Chapter 101 Finding my brother-in-law and father-in-law to do the project
After the on-site meeting, Zhu Youjian did not go back to his bedroom, but went to Kunning Palace.
During this time, the queen was still sewing armor with the women in the palace! The new army had to recruit more than 10,000 new soldiers, and the gaps in the armor were even bigger. This job is expected to become a long-term job in the future.
"Zi Tong, have your hands become swollen from sewing armor recently?"
"The eye-piercing machine made by your Majesty is very effective. The nobles in the palace have saved a lot of effort recently, and my hands are much better."
"That's fine. I'm here today to ask you to send a message to Uncle Jiading, asking him to take Uncle Daguo to the palace as soon as possible. I have something to do with them. By the way, you're done and go to Concubine Yuan's house.
In the palace, ask her to send a message to her family and ask them to come to the palace. I also have something to give to her family."
"Your Majesty, are you in such a hurry to recruit Jiadingbo and the others into the palace? Is there anything serious involved?"
"It's not a big deal. I'm going to build a road from Tongzhou to Miyun! This work requires Jiadingbo and his friends to take the lead, point out some roadbeds, and lead people to repair it."
"Let my father and the others take people to build roads? They have never done such a job! If they don't do such a big thing, they will cause trouble." When Zhou heard that Emperor Wan asked his father to take the lead,
People were building roads and quickly shook their heads. Although she had been staying in the palace, she also knew that infrastructure construction required a lot of manpower and material resources, which was a very troublesome task. Moreover, she also had to take care of the corvee labor.
It's not something ordinary people can do.
"What kind of trouble can this cause? I can't show them all the roads. I just want them to take the lead and lead other nobles to participate in the shooting. It is estimated that each family will only have four roads.
It’s only five miles.”
"Your Majesty, you have to take care of the corvees when building roads! How have my father and the others ever seen such a big battle? The corvees are not easy to manage and are the most likely to cause trouble."
It turned out that the queen was afraid that her father would bring corvees to work and not be able to manage people well. "This time the road was built without corvees. I spent real money to build the roads. Jiadingbo and his family used the money to hire people to build the roads themselves.
How could something go wrong? We are all using our own people!"
"Spending money to hire people to build roads? Your Majesty, doesn't the treasury have little money? Why do we still spend so much money?"
"I will take care of the money. Zitong, just find Uncle Jiading and the others."
Zhu Youjian didn't stay in Kunning Palace for long, and then went back to the palace to deal with other things. Now, during this period of time, everything is open, and there is no time to stay in the harem and love the queen and the concubines.
After the emperor left, Zhou Meifeng quickly sent the young eunuchs around her to her father's house to send a message asking them to enter the palace immediately to discuss matters.
Zhou Kui and his son have been living a good life for more than half a year. After the prince went south, their father and son's status as the grandfather and uncle who supervised the country naturally increased. The emperor's father-in-law and brother-in-law were actually just that much in the eyes of the civil servants.
That's the case. But the emperor's father-in-law is completely different! Have you ever heard of someone changing his father-in-law? Have you ever heard of someone changing his father-in-law?
The prince can legitimately form a formal team to supervise the country in Nanjing, and it is basically certain that he will inherit the treasure in the future. If something unexpected happens again, it will not be a problem of the emperor and the prince being stupid, but the fault of those who have always been there.
Dragon people are incompetent.
After receiving the summons from their daughter, the Zhou family father and son did not dare to neglect and hurried to the palace anxiously. Maybe there was something about their precious grandson that they needed to deal with.
"Feng'er, are you saying that the emperor wants us father and son to come forward to lead people to build roads? How did this happen to us?" Zhou Kui was very confused after hearing what his daughter said. When it comes to engineering,
He also knows that there is money and money, but in the current situation, it may not be possible to make money from the money and money, and if he is not good, he will have to pay for it himself.
"Dad, the Holy Father has arranged for you to do it, so of course it has deep meaning. You must do it well and not make any mistakes."
"Has Your Majesty Feng'er mentioned the specific regulations for road construction? Our family won't be asked to use their own money to build it, right?"
"Your Majesty didn't tell you the specific regulations, but I can be sure that I won't let you come in to collect money. You should hurry up and meet with the Holy Admiral. This matter has been cleared up!" Zhou Meifeng was a little uncomfortable with her father's intrusive behavior.
He was so impatient that he sent them out directly without chatting for a while and asked them to find their son-in-law to ask questions.
Zhou and his son, who were in complicated moods, went to the emperor's chamber to ask for an audience. In any case, it was the emperor who asked them to come. They had to meet the emperor, otherwise it would be inappropriate both emotionally and rationally.
Looking at the Zhou family and his son standing under the palace, Zhu Youjian stared with interest for a while before he said: "I invite the father-in-law and the uncle-in-law to come to the palace to discuss matters. Generally speaking, the queen should
I have already told you. I will discuss the detailed regulations directly with you! In a few days, the internal affairs hall of the palace will invite distinguished officials in Beijing to discuss in detail the construction of the railway from Tongzhou to Miyun. This time it will be repaired.
The railway is about two hundred miles long, and I am going to give it to the nobles in Beijing at the price of 2,500 taels of silver per mile of roadbed. If you are interested, you can take the lead in responding to this matter."
"Your Majesty, I dare to ask, are there any standards for this roadbed?"
"The standard is that it must be the same as the model road built in Xiyuan, and it must be a double road without any mistakes. The specific road location will be demarcated by the palace and the Ministry of Industry. You just have to lay the roadbed according to the demarcated route."
"Should the money for roadbed construction be allocated to me first, or should it be allocated after it is repaired?"
"You pointed out that the harem will allocate 30% of the entrance fee. After your workers start construction, the palace will also allocate 30% of the money for you to build the road! After the road is built and it passes the inspection, all the remaining money will be allocated.
For you guys."
"Acceptance? What are the regulations for acceptance?"
"The inspection will be carried out completely according to the standards of the sample road. As long as it meets the regulations of the sample road, it will be qualified! If someone deliberately makes things difficult during the acceptance inspection, you can file a complaint with me. Of course, if it is opportunistic and the palace's money is wasted, no one can escape.
It's related. Let's do it! You go to Xiyuan first to see the condition of the road. There are craftsmen there. You can ask all about the road construction. Then let the queen know whether it can be done. What I mean this time is
I'll let you show me the six-mile road to repair, but it depends on your own wishes. If it suits you, I'll take over the job. If it doesn't, I'll find someone else."
Zhu Youjian's feelings towards Zhou Kui and his son are very subtle. Their father and son had a bad reputation in real history. Especially their reputation for being greedy for money and betraying the prince is very impressive. But now Zhu Youjian can also
Understand their situation. They were originally a small family, and it took them more than ten years to make a fortune. Moreover, they had such a famous but poor son-in-law, how much money could they save? Later generations said that Li Zicheng copied it from them.
Is this possible for a salary of one or two million silver? Wu Sangui's father Wu Xiang only paid out two hundred thousand. With the Zhou family's background, they can only save tens of thousands at most. It is not surprising that they betrayed the prince.
On top of them, can they protect the prince in the capital with their skills?