Crown Prince of the Empire, I quit!

"We're going to build an arsenal now? This is a huge project."

Chen Shimao hesitated.

A month has passed since Qin Ming returned from the capital.

Chen Shimao and his team have built workshops and textile mills, as well as salt and oil factories.

But the only thing that was not built was the arsenal.

Qin Ming had already discussed the concept of the arsenal with Chen Shimao a long time ago.

This is a facility dedicated to the production of weapons and heavy war equipment.

With it, Qin Ming can try to make vehicles equipped with basic internal combustion engines, or even tanks!

Of course, their technology has only just entered the steam age.

Despite Qin Ming's leadership, the current progress of internal combustion engine research and development has not made much progress.

Due to material limitations, the first generation of internal combustion engines developed by the workshop had very low thermal efficiency.

It's not even as good as the steam engine they have been researching for generations.

This is still a long way from putting the internal combustion engine into use.

Qin Ming built the arsenal because he wanted them to rely on the refinery to start large-scale testing and production, and strive to make a decent internal combustion engine.

"Yes, so we can issue notes to start this big project, and then invest a large amount of silver to carry out research."

Qin Ming spoke with a smile, and Chen Shimao could not see any pressure on his face.

"Your Majesty, if that's the case, I'm afraid that even if we sell another batch of bills, we'll have to invest more than half of the money we earn from that, and it might not even be enough..."

"This is the only way to achieve development across the ages."

Qin Ming's eyes were firm as he slowly confirmed his thoughts.

His goal was very clear, which was to improve technology as much as possible and widen the gap with Daqian in order to deal with the imminent invasion of the Yan Dynasty from overseas.

"How many notes are we selling this time?"

After Chen Shimao knew Qin Ming's thoughts, he fully supported him and prepared to take the next step.

Qin Ming thought for a moment and said:

"Fifteen million taels of silver."

"Not so much, Your Majesty."

Fang Qingyuan followed at this time, and as soon as he heard the number Qin Ming said, he quickly shook his head.

They had held two sales before and had already raised 15 million taels of silver.

Such a huge figure would almost take away most of the savings of the people in several states in the Central Plains and the south.

As soon as Qin Ming opened his mouth, he asked to raise twice as much silver, which put too much pressure on the people.

"I know, but this time our focus shouldn't just be on the Southern Dynasty."

Qin Ming looked towards the northern sky and spoke softly.

"You mean... selling the bills to the Northern Dynasty?!"

Fang Qingyuan and Chen Shimao were both stunned.

This is going to force Emperor Qian to death!

"Since it's a fight between two sides, it makes sense for you to go back and forth."

"They've arranged for spies to infiltrate and drag the people of the Southern Dynasty into the chaos. How can I not fight back against them?"

Fang Qingyuan nodded and said:

"What your Majesty said is absolutely true."

Soon, the news that Qin Ming was going to start building an arsenal was announced to the world.

This kind of thing cannot be concealed, so it is better to say it openly and publicize the news of selling bills and distributing dividends to the people.

At the gate of Luo City, many people gathered here, discussing curiously.

"What is an arsenal?!"

"I don't know, it looks like some kind of factory..."

"You're talking bullshit. How could I not know it was a factory? The key is whether it can make money?"

"Hey, that's bullshit. Look at all the factories run by His Majesty. Which one is losing money?"

"That's right. I feel like the less you've heard of something, the newer it is, the more likely you are to earn dividends."

Their discussions also expressed the voices of many people.

As their trust in Qin Ming grew, they would directly participate in simple issues such as the issuance of these bills without any excessive doubts.

This is the benefit of building trust.

At the same time, some news began to spread in the capital.

The situation here is exactly the same as that in Luo City.

Seeing that Emperor Qian was no longer reliable, many people turned their attention to Qin Ming, hoping to make up for some of the losses caused by Emperor Qian's refusal to pay the money.

"Everyone, I'm going to the Southern Dynasty soon. Do you need help buying something?"

On the streets, some bodyguards were bribed early on by Sun Miao and Wan Shu's men and came to the capital to do publicity.

For example, if some ordinary people buy things for others, it is easy for them to run away with the money.

But the escort agency won’t do that. They make their living from transportation and have built up a good reputation over the years.

Therefore, if they were to take action, it would be easy to mobilize the hearts of the people in the entire capital.

"Really? How much do you charge?"

Seeing that there was someone who could help them buy it from Qin Ming, many people were tempted again.

Sharing the same sentiments as them were the major families surrounding the capital and officials in the imperial court.

"Not much, out of a hundred taels, we only take one tael!"

Several escorts waved their hands and quoted them an astonishing price!

"What!?"

Long-distance transportation often encounters robbers, and the escort agency will charge a lot of money.

But this time, as if he was kind-hearted, he only accepted this little.

This made everyone very excited.

In fact, they didn't know that the prices charged by several major escort agencies in the capital were originally very high.

It was just that Qin Ming paid them a part of the bill himself, which reduced the price directly to one hundred taels of bills and only charged one tael of silver.

Soon, the major escort agencies received a lot of commissions, and they sent a letter to Qin Ming with the total amount.

A few days later, a carrier pigeon flew into Qin Ming's study. After Qin Ming opened it, he frowned slightly and looked a little surprised.

Guan Yue and Wan Shu, who were embroidering nearby, saw this and stepped forward and said:

"What's the matter, Your Majesty?"

"The escort agency in the capital sent a letter. After summarizing the information, the people and major families there only have a little over three million taels of silver."

"What!?"

Wan Shu was suddenly filled with confusion.

Qin Ming's Southern Dynasty is developing stably, has a large number of employees, and the factory is being built in a down-to-earth manner.

Logically speaking, it shouldn't be so little.

However, the capital area, the richest in Daqian, only allocated three million taels of silver.

At this rate of progress, it is probably impossible to reach the scale of 15 million taels of silver.

"How could this happen? Are they unwilling to come, or are the imperial court trying to stop them?"

Wan Shu asked hurriedly, but Qin Ming calmed down and thought for a moment before shaking his head.

"No, the Northern Dynasty is in the wrong, and now the imperial city is often attacked. They dare not take any action to deal with any bills."

"But I did underestimate their vigilance."

Qin Ming sighed slightly.

Just when Wan Shu thought he was going to give up his plan for the capital.

Qin Ming suddenly shrugged and said:

"Fortunately, there's a backup plan. Xiaoyue, why don't you go to the textile factory?"