Zhu Ying had no royal baggage. In his opinion, the best way to maintain the dignity of the Ming Dynasty was to raise money to establish the official road.

Only with continuous victories in foreign wars can the majesty of the imperial court be strengthened.

When it comes to the establishment of a monument of merit like this, few officials would think about making money. In the words of officials, merit is something that should be contributed voluntarily, and how can the court lead and induce? When can merit be measured by money?

Therefore, most people scoff at the idea of ​​having one's name engraved on a monument of merit just by making a donation.

In fact, Zhu Yuanzhang had no ideological burden in this regard.

"This idea of ​​Da Sun is good, but we still have to pay attention to the method. After all, the face of the court must be taken into consideration."

"Some people who secretly oppose our Ming Dynasty will definitely think of ways to throw dirty water on us when they learn of this news."

Zhu Yuanzhang first agreed, and then reminded.

Zhu Yuanzhang would definitely let his eldest grandson take charge of this matter.

Firstly, Zhu Yuanzhang knew very well that without his eldest grandson's Chamber of Commerce, it would be difficult for anyone to accomplish this task, let alone complete it within a year, it would even be a question whether it could be completed.

He dared to ask for a high price and complete the construction of this north-south official road in one year, partly because he knew his eldest grandson's background.

Secondly, the throne of the emperor in the future would naturally belong to the eldest grandson. After this official road was built, even Zhu Yuanzhang, who did not know much about business, understood it very well.

On the one hand, it facilitates military operations, but on the other hand, it plays a very important role in the development of economic exchanges between the north and the south.

The current situation of the Ming Dynasty is that the south is rich and the north is poor, but Zhu Yuanzhang has never had a good impression of the Jiangnan area. He not only wants to contain and suppress it, but also wants to develop the northern economy more.

However, before this, even if the taxes in the Jiangnan region were continuously increased, the economic gap could not be made up in a short period of time.

Even though taxation in the South is so severe and tax reductions in the North are ongoing, the North's economy is now in a very difficult situation.

The main sources of famine occurred in the north.

After listening to the old man's words, Zhu Ying said, "It is inevitable that the mudslinging will happen, but the newspaper on my grandson's side will be withdrawn soon. The first article to be published will be about the function of this north-south official road."

"My grandson will record the impact of this North-South Official Road and the benefits it will bring to the people of the Ming Dynasty in detail, so that all knowledgeable people will understand that this is a major move that will benefit future generations."

"As long as the official newspaper is published, all rumors will be dispelled on their own, and all the plans of those who are secretly making trouble will be in vain."

In this regard, Zhu Ying has strong confidence.

Because in the current Ming Dynasty, except for officials, even most officials have no channels to obtain information.

Most of the information people know is passed on through word of mouth.

Word of mouth is a very mysterious thing. Not to mention that it has passed through the mouths of dozens or even hundreds of people. Even if it is just the same sentence, after being passed on by three people, the meaning will be completely different.

If someone wants to do something about this, it won’t be too easy.

After the official bulletin was published, it became the only channel for the entire Ming Dynasty to obtain official information, and many military and national affairs were published on it.

Even the people at the bottom of society will have a sense of understanding the country's trends after knowing this information.

Zhu Ying naturally did not make any objective records. Some important analyses would also be published at the same time to guide public opinion.

Zhu Yuanzhang was still very confident about the official report. After thinking about it, he decided that everything could be handed over to his eldest grandson. He then instructed:

"How should we collect the merit tablets on the north-south official road? There must be a certain size. Too many won't do, and too few won't do either."

"If the incident gets out of hand, we will lose face in the end."

Zhu Ying nodded and said, "Don't worry, Grandpa, I have a great idea for your grandson's freedom."

The monument of merit is one thing, but it is unrealistic to rely on it to make up for the huge expenses.

The most important of these is the seemingly insignificant right to walk on official roads.

Don't underestimate this power, it can actually help better maintain the status division implemented by officials.

Especially for businessmen, it not only saves face, but also brings substance.

Nowadays, most people will walk on the post roads, and they will only make way when government officials pass by. Even many postmen will not take it seriously unless they are blocked.

The two-foot-wide path on the left and right is more like an avoidance path.

However, once certain businessmen have this privilege legitimately, they will defend this right.

In the process of doing business, not only do you have the right of way, but those who dare to confront can also knock others down.

Social status has been significantly improved.

Moreover, using official roads can transport goods faster and naturally bring more benefits.

Relying on this one item alone, Zhu Ying was sure to cover at least half of the expenses for building the North-South Official Road.

…

In just two days, almost all the houses on both sides of Zhengyang Avenue had been demolished.

There are no nail households. If your house is not forcibly taken away and you are given compensation, that is already called the emperor's grace. Being grateful is the correct way of thinking at this moment.

When Zhengyang Avenue was cleared.

This kind of majestic spirit is truly amazing.

Although such a wide avenue has existed in history, everyone can't help but sigh when standing on the side of it.

This also became the place that foreign officials liked to visit the most.

Every day, many foreign officials come here to wander around and watch.

"What are they doing over there? It looks like they are digging a hole."

"Yes, but this is all arranged by the court. Who can know?"

"Don't say that. It is said that our Ming Dynasty will soon launch a court bulletin. All the latest news, even the important matters discussed in the court, will be published on it. Maybe we will know about it then."

"That thing is quite expensive, I'm afraid ordinary people like us can't afford it."

"You probably don't know this. I heard that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince said: Every man has a share of responsibility for the fate of his country. In order to allow common people like us to participate, the price of the official newspaper is only three cents. There is no restriction on identity. Even street kids can buy it."

"Don't talk nonsense. There are no street kids in our capital now. Anyone with a little bit of strength has been forcibly conscripted as a laborer. They provide food and accommodation. As long as they work hard, they can get paid."

"Even the children were all sent to school. Good thing they met His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. They were so lucky."

"Yes, I wanted to send all my children there, but I heard that the school doesn't teach the Four Books and Five Classics, but some accounting, weaving and the like, which is just apprenticeship. So my older children can only be sent to private schools."

"That's not good enough. The school provides meals. If it weren't for the fact that it's full and they give priority to street kids, I would have sent all those bastards there long ago."

"That's absolutely right. Forget it, let's not talk about this anymore. Let's go and see what they're digging over there for."

"Let's go together. Let's go together."

It was very easy to build Zhengyang Avenue. It was the capital city, and the ground foundation was already very good. After strengthening and leveling it, cement could be directly applied.

The current requirement for Zhengyang Avenue is that the cement road surface be one foot high. The current length of one foot in the Ming Dynasty is equivalent to 31 centimeters in later generations.

A large amount of bamboo was also transported.

Under current conditions, it is obviously impossible to produce a large amount of steel bars, so we can only use bamboo bars instead.

And in Waiwulong Square, also known as Zhengyang Square, is located.

The construction there was exactly the flag-raising platform that Zhu Ying was preparing.

That’s right, Zhu Ying is already trying to promote the Ming Dynasty national flag.

The current Ming Dynasty, or the Central Plains Dynasty, did not have the concept of a national flag. Many flags were mainly triangular flags, called banners.

"Flags" are commonly used on the battlefield, with the surnames of military generals painted on them to indicate that the army is ours.

It also plays the role of using flag signals to convey military orders and distinguish between friend and foe.

At present, it is equivalent to starting a foreign war, so the effect of using a symbol like the national flag to melt the hearts of the people and the military will be very significant.

While developing the internal prosperity of the Ming Dynasty, the steps towards external war had already begun.

This can also effectively divert internal conflicts outwards.

The design of the national flag was basically decided directly by Zhu Ying.

The rectangular flag is red all over, commonly known as red.

Red is the national color of the Ming Dynasty and also Zhu Yuanzhang's favorite color.

The Ming Dynasty belongs to the fire element, which is the virtue of fire.

Zhu is red.

Therefore, there was no controversy about the establishment of the red flag.

The pattern did take Zhu Ying a long time to think about, but after much deliberation, he finally decided to use the Chinese character "Ming".

At the beginning, I thought about stars, the moon, the sun, and even embroidering a landscape painting.

However, it always feels like something is missing.

Finally, during the discussion with the old man, the old man's words woke Zhu Ying up.

"Since it is the national flag of our Ming Dynasty, it is natural to use the word 'Ming'. What's so difficult about this?"

Suddenly, Zhu Ying understood.

yes.

Why do I always think about the flag designs of future generations? This is really like being obsessed.

The culture of the Central Plains dynasties was originally based on Chinese characters. For example, the flags of the capital's garrisons now have yellow characters on a red background, with the words "Da Ming" embroidered on them.

It is also a rectangle, but in vertical strips, with some scattered strips below.

Finally, when Zhu Ying considered the aesthetic effect, she decided to replace "Ming" with an embroidery of the sun and the moon.

After much hesitation, I finally decided on "Ming".

The overall layout is similar to the red flag of later generations. The word "Ming" is in the upper left corner on the front, which means shining like the sun and the moon on the world.

The current Ming Dynasty is the world's number one in terms of comprehensive national strength, territory and population, and is the orthodox power in the world.

Those foreign barbarians must learn from the Ming Dynasty.

The patterns of the sun and the moon are for easier identification, but the Chinese characters on the national flag are meant to tell the world.

If you don’t understand, then come and learn.

The Chinese characters from the Central Plains have been passed down through the ages. They are the strongest and best representative of culture.

Zhengyang Square is bustling with people, and even the boring construction site is watched with great interest.

Many wealthy people living in the capital did not have to work on weekdays. As it was the first month of the lunar year, they followed the construction teams to the square before dawn.

"We have already dug about half a foot deep, and we haven't stopped yet. I wonder how much deeper we will dig."

"What's the purpose of digging such a big hole?"

"Who knows? It should be clear once it's built, but I feel it has a lot to do with Zhengyang Avenue."

The hole dug at the flag-raising platform is for burying the flagpole.

This flagpole took a lot of effort.

It is fine steel calcined in a blast furnace and added with a lot of meteorite iron. It is resistant to decay and is polished to an extremely bright finish.

The flagpole is divided into two layers, the lower layer is one zhang, or three meters, and one chi wide.

The upper level is where you can see the flagpole, which is nine feet and five cents long, symbolizing the highest authority, and seven inches wide.

When this more than ten-meter-long steel flagpole appeared in Zhengyang Square.

Everyone who saw it, even the government officials, couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.

It was carried by more than twenty soldiers all the way from the outskirts of the city to Zhengyang Square.

Then insert the flag hole.

It took nearly an hour just to stand it upright. After the school team was speechless, they piled up bluestones, filled it with cement, and covered it with cement. It can be used for hundreds of years.

"There seems to be a rope hanging from it. What is it for?"

"Don't ask me how I know."

"Didn't you say you knew a lot of information? How come you don't know anything?"

"Not to mention me, even the ministers in the court probably don't know about this. It's probably the work of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

"Such a big stick, it's really majestic."

At present, the most lively thing in Zhengyang Square is the flag-raising platform.

Many people made guesses, especially about the rope, which triggered many associations.

In fact, some smart people thought that it was a good idea to hang a flag, but it was not recognized.

After the flagpole is fixed, it becomes the flag-raising platform.

The entire flag-raising platform is made of white marble.

It is accessible from all directions and has three levels of stairs composed of twelve jade pillars.

It is engraved with nine dragons, twelve emblems, and a splendid landscape.

At first glance, it is luxurious and elegant.

Nearly half a month after its completion, twelve Jinyiwei guards stood guard every day. Approaching was strictly prohibited and people could only watch from afar.

After the flag-raising platform was built, the leveling of Zhengyang Avenue was almost completed.

Zhengyang Avenue is about thirty meters wide and three and a half miles long, or about five hundred and eighty meters. It runs from Zhengyang Gate to Zhengyang Square, and the final point is the flag-raising platform.

The current Zhengyang Avenue is blocked by wooden boards on the left, right, front and back, one foot high.

In the middle, there are long bamboo partitions every ten feet, and it looks densely packed at first glance.

Today is the second day of February, the day when the dragon raises its head.

Burning incense and offering sacrifices at Zhengyang Square.

Shen Xi, the Minister of Industry, asked, "What time is it now?"

The Minister of Works replied, "Your Excellency, it is now three quarters past noon."

Shen Xi nodded, and then said loudly: "The auspicious time has arrived, let's start the construction!"

As Shen Xi spoke, the officials from the Ministry of Works, who had been waiting for a long time, started shouting.

"The auspicious time has arrived, let's start the construction!!!"

"The auspicious time has arrived, let's start the construction!!!"

"The auspicious time has arrived, let's start the construction!!!"

The sounds were transmitted from Zhengyang Square to Zhengyang Gate.