Chapter 121: Foolishness
"Your Majesty, if I'm not mistaken, you intend to use the cement on the northern city walls, right?"
Zhu Chong's words made Old Zhu instantly confused. What was he trying to do by changing the subject?
But he still nodded patiently and said, "Yes, can't you use this cement to build a city wall?"
"Yes, of course, absolutely!" Zhu Chong nodded quickly, "But Your Majesty, I'm afraid you don't understand that cement's greatest use isn't in building city walls."
"Then what's the use? Tell me about it." When Old Zhu heard Zhu Chong's words, he suddenly understood what his son was thinking.
But he did not say it out loud, and continued to ask questions according to Zhu Chong's words, because he noticed that the ministers around him, such as Hu Weiyong, were curious about their conversation and were looking at him and Zhu Chong eagerly, waiting for answers.
Zhu Yuanzhang was happy to be able to show off in front of his ministers, even if it wasn't himself, but his son.
In comparison, teaching Zhu Chong a lesson and punishing Zhu Chong are not that important, even if Zhu Chong really deserves a beating.
"Your Majesty, just imagine what would happen if cement was used to build roads?" Zhu Chong's next words were indeed shocking.
"Road construction?" Qin Kui, the Minister of Works, was also among the crowd. Although he was a professional, he knew nothing about cement. Naturally, he wanted to know more. "Your Highness, could you explain it more clearly?"
Zhu Chong looked at Zhu Yuanzhang and, after receiving his approval, he said, "Your Majesty, my Lords, you should have understood the toughness of cement."
"So we can boldly imagine that if the official roads of our Ming Dynasty were all paved with cement, the roads would be absolutely smooth and would never be damaged. Whether it was pouring rain or blowing wind and snow, it would no longer affect the travel of pedestrians and vehicles."
"Well, so what?" Old Zhu was surprised and continued to ask.
"To become rich, we must first build roads. Our Ming Dynasty is in a state of disrepair, but what is hindering our development?"
Zhu Chongxian asked a question in return, which immediately made everyone present, including Old Zhu, fall into deep thought.
But Zhu Chong quickly gave them the answer, "It's about transportation. Although we have official roads in the Ming Dynasty, they don't run through all regions. Moreover, the geology of the official roads depends on the local soil. Once we encounter bad weather or floods, they will be wiped out."
"If the official roads of the Ming Dynasty were all paved with cement, then anyone could travel freely on the official roads regardless of the weather."
"When faced with any natural or man-made disaster, my Great Ming Master can use the official roads to reach those areas in the shortest possible time and launch disaster relief and suppression operations."
"Your Majesty, my Lords, you are all intelligent people and should understand what I mean. If the imperial court had cement roads connecting all directions right now, how much money could the Ming Dynasty save on transportation each year?"
These words immediately changed the expressions of many people present. Xu Da glanced at Old Zhu and closed his mouth tightly.
Hu Weiyong's face was the ugliest. The court spent at least five million strings of cash on various transportation expenses every year, and this was just a starting price. The actual amount was much higher.
Zhu Chong's words seemed to accuse Hu Weiyong of being in office but doing nothing, which made Hu Weiyong secretly hate Zhu Chong.
But Zhu Chong didn't bother with that. He just wanted to persuade Old Zhu to buy the cement with money, and then leave with everyone happy.
"Your Majesty, let's take the Northern Expedition against the Mongols as an example. The three armies fought bravely, but food and fodder came first. Even if we were to transport food and fodder from Dadu to support the army outside the Great Wall, do you know what percentage of the total food would be lost due to road conditions?"
When it came to military affairs, Xu Da took the lead and directly replied to Zhu Chong's question on Zhu Yuanzhang's behalf: "Your Highness, Prince of Qin, I will answer this question for you with at least 60% accuracy, and sometimes even 70% accuracy, but..."
"Okay!" Zhu Chong interrupted Xu Da rudely, facing Zhu Yuanzhang, and began to count with his fingers.
"Based on the 60% that Duke Wei mentioned, if 60% of the food and fodder was consumed by an army of 100,000, that would be at least 2 million strings of grain and fodder. In other words, the officers and soldiers at the front actually received only 1 million strings of grain and fodder."
"But if the roads along the way were all made of cement, Duke Wei, a master of military tactics, would surely be able to see how much less damage our Ming Dynasty's supply troops would suffer if they were to travel on such cement roads, right?"
"At least 30%, maybe more." Xu Da gave a pertinent answer, but even so, countless people present were moved.
"Your Majesty, have you heard this?" Zhu Chong smiled at Zhu Yuanzhang. "I won't say anything else. With the cement road as the foundation, our Ming Dynasty's Northern Expedition against the Mongols will save Your Majesty at least one million strings of cash. That's a lot of money!"
After hearing what Zhu Chong said, Old Zhu finally realized what his son was going to use to convince him.
He was also a veteran who had fought in many battles and understood military affairs. He could understand what Zhu Chong said with just a little thought.
It is indeed as Zhu Chong said. If all the official roads in the Ming Dynasty were made of cement, the money wasted on the roads could be used on the front lines or even saved directly.
And the most crucial point is that with such a good road, the speed at which the Ming Dynasty can mobilize troops will be increased by at least one level.
Speed is the essence of war, this is always true. If you really calculate it this way, spending 100,000 strings of cash to buy this cement is definitely not a loss for Zhu, but a huge profit!
But just when Lao Zhu was about to speak, a sudden voice interrupted him.
"Your Majesty, please do not believe the ignorant words of His Royal Highness the Prince of Qin. Cement must never be used on official roads. Once used, it will surely bring ruin to the Ming Dynasty!"
"Hmm?" Zhu Chong, Lao Zhu and others looked at the official kneeling on the ground almost at the same time, and saw an official in a python robe, with a righteous expression on his face, his neck stiff, staring at Zhu Chong angrily.
"Hey, who's that? What do you mean? How come cement becomes a disaster that will bring ruin to the Ming Dynasty just by getting it in your mouth?" Zhu Chong looked unhappy. What kind of nonsense is this? It's not right to just attract attention like this!
Looking at the other party's official uniform, Zhu Chong roughly knew his identity. He should be the Censor of the Ming Dynasty, one of those guys who only know how to gossip.
"Your Highness, Prince Qin, there's no need for you to speak in grandiose terms. I'm putting this out there: as long as I'm here, you won't be able to harm the Ming Dynasty!"
When the censor who was speaking saw Zhu Chong responding to his words, his attitude became even more arrogant, as if he was certain that Zhu Chong was an unforgivable traitor who was bringing disaster to the Ming Dynasty. He was a loyal minister and was ready to fight to the death with this traitor.
Zhu Chong was puzzled. Why did this guy dislike him? How did he offend this idiot?
But just when he was about to say something, Lao Zhu suddenly spoke...
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