The next day, Chang Sun Dechong and other relevant personnel came to the imperial study in the palace to report the planning of the villa to Chu Fan.
Chu Fan asked first, "How is the detailed planning of the villa progressing?"
Changsun Dechong then took out a carefully designed blueprint and reported to Chu Fan, "Your Majesty, we have completed the design of the villa, and the necessary building materials are ready. As long as Your Majesty nods in agreement, we can start construction immediately."
As for why it was not Tang Hongwen, who contributed the most to drawing the drawings, who came out to answer, it was because Tang Hongwen had just been disliked by His Majesty the day before, and Tang Hongwen was also afraid that he would not be able to understand the true intention of His Majesty's words today, so he gave the opportunity to explain the drawings to His Majesty to Changsun Dechong.
Chu Fan took the blueprint and began to examine it carefully, while Chang Sun Dechong stood by and patiently explained every detail on the blueprint to Chu Fan.
Changsun Dechong continued, "Your Majesty, we plan to open up 2,100 mu of land at the foot of Chuitai Mountain for construction. We intend to preserve the existing forests and lakes. This will not only protect the natural environment but also add a sense of tranquility and beauty to the villa."
He further explained: "We planned to place the main building complex on the south side of the mountain to take full advantage of the sunlight while also being protected from the cold north winds in winter."
After carefully reviewing the entire design drawing, Chu Fan did not find any problems. He nodded with satisfaction, expressing his great satisfaction with the current plan.
Chu Fan then asked, "So, how long is the construction of the villa expected to take?"
Changsun Dechong replied, "If all goes well, we estimate it will be completed in three months. We have already prepared the materials, craftsmen, and auxiliary workers. Once Your Majesty approves the plan, we can begin construction immediately."
In fact, because it was snowing, the time given by Changsun Dechong was a conservative estimate. Because they could use the Xiongnu soldiers captured in the war to transport materials, as long as they were provided with food, they would work very hard.
The carpenters and stonemasons responsible for building the houses were carefully selected from all over the place. They are highly skilled and experienced.
In addition, their respective families would be responsible for a portion of the construction work. Once construction began, nearly 100,000 craftsmen, common people, and captives would be involved. Given this scale, it was hard to imagine that the construction of the villa would not be fast.
Moreover, with the help of cement, building a villa may not even take a month to complete. As for saying it will take longer, that is the wisdom of the officials. If it can be completed in a month, then if there are special circumstances such as natural disasters or man-made disasters, then they and others will be suspected of deceiving His Majesty.
But we said it would take three months, but it actually took only one month to complete. This way, His Majesty would think that we took this matter seriously and put all our efforts into it. This would win His Majesty's favor.
Chu Fan approved of Changsun Dechong's arrangement and was full of expectations for the construction of the villa.
Chu Fan then asked, "Have you calculated the funds needed to build the villa?"
After all, building a villa of this scale would definitely require a significant amount of capital. At least 10 million silver would be needed to complete it. If funds were insufficient, Chu Fan wouldn't mind contributing some himself. After all, the refined salt business had always brought stable income to the inner treasury, and he now had a considerable amount of assets.
Changsun Dechong confidently replied, "Your Majesty, do not worry about the funding issue. We have already found a solution. With the addition of prisoners of war, we can hire fewer civilians, and we do not need to pay the prisoners."
He continued, "Furthermore, there are abundant forest resources at the foot of Chuitai Mountain. Cutting down some trees to build the pavilion will not have any negative impact on the forest. We also plan to use local stone, which will further reduce material costs."
"As for the wages of craftsmen and civilians, we adopt a distribution method based on work, which can both ensure work efficiency and effectively control expenses."
"In addition, some of our family's branches are also engaged in business activities. They are willing to provide financial support for the construction of the villa. This way, we can not only ensure sufficient construction funds, but also ensure the smooth progress of the project."
It wasn't surprising that these family branches were willing to contribute financially. After all, participating in the construction of the villa was a collaboration with His Majesty. As long as the ministers of their own family maintained a stable position in the court, they would have the opportunity to earn more wealth in the future.
However, if members of their family lose their voice in the court, or are dismissed from office or ordered to be executed, then the wealth they possess may become the cause of their death.
Without the protection of the ministers in the court, many people would covet the wealth in their hands and would try every means to make them hand it over. Therefore, they would naturally go all out to support the construction of the villa, not only for the long-term interests of the family, but also to protect their own family's status in the court.
Chu Fan was very happy to hear that he didn't have to pay for it himself. After all, he had already provided the land, which was the most important thing he had contributed.
As the emperor of Wei, the land around Chuitai belonged to the Wei royal family. If he did not sign the memorial submitted by Changsun Dechong and others regarding the construction of the villa, then unless they rebelled and forced him to step down, the villa would not be built.
Moreover, the prisoners of war were also captured by the Wei army, which can be regarded as part of the funds they paid.
Of course, Chu Fan would not force Chang Sun Dechong and the others to rebel this time. After all, the plan for this villa was his own. Moreover, the establishment of this villa was originally to make more wealth for himself. How could he not agree with the plan of Chang Sun Dechong and the others?
Besides, he didn't have to spend a penny, but could gain huge benefits from the construction of the villa. This was undoubtedly a very cost-effective deal. Chu Fan was still thinking happily in his heart that he had saved a lot of money and could return to Blue Star to live a more carefree life.
However, Chu Fan didn't know that the villa he thought was built just to make money actually had a greater use.
Through the cooperation between the emperor and his ministers, he could not only consolidate the emperor's power, but also gain more allies in the court. During the construction of this villa, the Ministry of War, the General who holds military power, the Censorate, the Ministry of Works, and Changsun Dechong's new department, the Ministry of Energy, were all the most popular departments in the Wei State.
These departments included the army, skilled craftsmen, eloquent imperial censors, and various profitable businesses. With the protection of these departments, even if someone in Wei wanted to rebel, they would not be able to stir up any waves.
Once the villa is completed and attracts nobles and wealthy businessmen to spend money, the Chuitai Mountain area will become an important economic and cultural center of the Wei State, which will greatly enhance the prestige and influence of the royal family.
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