Can't a princess ascend the throne?

Chapter 424 Cement
"Your Highness, the goods have been delivered. This old servant will now take his leave."

"Why don't you rest here for a while, sir? It's windy and cold outside."

"Oh dear, Your Highness, this old servant must hurry back to report to His Majesty. His Majesty obtained that coral tree and was delighted with its color, which was like red jade. He immediately urged this old servant to send the coral to Your Highness. Seeing that Your Highness likes it, this old servant must hurry back to tell His Majesty in detail, and promise to receive His Majesty's reward."

"In that case, the wind is biting cold, so please be careful, Father-in-law. Anran and Anyang, you may see Father-in-law off."

"Then this old servant will take his leave."

Jiu Fu went out with a smile, but his pace was not slow. Chunyu Shuang peeked through the gap in the curtain and saw that he was walking away like the wind. She couldn't help but admire him. He was indeed a man who had fought alongside His Majesty on the battlefield. Although he was getting old, his skills were still quite good.

Jiu Que had already taken Chunyu Shuang to admire the rare coral. In this era, technology was underdeveloped, and there were few ways to go into the sea, so it was truly rare to find such a complete and reddish coral. Even Emperor Jingtai, who was used to seeing good things, was full of praise.

Jiuque only glanced at it once before Emperor Jingtai sent the item over.

Chunyu Shuang also admired it for a while. This thing was more than half a person tall, with lush branches and growing wildly. It was indeed a rare treasure.

After admiring it for a while, Chunyu Shuang's anger gradually subsided. Only then did Jiu Que ask softly.

"You don't need to pay any attention to what those people said in court just now."

It would have been better if she hadn't said anything, because once she did, Chunyu Shuang was furious. At the same time, she also felt wronged for her friend.

"You've done so many things that no man could do, such monumental achievements as defeating the grasslands and capturing the royal family, yet they can ignore them. Instead, they focus on trivial matters like whether or not you get married. How can I not be angry? They're saying this on purpose."

"Since you already know, why are you still angry?"

Seeing that the other person's face was flushed with anger, Jiu Que poured her a cup of tea to calm her down. In fact, Jiu Que was already used to this kind of thing. After all, she was now capable in both civil and military affairs. What could those ministers who wanted to belittle her do besides attacking the fact that she had never been married?
"You don't need to be angry. This is just the beginning. They'll probably say it countless times in the future. Are you going to get angry about it countless times? It's just a bunch of trivial things. If you get angry, aren't you just playing into their hands? They just want to see us lose our temper so they can label us as a woman who's easily angered and doesn't know the bigger picture. Even if everyone knows it's fake, if they say it too many times, someone will eventually believe it, and then they'll be angry forever."

Chunyu Shuang had actually calmed down by now, and was even a little embarrassed. She had originally intended to comfort Jiu Que, but unexpectedly, she was the one being comforted by him instead.

After all these years, she should have gotten used to it by now.

Seeing that she had calmed down, Jiu Que then took out the plan.

“Take a look at the plan that the academy has put forward. I think it is very feasible. Developing people’s livelihood and opening up trade routes are certainly important, but opening up official roads throughout the country is even more important.”

Upon hearing this, Chunyu Shuang seemed to be deep in thought.

When she traveled with Jiu Que across the country, she also walked along official roads, which were incredibly bumpy. Many of these roads were remnants of those from the previous dynasty, and after so many years, they had fallen into disrepair, becoming riddled with potholes. Even with so many people, they found it difficult to traverse them; ordinary people probably wouldn't bother with such effort under normal circumstances. Over time, these official roads became useless.

However, if they wish to build an official road, they will inevitably have to levy corvée labor. Throughout history, there has never been a time when corvée labor was levied without bloodshed and sacrifice; therefore, the people feared corvée labor as a dreaded beast. Jiujue is currently at the height of its power; if corvée labor is levied, its already accumulated good reputation will likely suffer. "The ground hasn't even thawed yet; isn't it a bit too early to levy corvée labor?"

"Therefore, this is just a plan. However, I want to change the way we collect corvée labor this time. In the past, we collected corvée labor by making the people pay for their own travel expenses and take care of their own food, clothing, and lodging. Moreover, the supervisors were harsh, the tools were outdated, and it was dangerous to complete a project in a short time. In addition, the people had grievances, so accidents were inevitable. I think, how about a work-for-relief program?"

"Work relief in lieu of work?"

This was a new term, and Chunyu Shuang pondered it for a while before finally asking about it.

"What does it mean?"

"If I pay the people to work, provide them with three meals a day, at least one of which includes meat, and make sure they are full... do you think the people would be willing to do that?"

Chunyu Shuang listened for a moment and was dumbfounded.

Finally, he sighed under Jiu Que's worried gaze.

"With your qualifications, not only ordinary people would want to go, but even moderately wealthy families would want to go. It's just doing some work, you can eat your fill and get paid. There are plenty of people in this world who are strong and willing to work but can't find any work. I'm afraid they'll be scrambling to go for this labor service!"

"real or fake?"

Jiu Que wasn't entirely sure. After all, although she was strong and had worked alongside the common people before, manual labor was truly exhausting. Putting aside everything else, just doing the same kind of physical work for a long time would become boring.

Do the people really want this?

The people at Chaoyan Academy did say that, but with Chunyu Shuang's support, Jiu Que felt more at ease.

Since that's the case, let's tell Father Emperor about this and ask him to issue a decree to begin constructing official roads throughout the country after the spring planting season. The students of Chaoyan Academy have already developed cement suitable for the conditions of the Great Jing Kingdom. Putting everything else aside, as long as production can keep up, cement roads throughout the country can be successfully paved!
Before that, we still need to let the officials see the usability of cement. Putting aside everything else, it can not only be used for road construction, but also for the outer walls of border cities. It can dry and be used overnight, so there's no need to worry about foreign invasion. Although the biggest enemy, the grasslands, is finished, no one knows if they will make a comeback or if there are other small countries. Don't be fooled by the current friendly relations with the Great Jing. If the Great Jing shows any signs of weakness, they will definitely turn their backs on us.

In relations between nations, strength always reigns supreme!
Jiu Que was already planning in his heart which piece of land Emperor Jingtai would allocate to him, so that he could pave it with cement and let the officials see the effect.

At this moment, Chunyu Shuang remembered something.

"Your Highness, it seems that Xie Mingchen has completely broken ties with the Xie family."

"Hmm? What do you mean? The Xie family must have some hopes for Xie Mingchen, right? Didn't they throw a lavish banquet a while ago to celebrate Xie Mingchen's return home?"

"It seems something bad happened at that banquet, it was quite a mess, and Xie Mingchen even got a facial injury..."