Alien Arms Empire

 Chapter 454 454 The ugly man offers advice

 Finally, after the quarrel among the people below was over, the few ministers who really spoke effectively ended. Zhang Ming complained about the lack of funds on behalf of the civil service group. This was the biggest problem facing Zheng Guo now.

Having just lost the war to Mirage and ceded Dongwan Island, they also lost a lot of money. Now Zheng’s treasury is empty and there is no large sum of money to spend on purchasing military supplies.

The weapons Zheng Tong purchased from Cyric on his own initiative had almost spent all the remaining savings in the treasury.

Now, almost all that is left to maintain the operation of Zheng is the taxes paid by the coastal cities.

What they don’t know yet is that this is actually Datang Group’s blood transfusion to Zheng Guo to prevent Zheng Guo from being divided up before Datang Group is ready.

 In fact, it is very easy for Datang Group to create chaos for Zheng State now: as long as the blood transfusion is cut off, Zheng State itself will not be able to support itself.

 But doing so would not be of any benefit to the Datang Group, because the Datang Group did not have enough troops to fully occupy Zheng State immediately.

Once the Zheng State falls into chaos, the Qi State to the north of Zheng State and the Chu State to the south will take advantage of the situation and move in. In the end, the Tang Group may have just occupied one-third of Zheng State's territory, and the remaining fat will be taken over by Qi State. The state of Chu and the state of Chu swallowed it.

 Qi and Chu are not soft persimmons. Even if they are soft persimmons, they are harder than Zheng. Which one is easier to decide, everyone at the Datang Group still knows.

"Your Majesty! Although I am also in favor of purchasing weapons to strengthen our national defense, the national treasury is empty and we really can't generate so much money." Zhang Ming did not say that he opposed the preparation of the army, but directly used money to speak.

As expected, Zheng Tong looked ugly. As a king, he actually knew that his country was very weak and could no longer make any big moves.

Cyric's arms are indeed cheaper than those of the Datang Group, but even so they are still very expensive. New rifles and new cannons, these things...all combined, make Zheng Tong breathless. A lot of money.

“Then according to the Prime Minister’s wishes, are we going to continue to be beaten passively and unable to stand up?” Zheng Tong had no other solution, so Zheng Tong could only ask Zhang Ming in a long tone.

 Zhang Ming then bowed his head and gave an explanation that had been repeatedly discussed just now: "So I agree to restore taxation first, stabilize the national treasury, develop the local economy, and then accumulate money and silk, and then strengthen the army."

"But... in terms of time, is it too late?" Zheng Tong frowned, stood up and looked down at Zhang Ming: "Does the Prime Minister think that the people of Mirage, Qi State, Chu State, and that **** Datang Group will wait? After ten years of development, will we come back to trouble Zheng Guo again?”

"The current situation is like an arrow on the string, like a bullet in the throat! After we finally saved tens of thousands of gold coins, the enemy came to rob us! What will we do then?" Zheng Tong stared at Zhang Ming, waiting for the other party's answer.

Unexpectedly, Zhang Ming laughed and asked directly: "Your Majesty! I have no objection to your Majesty's military expansion and preparation for war. It's just that the treasury is empty and there is no money! If your Majesty has money... then you only need to give an order and you can go ahead and do it. I'll wait." There was no intention to stop it.”

No matter if you have good reasons and sound logic, people will just send you away without saying that they have any money. This feeling of powerlessness makes Zheng Tong very angry.

He snorted coldly and stopped looking for trouble with Zhang Ming. Instead, he looked at Li Jun standing aside. Li Jun and Zheng Tong were on the same side when it came to army expansion. After Zheng Tong suffered a setback, he naturally wanted to find Li Jun as a helper to regain his position.

Li Jun originally had no good solution because he couldn't generate money. But just yesterday, someone sent him the answer.

So Li Jun smiled proudly and replied to Zheng Tong: "Since the Prime Minister has said that as long as we can raise the money, he will agree to our plan, that's fine."

 After speaking, he nodded slightly to Zhang Ming, who was a little surprised. He looked confident and had the demeanor of a worldly expert.

At this moment, he seemed to be more like a civil servant than Prime Minister Zhang Ming. His posture showed off his elegance. The top of his head seemed to be emitting the light of wisdom at this moment.

“…” Zhang Ming stared at Li Jun for a long time without saying a word, waiting for him to offer his clever tips.

Li Jun was not stupid, and said directly to Zheng Tong: "I will introduce a young man to your majesty. He may... have a good idea."

"Young man? Young man? Okay! Let's stop here today. Li Jun, you stay and let the young man you mentioned...come to see me." Zheng Tong glanced at Zhang Ming and nodded with a half-smile. He nodded, agreed to Li Jun's recommendation, turned and left the hall.

When Zheng Tong saw the young man in front of him, the word extraordinary suddenly came to his mind. The young man standing in front of him has a tall and straight figure. Although he is ugly, he gives people a feeling of trustworthiness.

Zheng Tong thinks that he is also a person who loves beauty. There are not many people who can make him ignore appearance and pay attention to temperament. The young man in front of him is obviously one of them.

"The general said, do you have any ideas?" After looking at the young man for a while, Zheng Tong asked directly. He knew that the other party knew about his problem, so he didn't go into details.

The young man nodded slightly and replied: "I do have a solution. Moreover, it is a comprehensive solution to your Majesty's problem."

"Oh? Tell me quickly! If your method works, I can give you an official title, and I can also give you gold, silver and jewelry, so that you can have a beautiful wife and concubines, and have power!" Zheng Tong immediately made a wish for you. , without any stinginess.

The young man held down the dandelion ring on his other hand and spoke of his plan without any concealment - he was originally ordered to deliver poison to the country of Zheng, and now it was time to poison him. How can there be any reason to save time?

I just heard him talk: "What your Majesty wants is nothing more than a wealthy country and a strong military. In my opinion, only a wealthy country can support its army, and a strong military can protect the country. The two complement each other and do not need to be viewed separately."

"That makes sense." Zheng Tong nodded slightly, but the other party's words hadn't moved him yet: he wanted specific methods, not this kind of analysis. If he wanted to hear this, he could talk to any minister he wanted for a whole day, and there was no need to hire someone else to speak.

This young man who is indeed not good-looking but has a very good temperament continued: "The problem with Zheng Guo today is nothing more than a lack of money and no one."

"First of all, Your Majesty may not know something. After all, spending money to buy guns and cannons is not a long-term solution. No matter how good Cyric's weapons are, they are expensive. Your Majesty is frugal and can buy one gun and one cannon. But what effect does it have on the whole country?" After he finished speaking, he glanced at Zheng Tong, who was indeed nodding slightly.

He continued: "So, Your Majesty, before, whether it was flintlock muskets or muzzle-loading cannons, why could Zheng Guo produce them on its own? But when it came to bolt-action rifles and breech-loading cannons, Zheng Guo didn't make them on its own. ?”

"Sir, I don't know. We don't have the equipment to make new weapons." Li Jun quickly answered the question.

"In that case, why not find some businessmen privately, grant them benefits, and let them raise private capital, buy new equipment, and make new weapons? It's always cheaper to make it yourself than to buy someone else's, right?" the young man asked rhetorically.

“But we are anxiously waiting for the guns and cannons to be used.” Li Jun asked knowingly. Naturally, he had spoken to the young man before coming. As expected, Zheng Tong was also concerned about this matter, and his eyes widened as he waited for the follow-up answer.

"Buy less, then raise private factories, organize production, complete industrialization, and produce more materials! Such a process requires the input of civilian labor and the hiring of craftsmen and apprentices. Doesn't this just solve the people's livelihood problems?" Young What people say is truly correct, so it is naturally impeccable.

Hearing this rhetorical question, Zheng Tong's eyes lit up: If some factories can be opened, craftsmen and labor will naturally be needed, which in itself is a part of maintaining stability.

Before he had thought about his problem, the young man continued: "With production, there will naturally be taxes, with factory investment, and with business activities, there will naturally be countless money. Your Majesty, you say... With so many people trying to make money, will those local officials and civil servants still oppose your plan? "

The young man’s question just solved Zheng Tong’s most troubled problem! Zheng Tong no longer cared about pretending to be arrogant. He clapped his hands and laughed and said: "Wonderful! In this way, they have some profit, and they will not embarrass this plan! Wonderful! Wonderful!"

"When the time comes, you can make your own guns and cannons, produce large ships, and get more taxes, so you can naturally raise more troops! By then, won't it be at your fingertips to make the country rich and powerful?" This young man said again Asked, Zheng Tong was elated.

"But..." After being elated, Zheng Tong thought of the biggest problem again. He frowned and looked at the young man, hoping to get the final answer from the young man: "So, sir...how to let those greedy businessmen, and Are the noble landowners willing to raise the money to do these things?”

"Your Majesty! Of course you can make money! Your Majesty can give the general an order to purchase some things, and then you secretly promise to give priority to purchasing goods from your country... Promise heavy profits, and you can even sign a contract with them..."

"Okay! But... you can purchase it, and it really costs money..." Zheng Tong was confused again.

There was a cold glint in the young man's eyes. He lowered his voice and responded: "Your Majesty, when those factories can make guns and produce copper and iron... you have taxes and soldiers. Could it be that... General Li's sword is not sharp?"

Zheng Tong swallowed his saliva and seemed to see a broad road in front of him.

 (End of this chapter)