The struggle for the throne among nine princes—I really don't want to be the crown prince.

Chapter 121 This rebellious son is truly despicable.
The Qianxi Emperor's imperial carriage wound its way for several miles. Sitting in the wide dragon palanquin, the Qianxi Emperor's gaze was fixed on the stone-paved road that resembled a giant dragon.

At this point, the stone-paved roadbed had already been laid.

Tens of thousands of disaster victims braved the scorching sun to continuously transport stone slabs.

Unlike the disaster victims in Emperor Qianxi's mind, these disaster victims, although dressed in rags, had a very good mental outlook.

You can even hear their work chants.

"Yu Chenglong has gone to great lengths to get these disaster victims to work so hard," Emperor Qianxi said with a touch of emotion.

Grand Secretary Zhang Ying added, "I just met a disaster victim who said that Yu Chenglong cooks large pots of stew for them every day using pork and beef bones."

"Although there is very little meat, there is plenty of oil."

"Moreover, each person is given three vegetable dumplings per meal, so although they are not full, they are not hungry either."

"However, what keeps these disaster victims so energetic and working is their wages."

"The daily wages allow these disaster victims to have money to buy things and also save money."

Emperor Qianxi nodded, deeply moved.

Regarding the disaster relief efforts for the Yellow River floods, he felt that the work had been done well, after all, various kinds of food had been transported from all directions.

However, there is still a gap compared to this place.

"Yu Chenglong's contributions are indispensable!" Emperor Qianxi was overjoyed.

"Someone, summon Yu Chenglong!"

As the Prefect of Shuntian Prefecture, Yu Chenglong was to accompany and escort Emperor Qianxi when he left the palace.

Upon hearing the Emperor Qianxi's summons, Yu Chenglong hurried over.

When Emperor Qianxi praised him for his good handling of the disaster relief, Yu Chenglong immediately knelt on the ground and said sincerely, "Your Majesty, I did not contribute anything to the disaster relief."

"All of this is thanks to the Crown Prince; I was merely following orders!"

"If it weren't for His Highness the Crown Prince raising funds for disaster relief, these disaster victims wouldn't even be able to earn money, let alone have two bowls of porridge a day."

Yu Chenglong was telling the truth. Although he was an honest official, he knew very well that without money, nothing could be accomplished.

Emperor Qianxi looked at Yu Chenglong, who was looking very serious, and said in a deep voice, "The Crown Prince has made contributions to this matter, and you, my dear minister, have made equally great contributions."

As he spoke, his gaze fell on the railway tracks on both sides of the road.

The rails are mainly made of square timber covered with sheet metal, and they look very sturdy.

Emperor Qianxi had already heard the report, but he was still somewhat surprised to see two horses pulling three carriages linked together and speeding away.

As an emperor who frequently left the palace, Emperor Qianxi was very knowledgeable about many things.

He was well aware of the difficulties in transporting goods, especially by land, as not only was the transport speed slow, but the carts could not carry much.

Because there were too many horses, the carriage couldn't move them.

But now, the three carts linked together are piled high with stone slabs.

According to Emperor Qianxi's estimate, this cart weighed at least two or three thousand catties.

But now, these three vehicles are linked together and pulled by the horse-drawn carriage, rushing past in the blink of an eye, and have gone far away.

While it may not be as exhilarating as galloping on horseback, it's not far off.

"Is this the path the Crown Prince designed?" Emperor Qianxi asked, looking at Yu Chenglong.

Yu Chenglong respectfully said, "Your Majesty, the Crown Prince named this road 'Railway' probably because it was built with iron rails."

"Using this specially designed trolley to run on the rails is not only stable, but also fast, saving both time and effort."

"According to the Crown Prince's design, a post station was set up every ten li, and horses were changed every ten li. It would take only one hour to transport these stone slabs from Chaoyang Gate to Tongzhou."

"That's why many businessmen have realized the value of this road and are frantically buying shares in it."

"Now, one share has risen to about three thousand taels of silver."

Upon hearing this figure, Emperor Qianxi was overjoyed. He held nearly four hundred shares, which translated to 1.2 million taels of silver.

In the past, Emperor Qianxi had only heard about this road from others, but now that he saw it with his own eyes, he was deeply moved.

He couldn't help but look at the Crown Prince, who was pushing this path, with new respect. This exceptionally intelligent son was just like his own!

At this moment, in addition to the pride of being a father, he also felt a slight sense of apprehension.

The Crown Prince's abilities are even greater than I imagined!
With such a shrewd and calculating crown prince, wouldn't most people start hoping for his early ascension to the throne, and then curse me to die young?
Even if I live a few more years, life won't be easy if that rebellious son ascends the throne early and makes me Li Longji!

Could it be that I...

After thinking it over, he remembered what Zhao Chang had told him some time ago: that the Crown Prince had asked the ministers who remained in the capital to go to Yuqing Palace.

Is he so eager to experience what it's like to be an emperor?

It's almost time, why hasn't Zhao Chang sent the message yet!

"Your Majesty, I believe that although this railway is very expensive to build, once completed, it will bring immeasurable benefits to the administration of the court."

Yu Chenglong was a capable minister, and seeing that Emperor Qianxi remained silent, he directly began to speak.

In Jackie Chan's view, building such a road is a good thing.

So he proceeded directly to the audience.

Emperor Qianxi snapped out of his reverie. Looking at the winding road ahead, he pondered for a moment and said, "Minister Yu, this kind of road, forty li long, would cost more than four hundred thousand taels of silver."

"If too much is built, the imperial treasury won't be able to handle it!"

Yu Chenglong fell silent for a moment.

He knew that Emperor Qianxi was telling the truth. Although this path had many advantages, there was one thing that could not be changed.

That's too expensive.

A hundred li of road would require one million taels of silver.

Even within the entire Zhili region, this amount of money was beyond the capacity of the Ministry of Revenue's treasury.

His Majesty doesn't have the money to repair it.

What about the crown prince?

Just then, a young eunuch rode up on a fast horse. After exchanging a few words with the guards serving Emperor Qianxi, he presented a memorial to the emperor.

Looking at the contents of the memorial, Emperor Qianxi felt a tingling sensation throughout his body.

Because the memorial clearly contained what Shen Ye had said to his ministers.

Everyone should do their job!

If it doesn't work out, let's discuss it!
If a decision is still difficult to make, send someone to inform the emperor.

Of course, for matters that are too urgent and difficult to decide, the matter should be reported to the Crown Prince.

Furthermore, the Crown Prince didn't even look at matters concerning personnel and impeachment; he simply had them sent directly to the Emperor.

Upon seeing this content, Emperor Qianxi was greatly angered by the Crown Prince's laziness and negligence in governing.

However, upon closer examination, Emperor Qianxi's anger dissipated considerably.

Because if he were to oversee the country in this way, he would not have to fear that his authority would be usurped by the crown prince.

In particular, the fact that the crown prince does not participate in the appointment, removal, and impeachment of officials effectively means that he has relinquished most of his power.

However, if the Crown Prince doesn't read the memorials impeaching people, then I'll still have to handle the matter of impeaching Mingzhu myself!

In this sweltering heat, haven't I just wasted my time?
Thinking of this, Emperor Qianxi couldn't help but curse, "This rebellious son is truly despicable!"

"After returning to the palace, given his incredibly lazy attitude, I must teach him a lesson!"

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(End of this chapter)