Daming: I asked you to supervise the country, Daming is all crazy?

Chapter 127 Zhu Zhanji: There's nothing wrong with that! ! !
In this way, once cement roads become popular and travel becomes more convenient, the benefits are actually obvious.

After all, the slogan "If you want to get rich, build roads first!" is not for nothing.

Once the road transportation becomes convenient, even if the vehicle is still an ancient horse-drawn carriage, the travel between the two places will not be affected by the weather and other factors, and the transportation of goods will become stable, which will naturally promote business development.

Of course, the premise of this is to carry out some commercial reforms first.

But this matter is naturally not too urgent for Zhu Zhanji.

After all, now is the first concrete road in Daming that has just been built.

So after hearing Zhou Chen's explanation, Zhu Zhanji nodded.

On the other hand, Zhu Gaochi was a little excited when he heard Zhou Chen's words.

"In this way, wouldn't it be faster to transport money and food? If the cement road from Yingtian to Shuntian is built, how much time can be saved by transporting a carload of grain?"

When Zhou Chen heard Zhu Gaochi's question, he immediately said: "Back to Your Highness, the cement road can indeed save a lot of time compared to the mud road, but how much time can it save specifically? Since the first cement road has just been built, the Ministry of Industry's Specific data have not yet been measured, so there are no concrete results."

"What's the cost?"

Yao Guangxiao on the side couldn't help but interjected when he heard the words, and before Zhou Chen could speak, he added:
"The poor monk is saying that if you build a concrete road from Yingtian to Shuntian, just like the concrete road in front of you, how much food will it cost?"

"this………"

Zhou Chen couldn't help showing a little embarrassment when he heard this.

It is not difficult to calculate the cost of the cement road, but the concrete road from Yingtian to Shuntian, although the distance between the two places is known, but there are too many variables in it, and it is impossible to give a figure without specific measurements.

After all, no matter whether it is opening a mountain or building a bridge, the cost involved cannot be calculated at all.

Seeing Zhou Chen like this, Yao Guangxiao may have guessed what Zhou Chen was thinking. He paused and asked again: "How much money and food is the concrete road in front of you?"

This question obviously belongs to two levels from the question just now. Zhou Chen couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief when he heard this, and immediately said:
"The distance from Yifengmen to Jiangbian Wharf is about four miles. There are fifty craftsmen in total, including measurement and repair. According to the proficiency of each craftsman, the daily salary of each craftsman is about two. It took a total of six days to spend a hundred cash, and the reward for all craftsmen was 60 taels of silver."

"In addition, there are more than 40 civilian husbands hired. Each person's daily salary is about [-] taels of silver. It takes a total of four days. All the civilian husbands are paid a total of [-] taels of silver."

"In addition, the cost of sand and gravel is not counted. The cost of cement is about 32 renminbi per stone, a total of 300 shi, which means a total of [-] taels of silver. In addition, there are various compensations such as land acquisition, and there are more than [-] taels of silver. , so the cost of this concrete road should be around [-] taels of silver."

"300 taels of silver?"

As soon as this and the number came out, not only the monk Yao Guangxiao held his breath, but Zhu Gaochi who was beside him was also slightly stunned, and then said in disbelief:
"In this way, if you don't count other costs, such as opening mountains and building bridges, the cement road from Yingtian to Shuntian is about two thousand miles away, while the road from Yifengmen to Jiangbian Wharf is four miles away, and the four-mile road is 300 taels. Silver, that is to say, the cement road from Yingtian to Shuntian should cost 15 taels of silver."

Zhou Chen showed a wry smile when he heard the words, nodding or shaking his head for a moment, after all, if this account could be calculated so easily, Yao Guangxiao just asked, and he would not be unable to give the answer.

Zhu Zhanji was also a little speechless when he saw that his stupid father was slamming on the cement road from Yingtian to Shuntian.

I don't know how much resentment my grandfather brought to this stupid father when he moved the capital. Now that he has discovered the benefits of the cement road, he is completely focused on this matter.

"Father, aren't you embarrassing Zhou Chen?"

Zhu Zhanji pulled Raju Gaochi's arm and reminded in a low voice:

"This account is not your calculation. If you think about the distance from Yingtian to Shuntian, it is two thousand miles away. Naturally, it is impossible to rely on a cement factory, right? At that time, cement factories will be built in some places along the road. The cost is Don’t you have to count? Two thousand miles, even if it’s two hundred miles for a cement factory night, it will take ten to complete it, and the construction cost of a cement factory will not be less than a hundred taels of silver.”

"It's not counting the cement factory that is a distance of one or two hundred miles. The cost of transporting cement and building bridges and opening mountains are not counted. Such a long distance can't be built in a short period of time just by craftsmen. At least it will take two or three years!"

Naturally, Zhu Gaochi is not stupid, he just cares about it and it will cause chaos. After all, if there is a concrete road from Yingtian to Shuntian, the benefits brought by it will undoubtedly be a big deal for people like him who oppose moving the capital. Great good.

After all, the reason why he opposed moving the capital was because after the capital was moved, Shuntian would have to rely entirely on the south for support, and the long-distance transportation of money and food would undoubtedly cause a lot of loss, so the annual loss would not be a small amount.

But having a cement road will undoubtedly reduce this loss by more than half. In this case, even if there is still loss, it will undoubtedly be reduced a lot compared to before the cement road was built.

So when I heard my son say that it would cost so much to build a long concrete road, I couldn't help but hesitate a bit.

After all, he built the cement road to reduce loss. If the cost is too high, it is hard to say whether the cement road is still worthwhile.

Zhu Zhanji saw that the silly father was a little disappointed, and felt that he could not completely dispel the idea of ​​​​the silly father's desire to build roads, so he smiled and changed the subject: "But although it costs a lot more, once the cement road is built, it will be of great help to everyone." In the future, the benefits will be very obvious.”

"For example, for North and South merchants, it will definitely be more convenient for their cargo transportation!"

"merchant?"

Zhu Gaochi frowned when he heard the words. Although he did not reject businessmen, he even supported Zhu Zhanji's many business-related things.

But when it came to businessmen, Zhu Gaochi still frowned.

This has nothing to do with the status of merchants or the class relationship between scholars, farmers, businessmen and commerce.

He grew up beside the Emperor Taizu when he was young, and he heard a lot of unjust acts of merchants, even some things that are not for business and not evil. .

As far as he is concerned, it is good not to suppress, so how can it be convenient for businessmen?

Zhu Zhanji still knew the silly father very well, so he lowered his voice and said:
"Father, the current Daming is not the Daming of the great-grandfather's time. During the great-grandfather's time, we had to fight Zhang Shicheng and Chen Youliang in the south, and we had to guard against Fang Guozhen who was driven into the sea. We needed money and food, so those big businessmen had Money, we are short of money, so if we fight, we will fight, and if we rob, we will rob, but it is different now."

Zhu Zhanji's voice was so low that the people next to him couldn't hear him. Seeing the prince and grandson talking softly, although he was curious, he was a smart person, and naturally consciously stayed away.

Seeing this, Zhu Zhanji continued:
"Although Daming seems to be powerful right now, in my opinion, it can't be regarded as rich and powerful, and it can even be said to be a waste of time, so the value of businessmen is reflected at this time!"

Zhu Gaochi frowned when he heard the words: "Businessmen have been mercenary since ancient times. Seeing small profits and forgetting righteousness, where is the value?"

"Father, why can't you kill a bunch of people with one shot?"

Zhu Zhanji rolled his eyelids when he heard the words. Although he actually agreed with Zhu Gaochi's words, he has to say that there are indeed some good businessmen among the businessmen.

When Zhu Gaochi heard his son's words, he said:

"Put all the merchants in a row and kill one by one, there will be no mistakes!"

Zhu Zhanji: "..."

There's nothing wrong with that!
"If you want to say that, then I have nothing to say!"

Zhu Zhanji curled his lips, paused, and said:

"But there is one thing, you have to understand, if there are no merchants, what kind of consequences will it have for the people, or for the court?"

"The grain grown by the people throughout the year, because there are no merchants to buy it, or they can't go to the merchants to exchange for goods, if they can't finish it, they will be piled up at home until they rot."

"There are also hunters and some other people. The prey they hunt hard can only be eaten by themselves, and what they can't eat will be wasted."

"This is only for the people, but the officials in the court and the court itself are even more serious. Many officials have hundreds of acres of fertile land in their homes, and there are also poor people who live on their salaries, but no matter who they are, The former needs to sell grain, while the latter needs to buy grain, both of which need merchants to turn around.”

"As for the imperial court itself, it is open to China and France. If the imperial court did not use Yanyin as a reward, how could the food from the front line be transported so quickly?"

"This one……"

When Zhu Gaochi heard his son's words, he didn't know how to refute for a while. Although the businessman was trying to make a profit in everything, he had to say that no one can do without a businessman nowadays.

He hesitated for a moment before saying:
"But even so, how did the merchants have something to do with Daming's wealth? The profits these merchants make are all the hard-earned money of the people. The richer they are, the more blood they suck from the people. ?”

"That's true, but have you thought about how many risks these businessmen have taken that originally belonged to the common people?"

Zhu Zhanji shook his head and said: "The common people have planted grain, and merchants will sell it at a higher price when they buy it, but not to mention the transportation cost, just the fluctuation of grain price will give the merchant a lot of money." It brings great risks, if it is purchased at a high price, and the price of food plummets after the purchase, for them, the loss is not for the people to avoid the risk?"

"This one……"

Although Zhu Gaochi is not really stupid, he is even very intelligent in many cases.

But some things have to be said, deeply influenced by some inherent thinking concepts since ancient times.

Hearing Zhu Zhanji's explanation, he suddenly realized, but subconsciously felt that this idea was refuted by the world.

Seeing Zhu Gaochi's reaction, Zhu Zhanji knew that his stupid father had almost figured it out.

It was just some long-term concepts, and it was obviously impossible for him to accept these words immediately.

But this is completely enough for Zhu Zhanji.

Some things, once the seeds are planted, as long as they are watered and fertilized frequently, they will always bloom and bear fruit one day.

So seeing Zhu Gaochi's reaction, Zhu Zhanji understood that it was time to sow the seeds, he was slightly contemplative, and lowered his voice again:

"So, we can't do without businessmen, and Daming's prosperity also needs some efforts from these businessmen. First, it can drive some people and increase their income. Second, we can even allow the people to carry out some commercial operations, such as doing business. Engage in farming, chickens, ducks, fish, cattle, sheep and pigs, and even grow some crops with greater value. When these harvests are harvested, they can be sold directly to merchants instead of blindly growing food!"

"After all, even if there is a bumper harvest in growing food, the people's income is still limited. After a bumper harvest year, what should be suffering is still suffering."

"Only by increasing this kind of income other than food, can the common people get rid of the days of completely relying on the sky and get some extra income. Even if there is a drought or flood, they can still rely on the income outside the fields to support them. In the past, not only that, these industries, which are far more profitable than growing food, also made it easier for the people to become rich, and if the people had surplus money, they would naturally live a good life."

"If that's the case, wouldn't everyone be chasing after it?"

Zhu Gaochi still frowned, puzzled and said:
"Who's going to grow food when there are other high-value crops, or livestock that can be more profitable?"

"Of course not!"

Zhu Zhanji shook his head and said, "Although it is human nature to seek profit, why is it not human nature to avoid harm?"

"Whether it is farming or planting other high-value crops, it is necessary to pay attention to the basic principle of adapting measures to local conditions. If you deliberately violate this, it will naturally not bring any benefits."

"It's like some fertile fields in the south. Champa rice can be grown twice or even three times a year. The harvest is stable, and the people are rich. However, if some high-value crops in the north are planted, certain risks will increase!"

"If you are not fully sure, some people will naturally hesitate and choose more conservative rice planting. There are also some lands that are only suitable for growing food. It is impossible for the people to stop planting because they cannot grow other things, right?"

"Besides, if one day the common people don't grow food, why won't the price of food increase immediately? Naturally, some people will see the benefits!"

Champa rice was brought back by Zheng He, and it is now being planted in the south, and Zhu Gaochi is no stranger to it.

So listening to Zhu Zhanji's words, Zhu Gaochi couldn't help but fall into deep thought.

It has to be said that Zhu Zhanji's remarks, no matter how they are said, are at least basically reasonable.

"Moreover, these things actually need to be adjusted by the court. If there is less food, the court can raise the price of food appropriately, and naturally more people will grow more food, and when there are more other things, the price will naturally decrease. It's lower."

"Of course, in order to prevent some merchants from maliciously raising the price of something, the imperial court not only needs to regulate the price, but also needs to issue relevant laws and regulations to restrict it. We can bring convenience to merchants, but correspondingly, merchants must There is no need for such businessmen to abide by our rules and violate our rules."

(End of this chapter)