Allure of a Country Maiden
Chapter 291 - 289

Chapter 291: Chapter 289

In the Imperial Court-

Prime Minister Li only found out yesterday evening that the Ministry of Works was planning to build four large bridges on the Huai River simultaneously!

Building four large bridges over the Huai River! What a massive undertaking!

As the only Prime Minister of this dynasty, a man of almost unmatched power, he only learned of this affair when the first bridge’s construction had already started!

This is simply preposterous!

These people from the Ministry of Works don’t take him, the Prime Minister, seriously at all!

Such a significant affair! They didn’t even consider his opinion or consult with him! They had already started the work without his knowledge! He wasn’t even invited to the foundation-laying ceremony!

Where is he supposed to hide his face!

Humph! Starting bridge construction without the consent and discussion of all officials civil and military! How could this be acceptable!

"Your Majesty, most sections of the Huai River are within a mile in width, and some even extend beyond a mile! It is universally deemed a natural moat, an impassable trench! Building bridges on the Huai River is simply harder than reaching the heavens! I believe Your Majesty should issue an immediate decree ordering the Ministry of Works to halt construction, so as to prevent hardship to the people and economic loss!" Prime Minister Li spoke with unshakeable conviction.

No sooner had Prime Minister Li finished speaking than all the civil and military officials echoed his sentiments!

They are kidding! If all the silver in the national treasury was spent by the Ministry of Works! With so significant an achievement credited to them, what silver would they use to earn merit?

"Your Majesty, is it possible to reach the skies? No! Therefore, it is also impossible to build large bridges over the Huai River! Your Majesty, if we don’t stop now while it is still early, losses won’t be too severe! This is an absolute impossibility! Continuing like this will waste so much manpower and material resources every day! The national treasury will not be able to bear it, and we also fear the people’s resentment!"

"Your Majesty, the heavens are not with us. It hasn’t rained for quite a while. After a severe drought, there must be a flood. This is a time when the state faces numerous challenges, every coin from the national treasury must be put on the cutting edge. Building bridges over the Huai River is like directly throwing silver into the river and being unable to recover it! If a natural disaster strikes, and the people find out that all the silver has been spent on bridge construction, causing disaster relief funds to become insufficient, how can we, as the parents of the people, face them?? Your Majesty, please consider it carefully!"

"Your Majesty, this humble servant feels that building a bridge over the Huai River has striking significance in terms of economy, politics, and history; it is a great deed that will benefit the current era and future generations! If it can be completed, this monumental achievement will leave a strong mark on the pages of history! For such a great deed, it should indeed be accomplished, but this humble servant believes that we need to act according to our capabilities, thus constructing only one bridge should be enough. Attempting to construct four simultaneously is indeed a bit ostentatious!" This minister is truly talented, understanding how to both lift and suppress.

"Your Majesty...."

"Enough! Do you all think it is impossible to build a bridge over the Huai River? That it is wasteful action that depletes manpower and material resources? That it causes hardship for the people and economic loss, right?" The Emperor quickly stopped them from continuing their words. With one "Your Majesty" here and another "Your Majesty" there, his head started to ache from their incessant chattering.

"We believe it to be an unwise action. The silver of the national treasury bears the responsibility of our subjects’ peace and prosperity and the peace and stability of Minze. It cannot only consider one particular region. The Sage said, ’Those who have states and families do not worry about scarcity but about inequality; they don’t worry about poverty but about unrest.’ Our dynasty governs a vast territory, Your Majesty cannot favour some while neglecting others! Your humble servant begs Your Majesty to reconsider!" Said Prime Minister Li, whose words showed his deep concern for the state and public affairs.

"This action of the Ministry of Works is highly suspicious of deceiving the world and stealing a name. May Your Majesty discern wisely."

"I understand, but you don’t need to worry. I only approved for the Ministry of Works to spend enough for the construction of one bridge. Prime Minister Li and the Sixth Prince have always been trustworthy; the bridges should be able to be built," the Emperor spoke.

"The national treasury only earmarked funds for one bridge? What about the other three bridges?" Prime Minister Li was dumbfounded.

Where did those people from the Ministry of Works find so much silver to build bridges?

It would take hundreds of thousands of taels to build three large bridges!

Even the Sixth Prince wouldn’t be able to bring out hundreds of thousands of taels so quickly!

Wait! If all four bridges are successfully built, it would indeed be a great achievement, and the vacant position of the Minister of the Right might not remain vacant any longer.

The Minister of Works has never gotten along with him. If this allows him to rise to his rank, wouldn’t his own future be utterly suffocating.

Prime Minister Li stealthily glanced at the Emperor on the dragon throne: Could it be that the remaining three bridges are being financed with the Emperor’s personal treasury?

Has he been too prominent recently, making the Emperor wary of him?

So, is the Emperor taking advantage of this opportunity to promote the Minister of Works as a counterbalance to him?

He considered the Emperor’s behavior towards him recently; besides the incident of setting up a concubine for his son wherein he reprimanded him, there was nothing else out of place.

However, the mind of a ruler is unpredictable; being a ruler’s confidant is just like being beside a tiger - he ought to be more careful in the future.

"The other three bridges will be donated by the Sixth Prince, Di Shaowei, and Marquis Shengping," After saying this, the Emperor began to enjoy the expressions of the officials.

As expected, they all blushed!

The Emperor continued: "The national treasury is only responsible for the expenses of the Jingning-Huai River Bridge. This bridge will impose a toll once completed. You don’t have to worry about losing the silver permanently in the Huai River! When the bridge is completed, don’t forget to pay the toll or give a tip when crossing it. In this way, the silver expended by the national treasury can be recovered in just a few years."

On hearing these words, Prime Minister Li wasn’t just embarrassed; he was mortified.

No wonder he had no prior knowledge of such a significant matter.

Isn’t the Sixth Prince deliberately putting him in a difficult position?

All the civil and military officials awkwardly promised that they would never cross the bridge without paying the silver toll.

However, what does the Emperor’s remark mean? Could it be that there were officials who bypassed the toll on the official road in their territories and the Emperor found out about it? They have to go back and thoroughly chastise those responsible. They absolutely cannot be associated with the term bribery and corruption over a matter of a few coins.

Just by hearing the name, one could tell that the Jingning-Huai River Bridge is a large bridge built on the Huai River that flows past Jingning County!

As Jingning County and the Imperial City face each other across the river, once the Jingning-Huai River Bridge is completed, people from both cities coming from the south and going to the north will have to cross the Jingning-Huai River Bridge if they don’t choose to travel by boat.

Among the four bridges on the Huai River, the Jingning-Huai River Bridge will undoubtedly have the highest traffic. Even if the toll is just one or two coins, with thousands upon thousands of people crossing the river every day, there’s no worry that the money invested into the bridge won’t be earned back!

After all, every merchant operating passenger ships on the Huai River are all filthy rich.

The fact of the matter proved that one should never look down upon these road and bridge tolls. Ever since the Sixth Prince proposed repairing the official roads with cement and then collecting road fees, the people from the Ministry of Revenue were taken aback when they gathered the total income by the end of last year.

Once all the official roads nationwide are repaired, the income will be even more considerable.

The civil and military officials once again changed their tune, eulogizing one after another the merits of these few bridges once they’re completed, praising the Sixth Prince and others for their dedication to the state and their love for the people like a son.

They also said that their own family fortunes were meager, and they were as poor as a church mouse. They couldn’t afford to bring out so much silver. Still, once the bridges are built, they would certainly walk across them more often and pay more tolls to contribute a brick or tile to the Jingning-Huai River Bridge.

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