The disgraced official I took care of was actually Zhu Houcong's childhood friend.

Chapter 592

Once the imperial decree was issued, the railway construction officially began.

To prevent the princes and merchants who contracted to build railways from mistreating the railway workers, Zhou Chu also specially ordered the Jinyiwei (Imperial Guards) in various places to temporarily establish inspection teams.

Zhou Chu made strict regulations regarding the wages and meals of railway workers, which aroused dissatisfaction among many officials in the court, because most officials did not care about these people at the bottom of society.

“Lord Zhou, the quotation given by the Ministry of Revenue is already very low. The contractors in various places already have very thin profits. If we follow the standards you mentioned, Lord Zhou, then these contractors will probably not make any profit.”

In the imperial court, an official from the Ministry of Works spoke vehemently.

Zhou Chu glanced at the official, and just that one look made the man feel uneasy. He couldn't help but think of this official who had recently investigated and punished many of his colleagues.

However, since things had come to this point, he had no choice but to bite the bullet and go for it.

"It's very simple. If they feel there's no profit to be made, they can simply withdraw. The court won't force them."

Zhou Chu said.

That one sentence was enough to leave the person speechless.

"Those raw materials, if mass-produced or purchased, are only half the price of what's on the market. Half the price, and that's an exaggeration. Take railway sleepers as an example. Your Ministry of Works and Annam have probably already made arrangements. The final price of these timbers will not exceed 40% of the market price. The Ministry of Revenue's quoted price is 75% of the market price, nearly 90% profit. Isn't that enough? Not enough for them to feed the workers well and pay them their full wages?"

Zhou Chu did not let this person off the hook, or rather, he did not let these officials in the court off the hook, and he spoke vehemently.

These words caused an uproar among the court officials. They had not calculated the profits involved, and only after Zhou Chu said this did they realize that building railways could be so profitable.

Upon hearing this, the official from the Ministry of Revenue opened his mouth, but couldn't utter a single word in rebuttal.

"You all talk about the people and the common folk all day long, but aren't these railway construction workers also subjects of our Great Ming Dynasty?"

Zhou Chu, however, had no intention of letting them off the hook and continued to question them.

Upon hearing this, all the officials in the court fell silent.

There is only one exception.

Xia Yan.

Seeing that Zhou Chu was standing against countless officials because of this matter, Xia Yan knew very well that speaking out at this moment would bring unexpected benefits.

"Lord Zhou, you are mistaken. Most of those responsible for building the railway were refugees. It is already a blessing from the court that refugees have food to eat. How could they dare to ask for more?"

Xia Yan looked at Zhou Chu and smiled.

"Isn't what Grand Secretary Xia said inappropriate? The refugees have only lost their farmland, not the refugees. They are not starving. They make a living by working for others. They are paid their due wages without any shortfall. In fact, the long-term laborers of landlords are given good food every day when it is not the busy farming season. How come these refugees are treated like refugees in Grand Secretary Xia's words?"

Before Zhou Chu could refute, Yang Shen stepped forward and directly contradicted Xia Yan.

At this moment, Xia Yan and Yang Shen were both playing the roles they needed to play. In the court, the emperor needed them to check and balance each other. Xia Yan knew very well that even if he refuted Zhou Chu, the emperor would not be afraid of him because of it. On the contrary, he would be more at ease with him.

At the same time, refuting Zhou Chu will also allow Xia Yan to gain more political resources.

As the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, Zhou Chu was naturally on the opposite side of the officials. Now, he was arguing with the officials over this matter. At this moment, Xia Yan stood up to refute Zhou Chu. Whether it succeeded or not, it would be entirely beneficial.

Zhou Chu was naturally aware of this, and he was happy to see Xia Yan come out and oppose him. If the court became his personal fiefdom, his official career would probably be coming to an end soon.