Daming: The system rejected my request for salted fish

"Xiao Wu, you may not be very familiar with the national treasury. Now that the war has broken out in the southwest, the national treasury doesn't have much money left."

"Furthermore, the journey from the capital to Kaifeng is over a thousand miles. Even if there were no war, the national treasury would not be able to support such expenses."

Zhu Yuanzhang's worries were not unreasonable, but Wei Wu also thought of this.

"Uncle Zhu, who says that road construction must be paid for by the government? We can invite private businessmen to pay for the road construction!"

After Wei Wu finished speaking, Zhu Yuanzhang looked at him with a puzzled expression.

"Bidding? What is bidding?"

"Bidding is a market behavior. Simply put, the court gives out a profitable project and lets others take it on."

"But building roads costs money, so how can we make money?"

“Of course you can’t make money from building roads, but once they’re built, you can use them to make money.”

Seeing Zhu Yuanzhang still puzzled, Wei Wu continued to explain:

"Uncle Zhu, how long do you think it would take for a caravan to travel from the capital to Kaifeng?"

"The caravan is packed with people and heavy with cargo, so it will probably take at least fifteen days. If there's heavy rain, it might even take longer."

"If the caravan can reach its destination in about five days, regardless of wind or rain, will it choose this route?"

As soon as Wei Wu finished speaking, Zhu Yuanzhang immediately gave an answer.

"If it can save time, I will definitely choose this path."

After Zhu Yuanzhang finished speaking, Wei Wu spoke again:

"Roads built with concrete are not only smooth and hard but also won't become muddy due to rain, which saves a lot of time."

"For this reason, even if the caravan has to pay a little money, it will definitely choose this time-saving route."

Having said that, Wei Wu explained again the highway toll collection method of later generations.

Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes lit up immediately after hearing this, and then he heard Wei Wu continue:

“We just need to put the road out for bidding, and the businesspeople can choose how long to build it based on their financial resources.”

"Then they'll set a time limit, maybe ten or twenty years, and all the fees collected from this road section will belong to them."

"Of course, they are also responsible for road maintenance, and when the road is ready, it will be nationalized."

"In addition, they can be allowed to build roadside inns to provide supplies and a safe place for merchants to rest."

"The court didn't have to spend a penny to build a road, and it also provided a stable sales channel for cement."

The more Zhu Yuanzhang listened to Wei Wu, the brighter his eyes became, and he couldn't wait to start executing it.

Even Zhu Biao, who was standing by, was moved and even took the initiative to speak up.

"As long as the first road is completed, businesses will see the business opportunities and will actively participate in the bidding for the next road construction."

"At that time, we can even ask them to pay money to obtain bidding qualifications first, and then they can participate in the bidding projects."

"If this cycle continues, one day the entire Ming Dynasty will be covered with smooth cement roads, right?"

Wei Wu was not surprised at all that Zhu Biao could think of this.

No matter what, he is the most stable prince in history, and there will be no problem with his ability.

So after Zhu Biao finished speaking, Wei Wu immediately nodded in response.

"That's right. Cement roads are convenient for people to travel and merchants to transport goods. When they are paved in the future, it will be even faster for troops and horses to transport supplies."

"And it's not just about building roads. Similar methods can be used to build city walls or other buildings in the future."

"We can also set a construction period. If merchants want to complete the road within the construction period, they must spend money to hire the people."

"This will not only reduce the suffering of the people from corvee labor, but also allow them to earn some money to live during the slack season."

The ancient corvee system can be said to be completely inhumane and unreasonable.

The so-called corvee labor was hard labor assigned by the imperial court, requiring the lower-class people to work for free.

Simply put, the rulers forced the common people to do hard labor. Not only did they have no money, but they also had to prepare their own food and drink.