Throughout ancient and modern times, at home and abroad, the military has always been the largest consumer of national wealth, or at least one of them.

The Chu court now maintains more than 700,000 troops, half of which are training day and night, and the remaining half are new troops built from scratch, including weapons and horses, food and grass tents, weapons and armor... things that need to be purchased and prepared.

There are simply too many, and this is when money is wasted.

According to the statistical documents in Su Mu's hand, hundreds of thousands of soldiers ate horse chews and consumed tens of thousands of dan of rice, flour, and grass a day, not counting the necessary meat. Moreover, Zhao Yuanjin had no intention of being stingy in this regard, and everything was done in accordance with the requirements of the elite.

The high standard of a strong army means that the daily expenses are extremely staggering. If we go to war in the future, this amount of expenses will increase significantly.

When the 350,000 new troops are equipped with all equipment and supplies, complete training and reach the standard of being able to go to the battlefield, it is estimated that the money in the Chu State's treasury will be spent cleanly.

Military affairs cost a lot of money. War is the fastest way to evaporate wealth. In the last years of the Fan Dynasty, the world was fighting. After decades of chaos, when the world was reunited, no matter who became the emperor, there would not be much left in the imperial treasury.

There is a surplus of goods. Therefore, everyone from the court to the local governments will inevitably have to live a hard life for a few years before things gradually get better.

"...The day after tomorrow is the New Year, and the palace has prepared some New Year's gifts, which will be delivered to the mansion later."

After the business was discussed, Zhao Yuanjin spoke warmly.

Qin Feng nodded, stood up and said to Su Mu and Sun Xiangqing: "Can you please follow me to the warehouse to hand over the new batch of goods?"

The two important ministers readily agreed, saying that if it weren't for Qin Feng's continuous large-scale blood transfusions, the Chu court would not be able to support itself now with its almost prodigal spending speed.

A moment later, the three of them left the meeting hall in a carriage and headed towards the warehouse area in a corner of the palace.

According to the rules, except for the King of Chu and the Queen, no one in the palace has the right to ride in a car or ride a horse, and can only walk. Of course, Qin Feng has a special status, so he is not subject to such restrictions. The two important ministers are considered to have benefited this time.

His light.

The palace occupies an extremely large area, and its grandeur and splendor are almost the same as those of imperial palaces. After all, Jinling was the ancient capital of several dynasties, and there were many palaces left over from the previous dynasties. They were used by Zhao Yuanjin after slight modifications.

"Sir, how many years do you think it will take for our government to unify the world?"

After the three chatted for a while, Su Mu saw that Qin Feng was in a good mood, so he asked.

Although Qin Feng has been regarded as a national advisor, Zhao Yuanjin and these core ministers are still accustomed to addressing him as sir to show their respect.

"It should take about three years to wipe out all the nine states in the Middle Kingdom, and also to deal with the barbarian tribes on the northern grasslands," Qin Feng said.

Three years is only about a year in the main world, which is not too long. Originally, Qin Feng estimated that it would be earlier, but with the variable existence of the Emperor of Da Qi, maybe the court can survive a little longer.

"Since Mr. said this, we have nothing to worry about." Su Mu said with a smile.

Sun Xiangqing hesitated for a moment and then said: "Sir, Sun has an unkind request. I don't know whether to say it or not?"

"Master Sun, it's okay to say so." Qin Feng said.

"It's like this. Sun's youngest son is over nine years old, and his talent is far from satisfactory. He would like to ask your husband to be his teacher. If he can give you some advice when you have time in the future, Sun will be grateful." Sun Xiangqing said.

"teacher?"

Qin Feng couldn't help being surprised, and immediately smiled: "Master Sun, are you serious?"

The other party's intention is nothing more than to get close to him, hoping to deepen his relationship with him in this way. After all, his attitude can often influence Zhao Yuanjin's decision.

With this relationship, Sun Xiangqing's position as the first assistant in the court will be more stable in the future, and those who are not on the same page as him will have to be wary of this.

"Since Sun proposed it, of course he came here with sincerity, and I hope sir can agree." Sun Xiangqing said in a sincere tone.

"Let me think about this for a moment and give you an answer in a few days," Qin Feng said.

Seeing that he did not refuse directly, Sun Xiangqing knew that there was still hope for the matter, so he began to think about whether to prepare some carefully prepared gifts to send to the two wives of the Imperial Master. With their help and a few words, the matter should be settled.

The warehouse area is heavily guarded, with many elite armored soldiers patrolling the area. There are crossbowmen and masters of the Wang family in many hidden corners, as well as master-level experts.

After the three people got out of the car and identified themselves, the general on duty immediately ordered the door to be opened and respectfully invited them in.

In the spacious hall, there are hundreds of huge wooden boxes with brass corners stacked up. If you open one at any time, you can see that it is full of newly minted silver ingots, which are dazzling.

"It looks like a lot. It should be able to last for a while longer." Qin Feng said.

"About four or five months, if I don't have my husband's help."

Su Mu smiled bitterly and said: "Every day, at least 150,000 taels of silver are shipped out from here and spent. This does not include the consumption of copper, steel, silk and cloth. When the country is newly established, there are really many places where money is needed.

Too many."

Qin Feng sighed slightly in his heart. In this era, this kind of silver-white metal means huge wealth, and wealth is the blood of a political power. Once it is missing, the vitality of the entire political power will be greatly reduced.

He came to an open area, a clear light flashed, and hundreds of large iron boxes appeared, filling a large area.

Su Mu opened one casually, and inside were neatly cut pure silver bars, each weighing five kilograms.

"The amount of silver in this batch is three million, please check the amount." Qin Feng said.

"Since it was sent by sir, what else needs to be checked? Whatever you say is the number." Sun Xiangqing said with a smile.

This is not the first time that the two parties have cooperated, so there is sufficient trust in this aspect.

Qin Feng then took out 2,000 tons of copper ingots, 5,000 tons of steel ingots, and 3,500 sets of iron pagoda plate armor respectively, and several halls were packed to the brim.

"Sir, the casting of copper coins is very expensive. If it is convenient next time, you might as well bring more copper ingots." Sun Xiangqing said.

"That's no problem," Qin Feng replied.

Due to the technical level, mining and smelting copper in this era was not an easy job. The cost was high and the output was low. At the peak of the Qi Dynasty, the annual copper output was just over 1.3 million kilograms, which is only a few hundred tons.

.It is incomparable to the terrifying production capacity of the main world.

The last three people entered a palace with an inconspicuous appearance, where the defense was even tighter.

After entering it, there is a heavy brass corner-wrapped nanmu box, numbering one hundred. The lid of the box has been opened, and the inside is full of dazzling golden gold. They are all large gold bars of uniform specifications, each weighing a hundred taels.

Sun Xiangqing said: "Here are three hundred thousand taels of gold. Please keep it, sir. We will make up for the shortfall with jewelry, jades, and precious Chinese medicinal materials."

Three hundred thousand taels, which is just over ten tons, is not difficult to sell in batches on the black market. Moreover, after cutting and smelting this thing, it will be difficult to trace it after changing hands several times. In comparison, those high-end jade articles are easier to handle.

More troublesome.
Chapter completed!