Li Wufeng found that he was becoming more and more relaxed. Almost all government affairs were handled in an orderly manner by Xiao Tang. Ling Tian's talent in military management also made Wufeng feel like a redundant person.
Qingyang's economy is still booming, and the construction of Jinzhou is in full swing. The economies of Guide and Bonan have embarked on the road of rapid development and are changing with each passing day. Although the immigration of immigrants within the empire has slowed down due to the restrictions of the internal affairs department, it has However, the number of immigrants from abroad has increased significantly, and their quality has also been greatly improved compared to the previous year or two. Many skilled craftsmen, technicians, and scholars have come here to contribute to the economic development of the northwest.
The army's military training campaign is in full swing, and many capable young people have been directly promoted to the position of officers, which makes all soldiers catch up with each other and work hard during the training.
Li Wufeng attaches great importance to education. He knows that education is not only the guarantee for the long-term prosperity of a regime, but also that the rewards of education, although longer, are endless. Not to mention that by controlling school education, he can fully consolidate and strengthen himself. 's rule.
Under Wu Feng's personal supervision, it only took three months for the Imperial Northwest Military Academy and the Imperial Northwest University to prepare for the official opening of the school. Wu Feng personally served as the principal of the two schools. With a large amount of bribes from Wu Feng, the Imperial Administration of Culture, Education and Health opened the door to facilitate the transfer of a large number of experienced teachers from Imperial University and Imperial Military Academy to teach on the side. At the same time, Wu Feng also promised to give the teachers who came to teach Generous salary. In addition, Wufeng also sent people to various countries in the Western Continent and recruited a large number of scholars to serve as guest teachers in the two schools. On the one hand, he allowed the students to understand the human geography and customs of the Western Continent, and on the other hand, he also asked the students to accept some of the Western Continent’s culture. Relatively advanced management ideas and science and technology. At the same time, Wufeng also began to systematically train professional intelligence talents in the school to lay the foundation for the future expansion of his power.
The first batch of 300 military and political trainees have entered the two schools and received formal and systematic training. Wufeng is also preparing to gradually expand the scale of the two schools, gradually form a social enrollment system, and absorb civilian elites, so as to provide more and better talents to the regime under his rule in the future.
The afterglow of the setting sun shone quietly on the top of the city. People who had worked hard all day had returned home and were busy making fires to cook. Looking back, wisps of smoke were floating everywhere in the city. It was a picture of living and working in peace and contentment. Sighing in his heart, Li Wufeng, dressed in white casual clothes, looked thoughtful as he walked on the wide city wall.
Several heavily armed personal guards followed behind him at a distance of more than ten meters, while vigilantly observing the movements around them. A dozen meters in front of Li Wufeng, Qin Shuangying and Yunyi, also in plain clothes, were whispering and looking around, maintaining a high degree of vigilance.
They all know that whenever this boss needs to think alone when making important decisions, he likes to find a quiet place or a place with a wide view to take a walk and meditate.
The city walls are all made of large square bluestones with a very smooth surface. A lot of manpower and material resources were spent to build this city defense facility. However, although it cannot be said to be once and for all after the construction is completed, it is impossible for foreign enemies to conquer Qingyang without paying a considerable price.
Standing on the tower and looking to the west, the sunset has already set, but the clouds are like a brocade, making it even more colorful. The endless plains are full of green spring, and a silver-white jade belt winds through it. It's such a fertile soil! Looking at the endless fields full of vitality, Li Wufeng couldn't take his eyes back for a long time.
"Senior sister, look! He's looking outside in a daze again." Yun Yi, who was standing on one side, pursed her lips and smiled quietly as she spoke beside Qin Shuangying.
"Don't talk nonsense! Maybe they are thinking about military matters." Qin Shuangying also answered with a smile.
"Hmph, who knows what he is thinking? But looking at his demented look at this time, who would believe that he is Li Wufeng?" Yun Yi is still straightforward and cheerful.
"Junior sister, you are wrong. As the saying goes, people cannot be judged by their appearance, and sea water cannot be measured. Appearance does not mean anything, not to mention his image can be considered majestic." Qin Shuangying said hesitantly.
"Senior sister, are you a little tempted? Well, your attitude now is very different from before." Yun Yi stared at senior sister's face with a smile.
Qin Shuangying only felt that her face was a little hot, and she patted her junior sister hard: "Damn girl, speaking of senior sister, I wonder who it is that I can't forget about her all day long and even dream about her?"
The senior sister's counterattack immediately made Yunyi's face turn red. Just when he was about to retort, Qin Shuangying continued: "However, the impression he gave us is indeed not what we imagined at the beginning."
"Huh, what are you talking about? You smile all day long and speak in a smooth tone. How can you look like a powerful imperial official?" Although it was a complaint, there was no trace of blame in his tone. There seemed to be some There is an element of joy in it.
"Then he just said it verbally and didn't do anything excessive towards us." Qin Shuangying's words contained a hint of unspeakable disappointment.
"Is it just verbal? Do you really have to do something to us to see if I don't give him a good look?" Yun Yi's face turned as red as the bright clouds in the sky, "However, I think he has evil intentions. No thief has the guts, just to care about Sister and Sister Hua and the others will make him unable to eat and walk around."
"You damn girl, you are so shameless. It's as if you don't want him to steal from you. You can even say such things as having a thief's heart but not having the courage to do so." Qin Shuangying laughed out loud.
While the two daughters were joking with each other about their children's concerns, Li Wufeng, who was looking at the wilderness under the city wall more than ten meters away, seemed to be in a daze, but in fact, his mind was thinking about major events that would determine the situation in the entire northwest.
Entering 694, the situation in the northwest seemed particularly stable, but behind this calm there was an undercurrent that was unknown to ordinary people. The central empire has tightened restrictions on the northwest, especially in terms of immigration, setting up many obstacles. At the same time, it has also stepped up inspections of people from the northwest entering the Central Plains. The Western Military Region also carried out targeted large-scale military exercises in Longdong Prefecture, adjacent to Northwest County, in Guanxi County under the orders of the Military Headquarters. The garrison at Partridge Pass increased from the original one regiment to three elite regiments. It is claimed that the purpose of this team is to prevent small groups of bandits from sneaking into the Central Plains to cause chaos. However, the bandits in the northwest have been almost wiped out. Even if there are remnants, it is impossible to directly conflict with a regiment of regular troops. There is no need to add two more. The garrison of the alliance was obviously a drunkard's cup of tea. All of this made Wu Feng feel the subtle changes in the internal situation of the empire.
On the contrary, Yinchuan Mansion and Taixuan Mansion seemed quite low-key. All the troops had shrunk back into the city, and almost no military activities could be seen. The number of troops in Nuremberg, an important town in the south of Heathrow, has increased to 150,000. The two additional divisions did not return to their original positions after conducting so-called routine border exercises, but were stationed less than 100 meters away from Nuremberg. Thirty kilometers away from a market town. This made Wu Feng deeply wary, but he might not be the one who was more uneasy.
In the northwest, intelligence agents from all forces have significantly intensified their activities in the four northwest prefectures. In particular, intelligence agents from the Machihan and Sisluo people are more active. In addition, the Lin family of Tiannan and the southwestern neighbor Luzon are more active. The activities were also quite unusual, which caused a lot of headaches for the security department. They all used the diplomatic community stationed in the northwest county as a cover to move around and collect all necessary political, military and economic intelligence. In comparison, the recently established northwest security department seemed a bit unable to take care of them.
However, the economies of Qingyang and Jinzhou, among the four northwest prefectures, have entered a period of stable and rapid development. A large number of businessmen have come to the two places to invest and set up factories, and the scale is getting larger and larger, and the varieties have also changed from the original relatively single leather processing and grain processing. , logging, wood processing, medicinal material processing and other industries are spreading to all directions. Although the growth rate of the number of immigrants has slowed down, the quality has greatly improved, allowing the rapidly developing industrial economy to have sufficient skilled workers. The great development of industry has also led to the rapid development of commerce, finance, entertainment and other industries. Many famous merchants from the empire and even the mainland have entered to seize the market. The city's prosperity far exceeds the level of two years ago.
Guide and Bonan have also ushered in the best opportunity for development. A large amount of funds from Jiangnan County and Wuhu County have poured in, setting off a frenzy of industrial and commercial development in the two prefectures. In just two or three months, the two prefectures have received More than 300 business representatives from Jiangnan and Wuhu areas came to inspect. The rich resources, good social conditions and preferential policies of the two provinces made many businessmen immediately decide to invest in mining and set up factories in the two places. The two places also borrowed This opportunity attracted a large number of immigrants from other places to settle down and start a business. Batch after batch of high-quality well salt, wine, pottery, and porcelain have begun to be continuously transported to the central and western continents through the northern continent passage. The huge returns have further stimulated the investment of businessmen.
Since the economic development in various places is better than expected, the financial situation of the four northwest prefectures has been significantly improved. Especially after Qingyang gradually resumed taxation on all industry and commerce from the beginning of the year, the fiscal deficit has been reduced rapidly. It is estimated that it will be reduced in the second half of the year. The fiscal balance can be achieved, and Jinzhou's fiscal revenue has jumped to a new level. In March alone, the tax revenue reached 400,000 imperial gold coins, which made Xiao Tang, who inspected the financial work, overjoyed. However, the finances of the entire four northwest prefectures are still unable to make ends meet. The nearly 200,000-strong army has monthly soldier salaries of up to one million imperial gold coins. Financial problems will still be a major problem that has long troubled Li Wufeng.
He shook his head, as if to get rid of this annoying problem. Let Xiao Tang and the others worry about this trouble. What he should consider is the next goal.
If it continues like this, the financial situation may gradually improve, but I am afraid that potential opponents will not give me time. You are developing, and the enemy is also developing. If your foundation is too weak, you may not be able to defeat the opponent.
Opportunities can only be obtained by taking extraordinary measures. Li Wufeng frowned and slowly turned his gaze to the southwest. Maybe the opportunity was there. Although the risk was higher, life was like gambling. Without high risks, how could there be high returns? There is no suspense in this game, even children will not be interested in it.
How many times can one fight in life? Only by fully understanding the risks of hard work can life be full of fun. The warm southeast wind blew the white clothes of Wu Feng, who was high above the city, fluttering. At this moment, a faint smile appeared on Li Wufeng's lips.
Who would have known that maybe his decision at this moment would set off a violent storm in the Central Continent that had been peaceful for a long time.