Zhu Gui's behavior to the salt dealers and ordinary people twice really made these merchants feel that this little prince was different.

But giving money and doing business are two different things.

Merchants are profit-seeking, and they don't want to use their money to help the king do charity.

The Confucian merchant in the green shirt continued to ask: "I don't know why the king wants to build the road?" ”

Zhu Gui smiled slightly, and said: "If you want to do a good job, you must first sharpen your tools, and if the road is repaired, it can speed up the circulation of goods in the house, and you can reduce the loss, which is a good thing." ”

The merchants began to whisper.

Some people think that what the king said is good, this is indeed a good deed, and it is also a good thing for them as merchants.

But some people think that the project of the acting king is too big, and I am afraid that it will not be completed in a few years, and now that the little prince has reached out to paying taxes, it is still unknown how long he can stay here.

A hint of golden light appeared in the eyes of the Confucian merchant in the green shirt: "His Royal Highness the Acting King's ambition is admired, but I don't know where the money for the road construction comes from?" ”

When everyone heard this, they held their breath again, this was a matter of vital interest to them.

The Acting King wouldn't want them to bleed, would he?

Zhu Gui smiled faintly and said: "Building roads is a good thing for everyone, everyone agrees, right?" ”

Seeing that everyone nodded, he continued: "The roads in the four states can be fully invested by the Dai Wangfu, and the roads in the seven counties can be funded by everyone at their discretion. ”

Hearing that the Dai Wangfu took the initiative to take on this matter, everyone was a little incredulous, what did the Dai Wang call them over?

"Still."

"The king made it clear in advance that if this road is repaired in full on behalf of the king's palace and repaired and cared for in the future, then all of you here who want to borrow the road in the future will have to pay a toll."

Zhu Gui continued.

"Isn't this a robbery?"

Someone muttered quietly.

When the guards on the side heard this, they immediately stepped forward, wanting to find out the person who criticized the prince.

However, Zhu Gui waved his hand to make him retreat.

"Don't get me wrong, after this road is repaired, in addition to His Majesty today, even if the king passes it, he will have to pay the money in full, this money is used to maintain and manage the road in the future, everyone will not think that the road can be repaired once and for all, right?"

He explained.

The looks of the crowd are a little better.

"And what if we pay too?"

The young Confucian merchant asked.

"If you pay, you can return a certain percentage of the toll in the future."

Only then did everyone understand Zhu Gui's fundraising to build roads.

Some people think that this is a manifestation of the acting king's lack of money and his desire to save face.

However, some people chose to believe this little prince, and the young Confucian merchant was the first to express his willingness to cooperate with the royal mansion.

As for the remaining small businessmen, most of them chose to wait and see.

They have all more or less obtained information that this little prince has been given a copy of ginseng because of his involvement in the salt tax.

Now that he is recruiting workers in a tax-free way, I am afraid that how long he, the vassal king, can do it is a matter of two words.

If they invest money today, the little prince will be escorted back to Nanjing tomorrow, then they will have nothing to lose.

However, although these merchants chose to wait and see, the road construction plan of the Daiwangfu soon became full of storms.

It turned out that the Wangfu issued money this time to recruit people to build roads.

The local gentry families were dismissive of this.

In their opinion, although this little prince has some means, can make refined salt, and make a lot of money, he is still too young, not only violated the laws of the Ming Dynasty, but also whimsical.

But for the sake of political achievements, as a vassal king, this Yunzhou is his fiefdom, so naturally there is no need to bother with that.

But if you really want to build roads, let alone repair all the roads in the four states and seven counties in the prefecture, even the roads in the city of Datong Mansion cannot be repaired in a moment and a half.

The local forces in Datong Mansion were not optimistic about the road construction plan of the Acting Wang's Mansion, but those ordinary people who had benefited from it were very active about the affairs of the Acting King this time.

They had never met an official who treated them so well, let alone a prince.

Therefore, when the people of the royal palace issued a call to the registered young men the next day, everyone responded positively.

On the same day, the road leading from the Daiwang Mansion to the four city gates of Datong Mansion began.

Xu Chenglin, a young Confucian businessman, was specially responsible for the supply of daily food for the workers.

That's right, in addition to the advance salary, the Acting Prince's Mansion also provided two meals a day for all the workers who built the road, and the standard of food was surprisingly high.

One meat, two vegetables and white buns, this is a diet that ordinary families only have during the New Year's holidays.

The words that came from the palace of the king, "When you are full, you have the strength to work" is said to have been said by the king of Daiwang.

The sand and stones for the road were brought from a mountain outside the city.

The mountain produces a black stone, which is used as fuel by the nearby villagers, but it is not widely used because it is too dirty and difficult to mine.

This is exactly the coal that Zhu Gui has been looking for.

It's just that the reserves are not known yet, but one or two can be inferred from the reserves of Datong coal in later generations, which can be regarded as an unexpected joy.

Every day, all kinds of gossip spreads in Datong Mansion.

Today, the king invented a wheelbarrow, which can be used by one person, and it is very convenient to transport sand and gravel.

Tomorrow, it was rumored that the Datong Chamber of Commerce on behalf of the king sent four caravans again, this time the goods were not only refined salt, but also some grains, fruits and vegetables, and the grain price in Yunzhou had fallen to half of the same period in previous years.

More and more small chambers of commerce have taken the initiative to find cooperation with the royal government, and the scale of Datong Chamber of Commerce is getting bigger and bigger, and the commodities are becoming more and more abundant.

The local landlords and gentry were so annoyed by the news that they began to move around frequently, wondering when the decree from Nanjing would reach Datongfu.

As for the content of the decree, they have gone from initial skepticism to current certainty.

That is, as soon as the holy decree arrives, the acting king will be escorted back to Nanjing to be punished by the emperor.

As for this news, it was released by Liu Jingming.

But at this time, he was like an ant on a hot pot, urging Hu Shidao of the Salt Gang several times, but the other party was unmoved.

This gave him a bad premonition.

So on the one hand, he privately contacted the one-eyed dragon, the second-in-command of the salt gang, and on the other hand, he visited Zhang Mao, the county guard of Datong Prefecture.

He hoped to use the power of the Salt Gang to make the acting king rein in.

At the same time, he also pinned his hopes on writing with Zhang Mao to impeach the acting king, and it was best to transfer him out of this place.

So when the road leading to the nearest city gate was halfway through the palace of the king, he ran into trouble.

The fifth day of road construction.

A group of people suddenly rushed out and beat up the road builders, snatched their tools, and even destroyed a section of the road that had already been repaired.

When Zhu Gui received the message, he was exchanging the system store for a flintlock pistol.

He had already selected ten personal soldiers from the hundred private soldiers of the royal palace.

The families of these people were all placed near the palace of the king, which can be said to eliminate the possibility of rebellion.

"Interesting, finally someone can't sit still?"

Zhu Gui fiddled with the flintlock pistol in his hand.