"Wei Yong, the queen has returned from Shanghu County."
When Queen Ma returned from Shanghu County, Zhu Yuanzhang called Hu Weiyong again to discuss the money matter with him.
"After some bargaining, we finally settled on a price of 600,000 yuan to purchase the raw materials for building the road."
"In addition, there are 10,000 Japanese slaves and technicians who are skilled in building highways."
"All things considered, six hundred thousand, what do you think?"
Hu Weiyong made a silent calculation in his mind and felt that it was still a bit expensive. He raised his hands and said:
"Your Majesty, can this price be lower?"
Zhu Yuanzhang shook his head and said:
"It's already the lowest price. The initial price was one million."
"But the queen argued hard and negotiated 600,000 yuan, which is already the best price."
"The main thing is that he provides this technician who can guide you throughout the construction of the highway."
"Even if there are other problems on the highway in the future, technicians will appear and help you solve the problem."
When Hu Weiyong heard this, he knew that the price could no longer be negotiated, so he could only say helplessly:
"In that case, let's set this price."
"I will arrange for people to start bidding tomorrow."
"In this bidding, the total amount of silver will be counted as six hundred thousand taels of silver."
"Six hundred thousand taels?"
Zhu Yuanzhang raised his eyebrows and asked:
"You don't seem to have included the cost of food for workers to eat every day."
"Moreover, when the farming season is over in the future, people will have to be hired, which is another amount of money."
"How can it be possible for six hundred thousand taels?"
Hu Weiyong was dumbfounded. He didn't expect that the emperor actually planned to take away 50% of the expressway's equity without paying a penny.
He thought that the Ministry of Household Affairs would provide the food that was consumed by the employed people and the laborers eating every day!
"I am confused."
Hu Weiyong thought quickly. Seeing that the situation was not right, he immediately changed his words:
"I actually forgot about the food that is consumed every day."
"I feel that if these are added, the recruitment amount will be increased to one million."
"Does the Emperor think it is enough?"
When Zhu Yuanzhang heard this number, he nodded with satisfaction, but he still said:
"You can make up your own mind about this matter without asking us."
"Things need to be speeded up. Once your money is in place, the slaves, technicians and materials can be in place quickly."
"How dare I not try my best?"
Hu Weiyong handed over his hands and left to go to the study room.
Zhu Biao waited until Hu Weiyong left and asked Zhu Yuanzhang doubtfully:
"Father, why don't we let the Ministry of Household Affairs provide the food for workers?"
"After all, it's just food. Our Ming Dynasty has been relatively peaceful and peaceful in recent years, with good harvests every year."
"You should be able to afford so much food."
Zhu Yuanzhang looked calm and replied:
"Food is the foundation of the country and cannot be easily moved."
"Since it was originally decided to use the gentry's money to build the highway, there is no need for the court to intervene."
"We are responsible for putting this money into the highway, and we will consider it a success."
"As for food, whether it is the Northern Expedition to the Grasslands or Li's recent expedition to conquer Japanese pirates, food will be indispensable."
"We must hold on to the food supply so that we can remain invincible."
Zhu Biao nodded thoughtfully, thinking of Li Jin's plan to go to sea, and murmured:
"I wonder how Li Jin's preparations are going!"
....
The next day, the gentry in Yingtian Mansion received a piece of news.
The bidding for the expressway is about to begin.
All the gentry were very excited at this moment. After all, it had been so long since they received the news and rushed to Yingtian City.
And for such a long time, I just heard that the emperor really wanted to build a highway.
And it is the highway starting from Yingtian Mansion and going directly to Songjiang Mansion. Other than that, no other news has been received.
There is no specific date for the tender, and there is no indication of how much money will be tendered.
The gentry could only stay in Yingtian Mansion and constantly inquire for information.
After all, this is a project that will benefit future generations, and they cannot give up. Some of the gentry who traveled thousands of miles to Yingtian City even brought a large amount of cash with them.
The purpose is to grab more shares of the expressway and leave it to future generations as a family heirloom.
Now we finally have the detailed information about the bidding.
The specific bidding time is tomorrow, and the confirmed bidding number is one million taels of silver.
Each share is worth one thousand taels of silver, a total of one thousand taels. Of course, this is the low price of the auction, and the one with the highest price on the day will get it.
As the news spread, the gentry also began to take active action.
They are either in small groups and want to pool their financial resources so that they can gain a lot of advantages in the auction.
Or he keeps borrowing money from relatives and friends around him, hoping to borrow more money to ensure that he has enough money to buy shares in the expressway.
Hu Weiyong was ecstatic when he received the news.
After all, he was the one who released the bidding news in order to achieve a crowd-pleasing effect on the day of the auction.
This was the first thing the emperor told him when he became a member of the Zhongshu Province and participated in politics. He must do it beautifully.
The superficial break with Li Shanchang was actually playing into his own hands.
As Hu Weiyong stayed in Zhongshu Province for longer, he discovered that Li Shanchang's power in Zhongshu Province could be said to be overwhelming.
This made him, an ambitious man, very uncomfortable.
After all, if Li Shanchang has always been like this, when will he be able to make his mark in Zhongshu Province?
But fortunately, he now has the emperor's support, and Li Shanchang feels that he can fully control himself, which gives him an opportunity.
Now there are people in the Zhongshu Province secretly relying on him, and he will actually complete the expressway project in the future.
When the emperor appreciates him, more officials will join him, and Zhongshu Sheng himself will be able to compete with Li Shanchang.
And Li Shanchang would not stop them, but would be happy because he felt that he was still his obedient student.
But these are all just pretending. Could it be that he really couldn't read the emperor's thoughts?
When he said that Li Shan was an elder, his words were not groundless. He believed that as long as he handled this matter well, Li Shan would not be able to hold the position of prime minister for long.
At that time, I can replace him and become the next prime minister of the Ming Empire.
Thinking of this, Hu Weiyong's face, which had always remained cautious and humble, couldn't help but reveal a proud smile.
.....
The auction went on as scheduled.
And just as Hu Weiyong expected, there were no empty seats on the day of the auction.
The huge Xingyue Auction venue was actually filled with Ming gentry from all over the world.
There were even a small number of people who came too late and had no seats.
Seeing this, Hu Weiyong hurriedly added a lot of seats in the back row and in the gaps on the left and right, so that everyone could sit down.
After everyone was seated, Hu Weiyong walked onto the auction stage in front of everyone, wearing a bright red third-grade official robe.
"Quiet, everyone, please be quiet and listen to me."
After Hu Weiyong came to power, he directed his hands at all the gentry in front of him and asked them to quiet down.
Hu Weiyong's bright red official robe was very impressive. Seeing this, the gentry lowered their voices one after another until the venue was completely silent.
"This is a major event for this dynasty. In order to provide more convenience to the people, the current emperor has decided to build highway kilometers all over the country."
"At the same time, in order to provide better benefits to the gentry across the country and fulfill the original promise of sharing the world with the gentry, it was decided that the money for the construction of the highway would be raised by gentry across the country."
"Accordingly, the emperor will take part of the benefits from the highway and distribute it to the gentry who raise money to relieve the country's worries."
"This policy will always be effective. From now on, you will rest with the country just like the relatives of the Ming Dynasty."
"As long as our Ming Dynasty still exists, this share will be valid for one day."
"There are a total of one thousand shares in this auction. The auction base price per share is one thousand taels. The one with the highest price will win!"
"Of course, the shares we are auctioning this time are the property rights of the highways in Yingtianfu and Songjiangfu. Other highways will naturally be auctioned one after another in the future."
"Do you have any other questions? If not, then this auction will begin soon."
Hu Weiyong held a loudspeaker and the sound was clearly transmitted to the ears of every gentry who came to the meeting.
After hearing this, these gentlemen were very excited. They did not expect that the news they heard in the past few days was actually true.
Now Hu Weiyong, a dignified third-rank official, would naturally not deceive them.
In this case, no matter what they do this time, they will get the shares of this expressway.
While everyone was thinking, suddenly a man dressed as a businessman stood up and said to Hu Weiyong:
"I have a question, I want to ask the adults."
"May I ask your honour, is it true that only the gentry are eligible to buy shares in the expressway, and others are not eligible?"
As soon as these words came out, the whole audience was speechless.
Everyone looked at Hu Weiyong, and they kept thinking in their hearts.
Although the imperial edict stated that this project was for the gentry, they wanted to use the gentry's money to build highways.
But it does not say that others are completely prohibited from buying shares in this expressway.
Among the people present, apart from the gentry, the most numerous ones were businessmen.
When it comes to wealth, businessmen in the entire Ming Dynasty are the richest.
The man who stood up just now and asked Hu Weiyong was a businessman.
Next to him, there were also a large number of businessmen sitting.
Now they are all waiting for Hu Weiyong's reply. If it is true that only the gentry is qualified to buy shares, then they will turn around and leave.
It is estimated that half of the people at the venue will also leave.
Hu Weiyong thought for a moment and felt that the first goal now was to raise enough money to build the expressway.
As for whether the money belonged to the gentry or the businessman, Hu Weiyong felt that there was no difference.
"Haha, good question."
"Today's Holy Emperor has great grace and treats everyone equally."
"Whether you are a gentry, a businessman, or a commoner, as long as you have money and want to contribute to the country, I will not refuse anyone who comes."
Hu Weiyong's words instantly excited the businessmen present.
After all, although they are rich, their status in the Ming Dynasty is low. No matter where they are, they are inferior everywhere.
Especially when they sat there just now, the gentry around them looked at them with disdain, as if they smelled of copper.
Now Hu Weiyong actually treats them equally, which makes them very excited.
But the surrounding gentry quit. A gentry with a reputation as a civil servant suddenly stood up and said to Hu Weiyong:
"Sir, the student is the elected member of Huoqiu County."
"The students would like to remind you that the imperial edict states that only the gentry have the right to purchase highway shares."
"Other than that, other people are not qualified at all. For such a lowly profession as a businessman, they are even less qualified."
After the man finished speaking, he glanced at the businessman next to him with contempt.
The businessman was so despised by this man that his face instantly turned red, but he did not dare to say a word.
Although the scholars, farmers, industry and merchants of the Ming Dynasty were not divided into three, six or nine grades according to their grades, in public, the status of the gentry was indeed much higher than that of the merchants.
When Hu Weiyong saw this, he took out the imperial edict from his sleeve without any panic.
The contents of the imperial edict were read out again. This time, after everyone heard clearly, there was no restriction that only gentry were eligible.
It just said that the emperor's grace was so great that it gave the gentry a chance, but did not limit other professions.
After all, building highways requires so much money that ordinary people simply cannot afford it.
What Zhu Yuanzhang thought was that the gentry had money, which could be used to build highways, but now businessmen also want to invest, so naturally the more the merrier.
The judge wanted to say something more, but was directly interrupted by Hu Weiyong:
"The Emperor's kindness is great and he will treat you all equally."
"What we are doing is to enable you all to work together to benefit the people."
"Now you have repeatedly blocked me. What are your intentions? If you dare to speak again and delay the time, I will definitely report to the emperor and strip you of your fame and demote you to a commoner."
Hu Weiyong's voice was fierce. At this time, he must show the authority of the court.
Some people are afraid of power and have no morals. If this person is allowed to continue to mess around, I am afraid that the auction that was finally held will be thought to be an anticlimactic one.
The judge was startled by Hu Weiyong's sudden momentum and did not dare to say a word, so he could only sit there dullly.
Hu Weiyong's eyes passed over this person and glanced at the other gentry who wanted to speak out just now.
The gentry, who was swept by Hu Weiyong's cold gaze, quickly sat upright, looking straight ahead, not daring to move.
"Guys, who has any questions?"
When Hu Weiyong saw that no one was looking for trouble, his expression suddenly became kind, and even his tone became gentle.
"Since you have no questions, the auction is about to begin. I hope you can buy the shares you are satisfied with."
After saying that, Hu Weiyong left the stage with his hands behind his back and was replaced by a beauty who looked very mature and charming in a cheongsam and walked up.
After the beautiful host came on stage, she did not come up to auction the shares, but told a few jokes to stir up the atmosphere of the audience.
Half a quarter of an hour later, the host saw that the atmosphere was getting warmer and he finally started the first auction of this venue:
"The next step is the most exciting part."
"You have traveled thousands of miles to gather together for the expressway's shares. Now the share auction has officially begun."
"According to Master Hu's request, one share is priced at a low price of one thousand taels of silver."
As the host finished speaking, the two funeral ladies slowly walked up holding a square mahogany gift tray, with ten bamboo slips placed on top.
Because they were too far away, no one could see clearly what was written on the bamboo slips.
However, the host pointed to the bamboo slips above and introduced loudly:
"Here are the share certificates issued by the imperial court. There are ten shares in total, with a minimum price of 10,000 taels."
"Each bid increase must not be less than one hundred taels, and now the auction officially begins."
Only then did everyone realize that this bamboo slip actually represented the expressway's shares.
After hearing that the auction had started, some people couldn't wait to bid:
"Eleven thousand taels!"
"Thirteen thousand taels!"
"Thirteen thousand one hundred taels!"
