Inside the study, Ying Zheng's expression changed slightly. "They've already set off?"
Wang Jian cupped his hands in greeting, "After gathering the craftsmen, the young master set off."
Ying Zheng's gaze fell on the memorial, and he continued, "How is the fighting strength of those bandit soldiers?"
Wang Jian cupped his hands and said, “This old minister has investigated carefully. They are ruthless and their methods are very similar to those of the Wei Wu soldiers of that time. Although they are not the Wei Wu soldiers of that time, they should be soldiers trained in the same way.”
"In terms of combat strength, they are probably comparable to the Wei Wu soldiers of yesteryear, and can definitely be considered an extremely strong type of soldier."
Upon hearing this, Ying Zheng asked again, "Then do you think 10,000 artisans have a chance of winning against this type of troop?"
Wang Jian's gaze darkened slightly as he replied, "In my opinion, even if ten thousand craftsmen are highly skilled and produce the most powerful weapons, they would have no chance of winning against a force with such extensive combat experience."
As a general who had fought on the battlefield for many years, he naturally knew how formidable the enemy soldiers were, and that no simple weapon could possibly defeat them.
Upon hearing this, Ying Zheng muttered thoughtfully, "No chance of winning?"
Wang Jian seemed to remember something and said, "Young Master just bought salt and is transporting it back to the capital."
Ying Zheng's eyes flickered slightly. "Where did you buy it from?"
Salt is one of the most important strategic resources, and all forces attach great importance to it; it is very difficult to buy even if you have money.
Even if they could buy it, the price would be extremely expensive. Even a great power like Qin would have to consider how much they could afford. And since Prince Ye was alone, it was questionable whether he had enough money to buy all that salt.
Wang Jian frowned slightly. "The secrecy over there is excellent. Even this old minister has been unable to find out the source, but according to the news, the young master has already taken the salt and embarked on the journey back."
Ying Zheng's eyes flickered slightly. "This kid, could he have been planning to buy salt from the very beginning?"
Wang Jian pondered for a moment and said, "If we were to send so many craftsmen to fight those bandits, I don't think it's very reliable. But if we were to send them to transport salt, that would be more plausible. However, it's clear that the soldiers who are specifically in charge of transportation are better at this kind of thing."
Just then, a eunuch walked in, cupped his hands, and said, "Your Majesty, Prime Minister Li requests an audience."
"allow!"
The eunuch withdrew, and soon Li Si entered the hall, cupping his hands and saying, "Your humble servant greets Your Majesty!"
Ying Zheng looked at him, "What is it?"
Li Si's expression turned slightly serious. "Your Majesty, because the salt has been seized, it is now impossible to sell salt normally in various places. The people are somewhat panicked, and there is considerable unrest among the people in various places. Perhaps some people are secretly instigating it, causing quite a disturbance."
Ying Zheng's eyes were indifferent. "Can't the officials in various places handle such a small matter?"
Li Si cupped his hands and said, “Your Majesty, I have instructed all localities to appease the people, and I believe there will be no more chaos in the short term. However, if the salt issue is not resolved in time, I fear there will be considerable unrest later.”
Salt was a matter of life and death for the people, so they naturally attached great importance to this resource.
Upon hearing this, Wang Jian also said, "This salt matter is indeed strange. It's hard to guard against whether someone deliberately did it to plunge Qin into chaos, thus creating an opportunity for them."
Ying Zheng fell silent, as if deep in thought.
After a moment, he said, "Go check with the neighboring countries that have abundant salt reserves and buy some salt from them as a backup, at least to get through this year's supply."
Li Si frowned slightly. "Even if we are willing to pay a high price, it will be difficult to buy salt."
Such scarce resources are extremely valuable in any country, and naturally they would not be sold easily.
Ying Zheng looked at Wang Jian and asked, "If they don't know what's good for them, are you confident you can conquer those countries?"
Wang Jian's current combat strength is vastly different from before; it's a world of difference.
Wang Jian's eyes shone brightly, "This old minister is ready to serve at any time!"
Upon hearing this, Ying Zheng looked at the two of them and said, "Go!"
"Your humble servant takes his leave!"
"This old minister takes his leave!"
After the two men withdrew, Ying Zheng resumed reviewing the memorials.
The eunuch entered again, but before he could speak, Ying Zheng's voice rang out, "No one is here today."
There are still so many memorials left unreviewed; if we keep talking about them to everyone, it will never end.
The eunuch was also perceptive, and cupped his hands, saying, "Then this servant will let the young master go back."
Ying Zheng could refuse to see him, but he dared not even mention Ying Ziyu's name, since the young master had always been an exception in Ying Zheng's eyes.
He couldn't afford to be held responsible if anything came up in the future.
Ying Zheng's expression changed slightly. "Yu'er? Let him in."
The eunuch bowed his head and said, "Yes!"
He secretly breathed a sigh of relief; thankfully, he had been quick-witted enough to mention it, otherwise things might have really gotten into trouble later.
The little guy quickly entered the hall, "Father!"
Ying Zheng smiled, a rare sight. "Yu'er, did you miss your father? Come here and let your father give you a hug!"
The little guy sat in Ying Zheng's lap and said, "Father is so smart. He guessed what I was thinking right away."
Upon hearing this, Ying Zheng looked at the little guy with considerable vigilance, "Are you sure you miss your father, or have you set your sights on some gift again?"
He knew this kid's personality well; every time he said he wanted something, he actually had his eye on something else.
The little guy frowned slightly. "Dad, what kind of person do you take your son for? I'm not here to ask for anything; on the contrary, I'm here to give you something."
Ying Zheng was quite surprised, and his wariness slowly faded. "I know you have this intention, but I don't lack anything, so you don't need to bother preparing anything."
The little guy looked at Ying Zheng and asked, "Dad, you'll definitely like this. Are you sure you don't want it?"
With this treasure, we'll never have to worry about salt again.
Hearing that heartfelt sentiment, Ying Zheng's eyes flickered slightly.
No more worries about salt?
Is this kid telling the truth?
He looked at the little guy, "Want to see what treasure you've given me?"
The little guy took a piece of paper out of his pocket and handed it to Ying Zheng, "This."
Ying Zheng opened the paper and saw that it contained some steps and some professional annotations.
Looking at the steps, Ying Zheng asked with some confusion, "What is this?"
The little fellow replied, "This is the way to give the Qin Dynasty an endless supply of salt."
Ying Zheng was taken aback. "Endless salt?"
The little guy nodded, "And it's not the coarse salt we have now, but a very fine salt, as fine as snow, and it tastes much better."
Upon hearing this, Ying Zheng looked at the paper with great excitement, "Can the Great Qin really do such a thing?"
The preciousness of salt goes without saying. If the Qin Dynasty could truly possess an endless supply of salt, both its national strength and financial resources would be greatly enhanced.
After all, many powers are currently short of salt, and selling it would be a considerable sum of money, even for a large country like Qin.
Moreover, according to the little guy, it's refined salt, so its price is naturally much higher than that of coarse salt.
The little guy continued, "Doesn't the Qin Dynasty have many seas?"
Ying Zheng was taken aback again. "What does this have to do with the sea?"
The little guy replied, "Seawater can be refined into salt. In other words, as long as the seas of the Qin Dynasty do not dry up, the Qin Dynasty will not lack salt."
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