Chongzhen Chat Group

But in fact, among the people present, there were no ordinary people at all, not even wealthy businessmen. It's not that they don't want to come, it's that they either don't have the strength, or the master behind them has come out personally. There is no other reason. The emperor has decreed that the persons auctioning shares this time must have clean financial records and register their names with real names. If you change your name in the future, you will have to pay a handling fee.

If these nobles send their agents to come forward, they can only register the names of the agents. If you want to transfer this share to yourself, you will be in big trouble. It is obviously more secure to have something that can be passed down to future generations in one's own name.

In this way, these people, including those attending the auction and watching the auction, basically all know each other.

So, someone said hello, it’s too troublesome to auction shares one by one, so let’s pack them up and bid together!

"Master Marquis, this can't be done. Auctioning shares one by one is decided by the emperor. How about you go and talk about it and save us some trouble?"

"Haha, that's all I said, forget it!"

"..."

Unconsciously, Emperor Chongzhen's authority was much greater than when he first ascended the throne, or before the Jianlu invaders invaded the capital.

If things were different before, some ministers might try to trick the emperor into changing his will. But at this time, no one dared.

The auction was held quickly, but it was not convenient for Emperor Chongzhen to go. Although he was concerned, he was not free. At this time, he was summoning the Ministry of War to report to Liu Mao.

Emperor Chongzhen picked up a memorial on the imperial table, waved it in his hand, showed it to Liu Mao, and then said with a smile: "I have already read Liu Qing's memorial about the specific provisions of the post station. . But I haven’t had time, so it’s been delayed so far.”

"Your Majesty has a lot of things to do, so please take care of your dragon body! Regarding the post station, I will stick to it to the end and will never give up halfway!" Upon hearing this, Liu Mao quickly bowed and played.

According to the emperor's request, he submitted a memorial with specific provisions, and then waited for the emperor to summon him. Unexpectedly, after waiting and waiting, there was still no news. The confidence built up in the meeting was exhausted while waiting, which made him feel unsure about the job of abolishing the inn.

But when he heard the emperor's special explanation to him, all the dissatisfaction he had accumulated earlier disappeared. He immediately stated that he would work hard and would not care about any difficulties or grievances.

Emperor Chongzhen listened to him with a smile and put the memorial back on the table. After Liu Mao finished speaking, he said: "I have thought about it, and the post station will not be abolished!"

"..." Liu Mao was stunned when he heard this.

The emperor's words were like a bolt from the blue, hitting him directly on the forehead. After doing so much work, suffering from so many overt and covert suppressions and exclusions from colleagues, and suffering from so many grievances, I finally achieved some results. Then, with full expectation of the emperor's continued support, he suddenly said, "No more layoffs?"

After Liu Mao came back to his senses, his energy and energy seemed to be sucked away by demons and monsters. He became decadent and pale. He slowly bowed down and said to Emperor Chongzhen: "I...obey the order!"

It's no wonder that the abolition of the inn has offended the interests of too many people. He is fully aware of the resistance involved. The emperor must have realized it, so he didn't want to abolish it anymore.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but sigh deeply in his heart, alas...

Seeing his reaction, Emperor Chongzhen was a little surprised, and then he immediately understood that he might have misunderstood, and quickly explained: "I'm afraid Liu Qing has misunderstood. The post station must be reformed, but not simply abolished. Today I summon you to come, I just want to talk about this!"

Liu Mao was stunned when he heard this, and he kept his body bowed and looked up at Emperor Chongzhen with a puzzled look on his face.

If we don’t abolish the inns, can we save money? If you can't cut costs, you won't be able to save money. This doesn't mean you've done nothing and your efforts have been in vain!

Seeing that he was puzzled, Emperor Chongzhen asked him: "Liu Qing should know about cement, right?"

After hearing this, Liu Mao nodded subconsciously, and then secretly whispered in his mind, what's wrong with the emperor? Isn't he talking about the abolition of the post station? Why is cement involved?

"Then you should know the properties of cement?" Emperor Chongzhen continued to ask, "Isn't it fast to build, strong, waterproof, etc.?"

Liu Mao nodded again. A three-year-old child in the capital could talk about such a big thing as cement. How could he not know about it?

Seeing him nodding again, Emperor Chongzhen said: "There are many floods in the south, and the roads suffer from rain all year round, making them muddy and difficult to walk. So I thought about using cement to rebuild the road to make it smooth and easy to walk, and no longer subject to heavy rain." The pain of mud.”

Liu Mao listened and nodded. This is a good thing, but how much does this have to do with the station he is responsible for? He can't understand!

"The road system of the Ming Dynasty is in charge of your side. Therefore, the cement road construction is also in charge of your side." Emperor Chongzhen patiently explained to him, "It is inappropriate to continue to use the name of the Ministry of War. A Daming Road and Bridge Company was also established. It would first build roads with cement in places with a lot of rain in the south and busy roads from south to north. Then the local post stations could collect tolls for vehicles traveling from north to south. As for the start-up capital, it would be provided by the local government. Fund-raising, um, is also done in the same way as the Daming Royal Cement Company, selling 49% of the shares. The other 51% of the shares will be divided between the imperial court and local officials."

This is actually equivalent to the highway of later generations. Although the roads built with cement at this time will definitely not be as smooth as the cement roads of later generations, compared with the dirt roads at that time, especially in places with a lot of rain, it is not necessary to So good to go.

Ordinary people walking will not be charged, but if you take a car, you must have some money, so you will be charged a small amount. Compared with this kind of cement road, you can walk faster, spend less time on the road, not delay your journey, and don't suffer from the muddy road. How great!

In this way, those inns actually have another function, which is toll collection, and have become toll stations. Naturally, they do not need to be abolished.

Emperor Chongzhen only proposed a general plan at this time. As for the details, we will discuss them in detail later.

At this time, Liu Mao was in charge of the abolition of inns, so he was much more familiar with roads than the average person. He immediately compared the people who would be offended by directly abolishing the inn before, and suddenly realized that building roads with cement seemed to be a promising solution.

For example, ordinary people don't need to pay to cross the road, and the roads are easier to travel than before, so they get benefits. Although the rich people pay some money, they save their time and suffer less from the journey, and they don't delay their travels. Very beneficial. The fees earned will be shared with the local government, which means that the local government will also benefit. In addition, the imperial court can also receive money, which is considered a source of income...

After such a comparison, Liu Mao suddenly realized that his previous plan to abolish the post station was completely useless.