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

Chapter 168 If only the Crown Prince weren't my son
It's about forty li from Chaoyangmen to Tongzhou.

The construction cost nearly 400,000 taels of silver.

In other words, it would cost about 10,000 taels of silver to build such a stone-paved road, which is about one mile long.

Of course, this also includes the meaning of providing disaster relief to victims.

If instead of providing disaster relief, the construction would be much cheaper by issuing forced labor.

and also……

Shen Ye cupped his hands towards Emperor Qianxi and said, "Your subject has calculated that it would take at least 20 million taels of silver to build such a road."

Emperor Qianxi nodded and said, "Twenty million taels of silver. You should know how much silver the Ministry of Revenue collects in a year. Moreover, after adding up all kinds of expenses, it is good if the court can have a surplus of one million taels of silver a year."

"This silver needs to be kept in reserves; it's impossible to give it to you."

"So this road of yours simply can't be built."

"Unless you want to be like Yang Guang."

What did Yang Guang do? He built the Grand Canal. Although it brought many benefits, those benefits all went to the Tang Dynasty.

He himself caused a change of dynasty.

Emperor Qianxi's words also served as a warning to his son.

Shen Ye smiled at Emperor Qianxi and said, "Your subject naturally does not want to be like Yang Guang, and you also do not intend to let the court use money to build this road."

"Your subject believes that the imperial court should establish a special department to oversee the construction of such highways and coordinate the overall repair of this road."

"As for the funds for road construction, the imperial court can divide these roads into sections by prefecture and invite local gentry and wealthy merchants to invest in the road construction, thereby sharing the profits generated by the road."

"However, the premise for doing this is to let these people see that this path can really make money."

"Only when they see the profits in this road will they be willing to invest money in it."

At this point, Shen Ye solemnly said, "What the imperial court needs is not to take control of the toll collection rights for this road, but to have another road connecting the two prefectures as soon as possible."

"Moreover, it seems like a waste of manpower and resources to carry out a major road repair."

“But if the road is built by the private sector, then the workers who build the road will have to be paid. And once the workers who build the road have money, they will have money to spend and be able to support their families.”

"In fact, this is a virtuous cycle."

The road construction model that Shen Ye described to Emperor Qianxi was actually the road construction concept of some large-scale highways in later generations.

Let the imperial court take the lead, gather funds from all sides, and charge a fee after completion...

As Emperor Qianxi listened to Shen Ye's words, he slowly fell into deep thought.

The advantages of this path are obvious. Although what Shen Ye said sounded unfamiliar to him, he felt that it was not something that could not be done.

Once you do it, the benefits are self-evident.

Putting aside everything else, once this road is completed, it will be very convenient for the wealth of Jiangnan to reach the capital.

Moreover, the imperial court's control over Jiangnan will be greatly strengthened as a result.

With a horse-drawn carriage on a stone-paved road, as long as the horses can be changed in time, traveling a thousand miles a day is not a dream.

The profits from this will be very substantial.

The Crown Prince is right. Even if the court doesn't gain anything from this road, its completion and opening to traffic will still be of great benefit to the court.

To instill confidence in wealthy individuals to invest in this path, they need to see the returns.

Where can we see the benefits? Of course, from this stone-paved road that has now been built.

If the Imperial Household Department were to intervene in this stone-paved road, not only would ordinary people not invest, but even princes and nobles would probably not contribute any money.

"How long do you think it will take to complete this road?" Emperor Qianxi pondered for a moment, then looked at Shen Ye and asked.

Shen Ye said, "Father, I believe that the completion of this road was not achieved overnight."

"However, the higher the profit from the construction, the more people will participate in building this stone-paved road."

"Finally, the roads will become more and more accessible, and eventually, such roads will be built in a crisscrossing network, leading in all directions." At this point, Shen Ye said, "As for road construction, the places to be built can be all over the country, but the imperial court can make an overall plan and then implement it in sections."

“Some areas that need repair can be fixed first, and then connected little by little.”

As Shen Ye explained, Emperor Qianxi gained a deeper understanding of road construction.

Looking at his son, who was speaking eloquently, he suddenly had a feeling that this son was definitely capable of becoming a prime minister.

If he weren't the crown prince, or my own son, and I made him the Grand Secretary, he would definitely be able to accomplish a lot of good things.

For a moment, the thought popped into Emperor Qianxi's mind: how wonderful it would be if this rebellious son wasn't his son.

Shen Ye had no idea that Emperor Qianxi held him in such high regard.

After all, in his previous life, he was just a minor official. He had never been a prime minister, let alone a regional governor!

After a moment of silence, Emperor Qianxi suddenly asked, "Who do you think is most suitable to be in charge of repairing the road?"

Shen Ye smiled and said, "Your subject is just offering an idea; as for who should carry it out, your subject is not sure."

"Father has plenty of capable ministers to govern the country. You can just choose one who is competent."

Seeing that Shen Ye did not recommend it, Emperor Qianxi felt a little relieved. He said in a deep voice, "Once this road is completed, it will be a great achievement for our dynasty, benefiting both the present and future generations."

"I will think about who should be in charge of pushing this forward, but you will be in overall charge of this matter."

Shen Ye presented this plan to persuade Emperor Qianxi with benefits, thereby preventing the fruits of his labor from falling into the hands of those greedy people in the Imperial Household Department.

Now that Emperor Qianxi has put him in charge of this matter, he has no interest in it.

This kind of thing is a bit tiring!

He quickly waved his hand and said, "Father, I didn't mean to refuse, but there's a reason. I haven't been feeling well these past two days."

"The imperial physician said that I should not overwork myself."

"I think you should let someone else take charge of this matter."

Shen Ye's refusal nearly made Emperor Qianxi furious.

You unfilial son, you're quite good at beautifying yourself!

You still have the nerve to tell me that the imperial physician said you're not in good health! Haha, looking at your daily log, you've been working non-stop these past few days, you've been quite busy.

A dignified crown prince, spending his days indulging in the company of beautiful women, chirping and twittering. In my opinion, it's not that you're physically weak, but that your very bones have turned to jelly!

The more Emperor Qianxi thought about it, the angrier he became. He said coldly, "Crown Prince, I think your poor health is not due to overwork or excessive worry, but rather a lack of self-cultivation."

"I'll talk to Cao Yin later and ask him to send his daughter to the palace six months later."

"In addition, I will also instruct the Crown Princess to keep a close eye on Yuqing Palace, which will help the Crown Prince to calm his mind and live a quiet life for a while."

Looking at the livid-faced Emperor Qianxi and hearing such a ruthless order, Shen Ye felt as if a hundred claws were tearing at his heart, and he was very helpless.

He suddenly felt like he had shot himself in the foot.

In his conjecture, although Emperor Qianxi would be attracted by the grand plan to build this road, he would not entrust him with such a project that was not only lucrative but also capable of winning people's hearts.

But no one expected that Emperor Qianxi would have such a grand vision.

It seems I was being a bit cynical in my judgment of Emperor Qianxi!

Although he was very wary of the Crown Prince, he was still decisive on important matters.

"After talking with Father Emperor for a while, I suddenly feel refreshed and full of energy. My health has also improved a lot!"

Weighing the pros and cons, Shen Ye quickly tickled Emperor Qianxi and said with a smile, "Doing more work is also good exercise. Your subject is willing to follow Father's arrangements."

"However, Father, you promised me that I would only be in charge of this matter, and there would be people to carry it out."

Emperor Qianxi nodded in agreement. Just as Shen Ye was about to take his leave, Emperor Qianxi said, "Crown Prince, have you seen this price list before?"

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(End of this chapter)