"My king is extremely wise! This purely internal affairs simulation is truly amazing! Odysseus believes that if the king personally takes charge of governing Stobi, he will be able to achieve far better results than now!" Odysseus sighed on the side.
In the previous chapter, the ministers were deceived by the messenger of Stupula, and Odysseus had a candlelight conversation with the prime minister at night.
While admiring the young man's talent, the Prime Minister also knew that Odysseus was very arrogant and looked down on everyone!
Odysseus was so obedient at this moment, and he continued to work as a porter in the palace, enjoying it very much.
Even the high-ranking officials appointed by the high priest were delaying their appointments.
The Prime Minister felt that what Odysseus said must be the truth.
After completing the expansion project of Stobi City, he and the high priest hurried over to announce the good news, feeling proud of themselves.
In fact, for Wang, this achievement is nothing to brag about.
If the king randomly arranges a few disciples, such as Odysseus, they will probably be able to crush himself and the high priest and complete the expansion of the city of Stobi more successfully!
Thinking of this, the Prime Minister did not dare to say more and only reported that the city wall was built.
As for how wide the expansion was and how many people were mobilized, no details were mentioned.
Seeing the Prime Minister like this, the high priest did not dare to take credit for it.
In this simple report, Xia Zhe obtained extremely limited information.
He only knew that the new city wall and the new palace wall were built.
What’s even more annoying is that the expected food crisis did not happen.
Feeling bored, Xia Zhe hurriedly saw the guests off, drove away the prime minister and the high priest, and returned to his bedroom alone, sulking for a long time.
It wasn't until I woke up the next day that I felt a little better.
During breakfast, Xia Zhe chatted with Lillian seemingly casually.
He asked indirectly about Stoby's current financial and food situation.
Lillian naturally told everything she knew.
Her answer made Xia Zhe, who had just calmed down, nervous again.
What?
Did the Little Tully really fulfill its foolish agreement of one for a hundred? Did they really give away a full million tons of beef?
How long will it take to eat it?
No wonder hundreds of thousands of people worked for several months without starving to death!
What’s even more annoying is that the general is still engaged in trade!
Got such a large weapons order!
And it was sold at such a high price!
This way, as long as the copper mines keep running, Stobi will have a stable way to make money! Once the treasury is well-stocked, even if there is a real shortage of food, there will be money to buy from other city-states!
no!
Absolutely not!
In order to use the food crisis to drive people away, this source of income must be completely cut off!
Thinking of this, I no longer had the heart to play the game.
Xia Zhe immediately ordered the general to be summoned for questioning.
Not long after, the general who received the news hurried to the palace.
Yesterday afternoon, the Prime Minister and the High Priest went to the palace to announce the good news. After returning, they seemed to be very worried.
The ministers were confused and a little worried, fearing that the king might be dissatisfied with them.
Hearing the king summoned him today, the general was uneasy. He pondered over it all the way, wondering what the king wanted from him.
I arrived at the study trembling with fear, and Xia Zhe was already waiting there.
"Tell me, what good things have you done!"
Seeing the general coming in, Xia Zhe spoke in a deep voice with a bad look on his face.
"Your humble servant, your humble servant has been working hard. No, I have not done anything bad." The general was confused and could only stammer in his defense.
"You didn't do anything bad? Who allowed you to sell strategic materials casually?" Xia Zhe asked.
Strategic materials?
What strategic materials?
The general was stunned and hesitated for a long time before coming to his senses.
Sell strategic materials!
What he was most worried about and proud of recently was the big deal he had negotiated with the caravan from the southeast port.
Was there an agreement to sell twelve ships of weapons for a year at an extremely high price?
Could this be what the king was talking about?
This is the main source of income for our city!
Without these large orders, where would our city get the funds to expand?
In this matter, everyone claims to have made great contributions!
There is no reason for Wang to blame himself for this matter, right?
"Your Majesty, are you talking about the large order for twelve ships of weapons?" Thinking of this, the general asked tentatively.
"That's exactly it! Terminate the agreement immediately, today! Weapons are strategic materials for our city, no matter how high the price is, we will not sell them! Not a single one!" Xia Zhe ordered seriously.
"This! This! But! But..."
Seeing the king's tough attitude, the general wanted to explain, but he didn't dare to speak rashly.
The general only delivered four of the twelve ships of weapons!
The new city wall has been completed and the demand for funds has indeed been greatly reduced.
But the general still felt he was losing out by not making money.
Therefore, the general did not slow down the speed of weapon manufacturing.
Instead, each weapons master was assigned two additional apprentices, hoping to train more craftsmen as quickly as possible.
At this time, the sales agreement was suddenly terminated.
Offending customers is a small matter. The biggest problem is that Stoby's weapons inventory will increase sharply.
If copper is not made into weapons, it can have many other uses.
Keep it in the warehouse and you will be able to sell it sooner or later.
However, if weapons were manufactured in large quantities but no buyers were found, these finished products would become inert materials forever, unlike the raw materials that are so malleable.
Not only does it occupy a large number of warehouses, but it also requires the dispatch of special personnel to manage them to prevent them from being used by criminals.
After a long time, it is inevitable that there will be a day when it will be scrapped.
By then, wouldn’t you lose everything?
However, the general could only think about these words in his heart. At this moment, he absolutely did not dare to say them out loud.
The king's majesty cannot be challenged!
The king's reputation is at its peak!
If the king wants to stop, then we can only obey his orders!
"Yes! I will stop the shipment immediately. From now on, no weapons will be sold to the outside world!" The general replied helplessly.
Upon hearing this, Xia Zhe's expression relaxed slightly.
Feeling a little guilty, he casually said a few words to comfort the general.
"It's rare that you're so able to admit your mistakes and correct them. All previous mistakes are now written off. As long as you urge the three generals to continue to work at full capacity to manufacture weapons, you will remain my most trusted general!"
Why continue to produce at full capacity if no one is buying?
Is it used to pressurize the warehouse?
The general was completely confused.
However, the king had already shown leniency, so the general certainly wouldn't be foolish enough to retort.
He quickly agreed again, and then retreated from Xia Zhe's study tremblingly.
Letting the general continue to work at full capacity to produce weapons was Xia Zhe's established idea to consume food and treasury funds.
To build a new city wall, the project must not be stopped until all the money and food are used up.
Since we can’t think of anything big to do for the time being, let’s just keep the copper mine running at high speed.
At least, there are nearly 100,000 mouths waiting for food and wages every day!
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