Seeing that he was hesitant to speak, Hu Guang couldn't help but become suspicious and said: "Mr. Yang, what exactly do you want to say? Okay, you say it, I'll listen."
That's how people are. If you want to say something, he won't let you say it. If you really don't want to say it, he will inevitably want to hear your opinion.
Yang Rong pondered for a moment and then said: "Mr. Hu, the only person I can't understand the most inside and outside the court is you!"
"Ah..." Hu Guang was stunned.
Yang Rongdao: "If you say Mr. Hu is stupid, how can a stupid person seize a high position? But if you say he is as wise as a fool, it doesn't look like it. I think... there should be no one who can pretend to be like Mr. Hu."
"You..." Hu Guang looked at Yang Rong with his eyes widened as he was about to spit out a mouthful of blood.
Yang Rong pondered: "As you said just now, Jiangxi Chief Minister Xu Qi is indeed a capable official. I have learned about his situation, but..."
Speaking of this, Yang Rong deliberately stopped, took a deep look at Hu Guang, and then said: "But Mr. Hu, why was Jiangxi the first to build the railway? And why... no one in the civil and military circles of the dynasty
What if you don’t support it?”
"Of course it's because this move will benefit the country and the people." Hu Guang pinched his beard and shook his head.
Yang Rong smiled slightly and said: "Speaking of benefiting the country and the people... what really benefits the country and the people, isn't it the New Deal? You know the situation of the New Deal. The people can finally have enough to eat and clothe themselves, and the money in the government treasury has also increased dramatically.
.Let me ask you, you have read all over the history of the capital, have you ever heard of the era of great rule when the people could actually have enough food and clothing?"
Hu Guang was silent for a moment.
Yang Rong smiled and said: "Even during the sage's rule, they just said that the house would not be closed at night and no relics would be picked up on the road, but they did not dare to say that there would be no bones of people who died of starvation on the roadside. This new policy has such benefits, so why...
Why can't we always reach an agreement inside and outside the government?"
"The most thought-provoking thing about this railway construction is that it went so smoothly that it was worrying. You and I are cabinet ministers. Shouldn't we be vigilant in the face of such a smooth thing?"
Hu Guangdao: "No matter what happens, as long as the railway can be built, it will always benefit the people of the area."
Yang Rong smiled bitterly and said: "What you said is not unreasonable. In fact, I also hope that I am worrying too much. It's best... all of this is unfounded worry. Or as Hu Gong said, even if there are some ups and downs,
But at least it can benefit the people of one area. Xu Qi is indeed a talented person and an official. I hope he can make such an immortal contribution. If he succeeds, the sage's learning may be continued."
Hu Guang's good mood was gone at this time. Although he felt that Yang Rong's words were exaggerating, he began to feel uneasy in his heart.
After thinking about it, he felt a little more worried in his heart, so he said: "How about ordering someone to keep an eye on it? The Metropolitan Procuratorate, the Criminal Department, and the Dali Temple will all appoint personnel..."
Yang Rong nodded: "Okay."
Hu Guang continued: "Liu Guan, the Minister of Rites, is in charge of railway affairs. I also ask him to take this matter seriously."
Yang Rong said quietly: "I hope they put the overall situation first."
His words were ambiguous.
With a bit of helplessness.
…………
Spring begins in the 14th year of Yongle, which is a good time for renewal.
Zhu Di's health gradually became worse.
He had been fighting for so long that he inevitably had some old illnesses.
Zhang Anshi obeyed the order and went to the palace to examine Zhu Di's condition.
These are all old illnesses, not to mention that it is the beginning of spring. When I was in my prime, I could tolerate the past illnesses, but now I am older, they are a bit unbearable.
Zhang Anshi only asked Zhu Di to drink more hot water and pay attention to rest.
Zhu Di looked at Zhang Anshi with a smile, his voice a little gentler, and said: "When I was in my prime, I never cared about my body. Now that I am at this age, I realize how reckless I was back then. Zhang Qing should also pay more attention to his body.
Ah...the body is still important, everything else is just a cloud."
Zhang Anshi responded with a smile: "Your Majesty, I am in good health."
Zhu Di added: "I heard that the Chief Envoy of Jiangxi Province has raised a large sum of money and the railway construction has started, right?"
Zhu Di attaches great importance to the railway. Jiangxi is a land of plenty. Once construction starts and the railway is completed, transportation losses will be greatly reduced.
The older he gets, the more he pays attention to the few things at hand. The railway has become his top priority.
Zhang Anshi said: "I don't know much about this, but I heard that the situation in Jiangxi is progressing rapidly."
Zhu Di then said: "Yes, all the officials in the court are looking forward to this very much. Liu Guanqing's family even sent a memorial to talk about the progress in Jiangxi..."
Zhu Di raised his head and glanced at Zhang Anshi, and then said: "Compared to the railway in Taiping Prefecture, which is faster than the one in Taiping Prefecture, the Jiangxi Chief Envoy is worthy of being a capable official. He said that since the railway was built this time, he should be called into the court."
Zhang Anshi smiled, but his smile was a little short of his eyes.
Zhang Anshi said: "If your Majesty has more talented people around you, why worry about failure to achieve great things?"
Zhu Di looked at his face steadily and said, "Why do I think you have something on your face?"
Zhang Anshi put away some of his smile and said, "I'm just a little worried."
Zhu Di said suspiciously: "What are you worried about?"
"Can't tell."
Zhu Di said: "Actually, I am also a little worried, but after the reports from various places and some reports on the situation in the DPRK, I feel relieved. In fact, I don't expect the progress in Jiangxi to be as smooth as the Taiping Mansion.
Therefore... I issued a decree the day before yesterday that in order to support the railway in Jiangxi, I will take one million taels of silver from my internal funds and send it to the Chief Envoy of Jiangxi to finance the construction of the railway."
After Zhang Anshi heard this, although his face was calm, he was secretly surprised in his heart.
He had felt that Zhu Di was very concerned about the situation in Jiangxi, and this concern carried too many expectations of Zhu Di.
This is a million taels of silver. Not to mention the issuance of public bonds by Jiangxi, plus the one million taels of silver from Your Majesty, it is not an exaggeration to say that the railway construction in Jiangxi is a matter of prosperity.
You must know that the internal funds are His Majesty's private money, and he is very careful about it on weekdays. Even if it is a reward to the East Palace on weekdays, tens of thousands of taels of silver must be compared with every penny.
Good guy, now it’s one million taels and throw it away with a wave of your hand.
But... hearing Zhu Di's words, Zhang Anshi couldn't help but his eyes turned slightly red, and he felt an unspeakable sadness in his heart.
He looked at Zhu Di's face. Although the majestic look appeared leisurely, there were also wrinkles from many years, and his temples were even grayer.
Because of his physical discomfort, his face looked a little haggard, and he looked a little older.
They have been together as kings and ministers for ten years.
He knew Zhu Di's temperament very well. Zhu Di was suddenly so urgent. He obviously hoped to see the railway connecting the north and the south in his lifetime.
Otherwise, I would never be so willing.
This was obviously because Zhu Di was in poor health, so he began to have such thoughts.
Seeing Zhang Anshi's reaction, Zhu Di seemed to have noticed something, so he laughed and said: "You kid, what are you thinking about?"
Zhang Anshi said: "I didn't think about anything."
Zhu Di said: "You don't think that my life is over, right?"
Zhang Anshi shook his head hurriedly: "I don't dare."
Zhu Di said: "On weekdays you all say long live, but I know that there is no such thing as a long live person in the world. My health is a little worse, but it is not as bad as you think. It's just..."
After a pause, Zhu Di continued: "I just... hope that I can bring some blessings to my children and grandchildren during my lifetime."
Zhang Anshi said: "I understand."
Zhu Di said: "You are much more taciturn today, not as chatty as before."
Zhang Anshi said: "Your Majesty..."
If there are still people in the world who understand Zhu Di, Zhang Anshi must be one of them.
He saw Zhu Di's mentality of hoping to revive as he was getting old.
It also shows Zhu Di’s great expectations for railway construction.
Zhang Anshi couldn't help but want to tell him that Jiangxi's railways were very likely to cause trouble.
But in the end, the words remained unsaid.
Zhu Di, with his big hand like a cattail leaf fan, patted Zhang Anshi heavily on the shoulder and said, "What are you talking about? Why are you hesitating? Hey, having said that, I now understand a little bit about Master Yao's thoughts. I still dreamed about it last night.
Met him."
Zhang Anshi said: "Speaking of Master Yao, I think of one thing."
Zhu Di said: "What's the matter?"
Zhang Anshi thought silently in his heart, Master Yao, Master Yao, you must not have a soul in heaven, your coffin board must be stable.
But if you think about it carefully, you can see that Master Yao was cremated and not buried, so he felt a little relieved.
So Zhang Anshi said without blushing or out of breath: "Master Yao once watched the sky at night and said that...among the royal family, the Sun family is not allowed to marry. If not, it will be an ominous sign."
Zhu Di took a deep look at Zhang Anshi and said, "Master Yao never observes the sky."
Zhang Anshi: "..."
Zhu Di looked at him with bright eyes and said, "If you have anything to say, why do you need to ask Master Yao?"
Zhang Anshi drooped his head: "I will be punished by death."
Zhu Di wanted to be angry, but now he actually had a much better temper. Finally, he waved his hands and sighed: "Don't do it again in the future. You are so lucky. You have never had any setbacks. You always think that others will protect you and it is natural. If it were changed,
If you were someone else, you would have lost your head a long time ago if you talked so freely."
Zhang Anshi smiled bitterly and said: "Yes, I... you must remember it."
"I don't think you can remember." Zhu Di shook his head and said: "Even if you make a mistake, someone will forgive you. I am like this, the future prince will be like this, and in the future... Zhanji will probably be like this."
Zhang Anshi said: "I already know that I was wrong."
Zhu Di didn't say anything, just said: "Go, go, come back to me for diagnosis and treatment in a few days."
Zhang Anshi then took his leave.
As soon as Zhang Anshi left, Zhu Di said: "It's also a shame."
"My servant is here." Yishiha came quietly like a ghost.
Zhu Di said slowly and calmly: "Please note this matter about Mr. Sun."
Yishiha frowned slightly and said, "Your Majesty... didn't you just say that Duke Wei was lying... and that's not credible?"
"This guy keeps talking all day long. I see that he is hesitant to speak. He seems to want to remind you, but he doesn't want to tell the truth. Come to think of it... there must be a reason. Let's write it down. The marriage of the emperor and his grandson is of great importance. It cannot be
Try the risk. After all, Zhang Anshi will not harm the emperor's grandson."
Yi Shiha then said: "I obey the order."
Zhu Di sighed immediately.
A few days later, Zhang Anshi did not come, but a new court meeting was held.
This is because Liu Guan, the Minister of Rites, submitted a report regarding the railway.
Zhu Di cheered up and went to the palace to take his seat.
Liu Guanzou said: "The progress of the Jiangxi Railway is extremely rapid. I heard that... it took only more than two months for the station to be completed. This time, 170,000 civilians were recruited, and the chief envoy Xu Qi worked day and night...
...I...I heard that people all over Jiangxi were happy and excited when they heard about the construction of the railway, and many people even begged to build more railways. At this time, the morale of the army and the people can be used, so I thought that we should work together..."
He rambled on for a long time.
Zhu Di heard the overtone and said, "Why doesn't Liu Qing go straight to the point?"
Liu Guan then said: "Your Majesty, I'm afraid we still need some silver... It's just that Xu Qi, the chief envoy, doesn't want to continue to issue debts and increase the burden on the people, so..."
Zhu Di felt relieved when he heard that the station had been built in a short period of time, and that the roadbeds everywhere were mostly completed. However, he was still unhappy when he heard that money was needed.
My money!
But take a deep breath, after all, a million taels of silver have been allocated.
Moreover, over the years, the profits turned over by the commercial banks have already accumulated a mountain of gold and silver in their internal funds.
So after thinking for a while, he said: "Then add another one million taels and tell Xu Qi that since the progress is so rapid and I am not stingy with gold and silver, I want to see the railway connected by the end of the year. If it is completed, it will be a great achievement."
After Liu Guan heard this, he breathed a long sigh of relief and hurriedly bowed and kowtowed: "Your Majesty cares about the sufferings of the people and loves the soldiers and civilians of Jiangxi so much. Now you have added this kind of grace. If the people know that your Majesty has worked so hard..."
Zhu Di waved his hand: "There is no need to talk about these gossips. Tell Xu Qi again that this matter is related to the country. I hope he can take full advantage of it."
All the ministers praised him one after another.
Not mentioning it now.
…………
In the Right Governor's Mansion.
At this time, Chen Li sent a report from Jin Yiwei to Zhang Anshi.
Zhang Anshi read the report, slightly narrowed his eyes and frowned.
He read it carefully a few times before raising his head: "Is the news true?"
Chen Li stood aside quietly. When he heard Zhang Anshi's question, he hurriedly said: "I've checked it, there should be nothing wrong."
Zhang Anshi took a deep breath: "This is strange."
Chen Li said in confusion: "I don't know about the governor..."
Zhang Anshi only said: "Continue to monitor. In addition, send a copy of the briefing to the palace."
Chen Li said: "Here."
Zhang Anshi stood up, clasped his hands behind his back, and walked back and forth a few steps: "Is there any other news from Jiangxi?"
Chen Li said: "A lot of the news is still fragmentary, and there are a lot of rumors. I haven't verified them yet, so I don't dare to report them. I just feel... a little weird."
Zhang Anshi raised his eyebrows and said, "Weird?"
"The chief envoy Xu Qi really worked hard. He showed up at the construction site every day. He also built a lot of steel workshops, had people open mines, and recruited a large number of civilian workers. But...but...these days
, but there are many people in Jiangxi who either go into the mountains to become thieves, or go down to the lake to become bandits..."
Zhang Anshi frowned, and then said: "Let's also send a copy of the briefing to the palace. I am not in a position to talk about Jiangxi matters. I will send it to His Majesty, and everything will be decided by himself."
Chen Li cupped his hands and said, "I humbly obey."
…………
Liu Guan came to see Zhu Di excitedly. He had been in a happy mood these days. As the Minister of Rites, he was a very popular minister, and now he had the power of the railway.
As long as we hold on tightly, the authority of the Ministry of Rites will no longer be under that of the Ministry of Personnel.
As for that household...
To put it bluntly, in the future, the amount of money and food circulating in the hands of the Ministry of Household Affairs may not be as much as that of the railway every year.
Liu Guan had this kind of sudden happiness many times in his life. It was clear that he had done nothing, but luck just came to his door.
As the Minister of Rites, he is now very popular. With a large number of job vacancies and countless allocations of money and food, he has suddenly become a popular person and his popularity in the court has gradually become unparalleled.
To put it harshly, those transport envoys were always in demand in the past. But now, what do they count?
In the future, the chief ministers and the railway departments and railway bureaus of all governments in the world will be the real fat ones.
With so many black gauze hats in his hands, the old Liu family is afraid that their ancestral graves will soon be filled with smoke.
At this time, he bowed respectfully to Zhu Di.
Zhu Di held a briefing in his hand, but he stared at him and angrily said: "I heard that there are many bandits in Jiangxi?"
"This..." Liu Guan never expected that His Majesty would be furious at this time.
He hurriedly said: "Your Majesty, I am the Minister of the Ministry of Rites. I don't care about banditry. I am just worried about this matter. I want to ask Jin Chun, the Minister of the Ministry of Punishments."
Zhu Di said angrily: "I'm here to ask you! Taiping Prefecture builds railways and everyone lives and works in peace and contentment. Why is it like this in Jiangxi?"
"This..." Liu Guan was a little confused. It took him a long time before he took a deep breath and said, "Your Majesty, I have heard some bad rumors."
Zhu Di said: "Say."
"I heard...someone is very dissatisfied with the railway construction."
Zhu Di took a deep look at Liu Guan, raised his eyebrows and said, "Who is the dissatisfied person you are talking about?"
"Bachelor Yang Pu has always hoped to be in charge of the World Railway Department. Relying on his achievements in building railways, he has always believed that the construction of the world's railways will be successful. It is a pity that His Majesty's Holy Might did not go as he wished. So this Yang Pu
, talking bad things about Jiangxi Railway everywhere..."
Zhu Di stared at Liu Guan, his lips pursed into a straight line.
Speaking of which, Liu Guan can be said to be a strange person in boxing.
In his life, he could be regarded as offending all the ministers of the Yongle Dynasty.
Lu Zhen and Chen Ying are traitorous ministers, and they have offended them.
He also offended the prince and those around him, including Yang Rong, Xia Yuanji, Jian Yiren, etc.
In his opinion, this is not a big deal. I, Liu Guan, am in my own way. Whoever you are, I don't care who you are. I don't care if you are powerful. If I beat you, I will still be promoted and make a fortune.
Now these words are aimed at Yang Pu, but who is behind Yang Pu?
They are the prince and Duke Wei.
To put it bluntly, Liu Guan's words are called heaven-defying. If they are true, they fall into the category of fighting spirit turning into a horse, which is so terrifying.
………………
I suddenly want to say a few words from the bottom of my heart to everyone. I have finally updated another chapter. The book has been on the shelves for a few months. The further back it is, the harder it is to write. Coupled with the long years of work, Tiger feels a little tired. I don’t know.
Do you feel this way? Finally, please give me some monthly tickets. I hope friends who like to watch can support Tiger. Also, everyone should pay attention to their health. The body is the capital of everything, so everyone must take care of it!