Thief Emperor

Chapter 1065 Large-scale construction projects
In the end, this meeting still failed to come up with a practical solution. Ultimately, it's because the world's information communication and transportation are too slow, making it difficult to guarantee administrative efficiency.

Moreover, regulation is also quite difficult.

For this reason, the methods used by higher-level administrations are often relatively simple, and they try to leave little room for maneuver for those below.

For example, the new tax that Li Yun previously implemented followed this approach. If a poll tax were levied, local government offices could conceal the population and retain some of it. However, after ten years, the local land has been surveyed and measured, and the amount of land remaining is exactly what it is. Local government offices cannot conjure up or reduce land out of thin air.

However, allowing local governments to take on all the projects leaves them with far too much room for manipulation.

Fortunately, it is the early years of the founding of the dynasty. Due to Emperor Li's personal character and the fact that corrupt officials have been purged several times in recent years, although it is impossible for corruption to be completely eradicated, the overall atmosphere is relatively clean and upright.

Therefore, this large-scale infrastructure project could only be completed.

After completing this infrastructure project, Li Yun is confident that in ten or twenty years, he can usher the country into a new era.

Of course, this is on the premise that at that time, he was still sitting in the same position as he is now, and had not yet passed away.

Furthermore, he remained lucid and did not become senile.

After the meeting ended, the officials dispersed one after another, but Emperor Li kept the newly appointed Minister of Revenue, Zhuo Guangrui, behind. He personally poured tea for Zhuo and asked with a smile, "Brother Zhuo, how has the Ministry of Revenue been doing this past month?"

Zhuo Guangrui bowed slightly and said, "Your Majesty, I have been in charge of the administration for many years, so I am familiar with the matters. I have now taken over most of them."

Minister Zhuo's words sounded ordinary, but they were quite meaningful. Emperor Li stroked his chin, looked at him, and said with a smile, "It's good that you've taken over. The matter we discussed today is related to both the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Works. Brother Zhuo served as Minister of Works for many years, and now your son is serving as Vice Minister of Works and also works for the Ministry of Revenue. Brother Zhuo, you should put in a lot of effort in this matter."

Zhuo Guangrui first bowed his head and answered yes. Then he looked at Li Yun, thought for a moment, and asked, "Your Majesty, this was originally something that could be accomplished by imposing corvée labor. Now the court and the country are both clean and upright, and most of the local officials are sent down by the emperor's protégés. In addition, Xu Ziwang has done an excellent job in supervising the affairs of the court, so the court's decrees can basically be implemented without hindrance."

Why go through all that trouble?

Emperor Li did not sit in the main seat, but sat facing Zhuo Guangrui like an old friend. He looked at Zhuo Guangrui and said, "It's still different."

“There is nothing wrong with imposing corvée labor; it has been the same throughout history. However, as Prime Minister Du said, this is a waste of the people’s strength.”

“The forced labor was imposed without any compensation, and in some cases, the people even had to bring their own food. In the end, this was the plight of the poor.”

“Now, the national treasury is rich, and I also have a lot of spare money. If we can distribute this money through hiring people, that will enrich the people.”

"Only when people become wealthy will they spend money; the more money circulates, the wealthier society becomes."

At this point, His Majesty the Emperor smiled and said, "Although the amount of money the court spends on this may not be very large, it may serve as a good start to guide the whole society in this direction."

Zhuo Guangrui frowned, clearly not agreeing.

In the eyes of these scholar-officials, money was finite, and whether it circulated or not made little difference. What Li Yun was saying was beyond their comprehension.

Seeing Zhuo Guangrui's expression, Li Yun was not annoyed. He simply smiled and said, "Brother Zhuo, you don't necessarily have to believe what I say. Let's try it for a few years, and we'll naturally see the results after a few years."

Then Emperor Li continued, "Brother Zhuo, how many sons do you have?"

"Five."

Zhuo Guangrui quickly lowered his head and said, "Apart from my eldest son Zhuo Zhong, who works in the Ministry of Works, two of my other four sons are in the court, and the other two are studying at home and have never taken up official positions."

"Anyone who is efficient and capable?"

Zhuo Guangrui thought for a moment and then said, "My third son, Zhuo Chang, although he is an official appointed through imperial favor, is the most capable of handling affairs among all my sons."

Then, he looked at Li Yun and asked, "Does Your Majesty have any errands to run?"

"Let him take a temporary post in the Ministry of Works. The Ministry of Works will take the lead in establishing an engineering... well, a profession, let's call it the Engineering Department, which will be a government-run profession."

Emperor Li said quietly, "This job is to first repair and widen the official roads of the entire Henan Circuit. After completion, it will be inspected by the Jingzhao Prefecture and the Three Offices of Henan Circuit."

"The specific personnel will be hired and employed by Jiang Zuoxing, that is, the third son of Brother Zhuo's family."

His Majesty the Emperor looked at Zhuo Guangrui and continued, "In the past, there were indeed many royal properties, or properties directly under the Ministry of Revenue, but they were not clear. This Jiangzuohang is the first state-owned enterprise, which will be responsible for civil engineering in the future."

What does Brother Zhuo think?

The Zhuo family is undoubtedly the most suitable family to take charge of this matter. After all, the Zhuo family holds positions in both the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Revenue, so it would be convenient and quick for them to handle this matter.

Of course, at this moment, Zhuo Guangrui still only regarded this matter as a task; he did not yet understand what the appearance of this official meant. Zhuo Guangrui quickly lowered his head and said, "Your subject obeys."

His Majesty the Emperor said with a smile, "Later, bring your third son into the palace. I want to meet with him and give him some instructions."

"besides."

Emperor Li paused for a moment, then continued, "My third son has been doing some odd jobs outside recently. He can take a 10 or 20% stake in this matter, as a way for him to learn how to do his job."

Zhuo Guangrui was taken aback, then looked up at Li Yun, before lowering his head again and saying, "If the Third Prince is involved, then naturally the Third Prince will be in charge..."

Li Yun shook his head and said, "I plan to arrange for him to work as a seventh-rank or sixth-rank official. My third son is not suitable for a position in the Ministry of Works. In addition, he is still young, so let him observe and learn more."

At this point, His Majesty the Emperor said quietly, "This matter will probably take several years to complete. Once it's finished, Brother Zhuo can go to the Ministry of Personnel."

The Ministry of Personnel was a rather distorted government office in the new dynasty.

This department had long been concurrently managed by Du Qian, who was the prime minister. However, the affairs of the Secretariat were too numerous, and Du Qian could not actually manage too many matters of the Ministry of Personnel.

The vast majority of things were done by the two vice ministers of the Ministry of Personnel, but in Li Yun's mind, these two vice ministers were not qualified to be the Minister of Personnel.

Therefore, this abnormality has dragged on until the tenth year of Zhangwu, during which Du Qian has asked Li Yun to resign more than once.

This wasn't Du Qian being polite; rather, given his status and authority, there was no need for him to concurrently serve as the Minister of Personnel.

The Minister of Personnel, nominally in charge of personnel appointments, actually required the approval of the Secretariat for most officials of the fifth rank and above. For those of the third rank and above, the emperor had to be informed, and the appointments even required court recommendation and deliberation. Therefore, while the position of Minister of Personnel was the pinnacle of life for most people, it was simply a burden for Prime Minister Du.

Zhuo Guangrui's appointment to the Ministry of Personnel was something Li Yun had planned long ago. However, due to the death of his father-in-law and Xue Shou's mourning period, Li Yun had no choice but to suddenly reinstate Zhuo Guangrui and temporarily put him in charge of the Ministry of Revenue.

After hearing Li Yun's words, Minister Zhuo took a deep breath, bowed his head and said, "Your Majesty, I will certainly live up to your expectations."

Emperor Li nodded, then sighed and said solemnly, "The world is too vast, and there are too many people. There are some things I cannot do myself. I hope my old brothers will help me."

"To always stand by my side."

Let's see this through to the end.

Upon hearing this, Zhuo Guangrui bowed his head deeply: "Your Majesty, we have always stood by your side and have never wavered."

Li Yun poured him some tea and continued speaking.

"There are some things I can't explain to you right now. I can only say that we'll see how things go in the future."

Let's figure it out little by little.

"Yes, Your Majesty, we will follow closely behind you."

…………

Under Li Yun's instruction and with the Zhuo family's full support, the "civil engineering state-owned enterprise" project was quickly put forward. Emperor Li personally received Zhuo Sanlang of the Zhuo family, gave him some instructions, and then sent him to Henan Province to inspect the official route.

This matter cannot be rushed. It is only in the "project initiation" stage now. There are still investigations, budget estimates, and so on. It will be difficult to complete it in less than two or three years.

Li Yun wasn't in a hurry. As long as the country was moving in the direction he pointed out, he didn't care much about how fast or slow it was.

This concerns the national system and involves countless people; taking too big a step could easily backfire.

Even the slightest mistake can be a devastating disaster for ordinary people.

After all, there are virtually no external threats from overseas now and for centuries to come, allowing this country to move forward step by step.

Just as the emperor was about to embark on a major construction project, Zhou Chang, the Duke of Yang, who had been summoned to the capital, finally arrived in Luoyang. This old friend of His Majesty the Emperor changed his clothes at the Ministry of Rites' guild hall and went straight into the palace, where he knelt before His Majesty the Emperor.

"Your subject is Zhou Chang."

The Duke of Yang bowed his head deeply, his forehead touching the ground.

"Kowtow to Your Majesty."

(End of this chapter)