Chapter 288 Steam Mine Cart

Through these years of experience, Richard found that the quality of people who have attended primary school is far better than that of illiterate people.

After five years of military-civilian education, they not only developed the habit of observing discipline, but also gained some military experience. Able to read text, familiar with basic calculations, and developed a bit of discipline. Training such people into grassroots officers and skilled workers will save a lot of effort.

Richard knew in his heart that most of the members of various scientific research institutes were just consumables. In fact, there were only a few people with outstanding talents who could really do research. The gap in IQ between humans may be greater than that between humans and pigs.

But becoming a consumable for a research institute also requires a certain amount of knowledge. When an illiterate person reaches this kind of department, his eyesight is basically black and he is incompetent for any job. If you want to cultivate an illiterate into a talented person, you need to pay a very high cost of time and waste a lot of effort.

Harland Territory Middle School has been established for three years, and middle school students began to graduate this year.

These middle school students not only learn more courses, but also geography, history, law, biology, and scientific practice. The knowledge they learn is also more profound and their quality is higher than that of primary school graduates. Because the selection is strict, they also have higher IQs.

However, there are only more than 30 middle school students graduating this year, which is very rare compared to the hundreds of thousands of people in Harland Territory. These graduating middle school students are already the most knowledgeable and intelligent people in Harland's leadership.

This year Harland took the lead in inventing the steam engine, and various mechanical talents were far from enough. The demand for high-end talents in the territory is very strong, and the dozens of middle school students graduating every year are a drop in the bucket for Harland.

There are so few middle school graduates, and their future is certainly brighter than that of primary school graduates.

Richard basically arranged this group of people in various research institutes, and a few people were arranged in the Mage Association and became assistants in magician research. Three others chose to stay in school and became middle school teachers, enriching their educational capabilities.

Middle school teachers in the Harland territory earn three gold coins per month. This salary level is slightly higher than that of the town mayor in the territory, and is roughly the same as that of an army squadron leader. But the mayor of a town must have gray income.

In any case, in the Haaland territory, with an annual income of more than thirty gold coins, he is already a high-income person. This kind of income exceeded that of a freedman family with four laborers.

Prices in Harland's territory are relatively low, and one can live very comfortably with an annual income of thirty gold coins.

Besides, becoming a middle school teacher has a high social status. You can often meet with the higher-ups in the territory and you are very respected. There is no need to face danger and fight various enemies.

According to the current development, middle school teachers will undoubtedly be an enviable profession within ten years.

Ten years from now, as a large number of middle school students graduate, academic qualifications will depreciate, salaries will drop, and status will drop.

For example, the current primary school teachers' social status has dropped a lot, their salaries have also dropped a lot, and their remuneration is no longer as good as that of grassroots bureaucrats in Haaland's territory.

After so many years of development, the total number of primary school graduates has exceeded 2,000. As the saying goes, things become more valuable when they are scarce. When there are more people, their weight will be reduced, and academic qualifications will be seriously devalued. Primary school teachers are no longer the talents in urgent need in the territory, and the social status has gradually returned to normal.

Starting two years ago, primary school graduates are no longer assigned jobs. This policy has dampened the enthusiasm of the middle class to send their children to school.

But with the current situation in Harland's territory, going to school is still an important channel to change one's destiny.

Having attended elementary school means that you can understand official documents and will not be deceived by grassroots bureaucrats. It will also be easier to learn breathing techniques after joining the army. Although they cannot directly enter the government as civil servants, the platform for primary school graduates is still much higher than that of the illiterate. The jobs provided to them are basically based on mental work, and the salary and social status are also better.

Really smart people still spare no effort to make children literate and read.

Human beings have different physical talents and IQ talents, which will naturally differentiate them into different classes. The first batch of middle-class free citizens in the Harland Territory. Many of them have very average IQs, talents, and abilities. They were able to earn gold coins and achieve a class jump mainly by chance. They caught up with the rapid development of the Harland Territory. dividend. It's not that their own qualities are better than ordinary people. As the number of free people increases, the involution of the population in Harland Territory will become more and more serious. A considerable number of middle-class families will fall down the class and become ordinary people. This is determined by personal quality and ability. Just like the wheel of history, no one can stop it.

Whether or not children are allowed to go to school is a key factor in whether their children can stabilize their class in the future.

Because there are more and more primary school graduates and the base is getting bigger and bigger, Richard built a second middle school this year. This middle school was built in the swamp basin, between Lightning Castle and Fire Castle. The school was completed this winter. After the goddess’s birthday next year, enrollment will begin.

Unlike primary school, Harland Territory Middle School does not charge tuition fees. After enrollment, there is a living allowance, one silver coin per month, which is enough for students' daily expenses and does not need to increase the burden on their families.

Due to limited educational resources, the selection of middle school students is very strict, and only talented students are selected.

If you want to be admitted to middle school, you not only need to take exam-oriented cultural courses, but also examine students' memory, logical thinking ability, study habits, self-control, etc.

Only one out of ten primary school graduates can go to middle school. This year, there are about 800 primary school students graduating in Harland Territory, but less than 70 of them can enter middle school. On average, a middle school can only recruit one class of students. One of the important reasons for setting the threshold so high is that Harland Territory lacks educational resources.

Talents who can teach middle school students are very rare in Harland Territory.

The scientific development of the Dawn Plane is at a relatively low level. According to the standards set by Richard, the courses for middle school students are already quite difficult. Teachers who can teach middle school are considered erudite in the Dawn Plane.

Because of the serious monopoly of knowledge, talent training is difficult, and the people who master knowledge are either nobles or the church.

In fact, there are only six or seven people in Harland Territory who can teach middle school students. Even knowledgeable magicians such as Richard and Sophia have to teach middle school students when they are free.

There are only seven or eight qualified middle school teachers in a school. They need to teach three grades of middle school students. On average, each person is responsible for nearly 20 students. If three high school students who graduated this year had not stayed in school, the enrollment scale of the middle school could not be expanded.

The current talent allocation is urgently needed for the major research institutes. Especially the Mechanical Manufacturing Research Institute, which is the top priority for the development of Harland Territory.

Although middle school education is important, Richard will only train talented people. It is enough to build two middle schools for the time being. It is estimated that it will take another three or four years to train more middle school teachers and build a third middle school.

More than a dozen middle school teachers and four or five middle school administrators are high-paid workers, and their annual salary adds up to nearly 800 gold coins.

There are about 600 primary school teachers in Harland Territory now, and their salary is close to 6,000 gold coins a year. In addition, the cost of teaching aids such as books and chalk every year also consumes a considerable amount of funds.

Even if elementary school students can be charged tuition, the fees for elementary schools in Harland Territory are not high now. Four silver coins per school year, and the tuition fees of more than 4,000 elementary school students add up to only 1,300 gold coins, which can't make up for the investment deficit at all.

This year, the net investment of the Haland Territory in education has exceeded 6,000 gold coins, and with the investment in medical care, the cost has exceeded 13,000 gold coins.

Such investment is close to half of the investment of government bureaucrats. It is higher than the disability and death pensions issued by the government every year.

Although the fiscal revenue of the Haland Territory has a surplus and has made great progress every year, the pressure of military expenditure is huge, and Richard still dare not increase the investment in education.

After the commodity fair, it was early November in a blink of an eye.

In early November in the northern Xinjiang region, the lowest temperature at night is close to minus 20 degrees Celsius.

If there is not enough fuel, a large number of people will undoubtedly freeze to death in winter.

In several provinces in the northern Xinjiang, many elderly people cannot survive the winter every year, and some poor serfs freeze to death in shacks.

There are coal mines in the Haland Territory, and the output last year exceeded 60,000 tons. The free class basically has money to buy enough coal to survive the winter.

The conditions of the contract slaves were worse. A dozen people lived in a shed. The contract slaves who had families only had a small wooden house. On average, each person could only get 200 kilograms of coal.

In the four or five months of winter in the northern border, an average of 200 kilograms of coal was not enough. In October and March, which were not very cold, the contract slaves needed to collect fuel for the winter as a supplement to coal.

This year, the coal mine added some workers and dug a third pit. The new pit used a steam pump, which greatly improved the efficiency.

On November 8, Richard came to the coal mine for inspection. The head of the coal mine, Cha Weisen, waited at the foot of the mountain early and went down the mine with Richard.

The coal mine discovered in the Harland territory is mainly shallow mines, and the mine is not deep.

There is very little gas in the mine, and safety is guaranteed to a certain extent.

After going down the slope of the mine, Richard saw a steam engine at first sight. He turned around and said to Chavison: "The steam engine is installed on the mine car. Is it easy to use?"

"The Mechanical Research Institute made the first steam mine car the day before yesterday. It was installed in the coal mine only half a day ago and has not been tested yet."

"I happened to come this year. You start the mine car and see if it works?"

Hearing Richard's words, Chavison said with some embarrassment: "It is said that this steam mine car is not very safe. Otherwise, the Earl will go up first, and I will let the miners start the steam engine."

Chavison is already fifty years old. He is one of the first free people to enter the Harland Territory. Being able to live to fifty years old smoothly has made Chavison feel that he has won the favor of the goddess of dawn.

When Chavison first entered the Harland Territory, although he looked a little old, he was actually a strong man in his thirties and had more prestige among the slaves.

After entering the Harland Territory, Chavison first became a grassroots manager, and then was transferred to the exploration team because of his rich experience. After discovering the coal mine, he was transferred to be the mine manager, and it has been eight years now.

Under his leadership, the output of the coal mine has grown from small to large, and this year it has exceeded 80,000 tons.

A town was built under the mine from scratch. The town is basically full of the families of coal miners, plus some free people living nearby, the number has exceeded a thousand.

Chavison's position is half a level higher than the mayor of Meishan Town, equivalent to a deputy county-level official.

Chavison is very satisfied with his current life. He respects Richard, who saved his life, from the bottom of his heart. Although he is old and weak, he is still willing to fight for Richard. His original intention was not to put Richard in danger.

Although Chavison had good intentions, Richard still didn't appreciate it. He needed to see how the mine cart worked with his own eyes, and then see if there was any way to improve it.

"I'm a six-ring magician who can release magic shields to protect my safety. What can happen?"

Seeing that Richard was not very happy, Chavison could only order the miners to light the coal blocks, and he stood in front of Richard. If there was any danger, he would be the first to lose his life.

Richard squeezed Chavison aside and carefully observed the operation of the steam engine.

As the boiler boiled, hot steam gushed out, driving the main wheel to slowly rotate, and the main wheel drove the capstan to tighten the steel cable.

The tightening of the steel cable immediately pulled the mine cart. The power of the steam engine was very strong, and it could pull four mine carts at a time. In just a few minutes, more than sixteen tons of minerals were pulled out.

Normally, it takes about a dozen people to carry sixteen tons of coal out of the mine pit every day. Even if it is transported by horse-drawn tracks, six horses and six drivers are required.

Now a machine can complete this task in just a few minutes. From today on, transporting coal from the mine is an easy task. It only requires a boilerman and a mechanic.

Seeing this scene, Chavison's eyes widened. This scene he saw with his own eyes directly changed Chavison's three views and made him unbelievable.

Although there are extraordinary powers in the Dawn Plane and Chavison has seen magicians cast magic, the power of machinery is so strong that Chavison is still a little confused.

"If every mine is equipped with a steam engine, I am sure that the coal output will increase to 150,000 tons next year."

Seeing Chavison muttering to himself, Richard thought to himself.

"There are about 300 workers in the Harland Territory Coal Mine. The average annual output per person is 500 tons. One person can dig 1.36 tons of coal a day. The production efficiency is actually not high. It will be a serious loss in the future. The coal boss can't even pay the workers' wages with this little coal."

According to the history Richard knows, in the 17th century, the British, who did not use steam engines, had coal mining efficiency that exceeded Harland Territory, and the annual coal mining volume exceeded 2 million tons.

All these facts show that the mining technology and production process of the English in the 17th century were more advanced than those of the Harland Territory.

Of course, the Harland Territory coal mine was a state-owned mine, and the exploitation of miners was not as severe as that of the English.

In the sweatshops of the 18th century, the life expectancy of workers was about six years. The early capitalists did not treat workers as human beings at all, and exploited them more cruelly than using animals.