"Zhou Kui, if you want to be an idle uncle, be honest with me. If you want to find death, then I will fulfill you! Zhu Youzhen stood up and called Zhou Kui on the ground by his name with a fierce voice.

"Worry about me!? Do you deserve it too? If it weren't for the queen's face, I would have taken you to prison a long time ago! Share worries like this, are you embarrassed to say it? Get lost! ”

Zhou Kui rolled out of the Qianqing Palace in a row, and this scene quickly spread throughout the government and the opposition, and Zhou Kui completely became a laughing stock. It also made some people see that the emperor really doesn't rub sand in his eyes, even if he is a relative of the emperor.

March 12

Zhu Youzhen received a report that the soldiers and farmers led by Xu Zhi'an had finished clearing the river and were waiting for his order.

Zhu Youzhen pondered for a while, and ordered Xu Zhi'an to recruit troops on the spot in Shaanxi.

After Li Banghua's rectification, the Beijing battalion is now less than 30,000 people who can participate in the battle. He has never agreed to be recruited from various guards, and now those who have a little combat effectiveness are in Liaodong, and it is better to re-recruit troops from all over the country. The Shaanxi soldiers have strong combat effectiveness, even the recruits are stronger than those in various places, at least better training.

There are many people affected by the disaster in Shaanxi at present, although they all say that a good man is not a soldier, but it is better than a hungry stomach.

In the past six months since entering Shaanxi to repair the river, the soldiers under the command of Xu Zhi'an have been strictly disciplined, have not committed any offence against the people, and have never oppressed the workers who repair the river, and are deeply loved by the people. In this regard, Xu Zhi'an can be said to be a good way to govern the army. He is like this, thinking that bullying the weak is a very shameless thing.

The news of the conscription was announced, and the people who could not survive came to enlist, and in less than a month 50,000 people were recruited. Mighty to the capital.

After a month of fermentation, the news of the tender slowly spread all over the country.

Zhu Youzhen saw that the time was almost up, and issued another edict.

The bidding meeting was held in Beijing on March 26.

On 26 March, Xu Guangqi, the left attendant of the Ministry of Works, met with businessmen from all over the country.

"You are all the elites of my Ming business community, and you have made certain achievements in all walks of life. The bidding is to replace the imperial court in Shanhaiguan to the border line to build a cement road, the construction qualification will be given ten years of cement production and operation rights. The funds will be disbursed in a three-three-four manner. Without waiting for everyone to ask, Xu Guangqi said again.

"What is three, three, four? That is, before the start of construction, the imperial court will prepay 30% of the total project cost according to the construction budget. Wait until the cement road is completed, and then pay 30%. The last 40% is paid after five years, provided that there is no problem with the quality of the cement road within five years, and if the cement road has a quality problem, the required repair funds will be deducted from the remaining 40%. ”

When the businessmen at the meeting heard this, they were in an uproar. This is not an undemanding request. Suddenly, some speculators had the idea of retreating.

Only some pragmatic businessmen think thoughtfully about the pros and cons. Soon after, a gray-haired, fair-skinned merchant in the crowd spoke.

"Dare to ask Lord Xu. How much silver taels were needed to build this concrete road? ”

"It's expected to be around four million taels."

"There are so many silver taels needed, I'm afraid no one will be able to take this job." The businessman's name is Weng Shouyun, a native of Shanxi and Taiyuan.

"What Your Excellency said is extremely true, so the imperial court intends to bid for bids in sections, and each is responsible for a part of the journey. And it is divided into three phases, the first phase is only to build the section from Shanhaiguan to Juyongguan. ”

"How many sections is the first phase of the project planned for the imperial court?"

"Three paragraphs."

Weng Shouyun's eyes lit up when he heard this, and he asked again.

"How do I get a construction qualification?"

"Bidding, whoever pays more will get the construction qualification."

"Where does the cement come from?"

"The imperial court will assist in the construction of the cement plant, and you can choose the location closest to the construction."

Weng Shouyun silently calculated in his heart, helping the imperial court to build roads was not the goal. The purpose is to have the right to produce and operate cement in the future. This is a business that can make money with your eyes closed, even if you lose money by building roads.

There are many who think the same way as him. On the surface, it looks like he can't do this job, but when he bids, he is not ambiguous at all.

"If there are no other problems, then start bidding. Start at 10,000 taels, and increase the price by 5,000 taels each time. ”

In the end, the construction qualifications of the three sections of cement roads, or the production and operation qualifications of the three cements, were auctioned out at 100,000 taels, 90,000 taels, and 120,000 taels respectively.

The three are Weng Shouyun from Taiyuan, Shanxi, Zou Yuan from Kaifeng, Henan, and Guo Jichen from Ji'an, Jiangxi.

Among the many merchants, they are not the most powerful, but the most decisive. Soon after, they will rejoice in their decisiveness.

Zhu You was not surprised at all when he heard Xu Guangqi's report. These people are not stupid, let alone paying to build roads, if they make sweetness from cement in the future, I am afraid that they will be happy to let them build roads for the imperial court for free.

"The Ministry of Industry sent a supervisor, and the whole process of construction must be supervised, and they cannot be allowed to cut corners!"

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"How's the study of the book I sent to Qing last time?"

Zhu Youzhen knew that the drought in Shaanxi was just the beginning, and the big drought was still to come. Especially after ten years of Chongzhen, some places in North China, where there is drought and little rainfall, can drought for more than five years. Henan, the center of the drought, will have been in drought for seven consecutive years! He didn't dare to imagine that scene, there was still some time to prepare in advance. Previously, he sent Xu Guangqi a copy of "Exploration of Underground Water Sources and Soil Method Drilling" for him to promote in the Ministry of Industry, explore the distribution of underground water sources, and order people to learn to make well-drilling tools.

He had a bold idea that if a disaster made it impossible to survive in the future, he would only leave a few people in places with many underground water sources. All the rest of the migrations will wait until they get through the hardest years. As for where to move and how much you can move, you can see where you can hit and how big the place you can build.

"Back to Your Majesty, the minister has already ordered people to study, and sent more than a dozen officials to Shaanxi and Shanxi to investigate on the spot. The well-drilling tools have also been successfully made, and the military department has begun to promote them. ”

"Thank you for your hard work." Zhu Youzhen looked at Xu Guangqi, who was full of gray hair, and said softly.

He is already sixty-seven years old, and if it were according to historical records, he would not have survived for a few years.

"Serving Your Majesty, not hard."

The two chatted for a while, and Xu Guangqi retired.

At the same time, it is far away in Shenyang, which is more than a thousand miles away.

Daisho Hall.

The four Baylors are together again.

The faces of the four people were very solemn, because today's topic is how to survive this spring.

"Great Khan, the people below me estimate that they will run out of food after a month at most, think of a way!" Mang Gurtai said to Huang Taiji in a loud voice. Since the last time Huang Taiji led his troops to pursue Hudun Rabbit and was frustrated, his attitude towards Huang Taiji has become even more contemptuous.

Huang Taiji glanced at him and didn't speak. The tribe below him is no better.

"What do you say about Mongolia?" Dai Shan asked, Huang Taiji had sent people to ask for living supplies from several Mongolian tribes before.

Huang Taiji shook his head.

"I'm too busy to take care of myself."

"What about the mutual market with North Korea?"

"A drop in the bucket."

Daishan was silent. Since the market in Zhangjiakou was closed, their lives have not been easy. There's not much he can do at the moment.

"What's there to discuss!? Let's go south! What does Akito have? Fuck it! ”