"Your Majesty, it's the dry season now. If we miss this opportunity, we'll be delayed for a year." Tian Qiong said bitterly.
Li Shimin was put in a difficult position. He frowned and asked, "What's the budget for the bridge?"
Tian Qiong said loudly, "Your Majesty, the budget for the bridge is 200,000 strings of cash. It's expected to be completed in five years."
"200,000 strings of cash!"
The court was in an uproar! Even Li Shimin gave up the idea of taking money from the treasury. 200,000 strings of cash would empty the treasury very quickly.
The Imperial Court was in a difficult position. The Wei River Bridge was extremely important and had to be built. However, building it was too expensive. Moreover, a small Wei River Bridge cost two hundred thousand strings of coins. There were many places in the country that needed to be built. This was simply a bottomless pit.
"Your Majesty, although the court is poor now, there's a place that has a lot of money. Not to mention 200,000 strings of cash, they can easily take it out." Assistant Minister Ling of the Ministry of Works said sarcastically. In an instant, everyone's eyes were focused on Meton. The only place that could take out so much money was the bank of the Village Mo's village. It was said that the bank's deposit alone had exceeded 1.5 million strings of cash.
"I'm afraid I can't do anything about it." Meton shook his head.
Assistant Minister Ling of the Ministry of Works sneered, "Didn't someone from the House of Mo say that as long as it's something that benefits the country and the people, the House of Mo will do anything? Now that Merton has the ability to take out 200,000 strings of cash to build the Wei River Bridge, why is there such a huge gap between Merton and the House of Mo?"
Tian Qiong couldn't help but blush. In his heart, he was blaming Mo Jiazi for not helping even though he had the money.
Meton sneered, "No. Although the bank of the Village Mo's village has a lot of money, it's all the money of the people. The House of Mo wouldn't dare to misappropriate it. Moreover, I once suggested to Your Majesty that the Village Mo's village should fund the construction of the bridge and only collect 25 years of bridge tolls in the future. However, Your Majesty rejected my good intentions."
"25 years of bridge tolls!"
Just now, Li Yun had also said that this bridge could be used for a hundred years. If the Mo Family Village were to collect 25 years of tolls, wouldn't the remaining 75 years be in vain?
However, Dai Zhou shook his head and said, "Merton has indeed made a good calculation. The Wei River Bridge is the only passage from Chang 'an to the north. There are at least tens of thousands of people passing through every day. Even if he only charged one copper coin per person, it would be enough to buy 400,000 strings of cash in 25 years. Merton has earned too much from this business!"
"Isn't the Mo Family's son a little too greedy?" Many censors criticized.
Meton retorted, "Twenty-five years only doubled the value. That's nothing. It's not even comparable to the interest in the bank of Village Mo. Moreover, if the 200,000 strings of cash were in my hands, it wouldn't be strange for me to increase it by ten times, not to mention a mere double. "
The officials couldn't help but choke. The interest in the bank of Village Mo was 5% per year. Even 20 years of deposit was enough to double the principal, let alone five years. Moreover, Mo Jiazi's ability to turn stone into gold was recognized by the imperial court. It was not impossible for the 200,000 strings of cash in Meton's hands to become 2 million strings of cash.
"But in addition, there is another way to build this bridge without the imperial court paying a single cent." Merton said.
"Hurry up and tell me." Li Shimin glared at Meton. He hated it when Meton kept people guessing.
Meton said proudly, "It's almost the end of the year. The Mo Family Village is about to pay taxes. If the Mo Family's taxes are used to build the Wei River Bridge, the construction of the Wei River Bridge will definitely be completed on time."
Dai Zhou frowned and said, "As far as I know, the Mo Family Village's taxes are only a few tens of thousands of strings of cash each year. It's far from 200,000 strings of cash!"
Merton said, "The construction of the Wei River Bridge is also divided into five years. Each year, it's only 40,000 strings of cash. The Mo Family Village's taxes are enough. The imperial court will definitely see a stunning Wei River Bridge in five years."
"This method is feasible!" The officials nodded.
"Okay, let's proceed with this plan." Li Shimin said.
Dai Zhou felt bitter. The Mo Family Village's taxes were not a small amount. This way, the Ministry of Revenue would lose a large amount of income.
Assistant Minister Ling of the Ministry of Works and Zhang Liang of the Ministry of Works looked at each other and couldn't help but feel a hint of anger. He had originally wanted to delay this matter for a year and gather the skilled craftsmen of the Ministry of Revenue to study the blueprints of the Wei River Bridge. He would definitely be able to obtain this super project.
Now, the Mo Family Village had people and money, and the Mo Family Xiangfu had the technology. As long as the Wei River Bridge was completed, the other bridges of the imperial court would definitely fall into the hands of the Mo Family. This way, the position of the Ministry of Works would be extremely awkward.
"However, there's still a problem with this bridge that I need to ask Your Majesty." Meton suddenly revealed a trace of shyness.
Li Shimin's heart thumped. He immediately knew that Meton was definitely up to no good. He snorted and said, "Speak."
Meton smiled shyly and said, "According to this kid's original design, the pier of this bridge is more than ten zhang tall. I'm afraid it's a bit excessive."
"More than ten zhang tall?" The officials couldn't help but gasp. Just a pier of the bridge was already so tall. It was obvious just how grand the bridge was.
"How can it be so tall?" Assistant Minister of Rites Linghu Defen frowned.
Meton explained, "In order not to affect the boats on the Wei River, the bridge deck is at least five zhang tall. This way, carriages can travel from north to south, and boats can travel on the Wei River without stopping."
In this era, water transportation was still the main source of transportation. The water transportation on the Wei River was extremely developed. Meton didn't want to cut off the livelihood of the boatmen like when he was building the bridge.
"Alright, I'll allow this to be excessive." Li Shimin nodded without hesitation. The bridge was built by the imperial court and not privately owned. This is not a big deal! "
"Your Majesty is wise!" The officials all said.
Li Shimin's expression was solemn. He slowly stood up and said, "If one person paddles, the difficulty is vast. If everyone paddles, the boat will move. I often say that the people can carry the boat, but they can also overturn it. Whether or not the boat of the Tang dynasty can travel further depends on everyone paddling together. I hope that everyone can work together on the Wei River Bridge. Once the bridges of the Tang dynasty are everywhere, the carriages will be able to travel unimpeded. Only then will the boat of the Tang dynasty be able to cross the vast ocean. "
"We obey your Majesty's orders!" The officials all bowed and said. Some of the officials originally wanted to do something, but at this moment, they all dispelled the idea. This was a super meritorious official. Everyone's eyes were on him. If anyone dared to make a move, they would die without a burial ground.
"Li Yun, I'll give the Wei River Bridge to you. I hope you won't disappoint me," Li Shimin said solemnly.
Li Yun was overjoyed. He immediately bowed and said, "This commoner will definitely not disappoint Your Majesty."
Tian Fen immediately revealed a gratified smile. His Xiangfu family had finally reached a point where they could hold their heads high.
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