Chapter 548: Thousands of Miles to Search for a Marquis
Since Emperor Taizu Gao.
In fact, the Ming Emperor was very stingy with rewards for titles.
This is of course based on the experience of the previous dynasty. Every title conferred means support from generation to generation. Once you have too many titles in your hands, it will definitely increase the burden on future generations.
Therefore, even the dukes, after experiencing the founding of the country and the crisis, were actually only a handful.
There are also very few marquis and earls.
In the entire Ming Dynasty, there were very few people who actually had titles.
But... just now, my thinking has changed.
What kind of person is Zhu Di! He is not an ordinary emperor. In the past, the foundation of the Ming Dynasty was agriculture, and agriculture meant that the capacity of the land was limited!
The only way to keep Guozuo going is to think of ways to save money.
After all, with so much land, even if the grain production were doubled, its growth would have limits.
At this time, throttling is the root of everything.
But now, the Ming Dynasty's national capital has begun to turn to overseas development and industry and commerce, so it is obviously very inappropriate to continue to hold on to strings and pursue cost-cutting.
Pioneering requires someone who dares to go to sea, and someone who is not afraid of hardships and dangers. Then...there must be brave men who are rewarded with great rewards.
What's more, the developed land also needs someone to guard it. The so-called enfeoffment by the imperial court is essentially to take the land of the local natives and give it to the meritorious officials and clan members. It is really a play on borrowing flowers and offering offerings to Buddhas.
This approach did not cause any actual losses to the court. On the contrary, each enfeoffment strengthened Ming Dynasty's maritime trade, allowing the court to obtain a more stable tax source, and it also planted seeds for the court abroad.
The seeds made the Ming Dynasty more impressive.
As for industry and commerce, it was still in its infancy stage, but the results were already very obvious. More people were encouraged to participate, and the court gained huge profits.
And to encourage, then the foundation of industry and commerce is the railway. The developed railway will greatly strengthen the foundation of industry and commerce. Compared with the huge annual income, the reward of some titles is really not worth mentioning.
When Zhu Di saw Zhang Anshi and Hu Guang, he did not dare to answer the conversation.
Obviously, they are afraid of this!
If it supports the emperor's proposition, it goes against the Ming Dynasty's tradition and even the ancestral system.
But if they object, both Zhang Anshi and Hu Guang are beneficiaries of this nobility system, so how can they object?
So, Zhu Di smiled and said: "If you have merit, you will be rewarded. What's more, this time, Xiao Hu Qing's family had a narrow escape. I have checked his merit test. Even without this merit, his past achievements are still in the Railway Department."
It can also be regarded as a model. If I are indifferent to this, who will be willing to work as hard as him in the future? Come on..."
He also looked confused.
Zhu Di has always been a resolute and decisive person. Now that he has made a decision, there is nothing to hesitate.
Meeting Zhu Di's gaze, Yi Shiha hurriedly said: "My servant is here."
Zhu Di said sternly: "Canonizing Hu Mu as Guangxin Bo, it is hereditary and will not be replaced."
Yi Shiha said: "Here."
After a pause, Zhu Di continued: "In addition, the rest of the dead and injured must also be generously compensated. Some silver coins should also be taken out of the internal funds! Zhang Qing, you must also tell the story of your merits in this hall.
Just because I took out the pension money, you can't just pretend to be stupid and talk about your own affairs."
Since Zhu Di came to the conclusion himself, Zhang Anshi was happy and just had to do as His Majesty ordered, and said hurriedly: "I obey the order."
Although the earl is the lowest among the titles of the Ming Dynasty, in fact, its gold content is extremely high, which almost means that the descendants of the Hu family can enjoy glory and wealth for generations to come.
In the Ming Dynasty, almost all the children of the earls were the backbone of the imperial guards. Even if they were incompetent, they had enough food and clothing. But those with a little bit of ability would have an uncertain future.
At least in the Fifth Army Governor's Mansion, those first-rank military ministers are almost exclusively reserved for people with titles. Even if the Five Army Governor's Mansion is in vain from now on, the status of high-level military ministers can be guaranteed.
Hu Guang suddenly had mixed feelings.
Even if he is a great scholar, all he can leave to his descendants is just a small shadow official.
It's rare for the emperor to be so grand today, and the Hu family's merits have been fulfilled! He immediately bowed: "I am a dog... thank you for your grace."
Zhu Di smiled and said: "You're welcome."
He didn't say much. He had been busy for so long today and was really tired, so he ordered people to leave.
But the next day, he took Zhang Anshi to the Raozhou Station with great interest.
Looking at it, we can see that this place is quite large. Surrounding the station, various car dealerships, warehouses, markets, and workshops are also gathered together.
With these, it means that a large number of jobs will be created!
Therefore, crowds of people gathered here, followed closely by many people living in groups, and many houses rising from the ground.
Seven or eight miles away from this station, there are huge chimneys.
Zhu Di climbed up to look at it, pointed at the chimney, and asked curiously: "What is that?"
Zhang Anshi looked in the direction pointed by Zhu Di and said, "Your Majesty, I have heard someone introduce this to a brick kiln."
Zhu Di was a little surprised and said: "So many?"
Zhang Anshi said: "People need housing, workshops need to be built, and there are countless other needs for bricks. Because of this, the biggest shortage here now is bricks. In order to encourage these, we will solve the problem of bricks for residential use."
Question, the Railway Department has also issued a special decree that all brick kilns are exempt from tax for five years."
Zhu Di nodded. Although he was already the master of this world, he was still very curious about these things that he had never been exposed to before, so he asked again: "Don't the people in other places have the need to live in bricks?"
?"
Zhang Anshi smiled and said: "This is different. Most of the people in the world have thatched houses, which are built with a layer of mud to form walls. This brick house is not something ordinary people can afford. This is
Just like... the city wall, our city of Nanjing, is naturally made of bricks and stones, but in fact, most of the cities in the world are only made of rammed earth."
Zhu Di nodded, then looked at him, and said with a smile: "You are a bit good. What am I asking? I may not even understand the explanations that others have made. The more they quote from classics, the more confusing they become.
Confused, because...some people, in order to show off their erudition, quote scriptures and allusions. The more obscure the allusions are, the more mysterious the allusions they use, so as to show their skills."
"Zhang Qing is different. He knows that I know the city walls well, I have fought all the way to the north and south, and I have seen many cities in the world. When you say this, I can immediately understand the reason."
Zhang Anshi also laughed and said: "Because I am not a scholar, there is no need to borrow these to show off my knowledge."
Zhu Di shook his head and said: "Learning does not lie in reading a few books, or knowing a few more uncommon words or uncommon allusions than others. That is rotten Confucianism."
After walking around Raozhou Station for a few days, the Railway Department also came over to report roughly the progress of the various sections of the Jiangxi Railway Department. Now Nanchang Station and Raozhou Station are about to be connected, and other construction sections have also begun.
Exploration is just waiting for construction to start.
In order to build the railway, a large number of merchants from Zhili began to set up along the railway line, and many steel workshops also started work in order to obtain materials nearby.
The number of people living along the railway line has exceeded 140,000.
With the rollout of railways, the number of people settling in new towns at each station will also increase dramatically.
Borrowing railways to build new cities will not only provide the city with more convenient transportation, but also give the new city huge transportation and traffic advantages in the future.
At the same time, many old cities are facing tremendous pressure. If the New Deal is not implemented thoroughly, these old cities are very likely to be directly eliminated.
And ten or twenty years later, maybe even, the court no longer had to send county magistrates and prefects there, and the Railway Department had taken over their responsibilities.
As for the medical schools, schools, inspection stations, agricultural stations, animal husbandry stations, and markets built along the way, there are countless large stations and small stations. There are more than a dozen along the line from Nanchang to Raozhou alone.
In just one year, the results can be said to be remarkable.
Zhu Di read the report carefully and was very satisfied. He smiled and said to Zhang Anshi: "Zhang Qing, Zhan Ji is here, and it has been quite effective. There are so many things going on in the railway department, but nothing has happened."
What kind of big trouble has happened? It seems... Zhan Ji is enough to take charge of it alone."
As he spoke, there was a look of relief on his face.
Zhang Anshi smiled and said: "The so-called "one's own" is something that is slowly honed. There are no geniuses in the world. The more you see, the more you learn, and the more you experience, the more you will naturally learn to summarize.
Come up with a way of doing things. What's more, His Royal Highness is very talented and smart, and he can get started much faster."
Zhang Anshi paused and continued: "Actually, this is secondary. The biggest advantage of being in charge of one's job is that His Royal Highness has a method of controlling people. How to discover talents and how to make the best use of them is all knowledge.
.”
Zhu Di answered with deep approval: "Not bad, hey... I can finally feel relieved."
He paused, seemed to have thought of something, and then said: "Let's drive back to Beijing tomorrow."
Zhang Anshi said in surprise: "So urgent? I thought... Your Majesty is going to Nanchang Mansion to meet His Royal Highness."
Zhang Anshi knew Zhu Di's feelings and expectations for his grandson Zhu Zhanji best. This was tantamount to missing him, which was enough to surprise Zhang Anshi.
Zhu Di waved his hand: "No need to see you. I am here to deal with such a matter. I am afraid that many people in the capital have been frightened. At this time, if I don't come back, there is no guarantee that something will happen.
thing."
Zhang Anshi immediately understood what Zhu Di meant and nodded without saying anything more.
The progress of Jiangxi Railway Department is too fast.
In addition, His Majesty severely punished a group of officials from Raozhou Prefecture.
This is almost... a clear indication that the entire Ming Dynasty will be like Jiangxi in the future.
The whole of Jiangxi is like a model.
This is obviously a disaster for some people.
Zhu Di clearly saw his ministers clearly. Without him to control them at this time, no one could guarantee that nothing would happen.
So early the next morning, after a simple breakfast, Zhu Di led the people and set off back to Beijing.
Along the way, Zhu Di seemed to be in high spirits. He couldn't help but say: "This railway can be used in the morning and in the evening. Even if the emperor goes on tour, the cost will be greatly reduced. When Qin Shihuang was here, he visited the world and dispatched tens of thousands of people.
It took several years and wasted people and money. Therefore, since ancient times, the emperor's tours have been criticized at home and abroad because of the huge expense and extravagance."
"But today, if this railway is built all over the world, and the emperor goes on patrol, it will only cost no more than one train, and the time consumed will not be more than a month. I really hope that I can live to this time and follow the example of the First Emperor.
, patrol the world and take a good look at the thousands of miles of mountains and rivers."
Even Hu Guang agreed with what Zhu Di said.
The ancients objected to the emperor's patrolling because it was too expensive. Not to mention the precedent of Qin Shihuang, Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty also spent countless people's money on patrols. In people's eyes, this was a great chaos in the world.
the elements of.
This is mainly because the transportation in ancient times was really inconvenient. When the emperor went out to pick up and greet the emperor, there were a large number of guards and entourage along the way, as well as the food and drink expenses of tens of thousands of people along the way, which were all very astonishing.
And a trip out will last for a long time, no less than a large-scale war.
But obviously, the application of railways has greatly reduced the time and the size of personnel. This alone made it possible for the emperor to go on tour.
We didn’t stop too much on the way, so we finally arrived in the capital at noon the next day.
Zhu Di drove back to the palace, while Zhang Anshi and Hu Guang rushed back to Wenyuan Pavilion without stopping.
Because the two men came back so hastily, Wenyuan Pavilion didn't get the slightest hint of it in advance. Xie Jin and others were very surprised to see the two men returning suddenly.
Even the calm Jin Youzi showed great surprise.
"Masters... I have not been on duty these days, which has really burdened you." Hu Guang's face was sullen, but he still couldn't hide his joy.
Seeing him like this, everyone also exchanged greetings with him.
Hu Guang said casually: "But I don't know whether you have received His Majesty's decree from Raozhou?"
"The decree?" Xie Jin frowned and said, "So far, it has not been sent."
Hu Guang lamented: "The express delivery shop and the General Administration Department are too slow to handle matters. At this time, His Majesty drove back to the palace, but the decree issued the day before yesterday has not been delivered yet. From this point of view, everywhere
It’s time for the inn to be tidied up.”
Zhang Anshi hurriedly said: "I don't think so. Renovation is unnecessary. In my opinion, this inn still has a lot to do in the future. Instead of renovating it, it can be expanded."
Once railways begin to be built all over the world, traditional inns will inevitably be at risk of decline.
But in Zhang Anshi's view, this may not be a good opportunity.
Zhang Anshi couldn't help but think about it, and his mind began to move.
However, Jie Jin didn't know what was going on. He knew Zhang Anshi's character. This guy was a little obsessed with the New Deal. He really wanted to remove all the officials and the three local departments, but he was merciful to the post station.
What a smart man Xie Jin was. He glanced at Zhang Anshi out of the corner of his eye and saw Zhang Anshi's thoughtful expression. He seemed to have noticed something, but then he became silent.
In fact, when Hu Guang mentioned this inn, he just used it as an introduction. Unexpectedly, everyone actually brought the topic to the inn.
So he hurriedly said: "The most important thing is your Majesty's will. Sirs, we can't just take it lightly. We must hurry up... and get it done."
Yang Rong knew Hu Guang well, and immediately knew that Hu Guang was eager to talk about His Majesty's intentions, and he couldn't help but become curious, so he immediately asked: "What is the purpose?"
"The clan destroyed the governor of Raozhou, and all the other imperial prisoners were exiled to Xinzhou..."
"In addition, there is also a reward, which is about... canonizing Hu Mu, the railway administrator, as Guangxin Bo."
"Uncle Feng? What military achievements does this man have?" Xie Jin asked subconsciously.
The remains of Jin Youzi's warehouse are left behind, and the mash is brewed on the plains. The maidservant is blind!?
Zhang Anshi just laughed from the sidelines.
Hu Guangze smiled and stroked his beard and said: "Yes, this is indeed against the ancestral system. I also want to make some comments on this matter."
decline……
At this moment, everyone understood.
Yes, the surname is Hu!
Everyone was shocked and suspicious!
Xie Jin was the first to ask: "This Hu Mu, but I don't know who Mr. Hu is?"
"It's a dog." Hu Guangdao: "I didn't make any merit. It was just a matter of eating the emperor's salary and being loyal to the emperor. In addition... he sacrificed himself to save others, which resulted in some flesh wounds. But your majesty attaches great importance to this.
, Alas... Your Majesty is too generous."
Okay, this time, I have chatted to death.
It should be noted that the scholars in Wenyuan Pavilion have no prejudice against Hu Guang.
After all, Hu Guang's temperament is such that anyone can establish a good relationship with him.
However, both of them are bachelors, and they occasionally mention the situation of their own children. Over time, there is still a sense of comparison.
Now that Hu Guang's son has been knighted, you may say you are happy, but I am really not happy about it.
So, everyone smiled and congratulated.
Hu Guang pinched his beard and said: "Hey... Quanzi really can't afford such a reward. He... still has a lot to learn. This is just a favor shown by His Majesty to his ministers. Now I feel not only displeased, but
Instead, I am worried, just worried that... the dog will be arrogant because of this, and it will become more and more unaware that the sky is high and the sky is high. It is not a good thing for young people to succeed!"
"It's a pity that he is injured. This time he went on tour with His Majesty and he was in a hurry. Otherwise... I would have to send Quan Zi to the ancestral hall and teach him to kneel down and worship his ancestors there for a few days, reflecting and thinking deeply. Then I will have to do it."
, I will teach him personally so that he can know..."
Yang Rongdao: "Mr. Hu, I still have some memorials that need to be drafted. I'll talk about it later."
Xie Jin said: "It's time for Jin Chun, the Minister of the Ministry of Punishment, to come. We will discuss a matter about the Ministry of Punishment later. I'll go and prepare something."
Jin Youzi was still standing aside just now, but now he seemed to have disappeared from the world.