The officials in the hall tried to persuade him for a long time, but seeing that the emperor was still sitting there calmly and refused to budge, they had no choice but to turn their attention to Chen Fan, who had not spoken.
Facing the gazes of the crowd, Chen Fan stepped forward with a helpless expression.
"Ahem~ Your Majesty, I believe what the gentlemen have said makes sense. Your Majesty... what do you think?"
"no!"
Liu Hong shook his head firmly as before.
Seeing that the emperor had refused the Grand Tutor so readily, the officials couldn't help but look at each other in bewilderment.
"It's not that I'm unwilling to lend it, but the matter is far too significant, and this precedent cannot be set..."
Liu Hong then explained his concerns in detail.
"Well... Your Majesty is right, the emperor certainly cannot be without money!"
Hearing Liu Hong's words, the officials all nodded in agreement.
Throughout history, there have been numerous instances where a monarch's greed led to the corruption of the court and the decline of the nation.
Seeing the change in the officials' attitudes, Liu Hong smiled and then said:
"Although I cannot lend money to the national treasury, road construction is a major undertaking that is indeed very beneficial to me and the country!"
Therefore, I have decided that the Imperial Household Department shall pay for the road repairs themselves!
"Your Majesty is wise!!"
When the officials heard that the emperor actually planned to pay for the road repairs out of his own pocket, they couldn't help but show their delight and praised his wisdom.
"Don't rush to flatter me! I have conditions for the Imperial Household Department to build roads!"
"What are the conditions?"
"Once the road is completed, all tolls for the next ten years will belong to the Shaofu!"
"What.....?"
Upon hearing Liu Hong's condition, the officials were momentarily stunned.
Cao Song quickly added, "Your Majesty, aren't you asking for too much? These roads are main roads; the toll fees alone will be enough to recoup the costs in a year!"
"These past ten years...?"
"Is it too much? Are you planning to make me lose money? If you think it's too much, you can go borrow money from others!"
"Borrow from someone else?"
The officials' eyes lit up when they heard the emperor's seemingly casual remark.
"What Your Majesty says makes sense. This matter is worth discussing!"
"Yes, yes, yes, the Han Dynasty has no shortage of rich people. Borrowing from them might be feasible!"
The officials immediately changed their tune, no longer arguing with Liu Hong, and began to set their sights on the powerful and wealthy merchants.
"These guys are getting more and more troublesome!!"
Looking at the officials' expressions, Liu Hong, sitting on his throne, could only shake his head helplessly.
However, this is also a good thing, as the change in the mindset of the officials will benefit the construction of various subsequent projects.
Even so, Liu Hong is not prepared to give up the current benefits. He has many things to do in the future, and naturally, he will need a lot of money.
Then Liu Hong said, “You all have a good idea, but building a road is a huge project. Even with concrete, if the terrain is good, it would cost at least one million coins to build one mile, right?”
Do you gentlemen think that people would generously lend you money without knowing the specific returns?
"this....."
Upon hearing the emperor's words, the officials were all taken aback.
Cao Song thought for a moment, then said, "Then just publish the details and standards of the fees. Those people are very shrewd; they can figure it out with a simple calculation!"
"Yes, yes, yes, they can see the huge profits involved!"
"Ahem! What you all say is true, but we need someone to take the lead. Only with my Minister of the Imperial Household taking the lead will those people be more willing to join in, and then you can negotiate terms with them, right?"
Liu Hong, sitting on the throne, coughed twice and looked at the officials in the hall with a meaningful gaze, clearly not intending to give up the right to build roads.
"Uh... Your Majesty makes a good point. With you taking the lead, others can participate with more confidence!"
"That's absolutely right!"
Seeing that the emperor was determined to get involved, the officials could not say anything more, since the decision-making power was in the emperor's hands.
After deliberation among the officials, it was decided that the road connecting Luoyang to Hejian and Chang'an would be constructed by the Imperial Household Department, with the revenue from the road tolls to be transferred to the court for management after five years.
The emperor must be given some benefits.
As for the roads between the remaining counties, a subcontracting system was adopted, with the construction contracted out to wealthy merchants and powerful figures in various places, who were promised two years' worth of road toll revenue.
At the same time, a road administration department was established to unify national road conditions and supervise the construction and toll collection of various road sections.
After careful discussion and research, and confirming that there were no problems, the officials showed a relaxed expression.
Discussing how to make money is indeed a pleasant thing.
Then Liu Hong surveyed the officials and said in a deep voice:
"Now that the road construction has been discussed, let us begin to discuss how to prevent various disasters!"
Chen Fan stepped forward and said respectfully:
"Your Majesty, in my opinion, the natural disasters that restrict agriculture are nothing more than drought, floods, locust plagues, earthworms, and epidemics! As long as we make preparations in advance, we can overcome them!"
Liu Hong nodded and said in a deep voice:
"In order to prevent these disasters and minimize their damage, water conservancy facilities in various places must continue to be repaired, and flood control of dams must be started as soon as possible!"
At the same time, reservoirs and water storage canals will be built for water intake during droughts and for water diversion during floods!
"Your humble servants obey!"
"Rolling dragon, this disaster is hard to predict, the only way to prevent it is to repair the road as soon as possible!"
The officials nodded in agreement.
Liu Hong then continued, "To prevent locust plagues, in addition to killing them, we should encourage people in various regions to raise more poultry that like to eat locusts and their eggs."
At the same time, officials were dispatched to educate and guide the people, emphasizing that locusts should be killed immediately upon the occurrence of a locust plague, and that they should not worship any locust gods as soon as a locust plague occurs!
"Your Majesty is right. Moreover, those farmed poultry can be sold to restaurants and wealthy households, thus increasing the income of the people."
"Not only that, but those locusts are also edible. People can catch them on a regular basis and sell them to restaurants, which not only prevents locust plagues but also provides an extra source of income!"
"That's right. I heard that a plate of fried locusts at the Royal Restaurant now sells for a hundred coins, so the profit margin is quite high!"
"Yes, but speaking of fried locusts, they really tasted pretty good!"
As they talked, the officials veered from discussing locust prevention to the smell of fried locusts.
"What you all say is correct. Furthermore, we can encourage the people to raise more livestock such as pigs, cattle, sheep, horses, and donkeys! We can also produce a large amount of fertilizer to increase grain production!"
Liu Hong also laughed and told the officials about some agricultural and sideline products.
Cao Song chimed in, "Your Majesty's idea is excellent. This way, farmers can increase their income while farming, allowing the people to afford more goods and increasing commercial circulation!"
Liu Hong nodded. "Okay, let's do it that way! To encourage people to raise poultry and livestock, we won't collect taxes on those!"
The officials all agreed, as they were now focused on the ripple effects and would not do anything short of killing the goose that lays the golden eggs.
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