On the 20th of the winter month in the sixth year of Daxia, in Chang'an, the snow had stopped and the sky cleared up.
As the New Year draws closer, Chang'an City becomes more and more lively.
The rapid development of commerce has made supplies in Daxia no longer scarce, and has also made people's pockets fatter and fatter.
Buying New Year's goods is certainly a happy thing, but compared to the beginning of the summer, people seem to have gradually become accustomed to it.
Unlike in the past, the common people now care more about state affairs, especially with the New Year approaching and the government's year-end summary to be published in Daxia Weekly.
The people’s pockets are getting fatter, but what about the Great Xia treasury?
The treasury must have an untold amount of silver, but how much was there? How did it compare to last year? This became a hot topic of conversation among the people of Chang'an.
Because the treasury is fuller, it means that the country will have more money to spend next year. These are all business opportunities and are related to the people's livelihood.
There is a grand court meeting being held in the palace today. I think these news will be announced soon after the meeting.
But the focus of the neighbors' discussion today was not this grand court meeting, but a special issue of the Daxia Weekly newspaper!
"Dafan Kingdom? Where is Dafan Kingdom?"
"Didn't the newspaper say that? From Yelang... it's quite far. If you want to go around the Great Snow Mountain, it's said to be over 3,000 miles."
"The annexation of the Great Fan Kingdom into our Great Xia is still so far away. Is this a good thing or a bad thing?"
"You're stupid! Of course it's a great thing! Think about it, with the current strength of our country, if we build a railway to that place, it will only take a few days to reach the distance of more than 3,000 miles!"
"I heard that place is very poor. So, just like the Leah Continent, our merchants can set up workshops there so that the people there can make money. By selling goods there, we can earn money from them..."
"Also, you may not know that our Great Xia Army Expeditionary Force is heading towards the European continent from that place. This means that if our expeditionary force conquers the European continent, that place will be even closer to the European continent, and then our products can be sold to the European continent!"
"Think about it, if this were to happen, wouldn't Daxia be able to unify the entire world? The entire world would be Daxia's territory, and we could become a huge business... This is a huge business opportunity. It all depends on whether you have the ability to profit from it!"
The tea drinkers in the teahouse listened carefully and suddenly felt that what this person said made sense.
Daxia unified the five kingdoms, which was Daxia's first huge business opportunity.
Daxia occupied Ryukyu and turned it into Daxia's Far East Road, which was the second huge business opportunity.
Later, Daxia opened a route to the Leah continent, and the three countries on the Leah continent became vassal states of Daxia. This was the third huge business opportunity.
Now the emperor is opening up sea and land routes to the European continent. The incorporation of the Great Fan Kingdom into Daxia has become another channel of Daxia. Obviously, this is the fourth huge business opportunity.
So how can we seize this business opportunity and get a piece of the pie?
Some people were in deep thought, some were daydreaming, and some were dancing with excitement.
However, after the grand court meeting, Yun Xiyan, who was sitting in the Ministry of Revenue, was very distressed at the moment.
He frowned slightly, brewed a pot of tea and only took a sip. He felt that this matter was still a bit serious and he had to discuss it with Yan Xiwen and the others.
So he left the Ministry of Revenue and went to the Secretariat. Yan Xiwen was in his office at the moment, holding a memorial in his hand.
"Prime Minister Yan,"
Yun Xiyan sat down in front of the tea table. "The investment in this matter of the Great Fan Kingdom is enormous!"
Yan Xiwen walked over with the memorial and sat down across from Yun Xiyan, saying with a smile, "After all, it was once such a large country... Its territory was equivalent to the combined territory of the former Yu Dynasty, Fan State, and Wu Dynasty, though its population was slightly smaller."
"As for the cicada, it's quite backward, but that's not important. What we're interested in is its future prospects. That's why the three provinces have been busy these past few days, drafting a strategy for its revitalization and development."
"Look at this,"
Yan Xiwen handed the memorial to Yun Xiyan, "This is the preliminary plan for Dafan Road!"
Yun Xiyan took it and examined it carefully for a moment. Yan Xiwen brewed a pot of tea and said, "We are not seeking the credit for expanding our territory. We are striving for the long-term stability of Daxia."
"From now on, the Silk Road will inevitably pass through the Great Fan Kingdom. If the Great Fan Kingdom still exists, we cannot guarantee the attitude of the new emperor towards Daxia after Kuchan passes the throne."
"Although Daxia isn't afraid of war, being able to peacefully incorporate the Great Fan Kingdom into Daxia's territory... would certainly be the best option. We believe that if the retired emperor were in the palace, he would definitely do the same."
"After listening to the Ministry of Revenue's report, we also realized that the current bank balance is insufficient to support this plan, so we must find a workaround... For example, as stated above, Daxia will provide the funds for the construction of the infrastructure, and the merchants will complete the rest."
"You have to trust the keen sense of our Daxia merchants. They will definitely be willing to make large investments in Dafandao. In this way... we estimate that within three to five years, we can make the people of Dafandao prosperous."
Yun Xiyan listened to Yan Xiwen's words and finished reading the memorial. "But I estimate that even if it's just for infrastructure investment, half of the 2.3 billion taels of silver in the Ministry of Revenue's account will have to cover the original expenditure plan, such as military procurement, rural construction, etc."
"The remaining ten billion may seem like a lot, but when invested in the vast Dafan Road, it's just a drop in the bucket."
"The railway from Yuanbei Road to Dafan Road is not easy to build. It's a money-eating beast. According to the Ministry of Industry's initial calculations, the 1 billion yuan alone wouldn't be enough to support the railway, let alone the official roads within Dafan Road."
Yan Xiwen poured Yun Xiyan a cup of tea and his expression became serious.
"You are indeed talking about specific issues. What do you think?"
"...Unless we can get back a large sum of money, Dafan Road can only be developed slowly. That means completing the infrastructure of Dafan Road in batches, such as formulating a five-year plan for Dafan Road."
"After all, in my opinion, the money in the treasury cannot be completely spent. Some must be left to deal with certain emergencies."
Just as Yan Xiwen was thinking, Qin Mowen walked in.
"The Ministry of Rites just sent a message saying that Wu Tianci has a request."
Qin Mowen sat down. Yan Xiwen was startled and asked, "What did he ask for?"
"He said that the New Year is approaching and he wants to return to Guanyun City to pay homage to the imperial mausoleum."
Yan Xiwen frowned slightly. This was human nature. Although Wu Tianci was no longer the emperor of Daxia, he was the son of Fu Xiaoguan after all, and the grandson of the former Emperor Wu.
"Alright, have the Ministry of Rites arrange for someone to accompany you. I suggest that all etiquette be conducted according to... the system for princes. You've arrived just in time. Let's discuss some of the details of this Dafan Road."
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