In the New Year's Imperial Court.
Hundreds of officials gathered in Taiji Palace. Two strange figures appeared in Taiji Palace, which surprised the officials.
"The Magistrate of Yi Province and the Magistrate of Hanzhong!"
When the officials saw the two figures, they couldn't help but be in an uproar. They didn't expect that the Magistrate of Yi Province and the Magistrate of Hanzhong would come together as soon as the officials of Shu County had submitted their letters. There was only one purpose, which was the plan of Shu County.
The Magistrate of Hanzhong was not far from Chang 'an, so it was not strange that they could arrive there in such a short time. However, Yi Province was thousands of miles away from Chang' an, but they could arrive there in such a short time. People couldn't help but feel that the Magistrate of Yi Province was eager to build the Shu County Road.
For a long time, people had been saying that one was better than two, which showed the prosperity of Yi Province. However, with the large-scale construction of brick roads, major cities suddenly emerged. Lanzhou, Kaifeng, and even Hankou, which used to be looked down upon by Yi Province, showed signs of surpassing Yi Province. Coupled with the imperial court's prohibition of alcohol, the wine industry in Shu County found a devastating blow. The originally high wine tax immediately became empty talk, and the tax of Yi Province plummeted.
In recent years, in the Ministry of Personnel's assessment, the county magistrates of Lanzhou, Kaifeng, and Hankou were all superior, but he, as the Magistrate of Yi Province, was in the middle. If this continued, he was afraid that he would lose his position. How could he not be anxious?
When he heard about Mo Jiazi's plan of Shu County Road and the difficulties of Shu County Road, the Magistrate of Yi Province immediately knew that his chance had come. Once the Shu County Road was built, the land of Shu County and Chang 'an would be connected. The development of Yi Province would certainly advance by leaps and bounds. What's more, he could use the Shu County Road to go further and be listed in the imperial court.
"I, Feng Guan, the Magistrate of Yi Province, am here with the People's Book of Ten Thousand People, begging Your Majesty to build the Shu County Road." In Taiji Palace, Feng Guan, the Magistrate of Yi Province, held the People's Book of Ten Thousand People and begged earnestly. He said that the people of Shu County had a long road ahead of them. The officials in the imperial court were all moved.
"The Governor of Yi Province is too impatient. The Imperial Court has already decided that it is too early to build the Shu Road. Moreover, it involves the risk of the gunpowder leaking. Not to mention the huge cost of building the Shu Road. According to the current situation, it is impossible to build the Shu Road." The new Chancellor, Ma Jiayun, refuted.
Hanzhong County's Liang Mingzhe bowed again and said, "It is not that this lowly official is impatient, but the land of Shu cannot wait any longer. As everyone knows, there are four roads from Chang 'an to the land of Shu. The first one is the well-known Taurus Path. The Taurus Path is the shortest, but the most dangerous. Merton's poem 'The Way of Shu is difficult, it's as difficult as ascending to the blue sky' refers to this place. "
The officials nodded slightly. Although they were in the imperial court, they had long heard of the Taurus Path's reputation.
"In addition, there are also the Ziwu Path, Baoxie Path, and Chencang Path. These Shu County roads are either long or have dangerous terrain. They are not suitable for road construction. Moreover, they are all not open to traffic. They can only be transported by horse and manpower. If the Shu Road can be built, it will certainly change the history of Shu County being closed to traffic for thousands of years." The Magistrate of Hanzhong said excitedly.
Even a small Lanzhou County's Magistrate could use the Longhai Route to become a new political figure of the Tang dynasty. If the Shu Road could be built, his future achievements in Hanzhong would certainly not be inferior to Lanzhou. At least now, the output of the entire land of Shu County was far greater than the entire northwest region. Even the Western Region was not as important as Shu County.
The Magistrate of Yizhou bowed and said, "Since ancient times, during the Warring States Period, the Qin State's strength greatly increased after obtaining Shu County. Finally, it unified the six states. When Chu and Han were fighting for hegemony, Liu Bang hid in the land of Shu County. In the name of the Shu Road, the land of Shu County and Shu County were secretly building roads. Only then could they unify the world. When the Tang dynasty was founded, the land of Shu County contributed money, manpower, and people. Since ancient times, the fate of the land of Shu County and Guanzhong have been linked together. Now, with the Shu Road plan, the land of Shu County and Guanzhong will be connected.
The officials in the Imperial Court were silent. They naturally knew the benefits of this plan. However, if the Shu Road plan was approved, their plan to restrict Mo Jiazi would fail.
"The secret of gunpowder is too important to the Tang dynasty. Gunpowder is used for civilian use. The risk of leakage is too great." Li Ji was still hesitant and opposed.
Feng Guan said proudly, "A country will always be secured by virtue, not by danger. Gunpowder is indeed important. However, in the past, the Tang dynasty did not have gunpowder. Even so, it was still a deterrent. Not to mention, Merton has proposed to establish an engineering camp to avoid the risk of gunpowder leakage."
"Yes, just as Merton said. The ultimate purpose of military gunpowder is for civilian use. Whether it is to defend against the enemy or to blow up mountains and build roads, it is the supreme merit of gunpowder. "The Magistrate of Hanzhong continued.
Meton could not help but secretly applaud. These officials were indeed eloquent. They had actually made the officials in the Imperial Court speechless. It seemed that he had made the right choice to let the officials in the land of Sichuan act as the vanguard.
"Building roads to the land of Sichuan is something that the people of Sichuan have dreamed of for thousands of years. Your Majesty, please take pity on the people of Sichuan." The Magistrate of Yi Province and the Magistrate of Hanzhong pleaded in a mournful voice.
Hearing the pleas of the Magistrate of Yi Province and the Magistrate of Hanzhong, and thinking about the plight of Sichuan for thousands of years, all the civil and military officials could not help but sigh. They could no longer go against their will and reject the plan of Sichuan. They could besiege Mo Jiazi alone, but they could not continue to besiege millions of people of Sichuan.
The Minister of Works, Zhang Liang, frowned and said, "According to Mo Jiu's proposal, cutting off parts of the Taurus Road and Boxie Road to build the Sichuan Road will require nearly ten tunnels and more than ten bridges. Not to mention the number of mountain roads that will be needed. However, building the Sichuan Road from Chencang Road or Ziwu Road will require a much smaller amount of work. I don't know why Mo Jiu chose the hard way instead of the easy way. Could it be that this new Sichuan Road will pass through the Mo Family Village?"
The Minister of Works, Zhang Liang, was moved in his heart. Since he could not stop the plan of Sichuan Road from a righteous point of view, he could attack the plan from a moral point of view.
Suddenly, all the officials looked at Mo Jiazi, only to see Meton step out and say, "Everyone only sees the difficulties of the plan of Sichuan Road, but you do not realize the benefits of it. Cutting off parts of the Taurus Road and Boxie Road to build the new Sichuan Road may be more difficult, but it is the shortest road. It is only seven hundred miles from Chang 'an City to Hanzhong City. The New Sichuan Road can indeed be taken by other routes, but starting from Chencang Road or Ziwu Road, it will take an extra five hundred miles. The cost of these five hundred miles is probably not a small sum. Since the cost of these three roads is almost the same, why don't we choose the shortest one? Once the construction of the New Sichuan Road is completed, the time from Chang' an City to Hanzhong City can be shortened from the original ten days to one day and one night, and the carriage will not stop for the whole journey."
"One day and one night into Sichuan! The carriage will not stop! " The Governor of Yi Province and the Governor of Hanzhong City could not help but shed tears of excitement. What a miracle this would be! Not only would the time to enter and exit Sichuan be greatly reduced, even the means of transportation would be changed from manpower to carriages and horses, greatly increasing the carrying capacity. The benefits of this were self-evident.
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