dognovel Chapter 535 Not Good
Chapter 535 Not Good
In the summer of 1461, the sun scorched the earth of Padua.
The newly appointed owner of the coal mine, Wilhelm von Stein, was standing on the balcony of his spacious and comfortable residence, leisurely tasting the fine wine shipped from afar.
The breeze blew gently, bringing a hint of coolness, making him feel extremely comfortable.
William came from a true aristocratic family. Although he was only the second son in the family, this did not affect his enjoyment of aristocratic privileges at all.
He was wearing a gorgeous silk shirt with exquisite gold patterns embroidered on the cuffs, black leather pants and shiny leather boots. He looked handsome and elegant.
Compared with his upstart colleagues, he felt himself to be a world apart.
Originally, his father hoped that he could join the army, make military achievements, establish his own glory and status on the battlefield, and add glory to the family.
However, William was very afraid of death. When he thought of the bloody fighting on the battlefield and the death that might come at any time, his legs could not help but go weak.
In his opinion, joining the army and making military achievements was simply a fantasy. He didn't want to lose his life on a battlefield full of blood and killing.
"None of my friends from noble families went, so why should I go?"
As a result, his father was so angry that he immediately retorted:
"That's why John Hohenzollern was able to establish the Holy Kingdom of Helderland, while you, who are the same age, can only stay at home and accomplish nothing."
"Opportunities, opportunities. Nowadays, young people are obsessed with opportunities. Where in the world can you get so many opportunities?"
William finally couldn't stand his father's incessant scolding anymore.
With the help of a relative who was an official in the aristocratic parliament, he came to Padua to manage a coal mine and lived what he considered a comfortable and pleasant life.
Here, William felt that his life was simply too good to be true.
The higher-ups only required him to provide a certain amount of coal on time. As for the remaining coal in the mine, he could just take it away and resell it for money, which he was actually doing now.
He used his aristocratic status and power to collude with some businessmen to resell coal from the coal mines at high prices, making huge profits.
His wallet became fatter and fatter, and his life became more and more luxurious.
If there was anything wrong, it was that he had only been here for a few days when he heard about how the former mine owner died.
The previous owner of the field had a bad background and his previous criminal activities were exposed, so he got away with it.
At the same time, he also knew that there was a clergyman in a nearby town who stood up for the miners.
However, in William's view, these things are nothing to be afraid of. The death of the former host is entirely his own problem. Who told him to kill the family of a city councilor? Commoners are still commoners even if they become rich. Only by becoming an official can they be looked up to by noble lords like him.
But he came from a true aristocratic family and had a strong background and power. Those miners and clergy could not pose any threat to him at all.
On this day, William was sitting in his spacious study, thinking about whether to raise the price of coal in winter.
He thought that winter was the peak season for coal demand, and he would definitely make more money by raising the price then.
Just as he was immersed in his own thoughts, a supervisor suddenly came running over to report:
"Master mine owner, something bad has happened! The miners in the mine are causing trouble!"
William frowned and said impatiently:
"Making trouble? What kind of trouble can they cause?"
He stood up, straightened his clothes, and followed the overseer to the mine.
In an open space in the mine, a group of miners gathered together, talking excitedly.
William strode up to them, put his hands on his hips, and asked arrogantly:
"What on earth are you guys making trouble for, you unruly people?"
An older-looking miner stood up. He looked exhausted, with a hint of anger and helplessness in his eyes. He said:
"Master, we really have no other choice. Nowadays, everything has gone up in price, but our salary is still two silver coins a month. This amount of money is really not enough for a family to live on. Can you raise our salary to five silver coins?"
When William heard this, he felt a surge of indignation in his heart. He thought:
"These people dared to ask me for salary. If the labor cost is high, I will earn less, right? I came here to be a superior and make money. What does the salary of miners have to do with me?"
Thinking of this, he sneered and said:
"Increase wages? You lazy guys, you do so little work in the mine every day and you want to get more money. I tell you, this is absolutely impossible!"
The miners were immediately enraged when they heard William's words. They waved their fists and shouted:
"We work hard in the mines every day, risking our lives to dig coal, is it only worth two silver coins? We have to survive too!"
This scared William. His face turned pale instantly and his legs began to tremble unconsciously.
His heart tightened. Just when he thought the miners were going to riot and beat him, he found that the miners did not take any further extreme actions, but just left.
William watched the miners leave and felt proud. He thought:
"As expected, these unruly people only bully the weak and fear the strong. They will retreat as soon as they encounter difficulties. If we nobles hadn't forced them, how could they support themselves? If they left the mine, where could they go? Then they will definitely come back to beg me obediently."
However, the next day, William arrived at the mine early. However, the mine, which had been bustling with activity, was now silent, as if mocking his ignorance and arrogance. Only then did he realize that the miners were on strike.
William's face turned ugly. He paced back and forth in the mine angrily, cursing non-stop:
"These damned unruly people actually dared to go on strike! Do they think they can force me to raise wages like this? It's simply wishful thinking!"
He began to realize that he might have underestimated the determination and strength of the miners and that the strike might cause him huge losses.
He hastily summoned the overseers and said angrily:
"What do you do for a living? Why didn't you tell me earlier that the miners were showing signs of a strike? Now the mines have stopped working and the coal supply has been cut off. How can I explain this to the higher-ups?"
The supervisors lowered their heads, not daring to make a sound. They knew very well in their hearts that this result was entirely due to the owner's inhumanity, but now that the owner was angry, they could not escape responsibility.
Suddenly, an overseer rolled his eyes, came up to William, and smiled flatteringly:
"Master, I have an idea. Why don't we go to the nearby area to recruit some new miners? Recently, there are always some homeless beggars outside Padua, as well as serfs who have escaped from the farms. They are starving and worried about having no way to make a living. Bring them back. You don't have to pay them more. Just give them some food and drink."
William's originally gloomy face suddenly brightened up a bit, his fingers tapped the table, and a calculating light flashed in his eyes:
"Humph, if these unruly people dare to go on strike, then we'll find even more despicable people to fill the gap."
He slapped the armrest and immediately ordered:
"Do as you say and follow me to the city!"
After entering the city, William sent people to gather the beggars, and by noon the overseer brought in more than twenty beggars.
"Master, everyone who is willing to work is here."
William stood on the steps, looking down from above, with a sneer on his face:
"I'll provide food and lodging, and I'll pay you one silver coin a month. Do you want to do it?"
"Do it! Why not!"
A tall and thin beggar nodded quickly, and a hoarse voice came out of his throat.
"One silver coin can buy ten kilograms of black bread, which is enough for me to survive."
Others also echoed, with hope of survival in their eyes. William looked at them with contempt in his heart:
"These bastards are willing to work hard for food. They are much better than those ungrateful miners."
He immediately ordered the carriage to be prepared and asked the tavern to cook a large pot of porridge with black bread. After the newly recruited miners had eaten and drunk their fill, he stuffed them into the carriage.
The wheels rolled over the cobblestone road, making a squeaking sound and raising a cloud of dust.
William sat in the front of the car, looking at the gray mine in the distance, thinking:
"Wait until these new miners get started, and then we'll see how arrogant those on strike can be."
When the carriage was halfway there, it saw from afar a group of figures standing quietly not far away on the opposite side of the road.
William squinted his eyes, and when the carriage got closer, he could see clearly the pickaxes and shovels in the hands of those people. His smile froze on his face instantly - they were the miners who had gone on strike yesterday!