met free Chapter 954 Set sail
Chapter 954 Set sail
Chapter 954 Set sail
As the city of Nanjing was freezing cold and the year was coming to an end, Zhu Houzhao always felt that the 22nd year of Zhengde had passed too quickly.
He was thinking to himself that it was the Prime Minister Gu Renyi's fault. This guy didn't like to make any new policies, but he didn't change the old system during his 20 years in power. Therefore, this huge country just moved forward step by step according to the track drawn by Zhang Cong when he was in power.
When things are dull, time seems to pass quickly.
The biggest event at the end of the year was the arrival of three ships of slaves at the Yangtze River wharf in Nanjing.
In fact, in recent years it has become common for wealthy families to buy slaves from Luzon and Southeast Asia, but that is a private behavior and the government neither encouraged nor stopped it, just letting it develop.
But this time the three ships of slaves were taken by the government.
The cause was that the Shaofu announced a super project that would start from the 23rd year of Zhengde. Because manpower was needed, the government personally placed orders with the slave transporters.
This is the first batch.
The imperial court had originally expanded the Liangjing Avenue from Nanjing southward to Hangzhou, connecting several cities along the way, including Changzhou, Suzhou, and Jiaxing. This time, the plan was to continue expanding on this basis, and it was a more ambitious one.
The direct reason is of course the birth of cement. After the technological breakthrough, the Ming Dynasty began to work hard.
Overall, the ultimate goal of this plan is to connect all the major cities in the country.
First, it will take about five years to complete the route from Nanjing via Jiujiang to Nanchang Prefecture, Nanjing via Fengyang to Kaifeng Prefecture, Beijing via Datong and Yulin to Guyuan Prefecture, and Guyuan via Ganzhou and Suzhou to Hami.
In this plan, the two capitals of the north and the south are of course the core nodes of the road network. The north pays more attention to military considerations, focusing on solving the supply of food and materials in the west, while the south pays more attention to economic considerations, mainly to open up physical connections between large cities.
The Shaofu has calculated that these projects alone will require at least 20 laborers, and the direct investment will be as high as 30 to billion yuan. Not only that, there will be dangerous sections during the construction process. Needless to say, to the northwest, the mountains are high and the roads are long, and some roads are on cliffs, so there will definitely be casualties. Because of the many water networks in the south, dozens of bridges will have to be built along the way, which is also prone to accidents.
In order to save costs, using slaves became the only option.
Later, the Ming Dynasty officials and the public began to call these people Nanyang workers and Dongyang workers.
The period after five years is no longer a planning period but a vision period. The difference is that projects in the planning period will definitely be implemented, but those in the vision period may not be.
So all kinds of things were said in the court.
Don’t worry about those, we’ll deal with them five years later.
Zhu Houzhao attached great importance to this road planning. Not only did he order the Ministry of Revenue to allocate 50 million yuan in support, but he also set up a Ming Dynasty National Road Network Construction Command in imitation of the original Beijing Planning Department.
This command center was set up under the cabinet, with the newly appointed cabinet minister Ouyang Duo as the commander, who was in charge of coordinating all matters related to road construction.
Ouyang Duo heard about the appointment on his way to his new post and he was very excited.
For an official like him, it was certainly worth getting excited about the fact that there was a serious and practical matter. Although there was a tradition of repairing official roads in all dynasties, the road construction in the Ming Dynasty was different.
After it was completed, it can still run normally even on rainy days. It can be said that this is a major event that will go down in history.
The headquarters is divided into two parts.
The first part is the construction company, which is mainly responsible for line and route selection, purchasing materials and engineering construction.
The second part is the operating company, which is mainly responsible for maintenance, public security management and toll collection.
Although collecting tolls sounds a bit like robbery, in order to continuously push forward this kind of project, there must be "return money". Otherwise, the current national treasury cannot afford the figure of 20 billion. Even if all other things are stopped, it cannot afford such a large-scale road construction.
The territory is vast, and this is not just talk.
Fortunately, the emperor and his ministers discussed and decided to initially set the toll collection period at 10-15 years, mainly to recover costs, after which the toll standards would be gradually lowered until they were canceled.
If we continue to charge fees, it will be meaningless for ordinary people. Many poor people would rather not leave than pay the money.
He doesn't even have a horse, so what difference does it make whether he walks on this concrete road or not?
At that time, people still did not know what it meant for major projects to drive economic growth.
Not to mention how many people and slaves are needed, just purchasing materials is a huge business opportunity.
After all, cement is not naturally available. It also requires raw materials such as limestone. In other words, the cement factory jointly established by the Academy of Sciences and Shaofu also needs to import raw materials.
Thus, in the 23rd year of Zhengde, the initial investment of 50 million yuan by the Ministry of Revenue and 30 million yuan by the Ministry of Finance soon began to show results.
Zhu Houzhao could also see it in Nanjing City.
In the midst of ice and snow, the construction of the project department has begun. Each of the three slave ships that arrived first received a cotton coat. Well, the money was paid by the project department, but they were not good goods. The boss who received this order was very happy, as he dealt with a batch of unqualified products.
Then he turned around and got another 2,000 yuan bill and gave it to the purchasing manager of the project department.
This is a normal operation. Only when wealth is made together can it last long.
Before the first batch of cement arrived, these slaves needed to clear the attachments on the selected route road surface, which was equivalent to opening up a flat and open road surface.
The remaining staff had to chop wood and build a simple shelter for themselves.
Because of the gathering of people, many vendors began to set up stalls in the southwest of Nanjing city. Originally, this was an empty lot without even a name. Later people found out that this was the Nanjing Project Department of the Nanjing to Nanchang Straight Road.
Yes, this had already started before Ouyang Duo took office.
In fact, Zhu Houzhao felt relieved because he finally didn't have to work hard for something big. Building roads was a good deed in the traditional sense.
For example, if you praise a certain local squire as a kind-hearted person, then his deeds may include building roads.
So this is in line with the thoughts and interests of people from all walks of life.
There is no need to say much about the benefits. The country has taken out money and spent it. This is not the first time to invest in engineering projects. Now everyone knows that there are many links involved that can make money.
As for the idea, this is certainly another landmark good policy of the Zhengde Dynasty.
The process of meeting Ouyang Duo was also very relaxing and pleasant.
But this time Zhu Houzhao wanted to play something different from them.
Later, he secretly met with Han Ziren, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. Ordinary petty corruption would be fine, but if this kind of mega project was not checked more strictly and these people were allowed to do whatever they wanted, the final losses would be millions or even tens of millions.
Of course, people outside continued to sing and dance.
Ouyang Duo left the palace and returned to his residence. He saw the visiting cards piled up like a mountain and understood something.
Then he chose a special action. He did not stay here, but turned around to pay a visit to Gu Renyi.
Gu Renyi also met him.
This is a loft built on a high floor, which is another example of the further development of architectural art. When foreigners come to such a big city, they will be amazed to see such exquisite lofts on top of buildings dozens of meters high.
"Did you meet the emperor today?"
"I've seen it before."
"It's a good opportunity for Chongdao (Ouyang Duo's pen name) to come. If you had come two days later, the emperor would have set off for Hangzhou."
Ouyang Duo was new here and didn't know what was going on, so he asked, "May I ask Lord Gu, why did the emperor go to Hangzhou?"
Gu Renyi said quietly: "For the sake of industrial planning, the emperor met with Nanyang Company General Manager Gu Zuo and Zhejiang Governor Wang Xian, and then summoned all the ministers to discuss the establishment of a dual industrial structure of developing cotton textile industry at home and spice trade in Nanyang. For this purpose, a spice trading company directly under the royal family was established, named "Yuantu". In a few months, its shares will be sold to the outside world. If Chongdao is interested, he can buy it."
Ouyang Duo did not hear much about these things when he was the governor of Shandong. In that place, people still worked from sunrise to sunset and studied as a tradition.
"The Ming Dynasty is now changing rapidly under the governance of the emperor."
"I heard that Westerners are obsessed with spices, but they are not clean, so the cabinet will suggest that Your Majesty build more warships next."
Ouyang Duo was stunned again.
Gu Renyi noticed this and asked, "Why? Do you think this is different from the Prime Minister Gu you heard about?"
"Please forgive me, Lord Gu. It is indeed...it is indeed a little different."
"Outsiders say that I am an orthodox Qingliu, the exact opposite of Zhang Cong. This seems to be true in the past year. I govern with benevolence, employ people with virtue, reduce taxes, and stop fighting. These are all things I do. However, I am not considering what the Qingliu think, but how to benefit the Ming Dynasty. Building more warships is to stop the war. I am not stupid enough to think that goodwill will definitely bring peace."
After hearing these words, Ouyang Duo felt a little closer to him.
Because Gu Renyi became real in front of him.
So I couldn't help but feel like I had met a close friend.
But just when I was about to relax, I was suddenly awakened: How could being a prime minister be so easy?
Apart from anything else, he certainly understands the taboo of talking about deep things with people you just met, and the reason why he seems to be speaking from his heart is probably a kind of "rhetoric trick".
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but admire her. She was indeed a smart guy among smart guys. She almost won his "favor" after just a few words when they met.
However, it is not easy for him to become a cabinet minister. After all, he has seen through the conspiracy. However, it is just a show, so even if he has seen through the conspiracy, he can only pretend that he has not seen through it.
"Please forgive me, Lord Gu. I have been here for a long time and I really had some misunderstandings... But after listening to your words today, I know that you are also a man of character. In this case, I will not hide it."
Gu Renyi waved his hand and said, "Just tell me what you want to say."
"It is the position of the commander of the National Road Network Construction Headquarters... This is a completely new position that has never existed before, and the emperor has high expectations for me. I feel a lot of pressure in my heart, and I don't know how to achieve perfection. If Lord Gu has any insights, please feel free to enlighten me."
"It's not so much about giving advice, but the emperor should have talked to Chongdao as well."
Ouyang Duo nodded, "Yes. The general idea is the poem about the Bian River."
When it comes to poetry, Gu Renyi, the Grand Secretary, certainly has no problem with it. He sighed and recited: "It is said that the Sui Dynasty fell because of this river. To this day, thousands of miles of water flow through it. If there were no water palace and dragon boat events, his achievements would not be greater than those of Yu. Over the past thousands of years, dynasties have changed, and the world has changed several times, but there are not many such projects that benefit the people. The emperor hopes that Chongdao will build this road, which will still be a great achievement thousands of years later."
Many people know the first two lines of this poem, but fewer know the last two lines.
If there were no dragon boats and water palaces, his achievements would not be greater than those of Emperor Yu. This means that if Emperor Yang of Sui's purpose was not to covet the pleasures of dragon boats and palaces, but to work for the world and the people, then his achievements would be comparable to those of Emperor Yu's flood control.
"That is indeed what the Emperor meant. And he just wants to stop the 'Water Palace Dragon Boat Event'. As for how to do it specifically, the Emperor has no requirements."
Gu Renyi was not surprised, and asked, "What's so difficult about Chongdao?"
"In the past, the gate was deserted and few horses were seen, but now it is like 'when an order is issued, all the ministers come to give advice, and the gate is crowded with people'."
These are all quotations, expressing the lively situation there right now.
"Advice is common. If it is suitable, use it. If it is not suitable, discard it."
Ouyang Duo was a little distressed, "But I just entered the cabinet, it's the time when I stand out from the crowd."
Gu Renyi's meaning was very simple. You don't care what others say. If you think it's okay, accept it. If not, reject it. But in fact, he might be able to do it. Now that the emperor's favor is just right, it doesn't matter who he offends.
But Ouyang Duo was young, and was suddenly promoted to the cabinet. If he disagreed with some "business", it would be troublesome if he offended some important figures.
This doesn't mean that he is timid or not tough enough. In fact, any normal person would have to consider something. People like Hai Rui who rush forward regardless of the consequences are quite rare.
Since that was the case, Gu Renyi started talking about something else.
"At the beginning, Ziheng (Wang Tingxiang's courtesy name) and I recommended cabinet ministers to the emperor, but neither of us recommended you. Even if we limited the scope to local governors, we did not think of you. You were able to join the cabinet because your majesty personally appointed you. Your majesty said that Ouyang Duo is a practical person."
He waved his sleeves and pointed at him, "This is what His Majesty thinks of you. This commander is indeed enviable, and this is just the beginning. There are countless people waiting and hoping to get money from here. You are the God of Wealth, it would be abnormal if you say you have no pressure. But since you have joined the cabinet, there will be no easy things. Why did His Majesty ask you to join the cabinet? Is it just because you are short of someone to draft bills?"
At this point he bowed his head and sighed, "It's still the same old saying, it's still a thousand miles away. As long as you think about this, even if there are some minor mistakes, His Majesty will not pursue them too much."
Ouyang Duo had mixed feelings.
In fact, Gu Renyi's words were very vague and obscure. He did not mention very specific words like honesty and integrity. In fact, he was reminding him that when he was an official, he should be humble and modest. Because this major task would involve many difficulties, he could not offend everyone, otherwise the road would not be built. Then what was the point of leaving only an honest minister for the emperor?
"I understand."
Gu Renyi pressed the issue, "Do you really understand?"
Ouyang Duo smiled and said, "I understand. Lord Gu wants to advise Your Majesty to build more warships. I can submit the memorial with you."
Gu Renyi was stunned. This guy is really a wonderful person. He actually still remembered the warship mentioned earlier. It seems that... he really understood it. Because he understood that this matter was a kind of... how to say it, flexibility. And since he could understand this word, he must have it.
But he remained calm on the surface, "Chongdao should also submit a petition. Build more warships so that you can use the Nanyang workers."
"Exactly, exactly."
The first batch has just arrived, and Ouyang Duo is still waiting for the rest. When he completes this project, the places he can reach will be much farther than the canal!
(End of this chapter)