Pick up a princess to be your wife

Everyone present had heard of phrases like "unifying the world," "contending for supremacy in the Central Plains," and "unifying the entire world."

The world in Li Mu's eyes seems bigger than the world in the eyes of everyone else present.

But is the world really a sphere? Does everyone live on a sphere?

It seems there are some problems that they might not be able to figure out even if they rack their brains.

Since Li Mu said he would explain these principles later, there's no need to dwell on the ones we can't understand.

"Our dynasty is newly established and has suffered severe losses. During the prosperous period of the Great Yan Dynasty, there were 20 million registered households in the country, but now there are less than 5 million households left."

"Your Majesty established a policy of recuperation and development a year ago, yet now you want us to explore overseas? Is this perhaps inappropriate?"

Ma Rulong asked doubtfully.

This behavior is indeed inappropriate, but that applies to ordinary people.

For Li Mu, there's no such thing as right or wrong.

He should do as much as he can while he's still alive.

With him around, logistics are not a problem, and we won't have to resort to militarism.

Establishing ambitious policies for Daning is also for the sake of Daning's long-term stability and security.

Currently, there are quite a few places in the Daning area that have been destroyed.

Apart from Lingnan Road and Huainan Road, no other place has recovered its vitality.

In the eyes of many, now is the time to focus on domestic affairs.

Only after twenty or thirty years, or fifty or sixty years, when the national strength of Daming truly becomes strong, can it take that first step.

Li Mu smiled faintly and said, "What I mean by exploring the whole world is something that must be done, and something that must always be done. The reason I asked you to look at the map is to set a small goal for our dynasty. For example, to send out iron hooves to trample over every country on the map."

These words surprised everyone even more.

Li Mu just said that he would spend a huge sum of money to build a fleet to go to sea and explore the world.

And now they want to send troops to conquer neighboring countries?

In the past, Li Mu always took things one step at a time, gradually building up his strength and waiting for the right opportunity to act.

But why are you thinking about war now?

Could it be that Li Mu has become arrogant because the White Horse Army has won several major battles in a row?

But Li Mu has never been the kind of person who is ambitious and eager for quick success.

“Your Majesty, what I just mentioned about recuperation and rest… the national treasury is not sufficient, and I’m afraid we won’t have enough funds to fight the war,” Ma Rulong said.

"Is there a conflict between recuperating and rebuilding, and sending troops to conquer neighboring countries?" Li Mu asked with a smile.

That would be quite a conflict, wouldn't it?

Sending troops directly to conquer neighboring countries would be too costly for our current national strength to bear.

Throughout history, no dynasty has ever started a major war immediately after its founding without first allowing itself to recuperate and rebuild.

Throughout history, when our Central Plains dynasty was strong, all nations came to pay tribute. But when our Central Plains dynasty became weak, all sorts of petty villains from the surrounding areas would emerge.

The northern and western barbarians, relying on their abundant warhorses, often tore flesh and blood from the Central Plains dynasty. Even the easily defeated southern barbarians dared to invade the Central Plains.

What we need to do is not to wipe out all regimes in one fell swoop, but to deal with them one by one every few years.

"Take this opportunity to plunder resources and strengthen our Great Ning Dynasty. Harvest them like food and drink, wave after wave, understand?"

Li Mu asked.

Everyone understood what he meant.

However, everyone still felt it was inappropriate. Even Zhao Cuo felt that doing so would easily deplete the country's strength and would be a losing proposition.

“The people should rest and recuperate while the White Horse Army goes out to fight. I will personally take care of all the logistical support. In this way, the people’s rest and recuperation will not conflict with the White Horse Army’s campaigns in the north and south,” Li Mu said.

"Your Majesty, this..."

"Hurrah!"

"If Your Majesty were to use your own money to cover the war expenses, that would naturally not conflict with national policy."

"But, is His Majesty's purse still able to hold up?"

Li Mu laughed heartily.

"Whether my wallet can hold up depends on how many resources you can bring back from other countries after you go to war."

"Our Central Plains Dynasty has always been a land of propriety, and has always provided relief to neighboring small countries. Wouldn't launching a war out of thin air easily lead to widespread suffering and cause our Great Ning Dynasty to bear the infamy of many countries in the world?" Ma Rulong said.

"The Central Plains dynasties have always valued their reputation the most. Whenever they were powerful, if a foreign country sent an envoy to kowtow to the emperor of the Central Plains a few times, he could take back a generous reward."

Now, we must reclaim the gold and silver treasures that our ancestors gave to those barbarians, with interest.

As for the infamy, merits and demerits you mentioned, future generations will judge.

My philosophy is...

Li Mu paused, then glanced around.

"Those who are not of our kind are sure to have different hearts! Their sins are for the present, but their merits will last for generations! This world belongs to our Great Ning!"

This statement was truly thought-provoking.

Everyone who heard this was greatly encouraged and inspired.

Conquering all directions is indeed a man's ideal.

The reason why everyone thinks it's reasonable is mainly because Li Mu is going to pay for the military expenses out of his own pocket.

War equals plunder.

As long as the White Horse Army avoids a protracted war and wins each battle as quickly as possible, it can maximize the benefits of the resources it reclaims.

This is also one of the key points.

"Damn! Second Brother is right! When the Central Plains Dynasty was weak, various barbarians took advantage of the situation. But when our Central Plains Dynasty is strong, why should we give them money? Why should we?"

Now that my Central Plains dynasty is powerful, it's time to seize the opportunity to plunder! Plunder grain, plunder money, plunder women!

Zhao Cuo said indignantly.

Those petty scoundrels are now behaving themselves, just like obedient wives, but who knows if they are harboring evil intentions?

In other words, the White Horse Army has now unified the world. If the world were still in a state of disintegration, the various barbarian tribes would have already pounced on it and torn it apart.

Think back to how much territory the Northern Desert Rangers had conquered in the Central Plains?

If it weren't for the White Horse Army, the Central Plains would have been destroyed.

Therefore, Zhao Cuo believed that only when he was strong could he attack others, instead of waiting until he was weak to be attacked by others and being forced to defend passively.

What kind of land of etiquette?

To hell with it! Whoever has the sharpest knife is the boss!

“If Your Majesty can afford the military expenses and it will not have any impact on the country’s strength, I believe there is nothing wrong with launching an expedition,” Li Ertie said in a deep voice.

“If that’s the case, then there’s nothing wrong with sending them on the expedition. They still need to be dealt with,” Xiong Wenjing nodded.

"This is called being prepared for a rainy day. We're nipping any potential threats to our Great Ning Dynasty in the bud," Zhong Wu said with a faint smile.

Ma Rulong nodded.

"Since we can launch an expedition, then an expedition is also a long-term plan. We need to formulate the most reasonable strategic plan to maximize the results of the war," Ma Rulong said.

Now, everyone's opinions are basically in agreement.

That is to take advantage of our strength, bully others, and do things that our ancestors never did.