Zhu Di looked at the reports one after another and was speechless.
He stared intently at a map sent by Yang Pu.
At this time, his expression changed slightly.
Yi Shiha on the side said cautiously: "Your Majesty, it's time for lunch."
Zhu Di said: "This railway is amazing."
"Ah..." Yishiha looked at Zhu Di in surprise, then quickly lowered his head.
Only then did Zhu Di wake up and glanced sideways at Yi Shiha: "Lunch? I'm not in the mood to eat right now."
"But...Your Majesty..."
Zhu Di said: "You have been in the palace for so many years, and I am here to ask you. This railway can not only make money, but also connect all parts of the world. It can be said to be a hundred benefits without any harm. If I, the Ming Dynasty, use this road to connect people, what will happen?
benefit?"
Yi Shiha said: "If this is true, it will really be a great blessing for the world."
His answer was smooth and steady.
Zhu Di smiled and said: "How lucky is the world? It's not just that simple. If we really connect the country, there will be no place in the world with mountains high and the emperor far away. Government orders can be reached. If there is a disaster, there is no need to recruit a large number of people to transport it at any time."
We have money and food, but there is no risk of huge losses.”
"Moreover, to be more detailed, if there is a rebellion somewhere, the imperial army can mobilize troops and respond in just a few days. Qin Shihuang built the Chi Road and Sui Yang Emperor opened the canal. These are all achievements that have been made for thousands of years.
With this great move, if I can build this railway..."
When Zhu Di said this, his face suddenly changed slightly, and he seemed to begin to feel that his example was not appropriate.
Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty was a first-rate faint king.
As for Qin Shihuang, his reputation was not very good either.
All the examples he cited were examples of tyrants.
Yishiha immediately understood why His Majesty paused, but said with a smile: "Your Majesty, the First Emperor and Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty failed in their achievements, which is different from today. Whether it is the Chi Road or the Canal, although their achievements have lasted for a long time, during the construction period, they were in vain.
It wastes people's efforts and spends countless public funds, which causes everyone in the world to complain."
"Judging from the situation in the Right Governor's Mansion, the construction of the railway not only did not bring resentment, but also prospered all industries. Therefore, I think that although these three are all good things, this railway is different. It is better than better.
."
Zhu Di laughed and said, "You old slave, you have such a sharp mouth."
Yishuha hurriedly and respectfully said: "This slave will be punished by death, so you shouldn't talk too much."
"But what you said makes sense." Zhu Di said: "The prince is kind and the emperor's grandson is still young. I... am already old. The older I am, the more urgent I feel. There are some things that if I don't do it,
, when the time comes for my children and grandchildren, they may not have the courage to do it. I am a man of the world who will be acquired immediately. If I am still here, I can still suppress those who are disobedient and prevent people from harboring tampering thoughts.
There is no need to pay attention to the objections of the officials. But if the descendants succeed the throne, they may not be able to do as I please."
Zhu Di cheered up. Although he looked tired, he also showed a bit of cheer: "So... I must try my best to accomplish such things that are of great use to future generations, and I cannot leave these troubles to future generations.
The voyage to the West was like this, and this railway...it seems like it should be like this too."
Yi Shiha hesitated for a moment and said: "Today in the palace, the initiative proposed by Academician Yang..."
Zhu Di shook his head and said: "What Yang Pu said is very reasonable, but he doesn't understand it."
After hearing what Zhu Di said in the end, he didn't understand these three words, but Yi Shiha seemed to understand something. He didn't say anything, just nodded with a smile.
Zhu Di said: "I want to build this railway quickly and spread it throughout the world as soon as possible. If he adopts his method, I am afraid that no one in the two capitals and fourteen provinces in the world will be willing to build this railway. Those turtles
Grandchildren, don’t I know their temperament? Just like Liu Guan, the Minister of Rites, no matter how chattering they are on weekdays, none of them can’t afford to do anything early.”
"If the strategy of Master Yang is adopted, the construction of railways will not only be unprofitable but harmful to all states and counties in the world. Not only will they refuse to build it, but they will try their best to obstruct it in both ways. If this is the case, I am afraid that I will not be able to do it in my lifetime.
It’s no longer possible to see this railway connecting the north and the south.”
Yi Shiha said: "Your Majesty is truly a wise man."
Zhu Di waved his hands and said: "This is not a sage, it is just a last resort. After all... there are not hundreds or even thousands of Zhang Anshi in this world. In this case, let's give them a little sweetness and follow their methods.
"
"Tomorrow, let Wenyuan Pavilion hold a court meeting with various ministries to recommend a person to take charge of railway construction matters, and then issue a decree, ordering all provinces, prefectures and counties in the world to appoint personnel to Qixia to study railway construction, management matters, and other matters... I
I just don’t care and let them go."
Yi Shiha couldn't help but sigh.
Zhu Di glanced at him and said, "What are you sighing for?"
Yi Shiha then said, "I never thought that Your Majesty would have so many worries. Your Majesty is the most powerful person in the world, but you still have to compromise with hundreds of officials."
Zhu Di laughed and said: "Yes, just as I only have one Zhang Anshi, and I am only one person, when I am in power, my energy is far less than that of Emperor Taizu Gao. Even Emperor Taizu Gao is beyond the reach of many things, and his energy and efficiency are far behind
Above me, let alone me. The time left by God is running out for me. All I can do is to try my best to leave blessings to my descendants."
After saying that, Zhu Di sighed, thought of something again, and then said: "I will teach you to respond to the secret edict that I sent to all the kings in the world?"
Yi Shiha said: "There have been some responses. King Zhao and King Han..."
When Yi Shiha mentioned the King of Han, he glanced at Zhu Di cautiously.
The King of Han was deposed and his title of King of Han has not been restored yet. However, both inside and outside the court, it is still customary to refer to Zhu Gaochi as the King of Han.
But in the past, if Yishiha said this, Zhu Di would definitely be furious, but now... Zhu Di seems to be indifferent to this.
So Yi Shiha continued: "Besides this, there are also King Zhou and King Ning who have written back and have no objection."
Zhu Di nodded: "Yeah."
He didn't say anything, he just pondered for a moment and said, "Let's have a meal."
…
Time continued to fly by, and two days later, someone came to Qixia to visit Zhang Anshi.
The person who came was none other than Liu Guan, the Minister of Rites.
At this time, Liu Guanzheng smiled and saluted Zhang Anshi, and then sat down.
Liu Guan looked very happy at this time.
Zhang Anshi said: "Why did Liu Butang come here?"
"I just came to inquire about the construction of the railway." Liu Guan said with a smile, "That's why I came here to ask for advice."
Zhang Anshi looked at Liu Guan: "Isn't Liu Butang the Minister of Rites? Why isn't Wu Butang from the Ministry of Works here?"
Liu Guan said with a smile: "Yesterday, the court meeting recommended a person to take charge of railway affairs. I recommended myself, and all the princes happily agreed. So now, such a big responsibility has been entrusted to me."
Zhang Anshi said: "What about Wu Butang, the minister of the Ministry of Industry?"
"He is the minister of the Ministry of Industry, so I'm afraid it will be difficult for him to take on such a big responsibility."
Zhang Anshi: "..."
Although it is said that there are six divisions, in fact, there is still a chain of contempt within the six divisions.
The Ministry of Personnel is called the Heavenly Official, and the status of the Ministry of Rites is not low, followed by the Ministry of Husbandry, which is in charge of money and food, and the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Punishment.
As for the Ministry of Works, it is often not taken seriously by people. It is in charge of corvee labor and the construction of palaces and imperial mausoleums.
Therefore, the Minister of Industry has always been underestimated.
Throughout the history of the Ming Dynasty, there were only a few ministers of the Ministry of Industry who could be remembered in history. However, there were countless ministers of the Ministry of Personnel, Ministers of the Ministry of Rites, and ministers of the Ministry of Hubu who were praised by others.
Seeing that Zhang Anshi still looked incomprehensible, Liu Guan said: "To preside over the construction of railways in the world is a big deal. It does not only require someone with a high position. The most important thing is to have prestige. Otherwise, I am afraid that all the ministers in the world will
Even the prefectures and counties refuse to submit, and I actually don’t want to take on such a big responsibility, but how can I sit back and watch the country rise and fall..."
"Okay, okay." Zhang Anshi waved his hand, and then said: "Congratulations then."
"Where can I congratulate you?" Liu Guan sighed and said, "I got the decree, but so far I am still frowning. To have such a big responsibility is really..."
Zhang Anshi said: "What do you want to learn?"
Liu Guan hated Zhang Anshi for always interrupting him, but he still smiled and said: "Of course it's the way to build a railway."
Zhang Anshi said, "This is what Liu Butang went to ask Yang Pu for advice."
"He is young and has too little qualifications." Liu Guan held the teacup and slowly blew tea foam.
Liu Guan emphasized his qualifications. As a Jinshi in the 18th year of Hongwu, this was Liu Guan's biggest asset in the government.
After all, when the imperial examination was held in the early Ming Dynasty, only a few hundred people were admitted.
Among these hundreds of people, when Emperor Taizu Gao was here, most of them were killed in several major cases.
When Zhu Di was in trouble, more than half of the remaining people were killed because many of them were old ministers of Jianwen.
Up to now, after experiencing the cases of Lu Zhen, Chen Ying, etc., all the Jinshi scholars who were around eighteen years old in Hongwu have basically been wiped out.
Liu Guan bluntly said that the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty were all his late descendants.
Even Xia Yuanji, even though he is the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, who is he? He is just a person who was elected in the 23rd year of Hongwu. Do you know what gold content is?
Zhang Anshi said without hesitation: "If you ask me, I don't understand either. It's better to ask Xuester Yang for advice. That's not what I'm thinking about."
When Liu Guan saw Zhang Anshi like this, he couldn't help but feel a little angry, but he still suppressed his anger and said with a smile on his face: "Actually, Xiaguan has also been in charge of river engineering. The railway and river engineering are not much different from each other. Xiaguan
I actually came here because I wanted to know the money of this railway..."
Zhang Anshi said: "This... I'm afraid it's not easy to learn."
Liu Guandao: "Xiaoguan actually knows a thing or two. I heard that it is a debt issuance."
Zhang Anshi said: "Yes, it is issuing bonds. The government issues public bonds and then uses future tax money to offset them."
Liu Guandao: "Can I borrow money from a bank?"
Zhang Anshi said: "It seems okay."
Liu Guan's eyes suddenly lit up, and he immediately said: "Your Majesty, I need to take a closer look at this matter. If there is anything you still don't understand..."
"If there's anything you don't understand, don't ask me." Zhang Anshi said without any politeness.
At this time, Liu Guan's expression could no longer be maintained and he looked a little ugly. This picture of An Shi is really too young. I don't know how valuable he is as a Jinshi in the 18th year of Hongwu!
Naturally, he also knew that he could not break up with Zhang Anshi.
At that moment, I didn't ask any more questions and stood up to say goodbye.
As soon as Liu Guan left with his front legs, Zhu Jin came excitedly with his back legs.
Zhu Jin said with great joy: "Captain, I heard that all the states in the world may build railways. Now that the market is booming, our firm's steel workshop will need to be expanded to meet future needs... and there are many more.
Merchants are now determined to win this, and they all want to expand production..."
Zhang Anshi looked at Zhu Jin with a strange look: "Extend your fart, are you looking for death?"
Zhu Jindao: "To build a railway, the output of each workshop is insufficient. If many railways in the world are started, then..."
Zhang Anshi sneered and said, "I see you know how to do business."
"Don't dare, don't dare." Seeing Zhang Anshi's expression change, Zhu Jin smiled bitterly and said, "It's just that outside now... the merchants are all excited, they are just waiting for this time..."
This feeling is conceivable. Everyone ate the meat of the railway built by the Right Dudufu. But now, if this railway is built in every province in the world, how much profit will it be.
With such a big piece of fat, whoever seizes the opportunity can become rich overnight. No one can restrain this desire.
Zhang Anshi said: "The steel workshop here in the trading house is not allowed to expand production at will. Of course, it can be expanded a little, but it must be controlled. We must be prepared for the winter. I see... something big is going to happen."
"Ah..." Zhu Jin was so shocked that he couldn't speak. He calmed down and said, "But the market situation outside..."
Zhang Anshi said meaningfully: "I don't know what the market is like outside. But I know what scholars are like. Now... something big is going to happen."
Zhu Jin was shocked, because based on his understanding of Zhang Anshi, Zhang Anshi rarely said anything about major events from his mouth. Even when there was a disaster of weapons, Zhang Anshi behaved quite calmly.
Now that these words came out of his mouth, Zhu Jin couldn't help but be moved: "I understand, villain."
Zhang Anshi said: "Go ahead. By the way, in addition, the military supplies of the model camp must be well supplied, and the latest weapons must be installed as soon as possible so that they can conduct training as soon as possible."
"Yes Yes……"
Zhang Anshi breathed a sigh of relief, frowned, and waved his hand as if to shoo away flies: "Go, go."
The next day, an edict began to be announced to the world. It was an edict concerning the construction of railways, allowing various chief envoys to build railways.
One month later, a group of court officials came to Qixia to observe the railway department and try out the railway.
By the end of the thirteenth year of Yongle, a memorial was sent to the capital asking for the imperial court's approval for the construction of the railway.
Things progressed surprisingly smoothly, and the Taiping Mansion was filled with cheers.
It seems that all of a sudden, a beautiful prospect has appeared in front of everyone.
On the Zhili side, only one railway is planned for Zhili, which is relatively conservative. It uses Qixia as the hub to connect the entire prefectures and counties of Zhili. As for the completion time, because the difficulty of construction is different in different places,
The plan is for three years.
There was Zhu Chun, King of Shu, in the Zuo Dudu Mansion, so the cooperation progressed very quickly. The railways in the Zuo Dudu Mansion should also be placed under the jurisdiction of the Railway Department.
It's the end of the year.
Zhang Anshi came to the East Palace with his wife and children. Crown Princess Zhang was in a particularly good mood today, pulling Xu Jingyi to chatter endlessly.
The youngest son of the Zhang family is still young and is already being held by his wet nurse beside Zhang and Xu Jingyi.
Zhang Changsheng was very happy. He trotted hard, hugged Zhu Zhanji's legs excitedly, rubbed his head against it, and said vaguely: "Brother, brother..."
Zhu Zhanji didn't like children, especially children who were loved by his mother and concubine. He covered Zhang Changsheng's eyes and said, "Count them and come to me when I hide them."
Zhang Changsheng said happily: "Okay, I can count, I can count, one...two...three...four..."
When he counted to four, he looked around impatiently, looking left and right, only to find that Zhu Zhanji had long since disappeared.
Zhu Zhanji found Zhang Anshi and saw Zhang Anshi sitting alone on the steps of the side hall. Zhu Zhanji stepped forward, sat side by side with Zhang Anshi, and said, "Uncle..."
Zhang Anshi said: "You are getting older and older. It won't be long before you get married."
Zhu Zhanji frowned and said, "I don't want to get married..."
Zhang Anshi said: "That's nonsense, but..."
Zhu Zhanji said: "But what?"
"Uncle must choose a good wife for you."
Zhu Zhanji lowered his face and said, "Uncle... what are you talking about?"
Zhang Anshi said sincerely: "I am too lazy to care about your marriage. If it weren't for Mr. Yao..."
"Master Yao?" Zhu Zhanji said with a surprised look on his face: "What's wrong with Master Yao?"
"When you, Master Yao, observed the sky at night..."
Zhu Zhanji said: "Isn't Master Yao a monk? Monks also observe the sky?"
Zhang Anshi said: "This means that eminent monks and cultivators have always been the same. There is no difference. They just practice different ways. Well, we don't need to care about these details. In short, Master Yao said...
The emperor's grandson will definitely not be able to marry someone with the surname Sun. If not, there will be disaster."
Zhu Zhanji said: "What's your surname?"
Zhang Anshi suddenly became nervous: "What's wrong? Have you really had an affair with someone named Sun?"
Zhu Zhanji said: "Not really, it's just that...the Zhang family's wife...always told her mother and concubine...that there is a daughter from the Sun family who is very virtuous..."
"Which Zhang family?" Zhang Anshi was shocked.
Zhu Zhanji said: "Isn't she the sister-in-law of your brother Zhang Fu? She is from Yongcheng, and seems to be from the same hometown as the Sun family."
After hearing this, Zhang Anshi was speechless.
At this time, the culprit was finally found.
Zhang Fu's sister-in-law was Zhang Fu's wife. Zhang Fu's wife was from Yongcheng, so she recommended her fellow countryman Sun to his sister Zhang, and soon after, a woman named Sun entered the palace.
Ten years later, this woman from the Sun family will become the empress of the Ming Dynasty.
And she will give birth to a son, who will become the famous Emperor Yingzong in later generations and almost ruined the Ming Dynasty.
If you calculate it like this...the culprit of everything is actually Zhang Fu!