Chapter 50 No One Cares About the Meritorious Veteran
After entering the courtyard of the blacksmith shop, Duan Chun looked at the blacksmith shops on both sides.
There are burning furnaces and many disabled craftsmen swinging sledgehammers hard.
The tinkling sound of knocking was endless.
These dozen blacksmiths, ranging from those in their twenties to those in their late fifties, all have scars all over their bodies.
Some are lame, some have broken arms...
There are even men whose eyes are damaged and cannot see, so they can only pull the bellows from the side.
Duan Chun frowned. He had read the account books of the three workshops.
It was clear that these three workshops could not earn enough money to support them.
The business in the workshop was so poor, I thought these craftsmen were just living in the workshop relying on their military exploits.
Anyway, Dad can't do anything to them, so they can eat and drink with peace of mind.
But now Duan Chun understands that the craftsmanship in the workshop is not bad, and the craftsmen are very hardworking.
This is the product promotion channel, or there is a problem with the product type.
"Brothers, the great general, our young general is here in person at the workshop."
"Brothers, why don't you hurry up and come see me."
Li Laosan, the foreman of the workshop, waved his one arm and shouted loudly.
"Major General?"
Suddenly, all the blacksmiths in the middle courtyard stopped their work.
Supporting their respective comrades, they arrived in front of Duan Chun in surprise.
"My subordinates will pay homage to the Major General!"
Everyone knelt down on one knee respectfully, cupped their fists and saluted.
"Elders, please get up quickly."
"Junior just came to see the seniors today."
"Uncles, there is no need to be so generous."
Duan Chun said quickly.
"Brothers, get up."
"The Major General came here specifically to see us old guys."
"Little stick, go to the accounting office quickly and get some money."
"Go buy some wine and meat to entertain the Major General."
Li Laosan said.
"Here."
A strong man in his thirties with a broken arm stood up and walked to the front yard.
Duan Chun quickly stopped him, took out a silver ingot from his arms and threw it to Zhang Wu.
"Uncle Zhang, take the money and buy more meat and drinks."
"Today, I will have a good time here with my uncles."
Duan Chun smiled.
"Here."
Zhang Wu caught the broken silver, turned and left with a smile.
"Major General, how can I let you spend money?"
"Please sit down quickly."
Li Laosan led Duan Chun to sit on the couch on one side of the courtyard.
Quickly pour him a bowl of hot tea.
Everyone gathered around curiously.
When they looked at Duan Chun, many of them had a look of fear.
"Major General, I wonder if you still remember?"
"Back then, my subordinates led the personal guards to your hometown."
"Where is the Imperial Capital that brought the First Lady and the Major General back together."
A strong man in his forties said with a smile.
"It turns out to be uncle."
"Uncle, please sit down quickly..."
Of course Duan Chun didn't recognize this person, but after hearing his words.
He knew in his heart that this man must be my father's most loyal personal guard officer back then.
However, this man already had a broken leg, and my father could only let him stay in the blacksmith shop to take care of him.
After Duan Chun inquired carefully, he found out the situation of all the craftsmen here.
In the three workshops, there are a total of more than 70 disabled members of my father's family and more than 140 relatives living in the backyard.
This is just one of the workshops, and some of the craftsmen go out to buy iron ore.
Most of the women, children and family members help with farming on the farms outside the city.
Only those with limited mobility were left to continue working in the workshops.
These craftsmen all knew Duan Chun when he was young.
After all, they were once Dad's personal guards, but Dad was too brave to charge forward every time.
As a result, the guards who followed my father were fighting for their lives, so there was now Duke Chang Guo.
Otherwise, Dad would have been pierced by thousands of arrows or cut into pieces by the enemy!
The more Duan Chun listened, the more guilty he felt.
He just understands the situation of the workshops. If the three workshops continue to lose money like this.
He planned to disband the workshop and simply use the money to support these craftsmen and their families.
It would not be necessary to keep the three workshops and continue to lose money.
Now his mind has changed...
After some small talk, these craftsmen were originally worried.
In Duan Chun's gentle words, he no longer felt so worried.
Because they all know that craft workshops do not make money.
It is the general who is providing money to support them.
"Uncle Li, you have all made great contributions to Da Kang."
"It's also because of Dakang's injuries. The imperial court will give you at least one tael of silver in salary every month."
Duan Chun asked.
"Don't raise your salary, Major General. All of my subordinates have been completely forgotten by the court."
"The Ministry of War government only gives us less than 1,000 yuan a month."
“Sometimes you don’t see a big buck for a month or two.”
"We are all people with missing arms and legs. Go to the Ministry of War and ignore you."
"The general also made a fuss with the Ministry of War several times over this matter, but after they gave you the money."
"It disappeared again after a few months..."
"The general is out with his troops all year round, and it's hard for his subordinates to keep bothering the general with such trivial matters..."
Li Laosan sighed and shook his head.
"Major General, some of my subordinates have been injured for too long."
"The imperial court no longer cares about us..."
"Only the general and his wife still remember us."
"We are content as long as we can still have enough food."
The other Liu Si with a broken leg shook his head and said.
"I understand, this matter."
"Junior must help uncles to find out clearly!"
"This time, junior came to the workshop because I saw that the workshop has been in deficit for several years in the account book."
"That's why I came to see it with my own eyes and think of a way to solve this problem."
Duan Chun said.
"Major General, when I was young, I only knew how to farm and fight the enemy."
"After I was disabled, I worked hard besides forging iron."
"My subordinates don't know how to do business."
"That's why..."
Li Laosan lowered his head embarrassedly.
"It's okay, we can think of other ways."
"But junior must find out what happened in the three workshops?"
Duan Chun asked.
So, after a group of craftsmen answered in unison.
Duan Chun finally understood the reason...
After the founding of the Great Kang Dynasty, His Majesty rewarded meritorious service and granted a large number of titles to the original aristocratic families.
It was just to stabilize the situation in the Great Kang Dynasty as soon as possible.
So, there were many more merchants and shops in the whole imperial city.
Once the competition became fierce, too many things happened...
They began to suppress other peers secretly and tried their best to acquire more shops and workshops.
So, more than half of my father's 20 shops and 10 workshops have been lost so far!
This is not my father's fault. He is just a fierce general who fights in wars and does not know how to do business at all.
Moreover, the Duan family has few members and no one helps Duke Changguo to manage finances.
You know, my father was just a lonely person when he was ten years old.
He almost died in the troubled times, but fortunately he was taken in by His Majesty.
He was given the name Duan Ning, and the current Duan family was established.
The Duan family's industry was secretly suppressed by those meritorious nobles, and they were forced to sell the best ten shops.
There are only the last three of the seven workshops left.
This is because my father was determined not to sell, and would rather lose money to support his old brother.