Daming: The system rejected my request for salted fish

Chapter 986

Wei Wu did not understand the twists and turns in officialdom, and he himself was aware of this.

If he were to argue with Niu He in the court, not only would he waste time, but he would also most likely be at a disadvantage.

But it’s different for the Minister of Revenue Zeng Tai. He is a seasoned veteran. For this kind of thing, just let him confront Niu He.

After all, the supervisor from the Sihai Chamber of Commerce did make a mistake by building the roadbed without signing a contract.

Although I have done this before, who can blame me for meeting people like Jiangnan now?

We have to bear this loss and pay more attention to this aspect in the future so that the same thing won't happen again.

As for the current court issues, Wei Wu was not going to continue this topic, but changed to a topic that was more beneficial to Zeng Tai.

So, after Niu He finished speaking, Wei Wu immediately said:

"Regarding the seizure of civilian land, the court will send people to investigate the right and wrong, and they will naturally find out what happened."

Wei Wu wanted to continue speaking, but Niu He was not a fool and would not miss such a good opportunity to attack Wei Wu.

So before Wei Wu could continue speaking, he interrupted and said:

"We're just sending people to investigate, but what about the loss of land and property of the common people? This matter is not as simple as the Duke of Zhenguo thinks."

Niu He’s idea is very simple. Since he has found your weak spot, he will hold on to this matter until death.

However, the imagination is beautiful, but he overlooked a reality, that is, there is someone protecting Wei Wu behind him.

The result was that as soon as Niu He finished speaking, Zhu Yuanzhang, who was sitting on the dragon throne, started talking.

"As for the occupation of the people's land, the Sihai Chamber of Commerce will compensate them according to the land price set by the court and pay a fine. This matter will be concluded."

Zhu Yuanzhang's words directly set the tone for the matter, and no one could say anything about it anymore.

Although Niu He was unwilling, he could only endure it silently, and then he and Wei Wu turned to look at Zhu Yuanzhang and bowed and said:

"Your Majesty, Holy Might!"

After saying "Sheng Ming", Wei Wu looked at Niu He again and said:

"Your Majesty has made the decision regarding the occupation of civilian land, but there is one more matter that I feel I need to remind Censor Niu."

"Did you know that the imperial court didn't contribute a penny to the bidding for the Nanzhili road construction? The entire amount was funded by the Sihai Chamber of Commerce."

"After the construction was completed, we collected tolls from the people so that the contractors could make back their capital through tolls."

"It's profitable. When the court builds other places in the future, it won't need to take out too much money from the treasury."

Having said that, Wei Wu glanced at Niu He with his eyes slanted, then grinned and said:

"However, Censor Niu wants the court to go back on its word, severely punish the Sihai Chamber of Commerce, revoke its road construction license, and hand it over to the Ministry of Works."

“If the imperial court really revokes the qualification, the bidding model will be completely scrapped. How will the construction of the Ming Dynasty proceed in the future?

"The imperial court has lost its credibility. When it opens tenders to the public again in the future, will anyone still be willing to bid?"

"Do you know how much the Sihai Chamber of Commerce will spend on this road construction? I can tell you that the preliminary estimate is no less than two million taels."

"If we don't allow tolls, who will pay for the road construction? Who will pay for future road maintenance? You're not going to pay for it!"

When Wei Wu was speaking, Niu He looked at him nonchalantly and directly retorted:

"I am an honest official, incorruptible. I am not as wealthy as the Duke of Zhenguo, so I naturally cannot afford such money."

"But road construction is a national priority. If it benefits the people, we shouldn't charge them. That's just like exploiting their blood and sweat."

"Now that the treasury is abundant, the road construction will naturally be paid for by the court. This has always been the case with the construction of canals and roads throughout the dynasties!"

As soon as Niu He said this, Wei Wu knew what he and the Jiangnan gentry behind him were thinking.