Not long after, Mu Xi woke up. When she and Chu Fan dressed neatly and walked out of the room, Liu Xueyu, Changsun Pinqing and other women were already waiting in the yard. When they saw Mu Xi coming out, they came forward to congratulate her with smiles.
When everyone saw today's breakfast, they found that it was much richer than usual, and most of the meals were nutritious.
You have to know that Chu Fan is usually an extremely frugal person. Most of the time, he only eats steamed buns and porridge for breakfast. The meals Chu Fan ate in the past were not like those enjoyed by an emperor. The meal that His Majesty specially ordered the Imperial Kitchen to prepare today was just the daily standard of emperors in some other countries.
After breakfast, Eunuch Li came to Chu Fan and whispered, "Your Majesty, several ships of the troops that went to Japan to mine silver have returned and are about to arrive at the port outside Kaifeng. They have brought back the first batch of silver, a full 10 million taels of silver. They have also brought back many crops and rare minerals that are not available in Wei."
When Mu Xi and the others heard the figure of 50 million taels, a flash of shock crossed their eyes. They had never imagined that such a small country like Japan could contain such a vast amount of wealth. Chu Fan, on the other hand, remained calm, for he had known this outcome for a long time.
Chu Fan said, "Have the Minister of Revenue personally escort his two million taels of tax silver to the national treasury. Use one million taels to reward the three armies. Use another one million taels to have the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Revenue select officials who have made contributions to the country this year and give them appropriate rewards."
Chu Fan said to Liu Ruyan, "There's still 20% of the Canglan Empire, which is two million taels of silver. Liu Ruyan, use your intelligence network to have Empress Liu Mengli of Canglan send someone to Wei to collect it."
Liu Ruyan hadn't expected Chu Fan to be so generous as to share 20% of the profits with the Canglan Empire. After all, when they were discussing the matter, she and Liu Mengli hadn't been optimistic about the Japanese actually having any gold and silver mines. They hadn't expected the Wei army to actually find them, and to bring back such a huge fortune in just a few months.
Of course, Liu Ruyan wouldn't ask Liu Mengli to come and collect the silver. After all, Liu Mengli was currently busy consolidating the internal affairs of the Canglan Empire, locked in a fierce battle with the nobles and aristocratic families within the Empire. Countless eyes were watching Liu Mengli's every move. If Liu Mengli sent someone to Wei to collect the silver, it would likely expose Liu Mengli's connection to Wei and spark dissatisfaction among the people of the Canglan Empire.
Moreover, he also needs to be vigilant about whether Liu Mengli will take this opportunity to further expand her influence in the Canglan Empire. By the time Liu Mengli has established a firm foothold in the Canglan Empire, she will completely abandon him.
Fortunately, he had already pledged allegiance to His Majesty the Emperor of Wei, and he was now a member of the State of Wei. Naturally, he had to put the interests of the State of Wei first and not let personal feelings affect the overall situation.
Liu Ruyan said, "Your Majesty, I believe that since Wei will unify the Shengwu Continent in the future, there is absolutely no need to give the Canglan Empire too much benefit, lest it become too powerful and become a hidden danger. It is better to use this part of the silver for domestic construction, enhance national strength, and consolidate the foundation in preparation for future great undertakings."
Chu Fan pondered for a moment, shook his head and said, "What should be given must be given. Credibility is of paramount importance. Moreover, the Canglan Empire and the Wei Kingdom are already two major powers on the Shengwu Continent. If they fall out now, it will give other countries an opportunity to take advantage. Moreover, even if we unify the Shengwu Continent in the future, we still need the existence of the Canglan Empire as an ally at this stage."
Chu Fan's words shocked Liu Ruyan, but she was not a stupid person. She also understood Chu Fan's deep meaning. However, even if she had to give 20% of the profits to Canglan Empire, she could not hand it over to her sister Liu Mengli.
Liu Ruyan thought of her mother in the Canglan Empire. Her mother was the former empress of the Canglan Empire. Now that Liu Mengli was in front to attract the attention of those aristocratic families, her mother could do many things in secret.
Liu Ruyan said to Chu Fan, "I know what to do."
After hearing Liu Ruyan's answer, Chu Fan nodded slightly. Liu Ruyan is a smart person, and Chu Fan believes that Liu Ruyan will handle this matter properly.
As for the remaining four million taels of silver, they were naturally deposited into his own treasury. However, even if he returned to Blue Star, he would not be able to spend so much money. Now Chu Fan didn’t know how many taels of silver were in his treasury, but he must have tens of millions of taels.
On the third day, Chu Fan saw the supplies looted from Japan. These supplies included rare minerals, precious medicinal materials, and a large number of vegetables and fruits that were not available in Wei. However, what excited Chu Fan the most was that he actually found rubber among these items, and the Ministry of Industry needed this material to build trains.
Chu Fan decided to take the rubber to the Ministry of Industry the next day to see how the Ministry of Industry was progressing in building the train and whether it could be completed within the next few months.
During this period, the craftsmen of the Ministry of Industry had sufficient manpower and materials, and most of the time one craftsman led some subordinates and apprentices to build a component, so the efficiency was extremely high.
After all the parts of the steam locomotive were built, the craftsmen of the Ministry of Industry began to assemble it. However, when rubber was needed, they found that whether they used cowhide as a substitute or other materials, they could not achieve the desired effect. This gave the Minister of Industry, Tang Hongwen, a headache.
However, at this time, news came that the emperor had arrived at the Ministry of Works' forge. Tang Hongwen's heart tightened, and he quickly straightened his clothes and went out to greet him.
Chu Fan looked at Tang Hongwen, who was covered in oil and exhausted. No matter who saw him in this state, they would not think that Tang Hongwen was a first-rank minister of Wei State or the Minister of Works of Wei State.
Chu Fan said, "Thank you for your hard work, my dear Lord Tang. You have devoted so much effort to the development of the train these days. I and the people of Wei will remember your contributions. When the train is launched, it will surely benefit all people. Rest assured, I will reward you according to your merits."
Tang Hongwen's eyes flickered with emotion when he heard this, and he knelt down and kowtowed: "I will live up to your majesty's high expectations and swear to complete the train as soon as possible."
Chu Fan helped Tang Hongwen up and said with a smile, "I came here this time to see the current progress of the Ministry of Works and whether we can complete the construction of the train before the Wei army sets out to ensure that military supplies can be quickly transported to the front line and enhance our army's combat effectiveness."
Tang Hongwen said guiltily at this time: "Your Majesty, the train has been built. However, our Ministry of Industry has not found the existence of rubber, and the steam pressure seal has not been solved, resulting in the train not being able to operate normally."
After hearing Tang Hongwen's words, Chu Fan asked in surprise: "Your Ministry of Industry has built a train so quickly?"
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