Princess, he is rich enough to rival the country

As Xingren said, Qin Lu had no plans to live in the inn, and after sending Gu Yanshu a letter of safety, he left the inn.

The magistrate of Yizhou saw Qin Lu's figure from a distance, and while slightly relieved, he was also a little puzzled:

"It's just a letter, why did His Highness go there in person?"

Like this kind of trivial matter, Zhizhou always ordered his subordinates to do it. It didn't make sense for Li Wanggui to be a dignified prince, so such trivial things had to be done by himself.

Who knew that Xingren only glanced at Nazhizhou slightly:

"I don't have enough authority."

Insufficient permissions?

Zhizhou was stunned immediately.

Zhige Xingren, the two long followers of King Li, were not as famous as His Highness King Li himself, but at least the courtiers knew each other.

Don't look at these two people who don't show their mountains and dews on weekdays, but after all, they are followers who followed the prince through life and death on the battlefield, and their credits are not much better than those of others.

Therefore, both of them have serious official positions.

According to Yizhou Zhizhou's understanding, Xingren should be a captain of the third rank, and has a higher official position than most of the people present.

But now Xingren said that he has insufficient authority?

As if aware of the doubts in Zhizhou's heart, Xingren added lightly:

"The concubine is worried, the prince should expedite the dispatch by [-] miles."

Eight hundred miles urgent!

The magistrate of Yizhou never expected to hear such an answer.

In Tianqi, if you want to send relatives and friends off, you can only go to the post station to find the post official to deliver the letter, except for someone you know to take along.

The post station is managed by the imperial court, and there are five ways to send letters.

Including post delivery at a normal speed once a month, as well as express delivery at [-], [-], [-], and [-] miles.

Among them, ordinary courier service and [-]-mile express service not only require any authorization, but ordinary people only need to pay enough fees to use it.

From the beginning of the four-hundred-mile rush, only court officials can use it, and the six-hundred-mile rush requires officials of the fourth rank or above, and can only be used in emergencies.

For example, regarding the abnormal water level in Yizhou this time, Zhizhou sent the news to the imperial court in an expedited way of six hundred miles.

The conditions for expediting six hundred miles are already so harsh, so there is no need to mention expressing eight hundred miles.

The captain from the third rank does not have the authority to expedite the dispatch of eight hundred miles.

In Tianqi, [-]-mile rush has almost become exclusive to battle reports.

It was used quite frequently two years ago, but since the border settled down, it has hardly been used anymore.

As a result, now, just wanting to send a letter of safety to Princess Li, King Li directly spent [-] miles to expedite it.

And the reason was just because he was afraid that the princess would miss him?

Immediately, Gu Yanshu's status in Yizhou Zhizhou's heart was raised a lot.

Zhizhou also decided to let go of those pretty girls who were originally going to be given to King Li today, and make a decision after he observes for a few days.

Qin Lu is a vigorous and resolute man, and the sooner the construction of the dam is completed, the sooner he can return to Beijing.

On the second day after arriving in Yizhou, Qin Lu directly took the officials from the capital city and Yizhou to inspect the original dam in Yizhou, and began to prepare for the construction of the dam.

Perhaps because His Royal Highness Li Wang has a fierce reputation, the officials in Yizhou can be said to be extremely cooperative with Qin Lu's work.

His Royal Highness Li Wang pointed to the east, and they would never dare to go west.

It is precisely because of the attitude of the Yizhou officials that the people in the capital feel a lot more convenient.

The work on Qin Lu's side is progressing smoothly, and Gu Yanshu, who is far away in the capital, is also busy with road construction.

After the imperial court published an advertisement to attract investment for the construction of cement roads, Gu Yanshu discovered that he had missed one more thing this time.

That is the pursuit and enthusiasm of the ancients for the royal family.

From the fact that the strong men of the Zhou family cut their wrists and would rather sell the smooth silk and satin business for the crumbling Yuncizhai, it is not difficult to see that the resistance of the merchants in Tianqi to the word "imperial merchant" is almost zero.

The same goes for building roads.

Although the merchants who participated in the road construction could not be regarded as imperial merchants, it was still a royal project, and it was a matter of great honor to say it.

So on the second day after the advertisement was published, many businessmen came to the newspaper office to inquire about road construction.

Finally, according to the statistics of the newspaper, after the consultation, the number of people who intend to participate in road construction far exceeded the expectations of Gu Yanshu and the Ministry of Household Affairs.

According to Gu Yanshu's current sector division, Tianqi's land is not enough for these businessmen to share.

The Ministry of Household Affairs could only hold a small meeting on this issue.

Although Gu Yanshu was reluctant in his heart, after receiving Wen Qingyan's invitation, he still went to the household department.

After all, to do things, it is better to start well and finish well.

When Gu Yanshu arrived, the household department's small meeting had already been held for a while.

The officials of the household department have already figured out the first solution.

That is to subdivide Tianqi's territory so that every interested businessman can participate.

In this way, everyone pays less money, and the risk will be much lower.

Unexpectedly, as soon as Gu Yanshu entered the door, he directly denied this plan:

"No."

"why not?"

Even people with short memories raised doubts.

Not surprisingly, this person once again got Gu Yanshu's look of "Are you stupid?":

"Have you ever seen a county with two magistrates?"

That person has long been used to Gu Yanshu's gaze, and he doesn't mind, so he gave the answer without thinking:

"Of course not, isn't that a mess?"

"Then why don't you say it can't?"

Gu Yanshu glanced at the man and asked back.

I have to say that the example given by Gu Yanshu is easy to understand.

It is impossible for a county to have two county magistrates, because one mountain cannot accommodate two tigers, and people have different ideas, and there will always be times when two people disagree.

At this point, it became a question of whose orders the people below should obey.

The size of the boards that Gu Yanshu has now divided is a decision made after careful consideration and repeated consideration.

If it is subdivided further down, the capital withdrawal period used by businessmen to build cement roads is not to mention long, and it is not easy to manage.

In more serious cases, there may even be two toll booths within the management range of the same city.

The officials of the household department obviously figured this out very quickly.

But besides subdividing the plate, these people couldn't think of a second solution for a while.

In the end, Wen Qingyan asked Gu Yanshu:

"I wonder if Your Highness has any good suggestions?"

Gu Yanshu had already thought of a solution on the way here, and now he didn't need to think at all, so he gave the answer:

"Since the sector can no longer be split and there are quite a few interested people, let's call for bids."

"Bidding?"

Although Wen Qingyan was no stranger to Princess Li's ability to say a few words that were unfamiliar to them from time to time, she still couldn't help but repeat them.

"To put it simply, it is an auction. The quota for the construction of cement roads is auctioned. The highest bidder wins."

The meaning of bidding is too complicated, so Gu Yanshu simply explained it in the simplest and most popular words.

"Auction? Can it still be like this?"

Wen Qingyan never thought that the "tendering" that Gu Yanshu said actually meant such a thing.

"Why can't it be?"

Gu Yanshu raised his eyelids, and glanced at Wen Qingyan lightly:

"The fact now is that the supply of seats for cement road construction is less than the demand. To be fair, let's auction it off, so as not to be dissatisfied with those who were not selected after the final results come out."

"Besides, every city is different. Some cities are more prosperous and have a larger population, while others are relatively backward and have a smaller population. If you don't auction them, how do you plan to distribute them? How will you convince the public after the distribution?"

"Besides, there is another advantage of bidding, which is that it can effectively screen out those who are not capable enough."

"Road construction is a big project, and it will cost a lot of money in the early stage. Those who can spend a lot of money to buy road construction quotas are more likely to be able to afford the huge expenses required for road construction. Using the auction method, you can directly sell People with insufficient financial resources are screened out once and for all.”

I have to say that Gu Yanshu's words are indeed very convincing.

After careful consideration, Wen Qingyan and other officials of the household department found that the facts were indeed as Gu Yanshu said.

Bidding can not only solve the problem of too many interested businessmen, but also solve the problem of plate allocation in the later stage.

At this time, Gu Yanshu seemed to have thought of something, and added another sentence:

"If it is a tender, there will be an extra income, isn't it also a kind of open source?"

As soon as these words came out, Wen Qingyan was really moved.

After submitting the planning document for the construction of the cement road, the pressure on Wen Qingyan was indeed much less.

But the construction period of this cement road is not short after all.

Coupled with the construction of the dam in Yizhou, the national treasury, which had been filled for a short time just now, has shrunk a lot.

Therefore, Wen Qingyan still needs to think of a way to open up the treasury in a short period of time.

Gu Yanshu's proposal at this time can obviously alleviate the current difficulties of Wen Qingyan and the Hubu.

Not to mention Wen Qingyan, even those officials from the household department who were not pleasing to Gu Yanshu, who belonged to the eldest prince, were also very excited at this time.

Of course, in addition to the heartbeat, it is the heart shock.

If it weren't for their interests, they would have been tied to the eldest prince long ago, and some people even wanted to turn to the light on the spot:

As far as this mind is concerned, how can they compare to this temperament of plucking wild goose?

In the end, the Ministry of Household Affairs and other officials unanimously decided to adopt Gu Yanshu's suggestion:

Call for bids for cement roads!

And those businessmen who intend to participate in the construction of the cement road also got the news on the same day.

After understanding the meaning of bidding, these people had only one thought in mind:

Which wicked person came up with this wicked way?Get into money?

But scolding is scolding, the bidding that should be participated still has to participate.

After all, for ordinary businessmen, there are not many opportunities to cooperate with the imperial court, such as building cement roads.

Of course, some people think that the bidding is too immoral, and some people are happy to see it succeed.

For example, some businessmen with strong family backgrounds but no background support seem to see hope after hearing this rule:

Originally, they thought that such a project would have no chance for them, but now that money is what matters, they have hope.

If he can take this opportunity to become famous, maybe he can bring his family to a higher level.

Therefore, after the news that Cement Road used bidding to determine the person in charge, there were more interested businessmen than at the beginning, which really surprised the people in the household department.

Since the news of the bidding for the cement road came out, this matter has become the most watched existence in Beijing.

After all, this bidding is a new thing.

Whether you are interested in participating in the bidding or not, you can't help but discuss a few words in your spare time.

Time passed so unhurriedly, and in the blink of an eye, it was time to invite bids for the cement road.

The venue for bidding for the cement road this time was chosen at Guiyuanju.

You don't need to guess, you can know that this place was decided by Gu Yanshu.

In Gu Yanshu's words, although Guiyuanju is already very famous in the capital, no one would like too many advertisements.

For such a major event as Tianqi's first bidding, returning to the garden is naturally the best choice.

As for the household department, they also have no opinion on the fact that they can get a place for nothing without spending money.

When the bidding day came, Guiyuan Juzhong was full of guests again.

Looking at Gui Yuanju's crowd of people at the moment, Wen Qingyan was a little surprised:

"There are so many people who came to participate in the bidding?"

"Of course not," Gu Yanshu glanced at Wen Qingyan, "Only those sitting in the lobby on the first floor are here to participate in the bidding, and those in the boxes on the second and third floors are here to watch the excitement."

"Watching the fun?"

Wen Qingyan frowned slightly, and a look of disapproval appeared on his face.

Whether it is the bidding or the construction of the cement road, it is related to the court. These people come to watch the excitement in a grandiose place. What is going on?

"I don't think it's a problem, it's fair and open, how good is it?"

Gu Yanshu saw what Wen Qingyan was thinking at a glance, and said slowly:

"Under the watchful eyes of the public, you can't fake it, and the results will convince the public."

Of course, for Gu Yanshu, the most important thing is that the boxes on the second and third floors have minimum consumption standards.

Now that the seats are full of people, the income of returning to the garden today will not be low. It can somewhat make up for the loss of the first floor that is not open to make room for bidding.

Wen Qingyan thought for a moment, and felt that Gu Yanshu's words were reasonable, so he ignored the onlookers on the second and third floors.

In today's bidding, in order to prevent vicious price-raising competition and maximize profits, Gu Yanshu directly adopted the method of hidden bidding.

The one who presided over the bidding meeting this time was Mr. Huang Mingsheng, who was recommended by Wen Qingyan last time when he proposed that the treasury needs to be open sourced.

As soon as Huang Mingsheng announced this bidding method, he received inquiries from the following:

"Dare to ask this lord, what is a hidden bid?"

Huang Mingsheng smiled slightly, and explained slowly:

"Concealed bidding means confidential bidding. When you bid, write down the price you think you can afford on a piece of paper, and then put it into the bidding box next to me. In the end, vote, whoever has the highest price, Whoever can get the qualification to build cement roads in the corresponding area.”

Soon, someone understood the meaning of the hidden mark and found out the disadvantages of this method:

"Isn't that an area where a person can only have one chance to bid?"

Huang Mingsheng nodded with a flat expression, as if he didn't hear the dissatisfaction in the man's tone:

"That's right, so you need to bid carefully."

From Huang Mingsheng's attitude, those who came to participate in the bidding knew that it was a foregone conclusion to adopt the method of concealed bidding in this bidding.

Even if they were dissatisfied, they could only suppress it and start thinking about how to deal with it when bidding later.

"Your Highness is still wise. In this way, in order to qualify for the auction, it is estimated that many people will choose to directly write the highest price in their minds."

Those who participate in the bidding write the highest price in their minds, and the money they can receive will naturally be more.

Even though as early as two days ago, when Gu Yanshu heard the word "hidden mark", he admired it, but at this moment, Wen Qingyan still couldn't help admiring in a low voice.

Regarding this, Gu Yanshu just smiled slightly, and picked up the teacup beside him:

"It's all you want."

While Gu Yanshu was talking with Wen Qingyan, Huang Mingsheng on the stage had already mentioned various advantages, disadvantages and risks of building cement roads with the merchants who came to participate in the bidding.

Including but not limited to the cost of constructing cement roads in each city and the approximate time for capital return.

In this regard, in Gu Yanshu's words, even if the costs and risks are clearly explained to the merchants, it will also allow them to weigh their own strengths and do what they can.

Road construction is a big deal, if anyone only thinks about the benefits of cooperating with the royal family and ignores the cost.

At that time, halfway through the construction of cement roads, merchants have to stop working because they have no money, which is not beautiful.

It has to be said that although the way of concealed bidding is a little bit damaged, in other respects, Gu Yanshu has indeed made others blameless.

Wen Qingyan could clearly feel that after Huang Mingsheng finished talking about the cost of building cement roads in each area, the expressions on the faces of those merchants who participated in the bidding became much more cautious and dignified.

Seeing the expressions of these people, many officials of the household department couldn't help beating drums in their hearts:

According to the intention of Her Highness Princess Li, if the cost is stated so clearly, is there really anyone willing to spend a lot of money to buy the quota for the construction of cement roads?

After the bidding meeting began, these talents found that their worries were completely unnecessary.

These merchants are not only willing to spend a lot of money to buy the places to build cement roads, but even the price they offer is much higher than what the Ministry of Household Affairs originally imagined!

Among them, the highest bidders were the three cities around the capital, each with an average price of 20 taels, a total of 60 taels.

The lowest bidders were the few cities on the frontier of Tianqi, but there were still 5 to [-] taels.

Don't look at the 5 taels and 20 taels that sound like very little.

But you have to know that the money bought is just a quota!Not counting the cost of building cement roads in the later stage!

Gu Yanshu was not surprised by this.

Tianqi has lasted for more than a hundred years, and naturally it has created many merchants with profound heritage.

Due to the classification of scholars, farmers, businessmen, and businessmen, many merchants are well aware of the truth that it is a crime to conceive a jade.

Under the premise of not having a backer, it is natural to choose the way of not revealing the wealth and making a fortune silently.

Over the years, it will naturally produce a lot of wealthy businessmen who are not obvious.

This road construction is a project of the imperial court, which has attracted much attention. The winning bidder will be able to receive the invisible protection of the imperial court for a long time.

This is undoubtedly a huge temptation for those hidden rich people who have money but no power.

It is not surprising that such a price can be auctioned.

Gu Yanshu, on the other hand, discovered that there was actually an acquaintance who was not an acquaintance participating in the bidding this time.

It was the last time in the ten-day drunken building, for publishing an advertisement in the daily newspaper, he justly reprimanded Mr. Fan Zhiyuan and Mr. Fan, the young master Ning in the Ningguo mansion.

From the form handed over by the household department, it is not difficult to see that Mr. Fan is the winning bidder for one of the neighboring cities of the capital.

After discovering this, Gu Yanshu slightly raised his brows:

From Zhige's report last time, Gu Yanshu only knew that Mr. Fan's family background was profound, but he never expected that it would be so profound.

At this moment, another question was raised:

"What about the cement road in the capital? No bidding?"

At this time, the people who came to participate in the bidding suddenly realized that yes, it seems that the cement road in the capital city has not yet called for bidding?

It is not difficult to hear from the cement stones displayed by the household department just now and the various benefits described.

The imperial court planned to pave all the places in Tianqi with concrete roads, so it didn't make sense to just bypass the capital.

Since the capital also needs to pave concrete roads, why is there no bidding today?

Soon, Huang Mingsheng gave everyone the answer:

"The construction of cement roads in and around the capital city is the responsibility of Prince Li's Mansion."

As soon as these words came out, Guiyuanju, which was slightly noisy at first, suddenly became quiet.

Everyone didn't know what to say.

There are those who are dissatisfied:

Before coming here, the Ministry of Households said in a high-sounding way, what is fair, open and just, and what is the highest price wins.

In the end, it bypassed the most prosperous city of Kyoto without bidding.

Anyone with a discerning eye can see that there are people coming and going in this capital every day, and the tolls will definitely be a lot of money in the future, but in the end, Prince Li's mansion took the hen that lays golden eggs into his arms without saying a word. house.

Who can be convinced?

Even though he thought so in his heart, due to the prestige of Prince Li's Mansion, no one dared to raise any objections.

For a while, the big one returned to the garden, and it was obviously full of guests, but there was a strange scene where needles could be heard.

Gu Yanshu has already cultivated to become a human spirit, how could he not see what these people are thinking?

He raised his eyes and gave Huang Mingsheng a meaningful look before slowly opening his mouth:

"Kyoto includes the outskirts of Beijing, which is very important to Tianqi. Therefore, no toll stations will be set up in Kyoto and its ten-mile radius. directly."

Once this remark comes out, what else can others say?

They came to participate in this bidding, besides wanting to cooperate with the royal family, why didn't they also fancy the toll?

As a result, Kyoto, the most prosperous capital in Tianqi, does not allow any toll booths to be built. Isn't this clearly a loss-making business?

Who would want to do such a thing?

"Of course there is nothing wrong with it. Prince Li's mansion is righteous, and Princess Li is righteous. The grassroots feel ashamed."

In the end, it was Fan Zhiyuan who took the lead to stand up again, breaking the deadlock in returning to the garden at the moment. While speaking, he slightly bowed to Gu Yanshu to show his respect.

And Fan Zhiyuan's words seemed to be a reminder to others.

For a while, Guiyuan Juzhong was full of praises for Gu Yanshu and Prince Li's Mansion, but no one mentioned the ownership of the construction of the cement road in Beijing.

"Your Highness, please bear with me. After all, Huang Mingsheng was personally recommended by the lower officials."

When the turmoil subsided, Wen Qingyan confessed to Gu Yanshu in a low voice.

Anyone with a discerning eye could see that Huang Mingsheng did it on purpose in the turmoil just now.

However, Huang Mingsheng was personally recommended by Wen Qingyan, and the Minister of the Household Department had just been ordered to be grounded for the crime of "partisan agreement and attacking dissidents".

Wen Qingyan really couldn't do anything to Huang Mingsheng for a while.

"No problem."

Gu Yanshu waved his hand, but didn't take Huang Mingsheng's little action just now to heart.

Most of the people in the household department are members of the eldest prince, so it is very common for them to seize the opportunity to trip Prince Li's residence.

Not Huang Mingsheng, but someone else.

Wen Qingyan could see that Gu Yanshu's words were not polite, and he felt a little relieved:

"Many times, the subordinate officials feel that they can't understand His Highness."

Gu Yanshu was stunned for a moment.

Soon afterward, he realized that what Wen Qingyan said should be that he had given up on setting up toll stations in the capital city and its ten-mile radius:

"Kyoto is very important to Tianqi, so it is not suitable to set up toll stations. Besides, the money for building cement roads does not necessarily have to be recovered from toll stations."