Li Shimin nodded in satisfaction. "Now that Tuyuhun has been settled and the flood in Shandong has passed safely, the Tang Dynasty is in a good situation. Next, the focus of the imperial court is to continue expanding the Silk Road and ensure its smoothness and safety."
"Your Majesty is wise!"
The officials nodded one after another. The benefits that the Silk Road brought to the Tang Dynasty were too amazing. In the past, the barbarian merchants only brought wealth, but since Meton presided over the Western Regions Conference, all kinds of seeds from various countries in the Western Regions, as well as all kinds of foreign knowledge, were of great help to the Tang Dynasty. This made the officials attach great importance to the Silk Road.
This was especially true for this year's Western Regions Conference. Although Meton missed it in Lanzhou, he heard that the scale of the conference was even greater than last year's. The Tang Dynasty benefited greatly.
"For this year's corvee service, the focus of the Guanlong region is the brick road from Lanzhou to Jade Gate Pass. This is led by the Ministry of Works and the Guanlong Commanderies are responsible for it," Li Shimin looked at the Ministry of Works and said.
"Yes!"
The expression of an assistant minister of the Ministry of Works changed when he heard this. He gritted his teeth and replied. The road from Lanzhou to Jade Gate Pass was more than two thousand li. This road was not easy to build! The road from Lanzhou to Jade Gate Pass was barren. It was almost impossible to make much profit. Li Shimin's goal was to build the Silk Road on one hand and to control the northwest on the other. Once the brick road was built, it would be much easier for the Tang Dynasty to transport troops and provisions. Their control over the northwest could be said to be like an extension of their arms. It was extremely important strategically.
The assistant minister of the Ministry of Works immediately thought of something and said, "It was Mo Jiu who pioneered the construction of brick roads. He also contributed three horizontal and five vertical diagrams to the imperial court and mastered countless secret techniques of the Tang dynasty. If Mo Jiu can come to the Ministry of Works and take charge of building roads for the Tang dynasty, he will definitely be able to make the brick roads of the Tang dynasty unhindered in a short period of time."
Now that the Minister of Works had yet to be decided, the Ministry of Works was without a leader, and the assistant minister of the Ministry of Works was not only trying to shift the responsibility to Wang Zhong, but also trying to recruit Meton. Since he had failed to obtain the Mo Family's Mo technique, then he would bring Meton to the Ministry of Works. Just the secret techniques in Meton's hands would be able to benefit the Ministry of Works greatly. In his opinion, the Minister of Works, Duan Lun, who had been enemies with Meton, had already lost his power, so Meton would definitely not object.
The assistant minister of the Ministry of Works did not expect that the Minister of Civil Affairs, Dai Zhou, would be the first to object. Dai Zhou stepped out and said, "Reporting to Your Majesty, the distance from Lanzhou to Jade Gate Pass is nearly two thousand li. The Ministry of Civil Affairs really does not have that much money! This old official does not have Mo Jiu's ability to turn stone into gold. If Your Majesty can transfer Mo Jiu to the Ministry of Civil Affairs to take charge of this matter, I believe this matter will be easily resolved. "
In that instant, many officials focused their attention on Meton. They did not expect that the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Civil Affairs would both try to recruit him. The Ministry of Works had taken a fancy to Meton's Mo technique, and since the Ministry of Civil Affairs had taken a fancy to Meton's ability to make money, they both wanted to recruit him.
Meton hurriedly stepped out and waved his hand, saying, "Even the cleverest housewife cannot cook a meal without rice. How can I make money out of thin air? The Ministry of Civil Affairs does not have much money, so it can be built in sections. There is no need to rush. Moreover, there are few people on the road from Lanzhou to Jade Gate Pass, so there will not be many vehicles coming and going. We only need to build two lanes. However, we need to leave some space for future expansion.
This will save us a lot of money. "" Your Majesty, after the Battle of Tuyuhun, the northwest will be safe for a short period of time. Building a brick road is not something that can be done overnight! "Fang Xuanling also advised.
Hearing this, Li Shimin also knew that he was being a little impatient. He nodded and said, "Minister Fang is right. First build five hundred li, and then build it as a two-lane brick road."
The Ministry of Works and Ministry of Civil Affairs immediately breathed a sigh of relief. The task of building five hundred li of brick roads could still be completed. Only then did they withdraw. Meton also breathed a heavy sigh of relief. He did not want to become a money-making tool for the court.
Li Shimin's plan to build the road had been blocked. He was unwilling to give up and said to the Ministry of Rites, "Minister Linghu, the situation in the Western Regions is very good now. Take this opportunity to send envoys to the various countries in the Western Regions and establish friendly relations with them to ensure that the Silk Road is unimpeded."
Linghu Defen nodded and said, "Your Majesty, the Ministry of Rites has already trained a new batch of soldiers who are loyal to the country. They will definitely not disappoint Your Majesty. However …"
"Hm?" Li Shimin couldn't help but frown and look at Linghu Defen.
"However, it was Mo Jiu's idea to train soldiers who are loyal to the country. Moreover, Mo Jiu is proficient in the Western Regions' secret techniques and is on good terms with the Hu merchants. If Your Majesty can transfer Mo Jiu to the Ministry of Rites, Your Majesty will definitely be able to complete Your Majesty's task and ensure that the Silk Road is unimpeded." As soon as Linghu Defen finished speaking, the officials in the court immediately burst into an uproar. They never thought that the Ministry of Rites would also want to snatch Meton away.
"Old man Linghu, that's not very kind of you. Mo Jiu holds the important position of the Firearms Supervisor. Moreover, he is the one who initiated our Ministry of War's new recruit program. It's not very kind of you to try to poach him!" Li Jing was relieved of his heavy responsibility and joked.
"Your Majesty, this old subject intends to use the Firearms Supervisor as the model for the new recruit program. I need Mo Jiu's cooperation. I hope that Your Majesty can agree to this." Li Jing bowed and said.
Linghu Defen was not to be outdone. He said, "General Li, Mo Jiu has already given you a good plan. You only need to follow the plan. Opening the Silk Road is our Tang dynasty's century-long plan. How can we miss this opportunity?"
"The new recruit program is also related to the Tang dynasty's century-long plan," Li Jing retorted. He had no intention of letting Li Shimin go.
Li Shimin also felt a headache coming on. Meton, whom he usually didn't care about, was actually being fought over by the Ministry of Works, the Ministry of Civilian Affairs, the Ministry of Rites, and the Ministry of War.
"Which department do you all think Meton should go to?" Li Shimin asked. According to them, whichever department Meton went to was their top priority.
Seeing that Li Jing and Linghu Defen were in a heated argument, everyone wisely shut their mouths. Gao Shilian said helplessly, "We'll just have to listen to Mo Jiu's opinion on this matter!"
"Meton, you heard what we said just now. Which department do you want to go to?"
Meton's eyes flashed. If possible, he naturally wanted to go to the Ministry of Works. That was the real stage for the School of Mo. However, he was only a sixth-pin at the moment. Even if he went to the Ministry of Works, he would only be a tool to ask for Mo Techniques. If he wanted to gain more power in the future, the Ministry of War was the most suitable choice. He knew that there were still many wars to be fought in the Tang dynasty in the future. When that time came, there would be more opportunities to make contributions. Moreover, he was in charge of the Firearms Supervisor, which was directly under Li Shimin's jurisdiction. This was the most suitable stage for him to show off.
"Thank you all for your kindness. The Firearms Supervisor has just been established, and there are still many things that need to be improved. I really can't leave. However, if you all need my help, I'll definitely go through water and tread on fire without hesitation. "Meton had a troubled look on his face. Of course, he couldn't say that he wanted to stay in the Ministry of War. If he did, he might offend the other departments.
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