The officials were talking eloquently, and the courtiers who were watching were dumbfounded.
Some people even lowered their heads and calculated their accounts, and then said with some confusion: "Can this still be the case?"
Some courtiers began to compare secretly.
The same is true for road construction. The method Mr. Fusu chose was inaction. The people did not have to work hard and did whatever they had to do, so the roads were muddy and narrow and difficult to navigate.
Prince Hu Hai's choice was to rely on corvee labor. The government did not need to pay, and it all relied on the efforts of the people. The official system was not bad, but the people were in dire straits and even lost their jobs.
Throughout the ages, it seems that there are only two methods. Either cherish the power of the people and govern by doing nothing. Either the people will be expropriated and the world will be exhausted.
Unexpectedly... Master Hu Hai actually had a third method. This is quite new.
After listening to the small official's introduction, Ying Zheng also found it quite interesting. He said to the little eunuch beside him: "That's all, go and pay."
The young eunuch responded and was about to pay the money. Ying Zheng then asked: "Just pay me the money for this car."
The young eunuch responded again. Afterwards, the courtiers followed to pay the money.
Ten yuan for a car is not much to them. Moreover, the road is very spacious and flat, and it is comfortable to sit in the carriage.
So no one is stingy with the travel expenses.
Li Shui said with emotion: "This Wang Laoshi is indeed a business wizard. He has learned my ideas so thoroughly."
Li Xin looked at him in confusion: "Are you praising Wang for his honesty, or are you praising yourself?"
Li Shui laughed.
Afterwards, Ying Zheng's car drove forward slowly.
When he passed the two petty officials, he suddenly stopped the carriage and horse again.
Ying Zheng personally asked the two petty officials: "This method is unheard of. Those merchants must be doubtful, right? It costs so much to build a road. Even if a dozen wealthy businessmen work together to build a road, it will still cost a lot of money. Young master. Who on earth believes in Fu Yao so much that he is willing to spend so much money on it?"
When Ying Zheng asked these words, there was a hint of reward in his tone.
Fu Yao, that is his beloved son. Nowadays, there are businessmen who are so optimistic about their beloved son that they spend millions of their wealth to help build roads. This must be rewarded.
The two minor officials already knew that the person in the car was the emperor, and they were already trembling with fear.
They wiped the sweat on their heads and said cautiously: "In the beginning, Mr. Fu Yao really wanted to find local merchants to pay. There is also a very strange name for it, called... yes, called invest."
"Young Master and Wang Laoshi visited all the merchants, but none of them were willing to invest. So... In the end, Master Fu Yao wrote a letter to Shangjun Courtyard, and Shangjun Courtyard invested."
When the courtiers heard this, many of them laughed secretly in their hearts.
But after they finished laughing, they suddenly came to their senses: That's not right. So, the ten cents I paid just now were made away by Huai Guzi again?
The more the courtiers thought about it, the more frustrated they became. They looked at Li Shui and felt very unhappy: This guy is really hard to guard against, and he made money without paying attention.
In fact, Li Shui was also a little confused. Last time, Mr. Fu Yao wrote a letter saying that he was short of capital and wanted to take some gold from Shang Jun's Courtyard. It turned out to be about road construction?
Ying Zheng said lightly, without saying much, and then let the team continue to move forward.
Originally, I wanted to reward a few merchants. Since these merchants are so ignorant of praise, that's all.
Ying Zheng closed his eyes slightly and suddenly felt more and more fond of Shangjun Courtyard.
Half an hour later, they met two more clerks, who started asking for money again.
The young eunuch beside Ying Zheng said to the young official: "We have just paid ten cents."
The two clerks said: "Everyone, when you paid, didn't they tell you? It was one penny for one mile, ten cents for ten miles. There is a toll station for ten miles, and now you have passed ten miles. Again It’s time to pay.”
Everyone: "..."
Many courtiers turned their heads, looked at Li Shui and said, "Exiled Immortal, you are robbing money."
Some mean people sighed: "Isn't this a robbery?"
Li Shui looked innocent: "What does this have to do with me?"
Chunyu Yue asked two petty officials: "What should I do if someone can't afford the ten cents?"
The clerk pointed to a fork and said, "Look, everyone, there is a path there. It is rugged and muddy. That path is free. You can also go there by taking that path."
"How kind is Mr. Fu Yao? He spent a lot of manpower and material resources to build this road, but he didn't block the original road for you."
Chunyu Yue was a little speechless: Is this called benevolence? This kind of self-promotion and self-promotion is a bit like Huaiguzi.
Ying Zheng said calmly: "That's it, just pay."
You do have to pay. Your Majesty is here, do you want the emperor to walk on that muddy path?
Since the emperor took the high road, the courtiers had to pay to follow him.
As a result, Li Shui received another wave of contempt.
After paying the money, everyone passed the toll booth.
At this time, they found a group of merchants passing by the fork in the road and walking along the muddy path.
Yingzheng ordered the young eunuch to stop the group of merchants.
The merchant was brought over tremblingly.
Ying Zheng asked: "What do you do?"
The merchant said respectfully: "There is a big market at the junction of Beidi County and Northern Xinjiang. The villain heard that there is a shortage of food in Northern Xinjiang, so the price of food is extremely high. So the villain increased the price and bought it in the Central Plains I want to sell a batch of grain at the market."
Ying Zheng nodded and asked: "Since you are merchants, why don't you take the main road instead of the small road?"
The merchant laughed dryly and said: "After all... the big road costs money. Although the small road is muddy and difficult to walk, the villain has always taken the small road since he started doing business and has become accustomed to it. The wide and smooth road is too luxurious. I can’t walk, I can’t walk.”
Ying Zheng said oh, a little disappointed.
Li Shui simply said to the merchant with contempt: "You are so stingy."
The merchant was obedient and did not dare to refute.
At this moment, another group of merchants walked past the path. Judging from the cargo on their vehicles, it seems that they are also grains.
They probably all received the news and wanted to make a lot of money.
Ying Zheng suddenly said strangely: "I have been walking along the road for so long, but I have never seen any other pedestrians. Why is this small road so busy?"
The merchant laughed dryly and said: "Since the road was built, no merchant has actually walked on it. After all, there is a toll on this road. Your Majesty and the ministers may be the first to go."
Ying Zheng: "..."
Li Shui was speechless and said to the merchant: "Can't you calculate this debt? How much time can you save if you take the main road? Even if the clerk misses one meal, it will be enough to save a lot of money, right? "
The merchant bowed and said: "We have calculated it. As long as we tighten our belts and eat one or two more meals, we can reduce the cost. Besides... I have never heard of charging for walking in my old age. , the villain really can’t accept it.”
Li Shui: "..."
He suddenly asked the merchant out of curiosity: "Are there any of you who prostitute on the main road for free? I mean, you take the main road secretly, guess that you are about to reach the toll station, and then sneak to the small road."
The merchant shook his head.
Li Shui smiled slightly and said kindly: "Don't be afraid. Even if there is, I won't punish you. Just tell the truth."
The merchant laughed dryly and said: "It really doesn't happen. Please see, Exiled Immortal, there are trees planted on both sides of the road. These trees are very particular. The gaps between them do not allow a car to pass through."
"If you get on the main road, you won't be able to get off unless you encounter a fork. And these forks all have toll stations."
Li Shui said with emotion: "Wonderful."
Ying Zheng waved his hand and let the merchant go.
Then the large group of people continued to move forward alone on the road.
For some reason, Li Shui felt that the atmosphere seemed to be a little awkward.
Many courtiers were secretly looking at themselves, with a hint of schadenfreude and a hint of sympathy in their eyes.
Li Shui was a little speechless and said loudly to them: "What do you think I'm doing? I didn't build this road."
The courtiers all nodded: "Yes, yes. It makes sense to banish the immortal."
Having said that, the courtiers still felt that today's Huaiguzi had finally suffered a big blow.
Countless gold and silver were spent to build such a road, but no merchants came.
Hahaha, when will these roads pay for themselves? I'm afraid that the banished immortal really has to live forever to wait for that day.
Li Shui coughed dryly and tried to calm himself down: "Even if no merchants come, so what? This road is the imperial road. It was Master Fu Yao who specially built this road to welcome His Majesty."
Chunyu Yue sighed at the side and said quietly: "How can there be such a royal way in the world that actually collects money from the emperor?"
Li Shui: "..."
Is this old guy trying to tear me down?
Hu Hai in the back was laughing so much that he almost fell off his horse.
Hu Hai was still very surprised when he first saw this road.
Hu Hai became even more nervous when he heard that Fu Yao used merchants' money to build this road and did not exploit the people's power.
He felt that Fu Yao was his strong rival.
But now...hehe, this is simply a joke.
Hu Hai looked at the sun in the distance and suddenly felt that the position of prince was waving to him.
…………
"Hurry, hurry, faster." There was a stout man shouting in less than standard Mandarin, driving a group of grain trucks and running as fast as possible on the road.
This man's name is Tuo Laji. He is not from Qin, but from Huns.
They are poor people among the Huns.
After the Xiongnu fell, Tuo Laji, like other poor Huns, broke away from the Huns' way of living by water and grass and began to make a living.
How much money can you make from herding cattle and sheep? Whether it is a white disaster, a black disaster, or a yellow disaster, a disaster will make the family hungry.
Now that the Huns have been destroyed, the northern border has become the territory of Qin.
The Huns suddenly realized that they were now Qin people and could work for the Qin people to earn a living.
Some of these Huns went into mines to mine, and some specialized in raising horses for the powerful. Some worked as long-term workers for the wealthy households in Qin.
They suddenly discovered that this kind of life was hundreds of times better than before.
When the Huns were destroyed, they were still a little disappointed.
But after tasting the sweetness of the destruction of the Huns. They suddenly felt...why didn't the Xiongnu perish earlier?
As for the hatred of the country and the family, and the hatred of people who are not my race...that's all nonsense, these Huns don't care.
They only know that the Shanyu and noble people who originally rode on their heads are gone, and their lives are getting better day by day.
And all of this was given by Da Qin, by the emperor, and by the banished immortal.
If someone says now that they want to destroy Great Qin. These Huns were the first to refuse.
They love Da Qin more than the Qin people.
They all dreamed of joining the Qin people.
Therefore, many people are trying hard to learn Mandarin, take off their fur coats, and put on cloth clothes from the Central Plains.
Men trimmed their beards to resemble a Central Plains goatee. Women also learned needlework.
The young Huns learned the writing, culture, and etiquette systems of the Central Plains...
And Tuo Laji is one of the people who loves Qin.
He took his wife and children to work as a clerk for a big businessman. The big merchant sells goods between Beidi County and Northern Xinjiang all year round. Tuo Laji was also familiar with northern Xinjiang, so big merchants also regarded him highly.
This time, the big merchants saw that northern Xinjiang was short of food and food prices were rising, so they ordered Tuo Laji to go to the Central Plains to purchase food immediately.
Tuo Laji took these cars and quickly arrived in the Central Plains.
When they came back, they first walked a muddy path, but found that the car was very heavy after carrying food. In that kind of muddy ground, it is simply difficult to move even an inch, and it takes too much time.
So Tuo Laji ordered his men to go to the road.
The guys are naturally very happy. After all, this way, they no longer have to push the cart in the mud, which can save a lot of effort.
But the big merchant's housekeeper was a little unhappy. He said to Toraki: "Do you know how many cars we have? Do you know how many miles away from the market it is?"
"If you do this, it will cost you thousands of dollars in travel expenses alone. If you lose money on this trip, how will you explain it to the owner?"
Tuo Laji frowned and said: "What do you know? I am from Northern Xinjiang. I know that only pasture grows there, not food. Food is really important. People in Northern Xinjiang are very worried. No matter how high the price of food is, they will I will buy it too.”
"Now other merchants are sending grain trucks there continuously, and the price of grain will drop soon. We must get ahead of them in order to make a lot of money."
The housekeeper said angrily: "You are just a barbarian who only knows how to herd sheep. What do you know about doing business? You have to pay when you walk. I have never heard of it."
Tuo Laji said: "This road was cultivated by the disciples of the banished immortals, so there must be nothing wrong. Banished immortals will not harm people. Without the banished immortals, how could we have such a good life?"
Tuo Laji argued with the housekeeper for a while, then waved his hand as big as a cattail leaf fan: "I won't tell you any more, I have to hurry up and get on my way."
Then, Tuo Laji urged the convoy and rushed forward like flying.
I was a magician in the Qin Dynasty
