Daming: I can’t kill such a greedy prince-in-law?

Chapter 566 What!? Cost of one billion!? (Subscribe please!!)

"I plan to build a railway!!"

Zhu Biao announced loudly.

railway!?
Upon hearing these two unfamiliar words, all the civil and military officials in the court looked puzzled.

"May I ask your Majesty, what is a railway?"

one officer asked boldly.

"Shan Anren, come and explain it to all of you, my dear ministers!" Zhu Biao looked at the Minister of Works Shan Anren.

For a major project like building a railway, it is natural to inform the Minister of Works in advance, so after Zhu Biao, Zhu Yuanzhang and Ouyang Lun reached an agreement yesterday, they immediately brought Shan Anren over to communicate again.

Shan Anren now has a very clear understanding of railways, so it is most appropriate for him to explain it to the civil and military officials.

In fact, Ouyang Lun was the most suitable person to be the narrator. Zhu Biao and Zhu Yuanzhang also hoped that Ouyang Lun would tell everyone again, but Ouyang Lun naturally refused. In order to explain it clearly to Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao, father and son, he had spent a lot of time and effort, and was exhausted. Now he was asked to explain it to the civil and military officials. This was like asking for his life, so he refused to repeat it even if he was beaten to death.

There was no other way, Zhu Biao could only let Shan Anren take over.

"It's your Majesty!"

At this moment, Shan Anren was very excited. In the past, he always thought that the highway was the fastest way, but after he learned about railways and trains, he was so excited that he couldn't sleep all night. He repeatedly read and studied the railway and train explanation book and the railway route planning map that Ouyang Lun gave him.

This is also the reason why Shan Anren has a pair of dark circles under his eyes.

After receiving Zhu Biao's order, Shan Anren did not dare to slack off in the slightest.

"Your Majesty, in order to explain it better, I have specially made some tools to assist in the explanation. Please allow me to bring them up!"

Shan Anren bowed.

"That's right!"

Zhu Biao nodded.

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Shan Anren bowed again.

Soon, all the auxiliary explanation tools prepared by Shan Anren were brought up.

First there is a large wooden board.

Shan Anren pasted many pictures on it.

"Cough cough!"

"Now it is time for Shan to give his explanation. Please listen carefully, because this is related to the development plan of our Ming Dynasty in the next ten years!"

"First, I have to answer the question a colleague just asked. What is a railway?!"

Shan Anren pointed to a picture on the wooden board and continued, "Let's put it simply. A railway is a road made of steel. Its shape is shown in the picture!"

"Formed by two steel bars placed side by side!"

As soon as the words fell, an official immediately raised his hand, "Master Shan, these are just two pieces of steel bars, what use can they have? I can't see anything special about them at all!"

"Please don't worry, colleague. I will introduce all of these one by one!"

Shan Anren continued, "Just as my colleague questioned, how can two steel bars placed side by side form a road?"

"Then what if I tell you that this is only a part of the railway. A complete railway is made up of countless steel bars like this! This is the railway!"

"Of course this doesn't explain why railways are useful!"

"Everyone knows that this highway is used for horse-drawn carriages, but do you know what this railway is used for?"

As Shan Anren asked this question, someone immediately said, "Is there any need to ask this? The road runs horse-drawn carriages, so the railway must run iron carriages!"

Ha ha--

There was a lot of laughter at the scene.

Shan Anren nodded, "This colleague's idea is quite good. If you insist on saying that this is an iron car, it's not wrong, because many of its structures are made of iron. This is what it looks like!"

After saying that, Shan Anren directly tore off the gauze covering the picture in the middle of the wooden board, revealing the image inside.

When all the officials in the hall saw the image above, they were shocked.

A bunch of square iron boxes are linked together, with iron wheels underneath, and they look a bit like giant snakes!
"This thing is called a train!"

"Trains plus railways have become the latest means of transportation in our Ming Dynasty - railway transportation!!"

"Trains not only have a large load capacity, but are also extremely fast, and can travel a thousand miles a day!"

hiss--

So many iron boxes could certainly hold a lot of things, but the speed at which they could be transported could reach a thousand miles a day, which shocked all the officials who were asked about military affairs.

Everyone at the scene knew clearly what traveling a thousand miles a day meant.

"My dear ministers, after Minister Shan's explanation just now, I believe everyone understands what a railway is!"

"I have decided to build a railway from the capital to Peking. What do you think?"

Zhu Biao asked with a smile.

The scene was quiet.

It’s not that the civil and military officials were unwilling to answer Zhu Biao’s words, but that they had not yet recovered from the shock of the “railway train”.

The officials of the Prince Consort's Party all looked at Ouyang Lun. Seeing that Ouyang Lun was as calm as a rock and didn't say a word, they naturally didn't say anything either.

Next came the neutral faction and the Lu family. They were not in a hurry to express their views. After all, they were the third and fourth in command in the court. They had to see the situation clearly before speaking. If they spoke carelessly, they would easily be slapped in the face by other forces.

The only one left was the Huaixi Party, and the officials from the Huaixi Party did not jump out because they were waiting for Li Shanchang's reaction.

Swish--

For a time, not only the prince consort's party but also the neutral faction and the Lu family forces all set their sights on Li Shanchang.

Seeing that the atmosphere on the scene was almost the same, Li Shanchang immediately stood up and said, "Your Majesty, according to what Minister Shan said, this railway is indeed a relatively convenient means of transportation. If it is helpful to the Ming Dynasty, it should be repaired."

"But I am just curious about the specific plan for this railway. Who will build it? How much money will it cost to build this railway? Can the Ming Dynasty treasury afford it?"

"Your Majesty, please do not dislike my nagging, but this is something that an old minister must understand. I believe that not only the old minister, but also other ministers want to know this!" "Haha, Lord Li is worthy of being a pillar of my Ming Dynasty. He considers things comprehensively!" Zhu Biao nodded with a smile, and then said to Shan Anren: "Shan Anren, you are the Minister of Industry, so you should tell the specific plan of the railway to you, my dear ministers!"

"It's your Majesty!"

Shan Anren knew that he still had something to say, so he didn't step down at all and kept standing by the wooden board.

"My Lords, regarding the railway project, the initial plan is to build the first line first. The starting point of this railway is in the capital, and the end point is Beiping in Northern Zhili. It will pass through some towns in the middle, and the length is about one thousand kilometers!"

"In order to smoothly build the Beijing-Pinggu Railway, a project department will be established. Although this department is a temporary department, its rank is the same as the six ministries. The cabinet's chief minister, Prince Consort Ouyang, will be the minister, and I will be the vice minister. In addition, officials with at least the vice minister rank from other departments will be transferred to the project department!"

"The project department is under the jurisdiction of His Majesty and the Emperor, and no one else is allowed to interfere. In addition, the project department's affairs are all top priority. If there is any request, no matter who you are or what position you hold, you must comply!"

"The internal affairs of the project department are entirely decided by Prince Consort Ouyang, and no one is allowed to interfere!"

"Oh, by the way, the cost of building the Beijing-Pingcheng Railway is tentatively set at 1 billion taels of silver."

After hearing these words, the whole hall was in an uproar.

Li Shanchang had a gloomy face, and the neutral faction and Lu family officials also had unpleasant expressions.

At this moment.

While the civil and military officials in the Taiji Hall were shocked, they also felt strongly dissatisfied in their hearts.

the reason is simple!
After listening to Shan Anren’s introduction, even if I am dumbfounded, I now know what it will mean once this railway is completed. It will mean a huge achievement!

This achievement is no less than that of building the Great Wall and highways, and it may even be of more epoch-making significance. Whoever participates in it will not only be promoted to a higher position, but will also be remembered forever!

Then there was the cost of building the railway, which was what shocked them the most, ten billion taels of silver!

Even with the current tax level of the Ming Dynasty, it would take several years of tax revenue!
With such a big cake, even a small piece would bring huge benefits.

However, Emperor Zhu Biao, Emperor Emeritus Zhu Yuanzhang and Prince Consort Ouyang Lun clearly wanted to abandon the centrists, the Huaixi Party and the Lu family!

How can this be done!
What's more, Emperor Zhu Biao gave Ouyang Lun enormous power. The project department was above the six ministries, and everyone had to obey it. This power was so great that it frightened Li Shanchang and other civil and military officials!
"Your Majesty, it's just a railway, there's no need to go to such great lengths, and there's no need to give Prince Consort Ouyang such great power. I think it's inappropriate!"

Li Shanchang stood up and said.

"Your Majesty, I think the railway issue involves a wide range of issues, and it is difficult for Prince Consort Ouyang to control the overall situation alone! Your Majesty, please think twice!" Lu Ben also spoke.

"Your Majesty, if this railway is just a small matter and the money involved is no more than one million, it would be fine, but this involves a sum of 1 billion taels. I doubt that the Ming Dynasty can afford this expense!" Song Lian continued: "If all the money is really invested in railway construction, then what should the Ming Dynasty do in other areas?"

For a time, it can be said that all the ministers were opposed.

When Zhu Yuanzhang heard the officials' suggestions, his face suddenly darkened.

In his view, these civil and military officials who opposed it were simply opposing it because they did not want to participate in it and divide the benefits!
Of course there is also jealousy towards Ouyang Lun. After all, Ouyang Lun is already the prime minister of the cabinet and holds enormous power. Now he is in charge of the construction of the railway. As time goes on, Ouyang Lun will be the one who has the final say in the court!
Ouyang Lun was given all these powers by me. If you dare to question them, you are questioning me! !

As for the railway construction, who can join us and participate? Do you want to force us?

Just when Zhu Yuanzhang was about to get angry, Zhu Biao spoke first.

"My dear ministers, building a railway is a great feat of our Ming Dynasty. Many aspects are too profound to be understood by professionals. Only Prince Consort Ouyang is capable of handling it. My father and I believe in Prince Consort Ouyang's ability, so we have high hopes for him!!"

"The project department was only established temporarily to build the Beijing-Pingcheng Railway. Once the railway is completed, the project department will be disbanded immediately!"

"The personnel of the project team will be drawn from various ministries and offices. Anyone who is favored by Prince Consort Ouyang must obey the arrangement! Participating in the construction of a railway, and the first railway in the Ming Dynasty, I believe no one will refuse."

"Except for matters related to the railway, the project department will not affect the operation of other departments and offices. Please rest assured!"

Hearing what Zhu Biao said.

The voices of opposition from the civil and military officials in the hall had obviously weakened a lot.

It is acceptable to limit Ouyang Lun's power to the scope of building railways, and people must be transferred from various ministries and offices. This will give them the opportunity to add people and prevent Ouyang Lun from eating alone. No matter what, they can still get a taste of the spoils.

For a time, all civil and military officials were thinking about how to stuff people into the project department, and there were fewer voices of opposition.

Zhu Yuanzhang, who was about to get angry, showed a look of relief when he saw Zhu Biao's words calmed down the civil and military officials.

Since Zhu Biao had already appeased all the officials, there was no need for Zhu Yuanzhang to get angry, so as to avoid taking over the show.

"Father, do you have anything else to say?"

Zhu Yuanzhang would not say it on his own initiative, but Zhu Biao would take the initiative to ask.

"We are here just to be an audience today. The one who should speak is not us, but..." Zhu Yuanzhang did not say the name directly, but looked in the direction of Ouyang Lun and gave Zhu Biao a look.

The latter understood immediately.

"Prince Consort Ouyang, as the head of the project team, it's now your turn to tell us your ideas!" Zhu Biao said loudly.

Swish--

As Zhu Biao finished speaking, all the officials in the court turned their eyes directly to Ouyang Lun.

Alas, I still can’t avoid it!

When Ouyang Lun saw Zhu Yuanzhang looking at him and winking at Zhu Biao, Ouyang Lun knew it was his turn to speak.

"Cough cough!"

"In fact, I have already reported the idea and plan of building the railway to His Majesty and the Emperor!"

"Building a railway is more difficult than building a highway. It requires the use of many new technologies!"

"So the project department needs a lot of talents. If you are interested in building railways, or if you are confident that you are talented, you can recommend yourself. If you have relevant talents around you, you can also recommend them. In the project department, there is no family background, no party, and no status. Everything is based on ability and technology!"

"If anyone among you is better than me, I can let you be the project leader!"

Ho!
Upon hearing Ouyang Lun's words, the eyes of all the civil and military officials present lit up. Although Ouyang Lun was very powerful, those of them who could be ranked in the Tai Chi Hall were not mediocre and naturally had their own ideas in their minds.

If they can defeat Ouyang Lun, wouldn't it prove that they are better than Ouyang Lun? This is simply the title of "the best in the world"!

Just when all the officials were ready to take action, Ouyang Lun spoke again.

"The project department recruits people on the basis of their talents, and everything depends on their abilities, but we definitely don't accept all the garbage!"

"If you want to join the project department, you must first take a general knowledge test. Only after passing the general knowledge test can you enter the project department!"

(End of this chapter)