"My father is wrong. I have a plan. Not only can the ministers come back as quickly as possible, but I can also control all the stone lacquer mines in the hands of the court!"
Ying Feiyu narrowed his smart eyes and said with a smile.
"Speak quickly! What is the method?"
Ying Zheng asked urgently, fearing that if it were any later, all the stone paint mines in Da Qin would be bought!
"Father, don't worry. Looking for a stone paint mine is not like going to the market to buy radishes. Just take it and leave! Several ministers will have to ask around for a while before they can find it!"
In this era, no one can accurately find the oil deposits hidden underground.
The only information that can be obtained is the oil exposed on the surface.
Even if it is this, it will take a few days to find out!
"Okay! Just tell me, kid!"
After waiting for another quarter of an hour, Ying Zheng felt like countless gold and silver had flowed out.
I wish I could send people out now to snatch these mineral deposits from the old guys!
"Stone paint, like salt mines, are mineral resources of the Qin Dynasty. They belong to the imperial court, not to individuals! As long as my father gives the order, from now on, all unowned stone paint mines will be owned by the state, and the government will not sell them at will! Isn’t this much better than my father sending people out to rush to buy it now?”
Ying Feiyu smiled lightly.
"Huh? That's a good idea!"
Ying Zheng's eyes suddenly lit up.
We are now sending people to look for them, but if they are not fully protected, there are still some missing ones, which is an advantage for others.
Why not issue an edict that as long as it is ownerless, it belongs to Da Qin, and no one can buy or sell it!
This is much faster than buying with them!
"Okay! I'll make arrangements right now, haha!"
After speaking, Ying Zheng quickly ordered people to make arrangements.
As for the old guys who have already bought it, let them be.
After all, they had been loyal to him for half their lives. The imperial court took back all the stone paint mines, and the few that were left out were treated as soup for them!
Anyway, the edict can arrive all over Daqin in a few days. How much they can buy depends on their luck!
As for what is in the hands of ordinary people, if it is forcibly taken back, I am afraid it will cause public resentment, so we can only pay a high price to take it back. If you are unwilling, there is nothing you can do!
With the arrival of the railway, the news was delivered much faster than before. Within seven days, the edict had spread throughout the Qin Dynasty.
However, in remote areas such as Xiongnu, Loulan, Yuezhi, etc., it will take ten days and a half to deliver all the news!
No matter how fast the speed of bringing in a few old guys is, it can't be faster than the imperial court.
What's more, it's impossible for the old guys to go that far to find it.
Thinking of this, Ying Zheng finally felt relieved!
…
After a period of preparation, the team for the Western Expedition is scheduled to set off today.
Since Daqin was too far away from the Maurya Dynasty and there was no train that could reach it, Ying Feiyu suggested taking the waterway!
An army of 300,000 soldiers first sailed to the South China Sea and reached the Bay of Bengal, where they landed in Maurya.
The speed of the steamship is not slow, it can travel day and night, and if it goes well, it can travel thousands of miles in a day.
It will take at most half a month to reach the Maurya Dynasty!
In order to show that the imperial court attached great importance to this expedition, Ying Zheng led hundreds of officials to see him off in person!
Hundreds of ships were launched one after another, and the scene was shocking.
"Your Majesty, don't worry, I will return in triumph!"
Han Xin bowed his hands and led an army of 300,000 people to board the ship.
Among the 300,000 troops, 50,000 were in the navy.
In addition to fighting, he can also operate steamships very skillfully to ensure that the army reaches the Mauryan Dynasty smoothly!
"Woooo..."
After all the soldiers boarded the ship, the steamer sounded its whistle and set off slowly.
Watching hundreds of ships gradually go away, Ying Zheng couldn't help but sigh, "You kid made me a huge profit again!"
"Pfft..."
His words directly made Ying Feiyu laugh.
He really didn't expect that in such a solemn scene, this old guy would change the subject and actually mention money.
"One and a half million gold for each ship, why don't you go and steal it?"
Ying Zheng, who originally had a stern look on his face as he watched the soldiers go off to battle, suddenly turned his head and stared at the young lady with gritted teeth.
The steamship went from the initial one million gold to one million and fifty thousand gold.
Now the asking price is 1.5 million gold.
A rising tide lifts all boats!
In just a few years, the price has increased by half a million gold.
It cost him 150 million gold to buy these 100 ships.
He was so distressed that he couldn't sleep for several days!
"Father, there is nothing we can do. The Qin Dynasty is developing, and the people's demand for iron is too great, causing the price of iron ore to rise again and again. Even if I want to lower the price, it is impossible!"
Ying Feiyu grimaced, seeming very aggrieved.
In fact, this is indeed the case.
Most of the iron ore is in the hands of the court, but a lot of it is in the hands of the people!
Seeing the rising demand, people invariably raised the price of ore.
Since steam ships are made of fine iron, the cost will definitely rise accordingly!
"Hmph! Now I have been wondering whether it was because the shipyard couldn't sell the ships that you suggested to take the water route!"
Ying Zheng, who had been feeling distressed for several days, used Ying Feiyu as a punching bag to vent his grievances after the army successfully marched out.
"Father, did you do this on purpose? You didn't say it sooner or later, but you didn't speak until the army set off! If it had been earlier, you wouldn't have sold this ship...!"
Ying Feiyu pursed his lips and rolled his eyes at him, "Father, think about it. The soldiers set out from Xianyang to the Maurya Dynasty, which is at least thousands of miles away. Along the way, people eat horse chews. Just the food and grass cost a large amount." Money! In addition, the journey is long and the climate in different places is different. It is inevitable that the soldiers will not adapt to the climate. Losing one or two soldiers is a trivial matter. If an infectious disease is contracted and spreads over a large area, not only the Maurya Dynasty will be unable to win, but also these three I don’t know how many hundred thousand troops will come back!”
"Beyond that, what about delivering the message and subsequent supplies?"
"Once a crisis occurs, it will take several months at best just to deliver the news. By then, the day lilies will be cold!"
"Even if we successfully arrived at the Mauryan Dynasty without any accidents, won the battle, and returned smoothly, we would have been delayed for a year! In this year's time, the entire Mauryan Dynasty could bring great benefits to the Qin Dynasty. How much profit?”
Ying Feiyu sputtered a lot and gave him a hard look.
"Hmph! You brat, I just complained casually. Are you still in high spirits?"
His words left Ying Zheng speechless and unable to refute, so he could only walk away.
If he didn't understand these principles, how could he agree to take the water route?
It was only after considering the difficulties and dangers on the road that I spent 150 million gold to buy those 100 steamships!
If there is a better way, he will not pay this huge sum of money!
