Daming: At the beginning, recognize Zhu Yuanzhang as grandfather!

Chapter 137 Floating!

Zhu Yuanzhang was unhappy, but he remained calm.

Years of being an emperor had made him develop the habit of not easily revealing his feelings.

Zhu Yuanzhang glanced at Zhu Xiongying, grabbed a peanut and threw it into his mouth. He chewed and said, "Building roads is a good thing, but where does the money for road construction come from? We can't let the imperial court empty the treasury to go Repair the road?"

If you are not in charge of the family, you don't know that firewood, rice, oil and salt are expensive.

When the Ming Dynasty was just established, the treasury was extremely empty, and Zhu Yuanzhang wished he could spend two cents of one penny. Later, he issued Hongwu Baobao banknotes, and the extreme shortage of money in the court was slightly alleviated.

Over the years, whether it is military expenditures or infrastructure construction, disaster relief in various places has consumed a lot of money, and these are the people's resources that have been consumed in advance.

Zhu Yuanzhang carefully managed the Ming Dynasty for more than [-] years, which made up for the shortage of national power and people's power, and began to develop in a good direction.

Therefore, Zhu Yuanzhang especially cherishes this hard-won national power and people's power.

Of course Zhu Xiongying also knew this.

But if the Ming Dynasty wants to develop, the first thing to solve is the traffic problem.

There is a saying in later generations, if you want to be rich, you must first build roads.

This sentence is also appropriate in today's era. Only when the roads are built can the goods of the whole country be circulated, just like coal this time.

Therefore, in Zhu Xiongying's view, road construction is a century-old project, and the sooner it can be carried out, the better.

Zhu Xiongying smiled and said, "Grandpa, my grandson has thought about it. To build roads, the court does not actually need a lot of money!"

"Oh?"

Zhu Yuanzhang was taken aback when he heard the words, some couldn't understand what Zhu Xiongying meant.

Zhu Xiongying continued: "The imperial court can organize merchants to raise funds to build roads. Of course, the imperial court doesn't want their money for nothing. Repairing the road is good for their own business, and it can also win them a good reputation. Think about it. Those gentlemen in the south of the Yangtze River have money, and they are willing to pay the money!"

"no!"

Zhu Yuanzhang categorically denied it, then sighed lightly, looked at Zhu Xiongying, and said meaningfully: "Da Sun, let me tell you a story. Have you ever heard of Shen Wansan?"

Zhu Xiongying was taken aback, then nodded: "I've heard of it."

Zhu Yuanzhang continued: "Then, do you know that the section from Jubaomen to Shuiximen in Yingtian Mansion, as well as Kuofang, streets, bridges, water gates and government residences, were all funded by him?"

Zhu Xiongying nodded. He had heard about this matter before. After all, the story of Shen Wansan was very popular among the people.

Although Shen Wansan paid a lot of money for the construction of Nanjing City, he also gained a lot of reputation at the same time.

Zhu Yuanzhang continued: "At that time, the Ming Dynasty had just been established, and the war in the north was tense. The court really couldn't afford the money, so Shen Wansan was asked to help repair this section. We are also very grateful to him, but do you know what happened later?"

Zhu Xiongying shook his head and listened attentively.

Zhu Yuanzhang took a sip of his wine and said slowly: "Then Shen Wansan actually proposed to us that he wanted to contribute a million taels of gold to reward the three armies for us!"

"Humph!"

Speaking of this, Zhu Yuanzhang snorted coldly: "If your grandma hadn't stopped him, we would have chopped off his head long ago!"

"A lowly businessman in the district actually wants to reward the army of the world, why? The truth of this, I don't need to explain it, you should be able to understand it!"

Zhu Xiongying nodded thoughtfully.

The old man's worries are not unreasonable. Once the merchants' money is used to build roads, it means that they have accepted their affection and let them leave a good name among the people. This will inevitably elevate the status of the merchants.

What's more, like Shen Wansan, he will make some demands that violate the majesty of the court.

People in this era value fame more than money.

However, Zhu Xiongying, who traveled from later generations, looked at the problem from a different perspective. He felt that now that the imperial court has no money for infrastructure construction, it is not a big problem to introduce some private funds. If the construction is done well, it will be of great benefit to the people's livelihood.

At the same time, he also understands that it is impossible to change the old man's views, especially the old man is Zhu Yuanzhang, Zhu Yuanzhang has a firm mind and will never be easily shaken.

However, Zhu Xiongying did not want to give up on this. After all, road construction is of great benefit to the country and the people, and it also lays the foundation for Zhu Xiongying to implement his ideals and ambitions in the future.

"Grandpa, grandson has another idea!" Zhu Xiongying said.

"Speak! Speak boldly!"

Although Zhu Yuanzhang denied Zhu Xiongying just now, his eyes were full of encouragement.

He likes to discuss these issues with his grandson.

Regardless of right or wrong, his eldest grandson can come up with ideas beyond his expectations every time. Some ideas cause him to think deeply, and some ideas make him amazed.

Just like two strands of interesting ideas, sometimes they collide and sometimes blend, just like what later generations call a storm of thought, the more the reason is debated, the more the debate becomes more profound, and both parties can benefit from it.

And the most important point, in Zhu Yuanzhang's view, he is still alive, that is the capital for Zhu Xiongying's mistakes.

Zhu Xiongying said: "Sun Er thinks that the imperial government does not need the money of the people to build roads, and it can build roads without depleting the national treasury, and maintain and repair them well!"

Hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang once again showed curiosity. He wanted to hear what bold ideas his eldest grandson had.

Zhu Xiongying continued: "The imperial court can use the funds from the national treasury first to repair the official roads and make them wide and easy to walk. Caravans and caravans can travel at high speeds. No matter it is windy or rainy, there will be dedicated maintenance personnel to keep the roads open. , making it convenient and quick for both people traveling far away and the circulation of goods, but..."

"However, the official roads that the imperial court is responsible for repairing and maintaining need to collect tolls, and pedestrians are exempted from tolls, but riding horses, carriages, caravans, etc., are charged according to different fixed fees, and the funds collected are used for official roads In this way, the construction and maintenance of official roads will enter a virtuous circle. Not only can the current official roads be well maintained, but also the official roads can be continuously added. When the official roads extend in all directions, a certain scale has been formed. , and can even fill the treasury..."

"Bullshit!"

Before Zhu Xiongying finished speaking, he was interrupted by Zhu Yuanzhang's stern voice. Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Zhu Xiongying, his face turned red with anger: "Da grandson, it seems that you are really drifting!"

"The ancients said that the king is a boat, and the people are water. Water can carry a boat and overturn it. This is the world of our old Zhu family, and it is also the world of the people in the world. Without the people, there would be no Ming Dynasty. If the people You have to pay for walking, so what happened to our Ming Dynasty? How is it different from robbers?! Then should we set up a few huts on the side of the official road and collect money from the common people?"

(End of this chapter)