Li Yi laughed and said happily: "General Jian doesn't have to worry, and the imperial court doesn't need to worry. You must know the situation of our Yunnan, Your Majesty is well understood, and his old man will not care about this little money in Yunnan. You must know that our Han Dynasty has a huge maritime trade, the treasury has always been abundant, the people are rich, and Yunnan has always relied on the imperial court to get by, and the imperial court is also well aware. There is no reason to reach out to us. ”

"The crux of the matter is how we use this part of the money and how to use it efficiently. It is also a matter of course that we spend some stolen money, and it is not worth making a fuss. And in this recital, I have already stated that I am very powerful, and I hope that the imperial court will understand the difficulties of Yunnan and allocate a batch of relief funds, I think the emperor will definitely have a choice, and we don't have to worry about this. ”

"So be it! You can make an account of all the ordnance and materials you need there, and report them to the Xuanfu Embassy, although it is impossible to meet them all, I will make a decision according to the situation, and you can rest assured. ”

Seeing that Jian Zheng nodded noncommittally, in order to calm his emotions, Li Yi had no choice but to continue: "Although the imperial court will definitely make reasonable arrangements for the stolen money of the Sun thief, according to the information I have received, the capital is preparing to build a large number of buildings, and the imperial city plans to build the Nanxun Palace, Xiuhua and Zhaoyang Palaces, and the construction of Ganquanyuan and Agarwood Terrace outside the city is also in full swing, and the gold and silver required cannot be counted. ”

"The gold, silver, pearls and jade of the Sun thief have all been reported to the capital, and of course His Majesty is undoubtedly smiling. But things aren't as bad as we think. If my expectations are good, they will definitely not ask for the money and silk and other things left in Yunnan, they all know that Yunnan is poor, and they must leave us some way to live! That's why I didn't hand it over to the court, and I think this can be regarded as a reward for us after the rebellion is quelled. ”

"However, this money is also unspent, although there is no problem to meet the expenses of Yunnan for a year, but in the future, we will have to figure out our own way. In the next step, we must open up sources and reduce expenditure, use all means to develop the economy, and do our best to be self-reliant and self-reliant. Otherwise, no one will sympathize with us just by pretending to be pitiful. Do you say yes? ”

Lin Yi next to him sighed slightly, and said worriedly: "Xiaguan is in charge of the errand of Yunnan's money and grain supply, how can he not know the sweets and sorrows!" In the next day, I have to face the matter of various departments coming to ask for money and food, and I have already been anxious about the expenses. ”

"The so-called 'good woman is difficult to cook without rice', there is so much money, if you give this, you have to offend that, although you see a smiling face, who knows how much scolding there is behind it!"

"Alas! Seeing that there is more out and less in, I feel very depressed, I don't know when I will cut off hope, and what should I do with it then! ”

Jian Zheng took the opportunity to interject: "Yes! What Lord Lin said is extremely true. These soldiers in Yunnan have just received the counterinsurgency reward, and they don't think there is any problem, but those of us who lead the troops know in our hearts that if we can't make ends meet for a long time, it is difficult to guarantee that nothing major will happen, so we are trying our best to fight for some benefits for them, so as to stabilize the morale of the army! ”

"Actually, we also know the difficulties of Lord Lin, such an important pass as Pingyang Pass cannot be built, I heard that a temple will be built, and the cost of three or four hundred thousand yuan may not be able to stop it, plus the harvest has been bad for two years, needless to say, the savings in the treasury are not much. But there is no way to do this, but the duty of our soldiers is not to see that the armament is not in order, and the armor is not repaired! Commander, you say yes! ”

Depend on! The palace is forcing my head, and it seems that I have to come up with something real, or I will be looked down upon by them. If you are depressed, you can't say it again, otherwise they may not even have the courage to go on, so I'd better cheer them up!

Li Yi smiled slightly, and said confidently: "You don't have to worry, don't you have to worry, isn't there still nearly a million stolen money in our treasury and Sun Thief?" The money should be able to cope for a while, and there are no worries for the time being. But of course, we can't just watch the money be spent like a stream of water, without follow-up measures, and we can't cut off the way to get the money. ”

"It's not advisable to think about money from the people, these days I have already thought of a plan to deal with it, if it can be implemented smoothly, the financial resources will roll in, and the days of sitting on the mountain will never come back."

"Oh! If you have any clever plans, don't hide it from the two of us anymore, I don't know when this stretched day will be the end, and we are all dying. ”

Hearing that Li Yi was so confident, both of them had expectant expressions on their faces, and they couldn't wait to ask.

Li Yi smiled and pretended to be mysterious: "Last time, I arranged for Lord Lin to look for farmers who grow cotton and wheat to seek to expand the production of crops. If Yunnan wants to truly become rich from now on, it is a pipe dream, and this road will not work at all. ”

He groaned a little, until he had satisfied their appetites, and then continued: "Alas! Yunnan has always been a place with many mountains and little land, and arable land is very limited, and it is impossible to feed such a large number of people and troops by growing grain alone. On the basis of expanding and increasing grain production, we must also explore other ways to make money, so that we no longer have to worry about the future. ”

"I once said that I once met a strange man in Zhongling Mountain, who not only saved my life, but also told me a way to make money. According to his old man, although the land in Yunnan is barren, there is also a cornucopia to be developed. I have already learned from him the specific location of a huge copper mine, as long as we vigorously develop copper ore resources and obtain the funds needed for the development of Yunnan through copper smelting and sales, wouldn't it be much more stable and harvest more than growing grain? What do you think of it? ”

Lin Yi and Jian Zheng's eyes widened, as if they still didn't understand.

After a long time, Lin Yicai asked suspiciously: "Dashuai, the lower official still doesn't understand a little." Although I also know that copper is very valuable and that copper smelting is very lucrative, I have never heard of a precedent in Yunnan for making a fortune from copper mining. I don't know where the copper mine is. ”

"Dashuai only relies on the guidance of that strange man, I'm afraid it's not very reliable! You must know that the marshal is not a local, although he has been informed of the so-called specific location, but the lower officials are still not sure, if he wastes time looking for copper mines in the reckless mountains, but finds nothing, it is not too cost-effective. You have to think twice before you act! ”

Li Yi shook his head slightly, and said solemnly: "If I don't know where the copper mine is, how dare I boast of such a sea mouth." On the mountains about 30 miles southwest of our Dongchuan County, there is an endless copper-rich ore area, the grade is quite high, most of them can be refined a little, and there are also some high-grade silver ores, which can be said to be a good deal with one stone. ”

"However, although we already know the general location of the deposit, as you said, it is a bit of a problem to find it and turn it into copper, and there is still a lack of good prospecting and smelting."

Lin Yi nodded silently and said, "As long as the location of the mineral deposit is found, there is no need to worry about this." As long as we can afford it, there will always be people who can use it for me. Tomorrow I will make a public announcement to recruit good people in this area, and the response should be very enthusiastic. ”

"Hmmm! In that case, I'll leave this recruitment matter to you. Of course, the quicker the recruitment, the better, just looking for mineral deposits takes a lot of time, and we can't wait! ”