Speaking of this, the old man sighed again.

"If you work for the country, the country will naturally compensate you, so there is no reason to serve you in vain." In order to avoid making the old man sad, the prince hurriedly changed the topic, "Is it hard work on the construction site?" I see you seem a little tired carrying stones. ”

"It's not too hard, when I used to do farm work, I had to get up before dawn and go home until sunset, which was called hard work at that time." The old man shook his head, indicating that he was not dissatisfied, "And because the grass people on the construction site are old and weak, they don't arrange too much work for the grass people, so life is quite easy." If you want to talk about hardship, the grass people have a few friends who work in other factories, and that is hard work...... Some of them work in the gunpowder factory, which is very dangerous, and I heard that people often burn themselves, but they have to do it with trepidation for a bowl of rice......"

"I see." The prince nodded silently.

He had heard that the work of the gunpowder factory was very dangerous, but he also knew that he could not completely avoid this kind of thing, after all, the country's gunpowder demand was there, and he could only urge those factories to do their best to follow the safety regulations, and arrange more bereavement benefits.

Patrolling the fortress, you can't go around in one place all the time, so the prince decided to change the subject.

"Old grandson, you have been working on the construction site for so long, working hard for the country, is there anything missing?"

He had decided to take some out of his private money and pay these workers more, although it was not much, but it was finally a piece of heart.

Who knows, this old man did not ask for money or treatment, but his face was timid, as if he had something to say but did not dare to say.

Could it be that there is something that no one here is allowed to say here?

"But it doesn't hurt to say, don't be afraid!" He hurriedly encouraged the other party, "I'm the crown prince, I'm talking here, if they don't do anything right, I can help you make the decision!" ”

"His Royal Highness the Prince, grass people...... The grass people have no problem with the people on the construction site, but they ...... It's just ......" the old man hesitated again, and finally spoke, "The grass people just have a request......

"Say it, I'll do it if I can do it." The prince immediately agreed.

"Grass People...... Over the years, he has saved a lot of money by working on the construction site, and the son of the grass farmer has also saved up. Together, these savings can buy a lot of land in my hometown...... My hometown has been in war for many years, but there are many people who have run away, and there is a lot of wasteland! After receiving the encouragement of the prince, the old man boldly said, "Now that the son of the grass man has become a family and has given birth to a child, he plans to settle down, and the daughter-in-law of the grass man also said that she wants us to return to the hometown." But...... However, the grass people and their sons applied to the construction site, but the construction site said that they would not release the people and that the grass people were not allowed to return to their hometowns......"

As he spoke, the old man suddenly kowtowed again, and his words were very sad and sincere. "Before the construction site, we had to dare to build the construction period, and if we didn't let the grass people go back, the grass people could also understand it. But...... Now that this place has been completed, the grass people have complained several times, but the above is still not allowed, seeing that the grass people have reached this age, I don't know...... I don't know when I will go, the grass people are afraid of dying in a foreign land...... The grass people miss their hometown but can't go home, so they are helpless...... Please also ask the prince to call the ......"

No one is allowed to return home? It's too much! This construction site is not a prison cell, it has been completed, and no one is allowed to leave? The crown prince suddenly felt a wave of anger rise in his heart.

When he first heard that the supply of materials here was stable, he was quite happy, and felt that the managers here had finally done a good thing, but when he heard this, his original favor was suddenly swept away.

Just when he was about to agree to the old man's request, and was about to call the managers of the construction site to reprimand him, but at this time, his shirt was suddenly ripped off, and he turned back angrily, but found that the person who pulled his shirt was actually his uncle Xu Housheng.

Don't...... Could it be that my uncle acquiesced in this?

Why?

Although he was full of puzzlement, the prince finally changed his mind and did not directly allow the old man's request. "Okay, I understand what you mean, I'll go back and ask here and see if there's any other way."

"Prince Xie! Thank you, Prince! Although the prince's words were a little reserved, how could this old worker understand the twists and turns? He only knew that the crown prince Chrysostom had said so, and since he had already said so, then his wish would probably be fulfilled.

While thinking this, tears almost fell from his eyes, and he kowtowed repeatedly, and as a result, the dust on his forehead became thicker and thicker.

The prince looked more and more pitiful, and quickly turned around and walked away.

He walked to a shed next to him, and his uncle Xu Housheng also followed behind and walked into the shed together. The prince waved his hand at the people behind him, signaling that they were not allowed to follow.

"Uncle, why aren't people allowed to leave the construction site here? I think...... I think they're pathetic......"

Compared with his eagerness and excitement, Gongxiang Xu Housheng's expression was much stranger. He sighed silently, and finally let out a long sigh, "Hey...... This is because I ordered that experienced workers and craftsmen should not be allowed to return to their hometowns at various sites. ”

"Uncle, why do you have to do this!" The prince was shocked.

Isn't it difficult for a strong man not to allow people to return to their hometowns? How could an uncle, who had always been gentle, do such a thing?

"They're pitiful, but if we let them go, they won't come back! These workers are all old workers who have accumulated years, and they have all practiced their skills and experience, and they will go to farm when they are put back, and as a result, we will go back here and slowly retrain the workers......" The worker sank his face and sighed again, "There are some things that cannot be explained clearly in one or two sentences......

Dahan's industry is developed, and the treatment provided to workers is also good, but there are many workers who were originally converted from farmers, and they were used to cultivating the land back then, although they had to work for their livelihood, but their hearts are still full of the attachment to the land before. After saving a sum of wages, they generally want to quit their jobs and return to their hometowns to buy land and farm, especially now that the world has been decided, there are barren fields everywhere, which arouses their thoughts even more.

For generations, the peasantry's attachment to the land has become a deep-seated cult that a few years of working life obviously cannot eradicate this cult. In addition, although the workers were well paid, the working conditions were generally worse than those in farming, and although the phenomenon of burning people in gunpowder factories was rare in other industries, there were many cases of machines cutting off fingers or causing other injuries, and overwork and long hours of fatigue were common.

Because of these harsh conditions, even if they can earn money, these workers generally do not have much attachment to work, coupled with the infatuation with land in their hearts, so it is normal to want to go back to their hometown to buy land and farm after saving a sum of money.

As far as the state is concerned, experienced workers need time to be trained, and after they leave, the factories will suffer losses, and the newly trained workers will have the idea of returning home to buy land and farm, so the loss of workers has become a major problem faced by factories everywhere, whether they are run or privately run.

One way is to let the big factories decay -- something that the minister of work could not bear.

One solution was to reduce wages, so that they would not have the capital to buy land, and would have to continue to be left in the factories for servitude, but the workers were not willing to use this method.

So he had no choice but to stop this phenomenon by issuing an executive order prohibiting experienced workers from leaving their posts.

Since he issued the order, there has been a significant decrease in the number of old workers quitting their jobs and returning to their hometowns, and even if they do, they are forced to return by the magistrates, so Dahan's factories have finally kept enough qualified workers. This old grandson and his son are also within the ban because they have been working on the construction site for several years and have become experienced workers.

While this approach may be impersonal, it is the best option available at the moment.

After listening to Gongxiang's explanation, the prince's mind became a little confused.

As the prince of a country, what he hopes most is that everyone lives in peace and security, but the minister here issued an unkind order on the grounds of the needs of the country, and he feels that his uncle is also justified here.

This...... What the hell is good?

"The way of governing the country is complicated, His Royal Highness the Prince, it is indeed difficult for you." Looking at the prince who was a little confused and entangled, Gongxiang sighed with some sympathy, "You know your uncle's temperament, he has no quarrel with the world, and he is definitely not a person who likes to hurt others." But...... In this world, there are so many things that I can only make that I can't make decisions that I can't do! ”

"Uncle...... Do you have to do it? "The prince hissed me.

"Well, it has to be done." The minister nodded directly, "Don't forget, the prince should not forget, my dynasty founded the country with industry and commerce, and it is precisely because of the income of industry and commerce that the taxes on the peasants in our dynasty are so light, and the levy and levy of forced labor are so small, if you give up because of a little personal affection, then the world will suffer even more." I couldn't figure out these truths before, but after working in the position of the minister for a long time, I have to figure it out if I can't figure it out, and some things are just helpless but have to do it, this is one thing. ”

The prince fell into deep thought.

"For so many years, I have almost figured it out, governing the country naturally depends on benevolence and righteousness, but benevolence has small benevolence and great benevolence, for the sake of one or two people to destroy the big thing is small benevolence, for the sake of the world is great benevolence." The minister of work continued to talk eloquently, "I want to do everything possible to ensure the industry, develop the industry, so that more people can have food and clothing, this is the great benevolence, for this, it is okay to do something against your will, I have done it." ”