Time Travel to 1859: The Iron-Blooded Soldier King

what……

The surrounding officials exclaimed in amazement. "This Li Junfeng is truly daring! He's actually building a seaport and commercial port! Do you even know how much silver it takes to build a seaport? Without over a million taels of silver, don't even think about it!"

Even Liu Ye was surprised. This young prefect was truly capable, his ideas aligning perfectly with his own! He had relied on the knowledge he'd gained from his time travel to build a seaport in Dengzhou, because Qingdao lay within its borders. Decades later, Qingdao was leased to the Germans. In just three or four decades, it had become a renowned city in China, and even in the Far East, one of the few in the entire country.

Liu Ye said in a deep voice: "Prefect Li, you should know that building a port requires an investment of at least one million taels. Where will you get this money from?"

"This one……"

Li Zhifu's expression was somewhat gloomy. He replied, "Your Excellency, this is something that Dengzhou alone cannot accomplish. Even if the entire province of Shandong were to mobilize all its resources, it would still be very difficult. However, at most, we can just work on it for a few more years. If three years doesn't work, then five. If five years doesn't work, then ten. It will definitely work! As long as the seaport is built, I guarantee that in just five years, we can even recoup all our investment and create a huge source of revenue for the court!"

Liu Ye glanced at Li Zhifu with a half-smile and replied, "Li Zhifu, you have to understand that suppressing the Nian bandits now requires money, suppressing the Taiping bandits requires money, and suppressing the Hui rebellion in the northwest is gradually rising, and suppressing the Hui rebellion also requires money. The court is now penniless, so how can we give you money? Assisting Shandong? If I exempt Shandong from taxes, its annual revenue will definitely be cut in half. It can't even take care of itself, so how can we assist Shandong?"

Li Junfeng's face darkened completely. The ideal was beautiful as a picture, but the reality was cruel. Without money, everything was empty talk!

Seeing Li Junfeng wilting, Liu Ye laughed and said, "Alright, Magistrate Li, you don't have to go back to Dengzhou for the next few days. Think carefully about how to plan this seaport. Draft a proposal for me. As long as it's feasible, I will naturally ask the court for your contribution!"

Li Junfeng gritted his teeth and replied, "Don't worry, Governor. I was impulsive and thoughtless, but I don't believe there is no solution! I will definitely be able to resolve it within a few days!"

The faces of the people present were all very interesting. Li Junfeng, this foolish and daring man, was praised by the governor just for coming up with an idea. If he could really come up with a good idea, it seemed that the governor would really give him a way to advance. However, the conditions were a bit too difficult. Tax reduction and exemption, as well as making the local people prosperous, how could it work? The better ones among these people could recite poems and compose couplets, which was considered a skill. The worse ones could not even recite poems and compose couplets. They just knew how to be idle and spend money on wine and women. How could they have any economic talent?

Liu Ye smiled and said, "Okay, everyone, these things won't show results in a day or two. I told you, for three years, there will be a major exam every year. The last one in the nine prefectures, the last one in the ten states, and the last one in each prefecture and county will have their chief officer transferred and demoted. If you can guarantee the top three in the nine prefectures, ten states, and one hundred and eighteen counties for three consecutive years, I will guarantee that they will be promoted to at least one official. If you want a bright future, start thinking!"

Xing Mingtang's face turned green. Not only was he given a big pie, but he also held up a stick to threaten him. Whoever he disliked would be hit with a stick. All the hard work of those years would be in vain. He was in charge of supervision and prisons, but he had no control over the promotion, demotion and transfer of officials at all levels. Liu Ye used a small trick to drive these people away from him!

Liu Ye continued, "Well, these things can't be done overnight. I can only give a general direction. It will take some time to actually implement it. The specific time depends on the efficiency of our Governor Guo Songtao."

Everyone turned their gazes towards Guo Songtao, who gave a wry smile. This time, his burden was quite heavy. How could he come up with this plan so easily? However, he absolutely could not afford to say anything that would hinder him. Whether it would work or not was another matter. Today, he had to support Liu Ye to the end!

Guo Songtao replied, "Your Excellency is right. Promoting the capable and demoting the incompetent is the most important principle in governing a country. If every position is filled with mediocre people, what hope is there for Shandong? Your Excellency, give me a month and I will naturally come up with a complete set of proposals for you. I will definitely not let you down."

One month!

How dare Guo Songtao say that? This involves the politics of an entire province of Shandong. What's the population of Shandong now? Over 20 million! You can figure that out in just a month? I'm afraid you can't even remember the names of all 108 counties in Shandong!

Everyone present had already started to sneer. It seemed that Guo Fantai was nothing more than a big talker. One month? Let's just wait and see his joke.

Unexpectedly, Liu Ye's next few words shocked them even more - "One month? That's a bit long, but since you said a month, then give the governor a favor. One month is the limit. If you can't come up with it, I will punish you with a stick!"

This governor actually thinks the time is too long. Is he even trying to survive?

Liu Ye asked, "Where is the prefect of Yanzhou?"

A voice rang out from the crowd: "I, Lu Mingsong, the prefect of Yanzhou Prefecture, pay my respects to His Excellency the Governor."

When Lu Mingsong heard Liu Ye call his name, he couldn't help feeling uneasy, wondering what was going on that he was the first one to be approached.

Liu Ye asked, "Prefect Lu, I've heard that Yanzhou is rich in coal. Is that true? What's going on with the government-run coal mines currently being mined in Yanzhou?"

Lu Mingsong was startled and quickly replied, "Your Excellency, Yanzhou is naturally rich in coal. There are coal mines in several counties under its jurisdiction. However, there are no government-run coal mines so far. These are all run by businessmen."

Liu Ye nodded and asked, "So which are the largest coal mining companies in Yanzhou now, and how much coal can they produce in a year?"

Lu Mingsong immediately broke out in a sweat. How could he know about these things? He only cared about the tributes from the merchants below him. As for how much they earned in a year or how much coal they produced, it had nothing to do with him.

"Um..., sir, um, um, I really don't know..."

Liu Ye's face immediately darkened. "Lu Mingsong, Yanzhou's main commodity is coal. You don't even know the annual relationship between the most important trading companies and them. What else can you know?"

Lu Mingsong's legs trembled with fear when he heard this, and he fell to his knees. Before he could say anything, Liu Ye continued, "After the banquet, you must return to Yanzhou immediately. I can only give you half a month. You must get a complete understanding of the situation of the Yanzhou coal industry and submit a signed report! If you delay for even half a day, you know the consequences!"