Chapter 375 Against the Heavens

Yang Rong looked at Hu Guang with strange eyes.

Then he shook his head.

Then, he smiled.

At this time, he couldn't say anything.

Seeing that he was hesitant to speak, Hu Guang couldn't help but become suspicious and said: "Mr. Yang, what exactly do you want to say? Okay, you say it, I'll listen."

That's how people are. If you want to say something, he won't let you say it. If you really don't want to say it, he will inevitably want to hear your opinion.

Yang Rong pondered for a moment and then said: "Mr. Hu, the only person I can't understand the most inside and outside the court is you!"

"Ah..." Hu Guang was stunned.

Yang Rongdao: "If you say Mr. Hu is stupid, how can a stupid person seize a high position? But if you say he is as wise as a fool, it doesn't look like it. I think... there should be no one who can pretend to be like Mr. Hu."

"You..." Hu Guang looked at Yang Rong with his eyes widened as he was about to spit out a mouthful of blood.

Yang Rong pondered: "As you said just now, Jiangxi Chief Minister Xu Qi is indeed a capable official. I have learned about his situation, but..."

Speaking of this, Yang Rong deliberately stopped, took a deep look at Hu Guang, and then said: "But Mr. Hu, why was Jiangxi the first to build the railway? And why... no one in the civil and military circles of the dynasty

What if you don’t support it?”

"Of course it's because this move will benefit the country and the people." Hu Guang pinched his beard and shook his head.

Yang Rong smiled slightly and said: "Speaking of benefiting the country and the people... what really benefits the country and the people, isn't it the New Deal? You know the situation of the New Deal. The people can finally have enough to eat and clothe themselves, and the money in the government treasury has also increased dramatically.

.Let me ask you, you have read all over the history of the capital, have you ever heard of the era of great rule when the people could actually have enough food and clothing?"

Hu Guang was silent for a moment.

Yang Rong smiled and said: "Even during the sage's rule, they just said that the house would not be closed at night and no relics would be picked up on the road, but they did not dare to say that there would be no bones of people who died of starvation on the roadside. This new policy has such benefits, so why...

Why can't we always reach an agreement inside and outside the government?"

"The most thought-provoking thing about this railway construction is that it went so smoothly that it was worrying. You and I are cabinet ministers. Shouldn't we be vigilant in the face of such a smooth thing?"

Hu Guangdao: "No matter what happens, as long as the railway can be built, it will always benefit the people of the area."

Yang Rong smiled bitterly and said: "What you said is not unreasonable. In fact, I also hope that I am worrying too much. It's best... all of this is unfounded worry. Or as Hu Gong said, even if there are some ups and downs,

But at least it can benefit the people of one area. Xu Qi is indeed a talented person and an official. I hope he can make such an immortal contribution. If he succeeds, the sage's learning may be continued."

Hu Guang's good mood was gone at this time. Although he felt that Yang Rong's words were exaggerating, he began to feel uneasy in his heart.

After thinking about it, he felt a little more worried in his heart, so he said: "How about ordering someone to keep an eye on it? The Metropolitan Procuratorate, the Criminal Department, and the Dali Temple will all appoint personnel..."

Yang Rong nodded: "Okay."

Hu Guang continued: "Liu Guan, the Minister of Rites, is in charge of railway affairs. I also ask him to take this matter seriously."

Yang Rong said quietly: "I hope they put the overall situation first."

His words were ambiguous.

With a bit of helplessness.

…………

Spring begins in the 14th year of Yongle, which is a good time for renewal.

Zhu Di's health gradually became worse.

He had been fighting for so long that he inevitably had some old illnesses.

Zhang Anshi obeyed the order and went to the palace to examine Zhu Di's condition.

These are all old illnesses, not to mention that it is the beginning of spring. When I was in my prime, I could tolerate the past illnesses, but now I am older, they are a bit unbearable.

Zhang Anshi only asked Zhu Di to drink more hot water and pay attention to rest.

Zhu Di looked at Zhang Anshi with a smile, his voice a little gentler, and said: "When I was in my prime, I never cared about my body. Now that I am at this age, I realize how reckless I was back then. Zhang Qing should also pay more attention to his body.

Ah...the body is still important, everything else is just a cloud."

Zhang Anshi responded with a smile: "Your Majesty, I am in good health."

Zhu Di added: "I heard that the Chief Envoy of Jiangxi Province has raised a large sum of money and the railway construction has started, right?"

Zhu Di attaches great importance to the railway. Jiangxi is a land of plenty. Once construction starts and the railway is completed, transportation losses will be greatly reduced.

The older he gets, the more he pays attention to the few things at hand. The railway has become his top priority.

Zhang Anshi said: "I don't know much about this, but I heard that the situation in Jiangxi is progressing rapidly."

Zhu Di then said: "Yes, all the officials in the court are looking forward to this very much. Liu Guanqing's family even sent a memorial to talk about the progress in Jiangxi..."

Zhu Di raised his head and glanced at Zhang Anshi, and then said: "Compared to the railway in Taiping Prefecture, which is faster than the one in Taiping Prefecture, the Jiangxi Chief Envoy is worthy of being a capable official. He said that since the railway was built this time, he should be called into the court."

Zhang Anshi smiled, but his smile was a little short of his eyes.

Zhang Anshi said: "If your Majesty has more talented people around you, why worry about failure to achieve great things?"

Zhu Di looked at his face steadily and said, "Why do I think you have something on your face?"

Zhang Anshi put away some of his smile and said, "I'm just a little worried."

Zhu Di said suspiciously: "What are you worried about?"

"Can't tell."

Zhu Di said: "Actually, I am also a little worried, but after the reports from various places and some reports on the situation in the DPRK, I feel relieved. In fact, I don't expect the progress in Jiangxi to be as smooth as the Taiping Mansion.

Therefore... I issued a decree the day before yesterday that in order to support the railway in Jiangxi, I will take one million taels of silver from my internal funds and send it to the Chief Envoy of Jiangxi to finance the construction of the railway."

After Zhang Anshi heard this, although his face was calm, he was secretly surprised in his heart.

He had felt that Zhu Di was very concerned about the situation in Jiangxi, and this concern carried too many expectations of Zhu Di.

This is a million taels of silver. Not to mention the issuance of public bonds by Jiangxi, plus the one million taels of silver from Your Majesty, it is not an exaggeration to say that the railway construction in Jiangxi is a matter of prosperity.

You must know that the internal funds are His Majesty's private money, and he is very careful about it on weekdays. Even if it is a reward to the East Palace on weekdays, tens of thousands of taels of silver must be compared with every penny.

Good guy, now it’s one million taels and throw it away with a wave of your hand.

But... hearing Zhu Di's words, Zhang Anshi couldn't help but his eyes turned slightly red, and he felt an unspeakable sadness in his heart.

He looked at Zhu Di's face. Although the majestic look appeared leisurely, there were also wrinkles from many years, and his temples were even grayer.

Because of his physical discomfort, his face looked a little haggard, and he looked a little older.

They have been together as kings and ministers for ten years.

He knew Zhu Di's temperament very well. Zhu Di was suddenly so urgent. He obviously hoped to see the railway connecting the north and the south in his lifetime.

Otherwise, I would never be so willing.

This was obviously because Zhu Di was in poor health, so he began to have such thoughts.

Seeing Zhang Anshi's reaction, Zhu Di seemed to have noticed something, so he laughed and said: "You kid, what are you thinking about?"

Zhang Anshi said: "I didn't think about anything."

Zhu Di said: "You don't think that my life is over, right?"

Zhang Anshi shook his head hurriedly: "I don't dare."

Zhu Di said: "On weekdays you all say long live, but I know that there is no such thing as a long live person in the world. My health is a little worse, but it is not as bad as you think. It's just..."

After a pause, Zhu Di continued: "I just... hope that I can bring some blessings to my children and grandchildren during my lifetime."

Zhang Anshi said: "I understand."

Zhu Di said: "You are much more taciturn today, not as chatty as before."

Zhang Anshi said: "Your Majesty..."

If there are still people in the world who understand Zhu Di, Zhang Anshi must be one of them.

He saw Zhu Di's mentality of hoping to revive as he was getting old.

It also shows Zhu Di’s great expectations for railway construction.

Zhang Anshi couldn't help but want to tell him that Jiangxi's railways were very likely to cause trouble.

But in the end, the words remained unsaid.

Zhu Di, with his big hand like a cattail leaf fan, patted Zhang Anshi heavily on the shoulder and said, "What are you talking about? Why are you hesitating? Hey, having said that, I now understand a little bit about Master Yao's thoughts. I still dreamed about it last night.

Met him."

Zhang Anshi said: "Speaking of Master Yao, I think of one thing."

Zhu Di said: "What's the matter?"

Zhang Anshi thought silently in his heart, Master Yao, Master Yao, you must not have a soul in heaven, your coffin board must be stable.

But if you think about it carefully, you can see that Master Yao was cremated and not buried, so he felt a little relieved.

So Zhang Anshi said without blushing or out of breath: "Master Yao once watched the sky at night and said that...among the royal family, the Sun family is not allowed to marry. If not, it will be an ominous sign."
To be continued...