But in fact, there were no ordinary people among the people present, and there were not even rich merchants. It was not that they didn’t want to come, but that they either did not have the strength or the owner behind them came out in person. The reason was that the emperor had an order that the shares auctioneers this time must be innocent and register their own name with their real name. If they change their names in the future, they will have to pay a handling fee.

If these nobles send their agents to come forward, they can only register the agent's name. If this share is transferred to their own hands, it will be a big problem. It is obviously more at ease to be entrusted to the things that can be passed down to future generations.

In this way, these people, including those who attended the audience and auction, basically knew each other.

So someone said hello, it would be a lot of trouble to auction one by one, so I should pack it and bid together!

"Mr. Marquis, this is not OK. It is auctioned one by one, but it is decided by the emperor. Otherwise, let's talk about it and save us some trouble?"

"Haha, that's what I said, forget it after hearing it!"

“…”

Unconsciously, Emperor Chongzhen's authority was much greater than when he ascended the throne or before Jianlu invaded the capital.

If it were the past, some ministers would fool the emperor and ask the emperor to change his orders. But at this time, no one dared.

The auction was going on soon, but Emperor Chongzhen was not convenient to go. Although he was concerned, he was not free. At this time, he was summoning Liu Mao, the chief officer of the Ministry of War.

Emperor Chongzhen picked up a memorial on the imperial table, shook it in his hand, signaled to Liu Mao to show it, and then smiled and said, "I have read this memorial on Liu Qing's specific post on the post station. But I have never had time, so I have been delayed until now."

"Your Majesty is responsible for everything every day, so please take care of the dragon body! I must stick to the matter of the post station and will never give up halfway!" Liu Mao heard this and bowed and said.

Previously, according to the emperor's request, he submitted a specific memorial and was waiting for the emperor to summon him. Unexpectedly, there was no news when he waited. The confidence he built up in the courthouse was exhausted during the waiting period, which made him feel unsure and despaired about the job of laying off the post station.

But when he heard the emperor explain it to him, all the dissatisfaction he had accumulated before disappeared. He immediately expressed that he would work hard, and even if he had a great difficulty, he would not care about grievances.

Emperor Chongzhen smiled and listened to him, and at the same time put the memorial back on the table. After Liu Mao finished speaking, he spoke: "I have thought about it, but the post station will not be cut off!"

"..." Liu Mao was stunned when he heard this.

The emperor's words were like a bolt from the blue, hitting him directly on the forehead. After doing so much work, he suffered from many colleagues' openly and secretly suppression and exclusion, and suffered from so many grievances, he finally got some results. Then, when he was full of anticipation of the emperor's continued support, he suddenly said, "I won't be punished anymore?"

After Liu Mao came to his senses, his whole body seemed to be sucked away by the demons and monsters, and he was depressed and pale. He slowly bowed down and said to Emperor Chongzhen: "I... obey the order!"

It is no wonder that the abolition of the post station violated the interests of too many people, and he knew the resistance therein. The emperor must have realized it, so he did not want to abolition again.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but sigh deeply in his heart, alas...

Seeing his reaction, Emperor Chongzhen was a little bit alone, and then immediately realized that he was afraid of being misunderstood, so he quickly explained: "Liu Qing was afraid of being misunderstood. The matter of the post station must be reformed, but it is not simply abolished. Today, I summoned you to come to talk about this matter!"

Liu Mao was stunned when he heard this, and bent down and kept it unchanged. He looked up at Emperor Chongzhen with a look of confusion.

Can you save money if you don’t cut off the station? If you can’t save money, you can’t save money. This doesn’t mean you’ve done nothing and it’s a waste of work!

Seeing that he was puzzled, Emperor Chongzhen asked him, "Liu Qing should understand cement, right?"

After hearing this, Liu Mao nodded subconsciously, and then said in his heart, "What's wrong with the emperor? Isn't he talking about the layoffs? Why did he get cement?"

"Should you understand the characteristics of cement?" Emperor Chongzhen continued, "Building speed is fast, strong, waterproof, etc."

Liu Mao nodded again. If such a big thing as cement, even a three-year-old child in the capital could say it, how could he not know about it?

When Emperor Chongzhen saw him nodding again, he said again: "There are floods in the south, and the roads are suffering from rain all year round, and it is difficult to walk on mud. Therefore, I thought, so I used cement to rebuild the road so that it is smooth and easy to walk on, and no longer suffer from mud."

After hearing this, Liu Mao nodded. This is a good thing, but how much does it have to do with the station he is responsible for? He can't figure it out!

"The road system of the Ming Dynasty is under the control of Qing. Therefore, there are also Qings who are under the control of cement road construction." Emperor Chongzhen explained to him patiently, "It is inappropriate to continue using the name of the Ministry of War, so he also established a Daming Road and Bridge Company. First, in a place with heavy rainfall in the south and busy roads from south to north, he used cement to build roads, and then the local stations could charge the fees for vehicles from south to north. As for the start-up funds, the local funds raised by the local government. Well, it is also operated by the Royal Cement Company of the Ming Dynasty, selling 49% of the shares. Another 51% of the shares will be divided by the court and local governments."

This is actually equivalent to the expressways in later generations. Although using cement to build roads at this time will definitely not be as flat as cement roads in later generations, it should be compared with the dirt roads at that time, especially in places with a lot of rain, so it should not be too easy to walk.

Ordinary people do not charge for walking, but if you take a bus, you must have some money, so you will be charged some money. Compared with mud roads, you can walk fast, spend less time on the road, do not delay the itinerary, and do not suffer from the muddy roads. How great is this kind of cement road?

In this way, those stations actually have another function, which is to charge fees. Once they become toll stations, they naturally don’t need to be cut off.

Emperor Chongzhen only proposed a general plan at this time. As for the details, I will discuss it carefully again.

At this time, Liu Mao was responsible for the layoffs, so he was much more familiar with the road than ordinary people. He immediately compared the people who would offend the layoffs before, and suddenly realized that using cement to build roads seemed to be a big deal.

For example, ordinary people do not charge money when passing by, the road is easier to walk than before, and they get benefits. Although rich people pay a little money, they save their time, suffer less of the journey, and do not delay travel, which is also very beneficial. The income will be divided by the local government, which means that the local government can also get benefits. In addition, the imperial court can also receive money, which is considered to be open source...
Chapter completed!