Prince of Tang Dynasty

Chapter 624
Under the watchful eyes of Li Shimin and other ministers, Gao Ming began to talk about his thoughts on train fares.

"My charging standard is very simple, that is, I charge according to the distance. The road from Chang'an to Luoyang is relatively short. Each person charges two hundred Wen, and Chang'an takes five hundred Wen from Taiyuan. Even ordinary people can afford it!"

Having said that, he smiled slightly at the ministers who hesitated to speak.

"Of course, the seats are still in accordance with what everyone said, and the first compartment is reserved for officials above the fifth grade of the Tang Dynasty to ride for free. In addition, if they are officials who are ordered to travel, regardless of their rank, they are all free!"

The so-called privileged class is to enjoy a little privilege to feel comfortable, and everyone present thinks this way.

Therefore, upon hearing Gao Ming's words, all the ministers present nodded in satisfaction, and even the honest Wei Zheng did not object.

Seeing that everyone had no objections, Gao Ming spoke again.

"I plan to run ten trains on this railway. After this trial is successful, I will ask Liu Tao to start building the second train when I go back. The train used for riding can be built in half a year. I plan to build three, and the rest The seven of them are used to transport goods or army supplies!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Li Ji, who had been silent beside him, nodded his head.

"Well, His Highness the Crown Prince's move is very appropriate. Like the train we are riding now, if the seats are removed and used to transport food and supplies, only one train can meet the needs of [-] soldiers and horses. With this weapon, Liaodong can be determined!"

"Haha, not only in Liaodong, but also in other places to lay railways!"

Gao Ming continued to explain while smiling.

"In the next ten years, I will lay the railway eastward to Pyongyang in Liaodong, westward to the 36 countries of the Western Regions in Longyou, and southward to Lingnan, so as to truly realize that 'the whole world is the land of the king, and the shore of the land is the land of the king. ’ The true meaning of the words!”

"OK!"

As soon as Gao Ming said this, Li Shimin burst into excitement.

"It's a good one, 'Is it the king's land in the whole world, and the king's minister on the shore of the land', since my son has this ambition, then from today, my Tang treasury, officials, and troops do not need to go through the Ministry of Households, the Ministry of Officials, and the Ministry of War. My son can use Tiance Order to dispatch directly!"

Hearing this, the ministers present all gasped.

"hiss……"

They were shocked by Li Shimin's unreserved delegation of power!

You must know that in a semi-feudal and semi-slavery society like Datang, those in power compete for nothing more than the three major powers of military, government, and finance, of which the first two are the most important. Controlling these two is equivalent to controlling The whole country!

With Li Shimin's move, it is obvious that Datang has been handed over to Gao Ming in advance!

At this moment Gao Ming was aware of this even though he was dull, so he immediately shook his head.

"Father, thank you for your trust and support, but you don't need to be so troublesome. When the train starts to transport, the money you get is enough to hire craftsmen to come to the people to build the railway. You can't rush this matter, let alone abuse corvée. Ten years is the shortest period. Otherwise, what happened to the Grand Canal in the former Sui Dynasty may happen again!"

"Uh……"

Hearing Gao Ming's words, Li Shimin suddenly came back to his senses, and a look of fear appeared on his face.

The former Sui Grand Canal mentioned by Gao Ming was the Sui and Tang Grand Canal.

In 605 AD, Emperor Yang Guang of the Sui Dynasty mobilized millions of people to dredge the canals left by many previous dynasties, and began to build the large-scale Sui and Tang Grand Canals.

In 610 AD, the Sui and Tang Dynasties Grand Canal, which took five years, was finally completed. This Grand Canal spanned more than 10 latitudes of the earth and ran through the North China Plain and the southeast coastal areas. It can be called an unprecedented super water conservancy construction project.

If Yang Guang took decades to build it, he would be praised by later generations when he abdicated, but unfortunately he was too impatient.

It only took him five years to repair the canal, and the price was to completely squander the family business that Emperor Wen of Sui had worked so hard to save.

After the national treasury was empty, he increased the taxation of the people, conscripted corvees to build the Grand Canal, and squeezed the people desperately, making the people's livelihood difficult. I don't know how many bones were buried on the embankment of the Grand Canal.

The common people can't survive to see it, and finally they can only rise up. This is the so-called "officials force the people to rebel"!
People everywhere are rebelling. Under such circumstances, suppression cannot be suppressed, and even if it is suppressed, it will be of no benefit, so the generals everywhere also rebelled.

Li Yuan was also a member of the rebellion at that time. After he started his army from Taiyuan, he led his men and several sons. After several years of military career, he finally kicked the Yang family off the stage of history and established the Li Tang Dynasty.

Li Shimin is the one who has experienced all of this, and he is very clear about how the Li family came to be, so even though his nature is better than Yang Guang's, he always reminds himself not to make Yang Guang's mistakes.

In fact, he has always been doing this, and the throne is not very glorious, so he especially cherishes his feathers, and is even more conscientious in governing, for fear of being poked in the back by others.

But this time he said such things, it was all because the "big cake" painted by Gao Ming was too tempting, which made him reveal his true nature all at once.

Now being reminded by Gao Ming, he immediately came back to his senses and nodded with a serious face.

"My son is right. I am too impatient. I will leave the matter of the railway to you. You can figure it out yourself. There are also auxiliary machines..."

Having said that, he looked at Changsun Wuji again.

"You are the elder brother of Guanyin's servant girl and the prince's uncle. I have always trusted you. This time, Gao Ming recommended you again. I will leave it to you to rebuild the Daming Palace. There is no need to rush the construction, but I I hope that when Gao Ming builds the railway across the Tang Dynasty, you can also build the Daming Palace!"

As soon as Li Shimin said this, except for Gao Ming, everyone present understood what he meant—the day when the railway and the Daming Palace were completed was the time when Li Shimin withdrew from the Xianxian!
It was precisely because he understood this that Changsun Wuji immediately knelt down.

"My minister... I will obey the Holy Order!"

Although there is no imperial decree, Changsun Wuji's etiquette is completely in accordance with the formalities, and other people see it and think it should be done.

As long as it involves the replacement of the throne, it is a big event, and there is absolutely no room for slack!
The only one who didn't understand the situation was Gao Ming, who felt that the atmosphere in the carriage was a bit dignified, so he immediately slapped haha.

"Haha... that... what are you doing? It's not in the palace hall, so don't be so polite, uncle, get up first, and I'll tell you about the fare for the train that pulls goods!"

Changsun Wuji: "..."

Still charged?Can fees be as important as the throne?

It's a pity that Gao Ming didn't know Changsun Wuji's thoughts. In his surprised expression, Gao Ming had already stretched out his hand to pull him up, and then opened his mouth to him in a nonchalant manner.

"I just said that the train is charged for riding, and now it is said that the seatless train is specially used for pulling goods. This charging method is calculated according to the weight and size of the item. Let me tell you..."

"..."

(End of this chapter)