Steel, gunpowder, and spellcasters

Chapter 259 The Factory
Ivan—a former sergeant "renowned" in Zhevodan for his alcoholism and domestic violence—finally grasped the true meaning of life: life is not about highs and lows, but about lows and even deeper lows.

He was the first enemy captured by Winters in his first battle against the New Reclamation Army, and in this respect, the existence of the prisoner Ivan is a testament to Winters' formal raising of the banner of rebellion.

From the moment he was captured, Ivan's experience can be summarized as: being severely beaten, interrogated, escorted, imprisoned, and most importantly, being forced to weave straw sandals.

There was no violence or coercion; the attitude from above was simple and clear: no work, no food.

Winters handed over the management of the prisoners to Samukin; at that time, there were only three prisoners in total.

To prevent anyone from tampering with the straw sandals out of spite, Ivan and his two companions were instructed by Samkin to leave special marks on the sandals.

Samkin told Ivan very sincerely, "If there's a problem with the quality of the shoes, then you'll run into trouble."

Ivan nodded frantically. At one point, he truly believed he was going to die, and his miraculous survival made him extremely afraid of death.

Samukin invited an old man from Nanxin Village who knew how to weave shoes. The old man taught the prisoners for a day, left behind a few shoe frames and a large bundle of rush and flax, and shook his head as he left.

For the first two days, Ivan survived entirely on water. The straw sandals he wove were falling apart before he could even wear them, so they couldn't be exchanged for food.

People in dire straits can sometimes unleash strength that surprises even themselves. On the third day, Ivan, having begun to grasp the knack, successfully wove a pair of shoes.

Although the shoes he wove were still of substandard quality, Samukin still gave Ivan two small pieces of black bread as encouragement.

On the fifth day, Ivan received a normal amount of black bread.

Ivan's life thereafter consisted of constantly refining his shoe-making skills while reuniting with his former colleagues one after another.

During that period, Winters was dedicated to destroying the microstructure of the garrison at Ghevordan. Whenever he ambushed a supply convoy, new recruits could surrender and leave, but he spared no veterans or sergeants.

Wolf Town prison is becoming increasingly overcrowded, and despite multiple expansions, it remains packed full of Revodan's soldiers.

Warden Samukin initially insisted on solitary confinement to prevent collusion. However, as the number of prisoners increased, he became less particular, and it became common for four or five people to be crammed into a single cell.

This made Ivan even miss the days when he was first captured and lived in a single cell.

As the number of prisoners surged, Ivan gradually moved away from his frontline shoe-making job and began teaching others shoe-making techniques in exchange for bread, which significantly improved his life.

It was during this period that the supply of straw sandals produced by the "labor camps" exceeded demand. What was originally one pair of straw sandals for a day's worth of food quickly became three pairs of straw sandals for two days' worth of food, and then two pairs of straw sandals for a day's worth of food.

Humans only have two hands, and there's a limit to how fast you can weave shoes. Ivan wasn't a businessman, but he realized that continuing down this path would either lead to starvation or exhaustion. The demand for straw sandals was already saturated; they had to find something new that was equivalent to more bread.

Since it all involved "weaving," Ivan thought of weaving baskets, mats, and other similar items. He petitioned Samukin to find a bamboo craftsman to teach him the craft and also wanted to purchase some raw materials such as reeds, wheat straw, and thin willow twigs.

The day after the petition, the prisoners were transferred.

When they left the military camp, Ivan was so scared he almost wet himself; he thought they were being taken to an execution ground. But they were simply led to a secluded camp deep in the forest.

It was in this camp that Ivan tragically encountered another prisoner—Lieutenant Asco.

Asco was ordered to assist Bud and Mason in suppressing bandits, but he was captured as soon as he left Ghevodan. In fact, Asco had already been taken to Wolf Town, but he was in a single cell, so Ivan had not seen the lieutenant.

"How did you get arrested too?" Ivan's tears immediately streamed down his face. "And Zhevodan is gone too?"

“I’ve been tricked.” Lieutenant Asco remained calm. “Don’t worry, the fact that the rebels are rushing to move us means that Major Ronald is coming—he probably already is. I estimate that if we hold on for a few more days, the major will come to rescue us.”

Ivan was both pleased and somewhat disappointed upon hearing this.

He actually really wanted to try basket weaving and mat weaving, because these were the only two things he was doing with hope in his muddled life—the other being getting married.

Ivan waited for Major Ronald to appear; he waited for a very long time.

When he was brought back to Wolf Town, which had been reduced to ashes, when Samukin managed to find the bamboo craftsman, when the willow branches and wheat stalks were distributed... Major Ronald did not appear.

Ivan began learning how to weave baskets and mats, but the once calm and collected Lieutenant Asco nearly lost control of his emotions and Ivan had to persuade him to calm down.

“Please stop drinking alcohol and eating meat; those things count towards your work hours,” Ivan cautiously suggested. “Why don’t you come and learn basket weaving with me? If you make a lot, you can earn extra work hours.”

Asco, his eyes glazed with drunkenness, looked at the former sergeant, now a novice basket weaver: "What's the point of all this if the rebels win? If they lose, I'll naturally regain my freedom. Basket weaving? Let's drink! Let's drink!"

With food scarce, where would they get so much liquor for the lieutenant? Ivan silently wove straw, watching the lieutenant try to get himself drunk with watered-down bootleggings, thus incurring even more "work hours."

Unlike the lieutenant, Ivan didn't think that far ahead. He was simple-minded; he was just terrified of hunger and had learned his lesson. The fierce and brutal Sergeant Ivan didn't survive; the one who miraculously survived was the cowardly and afraid-to-die prisoner, Ivan.

Major Ronald eventually appeared before Ivan, but he too had arrived at the labor camp as a prisoner. Not only the major, but all the surviving officers from the former Zhevodan garrison came.

Ivan had become numb; now, even if General Adams appeared before him in shackles, he wouldn't be surprised. He was promoted to instructor, responsible for teaching his former superiors how to weave baskets.

Lieutenant Asco's will completely collapsed. He first tried to commit suicide, but after being rescued from the rope, he quit drinking and obediently learned basket weaving from Ivan.

The real lows and even deeper lows are what truly matter, and life just passes by uneventfully like that.

On this day, Ivan, as usual, brought straw and distributed it to each cell. Then he went to the warehouse and began to inspect the previous day's produce from each cell.

To prevent other prisoners from harboring resentment and secretly sabotaging the operation, Ivan insisted on retaining the "marking system." If anything was done poorly, the "mark" would be used to track down the person responsible and have their rations confiscated.

Now, Ivan not only has enough to eat and occasionally eats meat, but he also receives a salary.

The proverb says, "Although sparrows are small, they also have blood, organs, and bones."

As it expanded, Samukin's labor camps gradually developed many "organs," resembling a small society.

For example, Ivan is now only responsible for teaching and quality control, and no longer spends his days weaving baskets and shoes like ordinary prisoners.

The production of woven goods required a large amount of raw materials, so Samukin sent well-behaved prisoners to cut branches and collect wheat straw as a reward.

Hardworking prisoners were assigned light but important tasks, and they were occasionally given beer and meat, and were also allowed to go outside for fresh air inside the labor camp walls.

Prisoners who lacked skills or had poor attitudes were at the bottom of the labor camp society, spending their days sitting idly in their cells.

Unbeknownst to them, the making of the basket was divided into several processes, each handled by prisoners of different "levels".

In the labor camps, human life was cheap. If someone was determined to die, they could simply avoid working and starve to death quickly.

Samukin, who managed the labor camp, didn't have a similar obsession with "ensuring everyone survives." His attitude was always, "Those who want to die, go ahead and die," and those who remained were naturally willing to live.

The labor camp initially operated with some difficulties, and there were even instances of prisoners hiding tools and attempting to kill guards to escape. But it continued to improve—from Samukin's perspective.

The production of woven products has steadily increased, and they have gradually been subdivided into different styles such as large baskets, small baskets, wide-mouthed baskets, and narrow-mouthed baskets.

Samukin used a horse-drawn cart to load baskets and exchange them for grain from farmers in nearby villages.

At first, the wagons only went to the villages in Wolf Town because they were close by. However, the demand for baskets from the farmers in Wolf Town quickly became saturated, while the basket-making capacity of the labor camps increased day by day. Samukin had no choice but to send the wagons to neighboring towns.

To sell more, Samukin sold his wares very cheaply. The two bamboo craftsmen in Wolf Town were quickly squeezed out of business; they simply couldn't compete with the free raw materials, free labor, and the "one person does only one job" production method.

One bamboo weaver was recruited by Samukin and sent to the labor camp as a supervisor. Another bamboo weaver owned land and made baskets and mats to supplement his family's income.

Meanwhile, the bamboo craftsmen of Blackwater Town and Five Mastiff Town were about to follow in the footsteps of their counterparts in Wolf Town.

The reputation of the labor camp spread quickly, and even traveling merchants from St. John's Town came in their horse-drawn carts to buy goods.

Samukin ruthlessly destroyed the traditional "one household" production system in rural areas, but he was unaware of this; he was merely trying to keep the labor camps running.

Although Ivan was Samukin's "accomplice," he failed to see the issue from a broader perspective. Frankly, he was simply doing work in exchange for food rations, offsetting his work hours, and earning a little extra money on the side.

Ivan inspected the previous day's products and picked out those that were obviously substandard—he even let the mediocre ones pass, but some prisoners were just too much.

After the inspection, he went to inspect each cell as usual. Ivan was now more like a guard than a prisoner.

A real guard came over and patted him on the shoulder affectionately: "Brother Ivan!"

"What's wrong, Commander Hamil?" Ivan knew who it was just by hearing the voice.

"Commander Samukin wants you to come over," Hamil whispered in his ear. "Lord Montagne is here and specifically wants to see you."

Ivan walked nervously toward the camp, his mind racing with thoughts. Finally, he reached Samukin's office and hesitated for a long time before finally knocking on the door.

"Please come in." It was Commander Samukin's voice.

Ivan swallowed hard and pushed open the door. He saw Commander Samukin and "Lord Montaigne" chatting happily.

Winters turned around at the sound and saw Sergeant Gévord, who was known for his alcoholism and wife-beating.

Winters scrutinized the former sergeant—he was so thin he was practically skin and bones; his neck, shoulders, and wrists were all visible, and his old clothes looked like rags hanging from tree branches. Only his hands were particularly large and rough, with his knuckles swollen high.

"You're the one who likes to beat his wife, Ivan?" Winters asked, frowning slightly.

Ivan would be awakened by this voice even in his dreams. The owner of this voice had once dragged him out of the room like a dead dog and smashed three of his molars with a single punch. He trembled and dared not answer.

Ivan had wronged Winters. It was Pierre who beat Ivan that night; Winters was only questioning him, and he even told Pierre to be gentle. However, Ivan's memory was already confused, so he believed it was Blood Wolf Montagne, and this misunderstanding might never be cleared up until his death.

Seeing the other person trembling, Winters sighed.

He said to the prisoner with great emotion, "Your wife is really... remarkable. I heard that you are still alive. Your wife, holding one child and leading another, blocked the gate of the garrison every day to petition for your pardon. She blocked it from morning till night. I don't know what she eats or drinks. It's just so annoying."

Upon hearing Winters' words, Ivan's eyes glazed over, his limbs stiffened, as if his soul had been shattered.

"What's wrong with you two?" Winters asked, resting his chin on his hand with interest. "I heard that you beat your wife whenever you're drunk, so badly that the neighbors across the street can hear it. And yet, your wife still stays by your side. And you beat such a good wife every few days. Are you possessed, or is she possessed?"

Ivan lowered his head deeply.

Winters turned to Samukin: "Is this some kind of special custom among your Paratu people? Alcoholism, wife-beating, and the other party even threatening suicide to save her?"

"How can you use 'you all'?" Samukin said, feeling extremely wronged. "My family only moved here ten years ago!"

“Alright.” Winters smiled, picked up a piece of paper from the table, and tapped it on the prisoner. “This is the first pardon list. You weren’t on it before. In my opinion, you should stay locked up until you’ve worked enough hours, then you can go.”

Ivan tried to swallow, but his mouth was dry.

“But Samukin said you were quite diligent and had a good attitude.” Winters picked up a quill pen and hastily wrote the prisoner’s name at the end of the list, saying coldly, “You’re free only because of your wife’s petition.”

Ivan remained frozen in place.

"What are you still standing there for?" Winters raised an eyebrow. "Let's go!"

Samukin stood up, patted Ivan on the shoulder, saw him to the door, and said to him, "The pardon will be officially announced tomorrow, and then a carriage will take you back to Zhevodan."

Ivan nodded gratefully.

"Go ahead," Samukin waved his hand. "Go pack your things."

Winters watched Samukin leave and return, his expression calm, but his heart was in turmoil. Not for the prisoner, but for Samukin.

Samukin Sopkin was one of his old men from Wolf Town, and one of his most trusted and capable subordinates. When he only had about thirty men, Samukin was already a demi-corps commander, one of the three demi-corps commanders he had selected early on.

The other two decimators are Vahika and Tamas, the latter of whom is now the first company commander of the Iron Peak County Infantry Regiment.

If Samukin had also gone to Revodan, the position of First Company Commander should have been his. However, at that time, there were a large number of prisoners in Wolf Town who needed to be controlled, and Samukin was the only one capable of doing so, and he had been in charge of managing the prisoners.

So Samukin stayed in Wolf Town. He missed the Battle of Revodan, the Battle of Hammerburg, and the reorganization of his troops.

Winters felt guilty towards Samukin.

He had many things he wanted to do upon returning to Wolf Town, and his initial motivation for seeking out the brick-making brothers Sean and Xiaoping became secondary.

He wanted to see Bard, he wanted to kidnap Kaman, he wanted to hold a public trial for Big Ben in Wolftown, he wanted to talk to Ronald and the others... and he wanted to take Samukin to Zhevodan.

“I’ve seen this kind of thing many times.” Samukin chuckled as he walked back. “Everyone in the village knows that if you try to mediate between a husband and wife fighting, you’ll only get cursed at by both of them. You don’t really need to speak up for Ivan’s wife. Since that woman came to you for help, she deserves to be beaten to death.”

"As long as she doesn't block the door," Winters said with a wry smile. "She's always blocking the entrance to the garrison, forcing me to climb over the wall to get out."

Samukin laughed loudly.

Winters looked at Samukin and exclaimed, "Managing hundreds of people with only a few dozen and still producing results. You've managed this labor camp really well... better than I imagined."

"I'm just messing around, so please don't blame me." Samukin scratched his head sheepishly. "I've been having some headaches lately, and I don't know what to do."

"what?"

“There are too many people.” Samukin pointed to the prison area and said helplessly, “Some people have already started to form gangs—the Revodan people, the Eighth Town of the North, and the Eighth Town of the South. There was a fight just last week. I’m starting to wonder if I’ve been feeding them too much!”

“The fact that you can reach this point means you’re better than all the company commanders.” Winters was no longer satisfied, but rather delighted. He wanted to give Samukin a hint: “I’m reminded of something I didn’t understand before, but now I’m starting to see the gist of it. Do you know about Hailan’s docks?”

Winters recounts the competition, rivalry, and struggles among the Monta, Van, and Parat people at the Blue Wharf.

Samukin listened carefully, then asked in return, "You mean, the people above the dockworkers deliberately divided them into three groups, making them fight each other? So I should also..."

Winters flipped the paper over and drew a triangle on the back: "It's not necessarily 'deliberate,' more likely 'laissez-faire.' Customs didn't want to directly manage all the dockworkers, nor did they want to see them band together. So gangs and associations filled that space."

As he spoke, Winters divided the triangle into three layers, writing "Customs," "Gang," and "Dockworkers" on them respectively.

"What are the benefits of doing this?" Winters prompted.

Samukin bit his lip: "Uh... it's easy to manage when people fight each other?"

"What are the downsides?"

“There are fewer people who can actually do the work.” Samukin pondered. “And… it’s very dangerous. The small gang could get out of control at any time. Last week’s fight crippled two people, and I hanged two more. Suddenly, we’ve lost four people who could actually do the work.”

"So what do you plan to do?" Winters put down his pen.

"We can manage them now, so I think it's best to make the prisoners understand that there's only one fist in the labor camp. If we can't manage them, I'll find a way to separate them."

“Very good, really very good.” Winters straightened his posture, his smile fading, and called out, “Samukin Sopkin!”

Samukin stood up abruptly as if he were sitting on a branding iron: "Here!"

"The pardoning of prisoners is ostensibly in response to the petitions of Zhevodan and the Eight Northern Garrisons," Winters said, enunciating each word clearly. "In reality, I don't care about prisoners at all. I'm here to liberate you!"

Winters took an iron arrow from his pocket and said solemnly, "One iron arrow is equivalent to ten smaller arrows, now called a company, totaling one hundred and twenty men. This iron arrow—is yours."

Samukin looked at the iron arrow, and his nose felt a little sore.

“The unit has already been formed, so it’s difficult to integrate it directly. Therefore, I plan to set up a separate military police company, and you will be the company commander.”

“I…” Samukin choked up, tears welling up in his eyes: “You still remember me, Centurion.”

“No, I don’t want you to be the military police company commander anymore.” Winters suddenly exerted force, and the iron arrow snapped in two with a “bang.”

Winters slammed the broken arrow on the table: "One hundred and twenty men? That's too much of a burden for you! I'll give you one thousand two hundred!"

“One thousand two hundred?” Samukin was stunned.

“That’s twelve hundred men,” Winters laughed heartily. “But not twelve hundred soldiers, but twelve hundred prisoners, prisoners from Vaughan County. There’s no one left in Zhevodan, so I had to take charge of the large labor camp myself. But now it seems you’re qualified to shoulder this responsibility. Your official rank will still be company commander, but you’ll have ten times the number of men under your command. Pack your bags, and come back to Zhevodan with me the day after tomorrow!”

"Then...what about the labor camps in Wolf Town?"

"Those who haven't been pardoned will all be moved away, along with the 1,200 prisoners you're going to take over. Take them all to Duanlu Township, where the troops are stationed."

"What about the officers and prisoners of war in Revodan?" Samukin asked with a troubled expression. "Should we take them to Forge Township as well? Isn't that too close to Revodan?"

Winters also had a headache when this was brought up: "They should stay in Wolftown. You should assign some reliable men to Lieutenant Bud and let him take charge of them for now."

Samukin raised his hand in salute.

Winters sighed, making no attempt to hide his true thoughts: "Twelve hundred men. I don't know if you can manage such a large labor camp. I need to reopen the Iron Peak mine, organize logging teams, and there are many other things that depend on these prisoners. So this position is very important, and I don't trust anyone else with it."

Samukin leaned forward, pursed his lips, and looked very nervous.

"Don't be so serious, why are you so solemn?" Winters chuckled easily. "You've fought your way with me all this way, are you even afraid of me?"

Samukin managed a smile, but his face remained stiff.

“But I can’t do everything myself. Sooner or later you’ll have to share my responsibilities. I think you’re ready to take on more significant responsibilities. You’re also the first among my old subordinates to take on this kind of responsibility. Go for it, I’ll cover for you.”

Winters casually tossed the two broken arrows to Samukin and said with a helpless smile, "If you don't do well in the labor camp, go find a blacksmith to piece this iron arrow back together and come back to be my military police company commander."

Samukin held the iron arrow, remained silent for a long time, then stood up and saluted.

Winters also stood up and returned the greeting solemnly.

……

Winters felt relieved when he left the labor camp; he had another worry on his mind.

He hadn't had a chance to publicly try Big Ben, nor had he had a chance to talk to Major Ronald, but those were minor matters.

After arranging Samukin's whereabouts, Winters only had one important task left in Wolf Town—to abduct his beloved Father Kaman to Zhevodan.

Winters wasn't in a hurry about this at all; he hadn't even had a chance to speak to Kaman alone yet.

Because he knew very well that if he wanted to lure Kaman to Gervodan... well, the key to this matter wasn't Kaman.

[Thank you to all readers for your collections, reading, subscriptions, recommendations, monthly tickets, donations, and comments.]
The process of the labor camps defeating the bamboo craftsmen of Langzhen was the process of the handicraft workshops defeating rural individual business owners.
[It wasn't a factory, and it was still far from the Industrial Revolution.]
[A workshop refers to a large-scale handicraft workshop in the early stages of capitalist development; a factory refers to a modern mode of production characterized by mechanized production.]
The core of industrialization is the change in the source of power. Using human labor as the primary engine cannot be called "industrialization" under any circumstances; it can only be called handicrafts.
[As for assembly lines, the true assembly line was invented by Ford Motor Company. However, the concepts of "decentralized production" and "centralized assembly" were applied to industries such as shipbuilding much earlier.]
The concept of division of labor didn't just emerge after industrialization; workshops were a product of this division of labor among multiple people. Workshops existed in the Qin Dynasty and ancient Rome, but they had no connection to industry.
[Please allow the author to give an example: the ship outfitting work carried out at the Venice Arsenal in the 16th century. After the keel and hull were erected at the new arsenal, they were carried down the river to the old arsenal, "and assembled in sequence through each workshop. First the rigging, then the storage facilities, then the swords, then the projectiles and cannons… everything that should be there was outfitted in turn." This description is entirely like a vehicle assembly line, but it is not industry; it still belongs to handicrafts.]

[The title of Chapter Twelve in Volume I of Capital—Division of Labor and Manufactures—is about manufactories.]
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(End of this chapter)