Promotion Letter for the Chief Executive

In the end, Ping An still failed to return to the capital with the large army.

After all, the people in the capital had been waiting impatiently for a long time. If Ping'an really built roads all the way to the capital, I'm afraid it might not be possible to get there after a year.He himself wanted to use this matter to build momentum and increase the confidence of others, but he didn't know that these were not so important for political things.

So other people simply don't want to wait that long.

The emperor was not willing either.

His mood may be a little different from others.After all, no matter how many things Ping An did, they were all for Da Chu and the court, and he didn't need to take credit for such things. The more such things he ruled, the more it showed that he was a wise ruler.

The emperor just couldn't wait to see the concrete road made by Ping An.

Anyone who has been in contact with Ping An knows that this person seems to be able to come up with many wonderful ideas anytime, anywhere.Whether it was Lei Zhenzi before or the cement road now, without seeing it with my own eyes, just listening to other people's descriptions always scratches the surface, which is full of meaning.

Since the emperor had this privilege, he naturally didn't want to wait any longer. ——As the emperor, he was already very unhappy that he was not the first to see these inventions. What's more, even ordinary people have seen them now, but he still has to wait. How can the emperor be happy?

So he ordered Ping An to leave the engineering team behind and bring a small amount of cement for experiments to Beijing.

The purpose of Ping'an itself is to build momentum. Now that the emperor can't wait to order him to return to the capital, it is obvious that he has succeeded, or succeeded a bit too much.

Even so, when Ping An finally returned to the capital, it was already autumn.

Dama arrived outside the city gate, sat safely on the horse, looked at this strange yet familiar city, with a lot of thoughts in his heart.But it also made him more certain that he did the right thing by leaving the capital this time.

Now that Ping An thinks back on the things he did before, he only feels frivolous and naive, with a bit of boasting that he can't bear to look directly at.

At that time, after all, I had just crossed over, and I didn't understand many things, so I just followed my instinct.In fact, in Ping An at that time, although there were many things in his mind, there were few parts that could be connected with reality.Fortunately, he still knows how to keep a low profile, otherwise, he might have done something wrong and died countless times.

And going out this trip, in addition to experiencing the baptism of war, not only made his character more resolute and stable in Ping An, but also greatly increased Ping An's knowledge and made him understand what kind of world he was living in.The customs, the people's life... All these are impossible to see in the palace.

Read thousands of books, travel thousands of miles, the ancients will not deceive me.

In fact, in this way, Ping An listened to sympathize with the emperor.Because as the Ninth Five-Year Lord, he must put his own safety first, and there must be no danger. In addition, there are too many political affairs to deal with, so it is basically impossible to have the time and opportunity to leave the palace.

Even if he went out of the palace in subdued clothes occasionally, and just walked casually in the capital, there were still dozens of imperial guards guarding in the dark.

As for what the world outside the capital looks like, and what kind of life the people live, they can only rely on the few descriptions in the occasional memorials sent by the courtiers outside the capital to imagine for themselves.

So why do you say that the emperor must listen to the emperor?Because everything he knew was told to him by others.If you only believe in one of them, the wine glass may not be deceived.Of course, if the Wenchen Group united to deceive the emperor, no matter how many people he listened to, it would be useless.

Therefore, the power of the prime minister can sometimes even overshadow the power of the emperor. If the ruler is weak and the ministers are strong, it is easy for the country to be unstable.

Ping An thought that maybe he could give Zhao Can an opinion, and let the princes go to other places to train for a few years after they grow up, and then return to Beijing to get married.A capable and ambitious prince, after such training, will surely stand out from the crowd of brothers, which is much better than staying in the capital and staring at that position.

Of course, there may be various problems in this way, but there must be a way to solve them.

However, right now it is better to hurry to Beijing to face the saint.Ping An came back to his senses and found that the people behind him were all looking at him eagerly.

Except for Qi Ming and Xiao Quan, none of the people they took with them when they went to Qinzhou were brought back safely.And these people who followed him were naturally another group.If it weren't for peace, they might never leave the place where they grew up, let alone come to the capital.

To these people, this seemingly ordinary, chaotic and cramped city is like a bustling fairyland on earth.

So Ping An stopped here to express his emotions, and they didn't dare to speak rashly, but just stared at him eagerly, waiting for his order to do what to do.

Pingan thought for a while, looked at the sky, and said, "Go to the gate of the palace first, I will meet you when I enter the palace, and you will wait outside. Bring the tools and cement. It is still early, maybe the emperor will Let everyone get a piece of concrete to come out and have a look.”

"Yes." Everyone quickly agreed.In fact, even if Ping An does not explain, these things can only be carried with them, because they can't find a place to put them, and they don't feel relieved to put them elsewhere.After all, this is something that even His Majesty the Emperor cares about. What if someone bumps it and moves it?

When they arrived at the gate of the imperial palace, after registration, someone would naturally go in to report, and Ping An explained to the guards of the imperial city, telling them not to drive away the people he had brought back.After all, it was the gate of the imperial palace, and ordinary people could not come here at will, otherwise they would be expelled.If an official passed by and saw it, he might also ask questions.

After a while, the little eunuch who went in to report came back, followed by eunuch Tian who was full of joy.Apparently, after hearing that Ping An had returned to Beijing, he came to greet him in person.

"Ping An, you really told me to wait!" Eunuch Tian walked to the gate of the palace and immediately said with a smile, "Go in quickly, Your Majesty is waiting. I heard that you are back, and you can't even take care of the approval."

Pingan smiled and told him about the hard work, and then pointed to the things being carried behind him and said, "There is no property in Qinzhou, so I brought one thing back and intend to dedicate it to His Majesty. I also ask Eunuch Tian to help find some Someone come and carry it in."

Eunuch Tian looked back and found that four people were carrying something tightly wrapped in cloth strips, he couldn't help being surprised.

Pingan said that Qinzhou has no property, and he agrees.But since he had no property, what did he bring back?

But since it's something dedicated to the emperor, naturally he shouldn't ask.Eunuch Tian beckoned, called two guards over, and took the things over.

The people who followed Ping An have been dumbfounded since they entered the city. Now seeing that Ping An can deal with the people in the palace with ease, and can command these people, they can't help being surprised and sighing, thinking that this lord is really amazing.

When he arrived at the Primordial Hall, the emperor was also attracted by the things carried by the guards for the first time, "What are you?"

"This is my tribute to His Majesty." Ping An said, "This time I went out and saw a lot of things, which made people feel grateful for the great grace of the emperor, so I made this thing and dedicated it to Your Majesty."

"What is it? Open it and have a look."

Ping An personally went over and unwrapped the cloth strips, revealing the contents inside.But it was a wooden stick more than three feet long.But upon closer inspection, it didn't seem to be a wooden stick. When Pingan asked two guards to open it, Zhang Dongyuan suddenly exclaimed, "Ah, isn't this a folding fan?"

"Huh?" The emperor turned to look at him, "Do you know this thing?"

"Your Majesty forgot? The news from the other day said that a small gadget called a folding fan is popular in the south of the Yangtze River, and I even sent two of them. Your Majesty likes it very much. How many adults did you reward?" Zhang Dongyuan said.

The emperor remembered, "Oh... I remember. But the folding fan is small enough to be held in the hand, and Ping An is also a folding fan?"

"Director Zhang's eyes are exactly folding fans." Ping An said, "Others' folding fans are naturally small, but mine is dedicated to His Majesty, so it is naturally larger."

One sentence made everyone laugh.

One of the purposes of Ping An's offering of folding fans was to advertise. Didn't expect that there were already folding fans in the palace?It must have been sent by the Secretary of the Imperial City, and the action was quite fast.Hearing this statement, the emperor actually rewarded the ministers?In this way, folding fans will soon become popular in the capital.

It's better for Liu's family to open their shop quickly.

But this purpose is only incidental, the real meat of the show——

When the huge fan was fully opened, everyone's eyes were focused on the fan.Now everyone knows that the content on the fan is what evaluates the value of a folding fan.For example, the treasures of the town store in Fengyue Boundless, both poems and paintings, are only exchanged and not sold.The works of other scribes are also priced accordingly.

"Huh?" The emperor looked at it twice, couldn't help getting up from the throne, walked down to the fan, and looked at it carefully.

The others couldn't help but look over there. Two of the guards stood up holding their folding fans. They were close, and even peeked out of the corners of their eyes.But after everyone saw the painting on the fan, they didn't speak.

After a long while, the emperor asked, "Ping An, what is your painting?"

"Returning to Your Majesty, the painting depicts the soldiers of the Western Rong besieging Chang'an, and Lei Zhenzi's first manifestation of his might." Ping An said.

The emperor had seen this war repeatedly in the battle reports and the memorials of the ministers and generals.But words are much more abstract than pictures.Moreover, this painting was drawn by Ping An himself, not the painting method that is popular today that emphasizes imagery and ignores content.Instead, he tried his best to reproduce the scene at that time.

This kind of Western-style painting method has not appeared in Dachu so far, so everyone was a little shocked when they suddenly saw this lifelike picture.

The emperor looked at it carefully for a long time before nodding his head and saying, "Okay, okay! Ping An, I like your gift very much. What do you want?"

"Your Majesty doesn't dare to be a minister." Ping An said, "I just want His Majesty to see the situation of the Northwest War. The soldiers are brave and the three armies use their lives. It is my blessing. The victory of this war is due to these people. .If His Majesty must reward, I hope His Majesty can give more compensation to the families of those soldiers who died in battle."

"It's natural." The emperor said immediately.

He was really satisfied with this gift, so Zhang Dongyuan asked someone to quickly make a base and put the fan in the hall, when the time came, he would invite important ministers to come and have a look.

Ping'an's eyes lit up when he heard the words, and the smile on his face deepened.

After the emperor admired it enough, he ordered the fan to be temporarily put away, and then looked at Pingan again, "By the way, I heard from the person who reported that you brought back those who repaired the cement road?"

"Yes." The emperor asked him to come back, isn't it for this reason!

The emperor said, "Okay, let's see where to build a road in the capital, and then I will let the ministers go for a walk."

"This is easy." Pingan quickly selected a place, "Every spring, the vicinity of Jinming Lake is very lively, and many people in the capital go to enjoy the water in the suburbs of spring. But because it is outside the city, the roads there are always busy. Good. How about paving a section of road there, just in time for the great victory in the northwest, and the captives will be sent to the capital one after another. At that time, His Majesty can order the army to conduct drills in Jinming Lake, so that the enemy chieftains can see our mighty Chu army."

The emperor was overjoyed when he heard the words, "Just as you said! I will order you to cooperate and build the road as soon as possible."

Although it is a good thing to win the battle, the disposal of those captives caused the emperor a great headache.Those who could be sent to the capital were the tribal leaders of Xirong.

It is naturally impossible to put it back, and it seems inappropriate to kill it. It will give Xirong an opportunity to make excuses, for example, the reason for the next invasion is to avenge these people or something.Secondly, there are too many people, and the leader of the enemy can be killed, but it is impossible to kill all dozens of people.

In the end, most of them can only be placed under house arrest.

This will naturally be unpleasant, after all, the two countries who have enmity for generations have to waste rice and feed them for nothing.

Of course, the matter that Ping An mentioned was of no use in relocating these people.But it's cool, showing the might of Chu in front of these prairie barbarians and deterring them will naturally make the emperor happy.

Besides, although these captives were captured, they were all rebellious. The emperor hadn't seen it before, but I heard that all of them seemed to be unwilling to give in, which was a headache.If this method can be used to deter them, make them soften their attitude and even surrender to Da Chu, it would be the best.

These people are the leaders of the tribe. Think about the reaction in Xirong when they heard that their leader was captured and rebelled, and now he has become a courtier of Da Chu.

Thinking about it this way, the emperor naturally became happy, wishing he could pave the concrete road today safely.

By the way, there is also that Lei Zhenzi!Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of the folding fan on the side, and the emperor suddenly remembered this, and asked again, "By the way, that Lei Zhenzi, did you make it yourself, Ping An?"

"I found a lot of craftsmen from the Northwest." Ping An said casually, "I can hand over this recipe to the Gunpowder Bureau, but the Gunpowder Bureau is full of problems today, and even if there is a prescription, it is difficult to make a qualified Lei Zhenzi. Your Majesty also knows that this thing is very dangerous, if it explodes accidentally, all the people of Great Chu will be injured."

"What's the problem?" The emperor frowned.

Ping An brought back his long-awaited standardized model, and used his time in the Archery Department as an example.What he said was straightforward and easy to understand, and the emperor couldn't help but nodded frequently, "You're right. If that's the case, let the Shiling Military Bureau implement this standardized process."

After a pause, he asked again, "It's safe for you to bring it up, how about asking you to go to the Military Bureau to take charge of this matter?"

"Your Majesty, absolutely not!" Ping An was taken aback, didn't he say that he would enter the Prison of Rituals after returning?Why did it change suddenly?Or did he behave so well that the emperor moved his mind?

His eagerness to get rid of it surprised the emperor, "Why not?"

Only then did Ping An realize that there was something wrong with his attitude, and he quickly explained, "Your Majesty, I am just making minor corrections. If I were really asked to preside over this matter, I am afraid I will not be able to do it well. I will stay by Your Majesty's side." , Just use your lips and come up with suggestions."

Only then did the emperor clear his doubts, shook his head and laughed, "You! If that's the case, then stay with me."

Only then did Ping An breathe a sigh of relief.Regardless of whether the emperor really intends to do so, or just to test him, he will not do this.Because there are too many aspects involved, things are complicated and trivial, and all energy must be put into it.

That's not what I can do now.

Besides, for such an important matter, there are naturally many people vying to do it. If Ping An accepts the errand, it will offend people, especially those who were originally in the military battle. Will they be happy if they get the job done?At that time, there will be another intrigue.Ping An doesn't have that skill.

Besides, after this battle, Zhao Can can be regarded as standing in front of the stage.In this way, it will naturally become a thorn in the eyes of many people, and they wish they could get rid of it quickly.He stayed by the emperor's side and was well informed, so he could read these for Zhao Can.If you go to the military battle bureau, you will be beyond your reach, and you won't be able to help you with anything.

At critical moments, there is still a big difference whether there is someone to help speak.Perhaps one sentence could save Zhao Can's life, and of course Ping An would not ignore it.

Now that the emperor said these words himself, he finally felt relieved.

Originally, he had prepared other things, which could always impress the emperor and achieve his goal.Although it is not used anymore, it can also be used to please the emperor.

So Ping An took out the plan about the cement road and handed it to the emperor, "When I was on the road, I heard that the princes in the court were arguing endlessly about it. But although road construction is a matter of people's livelihood, it is not considered a military and state importance." It is really disturbing to have to work so many people. After much deliberation, I still came up with a solution to share your majesty's worries. These are just some humble opinions of my ministers, please take a look at them."

"Oh?" The emperor took it curiously, and opened it to have a look.

But the more you look at him, the more dignified his face becomes.

Ping An's plan, after thinking and sorting out, is much more detailed and clear than when Ping An told Eunuch Tian before.

Before eunuch Tian returned to Beijing, he only had time to tell the emperor what he meant by peace. Afterwards, the matter spread, and some people in the court wanted to intervene.

Sure enough, Ping An did not disappoint him.When doing things, he can calm down, from the invention of cement to the previous standardization, which can illustrate this point.Zhang Dongyuan also said that no matter where Ping An goes, it can bring about some changes.If it weren't for the reluctance, the emperor really wanted to send Ping An to other places and ask him to do more practical things.

And when he was asked to come up with an idea, his ideas were one after another, with fantastic ideas, but they were able to hit the core of the problem, which was amazing.

For example, the solution proposed in the plan of Ping An at this moment.

The city cement company and the road company do it in the name of royalty.There are several advantages in this way. First, since the emperor came forward, the courtiers would naturally not be able to argue with him.

Secondly, with this sign here, you won't be hindered when you do things locally.After all, they have the ability to listen to the sky, and no one would like to cause such trouble.And if any force does this, it will not be able to achieve this effect.Ping An also specially explained that doing so can repair all the roads in the shortest time and the fastest speed and improve the lives of the people.

However, under such a high-sounding reason, there is a third benefit concealed: all profits of the cement plant and the road company will be included in the internal treasury.

The emperor hadn't thought about this before.After all, it is a good thing that benefits the country and the people, and he never thought of reaping benefits from it.But after being reminded by Ping An, he realized that this is also something that can make money. In this way, who knows if there will be any problems if it is handed over to others?On the contrary, putting this part of the money into the internal treasury made the emperor feel more at ease.

Although the whole world belongs to the emperor, the founding emperor of Great Chu separated the national treasury and the internal treasury in order to prevent his descendants from being extravagant and reckless.

The money in the national treasury, as the name suggests, is the tax revenue received by the country every year.The money is taken from the people and used for the people. In addition to the salaries of officials, the rest are used in various projects and political affairs.

As for the money in the inner treasury, it is naturally for the emperor and the royal family to spend.There are two sources of money in the internal treasury, one is treasury appropriation.Every year, the national treasury allocates part of the tax revenue and puts it into the internal treasury.The second is the operating income of Huangzhuang Huangdian.However, this part of the income is actually very good, and it is enough for the concubine's cosmetics.The real big head is the appropriation from the treasury.

Therefore, Ping An gave the emperor a way to persuade the ministers: after the establishment of the royal factory and company, the internal treasury no longer needs treasury appropriation.