Chapter 1193

"No, your majesty. Since ancient times, building bridges and paving roads has benefited all the people. I've never heard of the saying that bridge fees should be charged. In this way, the imperial court is no different from the robbers who occupy the mountains and rob the roads, which will damage the reputation of your majesty and the imperial court." suddenly Yu Zhining jumped out and resolutely objected.

Tang Jian frowned and looked at Yu Zhining in surprise. He didn't hear the cost of the Weishui bridge. It was a full 200000 yuan. Yu Zhining let him out so lightly. It was really standing and talking without backache.

"Lord Yu, that's 200000 Guan, enough to cover the taxes of several counties," Tang Jian reminded.

Yu Zhining snorted coldly, "so what? The prosperous age of the Tang Dynasty is in sight. The annual taxes of the ten ways are so much that 200000 Guan can fully afford it. Spending 200000 Guan can make your majesty win the hearts of the people all over the world. It is already worth thousands of yuan."

For a moment, everyone choked. Everyone knew that Yu Zhining was trying to butter up the emperor, but he stood on the great righteousness. In addition, Li Shimin attached great importance to the reputation of Mingjun. In addition, Li Shimin just experienced the assassination, I'm afraid he cared more about the hearts of the people,

"Since you can get the people's support by spending money, why don't you suggest your majesty exempt the world's taxes? It won't win the people's support more." Merton asked.

Yu Zhining's face turned red immediately. If the world's taxes were exempted, would the imperial court still be able to do it? I'm afraid he couldn't even pay his salary.

"It's too arrogant for Mo to offer wine. In my opinion, Mo Hou strongly advocated the bridge fee. I'm afraid he went astray and got into the eyes of money." Yu Zhining angrily scolded.

Merton hummed coldly: "Lord Yu doesn't feel bad about selling yetian. The bridge built by the imperial court spent 200000 yuan was sent out by you. It doesn't matter where the money for bridge construction comes from. Even if the imperial court allocates funds, I'm afraid the construction speed will be greatly reduced. As a result, the world is blocked by rivers, the traffic is not smooth, and the people all over the world will suffer in the end."

"So, it's for the sake of the people all over the world to collect the passing money for Mo sacrificial wine." Yu Ning said sarcastically.

Merton nodded without hesitation: "however!"

"It's ridiculous!" Yu Jining pointed to Merton's nose and trembled. Even other ministers could not help frowning and thought that Merton was unreasonable again.

"The 200000 yuan spent on the Weishui bridge is really not much. It's just the five-year tax of Mojia village. The imperial court can afford it. However, adult Yu doesn't know how many Weishui bridges need to be built in the Tang Dynasty." Merton asked.

"Ah!" Yu Zhining looked at Merton with a blank face.

Merton stretched out his hand and handed Yu Zhining a book and said, "this is the local chronicles newly written by his Highness the king of Wei. You can study it. The span of the Weishui bridge is only 600 feet. There are at least three or five hundred bridges in rivers with a similar width in the Tang Dynasty."

"Three or five hundred!" suddenly everyone was in an uproar. The cost of a Weishui bridge would be 200000 Guan. If we had another three or five hundred, it would be as high as 10000 Guan. This was not a small number. For a moment, the wind direction of everyone suddenly swayed.

"Wan Wan Guan is not going to be taken out for a while, and the imperial court can still afford it." Yu Zhining clenched his teeth and said.

Merton sighed: "These three or five hundred Weihe River bridges are easy to build, but what about rivers wider than the Weihe River in the world? Every time they are twice as wide, the cost and difficulty of construction will rise several times. According to Wei Chen, I'm afraid at least ten Yellow River bridges will be built on the Yellow River, and eight on the Yangtze River will be built before the world can pass unimpeded. I'm afraid the cost will be astronomical. Won't the imperial court charge the bridge fee at that time? 。”

The ministers took a breath. They didn't have to calculate how expensive it was to build a bridge over the Yangtze River and the Yellow River, but they also understood that once a bridge could be built on the Yangtze River and the Yellow River, even if the cost was large, the imperial court would not hesitate to build it.

Suddenly, Yu Zhining's local records became extremely hot, but he still didn't give in.

Merton sighed: "Even if the imperial court can afford the money, no one in the world is willing to do business at a loss. There are countless places where Datang needs money. At that time, it is inevitable that the money is not in place. The bridge that should have been built in a short time will last for a long time. The traffic is not smooth in the world, and Datang can only be damaged. Therefore, collecting the bridge fee is the only choice, even if your majesty decides that the bridge is not safe Yes, one day, Datang will also collect the bridge fee to recover the loss, but it has been delayed for too long by then, and the damage can only be Datang and Datang people. "

"I've heard for a long time that Marquis Mo is the God of wealth of the Tang Dynasty. Today, I see that he deserves his reputation. It seems that I want to ask Marquis Mo for more advice in the future." Tang Jian bowed to Merton. At first, he thought Merton was nonsense, but when he heard Merton mention the number of bridges that the imperial court needed to build, he immediately supported Merton with a clear flag. If these bridges had to be paid by the Ministry of the people, it would be easier to kill him.

Merton replied, "Lord Tang, you are welcome. This move is also to reduce the burden of the imperial court and make people all over the world no longer suffer from the obstruction of the river."

"The minister supports Mo's offering wine and collecting the bridge fee is not for his own personal gain, but for the world to build more bridges as soon as possible. I believe the people will understand." Zhang Liang, the Minister of the Ministry of works, also stepped forward to support Mo dun. If there is no money, the speed of building the bridge will be greatly reduced, which also affects the interests of the Ministry of works.

Li Yun couldn't help but be moved. The civil servants in the direction advocated that the Weishui bridge should be free of charge, but Merton strongly advocated that the Weishui bridge should be charged. At the beginning, it was the 200000 yuan of money for the construction of the Weishui bridge not far from the imperial court. Merton had to propose to use the taxes of Mojia village to build the Weishui bridge, which enabled the smooth construction of the Weishui bridge.

Now the Minister of works and the Minister of civil affairs are here. In order to build more bridges, the Ministry of works agrees to support the charging, while the Ministry of civil affairs will certainly support the charging in order to maintain bridges by bridges. Merton's move can be said to persuade two of the three provinces and six ministries at one fell swoop.

In this way, the cost of repairing the bridge has been solved, and the resistance to building the bridge in the future is much smaller.

"Red flowers, white lotus roots, green lotus leaves, three veins used to be a family." Li Yun suddenly felt a little more. Merton did not hesitate to support the collection of bridge fees. Of course, it means to support the bridge by the bridge. It also indirectly allows the Xiangfu family to have more bridges to repair, which is of great benefit to the Xiangfu family.

"But we are the imperial court, how can we compete for profits with the people and make money by using the Weishui bridge!" Yu Zhining muttered to himself, still unable to accept the bridge fee. Not only that, even Li Shimin may have a tangle on his face. On the one hand, it is his reputation, on the other hand, it is his real interests, which makes him very embarrassed.

Merton naturally understood Li Shimin's psychology and said in his heart: "Your Majesty, the purpose of the world's taxes is to take it from the people for the people. Similarly, it can be understood in reverse. It is to use it for the people and take it from the people. Even if the 200000 yuan bridge repair fee is paid in advance by the imperial court, it will be collected from the bridge crossing fee over the past 20 years. Once you have collected enough capital, your majesty can order to stop collecting the bridge crossing fee of Weishui bridge. In this way, it will ensure that the imperial court will not It will not make the people think that the imperial court is competing for profits with the people. At that time, your majesty is ordering to exempt the bridge fee, which will also reap the hearts of the people all over the world. "

The ministers' eyes suddenly brightened. In this way, the imperial court can recover the cost and use it to build a new bridge without losing the support of the people. Isn't it the best of both worlds.

"The people all over the world are in trouble, and ten Wen is not worth mentioning to the rich Mojia village. I'm afraid there are still many people who can't afford the ten Wen bridge fee." Yu Zhining, with a look of people's hardship, still refuses to give up.

Merton said: "In that case, the bridge crossing fee of Weishui bridge is only for carriages. Anyone who crosses the bridge manually or on foot is free. Weichen feels that if a person can afford a horse, he may not have any burden to pay the bridge crossing fee of ten Wen. Not to mention that Weishui bridge can avoid many wronged roads. The time and cost saved alone are far more than the bridge crossing fee of ten Wen."

Li Shimin's eyes brightened. People with horses can't be called poor. It's easy to bear the bridge fee. Poor people can also enjoy the convenience of Weishui bridge for free. This is really a way to have the best of both worlds.

"Of course, there are still some who need to be exempted from the bridge fee, such as the imperial court's post station, military vehicles and horses, yamen service, fire dragon Department, and even hospital ambulances." Merton added that this move attracted many departments. For a while, many officials turned against each other and supported the collection of the bridge fee.

"If someone deliberately uses manpower instead of horsepower to drill the loophole of the bridge fee?" Tang Jian, the Minister of civil affairs, frowned. If the bridge fee is not collected for a long time, your majesty will be exempted from the bridge fee in 20 years because of his face, and the hole in the household still can't be filled.

Merton Zhizhu said in his grip: "Don't worry, Mr. Tang. The Weishui bridge has a five mile slow rise road, plus the five miles on the other side, it's as much as ten miles. If you use manpower to drill loopholes, you don't need money to hire labor, not to mention the time wasted walking ten miles and the trouble of using horses on the other side. I'm afraid it's more cost-effective to spend ten Wen to cross the bridge. Mo said that Weishui bridge The construction of the bridge is beneficial to the world, not the bandits who block the way to collect money. Even if there is a way to pass the bridge without free, I think more people are willing to spend this ten Wen bridge fee. "

"Mo Hou is brilliant, and Wei minister agrees with Mo's sacrifice!" Tang Jian sincerely admires. This is his first contact with Merton, and he is immediately impressed by Merton's means.

"The minister agrees too!" Zhang Liang echoed.

"Ministers also agree!" echoed all the ministers.

This time, even Yu Zhining has no reason to object. After all, those who have money can cross the bridge without money, which can not only ensure the breakeven of the imperial court, but also enable your majesty to collect the hearts of the people. This is the best scheme.

"In that case, we should collect the bridge fee as Merton said, engrave it in stone, and tell the world that the bridge fee will only be charged for 20 years, and the bridge fee of Weishui bridge will be exempted after 20 years." Li Shimin waved his hand.

"Your Majesty is wise! If your majesty wants to win the hearts of the people, I think the toll from Chang'an city to Luoyang can be exempted. I think it should be paid back now." Merton reminded him that he was not surprised by this result. After all, the money of the imperial court was not from the strong wind. What he worried about was not that the imperial court charged the bridge fee, but that the imperial court was unwilling to give up this rich interest once it tasted the sweetness of the bridge fee and charged 200000 yuan guaranteed. You know, with the arrival of the prosperous age of the Tang Dynasty, the Weishui bridge will only be more busy, and the bridge fee will be more expensive Just a lot more.

Tang Jian felt hurt for a while. You should know that Chang'an city to Luoyang is the most prosperous road in the world. The annual toll is not a small amount. Tang Jian was really reluctant to give up suddenly, but he finally acquiesced to this fact.

"Your Majesty, the auspicious hour has come, but it's cut." Li Yun came forward to remind him when he saw that the dust had settled on the bridge fee.

"Good! Such a great thing that benefits the country and the people can't be delayed." Li Shimin is happy with the fame and wealth of the Weishui bridge.

With the scissors closed, the red silk fell, and the Weishui bridge, which had been prepared for five years, was officially opened to traffic.