Qin Feng, who returned to Huzhu, naturally would not meet the numerous technicians gathered here, and there were only a few people who were qualified to sit in front of him.

Wen Peng, the skilled worker of the Ministry of Works, Wang Yueyao, the Director of the Commerce Department, Zhong Zhen, the governor of Yongjun County, and Tang Weide, the governor of Hulao County. He Weiping is the military chief, so he naturally would not participate in such political affairs.

"I heard that you have been discussing here for many days. Have you achieved any results?" Qin Feng asked with a smile at the four officials.

"Your Majesty, I came late, and I just attended their meetings several times. I wanted to speak and express my thoughts, but the Ministry of Works of Wen, Director Wang and the Governor Tang did not allow it." Zhong Zhen said.

Qin Feng laughed: "Are you complaining? The canal didn't pass through Yongjun. When you heard the wind, you ran away. It was obvious that you wanted to seize food from a tiger's mouth. These people were not fuel-efficient lamps, of course they didn't want you to get a share of the pie!"

The other three people were embarrassed to say this, and of course the three of them did mean this. Since the court has decided to build this Grand Canal, whether in terms of the project itself or the future benefits, it is a huge cake. Four people come from four different departments and represent different interests. Naturally, they hope that the fewer people will come to grab the better. Some departments and county governors cannot avoid it, and there is no way to do it. But the canal does not hit Yong County at all, so they naturally do not want Zhong Town to get in. Therefore, Zhong Town is very unpopular in Hulao County during this period. Of course, everyone will not notify him when they are discussing. However, Zhong Town is a soldier, has a tough style, has a thicker skin, and has no temperament like a civil servant who wants to save face. When you see the benefits, you will try your best to squeeze in.

If he doesn't know what to do, he will hold a meeting? It doesn't matter. He sent someone to stare at you. Zhong Zhen is a soldier and has no other subordinates. He is good at inquiring about news. As long as you have a meeting, he will step in. With his position, everyone has entered the door, so naturally there is no reason to drive it out. The only thing that can be done is to prevent him from speaking.

But Zhong Zhen did not think it was offended at all. He just needed to figure out the specific situation. He knew very well that the people who made the decision in the end were not the guys in front of him who had dealt with the emperor and the big men of the Political Affairs Hall, and were afraid that they would not be able to get in. After listening for a few days, he gradually felt a little bitch in his heart.

At this time, I heard the emperor teasing and bowed: "Your Majesty, the construction of this Grand Canal can be said to be the most massive project in history. The project volume is even larger than all the rail railways built by the Railway Bureau. This is a national project. As the political, economic and cultural center of the western region, our Yong County naturally cannot fall behind. What's more, the imperial court is now in financial difficulties, and our Yong County must set an example. Indeed, the canal does not pass through Yong County, but this does not prevent our Yong County from making efforts for this. Not to mention anything else, our Yong County has wise craftsmen, abundant funds, and abundant manpower, which is even better than Hulao. Your Majesty also said that building this Grand Canal is a matter of benefiting generations. My Yong County must participate in such a virtue."

"Not bad." Qin Feng laughed happily: "Mr. Zhong, you have been a civil servant for several years and have really mastered the neatness of verbal lawsuits. You obviously want to divide the big cake for Yongjun, but you speak so well and make too much progress. You are not the guy who was still stubborn when I saw me."

Zhong Zhen smiled and said, "Living until old age and learning until old age, I am not as simple as staying in this position as in the army. In Yong County, there are too many times when I quarrel with others, and gradually I have made great progress. Your Majesty, you are right. I do want to win some benefits for Yong County, but other words are not empty. My Yong County does want to share the worries of the court. With the current strength of my Yong County, I think Your Majesty and the Political Affairs Hall will never let us be out of the matter!"

"This is right." Qin Feng nodded and looked at the other three, "Yongjun's support is absolutely indispensable to do such a major project in the west."

Wen Peng, Tang Weide, and Wang Yueyao saw that the emperor had spoken, so they naturally had nothing to say. In fact, the three of them knew that it was impossible to completely bypass Yongjun. The previous hypocritical behavior was just to make more concessions to oppress Zhong Zhen.

Craftsmen are indispensable to building such a big river. During the Former Qin Dynasty, almost all the wise craftsmen and technicians of the Qin State were concentrated in Yongjun. In this regard, he had a unique advantage. As the economic center of the entire western region, the financial resources that Yongjun could use were not comparable to those in other places.

The few people present were all senior officials of the Ming Dynasty and knew the difficulties of the court. To try to reduce the burden on the court and build this canal, we must mobilize local forces and collect private capital. The powerful merchants and gentry in the west were basically concentrated in Yong County.

This is also the reason why Zhong Zhen is still confident even though he is not popular in Hulao. Others want to bully him as a general, but they don’t understand the twists and turns here, but they forget that this family comes from a noble family and now there are a large number of staff around him. Even if he can’t figure out what he can’t figure out, there will naturally be someone reminding him.

Several people looked at each other, and Wen Peng said, "Your Majesty, since you decided to build this canal, the Political Affairs Hall has actually been quarreling for a long time, and those who support and those who oppose each other are not giving in to each other. Some think that this is a waste of money, some think that it is not the time, and some think that such a large project can stimulate domestic demand, but there are factors that promote the improvement of the imperial finances. Finally, the Political Affairs Hall published these disputes in the palace report and solicited opinions from the officials and business associations in various places. As a result, except for the opposition of the various counties in Chu, the Ming and western regions were mostly supported. Therefore, the Political Affairs Hall finally decided to do some preparations first, and then discuss specific details with you after you return to Yuejing City."

"Well, this is also a safe way, which is in line with Quan Yun's usual style." Qin Feng nodded.

"So the Ministry of Works has summoned the best surveying craftsmen in the country to enter the western area, first survey the river channel and collect relevant information." The clever hand continued, "At the same time, it is also preparing to recruit teams with experience in building river channels in China. Once the court decides, these teams can start working."

Wang Yueyao continued: "Your Majesty, the court is now in financial difficulties, so the Commerce Department decided to raise as much money as possible to invest in the construction of the canal. I originally thought that such a huge project would be expected by the chambers of commerce, but the facts were far beyond my expectations. Everyone's enthusiasm was so high that it was simply unbearable."

"Oh, why is this?" Qin Feng said with a smile: "Aren't these people afraid that their money will be wasted?"

"Your Majesty." Wang Yueyao smiled and said, "After talking to them, I have basically understood the thoughts of these people. First of all, the court's policies over the years have given them great confidence, and His Majesty's prestige has made them have no worries. Moreover, the success of the merchants who previously invested in rail cars has also allowed more people to see the huge benefits that can bring to participate in the national major projects. These are great things that benefit lifelong investment."

Qin Feng was a little surprised: "When the rail cars were counted last year, wasn't they still suffering a full loss?"

"Your Majesty, the rail car has been operating at a loss since its completion, but the situation has been improving. The annual loss is rapidly decreasing, and by the middle of this year, it has been flat." Wang Yueyao smiled: "In other words, if this continues, profits are expected. As long as it starts to make a profit, the snowball will grow bigger and bigger. Now the group of investors who invested can't stop smiling, which also makes other people who didn't get the opportunity salivate. However, they did not enter at the beginning. Now, whether in experience, technology and qualifications, there is no way to compete with the group of people who entered the first place. Now the court is going to build an unprecedented major project, how can these people let go? Not only these people, but those who taste the sweetness on the rail car are also trying to enter."

Qin Feng shook his head: "This time, the people who invested in rail cars were excluded. Rail cars will become the traffic king of Ming Dynasty in the future, and the canal connects to the west. These two are not only profitable, but also a powerful weapon for the country. They cannot be handed over to the same group of people, which is not conducive to national security."

"Yes, I know." Wang Yueyao said: "The intention funds we have collected now exceeded 10 million taels. When I set out to Hulao, this number is still increasing. This does not include merchants from Hulao County, Yong County and other places. It is just the land of the Ming Dynasty. According to me, in addition to the western land, there are also merchants in Chu land who want to join. The most optimistic estimate is that the funds that can be raised in the end will exceed 30 million taels."

"Are we Ming people so rich now?" Qin Feng asked in surprise.

"Your Majesty." Wang Yueyao suppressed his smile: "Our Ming Dynasty court is really poor, but the Ming Dynasty people are really rich. Not to mention other places, who in the local people of the Ming Dynasty, who would have the face to see people if they don't have a thousand or eight hundred savings?"

Zhong Zhen coughed dryly and said, "Your Majesty, our Yong County has no problem raising one for about five million."

Tang Weide also quickly said: "Hulao cannot compare with Yongjun, nor can it be compared with the Ming Dynasty, but it is okay to raise two or three million taels."

After hearing this, Qin Feng was in a good mood.

"In other words, we may have successfully started this project without using the treasury."

"It's not just that it can be started. The Ministry of Works estimates that the funds required for the completion of this project are about 200 million taels. The initial funds raised are already one-fifth of the entire project fund. This is not considered hot money." Wen Peng smiled and said: "After this result, the Political Affairs Hall was also unexpected, and the voices that originally opposed it were gone."
Chapter completed!