Chapter 3: Ambitious and Greedy
Zhu Yuanzhang hurriedly helped Zhu Shoucheng to his feet.
It seemed that Li Fan had done many outrageous things in Fengyang County, even oppressing his own uncle to such an extent.
One could only imagine how much more the helpless commoners were suffering.
However, now was not the best time to take action.
He needed to continue his secret investigation, collect evidence of Li Fan’s crimes, and convict him in one fell swoop!
For now, he had to calm Zhu Shoucheng, as he was the key to opening up Fengyang County.
Through his uncle, he could uncover Li Fan’s criminal group step by step.
While helping Zhu Shoucheng up, Zhu Yuanzhang spoke gently:
“Uncle, rest assured. You are one of us. You only need to cooperate with our investigation and testify at the right time. You don’t need to worry about the rest!”
Zhu Shoucheng, finding himself in a difficult situation, could only agree to Zhu Yuanzhang’s suggestion to save his life, “This humble servant obeys!”
Zhu Yuanzhang helped Zhu Shoucheng sit down and comforted him softly:
“As long as you follow my orders this time, you won’t be implicated after the matter is settled.”
Empress Ma, sitting nearby, observed the development, feeling worried for Li Fan.
The emperor had already deemed him guilty, essentially sentencing him to death.
Poor Lian’er would surely be heartbroken.
Zhu Yuanzhang said to the coachman:
“Have Mao Xiang secretly send five hundred Jinyiwei into Fengyang County. I want to see what kind of abilities Li Fan has!”
Zhu Shoucheng could only sit trembling with fear, as the emperor’s authority was overwhelming for an ordinary person.
He could only pray that Magistrate Li had heaven’s blessing, turning misfortune into fortune.
The group slowly made their way toward Fengyang County, Zhu Yuanzhang sat in the carriage, pondering how to gather evidence of Li Fan’s corruption.
Suddenly, he noticed something unusual. The carriage was traveling on the imperial road, yet there was not the slightest bump, not even the usual sound of wheels on cobblestone.
It was smoother than the paths within the palace!
He quickly ordered the carriage to stop and got out to inspect, seeing a wide, straight official road bustling with people and carriages.
The road in Fengyang County was paved with large, smooth flagstones, each stone perfectly sized.
He couldn’t help but marvel at Li Fan’s grand scale.
Even the palace did not have such large flagstones, and the carriage glided over them smoothly without a single bump.
If all of Ming could be paved like this, it would be much easier for the people to travel, though such flagstones must have cost a fortune.
He grew somewhat angry, thinking about how much manpower and resources it must have taken to find so many flagstones.
It would have been better used elsewhere, but Li Fan had laid them directly on the ground, a sheer waste of resources.
No wonder he had set up tolls on the road, it was hard to estimate how much this road had cost.
He asked Zhu Shoucheng:
“How many more roads like this are there?”
Zhu Shoucheng, now terrified, answered honestly without the slightest hesitation:
“The main roads in Fengyang County have all been replaced with this kind of cement road. The magistrate said that in another two years, the entire county would be paved with these cement roads.”
Zhu Yuanzhang couldn’t believe what he was hearing from Zhu Shoucheng.
Based on his own knowledge, it would take years to find so many flagstones.
How could all the roads be completed so quickly?
He hurriedly asked:
“Where did these flagstones come from?”
“Where are there flagstones?”
Zhu Yuanzhang pointed at the road on the ground, “The flagstones laid on the road!”
Zhu Shoucheng looked in the direction the emperor pointed, realizing the emperor had misunderstood. He quickly explained:
“This is the cement invented by the magistrate. It is mixed with water and gravel, hardening in two days and reaching maximum hardness in half a month!”
Zhu Yuanzhang bent down to inspect the cement surface, noting that the material indeed did not look like flagstones.
He stood up and said to Empress Ma:
“Building such a wide official road must have consumed countless resources. The funds allocated by the court were definitely not enough. No wonder Li Fan set up roadblocks to collect money. Even if it’s understandable, his crimes are still unforgivable. He must be punished for his ambition, exploiting the people, excessive taxation, and seeking pleasure while the commoners suffer!”
Zhu Yuanzhang was still very angry. Although building roads was beneficial for future generations, setting up tolls was a severe offense.
Moreover, it required so many resources.
This time, he had to ensure proper punishment!
He looked at the passing carriages and, without another word, angrily got back into the carriage.
Empress Ma, seeing Zhu Shoucheng at a loss, reassured him:
“Uncle, don’t be afraid. His Majesty won’t do anything to you!”
Zhu Shoucheng wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.
Despite the empress’s reassurance, he was still very scared, trembling as he got into the carriage, heading toward Fengyang County.
Zhu Yuanzhang ignored the trembling Zhu Shoucheng, thinking of how many harmful things he might have done under his name.
Now that he was scared, let him be for a while as a slight punishment.
Looking at the scenery outside, Zhu Yuanzhang couldn’t help but reflect.
This was not his first visit to Fengyang County.
In decades, there had been no change.
Even though it was the imperial hometown and exempt from all taxes, the people still lived precarious lives.
He had hoped Li Fan’s arrival would bring some improvement, but instead, it brought an ambitious person setting up tolls.
He could only imagine the hardships the people were enduring.
He glanced at Zhu Shoucheng and asked:
“How is this year’s harvest?”
Zhu Shoucheng, unsure of what to say or not to say, stammered for a while before replying:
“This year’s harvest is good. After paying all taxes, there’s a surplus of more than ten taels of silver!”
To Zhu Shoucheng, a surplus of over ten taels a year seemed substantial, so he confidently said so, thinking it would please the emperor.
But seeing Zhu Yuanzhang’s face gradually turn livid, he realized something was wrong. The emperor was angry again.
He couldn’t understand what had offended the emperor this time.
Could it be that he thought it earned too little?
The more Zhu Yuanzhang thought, the angrier he became, his face turning red with anger. He directly scolded:
“How dare you commit such a heinous crime!”
