"Prodigal?" The ministers thought it through and couldn't help but shake their heads and laugh. Meton was more shrewd than anyone else.
After Meton's jesting, Li Shimin and the officials understood that Meton's use of bricks to pave the road seemed to be the behavior of a prodigal. But in fact, the Mo family didn't spend so much money at all. The prodigal was simply nonsense.
It could even be said that he wasn't a prodigal at all. No one was as shrewd as him. He was simply trying to gain something without risking anything.
"Little catfish!" Li Shimin snorted in his heart. Meton was very slippery. How could he leave such a big flaw?
However, after the ministers laughed and scolded, they found that with the continuous reduction of the cost of paving, it was not impossible to pave a brick road in the Tang dynasty.
However, the sum of two million strings of cash was still like a heavy mountain, causing everyone to shrink back.
Meton thought about it and immediately understood the consideration of the ministers. He said, "In fact, Your Majesty doesn't have to pave the official road in the Tang dynasty immediately. You can imitate the tax distribution system and use a place as a pilot. The Minister thinks that the official road from Chang 'an to Luoyang is the best choice."
Chang 'an and Luoyang were the richest cities in the Tang dynasty. Every day, there were endless business trips. Moreover, most of the food needed by Chang' an was transported from Luoyang. If a brick road could be built between Chang 'an and Luoyang, the effect would be immediate.
The Minister of Civil Affairs, Dai Zhou, frowned and said, "Eight hundred miles between Luoyang and Chang 'an will cost at least 320,000 strings of money. Even if the red bricks are cheap, what about adding lime? I heard that when the Mo family built the official road in the south of the city, they bought all the lime in Chang 'an. I'm afraid it will be a big expense. "
Meton shook his head and said, "What Minister Dai said is right. But the corvee labor in the Tang dynasty has just ended. The official roads in the Tang dynasty have been built and compacted. There is no need to plow them again. We can use lime to solidify them and lay bricks directly. In this way, not only can we save money, but we can also complete it in the shortest time."
The compacted soil was not inferior to the soil mixed with lime. According to the records of later generations, Qin Chidao used the compacted soil technique to pave the road. Two thousand years later, the Qin Chidao ruins still only had grass and no trees. This showed the practicality of the compacted soil.
Li Shimin could not help but be tempted. However, the Tang dynasty's western expedition was imminent, and it was time to use money. 320,000 strings of coins could not be easily used.
"Of course, if Your Majesty thinks we're spending too much money, the imperial court can come forward and exchange the red brick secret technique and the brick-baking factory for a certain amount of bricks. In this way, it may not be enough to build ten brick roads in the Tang dynasty, but it should be more than enough to collect bricks from Chang 'an to Luoyang." Meton came up with an idea.
Exchanging the red brick secret technique for bricks was Meton's original plan. However, in Meton's hands, the red brick secret technique could only be worth fifty li of bricks. If the imperial court stepped in, the value of the red brick secret technique would definitely multiply.
Li Shimin's heart skipped a beat. However, he shook his head firmly and said, "This red brick secret technique is beneficial to the country and the people. How can the imperial court use it for profit?"
"Your Majesty is wise!" The officials immediately shouted in unison.
Meton looked at Li Shimin in surprise. He did not expect Li Shimin to be able to resist such a temptation.
Meton thought for a moment and then said, "In fact, there is another way that can let the imperial court build a brick road from Chang 'an to Luoyang without paying a single cent."
"Oh! Tell me about it. "Li Shimin suddenly became interested.
Meton said, "The imperial court's money cannot be used easily, but the people have a lot of idle funds. Your Majesty, if you subcontract the brick road from Chang 'an to Luoyang and let the people raise funds to build it, the imperial court does not need to pay a single cent. They only need to allow it and collect tolls for five years. After five years, the people will profit and the imperial court will get the brick road."
"The people's funds." The officials immediately frowned.
Li Shimin shook his head and said, "The construction of official roads has always been the imperial court's business. How can we borrow the hands of merchants?"
"Then the imperial court can issue bonds for the construction of roads with interest. After five years, after the imperial court has collected a profit from the tolls, they can return the money to the people with high interest. In this way, the imperial court can build the brick road and the people can also benefit." Meton thought of a compromise.
"Bonds?" Li Shimin asked in confusion.
Meton explained the principle of bonds and said, "In this way, the imperial court can raise enough funds for the construction without needing to touch the national treasury. In the future, they only need to collect tolls to repay the interest of the people."
Li Shimin was moved. In this way, the imperial court could not lose face and could also carry out large-scale construction. It was killing two birds with one stone.
However, Wei Zheng suddenly shouted angrily, "This subject objects. Collecting tolls from pedestrians is no different from robbing bandits."
"This mountain was opened by me and this tree was planted by me. If you want to pass this road, you have to pay the toll. " Cheng Yaojin winked and read in a loud and clear voice. He could not help but recall the years when he was a bandit.
The officials also looked at this idiot helplessly. There was no other person in the Tang dynasty who was not ashamed of his experience as a bandit but was proud of it.
"There is a big difference!" Meton shook his head and said, "Bandits are blocking the road and robbing. Building the brick road is for the country and the people. But the principle is the same. The imperial court spent a lot of money to build the brick road, cut the mountain, plant the trees, buy the bricks, and maintain it. How can they just invest without reporting it?
Although the brick road is hard, it is not indestructible. The imperial court can't repair the road with hundreds of thousands of strings of cash every ten years. I'm afraid that even the rich Tang dynasty can't support such a bottomless pit.
The Minister believes that in the future, when building brick roads, tolls should be collected from the brick road. Once the road is repaired, there will be no worries for hundreds of years. "
"Once the road is repaired, there will be no worries for hundreds of years!" Li Shimin's eyes suddenly lit up. If hundreds of thousands of strings of cash could only be used for ten years, it would be a big loss. But if it was spread over hundreds of years, it would be very cost-effective.
Wei Zheng suddenly asked, "Since the Mo Family Village is building the official road to the south of the city, do you intend to collect tolls to make a profit?"
Meton shook his head and said, "I also want to, but I think it is reasonable to collect one coin per hundred miles. But the official road to the south of the city is only fifty miles, so there is no way to collect tolls."
The officials were all smart. They knew that the Mo Family Village was rich and the official road to the south of the city was only fifty miles long. They did not care about the tolls at all. However, the imperial court was different. If the brick road was built, it would be more than ten thousand miles long. It was estimated that the only way was to collect tolls.
"The road is owned by the public. It has always been free for the people to walk on it. If we rashly collect tolls, won't the people be angry?" Wei Zheng still objected.
Moton said, "Let me do some calculations for you, Your Excellency. If the imperial court charges one copper coin for every one hundred kilometers as a toll, eight hundred kilometers would be eight copper coins. Building a brick road can shorten the travel time between Chang 'an and Luoyang by more than half. It will save more than eight copper coins for the carriages and horses. With the time saved, we can definitely make more money. Everyone has a balance in their hearts. How can they not know whether it is beneficial or not?"
After Meton's calculation, if the official road from Chang 'an to Luoyang were to be paved with bricks, the imperial court would not need to spend a single coin. Moreover, after five years, they could get a brick road for free after paying off the bonds.
Wei Zheng had also calculated the accounts before giving up. Although he had tried to persuade and refute, he was also able to let go of things.
Mo Jiazi's skill of getting something for nothing is simply amazing. " The officials sighed. Previously, he prepared to get something for nothing and used the secret skill of red bricks to pay the bill. Now, he turned around and used the same trick again. He got something for nothing for the imperial court and got a brick road for eight hundred miles.
Li Shimin and the officials suddenly felt a chill in their hearts. They all looked at Meton with an inexplicable gaze.
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