Chapter 134 The Road Has Been Repaired
"What does His Royal Highness the Prince of Qin want?"
After a long while, Yu Tong finally gave in and his tone became much softer, but one could still hear the grief and anger in it.
This is exactly the attitude Zhu Chong wanted. He knew that the other party was very dissatisfied with him, but what could he do even if he was dissatisfied?
"I know that it is the off-season in Changning County. I can promise you that I can hire the people of Changning County who are not busy with farming to come and mine coal in the mine."
"Your Highness, do you mean that the Baochao Tizhusi should hire the people of Changning, or that you should hire the people of Changning?" Yu Tong raised his eyebrows.
"Is there any difference?" Zhu Chong smiled playfully, and Yu Tong suddenly stopped talking.
Yu Tong began to weigh the pros and cons. He came here today with the intention of getting some benefits from Zhu Chong, but before he could get any benefits, he found out the other party's true identity, which almost scared him to death.
He knew that he would definitely not be able to defeat Zhu Chong. Even though Zhu Chong had no real power now, everyone knew that the Crown Prince and the King of Qin had a close relationship, and the Crown Prince was in charge of the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Personnel.
Of course, with Zhu Chong's level, he doesn't need the crown prince to kill Yu Tong. Just based on Yu Tong's reckless behavior of breaking into the Baochao Tizhusi today, Zhu Chong can report him for the crime of contempt for the royal family, and Yu Tong will be in trouble then!
After much deliberation, Yu Tong admitted defeat and bowed to Zhu Chong, "Then I will take the initiative to agree to His Royal Highness the Prince of Qin's request, but please also consider one of my requests."
"You decide." Zhu Chong smiled. Since he had admitted his mistake, things would be easier to handle. As for other details, if it did not affect the progress of the project, it would not be impossible to relax the conditions a little for Yu Tong.
Giving a sweet reward after a beating, isn't that the way superiors treat their subordinates?
"I hope that Your Highness will only hire the people of Changning County to mine coal." Yu Tong gritted his teeth and stated his conditions.
Until now, he still had an illusion that as long as he could get Zhu Chong to agree to his condition, he would be able to give an explanation to his colleagues and the people of Changning when he returned. But how could Zhu Chong possibly do as he wished?
"Master Yu, are you still asleep?" Zhu Chong sneered, "Do you think Changning County alone can handle such a large mine?"
Yu Tong's face flushed red upon hearing this. He knew that his conditions were a bit excessive, but he didn't expect Zhu Chong to be so ruthless.
Of course Zhu Chong would not show him any mercy. He had realized that a man like Yu Tong would dare to open a dyeing factory if he was given any favor. He had to stop his idea from the beginning, otherwise this guy would be as sticky as taffy, and he would not have the time to argue with him!
"You are the father and mother of Changning County. I understand your sense of responsibility towards the people of Changning County, but Changning County is the Changning County of the Ming Dynasty. With your limited number of people, even if all the men, women, and children in the county went to the mine, how many kilograms of coal could you dig in a day?"
"If this delays the busy farming season and affects the imperial court's tax revenue, Lord Yu, what responsibility do you think you can bear?"
Zhu Chong used both kindness and force, and did not simply throw his words out and leave it at that. After hearing what Zhu Chong said, Yu Tong had no choice but to agree, even though he was still unwilling.
Five days later, the Eastern Palace informed Zhu Chong that 20,000 civilians had been conscripted for his disposal.
Zhu Chong asked Zhang Quan to lead people to screen the laborers and divide the 20,000 people into two groups.
One part is mainly responsible for cleaning and leveling the road surface, and the other part is to work with Lao Liutou to transport cement raw materials to supply points set up along the road construction route, and then cooperate with the road construction work.
Through the division of labor and cooperation arranged by Zhu Chong, the energy of 20,000 people was brought to the extreme.
From the coal mine halfway up the mountain to the capital, the area of dozens of miles along the way was crowded with people.
According to Zhu Chong's requirements, the road from the coal mine to the capital was divided into four lanes for both directions. Since it was decided to build a cement road, he was prepared to build the most standardized and modern cement road.
For this purpose, he specifically told the prince about the traffic regulations on cement roads. Prince Zhu Biao listened and agreed with it. Soon, some streets in Yingtian Prefecture began to pilot the implementation of Zhu Chong's traffic regulations.
Seven days later, when the people of Yingtian Prefecture gradually became familiar with the two-way traffic regulations, outside Yingtian Prefecture, a cement road more than 30 miles long had already appeared in front of everyone.
After receiving the tip-off from the Embroidered Uniform Guard, Old Zhu in the imperial study could hardly believe what he saw.
From the time Zhu Chong said he wanted to build a road to now when the road has been completed, it took less than ten days. Although it is only more than thirty miles away, Zhu Chong still couldn't make the journey. Such a long road was built so quickly!
"Mao Xiang, did you see it with your own eyes? Did the road get repaired?" Lao Zhu was a little excited. Even after getting Mao Xiang's affirmative answer, he still couldn't believe it.
"Let's go, we have to go out and take a look. We have to see it with our own eyes to believe it!"
As soon as Zhu Yuanzhang gave the order, the palace was thrown into chaos, but soon everything calmed down because Zhu Yuanzhang had issued an order saying that he was only going on a secret visit and that he only needed to be carried out in a sedan chair, without the need for too many people to follow him.
But even so, Mao Xiang still treated it as a formidable enemy and brought with him all the Jinyiwei, including the ones who carried Zhu Yuanzhang's sedan chair, who were all top-notch fighters in the palace.
When Lao Zhu and his group arrived outside the city and saw the newly built cement road, they were stunned by the scene before them.
There was only a gray-white road ahead that was at least four meters wide and had no end in sight. It appeared in front of everyone.
The road was already crowded with people who came to watch the excitement. Everyone was pointing and talking at the cement road. Many children were running and laughing on the cement road. In the distance, you could vaguely see a government carriage galloping along the road to check for road problems.
Old Zhu walked out of the sedan chair and came to a nearby vantage point. He looked down into the distance and when he saw the straight cement road in front of him, he couldn't help but feel excited.
When he heard Zhu Chong talk about Zhidao before, he didn't feel anything. Until now, when he saw Zhidao with his own eyes, he realized that he had underestimated his son's courage.
Isn’t this four-meter-wide straight road in front of you like a sharp blade, pointing straight into the distance?
If such a sharp blade were inserted into the northern grasslands, it would be like stabbing a knife into the enemy's heart. At that time, the Ming army would be invincible!
"Your Majesty!" Suddenly, someone came to pay homage. Zhu Yuanzhang looked back and saw that it was Duke Xin Tang He and Duke Cao Li Wenzhong.
Noticing the carriage behind the two men, Old Zhu suddenly became interested. He jumped onto the carriage and invited the two dukes to get on.
"Come on, accompany me on the road to take a look."
"I obey your order!" Without any hesitation, Tang He and Li Wenzhong followed the emperor onto the cement road. Immediately, officers and soldiers came over to maintain order and separate the crowd of onlookers.
When everyone saw the carriages of Duke Cao and Duke Xin, they didn't say anything, but no one expected that the person sitting in the carriages would be the current emperor!
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