Chapter 319 I hope your majesty will cherish the power of the people

Author: Potato Sweet Potato Pie

Chapter 319 I hope your majesty will cherish the power of the people

The words "Seize the house and exterminate the family" floated lightly into the ears of the minister of the Ministry of Industry. He was shocked at that time and lost his voice: "Behead the head and confiscate the house?"

Xia Yuan had a warm smile on his face, "Yes, beheading the head and ransacking the house. When the subordinate proposed this matter earlier, he already told His Majesty that this road construction matter is of great importance and strict rules must be laid down. If this is the case,

If you take the money from the imperial court and fail to build this road, then you will behead your head and confiscate your home. Your Majesty also feels very satisfied."

"Originally, this rule was made for those merchants, but your lords feel that it is not appropriate to let the merchants do it, so I will leave it to your lords.

The west part of the city has been subcontracted. The roads to the east, north and south of the city have not yet been assigned. I wonder which of your lords is willing to take the order?"

"."

The dozen or so people kneeling on the ground twitched their cheeks and lowered their heads in unison and remained silent. After the repair was completed, everyone was happy, but if it was not repaired, they would be beheaded and their homes confiscated.

A gentleman does not stand behind dangerous walls. This is an eternal truth.

You can't put your whole family's wealth and life on the line just to make money.

This is not cost effective.

Seeing that these dozen people were still silent, Xia Yuan looked at the rest of the ministers. Before he could speak, when he looked over, the other ministers also turned their heads to one side.

I heard before that this road can be built however they want, and when the court does not interfere, there are indeed many people who are ready to move and plan to kneel on the ground and ask for orders.

But when he heard the words "behead your head and confiscate your home," your body suddenly stood up straight.

Looking around and seeing no one speaking, Xia Yuan said helplessly: "Since the other adults are not willing, we can only rely on the minister of the Ministry of Labor. When the adults finish building the road to the west of the city, if they haven't been beheaded yet, their homes will be ransacked."

If so, then build the rest of the roads."

The waiter's old face was as green as an autumn spinach. When he thought that he had taken the initiative to ask for this job, he suddenly wanted to die.

His lips trembled for a long time before he said dryly: "The punishment of the state is so severe, doesn't it seem to be tyranny?"

"It's a bit cruel, but these harsh rules were originally set for merchants. Merchants are unjust for their own benefit. Being able to help the court is already a great kindness, so it is natural for the punishment to be heavier."

Xia Yuan smiled and said again: "But if the ministers don't agree to let the merchants handle this matter, then we can only leave it to your lords. And since your lords are unwilling to ask for orders, we will have to work hard for the minister."

At this time, someone said to Emperor Hongzhi: "Your Majesty, it is okay for merchants to be punished more severely for their actions, but how can the treatment of imperial officials be confused with the punishment of merchants?"

As soon as these words came out, the others seemed to have woken up and said: "Yes, merchants are all profit-seeking and unjust people. The saying goes that there is no business without treachery, so it is necessary to punish them severely. During the reign of Emperor Taizu Gao

We have also made a distinction between scholars, farmers, industry and merchants. Merchants have a low status, and commerce is a low industry. But since the founding of the country, this dynasty has always treated scholars favorably. How can we use this to measure our authority?"

"."

Seeing this, Xia Yuan sneered in his heart. He originally proposed the merchant contracting system. Although there were various other reasons, the most important point was that if officials at all levels of the imperial court were allowed to take charge of road construction, it would definitely

Some people took the opportunity to make money.

At that time, a section of the road obviously only costs 5,000 taels, but it can still cost 50,000 taels or 100,000 taels.

Just like this, they cut corners and build a shoddy project.

As for businessmen, a beheading knife hangs over their heads. If you dare to cut corners, your head will be chopped off.

The situation was just as he expected. No one objected to such strict rules for businessmen.

One after another, people jumped out and quoted a lot of scriptures, but the central idea was only one sentence: merchants are low-class, they can't do errands, not to mention beheading their heads and confiscating their homes, even the three tribes of Yi and the nine tribes will be killed.

But we are noble court officials, how can we judge our crimes with this kind of punishment?

Just give him a scolding, then admit his mistake, and then he'll be over it. He won't be fined a salary, and at most he'll be cut off from his position.

At this time, the sky was slightly bright, and Xia Yuan looked in the direction of Fengtian Gate, and saw Emperor Hongzhi half-closing his eyes, staring at the ministers who were kneeling to ask for orders without saying a word, and did not know what he was thinking.

Maybe I feel sad.

How can one not feel sad that the country has raised such a bunch of shameless ministers during its one hundred and thirty years of dynasty?

And there are more ministers who did not kneel down to ask for orders, and they do not seem to be Wei Guangzheng.

Maybe they are weighing, maybe they are waiting and watching.

Xia Yuan couldn't guess, and he didn't want to guess, so he just said: "You adults have just said that road construction costs a lot of money. In order to ensure that every tael of silver is spent wisely, the penalty is set higher.

It also has its own advantages. Severe punishment can be used to measure threats, and it can also deter Xiaoxiao."

After saying these words, he suddenly felt a little heavy in his heart. Did the emperor and ministers of the Ming Dynasty always have different political opinions?

Or was it because every time his advice was not accepted by them, the emperor and his ministers had political disagreements?

Without thinking any more, he just changed his mind and continued: "Of course, I am not saying that you are young, I am talking about those businessmen. You have read the books of sages and are all people of noble character. How about that?

Can I be confused with this merchant?"

Hearing this, many people nodded secretly. This bitch named Xia had spoken a human word.

"My lords, the standards for this road are not high. As long as we don't cut corners and make money, this road will be repaired properly.

Since you are of high moral character, you will definitely do your duty when you use the funds allocated by the imperial court to build roads. You will not cut corners or take advantage of opportunities to make money. Therefore, why should you care about whether the punishment is too severe? After all, this punishment is

Whether it is important or not, it has nothing to do with you.”

"Or do you think that your character is not noble and that you are building this road to make money, so you are worried about being beheaded and having your home confiscated?"

As soon as the words came out, before the air became solemn, Xia Yuan immediately put on a smile and said, "Juniors are just talking casually. Regardless of age, all the elders can be the grandfather of the juniors, but don't argue with the juniors."

This time and again, everyone present was in a state of disbelief. This piece of shit was just shameless.

He said it with all his face, and immediately started to act like a grandson, saying that he said it casually, and asked you not to argue with him.

Now that he was doing this, no one could say anything about the excessive punishment, otherwise it would be a disguised admission that he was just trying to make money.

The ministers who knelt down to ask for orders were filled with hatred, while those who stood there and watched silently were all high-ranking and powerful people in the court, either cabinet ministers or ministers from the six ministries.

At this moment, Liu Jian, the chief minister of the cabinet, finally stopped acting as a sculpture. Instead, he bowed and saluted, "Your Majesty, no matter how this road is built, whether it is handed over to merchants or to officials at all levels of the court, these are just high-level constructions.

It's just empty talk.

Nowadays, the national treasury is in short supply and there is no money for repairs. Even if the national treasury is full, it should be saved for emergencies. The state affairs are complicated. How can we spend several years building roads for the whole world?

What's more, as Han Budang said just now, our land routes in the Ming Dynasty were smooth and prosperous. Even if they were not repaired, the roads would not be inaccessible to pedestrians and horses. Why bother to waste people and money to build a lapis lazuli road? The old minister thought that road construction was not a problem.

I should give up and hope that Your Majesty will cherish the power of the people."

These words were reasonable and well-founded. Everyone present nodded. After Liu Jian finished speaking, the other ministers also came out and said: "Your Majesty, Mr. Liu is a mature man who plans for the country. I hope my emperor will learn from it!"
Chapter completed!