Chapter 930 Industrial Layout
At around four o’clock in the afternoon, in the meeting hall of the enamel factory, Zhu Yijun, accompanied by Xu Zhenming, Zhang Siwei, Pan Yinglong and others, met with 400 worker representatives from the thermos factory and the enamel factory.

“Dear fellow workers,” Zhu Yijun held up a large metal loudspeaker and began to perform on the spot again.

In the court, everyone recognized that the emperor was the best in terms of being close to the people and treating the common people well, and he had grasped the core essence of it.

“Thank you so much for your hard work.

It is because of your hard work day and night that we can drink hot water in winter and use durable pots and pans.

Many people think this is insignificant. However, the great cause of the Ming Dynasty today is the result of thousands and thousands of insignificant contributions.

You are the heroes of the Ming Dynasty, you are the pillars of the Ming Dynasty!”

The ministers around listened quietly.

They were very familiar with Zhu Yijun’s temper.

The emperor of his own country would only praise workers and peasants, the most humble and ordinary groups in the Ming Dynasty, and would never criticize them.

Others, from the prime minister to ordinary officials, received both praise and criticism.

There were four hundred worker representatives, most of whom were men, and a quarter were women.

They wore dark blue work clothes and soft cloth hats to wrap their hair. Their faces were as dark as the male workers and their hands were as rough.

Like other male workers, they had red eyes, happy faces and were excited. They clapped non-stop as soon as Zhu Yijun finished speaking.

“Today I visited the thermos factory and the enamel factory. My eldest daughter,” Zhu Yijun pointed at Zhu Xuanni.

The little girl held her head high in front of everyone, not feeling scared at all.

“Tell me, how can the workers last eight hours under such difficult conditions? We were just visiting for less than half an hour, but it felt like a year.

I really can’t imagine how you spent eight hours.”

The venue gradually became quiet.

“At the end of last year, the cabinet held an annual summary meeting for Ming industry. I proposed at the meeting that with the development of Ming industry, we must strengthen labor protection work.

What is labor insurance?

In short, it is labor protection! Safety and health protection measures for workers during the production process.

Labor safety is actually a type of labor protection. Why?
Because the purpose of labor safety is to protect workers from harm during the production process. But it is not just about protecting workers from harm at the time or on the surface. We also need to investigate whether there will be hidden diseases or long-term consequences.
This is the protection of the physical and mental health of workers.”

Zhu Yijun looked at the worker representatives surrounding him and continued.

“I have repeatedly stressed that the salary we pay to workers is just a reward for their hard work, not a payment for their lives! We must keep their safety and health in mind.

The cabinet decided to separate the Labor and Social Security Bureau from the Ministry of Rites’ Civil Affairs Bureau to focus on workers’ safety, health and other aspects of protection, such as delayed wages and salaries.

The applause rang out, shaking like thunder.

“You always say that the emperor is wise, but I am not a sage. Sometimes I am deceived, and sometimes I am too busy to take care of things. My and the court’s negligence may be a small matter. But the safety and health consequences caused by it, when it falls on an individual, are a huge disaster.

So, you have to rely more on yourself!”

When Zhu Yijun said this, everyone looked at each other in surprise.

What does the emperor mean by this?
“I have long ago established a labor union for you. Every factory has a branch. Is there one in the enamelware factory or the thermos factory?”

“Yes!” the workers’ representatives responded loudly.

“Are there any representatives from the chapter?”

“Yes!” the workers’ representatives responded, pushing out a dozen people. “They are representatives of our factory branch of the Federation of Labor.”

“Come, come out and stand in front of me.” Zhu Yijun waved his hand.

A dozen people came up to Zhu Yijun, feeling very restrained and not knowing where to put their hands and feet.

“You were all elected by the workers?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“You are highly regarded by the workers, so don’t let them down.”

A dozen people nodded quickly: “We dare not!”

“Since the workers trust you and elect you as representatives of the AFL-CIO branch, you must stand up bravely and speak out for everyone’s safety, health and well-being!”

“Yes!” When the worker representatives around heard this, they cheered and applauded.

Zhu Yijun pointed to the dozen or so representatives from the two factories of the Labor Union branch and said, “I will give you a task. The court is about to promulgate the Labor Law, which includes a labor protection section.

You should set up a labor protection group, first study the content of the Labor Law, and understand what rights and interests the government has provided to workers. Once you have learned it clearly, you should actively publicize it to the majority of workers and tell them the benefits of this law.

Propaganda alone is not enough, you should also take action, become the eyes of the court and fellow workers, and supervise at all times. Once you discover any violation of the Labor Law or any violation of labor protection, you can not only provide information to newspapers and news agencies, but also take the initiative to report it to the Ministry of Rites of the Provincial Government, the Industrial and Commercial Bureau of the Tianjin County Government and other departments.

If they ignore you, you can go to the capital and file a complaint with me!”

“Good!” The four hundred worker representatives applauded again with tears in their eyes.

After returning from the enamel factory to the Tianjin Guest House where he was temporarily staying and having dinner, Zhu Yijun convened a relevant symposium that evening.

First, he listened to the report on the economic development of Hebei made by Li Si on behalf of the Hebei Provincial Government, then he listened to the report on the industrial and commercial situation in Tianjin made by Zhang Changling, the governor of Tianjin, and finally he listened to the overall summary report made by Liang Yuanbao, covering the governance and construction of Hebei’s roads, water conservancy, social security, health, culture and art, and other aspects of people’s livelihood and national economy.

After listening to the report, it was Zhu Yijun’s turn to speak.

“The situation in Hebei and Tianjin is very good, especially the light industry in Tianjin, which is developing very rapidly and very well.

Lotus pod thermos and lotus enamel pots are useful in Xiyuan and cabinet departments.

There is Shanghai in the south and Tianjin in the north. This saying that is circulated locally is the best compliment.

There is an endless stream of people from all over the country coming to Tianjin to visit and learn, and today we are also a group coming here to visit and learn.”

There was a light laugh in the meeting room, and the atmosphere immediately became much more relaxed.

“Where is Tianjin’s industry strong? Light industry.

There is the largest thermos factory and enamel factory in the entire Ming Dynasty that we visited today, as well as hardware factories, bicycle factories, cigarette factories, match factories, lamp factories, leather factories, glassware factories, furniture factories, watch factories, salt fields, and chemical factories such as soda ash and hydrochloric acid derived from salt.

There are a wide variety of categories and types. A complete industrial chain has been formed. “

Zhu Yijun continued.

“Scholars from the Institute of Industrial Management divide industry into heavy industry, light industry and chemical industry.

Heavy industry includes steel smelting, coal mining and coking, and machinery manufacturing.

The chemical industry, including the salt-derived factories just mentioned, as well as other factories including synthetic pharmaceuticals, is still in its infancy.

Light industry is the focus of our discussion today.”

“Compared to heavy industry, light industry is more closely related to the lives of the people. Scholars divide it into three industrial parts.

The first is the durable consumer goods industry, including leather, furniture, hardware, lamps, ceramic enamel, glass clocks and watches. These products are durable and can be passed down for three generations.

The second is the daily consumer goods industry, which is what we use every day, such as cotton cloth, food, paper, matches, cigarettes, and daily sundries.

The third is the cultural arts and sports leisure industry. Books and magazines printing, chalk, blackboards, textbooks, exercise books and other school supplies, toys, musical instruments, four treasures of the study.
Fourth, light industrial machinery and equipment, such as spinning machines, looms, food baking machines, sewing machines, scales, balances and other mechanical equipment needed by light industry. “

Zhu Yijun knocked on the table. “Now all provinces are going to the cabinet, the Imperial Household Department, and the Economic Construction Commission to ask for projects. What projects do they want? Without exception, they all want to build factories.

This guy wants to build a 500,000-ton steel plant. Where will the coal come from, where will the iron ore come from, and where will the smelting workers come from?

He opened his mouth wide, as if everything could come out of his mouth.

Now everyone knows that if you want to get rich, you must first build roads. Everyone wants to have a straight road and a railway built in their own home. They wish the government would build a railway to their doorstep tomorrow.

They also know that getting rich depends on industry. They all know that opening a factory can make money, so they all rush to build a cement plant, a steel plant, and a machinery manufacturing plant in their local area, without asking about the actual situation and just acting on impulse.

Zhu Yijun’s tone was very impolite, “These people have problems in their brains! Is opening a factory just a game? They can open it just like that!

I have discussed with Prime Minister Wang that the national economic layout and planning will be under the jurisdiction of the Economic Construction Committee, and industrial planning will be under the jurisdiction of the Industrial Planning Committee.

If you want to open a factory, you must get approval from the Industrial Planning Committee and then send it to the Economic Construction Committee for review. Only after it is approved can the project be approved and funded!”

Zhu Yijun reiterated the precautions regarding industrial planning.

“Of course, we have to be extremely cautious with heavy industry. But we have to deal with light industry, which is closely related to the lives of the people, separately.

The biggest problem with thermos is that they are fragile and very inconvenient to transport. Even if there were railways, they would be transported from Tianjin to Sichuan, and after many transfers and heavy protection, three or four out of ten would break.

Moreover, it has to be transported such a long distance, and there is a long section of upstream water transportation in the middle, so the freight is not cheap.

Waste, huge waste.

The technology for making thermos bottles is not very advanced, so at this time we have to think about building a thermos bottle factory in Chengdu to supply Sichuan and surrounding areas. This would be much better than shipping from Tianjin.

By the same token, should Xi’an and Lanzhou build one?
Now that we have built a thermos factory, should we also build a factory for matches that we use every day? Or a paper mill as well?
Sewing machines and bicycles are now popular all over the country. If a family has these two items, it will be possible to marry a beautiful wife.

But these two items are quite expensive. Is it because of the high technical difficulty?

No, after several years of production, most of the technical problems have been solved and the production technology has become more mature. The high cost is in the transportation fee. These two things are not light, and tofu is sold at the price of meat.

So should we consider setting up sewing machine factories and bicycle factories in a large area?
For example, a sewing machine and bicycle factory was established in Chengdu to cover the southwest, and these two factories were established in Wuchang or Changsha to cover Huguang.

Xi’an, Guangzhou, Xinzhou, Sanbao, and so on. The main parts are shipped from Tianjin to these places, and then assembled. Some parts can also be produced locally. Isn’t the price cheaper?”

Zhu Yijun could not help knocking on the table again, “My fellow ministers, economic construction planning and industrial construction layout cannot be figured out by sitting in the duty room, drinking tea, reading newspapers, and chatting.

We need to conduct on-site inspections and visit local areas to check out the local transportation conditions, local resource conditions, and local population conditions. Once we have a clear understanding of all the conditions, we will know exactly what kind of light industrial factory to open there that will play the greatest role and efficiently help the people improve their lives.

This is also the purpose of my establishing the Economic Construction Committee and the Industrial Planning Committee to make overall plans!”

Finally, Zhu Yijun emphasized word by word: “All ministers must remember! Our ultimate goal of developing industry and commerce and promoting the industrial revolution is to help the people of the Ming Dynasty live a healthy and happy life!”

(End of this chapter)