"Your Majesty, the Shu Road plan can connect the land of Sichuan and the Guanzhong Plains. It will not only solve the problem of leaving the land of Sichuan, but also open up the passage to the south of Chang 'an. This is a win-win situation. Your Majesty, please reconsider." Unexpectedly, the Chang' an Magistrate Su Luosheng resisted the pressure of the Confucians and took the lead in supporting the Shu Road plan.
In fact, Su Luosheng's defection was not to be blamed. After all, Su Luosheng was in the same situation as the Yi and Hanzhong Prefects. No, it was even worse than them. Yi and Hanzhong Prefects were Hankou and Lanzhou. Although these two cities were developing rapidly, they did not surpass Yi and Hankou. However, Chang 'an was now completely at a disadvantage. In terms of taxes and population, it was surpassed by Luoyang. If it were not for the halo of the imperial capital, Chang' an would have been defeated long ago.
If the New Shu Road could be built, Su Luosheng's political achievements would be better. Otherwise, he would lose his position as the Chang 'an Magistrate!
"Traitor!" The Confucian officials were furious and glared at Su Luosheng. However, Su Luosheng shook his head and smiled bitterly. Just like the Yi and Hanzhong Prefects, they had no choice.
However, Su Luosheng was not the first. Soon, the local officials of Chang 'an and the land of Sichuan also supported their hometown. After all, once the New Shu Road was built, their families would also gain a lot of benefits.
"Since all of you have agreed to the plan to build the Shu Road, then …"
Li Shimin saw that the situation in the court had changed and was about to give an order. Suddenly, the Minister of Civil Affairs, Tang Jian, stepped out with a bitter smile and said, "I am not against the Shu Road plan, but the Ministry of Civil Affairs is really out of money!"
"Your Majesty, the national treasury is empty. The Ministry of Civil Affairs has no money!" Suddenly, the court was shocked. The Tang dynasty was the richest in the world, and the Ministry of Civil Affairs was the place where the wealth of the world gathered. At the end of the year, the Ministry of Civil Affairs had just reported the good news of the sharp increase in taxes. However, in the blink of an eye, the national treasury was empty.
Li Shimin was shocked. He stared at Tang Jian suspiciously and said, "How can there be no money?"
Tang Jian smiled bitterly and said, "Your Majesty, yesterday when the Minister of Foreign Affairs took office, he received this year's financial reports from the three provinces and six ministries. The Ministry of War needs to upgrade its weapons, which is a huge expense."
Li Ji couldn't help but smile apologetically at Meton. Speaking of which, the reason why the Ministry of War upgraded the weapons was because of Mo Jiazi. The third generation steel produced by the Mo Family Village was much better than the weapons produced before the Tang dynasty. Naturally, the Ministry of War accelerated the pace of upgrading the old weapons to improve the military's combat effectiveness.
"The Ministry of Rites needs to allocate a large amount of resources to Simo Khan to help the Turks gain a foothold in the desert."
The Minister of Rites, Linghu Defen, was a little conflicted. The foundation of the Linghu clan was in Guanzhong. If they could build the New Shu Path, the Linghu clan would benefit greatly. However, he was also the leader of the Confucians. He had to think for the Confucians.
"The Ministry of Works has submitted plans for the new brick road and the Huai River bridge …"
The Minister of Works, Zhang Liang, was not ashamed. Building the New Shu Path was useless to him. It would be more practical to build a few more brick roads. After all, the New Shu Path would take at least ten years to complete. By that time, he would no longer be the Minister of Works.
"The Ministry of Personnel …"
"The Ministry of Justice …"
Tang Jian revealed the financial plans of the various departments in the court one by one. Every one of them was an urgent matter. After careful calculation, even if the Tang dynasty's wealth increased a lot last year, there would still be a large deficit even if they spent all of it.
The three provinces and six ministries were prepared to submit their financial reports in advance, whether intentionally or not. Some sincerely wanted to make things difficult for Mo Jiazi, while others were afraid that once the court agreed to build the New Shu Path, a huge amount of money would be used, which would inevitably affect the finances of their departments.
"Why don't we spend a portion of the money to build the New Shu Path first? Once the autumn tax is approved, we can allocate it to the departments." The Chang 'an Prefect frowned and suggested.
"I'm afraid it's a taboo for the country to eat in advance. Moreover, the money and grain needed to build the New Shu Path is not a small amount. If we force it, I'm afraid it will affect the livelihood of the people." Tang Jian said helplessly.
Although the three provinces and six ministries had the intention to ask for money in advance, they were all legitimate reasons. If they really built the New Shu Path, the national treasury would be emptied by half, and the remaining money would not be enough to be distributed.
"What about issuing national debt?" The Prefect of Yi Province, Feng Guan, suggested.
Tang Jian shook his head and said, "The Tang dynasty has issued a lot of national debt to build the brick road. If we issue more, I'm afraid we won't be able to make ends meet."
Although the national debt was a good method to draw lots, the annual interest was not a small amount. If they issued too many national debt, it would not work.
Li Shimin couldn't help but frown. The matter of the three provinces and six ministries was a matter of national importance. A lack of money would only cause instability in the country. As for the New Shu Path, hadn't it been built for thousands of years? Naturally, only rich people would build the New Shu Path. If they did not have money, they would not be able to make bricks without rice.
Suddenly, Zhangsun rushed out and said, "Hahaha, this matter is very difficult for us, but for Mo Jiu, it's as easy as pie. Mo Jiu has persevered in building the New Shu Path. I'm afraid he already has a card up his sleeve."
In an instant, all the officials had an idea. Even the cleverest housewife couldn't cook without rice. Perhaps there was only one person who could do it, and that was the son of the Mo family. After all, he had already done it twice. The first time was during the construction of the brick road. There was no money in the imperial court, so the son of the Mo family proposed to issue national bonds. In the end, the brick road was built. The second time was during the construction of the Wei River Bridge. The village of the Mo family used five years of their own taxes to fund the bridge. In the end, the bridge was built as scheduled.
But this time … all the officials could not help but sigh. The amount of money needed to build the New Shu Path was enormous. Even ten Mo Family Villages would not be able to fill this hole. This was no longer cooking without rice, it was simply lacking a granary!
Looking at Zhangsun Chong's mocking expression, Meton sneered and said, "Brother Zhangsun is indeed my confidant. You actually guessed my plan. Yes, I did raise the money to build the New Shu Path."
"What?"
Suddenly, the entire court was in an uproar. They all looked at Meton in disbelief.
"Mo Jiu, do you know how much money is needed to build the New Shu Path? This is not something that can be done with tens of thousands of strings of cash. "Tang Jian was the most sensitive to money, so he was the first to doubt.
Meton nodded and said, "Of course I know. The New Shu Path will cost at least three million strings of cash, and there is no upper limit."
Three million strings of cash was only the initial estimate. If there were difficulties during the construction of the New Shu Path, this amount would probably rise.
"Then why did you …" Qin Qiong said anxiously.
Tang Jian's heart skipped a beat and he said, "Mo Jiu won't let the bank of the Mo Family Village pay for it, will he? I'll be frank. The court can't afford the interest of three million strings of cash. "
Three million strings of cash was not a small amount. The finances of the Tang Dynasty had already reached the limit. If the interest of three million strings of cash was added, it would probably affect the livelihood of the people.
Meton shook his head and said, "Although the bank of the Mo Family Village can afford three million strings of cash, I'm afraid it will empty the bank's treasury. Once the wind blows, the bank of the Mo Family Village will only go bankrupt. I naturally won't do something that will destroy the Great Wall."
Many civil officials couldn't help but sigh. They didn't know whether it was out of regret or pity.
"After saying so much, it's all empty talk!" Zhangsun Chong continued to mock.
Meton retorted, "If it's a private matter, Mo Jiazi will complete it even if he has to borrow money. However, the New Shu Path is a national matter. It's unreasonable to use private money. The biggest problem to build the New Shu Path is money. Mo Jiazi has the skill to raise three million strings of cash for the court to build the New Shu Path."
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