Chapter 1514: Seemingly Unfeeling

At this, the old man let out another string of long sighs and short laments.

"You labor for the nation, so the nation naturally must compensate you — there's no principle of making you toil for nothing." To keep the old man from growing too sorrowful, the crown prince hastily changed the subject. "Is the work at the construction site hard? I saw you carrying stone and you seemed a bit tired."

"This isn't too hard. Back when I did farm work, I had to rise before dawn and couldn't go home until sunset — that was truly hardship." The old man shook his head, showing he wasn't dissatisfied. "And at the site, because this commoner is old and weak, they haven't assigned me too much work, so the days are fairly easy. If you want to talk about suffering, this commoner has a few friends working at other factories — that's real hardship… Some of them work at a gunpowder plant. It's very dangerous there; I hear people often set themselves on fire. But for a bowl of rice to eat, they just have to keep working in constant fear…"

"So that's how it is." The crown prince nodded in silence.

He had long heard that work in gunpowder factories was extremely dangerous, but he also knew this was something he could not entirely prevent — after all, the nation's demand for gunpowder was a fixed reality. He could only urge those factories to follow safety regulations as closely as possible and arrange more compensation for the victims.

When inspecting a bastion fort, one couldn't keep circling the same spot, so the crown prince decided to change the subject.

"Old Sun, you've been working at this site for so long now, laboring for the nation — is there anything you lack?"

He had already resolved to take some money from his own private savings and give these workers extra wages. Though the sum wouldn't be large, it would at least be a gesture of his regard.

But to his surprise, the old man did not ask for money or better treatment. Instead, his expression grew bashful, as if he had something to say but didn't dare speak it.

Could it be that someone here had forbidden him from speaking?

"Speak freely, don't be afraid!" He hurriedly encouraged the man. "I am the crown prince. My word carries weight here. If anything has been done unfairly, I can make it right for you!"

"Your Highness the Crown Prince, this commoner… this commoner has no complaints about the people at the site. It's just… it's just…" The old man hesitated again, but finally spoke. "This commoner has only one request…"

"Say it. If it can be done, I will do it." The crown prince agreed at once.

"This commoner… over the years working at the site, has saved up quite a bit of money, and this commoner's son has savings too. Added together, these savings could buy a good deal of land back in our hometown… In the past years, our hometown suffered war year after year, so many people fled, and there's plenty of abandoned land!" Emboldened by the crown prince's encouragement, the old man plucked up his courage and spoke. "Now this commoner's son has started a family and had children, so he plans to settle down. This commoner's daughter-in-law also says we should return to the village. But… but this commoner and his son both applied to the site management, and the site said they won't release us, that this commoner is not permitted to return home…"

As he spoke, the old man suddenly kowtowed again, his words deeply sorrowful and earnest. "Before, when the site was racing to meet the deadline and wouldn't let this commoner go back, this commoner could understand. But… now that the work here is finished, this commoner has petitioned several times, and the higher-ups still refuse. This commoner is already at such an age — who knows… who knows when the day will come. This commoner fears dying in a foreign land… This commoner yearns for his hometown but cannot return home, truly helpless… I beg the crown prince to make a decision…"

Not allowed to return home? How outrageous! This construction site isn't a prison — the work is already done, and they still won't let people leave? A surge of anger rose in the crown prince's heart.

Just moments ago, when he heard that the supply of materials here was stable, he had been rather pleased, thinking the managers here had finally done something good. But upon hearing this, his earlier goodwill was swept away in an instant.

He was about to grant the old man's request and summon the site managers to reprimand them, but just then, someone suddenly tugged at the lapel of his robe. He turned around in anger — only to find that the person tugging his lapel was none other than his own maternal uncle, the Minister of Works, Xu Housheng.

Could it be… could it be that Uncle had tacitly permitted this?

Why would he do such a thing?

Though full of bewilderment, the crown prince ultimately changed his mind and did not directly grant the old man's request. "Very well, I understand your meaning. I will go back and look into it, and see if there is some other way."

"Thank you, Crown Prince! Thank you, Crown Prince!" Though the crown prince's words were somewhat reserved, how could this old worker grasp the subtleties within them? All he knew was that the crown prince's words were as good as gold. Since he had spoken thus, his wish would likely be fulfilled.

As he thought this, tears nearly fell from his eyes. He kowtowed again and again, until the dust on his forehead grew thicker and thicker.

The crown prince found the sight ever more pitiful and hurriedly turned and walked away.

He headed toward a nearby work shed, and his uncle Xu Housheng followed behind. Together they entered the shed. The crown prince waved a hand at the people behind him, signaling that they were not to follow in.

"Uncle, why won't this site allow people to leave? I find… I find them rather pitiful…"

Compared to his urgency and agitation, the Minister of Works Xu Housheng's expression was far more peculiar. He sighed in silence, and at last let out a long breath. "Ah… this is because of my order. It was I who ordered that experienced workers and craftsmen at every site not be permitted to return home."

"Uncle, why must you do this!" The crown prince was greatly shocked.

Not allowing people to return home — wasn't this making unreasonable demands of them? How could his uncle, who had always treated people so gently, do such a thing?

"They are quite pitiful. But if we let them go, they won't come back! These workers are all veteran laborers of many years — their skills and experience have been honed. Let them go and they'll go back to farming, and then we'll have to slowly train new workers all over again…" The Minister of Works' face darkened, and he sighed again. "Some things cannot be explained clearly in just a few words…"

The Great Han's industry was developed, and the treatment it provided to workers was decent. But many workers were originally converted from peasants — they had been accustomed to farming for years. Though forced by livelihood to become laborers, their hearts were still full of that old attachment to the land. After saving up a sum of wages, they generally wanted to quit and return home to buy land and farm. Especially now, with the realm just settled, abandoned fields were everywhere, which only stirred this desire further.

For generations upon generations of peasants, attachment to the land had become a deep-rooted worship. A few years of life as a worker clearly could not eradicate this worship. Moreover, though workers earned a decent income, working conditions were generally harsher than farming. While incidents of people being burned to death, like at the gunpowder plant, were rare in other trades, cases of fingers being sliced off by machinery or other injuries were all too common. As for overwork and prolonged exhaustion, those were even more commonplace.

Because of these harsh conditions, even when they could earn money, these workers generally felt little attachment to factory labor. Coupled with their hearts' obsession with the land, it was only natural that, after saving a sum of money, they would want to return home, buy land, and farm.

For the nation, however, experienced workers required time to cultivate. When they left, the factories suffered losses, and the newly trained workers would in turn harbor the same desire to go home, buy land, and farm. Thus the attrition of workers became a major problem that factories everywhere — whether government-run or private — all faced together.

One approach was to let things run their course and allow large numbers of factories to decline — this was something the Minister of Works could never accept.

Another solution was to lower wages so they would lack the capital to buy land and be forced to remain in the factories as laborers. But this approach the Minister of Works was also unwilling to use.

So he could only resort to issuing administrative orders forbidding experienced workers from leaving their posts to curb this phenomenon.

After he issued the order, cases of veteran workers quitting and returning home dropped markedly across the regions, and even those who did return home were forcibly sent back by local officials. Thus the Great Han's factories finally managed to retain enough qualified workers. This Old Sun and his son, having worked at the construction site for several years and become experienced workers, also fell within the scope of the prohibition.

Though this method might seem unfeeling, it was the best option currently available.

After hearing the Minister of Works' explanation, the crown prince's thoughts grew somewhat tangled.

As the crown prince of a nation, his deepest wish was for every commoner to live in peace and for the country to prosper and its people be secure. Yet here was the Minister of Works, citing the needs of the state, issuing an unfeeling decree — and he felt his uncle's reasoning was also valid.

What… what was the right thing to do?

"The way of governing a nation is intricate and complex. Your Highness the Crown Prince, this is indeed difficult for you." Looking at the somewhat dazed and conflicted crown prince, the Minister of Works sighed sympathetically. "You know your uncle's nature — I keep aloof from worldly strife and am certainly not one who delights in harming others. But… the affairs of this world are tangled, and sometimes I too must harden my heart and make decisions I have no choice but to make!"

"Uncle… must it really be done this way?" the crown prince asked, his voice hoarse.

"Yes, it must be done this way." The Minister of Works nodded directly. "Crown Prince, do not forget that our dynasty was founded on industry and commerce. It is precisely because of the revenue from industry and commerce that our dynasty's taxes on peasants are so light and corvée labor conscriptions so few. If we abandon this for a bit of personal sentiment, then the harm the realm suffers will be even greater. I couldn't grasp these principles before, but after sitting in the position of Minister of Works for so long, if I couldn't grasp them, I've had to grasp them. Some things are acts of helplessness, yet they must be done. This is one of them."

The crown prince sank into deep thought.

"Over these many years, I've more or less come to understand. Governing a nation naturally relies on benevolence and righteousness, but benevolence comes in small forms and great forms. Ruining a great matter for the sake of one or two people is small benevolence; acting for the sake of all under heaven is great benevolence." The Minister of Works continued speaking with assurance. "Doing everything possible to safeguard industry and develop it allows more people to have food to eat and clothes to wear — that is great benevolence. For this, doing a few things against one's conscience is permissible. I can do it."