In the imperial court meeting.
"Your Majesty! The Minister of Works, Duan Lun, reported that the brick road that the Ministry of Works needs to build is at least two thousand and three hundred miles long. "
"Two thousand and five hundred miles long." The officials could not help but click their tongues.
Two thousand and five hundred miles, even if they used the red brick secret technique, would cost at least five hundred thousand strings of cash. This was probably the most expensive project since the founding of the Tang dynasty.
At this moment, none of the officials suggested shortening the official road, because both of the brick roads were the lifeline of the Tang dynasty. One was the most prosperous area of the Tang dynasty. As long as it was built, there was no reason to lose money. The other was a road that would definitely lose money, but it could greatly strengthen the Tang dynasty's rule over the northwest and increase their chances of winning the battle of Tuyuhun. Both of the brick roads started from Chang 'an City, so it was not an exaggeration to say that they were the same brick road.
"Dai Zhou! How much money can the Ministry of Civil Affairs raise? "Li Shimin asked Dai Zhou.
Dai Zhou smiled bitterly and said, "Your Majesty, the people have a good harvest today and the treasury is full. The Ministry of Civil Affairs can raise an extra one hundred thousand strings of cash. I'm afraid that the bonds that will be issued will cost at least four hundred thousand strings of cash."
"Four hundred thousand strings of cash!" The officials' hearts sank. The Tang dynasty needed a lot of money. Four hundred thousand strings of cash was enough to do a lot of things, but now it was only used to build two brick roads.
Li Shimin's heart suddenly darkened. This was only one of the roads that the Tang dynasty needed to build. Thinking that the Tang dynasty would need to connect ten roads of the Tang dynasty in the future, the money that would be spent in the future would probably be astronomical.
"Your Majesty, there are many benefits to building brick roads, but please don't do it step by step. The Tang dynasty can't repeat the lesson of the Grand Canal," Wei Zheng advised.
Li Shimin nodded in agreement. He had never agreed with Wei Zheng's advice so much.
"Minister Dai, I'll leave the issuance of bonds to the Ministry of Civil Affairs," Li Shimin said.
Dai Zhou nodded and said, "The Minister has divided the bonds into four grades, one to four years. Every year, one hundred thousand strings of cash. The interest of the first year bonds is lower, and the Ministry of Civil Affairs will repay the principal and interest a year later, and so on. The interest of the fourth year bonds is higher, but the principal and interest will be repaid four years later. In this way, the Ministry of Civil Affairs will have to pay back around 100,000 strings of cash every year. It won't increase the financial burden, and the people can also benefit. "
Compared to the ten-year bonds in the future, Dai Zhou's steps could be said to be extremely cautious.
Li Shimin and the officials immediately let out a sigh of relief. A hundred thousand strings of string of cash was an enormous sum for ordinary people, but it was not difficult for the Imperial Court.
The bonds could amass a large amount of wealth in a short period of time, allowing the Imperial Court to achieve great things. They could also control the repayment period. This way, the Imperial Court could start a large-scale project, and the people could also benefit.
"The bonds are indeed a good means." The civil and military officials in the Imperial Court also nodded in their hearts.
More importantly, the brick road was not a bottomless pit that only saw investment and no return. The continuous toll in the future was also a large source of income. This was also the reason why Meton chose the brick road as the beginning of the construction of the Tang dynasty.
Problems that could be solved with money were not problems. Although this sentence came from Meton's mouth, it was a bit arrogant, for a country, it was true. If ordinary people were made to serve the corvee for no reason, even if they worked for one more day, they would naturally be full of complaints. But if they were paid, no one would complain at all even if they worked for years.
After the money problem was solved, Li Shimin once again looked at the Minister of Works, Duan Lun, and said, "Minister Duan, will the Mo family provide the red brick secret technique as promised?"
Duan Lun stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, Mo Jiazi has made the red brick secret technique public on the second day. Now the brick factories around Chang 'an City have been transformed with red bricks. It will certainly not delay the road construction."
Businessmen were the most sensitive to information. The news that the Imperial Court was going to build the brick road had been spread out from Chang 'an City. How could the businessmen miss such a feast of wealth? Without waiting for the discussion of the Mo family's village, there was an endless stream of people who went to the Mo family's village to learn the red brick secret technique. They bought so many brick-making equipment that their hands went numb. It could be said that they recovered a small part of the cost of building the brick road in the south of the city.
Li Shimin nodded with satisfaction. Meton was slippery, but he was very trustworthy when it came to making the secret technique public, starting with the secret technique of live fish. Then the artificial breeding technology, and now the red brick secret technique. Even if he made a lot of money, he did not hesitate to make it public.
Now chickens, ducks, geese, and live fish were everywhere in Chang 'an City, and it was all thanks to the Mo family.
With the red brick secret technique, the bonds were about to be issued, and the money was about to be earned. All the civil and military officials in the Imperial Court were relieved. Soon, the three provinces and six ministries passed the decision to build the brick road.
"Minister Duan, let's leave it to the Ministry of Works. We must build the brick road in Longyou by April next year, "Li Shimin said.
As Meton said, April was the busiest time for the grassland tribes. It was the weakest time for the grassland, and the best time for the Tang dynasty to defeat the Tuyuhun. As expected, Li Shimin chose this time to start the war.
"Yes, Your Majesty!" Duan Lun nodded.
Li Shimin nodded with satisfaction and said, "It's decided. Let's discuss the Chang 'an County Magistrate's request to pave the brick road in Chang' an City."
"Pave the brick road in Chang 'an City?" All the officials were shocked.
Dai Zhou quickly stood up and objected, "Your Majesty, Chang 'an City is the capital. It's okay to pave the brick road, but the Imperial Court needs to issue bonds to build the two official roads. How can they afford to pave the brick road in the city?"
Many officials nodded slowly. Pave the brick road in Chang 'an City was good for them, but the Imperial Court didn't have spare money at the moment.
Li Shimin smiled and said, "What if the Imperial Court doesn't need to spend money?"
All the officials looked at Li Shimin in confusion.
Li Shimin waved his hand and handed the memorial presented by the Chang 'an County Magistrate, Su Luosheng, to the officials.
"Industrial Park Plan."
All the officials looked at it and suddenly understood. It was a strange name, an imaginative idea, and a typical method of getting something for nothing. How could they not be familiar with such a situation?
"Mo Jiazi!" Many people whispered.
"Set up a special park for merchants, sell land to build roads, open public transportation, and set up a police station." When the officials saw the Chang 'an County Magistrate's method, they couldn't help but frown. This was giving too much preferential treatment to merchants.
"This is beneficial to all parties. The merchants will have more factories, and Chang 'an City will be able to solve the hidden dangers of fire and have extra money to pave the brick road. This is a good thing." Before the officials could object, Zhangsun Wuji was the first to stand up and agree.
Many officials were confused, but when they saw that the purpose of setting up the industrial park was for the fresh air in Chang 'an City, and then thought of Empress Zhangsun's illness, they suddenly understood.
This method didn't require the Ministry of Civil Affairs to fork out money, and it was beneficial for Empress Zhangsun's illness. It could also pave the brick road in Chang 'an City. All the officials had no objections.
Suddenly, Duan Lun, the Minister of Works, realized that if the smelting industry was to be moved to the industrial park in the southeast of Chang 'an City, then how would the Directorate of Works, who owned many smelting workshops, do?
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