Munitions Empire-Chapter 1075: Marks time at 997

Chapter 1075: Marks time at 997

After finishing his speech, he casually asked, “Do you think there will ever come a day when civilians can easily purchase a plane ticket, flying from Linshui to Chang’an just for a visit? Can you imagine it? Twenty years ago, it took nearly half a year for a trip from the Western Continent to the Eastern Continent, waiting for the monsoons. But now, we can set off at any time, and it doesn’t even take half a month to travel back and forth.”

“I believe, if the speed of planes could be increased even further, then traveling to Linshui might become even more convenient.” The secretary nodded, he truly admired the technological progress of the Great Tang Empire, so he didn’t doubt Harry’s words at all.

He himself was even a microcosm of the development of the Tang Empire: As a person from Qi Country, if it wasn’t for the Tang Empire and its schools, he guessed he would probably be no more than a minor official at most by now.

“We are compelling merchants to increase income for employees, at the same time we are also creating more consumption opportunities and higher quality of life that workers hope to have… The workers will demand more personal time…” Harry looked towards the application report submitted by the Merchants Group.

He did not support the report’s request to legally increase the working hours for employees, but he also did not support endlessly increasing benefits for workers: “Then on the contrary… who will ensure the interests of the merchants? To satisfy the demands of the workers, to let them rest more, earn more money, their demands will inevitably rise over time, two days off a week won’t be enough, then they will demand three days off…”

“Now we have the technological advantage to satisfy such demands. But when our technological advantage is narrowed, is surpassed… if we then try to make these workers go back to taking just four days off a month, would they agree?” Following that, Harry raised another question.

“I guess, they probably wouldn’t be willing to,” the secretary answered immediately without thinking: Who would willingly give up the benefits they already have?

Harry promptly provided an example to his secretary: “By that time, to avoid the risks associated with high welfare costs, merchants will try every means to avoid these regulations that are unfavorable to them. They will move away from the Tang Empire and invest in Chu Country, as Tang People hold special status there, and local officials would not dare to easily offend these esteemed Celestial Empire citizens.”

“Without merchants taking risks, without factories, then whatever how clever the laws we draft, what use would they be? If workers lose their jobs, they will become dissatisfied with the Tang Empire, at that point, how are we to soothe them?” Harry then asked another piercing question.

“Uh…” Naturally, the secretary had no answer.

Harry did not expect to get an answer from him; he simply answered his own question and then continued: “The answer is, there isn’t one! Merchants are people, workers are people, employers and employees are all people… If we officials don’t mediate among them, if we don’t grasp the right degree, it will cause chaos across the world… And doing all of this, is the reason why Your Majesty keeps us, the reason why we officials should exist!”

While puffing on his cigarette, he explained to his secretary the essence of being an official: “If we don’t serve well, if we don’t understand how to reconcile these contradictions, if we don’t think about how the entire Empire can run better, then we will perish along with this Empire.”

Because he knew that his secretary seated beside him would be appointed to another place within a year, serving as the deputy mayor of some city, the number two person there.

He will accumulate work experience there and then apply what he learned, helping that city to develop and thrive. If he is successful, he will be promoted to be a local chief official, and his career will take off; if he fails, he will be dismissed, stepping onto a different path in life.

So, Harry felt it necessary to warn him, power is hard to come by, holding power is an honor, not the ultimate goal: “For a family, for a class, it might not feel too bad to see a nation destroyed by its own foulness and abjectness… but for an individual, to have held such tremendous power and then to mess up everything, what a colossal failure that would be…”

Having said this, Harry closed his eyes: “When you die… you close your eyes, reminisce about your life, you once had the opportunity to make billions of commoners live in peace and contentment, but you failed… As a politician, as an official, would you be content?”

The secretary sitting over there knew this was his superior teaching him the principles of governance, and with a bowed head he acknowledges the lesson: “I understand…”

Seeing the secretary was sensible, Harry did not say much more but instead brought the topic back to the matter at hand: “Speaking of this matter itself, the reason we don’t intervene or inquire is not because I, or you, or the labor supervision department do not realize how serious the situation is below, but rather everyone is waiting, waiting for a suitable opportunity to intervene.”

It is not that Harry is talkative, nor is it that he likes to speak so much. In fact, this has almost become a “professional affliction” for all Tang Empire officials. They must devote themselves to training officials outside of their work, so as to ensure that the Tang Empire has a sufficient number of officials to employ…

Even so, the official system of the Tang Empire is still irreversibly becoming younger. There’s just no other way because qualified officials are indeed too few and too difficult to cultivate.

“We pretend to be deaf and blind, not because we are deaf or blind. No, not at all. We are manipulating!” Harry was saying this as he neared the end of his cigarette.

He glanced at the less than one-fifth of the cigarette left: “The merchants below will become increasingly excessive with our indulgence. They will secretly increase the workers’ hours, squeeze their labor, and force them to comply with their demands to increase profits for the merchants!”

After greedily taking another draw, he stubbed out the remaining cigarette butt in the ashtray: “The entire process is inevitable because they too are human; they have human nature, and greed is their essence, so things will definitely develop in the direction we have designed.”

“The workers’ dissatisfaction will gradually increase, and they will awaken on their own! This requires a lengthy process.” While saying this, Harry seemed like a god, playing the merchants in the palm of his hand: “When the entire Empire is seething with grievances and everyone’s attention is on the unreasonable working hours, the labor regulatory department will step forward to make an example, standardize management, and strictly enforce a four-day rest policy every month.”

“You see, we have punished the criminals, cracked down on violations, soothed public grievances, and regulated the original system… Is there any loss during this period?” he continued to ask, with a smile on his face.

The secretary shook his head: “No, no loss.”

Harry then followed up with a question: “So, what have we gained compared to before?”

“…” The secretary couldn’t think of anything officials could gain on the spot.

Harry pressed his palms together: “Okay, stop guessing, let me tell you! Everything has returned to the starting point. There’s no increase in rest time, and the merchants’ interests are preserved. The regulations are strictly enforced for a while, and workers’ interests are preserved…”

He flipped his palm over to face up and then flipped it back again: “To put it bluntly, it’s about first allowing permissiveness before stepping back, then taking a step forward, maintaining the status quo. That way, when facing a cliff, one can ensure not stepping off.”

“Increasing workers’ benefits is like chopping off merchants’ fingers. Hurt the merchants too much, and they’ll flee, then the workers will be doomed too. So the way to balance is back and forth, up and down, keeping things the same.” As he spoke, Harry also moved his palms to demonstrate a waving motion.

Having said that, he asked again: “If we do according to what the workers want, there would be no way out for the merchants and investors. If we follow the merchants and syndicates, workers are even worse than slaves. If we buy agricultural products at the price the merchants are willing to offer, can the farmers survive? If we purchase grains at the standard the farmers hope for, do you believe the rice price could skyrocket?”

“But the country’s image, credibility…” The only issue that the secretary could think of regarding this matter was just that.

Hearing this, a look of approval appeared on Harry’s face. The other party was perceptive to consider this point, which already meant a lot.

This made Harry feel that his long speech was meaningful, so his face showed even more of a smile.

After smiling, he continued: “Some people got the short end of the stick during the overtime, some took advantage during the strict management… Overall, the public sentiment is maintained at a delicate balance. Isn’t this a relatively stable state in a way?”

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After finishing, he leaned back in his chair: “Now, do you still think letting workers work an extra hour a day is a trivial matter? No, it can almost determine the life and death of a country!”

“Meticulous thinking, careful decision-making, and when in doubt, do not make hasty decisions. As an official of the Great Tang Empire, every action you take must be done to perfection!” After concluding, Harry felt a bit tired: “Have someone remind that Merchants Group to restrain themselves a bit.”

“Yes! I will handle it immediately,” the secretary understood and stood up to take his leave.

“Go on! If you remember what we talked about today, go and discuss it with your junior brothers!” Harry didn’t plan to repeat what he said to the secretary today to anyone else, and with a wave of his hand, he gave his instructions.