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

Chapter 172 I Will Dedicate My Life to the Crown Prince

When Jackie Chan asked for his advice, Shen Ye did not immediately share his thoughts.

He is now interested in grooming Jackie Chan.

As a renowned minister, Yu Chenglong possessed both ability and skill; the only thing he lacked was an understanding of the construction of fast-track corridors.

Or perhaps, his perspective wasn't broad enough.

If Shen Ye wants to succeed by slacking off, he must train Yu Chenglong.

The more capable the assistant, the greater the likelihood that he will slack off.

"Lord Yu, you are the governor-general. What do you think is the most important thing you should do?"

Yu Chenglong frowned subconsciously, thinking to himself, "Young Master, isn't this the question I just asked? Why are you passing it back to me? Are you trying to pass the buck?"
That's not fair!

Unfortunately, a higher rank can have a significant impact, especially since he was only a second-rank official, while the Crown Prince's rank was just a tiny bit away from the Emperor's.

This disparity left Yu Chenglong with no choice but to speak first, feeling frustrated.

"I believe that the most important thing now is to get the road directly to Tongzhou running. Only when this road is operational and all shareholders see the hope of making money will the construction of other roads proceed more quickly."

"After all, businessmen are profit-driven. Only when they see the hope of making money will they try every means to invest in that direction."

Yu Chenglong's answer is correct; for the fast-track department, this seems to be the most important thing.

However, Shen Ye shook his head and said, "Lord Yu, this matter is important, but it is not the most important one."

"There are two things you need to do first."

Shen Ye spoke of time, holding up one finger, and said, "The first thing is to establish a school specifically responsible for teaching road construction, and to train a group of young people who can build roads."

"These people don't need to be too smart, but they must be able to endure hardship, adapt to living in the open, and memorize the knowledge of road construction thoroughly."

"With such a group of talented people, you can focus on building roads without any worries."

"To avoid regretting the lack of knowledge when you need it, and making a mess of the road construction in a rush."

Upon hearing Shen Ye's words, Yu Chenglong's eyes lit up, but then he said somewhat sadly, "Your Highness, this school is easy to set up, but what about the arrangements for these people after they are trained?"

"The imperial court... the imperial court would never allow them to become officials."

Shen Ye smiled and patted Yu Chenglong on the shoulder, saying, "They're learning technical skills, how can they become officials?"

"After they graduate, you can appoint them as technical officials in the Governor's Office."

"Specifically responsible for technical aspects."

At this point, he smiled and said, "Of course, those who make outstanding contributions can request an award from the imperial court."

"Now, we can give them a title, like 'engineer,' and then divide them into senior, intermediate, and junior levels."

Yu Chenglong nodded repeatedly and said, "Your Highness is right. I will definitely find some experienced road repairmen and have them come to teach."

"Within a year, no, within six months, we will definitely produce the first batch of students."

Hearing Yu Chenglong's assurance, Shen Ye mentally complained. In his previous life, it took four or five years of study to cultivate talents in civil engineering.

You've trained people in just six months.

Your speed is truly impressive!
Thinking this to himself, Shen Ye smiled and said, "I'm relieved that Lord Yu has this determination."

"In addition, road construction and river management are inseparable. You can contact Jin Fu and train a group of such talents for him as well."

“We don’t have enough money for the fast track, but the River Works Bureau has plenty of money and offices in the capital. It would be better to cooperate with them directly to run the school.”

"The river works will pay for it, and you, Lord Yu, will contribute your labor. Isn't that a win-win situation and mutually beneficial cooperation?" Yu Chenglong hadn't considered the funding for running the school yet. After all, Shen Ye had just mentioned it, and he hadn't fully digested it yet. But he didn't expect that the Crown Prince had even thought of this aspect.

For a moment, Jackie Chan was filled with the impulse to die for someone who understands him.

The Crown Prince is so good to me!

I will serve the Crown Prince with all my might!
Wait, something doesn't seem right. I am loyal to His Majesty, and I cannot be disloyal to him!

Just as Yu Chenglong was struggling with his decision, Shen Ye continued, "Master Yu, what name do you plan to give this school?"

Is it even worth naming this kind of school?

Isn't it just a school for training technical officials?
Yu Chenglong hadn't thought of any of this, but looking at the Crown Prince's smiling eyes, he instantly understood.

The prince remembered this name.

He quickly replied to this trivial matter, "Your Highness, this school was proposed by you, so please bestow a name upon it."

Who says an honest official can't flatter? This Lord Yu in front of us is very good at it!
Shen Ye didn't stand on ceremony and readily said, "Since this school teaches road construction and water management, why not take one word from each of these two aspects?"

“Road construction is actually done with earth and wood, while water conservancy is done with water and earth. Let’s take one character from each, namely water and wood. So, instead of calling it Tsinghua University, let’s call it Tsinghua Vocational Training College.”

Yu Chenglong pondered the name the Crown Prince had chosen for himself for a moment, then couldn't help but give a thumbs up and say, "Your Highness, this name is truly brilliant!"

"Not only is it catchy, but it also embodies the two directions we are cultivating."

Looking at Yu Chenglong, who seemed to think he was inferior to Yu, Shen Ye thought to herself, "What do you know? I had to drag Jin Fu's River Conservancy Office over here just to come up with this name."

Do you know how hard it is for me?!

Of course, he would never tell Yu Chenglong about this little scheme of his.

"Lord Yu, besides cultivating talent, another important aspect is updating road construction technology."

Shen Ye said to Yu Chenglong, "I was reading some random books the other day and I came across a note that said if you burn stones and clay together, the resulting lime can be mixed with water and dried to become as hard as stone."

"And they can solidify together."

"Have someone buy a brick kiln or a ceramic kiln to test it out. If this stuff is real, then we won't need to use whole stones to build stone roads anymore; we can use this kind of lime instead."

Yu Chenglong knew that the biggest expense in building the expressway was the stone. The stone blocks quarried from the deep mountains were not only very expensive, but also difficult to transport.

If these stone slabs were turned into gravel and then the lime that the prince mentioned were poured on them, the speed of building a stone road would definitely increase many times over!

"Your Highness, is this true?"

Shen Yexin said that this was absolutely true, but she really didn't know the formula ratio. In her previous life, she had only visited a cement plant once with her superiors and knew about the raw materials used to make cement.

As for how it's made, how would I know!
However, when faced with Jackie Chan's question, Shen Ye could not show any weakness. He said calmly, "Lord Yu, I'm not sure if it's true or not. It's just something I wrote down in my notebook."

"Anyway, it's just burning lime. Why don't you just find a brick kiln to try it out?"

"If we succeed, it will greatly promote our road construction; if we fail, it will just be a waste of effort."

Yu Chenglong nodded hurriedly. What the Crown Prince said made sense. Compared with this small investment, if successful, it would be twice as effective in building the expressway.

"Lord Yu, just do as you say for now. If you don't have anything else to do, don't bother me."

"As you can see, I've been busy these past two days marrying a concubine."

Looking at the brightly decorated Crown Prince's residence, and then at the innocent-looking Crown Prince, Yu Chenglong suddenly felt a little speechless.

　The third update of the day is here! Please support me, everyone!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)