The Great Han Dynasty: From Feng Lang Juxu to the Eternal Emperor

Chapter 355 Lack of Money

Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty thought for a long time and could not find any effective solution.

I just asked Weining casually, but I didn't know he actually had an idea.

Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty stared at Weining and asked, "Oh? Let's talk about it."

"Since there is a solution, I will find a way to solve it no matter how difficult it is."

The key is to have a solution first.

Wei Ning didn't hesitate and said: "Compulsory education!"

compulsory education?

Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty asked: "What is compulsory education?"

Weining explained: "The state pays to run schools in various counties and counties, and all teachers in the schools are paid monthly by the state."

"We are responsible for cultivating children's reading skills such as literacy, sentence segmentation, and comprehension."

"After they complete their studies, they can go home to study by themselves and take the scientific examination in the future."

Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty squinted his eyes and followed Wei Ning's words: "Then ban all private colleges?"

Wei Ning nodded and said, "Yes!"

Talents are cultivated by the state, and there is no problem that big businessmen can control talents to expand their own power.

Teachers receive a unified monthly salary from the state, so there will be no situation where colleges pay high prices to grab teachers.

All children who enter the school will be educated to a certain level free of charge. They do not need to pay tuition fees, but only need to pay for the purchase of books.

These costs are so cheap that even poor families can afford them.

All the problems can be summed up in one word: money!

The imperial court does not have such a large financial budget for this.

The imperial government's fiscal budget for the second half of this year is very tight. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty asked the Ministry of Revenue to raise three million fiscal funds in just one month, but the Ministry of Revenue simply couldn't do it.

Any disaster in the second half of the year will have a big impact on the finances of the Ministry of Household Affairs.

Nowadays, the imperial court's annual finances not only have to spend on national defense, personnel salaries, and local projects, but also on major projects such as national water conservancy and road construction.

There is simply no way to spend more money to invest in education, let alone build schools and recruit teachers.

That's why Weining said it was difficult. The difficulty boiled down to two words: lack of money.

As long as you have money, things will be easy.

Weining has never felt that a big man was so poor.

He had made a lot of money in business before. After becoming the prince, he still had good food and clothing, and never worried about lack of money.

But there is a difference between running a country and running several businesses. The country's expenditure is too huge, beyond imagination. The operation and construction of any project cannot be separated from money, and it is not a small amount of money.

Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty said awkwardly: "It's really difficult to handle. I really have no choice."

Before, he was confident that he could solve problems, but he really couldn't solve them.

However, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty still said: "Don't be discouraged. What you said makes sense. At least the idea is good. Only with this idea can we have a goal to work hard for."

"As long as the country becomes rich, the big man can do what you want."

"We still have plenty of time, so there won't be any problems for a while."

"What you said is very good, yes. Then perfect the idea first, write it down and keep it on file, and then implement your plan when the country has money."

Wei Ning nodded and said, "Okay!"

"By the way, Father, the cotton tree Wusun gave me is about to bear fruit."

Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty: "?"

"It's just a tree. What's so special about it that it's worth talking about alone?" Weining said, "In addition to silk, cotton can also replace weaving."

"That's not the most important thing. The most important thing is that it has the function of keeping warm. Whether it is making clothes or quilts, it will keep you warmer."

Previously, every winter, the entire country would almost fall into a state of sleep.

The same is true for the financial statements submitted by the Ministry of Household Affairs. There will be a lot of commercial tax revenue in the three solar terms of spring, autumn and summer, but there will be almost no tax revenue in winter.

There is no other reason. The winter in Han Dynasty is too cold. In winter, except for the shops on the streets that are open, many business transactions will stop.

If the clothes are not warm, most people will hide at home in winter. If cotton-padded clothes come out, to a certain extent, it can also promote the development of business and increase economic income.

Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty widened his eyes and said, "Seriously?"

Wei Ning said: "Seriously!"

Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty said excitedly: "Okay! Then when the cotton tree in your mouth matures, I want to see what it is that can subvert the tradition of the country's textile industry."

Weining chatted with Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty for a while in Weiyang Palace. There was still a small gap before, but now the relationship between father and son has returned to its normal state.

On the way back to the East Palace, Weining pondered that the country was short of money because its potential had not yet been fully developed.

Now the economy of the country is completely dependent on the north. Weining had proposed to Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty to build the south. The south has unlimited economic potential and unlimited commercial potential.

Weining organized the Ministry of Industry to build the southern waterway in order to open up the north-south commercial chain. Although the country's money does not support the construction of land roads, the opening of the waterway can also open up the ties between the north and the south, and the effect is the same.

This is only a matter of time. After the waterway is repaired, the policy of transporting goods from the south to the north will begin.

This is the most important thing.

Commodities such as fish and shrimp from the south can be transported to the north, silk can also be grown in the south, and food from the land can also be supplied to the north. These are huge commercial potentials.

What else can be done?

Overseas trade?

Weining shook his head helplessly. There were not many foreign countries now, and there were not many countries on the sea. Overseas trade was purely whimsical.

Japan in the future is still a primitive slave society where clothes are made from tree leaves.

However, Japan does have a large amount of mining industry, which can be developed...

It's just that the big man's navigation skills are not enough, and this requires money.

Weining found that he was thinking too far. He should first think of ways to increase commercial taxes besides agriculture. The commercial taxes collected in the Han Dynasty were a bit low.

When Wei Ning returned to the East Palace, Qin Ziyu accompanied him to dinner. Only then did Wei Ning notice that Qin Ziyu was worried.

He did not attend to official duties after the meal, but took Qin Ziyu out of the palace for a walk. When he came back, Wei Ning asked Qin Ziyu, "Why are you looking so sad?"

"What happened?"

Qin Ziyu hesitated to speak, but still mustered up the courage to say: "Ms. sir, why don't you take a concubine?"

"what?"

Wei Ning said: "Why do you suddenly say this?"

Qin Ziyu's cheeks were a little red, and he hesitated for a long time before Wei Ning understood.

It turned out that she had been married to Weining for almost half a year and there was still no movement in her stomach. She couldn't help but suspect that there was something wrong with her health. She was afraid that she would not be able to give birth to a child for Weining and delay Weining, so she was depressed.

Wei Ning smiled and said: "So that's it. It's still early. Don't take it to heart. You will definitely give birth to a big fat boy in the future."

"Nothing else can be said until I have a baby. My love for you will never change."

Qin Ziyu was moved and said to Wei Ning with red eyes, "Thank you, sir."

(End of this chapter)