In the middle of the banquet, Xu Yi was once again received alone by His Majesty the King in a secret room under the leadership of a chamberlain in the palace.
Compared to the first interview, when His Majesty the King saw Xu Yihou, the smile on his face seemed brighter and more sincere.
Just as he praised Xu Yi at the banquet before, the reason why the Lampali Kingdom achieved such a bumper harvest in this year's autumn harvest was the farmland magic machinery of the Xinfei Chamber of Commerce, and the biggest contributor, of course, It's Xu Yi who invented the magic farm machinery.
For the Lampali Kingdom, or for any country on the Sainz continent, solving the problem of food and clothing for its people is the primary issue.
The Lampali Kingdom had many difficulties in this regard before, but now with the help of farmland magic machinery, it took only one year to almost perfectly solve this problem.
Even according to the assessment of the Agriculture Department, if we continue to vigorously promote farmland magic machinery and eventually make it possible to use farmland magic machinery on every piece of land in the kingdom, then the Lampali Kingdom may not only be able to meet its own domestic food needs. , there is even excess food sold to other countries!
How could His Majesty the King, who knew this great news, not show Xu Yi a sincere and bright smile
"The Agriculture Department thinks food can be exported abroad?" Xu Yi was a little surprised. "Your Majesty the King, please forgive my offence. I think this decision is a bit ill-considered, right?"
"Oh? Tell me what's missing?" His Majesty the King looked at Xu Yi with interest.
"First of all, the reason why our kingdom was able to achieve a bumper harvest this year, in addition to the help of farmland magic machinery, which increased the farmland that can be cultivated, another very important reason is that there were no natural disasters throughout the year, and there was no farmland. Production reduction. But this is an issue that must be considered. If I remember correctly, the unrest more than ten years ago was caused by famine... "
Xu Yi did not go on.
The famine that occurred in the Lampali Kingdom more than ten years ago has now become a taboo for almost everyone in the kingdom, and they are unwilling to mention it easily.
And His Majesty the King in front of him inherited the throne during the famine. He must have been more impressed by this famine than anyone else.
His Majesty the King didn't seem to care much and nodded and said: "Well, this is indeed an issue that needs attention. But of course the Agriculture Department will take this factor into consideration. Can you tell me what else should be taken into consideration? "
"In addition... the Department of Agriculture feels that the food output from this year's bumper harvest can not only meet the needs of all people in the kingdom, but there is even a surplus that can be exported abroad. But I think this is probably based on the previous demand for food in the kingdom. Basically. In fact, from what I have observed in Bangta City and several surrounding cities, I think most people in many families, especially ordinary peasant families, are always hungry. … The USDA may be underestimating the food needs of these people.”
"Are you saying that because I haven't had enough to eat before, once I find that there is more food to eat than before, I will eat as much as I can. Maybe the amount of food will be several times what it was before?" His Majesty the King asked.
"That's what I mean."
Seeing Xu Yi nod, His Majesty the King laughed loudly.
"Haha. I can understand your idea. During the famine, even I was hungry for several days. Later, when there was enough food to eat, I really let go and ate for a long time. As a result, I was directly I gained dozens of kilograms. Look..." His Majesty the King patted his round belly and said mockingly, "I gained weight more than ten years ago, and I haven't lost it yet."
Xu Yi couldn't help but smile, thinking that His Majesty the King is very funny.
His Majesty the King patted the armrest of his chair. He nodded and praised: "Yes, I originally summoned you to praise you alone, and planned to ask you if you still need any rewards. Unexpectedly, after chatting with you casually, I discovered that you have great respect for the entire kingdom. The administrative planning is also very insightful. Not bad... According to Count Satsuma's report, you are still in charge of the overall renovation project of Bonta City, right? "
Xu Yi was startled, then nodded quickly and responded: "Yes. Your Majesty the Earl has mainly entrusted this task to me. However, this overall transformation project has just begun, and no results have been seen yet."
"It is already a very huge achievement for Count Satsuma to have the idea of renovating Bangta City as a whole." His Majesty the King said with a smile. "Xu Yi, I have to say that Bangta City has undergone many changes compared to before since the establishment of your New Flying Chamber of Commerce. At the very least, it has become much richer than before, right? Otherwise, what would happen? I would think of a complete renovation.”
Xu Yi couldn't help but smile: "Your Excellency, the Earl, has been crying about poverty in front of me. To tell you the truth, the City Lord's Mansion still owes our Chamber of Commerce hundreds of thousands of gold coins."
"Let him continue to owe it." His Majesty the King waved his hand, looking unconcerned. "Actually, even I would like to owe your Chamber of Commerce hundreds of thousands or even millions of gold coins."
Xu Yi was immediately surprised: "Your Majesty, our Chamber of Commerce is not so rich yet..."
His Majesty the King smiled slightly: "Don't be nervous. Of course this is a joke. I just discovered that Bangta City has undergone such gratifying changes, and I couldn't help but think that if the entire Lampali Kingdom could become like Bangta City, It would be nice to be prosperous.”
Seeing a trace of emotion on His Majesty the King's face, Xu Yi suddenly felt something in his heart.
"Your Majesty, it may not be realistic in the short term to turn the entire kingdom into a Bangta City, but can you consider giving priority to selecting an area in the kingdom to make it prosperous?"
"Choose an area to prosper first?" His Majesty the King frowned. "What does this mean? What should I do?"
"To put it simply, it is to establish a special economic zone..."
###
After leaving the palace, Xu Yi got on the carriage back to the other courtyard. As soon as the carriage started, he suddenly couldn't hold back a sound and laughed alone.
He had no choice but to think about what he had just talked about in front of His Majesty the King, and he wanted to laugh very much.
It is really funny to talk about special economic zones in front of the king of a country that is still in a semi-slave and semi-feudal society.
However, His Majesty the King listened very carefully to Xu Yi's description.
Regarding Xu Yi's proposal to establish a special economic zone around Bangta City, His Majesty the King actually gave initial approval after thinking about it for a while.
He even took the initiative to analyze the advantages and disadvantages of establishing a special economic zone with Xu Yi.
The advantage of course is that it can concentrate manpower, material resources and policy advantages, allowing Bangta City and several surrounding cities to develop rapidly together.
In fact, this area does not have the policy help of this special economic zone. Because of the leadership of the Xinfei Chamber of Commerce, it has become much more prosperous than before, and it can basically be regarded as a spontaneous special economic zone.
If the kingdom tilts its policy, it will only develop faster.
The main disadvantage is that such a decision will cause dissatisfaction in other parts of the kingdom, especially those places where the territories of the great nobles are located.
Why should Bangta City and several surrounding cities be chosen to establish a special economic zone instead of other places
Does Bangta City have any special advantages compared with other places
Xu Yi wanted to say that because Bangta City has the Xinfei Chamber of Commerce, this is the biggest advantage. But of course you can't actually say that, and even if you say it, no one will be convinced.
So his final proposal to His Majesty the King was actually more cautious. He only proposed the concept of a special economic zone, but did not intend for His Majesty the King to really clearly indicate to everyone that he would establish a special economic zone around Bangta City.
To put it bluntly, Xu Yi just wanted His Majesty the King to pay special attention to the area around Bangta City. Give some policy inclinations in certain aspects to facilitate the development of Bangta City and several surrounding cities.
His Majesty the King was in favor of this proposal and expressed that he would consider it carefully.
So Xu Yi's meeting with His Majesty the King achieved a very satisfactory result for him.
But when he was saying goodbye, His Majesty the King suddenly patted him on the shoulder and said something that made him very wary.
His Majesty the King said at the time: "Very good, I feel more relieved to have such a good helper like you in Sevigny."
This sentence is really thought-provoking.
Until the carriage stopped at the gate of the courtyard. Xu Yi still couldn't figure out the true intention of His Majesty the King in saying this to him.
Seeing Steele coming out, he could only give up thinking temporarily, take these words into his heart, and greet him with a smile.
"Aleri's awake," Steele said.
"Oh? Then let's go take a look quickly."
Xu Yi and Steele walked quickly to Aleri's room.
As soon as he walked to the door, he heard a weak voice from inside the room.
"Bella... Bella, don't... do this. It's not good for others to see..."
Then Bella's very recognizable, slightly high-pitched voice sounded.
"Huh, what's wrong? I'm taking care of patients. Come on. Open your mouth and don't act like a girl. Ah..."
Hearing the sound of bowls and spoons clinking in the room, Xu Yi stopped, pointed to the room, and cast a questioning look at Steele.
Steele pursed his lips to reveal a snicker with a hint of lust, stretched out his index finger to his mouth to make a silencing gesture, and then quietly approached the door with Xu Yi. The probe looked inside.
The situation in the room was just as Xu Yi thought. Aleri's back was cushioned with a pillow and quilt, and he was lying on the bed diagonally, while Bella was sitting on the edge of the bed. He was holding a bowl of something dark and it was unclear whether it was soup or medicine, and he was taking a spoonful of it and feeding it to Aleri's mouth.
Seeing Aleri's face flushed and ready to open his mouth to swallow the spoon, Xu Yi suddenly coughed lightly, stepped in the door, made a surprised expression, and said loudly: "Bella, didn't you say you fell in love with me yesterday? Did you change your mind after just one day?"
Bella's hands shook in shock and she almost threw the spoon.
Seeing Steele walking in from the door with Xu Yi, they were immediately embarrassed.