Taking a deep breath, He Jing knew that His Highness the King of Qin was waiting for him to express his opinion on this matter. Although he wanted to agree with His Highness the King of Qin himself, his dignity as an official did not allow him to flatter his superiors against his will. .
"Your Highness, the empire is about to be established. Compared to the Tanghe Empire, six counties have been added to the territory of Your Highness out of thin air, and this does not include the Jerok Principality, which is actually a vassal of the empire. These territories are all in the border areas. , the economy is quite backward, and the ethnic composition is also very complex. In many places, we Tang people do not have an advantage. If we want them to quickly integrate into our Tang civilization, it is difficult to achieve the desired effect by simply relying on military conquest. "
"We can only rely on our own strong economic power to integrate them into our economic circle, and step by step use our excellent culture, art and long historical civilization to infiltrate them, let them feel the advancement of our civilization, and let them willingly into our embrace, and the foundation of all this must be based on the process of economic integration. In other words, the mainland of our empire must become a powerful economic magnet, firmly play the core role of the economy, and let all surrounding The newly added nations and regions are all controlled and affected by our inland economy, and this must be based on the fact that our inland economy must be far more developed than other regions, and we must constantly use new technologies and new products to strengthen our empire. The competitiveness of the mainland economy must not be put before the horse at this point. But now the mainland of our empire has encountered multiple civil wars and invasions by foreign enemies, especially in the north of the empire. The economy has suffered great damage, and a large amount of infrastructure has been destroyed and abandoned. Many local economies are not even as good as one-third or even one-fifth of what they were before the war. In order to restore these local economies, the central government of the empire must make considerable investments. It is difficult to achieve this by relying on private power alone."
Nodding indifferently, Wu Feng appreciated the other party's frankness. As a county governor, he would not be unaware of the debate among the top officials on whether to continue the war or cease the war and recuperate, nor would he be unclear about his own attitude. However, the other party still resolutely put forward his own point of view at the risk of contradicting himself. This alone is enough to prove that the other party is at least much stronger than many people in terms of personality and moral character. At least the other party will not violate his conscience because of his own future. Some nonsense that is not my inner opinion.
"Well, that makes sense. Continue." Wu Feng waved his hand to indicate that the other party should continue.
He didn't pay attention to the coldness in His Highness King Qin's tone. Since he had already mentioned this, He Jing had no taboos: "The establishment of every new dynasty requires an adjustment or rest period. This is to establish a new dynasty." The inevitable requirement of stabilizing the political structure system is to stabilize the people's hearts across the country, implement political systems and various governance strategies. These are all indispensable. If the empire holds high the banner of conquest at the beginning of the founding of the country, it will inevitably make the people feel tired and doubtful. Psychologically, this is detrimental to the stability of the country's people. Of course, His Highness's prestige and reputation in the empire are unparalleled, and the public's resistance in this regard may be minimized, but this is always a problem. People who are tired of the war Everyone longs to live a stable and peaceful life. If it were not for the fact that the country is facing an existential crisis and it takes the initiative to start a war, this will definitely not be welcomed by the people."
"I can understand His Highness's inner thoughts. Maybe His Highness thinks that now is the time when our military power is at its strongest, and we can just use the powerful military power in our hands to conquer and gain. If we stop moving forward, we may lose the opportunity. It may also cause the army to lose its fighting spirit and energy for foreign expeditions. These factors may exist, but compared to the stability of the empire and the stability of people's hearts, compared to the longer-term goals and significance in the future, it is the lesser of two evils. For the same goal, I believe that we sometimes have to make some adjustments in our strategies. At least for now, I believe that our primary task is still to develop the economy, especially the rapid development of the economy in the northern regions of our empire, so that these regions can develop as quickly as possible. After recovery and development, the economy in the interior of the empire will become the leader of the entire empire."
Seeing Wu Feng's slightly furrowed brows as if he was digesting the meaning of his words, He Jing added: "Of course, it is necessary to regain the empire's inherent territories such as the two eastern prefectures of Sanjiang and the Great East Ocean. This can also win over the empire's people. support, and the empire is fully capable of accomplishing this intention without affecting the general direction of its policy.”
Wu Feng had to admit that the other party's words were quite persuasive. Even he, who had always insisted on conquest and development simultaneously, was slightly moved. It is true that the stability of a country, especially the stability of a newly built empire, is quite important, but it is more attractive. What Wu Feng has is the idea of making the empire's mainland economy the core and magnetic pole and using new technologies and new products to strengthen the empire's mainland economic center. Wu Feng has vaguely thought about this idea, but he hasn't. What the other party put forward today was so clear and affirmative. This alone made Wu Feng feel that his trip was worthwhile.
"He Jing, have you considered how long it will take for the empire's economy to return to its former glory even if we give up other ideas and focus on economic development? Have you considered that we can win more for the reconstruction of the empire's economy through war and conquest? Where are the interests and funds? And have you considered whether if we adopt this closed-door self-protection posture, our enemies will take advantage of this opportunity to seize what should belong to us, including land, oceans and their affiliated Rights and interests, and if we lose this opportunity, we may have to spend several times the price or even never get it back again?”
Of course, Wu Feng will not be refuted by the opponent so easily. There will definitely be a contradiction between conquest and development. It is of course impossible to perfectly achieve the goal of both ends. All we can say is to make every effort to achieve the best balance. , as his own point of view, he has also carefully considered the pros and cons rather than being impulsive.
"He Jing, we are developing and progressing, and our opponents are also working hard and fighting. Our eyes cannot just stay on these enemies in front of us. Although the Liberians are powerful, they are nothing more than centipede insects. It’s just a performance. The Machikhans have also passed their heyday. At most, they are just a stumbling block that is difficult to remove. But we still need to look at the central and western continents, as well as our east. The Japanese on the ocean have developed at an alarming rate, especially the Luzon people in the Central Continent, and the powerful countries in the Western Continent. Their development momentum has surpassed ours, and they have used ocean civilization to push their sphere of influence into Laya. Outside the mainland.”
"I can say without hesitation that the competition between us and them is inevitable. If the Tang nation wants to stand proudly on the top of the world's most powerful nations, it must abandon its original old ideas. We must pay attention to the land, and we must pursue the ocean. , and all this requires us not to stop, but to grit our teeth and accelerate forward. Development is of course important, and we cannot simply oppose foreign war and economic development. If we can successfully handle the relationship between the two, the two will They can also complement each other and promote each other, and I firmly believe that we can do this.”
He Jing sighed secretly in his heart. It is easy to say that they complement each other and promote each other, but in reality it is not that easy. War is a bottomless pit, and its consumption will inevitably squeeze out the funds needed for development and even drain the finances. It is normal to be dragged down, and once the pace of war begins, it will not be based on the will of one party. Although His Highness's vision is beautiful, it may not be what he wants. But in this case, He Jing felt that he had fulfilled his responsibility and reflected his thoughts truthfully. As for whether His Highness could accept it or not, it was not up to him.
"Please forgive me for being stupid. Your Highness's idea is too demanding. It is too difficult to have both the fish and the bear's paw. I'm afraid this is also the main reason why others don't agree with it. But if His Highness has determined that this principle cannot be tolerated, If there is a change, my subordinates believe that they must win the approval of others, even to a certain extent, otherwise it will cause great trouble to the fledgling imperial government." He Jing has already seen in Wu Feng's eyes that there is no room for change. Resolutely, he could only put forward such a minimum compromise opinion. If even everyone in the Government Affairs Office opposed this opinion, even if His Highness the King of Qin persisted, it would probably bring many unexpected troubles to the implementation of imperial policies in the future.
Nodding in approval, Wu Feng once again noticed the extraordinaryness of the Governor of Heshuo in front of him. He was originally appointed as the Governor of Heshuo in recognition of his professional performance in the Department of Culture and Health, especially his shrewdness in dealing with the outbreak and spread of the northern plague. Capable, coupled with Su Qin's strong recommendation, it seems that this person's overall view is not limited to the governor of a county, but it is necessary for this person to have a good experience in the position of governor of a county, which can help him take on more important responsibilities. Lay a good foundation in important positions.
The end of a conversation like this left Wu Feng feeling a little unsatisfied. Being able to understand He Jing's ability more deeply made Wu Feng very satisfied. The empire was about to be established and would take charge of sixteen counties plus a Zhongzhou Special Administrative Region. The administrative structure of the government will soon be put up. Wu Feng has realized that he has a shortage of talents who can share the heavy responsibilities for him, and this is also an urgent problem that he needs to solve after entering Beijing.