"There have been a lot of people coming to me these days. Today they asked to be moved to this place, and tomorrow they asked to be moved to another place. I have no way to do it."
"When it comes to building cement roads, there is simply no way to satisfy everyone."
"What's more, this year not only will cement roads be built, but rivers and reservoirs will also be built, and most of them will be built in Henan, right?"
Zeng Jian shook his head helplessly. It's not that I won't give you Liu Jian face, but there is really no way to change it. If you change it again and again, there will always be people who are dissatisfied.
No matter how many roads the imperial court has in its budget, it will be repaired section by section.
"I know, I know~"
Liu Jian nodded repeatedly, then thought for a while and said: "As for the route to the south, if you look at the route from Henan and Shandong, it is actually almost the same. There will not be any difference between them, and the distances are almost the same."
"And you just said that Henan is in the middle. This place is in the middle. If it is difficult to leave this cement road, wouldn't it be very inappropriate?"
"In addition, the imperial court's original intention of building cement roads was also to facilitate relief and disaster relief. This year, Henan needs to relocate a lot of people to Liaodong. Without cement roads, it will definitely affect national affairs."
Liu Jian was very helpless. Now he, the chief minister of the cabinet, had to speak in a low voice to the minister of the Ministry of Industry.
He would come forward even if he didn't come forward on this matter.
Although there were many officials in the court in Henan, the one who could speak the most was naturally Liu Jian. There used to be Ma Wensheng, but he was kicked off by Emperor Hongzhi.
He was originally kept in prison, but during the Lantern Festival not long ago, Liu Jian took advantage of Emperor Hongzhi's joy to intercede and was released.
"Mr. Liu, I know all this, but this route has been decided and announced to various places. Many governments along the route are already making preparations. There is no way to change this."
Zeng Jian is also quite tough. No matter whether you are the chief minister of the cabinet or the minister of ministers, it is useless for anyone to intercede. The planned route is the planned route and will never be changed.
"Next year, next year, the new planned routes must be in Henan~"
"next year?"
"The day lilies are already cold~"
When Liu Jian heard this, he couldn't help but say this in his heart.
When it comes to things like building bridges and paving roads, naturally you should strive for as many as you can. Those who build it first will enjoy it, and those who build it later will only be envious and jealous.
This year the imperial court has money so it builds roads. Next year, who knows what will happen next year?
In this kind of matter, it's all about seizing the day. No matter what, you have to fight for it first.
"Mr. Zeng, is there really no way to change this?"
Liu Jian looked at Zeng Jian and said with an unhappy face.
"Liu Gong, there is really no way to change it. This year, the money used to build the Heti Dam and reservoir in Henan is as high as 1.5 million taels. If this cement road goes around again, I will be scolded to death.
of."
Zeng Jian shook his head, this matter was really difficult to handle.
"In that case, I'll take my leave first~"
After looking at Zeng Jian, Liu Jian stood up and left Zeng's house helplessly.
When I returned to my mansion, there were already many people waiting in the living room, all of them officials from Henan.
"Mr. Liu, how are you?"
Even Ma Wensheng, who had just been released from prison not long ago, came to Liu Jian's house. When he saw Liu Jian coming back, he quickly asked with concern.
"He said there was no way to change it. The matter was already settled and we could only wait until next year."
Liu Jian shook his head helplessly.
"This is Zeng Jian~"
When Ma Wensheng heard this, he couldn't help but curse.
"What can we do now?"
"Your cement road bypasses us in Henan in the north, and bypasses us in the east. It's too deceiving~"
"Liu Gong, this planned route and plan should be rejected directly by him."
"In my opinion, we still need to continue to contact more officials in Henan, and we can also contact the princes in Henan. Let's jointly submit a petition to His Majesty, requesting Your Majesty to change this route to our Henan."
"I think it's okay~"
"How about impeaching Zeng Jian?"
"..."
The next morning, in the Jinluan Hall, the morning court began. Emperor Hongzhi sat high on the dragon chair, and the ministers below were solemn.
"If there is something to do, start the court, if there is nothing to do, leave the court~"
Xiao Jing's voice sounded, echoing in the Jinluan Palace.
"I have this memorial~"
As soon as he finished speaking, a bunch of officials stood up one after another.
"Eh?"
Emperor Hongzhi looked at the officials standing below and was slightly surprised.
The country is peaceful and the people are at peace, but why do so many officials suddenly come forward? Could it be that something big has happened, or is the government and the opposition going to be in turmoil again?
After the officials who stood up looked at each other, many quickly stood back and let the important ministers do their work first.
"Liu Jian, please speak first."
Emperor Hongzhi looked at Liu Jian, a little surprised, but also very curious as to what happened.
"Your Majesty, the imperial court plans to build a cement highway. This is a good thing that will benefit the country and the people and will benefit the future."
"But if the construction route of this cement highway is not carefully studied, it will most likely cost money but not achieve good results."
Liu Jian stood up, his voice was loud and full of energy.
"Hmm~"
Emperor Hongzhi nodded slightly noncommittally. It turned out to be for this matter.
"Keep talking~"
"Yes~"
Liu Jian nodded respectfully, then thought for a while and said: "Henan is located in the middle of our Ming Dynasty. Traveling from south to north and east to west must pass through Henan."
"In addition, hundreds of thousands of people from Henan, Shanxi, and Shaanxi will migrate to Liaodong this year to develop Liaodong. Since ancient times, Henan has been plagued by famines, and the Yellow River is prone to flooding."
"If a cement road can be built that leads to difficult roads, it will not only help Henan immigrants to develop Liaodong, but it will also help the court timely transport money and grain to Henan to relieve the victims."
"So I believe that the new cement highway plan issued by the Ministry of Industry is extremely unreasonable. The northern line goes from Shanxi to Shaanxi and bypasses Henan. The eastern line goes straight from Shandong to Nanzhili and bypasses Henan."
"This is extremely inconsistent with the original intention and purpose of the imperial court to build cement roads."
Liu Jin was already drowsy, but this damn morning morning, he got up very early every day to go to the morning court, and he had no energy at all.
However, he was already ranked as the Minister of Household Affairs, a third-grade official, and could not even take a nap while standing. He could only hold on, hoping to finish the morning and go back to sleep early.
Unexpectedly, after hearing Liu Jian's words, Liu Jin couldn't help but smile.
Sure enough, since ancient times, when it comes to good things like building bridges and paving roads, there have been disputes between the government and the opposition. Even Liu Jian, the chief minister of the cabinet, had to stand up and call for injustice for his hometown.
"I think what Liu Gong said is true~"
After Liu Jian finished speaking, officials from Henan Province immediately came forward to express their stance.
Yes, Liu Jian is right. The planning of this cement highway is really unreasonable. Why does it go around and around Henan? This is not possible. Henan is very important. It must not be done.
This route must be changed, and it must be changed to Henan.
"Master Liu, please tell me how to change this line so that I can do it?"
Zeng Jian, the minister of the Ministry of Industry, was unhappy. This matter has been brought to the attention of Emperor Hongzhi. Doesn't this mean that he, the minister of the Ministry of Industry, is incompetent? You just say it in front of all the civil and military officials of the dynasty and all the princes.
How do you change it and see if anyone comes out to criticize you?
"Yes, Liu Aiqing, tell me how to change this line?"
After hearing this, Emperor Hongzhi finally understood and couldn't help laughing.
Well, it's perfectly normal for Liu Jian to come out and complain about his hometown in Henan. It would be the same for anyone else.
Building cement roads is a major event related to the development of a region. How can we not attach great importance to it and argue for it?
Moreover, this matter is suitable for arguing loudly and expressing one's attitude.
Because whether it is Emperor Hongzhi above, the officials below, or the folks in your hometown, they will all think that what you do is right.
Although it may not be useful, we still have to fight for what needs to be fought.
"In my opinion, the east line going south should be changed from North Zhili to Henan and then straight down to South Zhili. Shandong is bordered by the sea on three sides, and sea transportation is extremely convenient and developed. It won't be too late to build this cement road next year."
Liu Jian thought for a while and said that it would be useless to change the northern route, because the northern route is very important. Shanxi and Shaanxi are both very poor places and require large-scale immigration, whether to Liaodong or overseas.
That’s fine.
In addition, it is also a major issue related to the Ming Dynasty's westward expansion. There is no way to change it, but the east side can.
"I object~"
As soon as they heard that the Shandong route was to be changed, officials from Shandong became angry again and stood up one after another.
Especially the Minister of the Ministry of Finance, Ji Zhong, was so angry that his beard was fluttering.
Hey Liu Jian, believe it or not, this route has been changed. I didn’t even pay a penny to approve it, but I actually changed my route to Shandong.
"Your Majesty, I also have something to say~"
"Why are there only northern cement roads planned in the south, but no southern ones?"
Officials from Shandong and Henan are quarreling non-stop, blowing each other's beards and glaring at each other, while officials from the south are unhappy again because the newly planned cement highway has no problems with the southern provinces.
How can this be done? We must fight for it.
Emperor Hongzhi was sitting in the high hall, and everyone was smiling. At first, everyone said no tax, no tax. Now it's better. Now that we have money, what will everyone do when they prepare to build cement roads?
Already.
Glancing slightly, he looked at Liu Jin and found that this guy seemed not to be thinking about this, but seemed to be thinking about something.
In fact, Liu Jin did not care about such things at this time. What Liu Jin was thinking about at this time was the establishment of the Ming Naval Academy.
