Rebirth of Zhu Di's son

Chapter 375 Establishment of Railway Department Yamen
"Your Majesty, I agree with what Grand Sima said."

Xia Yuanji, Secretary of the Ministry of Household Affairs, continued: "Although the construction of the Jingtong Railway and the Yutong Railway are not easy, and some sections even need to be drilled through the mountain, the connection of these two railways will be of great benefit to the imperial court. .”

Without waiting for Zhu Gaoxu to ask questions, he continued: "In this way, the imperial court can save at least one million taels of silver dollars in transportation from Mobei to the capital every year, and the market prices of Mobei's specialties such as potatoes, cattle, sheep, horses, and dairy products can be reduced by at least five percent. If it succeeds, its sales volume will definitely double or even triple."

"The annual income of the military and civilians in Mobei will increase greatly, which will make people's hearts more stable and lay a solid foundation for the establishment of prefectures and counties in the future."

"Da Situ has also failed to settle an account. The income of Mobei's military and civilians has increased, and the court's tax revenue will also increase accordingly."

Zhu Gaoxu stroked his beard and said with a smile: "It is rumored that Great Situ is the best person in the world who can settle accounts. It seems that the rumors are wrong!"

"Your Majesty is wise."

Xia Yuanji bowed slightly and said, "I am so dim-sighted that I often forget this and that. I didn't even think of this."

It's not that he didn't think about it, it's just that he didn't want to say it.

In fact, important officials like Xia Yuanji, who understood Zhu Gaoxu's nature, knew very well that since Zhu Gaoxu wanted to build the railway, he would definitely build it.

Although some courtiers objected loudly, it was of no use at all. Unless Zhu Di spoke, no one in the world could make Zhu Gaoxu change his mind.

For veterans of the three dynasties of Hongwu, Yongle and even Qianxi, the current Emperor Qianxi is like a true god, and there is nothing he cannot accomplish.

Let’s not go too far, let’s talk about the major things Zhu Gaoxu has wanted to do since he came to the throne, and all of them have achieved brilliant achievements.

The first is to implement a new military system that combines the guard system and the recruitment system, reset the Metropolitan Governor's Office, establish nine new Governor's Offices, and reorganize the Ministry of War.

Not only was the matter accomplished, Zhu Gaoxu also proved the combat effectiveness of the Ming Dynasty sergeants under the recruitment system when he personally conquered the desert.

The destruction of Oara and Tatar was equivalent to erecting a statue of Zhu Gaoxu in the hearts of the people of the world, making his power and reputation comparable to that of Zhu Di who regained the Western Region and the county of Annan.

The militia bureau, police and security bureau and other prefectural and county branches under the Ministry of War also played a huge role under the control of the provincial defense and patrol envoys. Local public security was unprecedentedly stable. It could even be said that people did not pick up lost items on the road and did not close their homes at night.

The success of reorganizing the Ministry of War and establishing the Defense Department was equivalent to painting a layer of gold powder on the statue of Zhu Gaoxu, allowing the statue to begin to transform into a golden body.

The second step is to implement a pilot system of governors in Guizhou and promote the return of local people to local people.

After Qitai took office, he took advantage of the situation, governed customs with customs, and supplemented them with tolerant court laws and regulations, which brought hope to the native people, mountain people, and barbarians who urgently needed the court to uphold justice and get rid of the oppression of chieftains.

Many Guizhou aborigines who were eager to communicate with the outside world petitioned the court to send exiled officials to Guizhou.

With Zhu Gaoxu's strong support, Qitai also built academies and schools in Guizhou, and opened up business routes and inns.

In just a few years, most of the Guizhou aborigines took advantage of the commercial road stations to sell local products, increasing their annual income several times.

Under the general trend, except for a few deep mountains and old forests, all the places where official road stations can be built are abandoned and set up in wasteland, and are under the direct control of the imperial court.

The success of this incident made Zhu Gaoxu's idol in the hearts of people all over the world even more dazzling, and his power and reputation were once again enhanced.

The last step was to build a cable telegraph link between Ningxia and Liaoyang and the capital.

The successful introduction of wired telegraphy made the exchange of information between the capital, Ningxia, and Liaoyang both fast and accurate.

During the Spring Festival in the fourth year of Qianxi's reign, Zhu Gaoxu sent New Year's greetings to the officials and people in Ningxia and Liaoyang via wired telegram and Sancai code. He called back again after receiving feedback from the officials and people, and the two parties had several interactions.

After the success of this matter, Zhu Gaoxu was no longer different from the true god in the hearts of the people.

Because the people simply believed that the emperor who could instruct the craftsmen of Mo Qiaosi to invent such a magical thing that could be transmitted thousands of miles away must be the true god descending to earth.

Otherwise, it would be difficult for ordinary people to understand that this invisible, intangible, and inaudible telegraph signal could actually transmit messages thousands of miles away in an instant.In contrast, it seemed natural that Zhu Gaoxu abolished the Nurgan Dusi in the sixth year of Qianxi and added the Liaoxi Province, Songhuajiang Province, Heilongjiang Dusi, and Nurjiang Dusi.

If Zhu Gaoxu also succeeds in the railway matter, it will definitely be a great achievement that will benefit the future!
All in all, not to mention that Qi Tai and Xia Yuanji changed their minds after Zhu Gaoxu dealt with Li Xin, the censor of Youqian Capital, and others. Even Jian Yi, Yu Yanzhao, Li Jinglong, and Xu Huizu also expressed their support for Qi Tai's views.

"In this case, I agree with the suggestions of the ministers and start building the Jingtong and Yutong railways first, but the construction period will be shortened, and I will only give four years."

Zhu Gaoxu glanced at Xu Huizu and the other seven people, and said loudly: "Building a railway is more difficult than laying a wired telegraph. I originally planned to hand over the Jingtong Railway to Yu Qian to take charge of the construction. But after Hu Xi regained control of the Patent Office, Yu Qian was sent out to take charge of the construction. 'Liaoyang to Jilin Cable Telegraph'. Therefore, do you have a suitable candidate in mind for the minister who will preside over the construction of the Jingtong and Yutong railways?"

Although this question is not a proposition, it is not much better.

Because if the person being elected makes a mistake in office in the future, or delays the construction of the railway, then the person being elected today will be jointly and severally liable, or at least will be impeached by the censor for the crime of ignorance.

This is the recommendation responsibility system.

Although the kings of all dynasties knew that the recommendation responsibility system was closely related to party disputes and shielding among officials, they still implemented this system unswervingly.

The reason is that the existence of this system has the greatest benefit, which is that it can limit the power of bureaucrats.

Because if there is no recommendation responsibility system, officials can be guided by personal preferences. Whoever pays more money will be promoted, whoever flatters the best will be promoted, etc. After all, if the person being promoted makes a mistake, the official will also be promoted. No need to take responsibility.

On the contrary, if the recommendation is jointly and severally liable, and if the situation is serious and the person will be removed from office, then the officials will be cautious when recommending the person, and will even assess or test the recommended person in many aspects.

This can greatly prevent officials from abusing their recommendation power.

At this time, even Jian Yi, who had been in charge of the official department for a long time and was well aware of the various talents reserved by the imperial court, was frowning and seriously thinking about suitable candidates in his mind.

"Your Majesty, I recommend Yin Wangji of Shuntian Prefecture to take charge of the construction of the Jingtong Railway."

Li Jinglong unexpectedly broke the silence and was the first to speak: "Since Wang Ji took office as the Yin of Shuntian Prefecture in May of the first year of Qianxi, he has been honest and fair, not attached to powerful people, dared to complain for the people, and done many practical things for the court."

"The construction of the Jingtong Railway involves demolition and resettlement matters, and people who do not serve the people impartially cannot be competent. In this regard, Wang Ji meets the requirements."

"Furthermore, building a railway is not just about sitting in the lobby of the government office and directing the work of your subordinates. You also need to brave the hardships, visit the construction site in person, and even conduct secret inspections to prevent anyone from cutting corners. It can be seen that the weak and timid people will definitely not be qualified."

"And Wang Ji was a Jinshi in the martial arts department. He was good at riding and shooting, resolute and courageous. Although he is over fifty years old, he is still powerful. I think it is appropriate for him to take charge of the construction of the Jingtong Railway. "

Of course Zhu Gaoxu knew about Wang Ji. After all, he was the one who single-handedly promoted this person to Shuntian Prefecture Yin.

In his early years, Wang Ji was recommended by the county school to study at Jinling Changke Academy. In the eighth year of Yongle, he passed the imperial examination and became a Jinshi in the martial arts department, and was appointed to Shizhong in the military department.

Soon after, he also held the post of censor and was ordered to inspect the drought in Shanxi. After gaining an in-depth understanding of the sufferings of the people in the Yanchi area, he petitioned the court to exempt more than [-] shi from Yanchi's arrears in taxes, and was approved by Zhu Di.

After this incident, Wang Ji jumped from an unknown ordinary official to a high-ranking official in the hearts of the people in the Yanchi area of ​​Shanxi Province, and thus gained the attention of Zhu Gaoxu.

After that, Wang Ji successively served as the Prime Minister of Yingtian Prefecture, the Censor of the Metropolitan Procuratorate in Xingzai (Beiping), and the Deputy Envoy of the Shanxi Procuratorate.

In May of the first year of Qianxi, Zhu Gaoxu used Lu Zhen's case to make personnel adjustments to the Six Ministries and Nine Ministers. Gu Zuo, the former Yin of Shuntian Prefecture, was promoted to the censor of Youdu of the Metropolitan Procuratorate. Wang Jishou, who was the deputy envoy of the Shanxi Procuratorate at the time, He was called to Beijing and served as the Yin of Shuntian Prefecture.

"Yes, Wang Ji is mature and prudent, and he is a suitable candidate to preside over the construction of the Beijing-Tongren Railway."

Zhu Gaoxu did not ask the ministers for their opinions, but directly ordered: "The cabinet has proposed that from now on, the Zhengsanpin Railway Administration Yamen will be established under the Ministry of Industry, with a minister responsible for railway construction, repair and other matters."

"For the time being, there is a branch of the Zhili Qing Li Department under the Railway Department, which is equipped with officials such as Lang Zhong, Yuan Wai Lang, and Principal Officers. Wang Ji, Yin of Shuntian Prefecture, concurrently serves as the Minister of the Railway Department of the Ministry of Industry, and is in charge of the construction of the Jingtong Railway, which is completed within a four-year deadline. .”

PS: I got off work too late yesterday and was exhausted, so I didn’t type it out.

(End of this chapter)