short break, the craftsmen set off under the leadership of the foreman, and this time they had a clear goal and went straight to Zhongyang to start their new life.

Cao Wenzhao, who decisively ordered the retreat, led the team to run a distance, and only stopped when he saw that the security army did not chase after him. The horses kept panting, the horses were in crooked armor and embarrassed, and the two thousand people and horses brought out were now only seven or eight hundred people, and many of them were still injured, and what was more dangerous was those who were injured by muskets, the lead bullets were still in the body, if they could not be taken out of the vital parts, the next purulent infection would kill most of them, and they could only rely on themselves to stand up and see if they could survive this danger, this team of people and horses was really useless. Cao Wenzhao's carefully loved Guanning veteran lost so much in a confrontation with the security army, Cao Wenzhao regretted it so much, why didn't he learn a lesson and fight hard with the security army.

Cao Wenzhao sent a scout to find out that the security army had retreated into the valley and built a defensive line, knowing that it was impossible to recover the craftsman battalion, so he had to retreat with the remnants of the army and return to Taiyuan to return to Hong Chengchou.

Hong Chengchou hurriedly greeted the news of Cao Wenzhao's defeat and retreat, and when he saw the tragic situation of Cao Wenzhao's team, he was stunned.

The Guanning Iron Cavalry led by Cao Wenzhao is a first-class strong army in the official army, and thousands of people have been able to enter and exit freely in the ranks of tens of thousands of thieves in the battle with the thieves, and the thieves killed are all frightened, and there have been no major losses in Shanxi and Shaanxi for so long to suppress the thieves, and this time it has become like this in just one battle.

Cao Wenzhao looked at Hong Chengchou's face full of shame, and he didn't know where to start.

Hong Chengchou knew that this was not the time to blame people, so he ordered someone to take the wounded down to rest and treat, and came to the inner hall with Cao Wenzhao, he wanted to understand the situation of the battle in detail.

"How many thieves are there?" This is what Hong Chengchou is most concerned about, there are definitely not a few thieves who can wipe out thousands of officers and cavalry at once, and where did so many thieves come from.

"The thieves have a large group of infantry in chariots, which should have more than 1,000 people, and about 3,000 cavalry." Cao Wenzhao has been in battle for a long time, and his judgment of the enemy's situation is still very accurate.

"What? There were only three or four thousand thieves. Hong Chengchou was taken aback, the combat effectiveness of the thieves had grown so fast, if the thieves in Shanxi were like this, the officers and soldiers would have no chance of winning.

"That's true." Cao Wenzhao gave a detailed account of the entire battle.

Hong Chengchou was terrified when he heard the battle. It's the security forces again, firearms, and firearms. It was firearms that caused great damage to officers and soldiers. It seems that the security army is well aware of the power of this firearm, so they will come all the way to snatch all the craftsmen that the officers and soldiers have gathered with great difficulty.

Thinking of the craftsmen, Hong Chengchou was even more annoyed, how could these tens of thousands of craftsmen go, let the security army drive hundreds of miles like sheep, and obediently entered the territory of the security army. There must be something wrong here, especially the Chinese officer Cao Qian, who led the team, didn't resist at all?

Hong Chengchou decided to investigate Cao Qian's person first. (To be continued.) )