Daming: After self-explosive time travel, Lao Zhu's mentality collapsed

Chapter 880 Railway Station Site Selection
Chu Ze let out a long sigh and ordered Zhao Si: "Go to the homes of these corrupt officials to search, copy out all the illegal gains, and hand them over to the state treasury!"

"Yes!" Zhao Si respectfully accepted the order and stepped back, and quickly led his men to search the house.

The illegal property confiscated from the house this time totaled nearly 20 silver, and the funds originally used for construction were finally recovered.

Chu Ze understands that more positive measures are needed to let the people live a good life.

Next, there is the issue of where the train station should be located.

The next morning, Chu Ze looked at everyone, pondered for a moment and then said slowly: "Everyone, the location of the railway station is of great importance. We must make a careful decision and cannot be rash and hasty. I am afraid it will inevitably lead to problems if we rely solely on the opinions of a few of us. Biased, we believe it is necessary to extensively solicit the opinions of the people and let them participate.”

Everyone looked at each other and were all shocked and speechless by Chu Ze's words.

On ordinary days, officials never take the people's thoughts to heart. All major and small matters are decided by their superiors, and the people are like ants that come and go.

However, Chu Ze's idea set an unprecedented precedent.

After a while, an official in blue court uniform said tentatively: "Your Majesty, your suggestion is indeed novel, but the people in Fengyang are of low quality and may not be able to understand such a complex issue. I suggest that the prince should be aware of everything. It is most suitable to choose the open space near the south of Fengyang City, which is close to various government offices and has convenient transportation. "

"Wait!" Chu Ze raised his hand and interrupted him: "We cannot make a hasty decision. Such a major site selection must be carefully considered, and at the same time, we need to listen to the voices of the people. Even if they lack professional knowledge, their needs and ideas It’s also worth paying attention to. We will arrange for people to make several site selection plans and post them in street squares, and ask people to vote on the plan they support most. Only then can we make a decision that is truly compatible with public opinion.”

The official quickly shut his mouth, the embarrassed expression clearly evident on his face.

Everyone else present was also silent, and no one dared to raise any further objections.

Chu Ze's novel idea opened everyone's eyes and made them look at Chu Ze with admiration.

So, Chu Ze immediately ordered one of his subordinates who was good at painting to draw a simple sketch based on several site selection plans he provided.

These sketches indicate the advantages and disadvantages of different site options in easy-to-understand language, and leave a blank space at the end for people to vote.

The prepared site selection map was quickly posted all over the streets and alleys of Fengyang City.

Chu Ze also specially arranged several transcribers and prepared wooden boxes under the pictures for people to vote.

This unprecedented move immediately caused a sensation in Fengyang City.

The always majestic yamen opened their doors to the public and invited the people to participate in decision-making. This was like pie in the sky for the people, something they had never dared to imagine.

"It's incredible that the prince trusts the people so much and allows us to participate in the site selection!" A woodcutter in blue cloth said with emotion.

Other onlookers were also extremely excited, rushing to the posted map to view the site selection plan and carefully comparing the advantages and disadvantages of each location.

Those who had good things to do even directly circled and marked their opinions on the picture, and the whole Fengyang City was bustling with activity.

A week later, the voting results for each site selection plan were finally released.

To everyone's surprise, the site in the south of the city that officials were originally optimistic about narrowly lost to an empty farmland in the northeastern suburbs.

This seemingly ordinary piece of land is located at the transportation hub of Fengyang and is close to several major market towns. It is of great significance to railway construction.

Chu Ze smiled slightly when he saw the result, and immediately sent someone to re-create and post the plan recommended by the people, and stamped it with a red seal of "Recommended by the people". This time, the voices of the people were finally fully listened to, and their ideas received unprecedented attention.

The people cheered loudly and flocked to the new site to watch the excitement. They even organized spontaneously to clean up and prepare the site.

Through this democratic operation of site selection, Chuze’s prestige and reputation gradually became imprinted on the hearts of the people.

He adopted an enlightened and progressive public opinion polling strategy to allow ordinary people to participate in public decision-making, which was undoubtedly an extremely valuable move in the feudal society at that time.

The people gradually felt Chu Ze's wisdom and gentlemanly demeanor, and they all looked at him with admiration and support.

After Chu Ze determined the location of the train station, he immediately started construction work.

However, he soon realized that it was almost impossible to complete such a project in a short time with the existing funds and manpower.

"Our biggest problems at present are insufficient funds and lack of technology." Chu Ze said to his entourage: "If we want to speed up the construction progress, we must find ways to solve these two problems."

The entourage agreed, but was also troubled by the lack of funds and lack of technology.

"We already have an idea." Chu Ze said with a mysterious smile: "First of all, we need to select a group of the most talented craftsmen for training and master the skills required for railway station construction. Secondly, if we want to save money, we must make full use of it. Local materials and human resources.”

"We understand, Your Majesty is wise!" The attendant suddenly realized.

Therefore, Chu Ze immediately ordered the selection of talented carpenters, stonemasons, plasterers and other craftsmen throughout Fengyang to form an engineering team.

.

"Everyone, the task we face is arduous, but it is not hopeless." Chu Ze said to the craftsmen: "We will teach you some new technologies and knowledge, and with the craftsmen we hired, we will be able to continue this construction. ”

"Yes! We are willing to learn!" Everyone said in unison.

As a result, Chuze began to guide craftsmen to make simple tools such as levers, pulleys, and carts. These tools greatly improved the efficiency of transporting and handling heavy objects.

At the same time, foreign engineers also began to teach local craftsmen some measurement and design techniques.

These courses were all new to the common people. They were surprised and delighted by the "wonderful skills" taught by Chu Ze, and they asked for advice one after another.

In terms of material utilization, Chu Ze also put forward a plan. He sent people to cut down a large amount of wood in the nearby mountains and transport it back to build the main structure of the station.

The raw materials for grinding lime are also mined from the mountains near Fengyang.

"As long as we make full use of local resources, we can greatly reduce construction costs." Chu Ze told his subordinates.

Under his careful organization, these local materials were quickly transported to the construction site through the newly built transportation facilities.

More and more migrant workers are joining the construction team, making the construction progress rapidly.

Seeing that the main structure of the train station has begun to take shape, Chu Ze gradually gained confidence in his heart - as long as he works hard, this construction will eventually succeed!

(End of this chapter)