Minister of Commerce Zeng Guohong is also a veteran of the two dynasties, and he continues to be in charge of commerce and trade. Not only did he win the full support of the merchants in Jiangnan and Donghai, but he also won the recognition of many financial aristocrats in the financial circles of the imperial capital. In particular, his relatively moderate policies and the suggestion that the empire follow the financial policies of the Tanghe Empire to a certain extent were even more popular. The entire empire's financial community maintains a considerable degree of favor towards him. At least compared to the comprehensive clean-up and political reform of the empire's financial sector by the newly appointed Governor of the Imperial Central Bank, James, his opinions are much gentler. Facing the coming of the new dynasty, Many financial families in the central Tanghe Empire and the original Situ family were in panic. If an old official from the previous dynasty could come forward to calm them down, it would not be a life-saving straw.
Zeng Guohong had an exchange with Wu Feng when he first took office. The two were surprisingly consistent in their attitudes about increasing efforts to promote foreign trade with the Netherlands, especially in continuing to improve the empire's land transportation channels while accelerating sea routes. The two men had exactly the same ideas on the development of shipping. Prioritizing the development of shipbuilding and shipping was even included in the empire's three-year development plan.
"Sir Tian, Governor Kong has proposed a series of plans, including the plan to immigrate 50,000 people from the interior of the empire, recruit 50,000 immigrants from the Indian region, and immigrate 30,000 people from Vito to enrich the Eastern Luzon region. This will not only It can greatly promote the development of Eastern Luzon, and it can also reverse the population structure of Eastern Luzon so that the Tang and Indian ethnic groups dominate." It was added by Xiao Tang, the Prime Minister of the Imperial Government, who expressed his views on this issue. The leaders of the two parties have the same interests. "The mainland of the empire can recruit immigrants from Beiyuan, Yanyun and even Heshuo. These three counties have suffered from serious wars. As long as appropriate support policies are given, not to mention 50,000 people, even 500,000 people can be recruited." They can be recruited. Inde'an County already has a large population and its ethnic characteristics are not similar to those of the Tang people. They are more willing to move out, so there is no big problem."
"But there is nothing in the Naguiyangba area. It can be said to be barren mountains. If you want to build a new city, I am afraid it will cost a lot. Can the financial department support this project now? Or should Northern Luzon solve this problem on its own? Wu Fengchen After a while, it seems that both the military and the government are inclined to control Eastern Luzon as soon as possible. The government hopes to obtain a resource-rich base, and the military also hopes to use this place to threaten the entire central Luzon.
"The finance can invest part of it, but I'm afraid the central bank will also need to lend part to Northern Luzon. In addition, we will see if we can attract some private investment. I am thinking that if a complete road transportation system can be built as soon as possible, with the richness of Eastern Luzon, Resources can completely attract investment from the mainland of the empire. As Mr. Zeng said, with population and resources. With good support policies, it is equivalent to the opportunity to make a fortune. How could the predecessors of the empire turn a blind eye? Xiao Tang laughed, "What's more, the military's need in this area is even more urgent. Some construction projects can be undertaken by the military in the name of national defense projects, don't you think so, Mr. Bo?"
"Xiao Xiang, you can't say that. Building national defense fortifications is the responsibility of the military, but road transportation and other aspects should of course be borne by the government.
Can't be confused. "Bo Jinchen immediately became alert and his words were accurate.
Seeing that the other party was so sensitive, Xiao Tang stopped delving into it and turned around and said: "Your Majesty, this matter should be done sooner rather than later. Kong Yunzhen did it in a timely manner in the first place. Now it is time for the central government to come forward to provide support and support. The people of Luzon will not sit idly by and ignore it. Maybe they are still stuck in the west and can't free their hands, but once they free up their hands, if East Luzon still fails to build a complete road system, I'm afraid our project will not be fully successful."
"Xiao Xiang's words are absolutely reasonable. Frederick will not let us do whatever we want, but he is now entangled in South India and Komini and has no way to escape. So we must seize this precious time, from Kuiyangba to Liushan Terrace. As long as the road to the ground is built, even Frederick's personal visit will be of no avail. Moreover, once the defense system of Kuiyangba is formed, we can go south step by step. Robin and the eastern part of Giasi will be our next step. Target." Bo Jinchen licked his lips with a look of longing on his face, obviously hoping to achieve the situation he envisioned: "Your Majesty, I suggest that we need to contact the Pasha people and annex Komini and Luzon in southern India has become the common enemy of the Pasha people and the empire, and the Western Peninsula Alliance in the southwest is also our enemy. There is a lot of room for cooperation between our two countries in these two aspects. If we can By working together, Nachen believes that more benefits and better results can be achieved."
As the gate officials announced the dispersion of the dynasty and the ministers retreated in twos and threes, the etiquette of the Tang Dynasty became much simpler than that of the former Jing Dynasty. Wu Feng was originally a person who was not very good at etiquette. With his insistence, The Ministry of Ceremonies had to drastically reduce the etiquette of going to court, but when even the ministers believed that the etiquette was too simple and undermined the majesty of the royal family, Wu Feng dismissed it by saying, "The majesty is based on the heart and not on the outside."
There was only one person left, and that was Bo Jinchen, the right envoy of the Imperial Privy Council. It was obvious that His Majesty the Emperor and his military ministers had important affairs to discuss, and staying after the dispersion of the dynasty also showed that certain matters were not suitable for disclosure in the court.
"How are the preparations in the peninsula area?" When there were only two people left in the palace, Wu Feng seemed to be in much better spirits and spoke more briefly.
"Basically everything is ready. Lei Juetian has returned to Sanglin City. According to our requirements, they must withdraw from Loushanguan within half a month, and they must withdraw from Huayang and Yushan within a month. They came the day before yesterday According to the news, Loushanguan is already in the process of surrendering. The Machi Khan army has withdrawn from Loushanguan in accordance with the treaty. We have also lifted the material embargo on the Machi Khan people in accordance with the agreement." Bo Jinchen replied in a deep voice, " It should be said that the threat of the Machi Khans has come to an end for the time being, and now it is time to free up our hands to consider the southwest issue."
"Well, how are the preparations of the Fourth Army and the Eighth Army?" Wu Feng is more concerned about this. The Machihan people hope to get a period of peace to digest the results of the war, while he hopes to be free to solve the problem wholeheartedly. Regarding the issue of the southwest throat passage, it should be said that they hit it off immediately, but in order to exchange for more concessions from the other party, the empire had to pretend to be serious and work hard with the other party.
"Everything is going according to plan. The Eighth Army is already entering Balia, the Sixth Army has taken over the defense of the Fourth Army, and the Fourth Army has entered Eastern Samoa, just waiting for His Majesty's order. Mulige said The Eighth Army came to the southwest with a grudge, and now they have divided the war evenly. Both armies are now in full swing to see who can come out on top in this war and have the last laugh." Bo Jinchen pursed his lips. With a faint smile, His Majesty the Emperor in front of him realized that it was a clever move to transfer the Eighth Army to the peninsula. Not only did it immediately arouse the dissatisfaction of the Fourth Army, but the Eighth Army could also take this opportunity to establish its prestige in the southwest.
"Very good, I just hope to see this situation. So what is the performance of Sikkim?" This is the question Wu Feng is most concerned about.
"The people of Sikkim have smelled the smell of war. They responded quickly and the mercenary troops who have been maintaining such high vigilance have begun to cross the Sikkim Strait into Nan'an and Western Samoa and are converging with the troops of Nan'an and Western Samoa. Their national defense forces and reserve forces are also undergoing emergency mobilization, and it is estimated that they will all enter wartime status within a week. We have already made arrangements for Soktu, and it is expected that the Eighth Army will be able to cross Soktu within three days. , then both Nan'an and Western Samoa will face the pain of being attacked from both sides."
"Well, the Sikkimese are worthy of being the leaders of this region and have very strong intelligence capabilities. Their diplomatic envoys have notified our diplomats and asked us to explain our military operations in Eastern Samoa and Balia. It seems that they want to solve it in one fell swoop. I'm afraid it won't be easy in Nan'an." Shaking his head, Wu Feng casually picked up the jade balls on the table. They were a pair of polished jade balls produced in Lantian Town, Yushan Prefecture, Sanjiang. It is said that holding them in the hand has the effect of strengthening the body. effect.
"Your Majesty, it is unrealistic to blindly hope to win the war in strange ways. In the end, the war will depend on strength. One or two tactical successes cannot change the entire course of the war. Before we intervened, the Sikkim people could say this The overlord of the region, but compared to the empire, it is far from the same level. It is so busy intervening in land wars that it is actually seeking its own destruction."
"You mean the Sikkimese should not reinforce Nan'an and Western Samoa?" Wu Feng asked.
"If I were the person in charge of Sikkim, I would not have rashly sent troops to land. Land combat is the strength of our imperial army, and sea power is Sikkim's advantage. In this way, it uses its own shortcomings to attack its strengths, and the final result is Will it be okay?" There was a sense of compassion in Bo Jinchen's words.
"If the people of Sikkim do not intervene in this war, will they be able to stay away from it?" It is already April, and under the warm sunshine, there is full of vitality everywhere. Looking at the attractive green spring scenery outside the temple , Wufeng shook his head subconsciously, "They have no choice, because they know that our ultimate goal is to gain control of this passage throughout the Middle East, not just the land route, but also the sea route! Losing Nan'an and Western Satsuma With Ya's protective wings, how long can an isolated island in Sikkim last? Half a year? One year? Or three years?"