Fengtian Temple.
Zhu Yuanzhang and Empress Ma, led by Li Jin, held the ribbon-cutting ceremony of Longjiang Bao Shipyard.
Then Zhu Yuanzhang returned to Yingtian Mansion without stopping.
Li Jin's problem needs to continue to be observed for the time being. There is no need to take action against Li Jin now.
After Zhu Yuanzhang returned to Yingtian City, he immediately summoned all civil and military officials to discuss important matters.
"Long live my emperor."
Zhu Yuanzhang sat on the dragon throne, and after the civil and military officials shouted long live, the court meeting officially began.
"My dear friends, have you ever heard of the highway?"
The first sentence Zhu Yuanzhang spoke made all the officials below confused.
Only Liu Bowen looked thoughtful. Zhu Yuanzhang disappeared again in the past two days. The officials didn't know where he had gone, but Liu Bowen knew it all.
He must have gone to Shanghu County again. The only place where Zhu Yuanzhang could go frequently was Shanghu County.
Liu Bowen's original impression of Li Jin was that of a young man with little talent, but now it seems that Li Jin occupies an increasingly important position in Zhu Yuanzhang's heart.
Liu Bowen kept thinking in his mind, his eyes were unclear, as if he had thought of something.
Above the court, in addition to Liu Bowen, there were also Li Shanchang and Hu Weiyong, all looking surprised.
The two of them now pay a lot of attention to Shanghu County.
Just two days after Zhu Yuanzhang disappeared again, Hu Weiyong and Li Shanchang knew that Zhu Yuanzhang had gone to Shanghu County again.
Now that Zhu Yuanzhang had just come back, he proposed the concept of highways. It seems that these two highways impressed Zhu Yuanzhang very deeply.
Except for these few people, all the officials in the court looked at each other, not knowing how to answer.
The Minister of Industry and Industry stood up directly and asked Zhu Yuanzhang:
"May I ask Your Majesty, what is this so-called highway?"
"I have never heard that there is such a way in this world?"
Zhu Yuanzhang said with a smile on his face:
"This is something we just thought of on a whim. I want to share it with you and discuss the feasibility of the expressway."
"All ministers and ministers know that the official roads of our Ming Dynasty have not been completely constructed yet."
"This has greatly affected Ming Dynasty's business and people's travel."
When the officials heard this, they all speculated, does the emperor want to build official roads for the people? But now the name has been changed?
It's just that if you build an official road, it's an official road. Why do you need to call it a highway? It's really unnecessary to take off your pants and fart.
"But building official roads is very labor-intensive, and it is also a burden on the national treasury."
"So, I decided to build a highway. It will not only reduce the people's corvee, but also build a road that is several times wider than the official road without spending a cent on the treasury."
Zhu Yuanzhang was full of confidence and looked high-spirited.
But the civil and military ministers below were dumbfounded. Without spending any money or using people's labor, a highway wider than the official road could be built?
This kind of thing can only happen in dreams.
Tang He went directly out of the queue and said to Zhu Yuanzhang:
"Sir, did you make a mistake?"
"As long as we build roads, we have to spend money. This is a matter of course. Even if the manpower does not cost money, the materials for building roads will also cost a lot of money."
"I have never heard of this in my humble position, that roads can be built automatically in this world without spending a penny or using a single person."
The surrounding officials nodded in agreement.
They felt that Zhu Yuanzhang's words could not be said to be a dream, but only wishful thinking.
Zhu Yuanzhang looked at the unbelieving looks on the officials' faces, but still did not explain, but continued:
"We said we won't spend a penny from the national treasury, but we never said we won't spend money on building roads."
"Building highways is a major event that will benefit the people all over the world. Naturally, we cannot afford this kind of thing alone."
"Does your Majesty want the people to give you money?"
Liu Bowen was shocked when he heard this. Could it be that Zhu Yuanzhang wanted to increase taxes and use the tax money to build roads?
The Ming Dynasty had only been established for five years, so the most important thing to do now was to rest and recuperate, and to do light corvee and pay little tax.
If Zhu Yuanzhang wants to forcibly raise taxes, this will not be a blessing to the people in the world, but will make people's lives more difficult.
Liu Bowen thought of this and wanted to persuade him again, but Zhu Yuanzhang directly waved his hand and interrupted:
"The lives of ordinary people are already difficult enough, so there is no need to put the burden on them."
Lu Chang, the Secretary of the Ministry of Revenue, stood up at this time and asked:
"Your Majesty, if you don't tax the people's money, then whose money will you tax to build this road?"
"Of course whoever has the money will collect it."
Zhu Yuanzhang said naturally:
"There are thousands of gentry in the world. As the saying goes, wine and meat in a wealthy family stink, and bones will freeze to death on the road."
"We want the gentry to pay for this money! And they are willing to pay this money."
As soon as these words came out, the situation immediately exploded.
Although it was the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, most of the civil servants in the court were still members of the gentry group.
After all, in that era, only gentry families could afford to go to school.
Otherwise, children from poor families would starve to death, so how could they have time to obtain academic honors?
Nowadays, civil servants with gentry origins suddenly sneered in their hearts when they heard that the gentry was actually asked to pay, and that they would also pay voluntarily.
For them, trying to take money from the gentry's pockets was more uncomfortable than killing them.
Which of these people is not a smart person and a careful budgeter? Otherwise, how could they have accumulated such a fortune?
The Minister of the Ministry of Personnel was the first to come out of the queue and stood up and said:
"Your Majesty, although the gentry has a small amount of wealth, it has been accumulated over generations, and it is not easy to get it."
"Moreover, road construction benefits the people all over the world, but only the gentry pays for it. Is it biased?"
"I second the proposal!"
"I agree!"
The proposal of the Minister of Rites was approved by most people. They were all gentry, so naturally they were unwilling to pay such a huge sum of money.
Zhu Yuanzhang seemed not to have heard it, and still said confidently:
"How do you think merchants, especially caravans, travel on our current official roads?"
Lv Chang, the Minister of Revenue, came out and said:
"The personnel on the official road are complicated, and the official road is now in disrepair. Although caravans usually use horse-drawn carriages to pull goods."
"But the actual speed of traveling has not been improved by horse-drawn carriages."
Lu Chang is responsible for the people's livelihood in the world, so he naturally knows it well.
Zhu Yuanzhang nodded and said:
"In other words, on the current official road, caravans or merchants travel very slowly."
"And the transportation of bulk goods is even more troublesome."
"Are we right?"
Lu Chang bowed and said:
"Your Majesty is aware of everything. This is the current situation of the caravan."
"Then if we build a road specifically, it will not only be very spacious, but also extremely flat and no pedestrians will be allowed to pass by."
"Only carriages and people on horseback are allowed to pass. What do you think these merchants will do?"
With a proud look on his face, Zhu Yuanzhang finally revealed his purpose.
He came back in a hurry this time, just to implement the highway operation he learned from Li Jin to various places in the Ming Dynasty.
And he is different from Li Jin. This time he will get the matter done without paying a penny.
Li Shanchang could no longer sit still and stood up and said:
"Businessmen will definitely flock to it."
"For businessmen, time is money, and with this road, businessmen can save a lot of transportation costs."
"In addition, if this road leads to all parts of the Ming Dynasty, merchants will be able to sell items to various places in the Ming Dynasty."
"And some products are sold in different places, and the difference is not even a little bit."
"If this is true, this expressway will surely become the most important traffic artery for merchants in the Ming Dynasty in the future."
"It's just that if the higher-ups want to build such a highway, the cost will definitely not be a fraction."
"Why did you, in power, just say that you want the gentry to pay this money?"
Li Shanchang was very puzzled. Even if Zhu Yuanzhang said it was of great benefit to businessmen, what does it have to do with the gentry?
All of this is just making wedding clothes for others, how can the gentry group be willing to do this?
Hu Weiyong's eyes lit up and he said:
"Did the Emperor ask the gentry from those merchant families to provide this money?"
At this time, everyone suddenly realized that this was what the emperor meant?
That does make sense. After all, the gentry who were born as businessmen have deep pockets and are the most beneficial to them.
At this moment, most civil servants felt relieved. After all, most of their families were from farming and studying families.
There is no businessman except the land at home, so this kind of thing will never happen to them.
But what Zhu Yuanzhang said next directly frightened these people.
"Wrong, we want all the gentry in the world to participate!"
