“Okay, okay!”
Li Zhuo was radiant and said three good words in one breath!
For him now, anything that can help him save money or make money is a good thing. Being an emperor at his level is actually quite stressful.
Just as Lu Chen said, there are indeed many places in Da Qi that have not been cultivated, and the main reason is the water problem.
If these problems could really be solved, the entire country would suddenly have a lot more fertile land, and the national treasury would indeed be much fuller than before.
Seeing Li Zhuo so excited, Lu Chen struck while the iron was hot and said, "Also, I have improved some farming tools recently, which can greatly improve farming efficiency."
Li Zhuo excitedly took Lu Chen's hand and said, "Master Lu, you have really put in a lot of effort for our Great Qi Dynasty."
Lu Chen also said with an expression of having found a confidant: "Your Majesty, you are too kind. I feel honored to be able to do something insignificant for this country!"
What a good man! What a good man!
Li Zhuo glanced at the surrounding officials and said, "Look, everyone, look at what it means to be a great master, what it means to be magnanimous! Master Lu's ideas are all very good. You six departments should discuss and push forward these plans, and strive to build some water conservancy projects this year."
The ministers of the six ministries were also very excited. If the country could really have tens of thousands more hectares of fertile land, they would also benefit from it.
Apart from anything else, if the treasury is full, the funds they can get for activities will also increase.
The only person who still had some sense was Wei Yong. He quickly said, "Your Majesty, our country has been levying forced labor too frequently in the past two years, and the people are suffering terribly. If we continue with large-scale water conservancy construction at this time, I'm afraid there will be problems. Can you wait a while?"
this……
Everyone looked at Wei Yong with some displeasure, wondering why this old man always spoils the fun.
Didn’t Master Lu just save your daughter some time ago? Why are you repaying kindness with evil? And you are here to stop Master Lu from doing great things. What are your intentions, old man!
However, what everyone didn't expect was that this time Lu Chen didn't refute Wei Yong, but instead followed his lead and said, "Your Majesty, because it involves the use of explosives, things like building water conservancy projects and reclaiming wasteland can't be done by forced labor as before."
"My personal opinion is that explosives should be controlled by the military, so let the soldiers do the work."
"My idea is to draw some soldiers from various places who have not seen combat and whose combat capabilities are not strong, and let them do these things full-time. The vast expanses of fertile land they cultivate will be used to feed themselves, and the rest will belong to the national treasury."
"I've even thought of a name. Let's call them the Construction Corps!"
Let the army build water conservancy projects and reclaim wasteland? Li Zhuo took action immediately.
The main thing is that Lu Chen said that after solving the problem of the army supporting itself, the remaining output will all belong to the court. What a wonderful thing!
As the master of the Great Qi Dynasty, Li Zhuo was very clear about the character of his own army.
The only troops that could really fight were those on the border. The rest of the troops in the country were all a bunch of weaklings, otherwise they would not have been beaten into a panic by the White Lotus Sect.
Since they have not made any achievements in fighting, they should just farm the land honestly. This is better than letting them eat for free.
Some of the six ministers readily accepted this proposal, while others strongly opposed it.
"Your Majesty, the soldiers have to train every day, which is already very tiring. If they are asked to put all their energy into farming, it will definitely lead to a decline in the combat effectiveness of the army. This is self-destructive!" Cui Shanzhan was the first to stand up and object.
"Master Cui, aren't you being too alarmist? What do you mean by declining combat effectiveness? Just look at those local soldiers. How many of them actually focus on daily training? How many of them can actually maintain strong combat effectiveness? Aren't all the truly formidable soldiers forged through battle? I've never heard of training creating strong soldiers."
"I think Master Lu's suggestion is very good. Since those soldiers are just eating and waiting to die on weekdays, why not let them move? If we can really reclaim thousands of acres of fertile land, we can use the output to support the brave soldiers on the border. Isn't this the best of both worlds?" Liang Licang tried his best to help Lu Chen.
As the Minister of Revenue, he thought Lu Chen was really cute, especially when he heard about the vast expanses of fertile land. He only regretted that he didn't have a daughter suitable for marriage.
Cui Shanzhan knew what kind of person Liang Licang was, so it was not surprising that he would come out to support Lu Chen.
He knew better than anyone the emperor's current attitude towards saving money and increasing revenue, so he could no longer count on Li Zhuo.
Now the only person he can count on is Wei Yong, the Imperial Censor. He believes that Wei Yong can distinguish between priorities.
Cui Shanzhan quickly turned to look at Wei Yong and said, "Master Wei, please say something. Master Wei, sending soldiers to farm is something I have never heard of since ancient times!"
The Qi Dynasty and previous dynasties did not implement the military farming system. Everyone has always believed that soldiers are soldiers and need to take time off from work to engage in military training to ensure combat effectiveness.
So Cui Shanzhan's doubts were normal, as he felt that Wei Yong would definitely stand on his side.
But what Cui Shanzhan didn't expect was that Wei Yong, the vanguard of those who opposed Lu Chen in the past, the gatekeeper of the moral bottom line of the Great Qi Dynasty, the microphone master of the Great Court Meeting, and the Saint Big Sprayer, was unusually quiet at this moment.
After hearing Cui Shanzhan calling him, he even took a step back and said, "Master Cui, I think Master Liang is right. The soldiers back home have been neglecting their training to begin with, so it would be a good idea to give them something else to do. Besides, we just had a great victory on the border, and the Western Xia don't want to fight anymore. They've already sent envoys to discuss the Yihe issue. I don't think there will be another war within the next three to five years."
"Why not use these three to five years to properly deal with domestic issues? When our treasury is full and our army is strong, we can deal with them later!"
After saying this, Wei Yong stopped looking at Cui Shanzhan and pretended not to see the surprised looks of the crowd.
It was useful after all that Lu Chen saved Wei Caier. Now, as long as it didn't involve a matter of principle, Wei Yong really chose to give in.
Seeing that the ministers had basically reached a consensus, Li Zhuo clapped his hands excitedly and said, "Then it's settled. This is a major matter that benefits both the country and the people. The six ministries must work together to push this matter forward."
"If you, my dear ministers, truly add tens of thousands of acres of fertile farmland to our Great Qi Dynasty, I will surely reward you handsomely!"
But before Li Zhuo could say what reward he wanted, he saw an old scholar with disheveled hair rushing out from the collapsed courtyard wall, holding a kitchen knife in his hand and roaring, "Dare to destroy my courtyard wall, you evil Taoist, give me your life!"
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