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

Chapter 577 Zhu Yuanzhang's real purpose!! (Subscribe please!!)

"Since Ouyang Lun wants to break up with us, let's not save his face!"

"That's right, the worst that can happen is that both sides will be destroyed!"

"Old Prime Minister, General, please give the order. You two don't have to take action. Just a few of us can rush into the clan residence and kill Ouyang Lun. Then we will go to His Majesty and surrender ourselves! We will never implicate you!"

"Just take good care of my wife, children and the elderly!"

The atmosphere in the hall became increasingly intense. Many of the Huaixi disciples had fought on the battlefield, and they were ready to fight to the death as soon as they got excited.

Seeing that the situation was gradually becoming uncontrollable, Li Shanchang, who had been silent, finally spoke.

"Hey--"

"Everyone, this time it's not that I didn't speak for our Huaixi disciples, but that I didn't have the opportunity to speak at all!"

"I believe everyone is clear about the current situation in the court. Ouyang Lun is the Prime Minister and has great power. Moreover, the construction of the Beijing-Ping Railway is an inevitable trend and cannot be stopped by me alone. When the Beijing-Ping Railway was discussed, you were all present, so you are naturally aware of the attitude of the Emperor and His Majesty!"

"Now Ouyang Lun is using the Beijing-Pingcheng Railway to control us. Not to mention me alone, even if all of us go to His Majesty and the Emperor, the result will not change. If His Majesty can't persuade us, then the Emperor will just deal with us!"

"Is this the result you want?"

As soon as Li Shanchang said this, the scene suddenly became much quieter.

"Old Prime Minister, we Huaixi brothers are all aware of your difficulties, but what we brothers cannot accept is why we have to pay so much. I heard that Ouyang Lun only had to pay one million taels, and according to the data registered by the Ministry of Households, I have to pay a full five million. What's the difference between this and confiscating my property?" Lan Yu, Duke of Liang, said angrily, "It's not just me. The situations of other Huaixi brothers at the scene are similar."

"We followed the emperor through thick and thin, with our heads hanging on our waists. We finally established the Ming Dynasty and lived a good life, but now he has to do this to us. This is no different from taking our lives!"

Li Shanchang glanced at Lan Yu and said helplessly, "Lan Yu, how could I not know your situation?! But you were not there at the time. The Emperor and Ouyang Lun sang the same tune and praised us Huaixi disciples to great heights!"

"Of course I can ignore Ouyang Lun's false words, but the emperor is trying to play the emotional card with us, what can I do?"

Forehead.
The Huaixi Party members in the hall became much quieter.

Li Shanchang continued, "His Majesty said that we risked our lives to follow him in the rebellion, and he remembered all of this, just wanting everyone to live a good life. Then he asked me, we were able to fully support the emperor in the past, can we still do it now?"

"Who among you can tell me how to respond to the Emperor? Apart from expressing support, what else can I do?!"

Hey--

After hearing this, the Huaixi Party officials at the scene all looked gloomy and unwilling.

"Then we really have no choice but to pay the money honestly. This is all the money I have worked so hard to save over the years. I just can't bear it!"

Lan Yu said in a deep voice.

Li Shanchang continued, "Qian has to pay for everything this time, but in my opinion, this is not a bad thing!"

Upon hearing this, Lan Yu and others hurriedly looked at Li Shanchang.

"Old Prime Minister, what do you mean by this? Is there any turning point here?"

"Old Prime Minister, won't we give this money for free?"

"Or has the old prime minister already thought of other ways to make up for this loss?"

Facing the questions from the crowd, Li Shanchang smiled slightly and then said, "If this much money is really given away for free, not only you will not accept it, but even I will not accept it. This fundraising is not to take our money for nothing, but to sell the entire Beijing-Pingcheng Railway project to us in the form of dry shares!"

"Do you know how much the Beijing-Pingcheng Railway cost this time?"

Upon hearing Li Shanchang's question, an official immediately replied: "When your majesty, the emperor and the officials discussed this in the morning court, I remember that Ouyang Lun proposed 1 billion yuan. Is it time to do this again?"

"Yes, it was changed to ninety-nine intentions, which increased tenfold!" Li Shanchang continued, "When Ouyang Lun mentioned this budget, His Majesty, the Emperor, and I were all shocked."

"Ninety-nine billion is really something Ouyang Lun can say!"

"Old Prime Minister, Ouyang Lun is just asking for trouble. How could His Majesty be willing to spend 9.9 billion to build a crappy railway? He will definitely be furious and curse Ouyang Lun!" Duke of Liang Lan Yu guessed.

"Lan Yu, you are right. When the emperor heard the news, he was furious." Li Shanchang nodded.

"Since the old prime minister is like this, you should take this opportunity to defeat Ouyang Lun and make it impossible for him to ever stand up!" Lan Yu said excitedly.

"Correct!"

"That's how it should be!"

Other officials of the Huaixi Party also echoed this.

Li Shanchang nodded again, his expression calm and relaxed. "To be honest, I have done everything you can think of, and I have also done things you can't think of!"

"But Ouyang Lun came up with a way to raise funds for His Majesty, and combined with other methods, he persuaded the Emperor to accept the 9.9 billion yuan cost of the Beijing-Pingcheng Railway again."

Li Shanchang paused, sighed, and said: "Perhaps in the heart of the emperor, that is to repair the Beijing-Ping Railway, so I said that now the construction of railways is the general trend, we must not go against the trend!"

"So I can only go with the flow. Anyone who dares to stand in front of Ouyang Lun at this time is standing in front of the Emperor and His Majesty, and anyone who dares to stand in front of him will be crushed to pieces!"

"As I said just now, after the fundraising, it is equivalent to turning our money into shares of the Beijing-Pingyuan Railway. After the railway is completed and runs to make money in the future, we can get dividends!"

"Besides, the construction of the Beijing-Pingcheng Railway will require a lot of people. Isn't this our chance?"

After hearing this, the faces of the Huaixi Party members no longer had the anxiety they had at the beginning, and now even their eyes began to shine.

"Old Prime Minister, you mean that we can get involved in the railway construction!!"

Lan Yu said with bright eyes.

All the people in the hall were core members and backbones of the Huaixi Party. They were not fools and naturally knew that intervening in an idea worth 9.9 billion would bring them too many benefits. With such a big piece of cake, they only needed to take a small bite and they would earn back everything they took out!

As Lan Yu finished speaking, everyone at the scene looked at Li Shanchang, their eyes full of anticipation.

"Yes." Li Shanchang nodded, but said solemnly: "Your Majesty and the Emperor have already agreed to this, and even Ouyang Lun did not refuse. When the Beijing-Pingcheng Railway officially begins construction, there will naturally be something to do!"

"But, you all should be more calm and don't be so rude. The Beijing-Ping Railway is what the Emperor cares about the most, and it is also what His Majesty personally listens to. If something goes wrong, no one can save you!"

"If you want to make money, you can only earn the money you deserve honestly."

Li Shanchang knew very well what kind of people these people were. If he didn't give them a few more warnings, they would get into trouble and it would be too late by then.

"As long as we can make money!" Lan Yu's eyes flashed coldly, and he continued, "Old Prime Minister, what if it wasn't our people who tampered with the Beijing-Pingyuan Railway, but the people of the Prince Consort's Party, Ouyang Lun?"

Hearing Lan Yu's words, Li Shanchang immediately asked, "Lan Yu, what do you want to do? The officials of the Prince Consort Party don't care about money at all. Even if they have money, it's just a personal act and won't implicate Ouyang Lun. The last time the corrupt county magistrate was a good example!"

"If you want to frame someone, that's even more unacceptable. You know that the Royal Guards and the Taxation Inspection Department are keeping a close eye on this Beijing-Pingyuan Railway project. If you're not careful, you might end up hurting yourself instead of others!"

Lan Yu waved his hands repeatedly, "Old Prime Minister, you misunderstood me. With so many eyes watching us, I certainly won't be stupid enough to cause trouble. I mean, since we can participate in the construction of the Beijing-Pingyuan Railway, we can naturally keep a close eye on Ouyang Lun and his gang. As long as we catch one of their flaws, don't we have a chance?!"

"You said exactly what I wanted to say!" Li Shanchang nodded, then swept his eyes across the crowd and said in a deep voice: "Everyone, the construction of the Beijing-Pingyuan Railway has become a trend, and it will definitely be the biggest thing for Daimyo in the future. In addition to going in to share a piece of the pie, we must also, as Lan Yu said, keep a close eye on the actions of the Prince Consort Party and find their flaws!"

"In a word, we have to make money and keep an eye on people. No matter what, we won't lose out!"

"Yes!"

Everyone nodded in unison.

"Old Prime Minister, why do you think His Majesty values ​​the Beijing-Pingkou Railway so much? He didn't seem to be so excited when the Great Wall was built!" At this time, Duke of Song Feng Sheng asked.

Hearing this question, Li Shanchang's face darkened, and then he waved his hand, "Duke Liang, Duke Song, Zicheng, and Qi Tai stay, the rest of you go first!"

"Yes!"

Those whose names were called naturally stayed, while those whose names were not called left with a confused look on their faces.

After everyone else has left.

Li Shanchang looked at Feng Sheng and said, "This is also what I want to discuss with you."

"Have you not noticed that the Emperor is particularly obsessed with the Beijing-Ping Railway this time?"

Everyone nodded.

"I thought it was my illusion, but I didn't expect everyone to notice it!" said Duke of Song Feng Sheng.

"I also feel that something is wrong. The retired emperor is a man who will not do anything without benefits. If there are not enough benefits, he will definitely not support Ouyang Lun so firmly." Lan Yu frowned, also quite puzzled.

Huang Zicheng lowered his head and thought for a moment, then raised his head, "I also think that the benefits of building a railway alone are not enough to make the emperor so determined. Of course, there may be benefits that we have not thought of yet."

Lan Yu spread his hands and said, "Regarding the railway and the train, I have asked my staff to analyze it over and over again. The benefits they have concluded are that it can make a lot of money for the people and business companies during the construction, and that after it is built, it can carry people and goods to Beijing. It is fast and can carry a lot of things. These are the only two benefits!"

"To be honest, with only these two benefits, you can do other things! It would be better to build more and wider roads in the Ming Dynasty. You don't have to spend so much money. I really don't know what your majesty is thinking. You must have been bewitched by Ouyang Lun!"

"I just don't believe that after the railway is built, the emperor will take a group of people from the capital to Beijing! Just to be faster and more comfortable. What's the difference between this and the incompetent Emperor Yang of Sui!!"

As Lan Yu spoke, Li Shanchang seemed to have thought of something and asked quickly, "Lan Yu, what did you just say?"

"Well, I think the behavior of the retired emperor in building railways is no different from that of Emperor Yang of Sui." Lan Yu was stunned for a moment, then replied.

"It's not this sentence, it's the previous sentence!" Li Shanchang said in a deep voice.

"The previous sentence? Let me think about it. Instead of building railways, it is better to use the money for building railways to build highways. If the 9.9 billion is really used to build highways, then there will be smooth roads everywhere in the future. Why do we need railways!" After saying that, Lan Yu looked at Li Shanchang, "Old Prime Minister, you think what I said is right, right?"

"Well, you are right, but His Majesty still chose to build the railway. Li Shanchang nodded.

"Uh" Lan Yu was a little embarrassed.

"What Zicheng said just now is right. We must have overlooked some benefits, and this benefit cannot be compared even if we build more and wider roads!" Li Shanchang analyzed: "Think about it carefully, what kind of benefits will it be?"

"Is it fast? If the highway is built well enough, the speed should not be slow. There are too many trains! It is definitely not because of this." Duke of Song Feng Sheng shook his head.

"That's because the train can transport a lot of things!" Lan Yu said.

"If there are many, it seems that it can be done as long as there are enough carriages on the highway!" Qi Tai shook his head.

"What if Your Majesty wants more and faster?!" Huang Zicheng said slowly.

"Zicheng, can you tell me in detail?" Li Shanchang asked hurriedly.

"Teacher, I think I guessed why His Majesty insisted on building the railway!" Huang Zicheng suppressed his inner excitement and spoke.

Swish--

Everyone turned their eyes to Huang Zicheng.

"In fact, before, in addition to thinking about why the emperor had to build a railway, I was also thinking about why the first railway in the Ming Dynasty was from Beijing to Beiping. It is easy to understand that the starting point is Beijing, because Beijing is the capital. No matter how the railway is built, the starting point must be Beijing, but there are many key choices for the railway!"

"If we are purely considering the economy, we can go south and choose the coastal area as the destination. Hong Kong Village is the most suitable. This will not only drive faster economic development in the south, but also allow foreign goods to enter the capital as soon as possible!!"

"So the emperor never considers economic accounts, at least not the first priority!"

"Politics, then?!"

(End of this chapter)