Daming: Mixed in Dangzhi County, Beiping

Xu Huizu turned around, saluted Zhu Di, and said directly: "Your Majesty, I would like to ask Jiangjunshan Workshop to produce two thousand pairs of rubber tires and use them in the army!"

"For the army?"

Before Zhu Di could speak, Guo An hesitated and then said: "Wei Guogong, this kind of rubber tires has just been invented, and now we can only produce more than a hundred pairs at most!
  Moreover, the powerful gentry in our Jiangjunshan workshop sell them for one hundred taels of treasure a pair! "

"One hundred taels?"

Xu Huizu's eyes widened with surprise on his face.

"Marquis Dinghai is trying to steal money? A luxurious carriage doesn't even cost a hundred taels!"

Guo An's expression remained unchanged and he just smiled softly, "Wei Guogong doesn't know. I have invested an unknown amount of money in the past few years to manufacture rubber tires. Your Majesty also knows this!
  If it were not sold at such a high price, it would not be possible to make back the money in ten years!
  Moreover, so many can be manufactured every year, and the materials are limited, so it is impossible to supply them on a large scale! "

Hearing this, Zhu Di nodded in agreement.

Xu Huizu couldn't help but calm down, but he still couldn't accept it. Two tires cost one hundred taels of cash!

Guo An looked at him again, "Can Wei Guogong buy a carriage with tires like this in advance?"

Xu Huizu asked subconsciously: "How much is the price?"

Guo An chuckled and said: "A car made of wood costs three hundred taels! If it is made of steel like Your Majesty, it costs eight hundred taels!"

"Three hundred taels? Eight hundred taels?"

Xu Huizu couldn't help but widen his eyes again.

On the side, Zhu Di and Zhu Gaochi also twitched the corners of their mouths slightly, but they could still bear it.

Xu Huizu said again: "Marquis Dinghai, how much is a good horse? How much is a carriage made of wood? You are asking for three hundred taels?"
  Also, do you dare to ask for eight hundred taels for a carriage made of steel plates? "

Guo An looked indifferent, "The carriage made of steel plates, even Wei Guogong took a look at it one by one. It is definitely worth the money!"

"But……"

Although Xu Huizu wanted it, he still felt a little worried about money.

"let it go!"

Guo An slowly shook his head, with a look of regret on his face.

"He also said that he has a good relationship with Wei Guogong, and he can order a carriage for Wei Guogong to leave.

If that's the case, then sell it to others..."

Xu Huizu: "..."

How can we just let it go?

At this moment, Guo An ignored Xu Huizu and turned around to chat with Zhu Di.

"Guo Qing, it's almost the beginning of spring!"

"Yes, Your Majesty, spring plowing is a big deal!"

"All the grain and seeds have been distributed!"

"Let it go..."

"After spring plowing, I plan to build a cement straight road from the capital to Shaanxi..."

"Concrete straight road... Your Majesty, I remember, can you still see some traces of the Chi Road built by Qin Shihuang?"

"Guo Qing supports my decision?"

"Your Majesty, I have always adhered to the principle that if you want to bring prosperity to the people, you must build roads.

Weichen created cement not only for building houses, but also for paving roads! "

"Guo Qing is indeed my wise minister of the Ming Dynasty!"

"It is precisely because of the support of a wise king like Your Majesty that Wei Chen's talents can be brought to full use. It is Wei Chen's good fortune!"

"Hahaha, it is only with a wise minister like Guo Qing that I can feel comfortable... But, Guo Qing, building a cement road from the capital to Shaanxi is more than a thousand miles away, and how many corvees need to be recruited? How much financial and manpower is needed...

The ministers in the DPRK will definitely try their best to dissuade me, and I don’t want to become a coward like Emperor Yang of Sui Dynasty! "

"Your Majesty, this is easy!"

"Oh? What good ideas does Guo Qing have?"

"Your Majesty, do you still remember that when we were in Beiping Mansion, Wei Chen asked Guo Bingshan, Guo Pinglin and other master craftsmen to form a house construction team in order to build a house?"

"Hmm?" Zhu Di looked at Guo An curiously.

On the side, Xu Huizu looked at Guo An with a troubled face, wanting to interrupt Guo An's words.

Although he is a military commander, he also likes carriages as much as war horses.

Especially the carriage made of steel plates like Zhu Di, for him, it is even more impossible to give up. At this moment, his heart is already itching and unbearable!
  At this moment, the more Guo An doesn't care, the more he wants to buy it!

However, Guo An seemed not to see Xu Huizu's expression, and continued to face Zhu Di: "Your Majesty, there are many people in Ming Dynasty who have no land.

These people were tall and powerful, but they had no land to cultivate. They could only work as tenants for the wealthy gentry families, working as cattle and horses for a year. After paying taxes and renting grain, there was not much food left at home, and their lives were very difficult. hard.

Therefore, Weichen felt that experienced master craftsmen such as Guo Bingshan and Guo Pinglin could form a road construction team and recruit hundreds of hard-working craftsmen to specialize in laying cement roads!
  Take care of food and housing, and pay them wages!
  In this way, they don’t have to work so hard to work as tenants for the wealthy gentry, and they can still contribute to the construction of the Ming Dynasty, and they can also make money to support their families..."

"This plan is very good!"

Without thinking, Zhu Di agreed directly.

The example of a house construction team is mentioned above. Zhu Di has already seen how profitable and convenient it is to have a regular construction team.

Moreover, it’s not a waste of time!
  It can even feed many families!
  What's more, it can also crack down on those evil gentry who specialize in snatching other people's acres and want to make a fortune in this way!
  Of course, the main reason is that Zhu Di is not short of money!

The money earned from one residence report can completely support the consumption of the road construction team!
  And yes, this year the dozens of workshops in Jiangjun Mountain will officially start making money!
  Zhu Di had also experienced the advertising capabilities of Di Bao in the past few days...

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Guo An said with a happy face.

The straight roads at this time were still concrete straight roads, definitely equivalent to the highways of later generations!
  How convenient it is, Guo An knows it better than anyone else!
  Zhu Di said: "I will leave this matter to Guo Qing!"

Guo An hurriedly raised his hands and saluted, "Your Majesty, I feel that His Highness the Crown Prince needs to be involved in this matter, or even be responsible for its formation!"

"Ok?"

Zhu Di and Zhu Gaochi both looked at Guo An in surprise.

Guo An said with a serious face: "Your Majesty, the prince is the crown prince of the Ming Dynasty, and is responsible for the entire cabinet. Your highness does not need to be proficient in many things, but you must understand them, so that you will not be deceived by the officials below!"

Zhu Di looked shocked, "What Guo Qing said is very reasonable! The prince will be responsible for this matter together with you!"

"Your Majesty Shengming!"

"Thank you dad!"

Guo An and Zhu Gaochi both thanked him.

Zhu Gaochi was also very happy to learn about these things.

Hearing this, Xu Huizu on the side finally found an excuse and bowed his hands towards Guo An and Zhu Gaochi.

"His Royal Highness, Marquis Dinghai, if we form a construction team, I can find hundreds of retired soldiers..."

Guo An asked directly: "Wei Guogong, are these old soldiers physically disabled?"

Xu Huizu was stunned for a moment, then said slowly: "As an old soldier, I have fought countless battles, so my body is naturally a bit mutilated!"

"That won't work!"

Guo An shook his head very seriously, "Wei Guogong, the road construction team will stay in the barren mountains and ridges all year round to lay roads. Some people who are not disabled may not be able to persevere, let alone those who are disabled. !”

Xu Huizu said: "It's just a paved road. They can come down from the battlefield, so they are not afraid of this!"

"I'm afraid!"

Guo An hurriedly said: "They are also human lives. I know that if these disabled people are allowed to pave roads, many people will die. I still allow them to agree. That is killing people deliberately. I can't do it!"

"..."

Xu Huizu looked at Guo An blankly for a while, then straightened his expression and saluted Guo An.

"I admire Marquis Dinghai for cherishing the life of his old soldier so much. Therefore, I bought the carriage made of steel plates!"

"You don't have to force it!"

Guo An shook his head repeatedly, "Don't worry, Mr. Wei, there are only more than a hundred carriages a year. Without Mr. Wei wasting that money, the carriage workshop can easily sell out!"

I am going to build a cement straight road: "..."

Thief Guo bullied him so much that he aroused his greed and started to hang him again!
  Thinking about it, Xu Huizu said shamelessly: "It doesn't matter, I like this kind of carriage!"

... (end of this chapter)