On the twenty-eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, outside Yingtian Mansion, there was the Jieguan Pavilion.
Zhu Gaochi stepped on the hard road and looked at the crowds of people on the road, thoughtfully.
"Is this... a newly built road?" He turned around and asked Li Jinglong, who was sitting next to him in the pavilion wearing a bright python robe.
Under the winter sun, the python robe on Li Jinglong seemed to be shining. Looking carefully, there was a big difference between his python robe and other people's python robes. It was more exquisite and more majestic...
Firstly, he is indeed tall and strong, and looks good in anything he wears.
Secondly, his python robe seems to have been carefully woven just for him, making it unique.
Zhu Gaochi added in his heart, "Burn the buns!"
"This has been under construction for two years, don't you know?" Li Jinglong still held a heater in his hand and said with a smile, "You didn't pay attention to it the last few times you left Beijing?"
"The waterway I walked on a few times before! I have never walked through this side at all!"
Zhu Gaochi said something in a low voice, then turned to look at the surging crowd on the official road.
Most of what he saw were caravans, or carriages loaded with vegetables and rice by farmers from the surrounding areas. There were all kinds of people in the caravans going north and south, some driving flocks of sheep, and some with a group of sheep.
Those carrying baskets of chickens and ducks, those transporting cloth and all kinds of seafood...there are countless people.
In the past, the official way was still done by officials.
It was high in the middle and low on both sides. On rainy days, it was difficult to move. The big animals driving the carts were beaten with whips until their noises changed, so they could barely pull the trucks.
But now, the road is flat and smooth, and the wheels of the truck turn very fast.
He squatted down with difficulty and touched the slightly uneven road surface with his hands.
"It's all sand, bricks and stones mixed with rice slurry!" At some point, Li Jinglong came over and whispered.
"Hiss..." Zhu Gaochi gritted his teeth and took a breath of air.
The cost is too high!
Only emperors who build mausoleums or the walls of the capital have such high standards, but now they are actually used to build roads!
At the same time, he was a little annoyed. He lived in the capital. Why didn't he pay attention before?
"This road was planned as early as five years ago when Emperor Taizu Gao was still here!" Li Jinglong continued to smile, "Ningbo Customs' five-year tariff, Long Live Lord, has not touched it at all. I have saved enough."
Construction started immediately, starting from the capital and covering eight surrounding counties, connecting Fengyang to the north and Yangzhou to the south..."
"Long live the Lord also said that Ningbo's tariffs cannot be moved in the next few years. Didn't we start building the Qingzhou Ancient Road last year? Connect the Qingzhou Ancient Road to the capital... Long live the Lord said that if you want to get rich, build the road first..."
"He is so willing!" Zhu Gaochi thought to himself.
He has always thought that Xiezi was very successful!
But I have to admit that Xizi is really willing to spend a lot of money on people's livelihood.
"Some people in the Hanlin Academy said that building such a good road outweighs the losses. But after this road is built, the city gate tax of Yingtian Mansion will be 40% more than in previous years!" Li Jinglong said with a smile, "It doesn't take much, even if this road is only
In twenty years, the imperial court has made a lot of money!"
Zhu Gaochi was thinking, "Why should others take such a good road for free?"
He looked at the crowds on the road and continued, "The road is subject to wear and tear, so we can't just count it as income! We also need to count the cost of maintenance. There are many rainy and wet days in Jiangnan. Even if we leave it unchanged, this road will be easy to use in three to five years."
Rotten! And in the north, where it freezes in the winter and is exposed to the sun in the summer, it will become dry in just two or three years..."
After saying that, he stood up and said, "Since the road was built by the imperial court, merchants have to pay for the road if they want to leave. This way, there is money for maintenance..."
"Someone has said this before!" Li Jinglong raised his eyebrows, "Back then, when the old man was still here, he almost slapped someone with the sole of his shoe after hearing this! The old man said that roads are meant for people to walk on. The imperial court built roads with
It’s the people’s wealth and the people’s anointing, but why the hell are you still not allowing the people to leave? Are you still charging money? Are you so poor that you’re crazy?”
"In my hometown, wealthy families paid to build bridges and pave roads for the convenience of the people, and they didn't even bother to set up checkpoints to collect money. The imperial court also set up checkpoints when building roads... How fucking shameless is it?"
Hearing this, Zhu Gaochi smiled.
This is indeed what the old man can say!
Suddenly, he tasted something from Li Jinglong's words just now.
“The money from Ningbo Customs cannot be touched in the next few years?”
Li Jinglong looked far ahead, and then glanced at Zhu Gaochi, "Don't you know, our long live Lord? We have always made decisions before moving... Not only the money from Ningbo Customs cannot be touched, but the money from the capital city gate tax cannot be touched either!"
"Hiss..." Zhu Gaochi grinned again.
The money of Ningbo Customs is the money of the national treasury, but the city gate tax of the capital is the emperor's own small treasury!
In a big city with a population of tens of millions, the annual city gate tax is only a lot more than the Ningbo Customs tariff, or even far exceeds it.
"I have lived in the capital for so many years, but I only lived in the city. I never thought about seeing outside the city..." Zhu Gaochi thought to himself, "I am in the court, and he is in the palace. My heart is just
Above the court, but his heart is not just above the court!"
At this time, Li Jinglong looked at Zhu Gaochi's expression and said, "Do you still remember the letter Li Zhigang submitted the year before last?"
"I have so many books on you, who remembers them?" Zhu Gaochi snorted.
This name made him instinctively uncomfortable.
"That time he wrote to the emperor to build the mausoleum?" Li Jinglong said in a low voice.
Zhu Gaochi suddenly remembered that when Li Zhigang was still the minister of the Ministry of Rites, he first made a big deal and asked the emperor to start selecting a site to build a mausoleum for the sake of the Ming Dynasty. The second thing was to move the capital...
"What does it have to do with road construction?" Zhu Gaochi asked again.
"For the mausoleum project, the Ministry of Household Affairs and the Ministry of Works gave us 2.62 million yuan!" Li Jinglong said again, "The emperor may not have thought of Li Zhigang's discount, but he kept this money!" As he said that, he stepped on the road,
"One piece is included in the road construction budget!" Then he looked around and said, "You haven't seen Lian Zining much in the past few years, have you?"
"Yeah!" Zhu Gaochi responded.
"You've been watching on the road all day!" Li Jinglong grinned, "When you were in Myanmar, I met you once outside the Qianqing Palace. Lian Zining is only in his thirties, and his hair is already white!"
"Nenable minister!" Zhu Gaochi thought thoughtfully.
At this moment, Li Jinglong suddenly stretched his neck and looked into the distance again, "Here we come!"
Zhu Gaochi also followed the other person's gaze and looked over, as if from the end of the sky, a group of cavalry with bright armor came with a roar that covered the sky and the earth.
~~~
Along the way from Beidi, Zhu Di actually saw far more than Zhu Gaochi.
Everywhere in the Ming Dynasty seems to be changing day by day.
There are construction sites in full swing everywhere, either building roads or bridges, digging mountains or building reservoirs...
As a prince who once guarded a place and controlled the military and civil affairs, he knew how much people's power these projects would consume.
When there are too many corvees in the court, the people will complain. If there are complaints, there may be civil unrest...
However, the common people he saw when he came to the capital from the north these few times were definitely not full of bitterness and hatred.
Because now the imperial court calls civilian husbands and actually gives them money!
Although one day's wages are not much, only ten yuan...
Ten big coins can be exchanged for twenty steamed buns and a low-quality towel in the city...
But in the eyes of the farmers who can't see cash all year round, it is real gold and silver!
And if a common person has ten pieces of silver a day, how much does it cost for ten thousand people and one hundred thousand people?
With so many people giving money, how much money does the imperial court have?
Along the way, civilian husbands were deployed to build various projects, while the old, young, women and children at home made soup and did some washing work, which also earned them an extra income.
The people are reluctant to spend money, but the merchants who transport sand, gravel and various materials, as well as the guards who monitor tens of thousands of people, are willing to spend money!
Damn it, the price of meat has gone up!
Zhu Di looked at the majestic Yingtianfu city gate again, feeling an indescribable feeling in his heart.
"Perhaps he is really more suitable than me? If I were the emperor and had such a rich treasury, maybe... Haha!" Thinking about it, he suddenly smiled again, "I am still angry at the petty family, and I will only treat those big sesame seeds in Burma.