"What's wrong? You're worried that Dongting won't be able to complete the errand, right? Wu Yue chuckled and looked at Wei Chengmo and asked.

Wei Chengmo turned over and knelt down in front of Wu Yue, and after three deep bows, his head was clubbed on the ground, and he said, "Master, your identity has undergone earth-shaking changes from now on. You are a gentleman, and you are worthy of your word. If the dog can't finish the errand, he is guilty of disobedience. ”

"This ...... The minister begged the emperor if he could lower his requirements a little, and the minister promised that Dongting would definitely do his best to do a good job. ”

Wu Yue's face was serious, his eyes stared straight at Wei Chengmo, and he shook his head gently.

"Lord Wei, let me tell you something." As Wu Yue spoke, he slowly stood up, slowly came to Wei Chengmo's side, helped him up with one hand, and after pondering for a few minutes, he said softly.

"The Central Plains is vast and densely populated. If you want to feed the people of the huge Qing Dynasty, the amount of silver and food you need is an astronomical amount. ”

"Judging from the current situation faced by the imperial court, the people of the Central Plains are resistant to it from the bottom of their hearts. What's more, the so-called Manchu aristocracy, in the name of enclosure, pocketed a large amount of fertile land, and foolishly used it to develop their own animal husbandry industry. This alone has reduced the amount of land used for cultivation. ”

"In addition, over the years, the imperial court has suppressed the use of troops by the remnants of the previous dynasty, which has led to many young and middle-aged people joining the army to fight, and the labor force used for farming has decreased sharply, which has led to the total annual grain output of the Qing Dynasty has decreased year after year."

"If you can't eat enough, the people will make trouble. If you want to make trouble, the imperial court needs to send troops to suppress it, which is a vicious circle. If there is no corresponding containment and law enforcement, this situation will continue for a long time. As a result, in the end, the flag man rolled up and left, and went back to Shengjing's hometown! Whether you can go back or not is unknown! ”

Hearing this, Wei Chengmo frowned slightly, nodded heavily.

"But master, listening to your words, I can think of the importance of the court to make money. But there is one thing that the minister still doesn't understand. It seems that even if Dongting has achieved the corresponding results, you have no intention of taking it out to the imperial court, why are you in such a hurry to give Dongting an order at the moment? After all, there are at least five years left before you become pro-government. Wei Chengmo asked softly.

Wu Yue smiled lightly, "Because, I don't have much time." Even if Dongting starts to work on overseas trade from now on, it will not be easy to secretly set up such a caravan without letting the imperial court know about it. Therefore, according to this analysis, I am afraid that it will take at least a year to see the benefits of the caravan. ”

"The construction of the first sea caravan was completed, the first maritime trade was successfully completed, the business travel map of overseas trade was completely drawn, and the first overseas trade was completed. This was followed by the establishment of the second and third caravans. Until the completion of the 10th caravan. I roughly estimated that it would take two years to build the caravan alone. ”

"Moreover, the income from overseas trade in the past two years will be used for the construction of caravans. For the other three years, caravans cycled out of the port and traded by sea. The income earned can be regarded as the secret income made by Dongting for the imperial court. ”

"If I hadn't made a mistake in my calculations, every caravan at sea, calculated according to twenty merchant ships full of goods, would be enough to cover five years of the balance of the imperial treasury in three years!"

Wu Yue's words made Wei Chengmo and Wei Dongting couldn't help but gasp, their eyes widened, and their faces were full of disbelief.

"The size of the merchant ships is still calculated based on the size of the warships in Taiwan. As for the price of the goods on board, hehe, a merchant with a bit of scheming is enough to maximize his profits! The benefits achieved are beyond your imagination! ”

"When the time comes, it will definitely make you red-eyed. As long as you go to sea to trade once, Dongting, I dare to assert that you will definitely have absolute confidence in your errand. As Wu Yue spoke, he looked sideways at Wei Dongting, who was standing next to him, and in his eyes, the essence of the Dao was fleeting!

Hearing this, Wei Dongting slowly knelt down towards Wu Yue with a serious face.

"The slave will definitely not live up to the high expectations of his master, and he will do his best to get the errand done!"

Wu Yue nodded. Slowly turned around and walked slowly towards the dragon chair.

"With such a big move, presumably there will definitely be rumors from the imperial court. At that time, if there is no person with a big enough head to carry it, the four old fritters will not be so easy to fool. It seems that there is still one to find one, even if the four auxiliary ministers see it, they have to open one eye and close one eye to come out. Wu Yue said secretly in his heart.

"Your Majesty, the minister has something I want to remind the emperor. With the establishment of such a large sea caravan, the imperial court will definitely receive the news, and once those few people know that the person behind the scenes is you, it will be very troublesome. So, we have to think about this problem. ”

Wu Yue turned around, sat upright on the dragon chair and nodded.

"Well, I thought of it too." Wu Yue said, looking sideways at Wei Dongting, and then said, "You leave for the Liangjiang Governor's Mansion first, and the rest of the matter will be arranged properly." ”

"The establishment of a secret treasury should be done with caution in the selection of sites. Try to do it, and don't let those few people know about its existence. Wu Yue frowned and said.

"Huh! Minions obey! ”

"Another point, the preparation of merchant ships at sea, you need to have more eyes, the recovery of Taiwan in the future, the construction of warships, and the future encounter of pirates at sea, how to face the battle, and other issues, I want to help me accumulate experience." Wu Yue pondered for a few minutes before continuing.

Wei Dongting nodded heavily, "The slave knows." ”

Wu Yue bowed slightly, "Regarding your current errand, let's hand over Sandezi first." After leaving the palace, you go back to the house to pack up briefly and set off immediately. ”

"The minions obey." Wei Dongting bowed slightly towards Wu Yue and clenched his fists, then quickly turned around and left the upper study.

During the whole process, Wei Dongting didn't even look at Wei Chengmo.

Wei Chengmo's eyes slowly turned around until he couldn't see Wei Dongting's figure at all.

Wu Yue faintly saw that this emperor, who was not smiling on weekdays, actually had red eyes and trembling lips at this moment.

Wu Yue smiled gently.

"Lord Wei, Dongting has been by my side since I was a child. Therefore, Dongting is one of the people I trust the most. At the moment, there are only a few people around me who can be used. And those who have the ability to take on this important task are none other than Dongting. That's why I endured the pain and let him go to other countries to run errands for the Qing Dynasty. ”

"After five years of training, I think that Dongting will definitely become a qualified diplomatic official, and he will definitely have his own understanding of the cognition of human nature, the avoidance of the advantages and disadvantages of officialdom. In the future, he will be more handy for the imperial court. ”

"Lord Wei, rest assured, Dongting will definitely become my right-hand man in the future. In my legendary life, there will definitely be a chance for him to shine! Wu Yue looked at Wei Chengmo with a solemn face and said in a deep voice.

"The old minister knocks on the emperor's great grace hall!" When Wei Chengmo heard this, his face turned red, and he bowed to Wu Yue again!