Two flowers bloomed!
The cabinet was brightly lit!
Chief Assistant Ye Xianggao, Second Assistant Fang Congzhe, Wenyuan Pavilion Grand Secretary Zhu Guozuo, Cabinet Grand Secretary Liu Yiyu, He Zongyan, Han Yu are all here!
The emperor allocated 30 million silver!
After the soaring joy, there was endless worry!
Although the cabinet could only use ten million taels, it was difficult to carry out the project!
"According to His Majesty, the disaster area will rely on the mountains to build a market, the disaster area will rely on the water to build a fishing raft, and the disaster area will be close to the forest to build a logging farm. The disaster relief population can reach 30 million!
According to the calculations, there will be five million taels left. Everyone can speak freely!”
Ye Xianggao calculated the approximate number and began to collect money from the cabinet.
The reason why five million taels of silver were used to save thirty million people was mainly because of the initial investment. The market, fishing rafts, and logging farms would form an economic cycle in the future. What the country could do was to increase the flow of resources.
"Lord Chief, I have an idea!”
Fang Congzhe left the small mountain of memorials and said excitedly,"Managing the canal!
Ever since Emperor Wanli ascended the throne, the Grand Canal had not been managed for decades. According to the situation presented by the Ministry of Revenue, many sections of the canal were seriously silted up.
Due to the long-term lack of dredging, the river became narrower and shallow, making it difficult for ships to navigate, and the transportation capacity decreased year by year.
As long as the canal can be dredged again, our Great Ming Dynasty will once again be a whole. Whether it's disaster relief or economic exchanges, it will be incomparably fast!”
The Grand Canal!
Ye Xianggao pondered for a moment, then looked at the other pavilion elders and said with a smile,"" I believe that the elders can feel the determination of the second assistant. However, compared to the other work-for-relief projects, the management of the Grand Canal will not provide any benefits to the country for a long time. However, in the long run, it will be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the country and the people!”
Yes, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!
The internal treasury allocated tens of millions of silver. Such a thing could only happen once in a few lifetimes. Was it worth it to spend it on the canal?
The human heart had its own scale!
The 1800-kilometer canal was like a bottomless pit, but it attracted all the elders present.
After all, the Grand Canal once again connected the north and south, directly connecting the trade between the two places. To the country, it would be a tax that could not be ignored!
For the tens of millions of people along the coast, the restoration of the Grand Canal would bring countless job opportunities and further promote the people's livelihood!
His name would go down in history!
He was tempted!
"Now that we are all in the same boat, I might as well speak frankly. The cost of managing the entire canal is definitely not less than ten million silver. Just relying on the portion that His Majesty has allowed us to use is definitely not enough.”
After arousing everyone's " ambition," Fang Congzhe poured a bucket of cold water on them, which was no less than chilling!
The stability of the canal water was relative. At the intersection of many rivers, where the difference in terrain was too large, the turbulence of the river was enough to easily destroy merchant ships!
At the same time, with the current level of industry, it was basically equivalent to using human lives to fill up the silt in such a place!
Human lives were very valuable!
This was the consensus of the six Pavilion Elders!
It was obvious that the budget had gone through the roof!
F * ck, this assistant is also a black-hearted thief!
The five elders reacted and rolled their eyes at the assistant minister. They first tugged at his heartstrings and then poured cold water on him.
It was impossible to give up on managing the canal!
In that case, he could only find a solution!
"His Majesty has countless gold and silver in his treasury. If we submit a petition together, can we allocate another ten million taels of silver?”
Zhu Guozuo's thoughts drifted. The first direction to solve the problem was naturally to find the emperor!
"His Majesty has never allocated 30 million taels of silver in history. I believe that tomorrow's court bulletin will publish it. If we push our luck and don't allocate silver from the internal treasury, we will become sinners for thousands of years!”
Han Xiong immediately rejected the proposal. Although there was a high chance that his name would be remembered in history after his death, the cabinet elders still had to clock in at work. It was not worth it to completely offend the emperor for money!
"I heard that the merchants of Jin, Chao, and Hui are the richest in the world. Why don't we jointly write a letter and ask them to donate money? Firstly, it's a good deed. Secondly, after the Grand Canal is completed, the ones who benefit the most are these merchants!”
He Zongyan frowned and set his sights on the three major business gangs. As for money, merchants definitely had it!
The corner of Ye Xianggao's mouth twitched, and he said speechlessly,""Old He, the cabinet writing a letter is no doubt an imperial edict. This kind of forced donation is no different from fighting with the people for benefits.”
"Merchants are merchants, and commoners are commoners!”
He Zongyan insisted on his opinion and said hatefully,"Don't think that I don't know. The Jin merchants frequently trade with the Houjin people. I suggest that we collect evidence of such treasonous behavior and execute all nine of their families!”
The Jin merchants were merchants from Shanxi. They were close to the border of the Ming Dynasty. It was said that their business had reached Nurhachi's level. They used food, salt, medicine, and other scarce items to exchange for large amounts of gold, silver, and jade from the Jin people. They were simply feeding the enemy!
"Old He, calm down!"
Liu Yi pressed his hand down and smiled bitterly."The Shanxi merchants have a huge business. The entire land in Shanxi Province has been bought by these people with gold and silver. They have countless tenants under them.”
As the highest official in charge of the Ming business world, Liu Yi had long noticed the rise of the Jin merchants, but it was too late. The Jin merchants used the gold and silver from doing business with the Houjin people to wantonly purchase land in Shanxi Province. Now, they were too big to lose.
Rashly arresting the Jin merchants would only arouse their uneasiness, and it would be easy for them to rise up. There could no longer be any internal strife in the Great Ming Dynasty.
"The entire world is the land of the king. Would the Jin merchants dare to rebel?”
He Zongyan slammed the table and stood up. He was extremely emotional. As an important minister of the country, he was helpless against these thieves of the country. It was really unacceptable!
"I agree with Old He's suggestion!"
Suddenly, Ye Xianggao's cold voice sounded,""With the Cabinet's order, let the Jin, Chao, and Hui merchants voluntarily donate money and disclose the approximate cost of the canal management to them. All merchant groups that donate less than three million silver coins will be recorded. I believe that there will be a day when they will be cleared!”
"I also agree with Old He's suggestion!"
Fang Congzhe looked around and said confidently,"Elders, don't worry. Let's try the three major merchant groups first. Even if we don't donate a single silver, I have a way to raise the funds for the Grand Canal, but this method is definitely not what you want to see!”
This book is provided by FunNovel Novel Book | Fan Fiction Novel [Beautiful Free Novel Book]