Qian Xunji spoke slowly, his voice was not loud, but it was like a thunder that exploded in the hall:
"Third, from now on, all mines, farms, and workshops across the continent must implement an eight-hour work system. Daily work must not exceed eight hours, and there must be at least four days of rest per month."
"The wages of all employees must not be lower than the minimum standards set by the Spirit Hall. It is strictly prohibited to beat, scold or mistreat employees, and to withhold wages. If an employee is injured on the job, the employer must bear all medical expenses and provide compensation. If an employee dies on the job, the employer must compensate his family for at least ten years of wages."
"It is strictly prohibited to employ children under the age of twelve. It is strictly prohibited to treat hired workers as private property, buy, sell, and kill them at will."
"Anyone who violates the above regulations will have all property confiscated, the principal offender will be hanged, and the accomplice will be exiled Far North."
"Spirit Hall will set up supervisory envoys in various places to be responsible for supervising this matter. Anyone can report violations to the local Spirit Hall Branch. Once verified, the reporter will receive one-tenth of the property of the violator as a reward."
After the words fell, the hall fell into deathly silence.
Everyone looked at Qian Xunji as if they had been struck by lightning, with disbelief written all over their faces.
Eight-hour work system? Minimum wage standard? No beating or scolding of employees? No child labor?
This is not a condition, this is simply to dig out their roots!
Their wealth, their status, everything about them is based on the exploitation of the lower class civilians.
Mining slaves in the mines had to work eighteen hours a day and were thrown into mass graves when they could no longer work; tenant farmers on the farms worked hard all year round, and more than 90% of the grain they harvested had to be handed over to the landlord; apprentices in the workshops were often beaten to death by their masters.
Now Qian Xunji will abolish all this in one sentence?
"Impossible!"
Yu Yuanzhen was the first to jump up, with eyes as red as if he wanted to eat people. "Qian Xunji! Don't go too far! These are our private property, we can use them how we want, and manage them how we want! Why do you interfere in our private affairs?"
"Why?" Qian Xunji looked at him coldly, "Just because those employees are not your private property, they are human beings! If you continue to exploit them like this, it won't take long before the entire continent will become the world of the Black Fire Army and Black Earth Cult! By then, you will not only lose all your property, but you will not even be able to save your life!"
"I'm not harming you, I'm saving you!"
"Save us?" Yu Yuanzhen roared, "You are cutting off our livelihood! Without the mining slaves to mine for us, and the tenant farmers to cultivate the land for us, are we going to drink the northwest wind?"
"Then pay them wages and let them work for you willingly." Qian Xunji said calmly, "As long as you give them enough wages and enough rest time, there will be people willing to work for you. It's better than the current situation, forcing them to pick up guns to rebel against you, and then chop off your heads and hang them on the city gate in the future, right?"
"I don't care! Anyway, I, Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, absolutely do not agree to this condition!" Yu Yuanzhen shouted, holding his neck.
"Really?" Qian Xunji's eyes turned cold instantly, "Sect Master Yu, let me ask you one last time, do you agree or disagree?"
"I don't agree! I won't agree to it even to the death!" Yu Yuanzhen shouted bravely.
"Okay." Qian Xunji nodded and turned to look at Chrysanthemum Douluo next to him, "Elder Ju, pass the order. Inform all civilians in the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan that if they are willing to leave Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's territory, Spirit Hall will provide them with travel expenses and work."
"Yes! Pope!" Chrysanthemum Douluo immediately bowed and accepted the order.
Yu Yuanzhen's face turned pale instantly.
He never expected that Qian Xunji would be so cruel.
If Spirit Hall really incites the civilians in the country to leave, whether openly or covertly, one can imagine what the consequences will be.
"Wait!" Yu Yuanzhen shouted quickly, "I... I agree! Isn't it okay if I agree!"
Qian Xunji looked at him, with a sarcastic smile on his lips, "Wouldn't it be better if it was like this?"
He looked at everyone again. "Who else disagrees?"
This time, no one dared to speak.
Even the most stubborn Yu Yuanzhen has given in, so what qualifications do they have to object?
Xue Qinghe lowered his head, his nails dug deeply into his palms, and he gritted his teeth in hatred.
Qian Xunji Each of these three conditions is digging into the foundation of the empire and the sect.
Soul Master registration and assessment rights gave Spirit Hall complete control of Soul Master throughout the continent; public welfare service allowed Spirit Hall to mobilize the power of major forces at will; the eight-hour work system and the minimum wage standard directly won the hearts and minds of civilians across the continent.
To be serious, it won't take long for the entire Douluo Continent to recognize only Spirit Hall, and no longer recognize Heaven Dou Empire, Star Luo Empire, or Upper Three Sects.
But there was nothing they could do.
"Since everyone has no objections, then the matter will be settled."
Then everyone stood up and left one by one without saying anything else.
No matter how unhappy they are.
Papal Palace's gilt bronze door slowly closed behind him, with a heavy muffled sound that made people's hearts sink.
No one was in a hurry to leave, only small groups gathered in the shadows, with unspeakable grievance hidden on their faces.
Xue Qinghe quickly caught up with Ning Fengzhi, with a warm and decent smile still on his face, but there was an imperceptible solemnity hidden deep in his eyes. "Teacher."
Ning Fengzhi stopped and turned around, his face had returned to its usual gentleness. "Your Highness, is there anything else you don't understand?"
Yu Yuanzhen and Clear Sky Sect Second Elder also stopped at the same time, and the dozen or so small and medium-sized sect leaders who followed also stopped and all their eyes fell on Ning Fengzhi.
Among the Papal Palace just now, only Ning Fengzhi was the first to see through Qian Xunji's intentions, and only he could maintain a calm attitude under the pressure of Qian Xunji.
Xue Qinghe bowed slightly and asked sincerely, "Teacher, did you expect that Spirit Hall would put forward such a condition?"
Ning Fengzhi sighed softly, his voice as light as a gust of wind. "I didn't expect it, it just had to be like this."
He withdrew his gaze, glanced at the solemn faces of everyone, and said word by word, "Do you think that Qian Xunji wants to take this opportunity to expand the power of the Spirit Hall? Yes, not entirely."
"What he really wants to do is to breathe another breath into this era that is rotten to the core."
Yu Yuanzhen frowned and said in a rough voice, "What does it mean to breathe a sigh of relief from an era that is rotten to the core? He is clearly digging up our roots! The disciples are going to work as coolies for him, and we have to take care of how we manage our own employees! Don't you just want to expand the scope of your influence!"
"Ning Fengzhi's tone was calm but with unquestionable power: "It's not that they don't want to directly send troops to exterminate Black Fire Army and Black Earth Cult, but it's that they can't and don't dare."
"Why?" Xue Qinghe asked quickly, "Do those alien thoughts threaten their Spirit Hall belief in the mainland?"
"That's different. This is no longer a struggle that we could solve in the past, but a struggle in a new era."
"So Spirit Hall chose to adapt to the development of the times."
Ning Fengzhi's gaze fell in the distance, as if he could see the future. "He used three conditions to ease the grievances of the common people, break the old rules, and establish a new order. This is not a question of whether he wants it or not. It is this era that pushes Spirit Hall to do this."