In the Jinluan Hall, Emperor Hongzhi sat high on the dragon throne, looking down at the ministers who were sent down. His eyes naturally caught sight of Liu Jin who was at the front.
Emperor Hongzhi naturally had his own considerations in appointing Liu Jin as a cabinet minister directly through a special slip.
He wanted Liu Jin, a capable minister, to continue reforming the Ming Dynasty on his behalf and lead the Ming Dynasty to a more glorious future.
Minister Liu Jian is already old, almost eighty years old. Even though he is in good health, he is still an old man and cannot work for a few more years.
Li Dongyang has always been in poor health, and there are always troubles at home. He has resigned from his job many times. The reason why he did not agree is that on the one hand, he really needs Li Dongyang to assist him, and on the other hand, he has not found the right person yet.
Come and take over.
Now that Liu Jin has entered the cabinet, he can be considered a successor. The key is that Liu Jin is still very young, only in his thirties, and can work for him for many years.
In a few years, Wang Shouren will be promoted. Wang Shouren is also very young. He is only in his early forties now. With the two of them assisting one on the left and the other on the right, this Ming Dynasty will be able to do everything in the next few decades.
Very stable.
He attaches great importance to Liu Jin and Wang Shouren, and after many years of detailed investigation, they are ministers who can be absolutely assured. They are capable, not ambitious, and they are reform officials. Confirming their status is tantamount to certainty.
The development direction of Ming Dynasty in the next few decades.
"If there is something to do, start the show, if there is nothing to do, leave the court~"
Xiao Jing, who is already seventy, has become older, and his voice is no longer as loud and sharp as it was a few years ago.
"It seems that the inner court is also preparing to replace a group of new people. It's just that it's hard to find people with good intentions and no ambitions. The key is that they must also be capable."
Listening to Xiao Jing's voice, Emperor Hongzhi couldn't help but sigh in his heart, how time flies.
In the blink of an eye, he has been the emperor for twenty-three years. Xiao Jing has been with him for many years, and he is getting older day by day.
"Your Majesty, Wang Shouren, Chief Envoy of Southern Zhili, reported that he is planning to build a Yangtze River Bridge across the Yangtze River in Nanjing. He needs 50 million taels of silver. He requested the emperor's permission and funding."
Zeng Jian, Minister of the Ministry of Industry, stood up and reported to Emperor Hongzhi the preparations for building the Yangtze River Bridge in South Zhili.
"Build a Yangtze River Bridge?"
"Fifty million taels of silver?"
As soon as Zeng Jian finished speaking, all the civil and military officials in the court couldn't help but marvel.
The Yangtze River is the largest river in the Ming Dynasty. It is very wide. Since ancient times, no bridge has been built on it in the past dynasties. Now South Zhili is actually planning to build a bridge on the Yangtze River. After hearing this news, everyone first expressed doubts.
Can a bridge be built over the Yangtze River?
Can we build it?
The Yangtze River is not an ordinary river. It is very wide, the water flow is very large, and the water is very deep. It is very difficult to build a bridge over the Yangtze River. The Yangtze River has been a natural chasm since ancient times.
During the Three Kingdoms period, the Wu State was able to defend the southeast mainly because of the natural danger of the Yangtze River. Without the Yangtze River, it would have been unified by the Wei State long ago.
Although Ming Dynasty's infrastructure is very strong now, cement roads, railways, etc. are being built everywhere, and many bridges have been built, but the Yangtze River Bridge should be built on the Yangtze River, which still surprises everyone.
Of course, there is also the huge cost, fifty million taels of silver.
This is not fifty thousand taels or five hundred thousand taels, but fifty million taels of silver.
That is to say, the imperial court is rich now. If it were more than ten years ago, the imperial court would only receive more than three million taels of tax money a year.
This fifty million taels of silver is an extremely huge sum.
However, it is only the estimated cost of building the Yangtze River Bridge. If you want to build a bridge on the Yangtze River, God knows how much money will be thrown into the Yangtze River.
"Can we build this Yangtze River Bridge?"
Emperor Hongzhi was also shocked and shocked by Wang Shouren's bold idea. Although he had never been to the Yangtze River, he knew some data about the Yangtze River and wanted to build a bridge on it. It was undoubtedly the project of the century in this era.
"Your Majesty, with our Ming Dynasty's current technology, although there are many difficulties that need to be overcome in building a bridge across the Yangtze River, it is not necessarily impossible. It can still be done."
Zeng Jian thought about it and said with certainty.
In recent years, there has been a lot of infrastructure construction. As Minister of the Ministry of Industry, he is very busy. He also knows how many bridges have been built in these years and has accumulated rich bridge construction technology and experience.
It is actually completely feasible to build a bridge across the Yangtze River. Technically speaking, although it is difficult, we can still find ways to overcome it.
What's more, Liu Jin also established the Daming College of Architectural Engineering. This college is a college that specializes in cultivating construction engineering talents. It is also a college that specializes in bridge construction, cement roads, railway construction, tunnel construction and other technologies.
Many students who graduated from the college have already spread to every construction site in Ming Dynasty. The Ministry of Industry has specially recruited a large number of students from the college as officials.
There is no way, who knows that their technology is really powerful.
"Even if it can be repaired, it doesn't need to cost fifty million taels of silver, right?"
After listening to this, Emperor Hongzhi pondered for a while and then said.
"Your Majesty, according to the plan submitted by Nanzhili, the Yangtze River Bridge to be built is a bridge for both highway and railway use. At the same time, the height of the bridge is designed to be more than 40 meters, so the total cost is estimated to be 50 million.
Two pieces of silver."
Zeng Jian also replied immediately.
"You are the Minister of Industry. Do you think it is necessary to build a Yangtze River Bridge? Will the cost be too high?"
Emperor Hongzhi nodded slightly and then asked again.
Building the Yangtze River Bridge is not a small matter. It is not just about building a garden in the palace. It is a major event related to the long-term development of the entire Ming Dynasty.
It can even be said that if this bridge is really built, it can even be written into history and one's own achievements in governing the country. After all, building bridges and paving roads has been a good thing since ancient times.
"Your Majesty, it is indeed necessary to build the Yangtze River Bridge. Our Ming Dynasty has built a bridge on the Yellow River, which not only meets the needs of roads and railways, but also greatly facilitates travel between the north and the south."
"The Yangtze River has always been an important natural chasm for travel between the north and the south. If a Yangtze River bridge can be built, it will greatly facilitate travel between the north and south sides of the Yangtze River. From now on, the natural chasm will be open to traffic."
"Trains can also be built further south and connected to highways. Then it will be more convenient to travel from north to south in our country."
Zeng Jian thought for a while and replied.
The bridge must be built, but this time it is building a bridge over the Yangtze River, which is technically difficult and requires a lot of investment. But because of this, once the Yangtze River Bridge is completed, its role will be very huge in the future.
The bridge is a road-rail bridge, which means that trains can continue to be built directly to the south in the future. With trains, the travel between the north and the south will be more convenient and faster.
"Your Majesty, the construction of the Yangtze River Bridge is indeed a good thing that will benefit the country and the people. The natural chasm of the Yangtze River has seriously hindered the communication between the north and the south. Even the Ming Dynasty's trains can't be built to the south."
"The Ming Dynasty has a vast territory, and there are many bridges similar to the Yangtze River. In the future, the Ming Dynasty will connect the railways to all directions, and it is inevitable to build bridges on the big rivers."
"Building the Yangtze River Bridge now will not only facilitate travel between the north and south of the Yangtze River, but also accumulate rich bridge construction experience and technology to lay the foundation for building more bridges in the future."
Liu Jin also stood up and said that building bridges is a good thing. There will be many bridges to be built in the future. Repairing them now, accumulating experience and mastering technology can also lay the foundation for the future.
Upon hearing this, all the ministers nodded their heads.
"Your Majesty, what Mr. Liu said makes sense~"
"The Yangtze River Basin is the prosperous land of our Ming Dynasty, including Huguang, Jiangxi, and Jiangnan. The railway is also related to the country's transportation lifeline. In the future, it will continue to be built southward, connecting Zhejiang, Fujian, Guangdong and Guangxi, and going to Nanyang, Jiaozhi, and Xianglin.
"
"Your Majesty, since ancient times, building bridges and paving roads has been an act that benefits the country and the people. It is also a matter that has been famous for thousands of years. The ancient sages and kings all attached great importance to the construction of water conservancy."
"Nowadays, our Ming Dynasty is prosperous and prosperous, far surpassing all previous dynasties. To build bridges, we naturally need to build bigger and better bridges. The construction of the Yangtze River Bridge is beneficial to the country and the people, but not harmful."
Ministers one after another also stood up to express their support, especially officials from the south, officials from Jiangxi, Zhejiang, and Southern Zhili, who expressed their support even more.
If the Yangtze River Bridge is built, it will be very useful for the development of these places. It was too troublesome to cross the river in the past, and we had to rely on boats.
It is difficult and inconvenient to park a big ship, and the small ship is bumpy and cannot transport much.
If there is a bridge here that can be used for both road and rail, travel will be extremely convenient whether by road or train. It will play an extremely important role in promoting the development of the Jiangnan area in the Ming Dynasty.
"Building bridges is a good thing, but it's just that we have the technology to build a bridge on the Yangtze River?"
"Yes, yes, the Yangtze River is so wide, it is really difficult to build a bridge on it. I am afraid that the bridge will not be built by then, and even if it is built, it will not last long."
"Yes, the investment is so huge, 50 million taels of silver. This is purely promoted with silver. If it is guaranteed, it will be fine, but if it is overwritten, wouldn't the 50 million taels of silver be wasted?
?”
"Your Majesty, I think the risk involved is too great. The Yangtze River is not a small river. It is too difficult and dangerous to build a bridge on it."
There are ministers who support it, but there are also ministers who oppose it. The officials who oppose it all think that building a bridge on the Yangtze River is too risky, that the technology may not be possible, and that even if it is built, it will not last long and that the huge wealth will be wasted.
The officials were arguing endlessly, which also put Emperor Hongzhi into a dilemma. Can the Yangtze River Bridge be repaired?