Chapter 143 What harm is there in killing a few of them!

Repairing river embankments requires massive expenditures and has always been funded by the imperial court, which allocated money to the prefectures, which in turn distributed it to the county offices at their discretion.

The embankment inspectors from the Office of Rivers and Canals under the Directorate of Waterways would periodically conduct inspections. If a complete reconstruction or a particularly difficult repair was needed, they would travel to the site in person to take charge.

Li Shi was not entirely devoid of sense. After a brief moment of contemplation, he asked Wei Renshi, "How can a matter like building river embankments be entrusted to private individuals? The cost of construction is immense, far beyond what any single private party could possibly afford. Even if someone could afford it, the expense would be staggering. Who would be willing to do it?"

"Your Majesty, there is a saying: All the hustle and bustle of the world is for the sake of profit; all the commotion of the world is driven by the pursuit of gain. Scholars enter officialdom, farmers till and harvest, artisans practice their crafts, and merchants engage in trade—none of this is otherwise. As long as there is profit to be made, naturally people will be willing. Why would your humble servant be willing to have the Dream Pavilion repair the river embankment? It is precisely because your humble servant saw the profit to be gained from building river embankments," Wei Renshi replied, bowing once more.

"Where does the profit lie?" Li Shi asked, looking at Wei Renshi in some surprise. He felt that the young man before him spoke quite differently from the other court officials. None of the other court officials would ever lay out the concept of profit so directly and plainly upon the table. Although everything they did was ultimately for the sake of profit, they always wrapped it in high-sounding and grandiose justifications. Rarely did anyone speak of profit so unreservedly and straightforwardly.

Instead, it made him feel... candid? Li Shi could not quite put his finger on it, so he decided to listen further.

"Once the river embankment is repaired, if your humble servant can obtain the prefecture's permission to own half of the surrounding market streets, the profit from that would be so enormous that, by comparison, the cost incurred by your humble servant in repairing the embankment would hardly be worth mentioning. Even if the prefecture were to reclaim all the market streets, as long as your humble servant manages the embankment construction properly and lets everyone know that this embankment was built for them at the expense of the Dream Pavilion, it will earn us a stellar reputation. With this sterling reputation, whenever people talk about taverns in their daily lives, the Dream Pavilion will be the first name that comes to mind, bringing countless patrons to our doors. These patrons will generate immense revenue for the Dream Pavilion. Thus, while the profit may not be as grand as owning market streets, in the long run, it will still more than surpass the cost of repairing the embankment."

Wei Renshi continued, "Therefore, everything one does comes at a cost; as long as the return outweighs the cost, it is worthwhile. Anyone with foresight can see this. That is why, initially, the other large taverns and eateries in Luoyang joined hands with the prefecture to dump the burden of repairing the embankment onto the Dream Pavilion, hoping to drag it down and ruin it. However, after seeing how your humble servant handled the matter, they completely changed their tune and eagerly poured money into the ranks of the embankment repairers. They did so precisely because they saw the costs and the potential profits, and weighed them accordingly."

"So Lord Wei is saying that as long as private individuals are shown the profit in building river embankments, they will be willing to finance the repairs," Li Shi said.

"Precisely. The imperial court can easily release the designs and concepts of these river embankments and announce them to the realm. Then, when embankments need to be built, the right to construct them can be put up for sale to private parties. Where does the merchant's profit come from? Promise them that whoever builds the embankment shall be granted half—or even seventy percent—of the market streets upon completion. The remainder will naturally belong to the imperial court. Once an embankment is built, it stands for a long time. These market streets will naturally endure for a long time as well; how could people fail to see such profits? Therefore, in order to secure half of these market streets, people will naturally vie with one another to purchase the construction rights from the imperial court in order to build the river embankments. In this way, the imperial court can reduce its expenditure on embankment repairs, obtain funds from selling the construction rights, and acquire market streets without spending a single coin."

Wei Renshi spoke at a leisurely pace, his articulate presentation leaving even Li Shi stunned and quite astonished.

After a brief moment of reflection, Li Shi immediately laughed and said, "Good! Excellent! This strategy is marvelous! It is truly no wonder that Lord Wei went from utter poverty to immense wealth in the span of just over half a year. Yet, possessing such talent, why did Lord Wei not act sooner and allow his family's fortunes to decline?"

Wei Renshi smiled and replied, "There is a family precept in my household: to study diligently and serve the imperial court. Both my grandfather and my father devoted themselves entirely to their studies and had no time to attend to family affairs, which eventually led to the decline of our household. Both my grandfather and my father passed away young. Bearing their unfulfilled ambitions, your humble servant likewise devoted himself entirely to bitter study. If my family had not been pushed to the absolute brink of starvation, and if I had not witnessed my mother lowering her pride to borrow grain from door to door, I never would have been awakened to reality."

"Ah, studying single-mindedly to serve the imperial court. Your family's precept is still worth upholding," Li Shi looked at Wei Renshi, finding him more and more agreeable by the moment. With a smile, he said, "Now that your household is no longer impoverished, you ought to settle your mind and return to your diligent studies."

"Your humble servant will strictly obey Your Majesty's instruction!" Wei Renshi replied, bowing.

Li Shi seemed to be in exceptionally high spirits. He smiled and said, "Though Lord Wei is still young, he possesses such depth of thought. If you apply yourself diligently to your studies, you will surely achieve great things one day. Well then, since Lord Wei has presented Your Majesty with such a brilliant strategy, and you are just at the age for scholarly pursuits, I hereby grant Lord Wei special entry into the Chongwen Academy. How does that sound?"

The Chongwen Academy?

Wei Renshi stood up and expressed his gratitude, saying, "Your humble servant thanks Your Majesty for this boundless grace!"

Li Shi laughed, nodding as he said, "Lord Wei is still young. Study well, serve the imperial court diligently, and your future prospects will be boundless."

"Your humble servant pays his respects and thanks Your Majesty," Wei Renshi said. "As for the strategy I mentioned earlier, your humble servant has not yet finished. If this policy is handled properly, it can bring massive revenues to the imperial court. However, if mishandled, it is also prone to giving rise to several grave evils."

"Oh?" Li Shi's brows furrowed slightly, and he immediately asked, "Lord Wei, speak quickly."

"First, I fear that people might bribe prefectural officials to fraudulently seize the construction rights. If this happens, corruption will flourish," Wei Renshi told Li Shi. "Second, I fear that in order to maximize their profits and minimize their costs, individuals who acquire the construction rights might cut corners during the building of the embankment, rendering it incapable of withstanding major floods and destroying its most fundamental purpose."

"That is indeed true!" Li Shi's expression darkened as he instantly grasped the crux of the matter. He was muddle-headed, not stupid, and naturally understood the potential problems as soon as they were pointed out. Earlier, he had been blinded by the sudden prospect of wealth and high spirits, failing to pay attention. Now that Wei Renshi had laid it out, he realized it at once.

After a brief pause, Li Shi looked back at Wei Renshi and asked, "Since Lord Wei has raised this, you must have a countermeasure in mind?"

Wei Renshi nodded and said, "In truth, there is nothing complicated about it. Our dynasty has Censorate Investigators, as well as the embankment inspectors from the Directorate of Waterways. We need only involve both parties, conducting multiple inspections at different stages. Furthermore, every inspection must be carried out by different people, and temporary assignments of non-Censorate personnel can even be made for the task. Once the embankment is completed, it must be inspected by the Directorate of Waterways every few years. Moreover, once anyone is found guilty of either of these two offenses, they should be subjected to severe capital punishment and dealt with ruthlessly. Can those who commit corruption, practice favoritism, and cut corners on a matter of such monumental importance as building river embankments even be considered human? What harm is there in executing a few of them?"

Hearing this, Li Shi nodded thoughtfully. After a moment, he smiled again and said, "Having summoned Lord Wei here today, I have truly benefited immensely. It seems I should engage in court discussions with Lord Wei much more often in the future."