Chapter 388 Combat-ready Highway Network

[It's been broken for several days, and the cruiser tries to make up as many words as possible every day, and makes up for everyone's ...... a little]

In the imperial study, the personnel nomination report submitted by the Ministry of Officials was placed in front of Deng Haonan.

The six ministers of the cabinet were quietly lined up in front of the imperial book, standing in two symmetrical columns, waiting for the emperor's training at any time.

Deng Haonan only glanced at the personnel appointment list of the grassroots prefectures and counties, and he only paid attention to the appointment, dismissal, and transfer of high-level personnel such as governors and governors.

The head of the feudal officials was the governor of Zhili, and the three words Lai Youguang were written on the nomination, which surprised Deng Haonan a little.

"Lai Youguang?"

Qian Qianyi came out and replied: "Chen Qisheng, Lai Youguang has served as the governor of Shandong, the governor of Huguang, and the governor of Jiangsu and Zhejiang. ”

Ni Yuanlu came out and said: "Your Majesty, the governor of Zhili is the highest feudal official in the empire, and his candidates should be very much. It is undeniable that Lai Youguang has made remarkable achievements in politics in the past ten years, but he has a criminal record after all. In the former Ming Dynasty, Lai Youguang was an official who was deeply hated by the people. Although it has improved now, once he is promoted to the governor of Zhili, he will become the focus of the empire, and the news agencies of the major newspapers, whether out of good intentions or malicious intentions, will talk about the old accounts of Lai Youguang, and when the time comes, it will inevitably involve the majesty of the empire, please think twice."

Cheng Ji said at this time: "Your Majesty, Lai Youguang's performance over the years is enough to show that he has reformed himself. As Master Ni said, even if the old accounts are turned over by the people of the empire, it should be the driving force that spurs Lai Youguang, so that he can learn from the past and not repeat the mistakes of the past."

Deng Haonan nodded and said, "This matter will be discussed later, I advocate democracy, and since the power has been delegated to the three ministries, I don't want to interfere anymore." If Lai Youguang can get the support of more than half of the seats in the lower house of Zhili and pass the assessment of the Guò Metropolitan Procuratorate and the Independent Commission Against Corruption, I will not interfere."

Although the constitution of the Chinese Empire has been determined, in its implementation, it is not possible to fully implement the political system of separation of powers and the balance mechanism of mutual checks and balances. Depending on the situation, local systems are implemented in accordance with local conditions and in accordance with the attitude of the majority of members of the local House of Commons. The situation is similar to the local state government system in the United States.

It's just that the governor of Zhili is concerned with the safety of the heart of the empire. Therefore, under the direct control of the emperor, the Zhili region became the first local government system in the Chinese Empire to implement a complete separation of powers.

The separation of powers was established in the Zhili area, and the legislative, judicial, and administrative departments were not subordinate to each other, and there were checks and balances on each other, so that there would not be a situation in which one person monopolized power in the Zhili area, so as to ensure the security of the capital.

Of course, this is also Deng Haonan's long-term strategy. If you want the empire to completely embark on a rich, strong, democratic, and civilized super empire, you can't eat a fat man all at once, and you need to go step by step.

Over the past decade, the system of separation of powers in the Zhili region has become more and more accepted by the people of the empire, slowly influencing their various values.

By the end of last year, one-third of the empire's 72 provinces had adopted a system of local government with separation of powers. These provinces include the richest regions of Jiangsu and Zhejiang, where industry and commerce are the most developed, and are therefore the first to experience the enormous benefits of the separation of powers. It is followed by Taiwan, Ryukyu, and Liaoning, which are the places where Deng Haonan started, and the political system follows the steps of the emperor. Finally, there are sparsely populated provinces, such as Jilin, Heilongjiang, Hawaii, Tibet, Xinjiang, Gansu and other prefectures, because these areas are sparsely populated, most of them are people who have migrated from other places, there are no local complex forces, and government officials have the least resistance to the implementation of the policy of separation of powers, so the central policy of the empire is easy to implement here.

Of course, there are also very stubborn state capitals. For example, in Inner Mongolia, Central Mongolia and Outer Mongolia, the feudal system in Mongolia is still very strong, and the influence of feudal lords in the local area far exceeds that of the central empire, so it will take a long way to implement the separation of powers in such places.

The separation of powers is non-mandatory, and in Deng Haonan's view, the system that conforms to local conditions is the best system. The absence of a separation of powers did not affect the implementation of the various decrees of the central government of the empire. There is a national lower house at the local level, and the members of the parliament are all people who represent local interests, and their collective vote is the real direction of the development direction of the local government. The power still belongs to the majority, so there is no need for the central government to worry, if it forcibly intervenes, it will be counterproductive and affect the healthy development of local governments.

"I've quietly visited various departments in the capital recently, and it's generally good, but I'm not sure that these Beijing officials are all ten years old, maybe some officials have been prepared in advance. Therefore, I need to do a more detailed and in-depth investigation. ”

"Emperor Shengming" Qian Qianyi bowed and said: "According to the old ministers, the Beijing officials are still very motivated, since the emperor doubled their income, their motivation is suddenly obvious. Coupled with the imperial government's high-standard welfare policy, they live a carefree life, and in order to repay the emperor's kindness, they will definitely double their service to the emperor and the imperial court, and seek benefits for the people of the world. ”

"With the supervision of the Independent Commission Against Corruption, officials have regarded honesty and fairness as the first priority, and doing good things for the people as the first pleasure," Cheng Ji said.

Deng Haonan nodded and said, "I found a lot of Wanmin umbrellas in many yamen, according to the notes above, it doesn't seem to be a fraud, I am very relieved."

Wang Chengen, the secretary of the household department, replied: "Your Majesty, all the people's umbrellas must be investigated and reviewed by the Metropolitan Procuratorate and the Independent Commission Against Corruption before they can take effect, and the performance of the officials in office is recorded as an assessment official, so please rest assured that the emperor."

Deng Haonan nodded and said with relief: "Overall, I am very happy"

Zhang Fengai, the secretary of the Ministry of Industry, said: "The emperor Yao Shunyu soup is really the most outstanding emperor in the ages"

Deng Haonan smiled and said, "Zhang Aiqing has also learned to flatter."

"Wechen is telling the truth"

"I am very happy to be able to flatter the iron-faced and selfless Zhang Aiqing"

Deng Haonan then changed the conversation and asked with a smile: "Zhang Aiqing has something to say?"

Zhang Fengai smiled slightly and said, "I still can't escape the emperor's eyes."

Deng Haonan was in a good mood and said, "Say it"

Zhang Fengai said: "Your Majesty, the budget of the Ministry of Industry this year is low, and the minister asks the emperor to allocate additional funds."

It turned out to be asking for money

Deng Haonan smiled secretly in his heart and looked at Wang Chengen, who hurriedly said: "Your Majesty, the budget of the Ministry of Industry this year is too huge, and the minister thinks it should be cautious."

Deng Haonan was puzzled, the empire had abundant finances, and what budget could make it difficult for the household department.

Qian Qianyi said at this time: "The cabinet does not approve of Lord Zhang's proposal, because Lord Zhang wants to build roads in the empire to connect all the provinces in the empire, and the developed provinces are even more roads. Wechen initially estimated that it would take ten years to complete the project and cost billions of silver dollars. In addition, the Ministry of War and the Department of National Defense will need money to build war-ready roads within the empire, and it will also cost billions of silver dollars, and these two items together will cost nearly 10 billion silver dollars, which will seriously drag down the economic development of the empire."

Cheng Ji nodded and said: "Your Majesty, the Qin State of the Warring States back then, because of the construction of the Great Zheng Canal, the Qin State was unable to conquer the Six Kingdoms for ten years. If the empire were to expend such a huge amount of national power to build a network of roads in all directions, it would certainly affect the established strategy of the empire's colonial war."

Zhang Fengai retorted: "Chengda's words are a bit one-sided, when Lü Buwei built the Great Zheng Canal, although in the short term it dragged down the national strength of the Qin State, but in the long run, the Great Zheng Canal made the Great Qin State surge ten years later, and only then did it have the ability to unify the six countries." Now that the empire's industry and commerce are developing rapidly, the huge wealth plundered from overseas will follow the old path of the decline of the Spanish Empire if it is only consumed on food, drink and entertainment. ”

Then Zhang Fengai turned to the emperor and said: "Your Majesty, the current prosperity of the empire is not solid, if you don't lay a deep foundation in time, it will be just a bubble boom like the Spanish Empire, and eventually wealth will flow out of the empire." ”

Qian Qianyi glared at Zhang Fengai angrily and said: "Bold, you dare to curse the empire, this is a great disrespect to the emperor"

Several people were about to argue, but Deng Haonan waved his hand to stop them from speaking.

said to himself: "The economic foundation determines the superstructure, and Lord Zhang's words are reasonable, and he is worthy of being the secretary of the Ministry of Industry, but the reason why the empire should build a high-rise building is thought-provoking."

Zhang Fengai hurriedly said: "The emperor has won the award, and Weichen is panicked"

"You're scared of what you say"

Deng Haonan nodded and said: "The economic expansion and development of the empire and the inflow of huge wealth plundered overseas have indeed made some bubbles in the empire. It would be a good idea to transfer this wealth to infrastructure development, which would benefit future generations of the empire."

Qian Qianyi asked worriedly: "However, the emperor's money is too huge, and once it is implemented, it will cause a considerable fiscal deficit to the imperial finances."

Lin Feng said at this time: "The War Department built the War Readiness Road for national defense and security. The purpose of building civil roads was to connect the economic development of the provinces and promote the overall economic development of the empire. Instead of building two roads, it would be better to combine the two into one, so that the budget would be reduced by half, and the current surplus of the empire would not cause a fiscal deficit."

Zhang Fengai said: "Lord Lin's words are reasonable, and the minister has also thought about it, this method is feasible. The roads used to build the War Road were made of concrete, which was less practical than civilian roads, as the empire was currently under little military threat from foreign countries. It is better to expand the scale of the war readiness road, and use it as a civilian use in peacetime and in military management in wartime, which will save money and be practical."

Deng Haonan frowned and said: "If you use cement to build a road, can the current cement industry of the empire keep up?" ”

Zhang Fengai smiled and said: "Your Majesty, the original intention of Weichen's move is to prepare to stimulate the empire's economy, build a road network that connects all provinces, first, to stimulate the speed of commercial circulation, and secondly, to stimulate the empire's cement and steel industries. The construction of roads requires a large amount of cement and steel, and Wechen initially estimates that thousands of cement and steel factories will be manufactured in the country, driving the employment gap of tens of millions of people, and the money will not be invested in vain, and its linkage effect will produce a rich return of more than 100 billion silver dollars, and the wealth of the empire will be truly hidden in the people, so as not to let the wealth flow out."

Deng Haonan nodded, very satisfied, and suddenly felt that Zhang Fengai had been in Egypt for eight years, not in vain, and his talents were slowly being tapped.

At this time, Deng Haonan looked at Gu Mingzhe, who was listening behind him. Since Qian Qianyi and Zhang Pu both recommended him as a candidate for the next cabinet first assistant minister, Deng Haonan ordered him to sit in on and learn from him.

"Gu Mingzhe"

"The Minister"

"What do you think?"

Gu Mingzhe bowed down and said: "If you go back to the emperor, Weichen thinks that Master Zhang's analysis is very thorough, and he can try that the empire is now rich and strong, and the annual fiscal surplus reaches hundreds of millions of silver dollars. The money accumulated more and more, piling up in the treasury as a symbol of the empire's strength. However, money in the treasury will grow hairy, and taking it from the people and giving it to the people is the sign of a truly strong country and a rich people. Therefore, the huge fiscal surplus of the empire over the years is not a good thing, and it should be used in time to invest in the economic construction of the empire."

Deng Haonan nodded, and secretly said that Gu Mingzhe's height of looking at the problem is unique, no wonder he was recommended by Qian Qianyi and Zhang Pu.

"So how do you think the fiscal balance should be balanced?"

Gu Mingzhe replied: "Wechen believes that fiscal balance is the best way, but it is difficult to achieve. And a certain fiscal deficit will not only not affect the economic development of the empire, but a certain fiscal deficit can make the empire's finances operate healthily."

Several others frowned, they did not think that the fiscal deficit was a good thing.

On the contrary, Deng Haonan is in spirit.

I only heard Gu Mingzhe continue: "Your Majesty, the fiscal deficit has always been a taboo in all dynasties, and they think that it is not a good thing. However, Wechen believes that all problems can be solved by applying an insurance policy to the fiscal deficit."

"How do I get insurance?"

Gu Mingzhe replied: "The construction of the highway is an insurance policy, and the budget is included in the cost of road construction, and once the fiscal deficit in the second year affects the imperial policy, it can be transferred back from the huge budget of the road." Until the fiscal balance is completed, the excess budget will be replenished back into the road construction. ”

Qian Qianyi asked: "Although this can balance the finances, doesn't it affect the process of highway construction?" ”

Gu Mingzhe replied: "Highway construction and fiscal balance are like lakes and rivers. When a flood comes, the lake will flow water from the river to ensure that the flood does not overflow. In the dry season, when the river is short of water, the lake water flows back to the river, and the supply of water to the river will not be cut off. It's nature's auto-regulating feature. The same can be applied to the economic construction of the empire. ”

Deng Haonan secretly praised that he was really as good as his name was, and he had quite a philosophical flavor.

"What Gu Aiqing means is that investing in highway construction is like saving money into a bank, which plays a role in regulating the financial balance of the empire."

"That's what the emperor Shengming Weichen means"

Gu Mingzhe saluted, which immediately made everyone admire.

Qian Qianyi said: "In this way, if the national road transportation network is built, it will cause a fiscal deficit of 50 million yuan every year, and the deficit will be as high as about 10 percent."

Zhang Fengai said at this time: "This is just the beginning, the empire's economy is growing at a high speed every year, overseas plundering funds are constantly replenished, and the proportion of deficits will continue to decline." Didn't Master Gu say that highway construction can be halted at any time, and the funds can flow back to fill the huge deficit and avoid affecting important projects in other aspects of the empire."

Qian Qianyi nodded and said, "The old minister has no opinion."

Qian Qianyi let him go, and several other people no longer insisted, and Zhang Fengai turned to the emperor.

Deng Haonan smiled and said, "Is this a good thing?" For the benefit of future generations, this can be done together with the management of the Yangtze River and the Yellow River for the future generations."

"The emperor agreed"

"Accurate"

Wang Chengen said with some reluctance: "With so much money taken out at once, Weichen is really a little reluctant."

Deng Haonan smiled and said: "How do you look like a miser, this is more than a huge amount of money is not taken out at once, just a part of the annual expenditure, not to mention that the treasury cannot be emptied, the imperial economy is taking off, and the annual return of funds may still be greater than the expenditure."

Deng Haonan's words are somewhat possible, the empire's economy has developed rapidly, since the salt industry has been affected, other industries have gradually been affected and affected, and the empire's overall industry has entered a new stage of development. The revitalization of the Empire's industry and commerce led to a surge in the Empire's revenues, and the Empire's seizure of the rich Mexico and Peru from Spain, the wealth of these two colonies was immeasurable. This was also demonstrated in the years that followed, when the Imperial government invested billions of dollars in the construction of a national road network, and instead of causing a deficit in the Empire's finances, it continued to run a considerable fiscal surplus.

No one could have predicted what would happen next, but Deng Haonan firmly believed that with his knowledge, if not to lead the Chinese Empire to take off quickly, at least it would not lag behind.

Many things have been tested in practice, and it is difficult to get great benefits without great courage.

From the thirteenth year of Shenwu, the Imperial Ministry of Industry issued a plan to the governors of the 64 provinces to build a national highway network. The central government spends 70 percent of the funds, and the local government spends 30 percent of the funds for the construction of the road network.

Since the construction of the highway network is all 10-meter-wide cement wide roads, it will connect all cities with a population of more than 10,000 people in the Chinese Empire, as well as cities and towns with a population of more than 2,000 people, cities and towns with a population of more than 1,000 people, and villages and towns with a population of more than 500 people.

The construction of the highway network is expected to be completed in 10 years, and the coverage rate will reach more than 90%. Among them, the largest Beijing-to-Puran border under the Himalayas in Tibet will take 15 years to complete, and the second-largest Gyeonggi to the border of Outer Mongolia will take 13 years to complete. The third largest is Gyeonggi, and the Jingdong War Preparation Road from Gyeonggi to Nuer Gandusi in Heilongjiang Province will take 12 years and 3 months. The fourth largest is the Jingnan War Preparation Road from Beijing to Leizhou Mansion in Guangdong.

The four southeast, northwest, and war readiness roads are only the main project, and the war-ready roads derived from them are like spider webs, with Gyeonggi as the center, extending to the borders of the empire.

Among the main projects, the most difficult is the road to Tibet and Xinjiang. This Jingxi War Readiness Road was directly undertaken by the Ministry of War, and the army was mobilized to build it. Among the other three war preparation roads, only the Outer Mongolia section of the Jingbei War Preparation Road was undertaken by the Imperial Warburg Garrison Army, and all the others were contracted and assigned to civilian contractors.

The large-scale construction of highways in the Chinese Empire brought a huge economic boost to the people of the empire. A large number of cement factories and steel mills sprang up all over the country, stimulating the further development of the imperial cement industry and the steel industry.

At the same time, the construction of roads in the empire required a large amount of labor. The empire has a new population of more than 3 million people every year, but it is still unable to fill the gap of labor shortage, and the imperial government has to increase the plundering of slaves around the world while increasing its efforts to encourage fertility, which in turn stimulates the slave trade, and then promotes the linkage development effect of all walks of life.

However, with the emergence of a large number of cement and steel factories in various provinces and regions, the empire as a whole has a large number of cement factories and steel plants, and with the completion of road construction, these factories will face the danger of unsalable products and overstocking.

Of course, there are pros and cons to everything. Just as the salt industry broke out because of competition problems, these have become the standards for the steel industry and the cement industry to set off a fierce industry. The heavy industries such as the cement industry and the steel industry, once started, immediately pushed the Chinese Empire's industry to the peak, which will greatly stimulate other industries to carry out related industries, thus greatly enhancing the comprehensive national strength of the empire.

In particular, the steel industry, as the fist of heavy industry, once the steel industry occurs, it will surely promote the next grade, that is, industry.

In order to prepare for industry, Deng Haonan has been stimulating the development of heavy industries such as imperial steel. In the past, it has been driven by the military industry, but the effect is not obvious, and now it is just taking the opportunity to build a national transportation network to guide the imperial heavy industry industry to carry out the industry, and then ignite the fuse of the industry.

After sending away the ministers, Deng Haonan called Wang Chen of the Security Bureau.

"I always feel that there is something wrong with Lai Youguang"

"Why did the emperor say this?"

Deng Haonan shook his head and said: "I have no evidence, but I don't know why, the more impeccable Lai Youguang is, the more I feel unsteady."

Wang Chen said: "Weichen can't share the emperor's worries, he really feels guilty. It's just that Wechen has investigated Lai Youguang in many ways, and there are no wrong words and deeds. When the emperor said this, Weichen also felt uneasy. Even Qian Qianyi, the first minister, could not make any mistakes, but he did not leave any trace of a small mistake in Lai Youguang."

Deng Haonan nodded and said, "I will do my best to delegate the three divisions, and the candidates for the governor of Zhili need to be cautious, but I don't want others to think that my bowl of water is not even."

Deng Haonan's words were not specified, as a king, most of Deng Haonan's words were ambiguous. And Wang Chen, as a confidant, does not need the emperor to say it explicitly, he can also figure out the holy will.

"Wechen understands"

Wang Chen nodded and said: "Gyeonggi is safe, Weichen is responsible, please ask the emperor to hand it over to Weichen, Weichen must do a good job"

"Good"

Deng Haonan nodded, Wang Chen was relieved to do things. X