Alien Arms Empire.

Chapter 454 Chapter 454
After finally waiting for the people below to quarrel, the few ministers who really spoke were off. Zhang Ming, on behalf of the civil servants group, complained about the lack of funds. This is the biggest problem Zheng Guo is facing now.

He had just been defeated by Mirage, ceded Dongwan Island, and lost a lot of money. Now the treasury of Zheng State is empty, and there is no large sum of money to spend to purchase military supplies.

The weapons purchased by Zheng Tong from Cyric on his own initiative have almost spent all the remaining deposits in the treasury.

Now, almost only the taxes paid by the coastal cities are left to maintain the operation of the Zheng Kingdom.

What they still don't know is that Datang Group is actually transfusing Zheng Guo's blood 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 Guo: as long as the blood transfusion is cut off, Zheng Guo will not be able to support himself.

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

Once Zheng State falls into chaos, Qi State to the north of Zheng State and Chu State to the south will take advantage of the vacancy, which may eventually lead to Datang Group just occupying one-third of Zheng State's territory, and the remaining fat will be taken by Qi State. Guo and Chu swallowed it.

Qi State and Chu State are not soft persimmons, even if they are soft persimmons, they are harder than Zheng State.Which one is easier to pinch, the top and bottom of the Datang Group still know it well.

"Your Majesty! Although I am also in favor of purchasing weapons to strengthen our national defense, the national treasury is empty, and there is really no way to generate so much money." Zhang Ming did not say that he was opposed to the formation of the army, but directly used the money to speak.

Zheng Tong really looked ugly. As a king, he actually knew that his country was very weak, so he couldn't make any big moves.

Cyric's ammunition is indeed cheaper than that of the Datang Group, but even so, it is very expensive. New-style rifles and new-style cannons, these things... all add up, and Zheng Tong can't breathe A lot of money came.

"Then according to what the prime minister wants, are we going to continue to be beaten passively, unable to stand up?" He didn't have a good way, so Zheng Tong could only ask Zhang Ming in a long voice.

Zhang Ming bowed his head and gave a statement that was 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 try to strengthen the army."

"But... in terms of time, is there time?" Zheng Tong frowned, stood up and looked down at Zhang Ming: "Master Prime Minister, do you think that people from Mirage, Qi State and Chu State, and that damn Datang Group will After we have developed for ten years, will we come to trouble Zheng Guo again?"

"In the current situation, the arrow is on the string, like a thorn in the throat! When we finally save tens of thousands of gold coins, the enemy will come and snatch them! At that time, what should we do?" Zheng Tong stared at Zhang Ming, waiting for the other party's answer.

Who knew that Zhang Ming laughed and asked directly: "Your Majesty! The old minister does not object 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 can do it freely with just one order, my minister." Waiting has no intention of hindering."

If you have good reasons and sound reasoning, they will just dismiss you because they have no money. Zheng Tong is very annoyed by this sense of powerlessness.

He snorted coldly, and instead of bothering Zhang Ming, he looked at Li Jun at the side.Li Jun and Zheng Tong were on the same team when it came to the expansion of the army. After being frustrated, Zheng Tong naturally asked Li Jun for his help to get back his position.

Li Jun didn't have a good solution at first, because he couldn't change the money.But just yesterday, someone sent him the answer.

Therefore, Li Jun smiled triumphantly, and replied to Zheng Tong: "Since the prime minister said that as long as we can raise money, he will agree to our plan, that's fine."

After speaking, he nodded slightly to Zhang Ming who was a little astonished.

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

"..." Zhang Ming stared at Li Jun for a long while without speaking, waiting for him to offer his own tricks.

Li Jun was not stupid, and said directly to Zheng Tong: "I introduce a young man to His Majesty, he may... have a good idea."

"Young man? Young man? Good! Let's stop here today, Li Jun, you stay, and let the young man you mentioned... come and 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 Qiyubufan suddenly popped up in his mind.The young man standing in front of him was tall and straight. Although he was ugly, he gave people a feeling of trustworthiness.

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

"I heard from the general, do you have a solution?" After looking at the young man up and down 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, "Your Majesty does have a solution. Moreover, it is a comprehensive solution to your Majesty's problem."

"Oh? Tell me quickly! If your method is useful, I can give you an official rank, and I can also give you gold, silver and jewelry, so that you can have a beautiful wife and concubine, and have power!" Zheng Tong immediately appointed him an official and made a wish. , without hesitation.

The young man pressed the dandelion ring on the other hand with one hand, and talked about his plan without any concealment—he was originally ordered to send poison to the country of Zheng, and now it is time to vote. How can there be any reason to keep a hand during the poisonous time?

I just listened to him talking: "What your Majesty wants is nothing more than a rich country and a strong army. In my opinion, a rich country can support soldiers, and a strong soldier can protect the country. The two complement each other, and there is no need to separate them."

"It makes sense." Zheng Tong nodded slightly, but the other party's words hadn't moved him yet: what he wanted was a specific method, not this kind of analysis.To hear this, he can find any minister to talk about it for a day, and he doesn't need another person to talk about it.

This handsome young man was indeed not good-looking, but continued to say: "The current problem of Zheng Guo is nothing more than lack of money and no one."

"First of all, your majesty may not know that spending money on guns and cannons is not a long-term solution. No matter how good Cyric's weapons are, they are expensive. Your majesty can buy a gun and a cannon by saving money. But what's the use of putting it in the whole country?" After he finished speaking, he glanced at Zheng Tong, and Zheng Tong nodded slightly.

He continued to talk: "So, Your Majesty, whether it was flintlock guns or breech-loading guns before, why Zheng Guo could produce them by himself, but when it was the turn of bolt-action rifles and breech-loading guns, Zheng Guo didn't make them himself. ?”

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

"Since that's the case, why not find some businessmen in private, and promise them benefits, let them raise private capital, buy new equipment, and manufacture new weapons? It's cheaper to make it yourself than to buy someone else's?" the young man asked back.

"But we are anxiously waiting for the guns to be used." Li Jun asked knowingly, and he had spoken to the young man before he came.Sure enough, Zheng Tong was also concerned about this matter, and waited for the follow-up answer with his eyes wide open.

"Buy less, then raise factories in the private sector, organize production, complete industrialization, and produce more materials! Such a process requires the input of civilian labor and the employment of apprentice craftsmen. Doesn't this just solve the problem of people's livelihood?" Young What people say is true and correct, so it is naturally invulnerable.

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

Before he could think about his own 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 links of fishing for oil, water and money, will those local officials and civil officials still oppose your plan?"

The young man's question just solved Zheng Tong's most distressing problem!Zheng Tong couldn't care less about pretending to be sophisticated, clapped his hands together, and said with a big laugh, "Wonderful! In this way, they will have some benefits, so they won't make things difficult for this plan! Wonderful! Wonderful!"

"At that time, you will be able to build guns and large ships yourself, and you will get more taxes, so you will naturally be able to raise more troops! At that time, the country will be rich and the army strong, won't it be at your fingertips?" The young man said again Asked, Zheng Tong who asked was in full bloom.

"But..." After being elated, Zheng Tong thought of the biggest question again. He frowned and looked at the young man, hoping to get the final answer from the young man: "Then, sir... how do you let those greedy businessmen, There are also noble landlords who are willing to raise money to do these things?"

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

"Okay! But... but purchasing, it really costs money..." Zheng Tong was confused again.

There was a cold look in the young man's eyes, he lowered his voice, and responded, "Your Majesty, when those factories can make guns, copper and iron...you have taxes and soldiers, could it be... General Li's knife, isn't it sharp? "

Zheng Tong swallowed a mouthful of saliva, as if he saw a broad road in front of him.

(End of this chapter)