Time Travel to 1859: The Iron-Blooded Soldier King

As soon as Liu Ye said this, not only the two Empress Dowagers were shocked, but even Prince Gong who was standing beside them was frightened!

This guy actually even shouldered the cost of purchasing naval warships, which was over two million taels of silver! You have to know, the annual revenue of the entire Shandong Province is only a little over two million taels, and the taxes paid to the court are only a little over one million taels. How dare this guy boast so much!

Prince Gong angrily shouted, "Liu Ye, you're freaking crazy! How dare you say something like that? You're even going to shoulder the cost of purchasing the fleet. Shandong will be so poor by then that they won't even have enough to eat!"

Cixi said angrily, "Liu Ye, you said this. I didn't force you to do it. If you start a civil uprising, don't blame the court for punishing you!"

Liu Ye chuckled and said, "Queen Mother, you should also listen to my conditions..."

Cixi said angrily, "Okay, you say, even if Shandong is exempted from paying its capital salary for two years, I will agree to it!"

Cixi was quite generous. Two years of Shandong's imperial salary amounted to over two million taels of silver. Even paying for the fleet wasn't enough. Five installments over three years would have to be paid, which would have totaled over three million taels. Not to mention the navy's expenses. From personnel salaries to weapons, ammunition, and fuel, a navy would cost hundreds of thousands of taels a year. Add to that the construction of the Naval Academy and Weihaiwei, and Shandong would have had to shell out no less than six or seven million taels of silver within five years. Two years of imperial salary was a drop in the bucket. It wouldn't have made a dent.

Liu Ye remained calm and replied, "I thank the Empress Dowager for her kindness. I would like to ask her to exempt me from paying my salary to the capital for one year. However, I want power over Shandong, power that can make all the difference. Please allow me to act as I see fit in Shandong. I will revitalize Shandong within three to five years. Within three years, Shandong's annual revenue will double, and within five years, it will triple! By then, the annual revenue will be over ten million taels of silver. Such a simple matter will be no problem at all!"

amount……

Prince Gong's face had turned green. This kid had the nerve to say that! An annual income of over ten million taels of silver! What kind of a concept was that? Before the Taiping Rebellion, the combined annual income of Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian, and Jiangxi provinces had only reached twelve million taels. But that was due to the prosperity of Jiangnan, the land that was the richest in the world. Shandong? Shandong was now overcrowded, with so few people and so little land. How could it possibly reach that level in just five years?

Cixi and Ci'an exchanged a glance, somewhat unable to believe their ears. Cixi asked, "Liu Ye, did I hear correctly? You want to triple Shandong's annual revenue within five years? That's an eightfold increase! You have to understand, from the reign of Emperor Qianlong to now, a hundred years have passed, and Shandong Province's taxes have not only not increased, but have actually decreased, from over three million taels to over two million taels now. Do you think you're a god?"

Liu Ye smiled and replied, "Empress Dowager, as long as you give me the right to act as I see fit, and the court does not interfere in Shandong's local affairs for five years, I will issue a military order! In five years, Shandong will become a completely different place. Not to mention Jiangsu Province, even the annual income of the entire Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces will definitely not catch up with Shandong!"

Jiangsu's annual revenue is now more than 4 million taels, more than twice that of Shandong Province; Zhejiang's annual revenue is also more than 4 million taels, also twice that of Shandong. If Shandong's annual revenue cannot increase fivefold, it is basically impossible to exceed the total of Jiangsu and Zhejiang. After all, once the war in Jiangnan is over, the annual revenue of the two places will increase significantly!

Prince Gong was a little tempted. Isn't it just the power of convenience? Now in Liangjiang, Governor Zeng Guofan has the power of convenience. In Liangjiang, Zeng Guofan can make decisions on all matters on the spot and make way for the suppression of the Taiping Army. It can be given to Zeng Guofan, but not to Liu Ye?

The question now is, who knows whether Liu Ye is reliable or not? He is really exaggerating a lot!

Prince Gong said in a deep voice, "Liu Ye, let me ask you this: what are your plans after arriving in Shandong? How do you plan to rectify the civil service? Don't take on a job you don't have the skills to do. If you fail, your reputation as a world-renowned general will be ruined..."

Liu Ye reached into his pocket and took out a map, the administrative map of Shandong, with the entire territory of Shandong displayed before everyone.

Liu Ye said, "Your Highness, you see, this Shandong peninsula extends eastward into the Yellow Sea, with a long coastline. Both Laizhou and Dengzhou have numerous seaports under their jurisdiction, and sea transportation is convenient. What I need to do is not only build the Weihaiwei military port in Yantai, but also raise funds to build a commercial port in the Jiaozhou area, establish factories and mines, and vigorously support commerce. As long as commerce prospers, tax revenue will naturally increase. Isn't the reason why Jiangsu and Zhejiang have high tax revenues because of their prosperous commerce? Jiangning, Suzhou, Hangzhou, Songjiang, every prefecture and county is extremely wealthy."

Prince Gong curled his lips and replied, "It's all talk. The prosperity of commerce in Jiangsu and Zhejiang is due to the numerous cities of Suzhou and Hangzhou, and the well-developed waterways, which naturally made it a gathering place for merchants. What does Shandong have? Just relying on this seaport that hasn't even begun to form a single word? Without wealthy merchants, how can you expect such a prosperous commerce? Do you think I'm a fool?"

Cixi and Ci'an nodded repeatedly. Prince Gong's question was very reasonable. It would not work if it were just talk on paper. What Liu Ye said was a bit unreliable.

Liu Ye smiled faintly and replied, "Your Highness, who says that all the wealthy merchants in the world are in Jiangsu and Zhejiang? What about the foreigners? There are so many wealthy foreigners now. I want to set aside an area in the Dengzhou area and open it to merchants from all over the world, inviting them to build factories and mines. Once they are built, they will recruit local people to work. Wouldn't that mean the local poor will have an income? With income, they will soon have taxes. And once they have income, they won't have to rely on the court for relief, and they can even save money..."

"Wait a minute!"

Prince Gong was genuinely shocked. Attracting foreign merchants? Isn't this nonsense? "Liu Ye, you're playing with fire! Attracting foreign merchants, those people are always cunning and profit-driven. Wouldn't they mess up the whole of Shandong? Nonsense!"

Prince Gong's face turned pale. If he said this, he would only say it here. The two Empress Dowagers would be kind and would not blame him. If he said it in the court, he would be drowned in the spit of the ministers! Not to mention a little Liu Ye, even he himself might not be able to withstand it!

Liu Ye said in a deep voice, "Your Highness, if it were anywhere else, foreigners would cause trouble. But under my rule, what are you afraid of? If anyone dares to mess with me, I will throw him directly into the Yellow Sea to feed the sharks!"