After hearing Cao Mengde's words, everyone present nodded in agreement. They had never imagined that His Majesty's seemingly simple education reform policy would have such far-reaching consequences, affecting the future and destiny of the country.
Chu Anping also spoke at this time: "Since Your Majesty's policies have achieved such remarkable results, then we should strike while the iron is hot and implement Your Majesty's policies as soon as possible to ensure that every measure can be effectively implemented."
At this time, Mu Yundian said to Qian Dai, "Minister Qian, I have an idea. I would like to apply for a special fund from the Ministry of Revenue to recruit and train more soldiers to fully prepare for the upcoming war."
Qian Dai directly refused, "The national treasury is out of money. The current financial situation does not allow us to make such a large-scale expenditure."
Qian Dai's words were like a bucket of cold water, suddenly splashing on the passionate Mu Yundian's head. Mu Yundian asked doubtfully:
"Minister Qian, the Wei Kingdom is currently experiencing prosperity, so how could the treasury be in such a state of emptiness? Furthermore, didn't Prince Chu Anping just clearly state that many merchants have deposited their funds in the Royal Bank? If that's the case, how could the treasury truly be short of funds?"
Facing Mu Yundian's questioning, Qian Dai seemed somewhat helpless. He replied, "Minister Mu, have you forgotten who the true owner of the Royal Elegant Villa is? The Royal Elegant Villa belongs to His Majesty. The money those merchants deposited in the bank naturally went directly into His Majesty's treasury. Do you really think that the national treasury has the same abundant financial resources as His Majesty's treasury?"
In fact, there was still a certain amount of silver in the treasury of Wei State. This was because the commercial tax policy promulgated by Your Majesty, with Your Majesty taking the lead in paying taxes according to the law, made the vast majority of merchants in Wei State willing to abide by the law and pay taxes according to the law.
However, most of the tax revenue had to be used for the daily operation of the country and the protection of people's livelihood, while the remaining silver needed to be reserved for emergency purposes, such as disaster relief work and border defense reinforcement. Therefore, Qian Dai could not easily allocate silver from the national treasury to the Ministry of War.
It was only at this time that Mu Yundian realized that the Royal Yuya Villa belonged to His Majesty, and the funds deposited by those merchants would eventually flow into His Majesty's inner treasury, not the national treasury.
Mu Yundian then proposed his own solution: "In this case, I will go and ask Your Majesty to provide the necessary construction funds for the Ministry of War so that it can train more excellent soldiers to fight for Your Majesty."
Cao Mengde stopped Mu Yundian and said in a calm and serious tone, "We must not act rashly. His Majesty has a comprehensive plan for the entire situation. All we need to do is patiently await His Majesty's orders and strictly comply."
Cao Mengde knew very well that he had made similar mistakes in the past. He recalled a series of actions he had taken in Shu. At that time, he thought he had made great contributions to the country, but he never expected that his actions almost angered His Majesty.
At that time, he did not allow the pregnant Liu Xueyu to return to Wei State, a decision that almost made His Majesty furious. Fortunately, due to his family's long-standing loyalty to the royal family and his status as Liu Xueyu's grandfather, His Majesty did not punish him severely in the end, but continued to give him important tasks.
When Cao Mengde returned to Wei and learned of His Majesty's true plan, he suddenly realized that everything he had done before was insignificant compared to His Majesty's grand blueprint. He began to understand that his previous actions were completely out of step with His Majesty's foresight.
So at this time, Cao Mengde did not want Mu Yundian to repeat his mistakes. Although the Mu family's status was stable because Mu Xi was about to become His Majesty's concubine, Mu Yundian might not be punished too severely, but such behavior would undoubtedly affect the Mu family's status and trust in His Majesty's mind.
After listening to Cao Mengde's advice, Mu Yundian gradually calmed down. He realized that he had indeed been a little too impulsive. Since His Majesty had not yet issued an order to expand the army, there must be a deeper purpose behind this. As subjects, they should wait patiently and strictly abide by His Majesty's instructions.
Chu Anping also spoke at this time: "Everyone, you don't have to worry about the issue of military expenditure. His Majesty has already made careful considerations and arrangements for this issue. We don't need to worry about the military expenditure issues we will encounter in the future when conquering the Shengwu Continent."
Cao Mengde had just returned to Wei, and he knew nothing about Chu Fan's plan. Furthermore, not everyone among the six ministers was aware of Chu Fan's plan, so Cao Mengde raised a question:
"Chu Anping, what exactly are His Majesty's arrangements? Please explain them to us in detail so that we can better cooperate with His Majesty's plan. Otherwise, if there are any omissions during the implementation process, then our actions will not be able to achieve the desired perfect results."
Chu Anping pondered for a moment. If His Majesty followed his plan, the campaign against the Xiongnu and the Gan Kingdom would begin in four months. Therefore, he felt it appropriate to share some of His Majesty's strategy now. Furthermore, some matters truly required the joint efforts and collaboration of the six ministers, so he explained His Majesty's strategic vision to Cao Mengde in detail.
After listening to Chu Anping's explanation, Qian Dai offered his own opinion: "I originally thought that since Wei was now wealthy, the war fund plan Your Majesty proposed was no longer necessary. After all, asking the people of Wei to invest and then receive a return after a future victory seems somewhat dishonorable. It could even be said that this is, to a certain extent, exploiting the interests of the people of Wei. I never expected that this policy would be implemented in the end."
Chu Anping sighed and said to Qian Dai, "While Minister Qian's calculations of funds are admirable and precise, you seem to have overlooked a crucial factor: human nature. You considered the speed with which Your Majesty acquired funds and assumed this would be sufficient to fund Wei's war. But have you ever considered the potential consequences of such an approach?"
The worry revealed in Chu Anping's words made Cao Mengde, a man known for his shrewdness, fall into deep thought.
Since ancient times on the Shengwu Continent, if a nation wanted to wage war, hadn't the Emperor and the imperial court always raised the necessary military funds? This practice had persisted for thousands of years across the Shengwu Continent. Could there be other, unknown, negative consequences?
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