On the wedding day, my wife was abnormal

Chapter 1146 What to do when the national treasury is empty?

"Not a single drop left?"

Lin Zhen and Murong Yan exchanged a glance, both seeing a hint of helplessness and headache in each other's eyes.

They had just quelled internal and external troubles and were preparing to enjoy a couple of days of peace.

Why is there another issue of an empty national treasury?

"Let him in," Murong Yan said weakly, rubbing her throbbing temples.

Although Lin Zhen was extremely unwilling, he knew that this was indeed the most important matter at hand and could not be delayed.

With a dark expression, he got off the phoenix couch, straightening his robes as he called out, "Let Minister Zhou in!"

Soon, Zhou Xing, the Minister of Revenue, a slightly overweight old man who looked more like a wealthy man than a high-ranking official, rushed in, carrying a huge account book thicker than the corner of the city wall, with a mournful face.

As soon as he entered the hall, he knelt down with a "thud," his large body hitting the gold-brick floor with a dull thud.

"Your Majesty! Your Highness! You two must do us justice for this old minister and for our Ministry of Revenue!"

He wailed and cried, his voice sounding even more pitiful than if his own father had died.

"Minister Zhou, what are you doing? Please get up quickly." Murong Yan looked at his exaggerated appearance and was both amused and exasperated.

"This old minister dares not rise!" Zhou Xing clutched the large ledger, refusing to get up no matter what. "Your Majesty, Your Highness, you two don't know! Our national treasury is truly empty now! Not to mention a single drop, when this old minister went to check just now, even a mouse would have to come out with tears in its eyes!"

"Not long ago, the national treasury was already emptied by more than half for the Northern Expedition to the northern deserts. Then there was the rebellion in Jiangnan, the poisoning of the Grand Canal, and the complete reconstruction of the city... Each and every one of these things cost money, didn't it?"

"Opening granaries and distributing grain requires money! Digging deep wells requires money! Compensating the wounded soldiers and civilians requires even more money! And those aristocratic farmlands and shops confiscated from Jiangnan also need to be taken over and managed, which is another huge expense!"

"These past few days, this old minister's hair has turned quite white from worry! Every night I dream of a group of generals in armor and a group of commoners with hoes chasing after this old minister, begging for money!"

Zhou Xing spoke with tears streaming down his face, moving all who heard him to tears.

Looking at his silly antics, Lin Zhen's initial displeasure dissipated considerably.

He knew that Zhou Xing was telling the truth.

Warfare is all about money and supplies.

In the past two years, the Great Qian Dynasty has been engaged in numerous battles, both in the south and north, and in the east and west. Although the wars have been won, the nation's vitality has indeed been severely damaged.

He stepped forward and helped Zhou Xing up from the ground.

"Minister Zhou, thank you for your hard work."

"Your Highness!" Zhou Xingyi grabbed Lin Zhen's sleeve as soon as he was helped up, refusing to let go. "You must think of a solution for this old minister! If this continues, forget about creating a prosperous era, our Ministry of Revenue will soon be forced to close down, and this old minister will have no choice but to go home and sell sweet potatoes!"

"Alright, alright, look at you, so pathetic." Lin Zhen rolled her eyes at him, annoyed. "It's such a small thing, is it really that big of a deal?"

He pulled Zhou Xing to a chair and sat down, then slowly said, "Don't worry about the money. I've already made preparations."

"Oh?" Zhou Xing and Du Ruhui, who was standing next to him, both had their eyes light up.

Murong Yan also looked over curiously.

She knew Lin Zhen was always resourceful, but she had never heard him mention any methods for solving financial problems.

Lin Zhen calmly picked up the teacup on the table, took a sip, and then slowly said, "Have you forgotten how many houses we raided in Jiangnan?"

"The Wang family, the Sun family, and all those other powerful families, big and small, who rebelled with Li Xian. They have dominated Jiangnan for hundreds of years, and each of them is incredibly wealthy. The gold, silver, jewels, antiques, and paintings confiscated from their mansions are almost equivalent to the annual tax revenue of our Great Qian Dynasty."

"I know!" Zhou Xing said with a bitter face, "But Your Highness, these things can't be eaten, nor can they be used as military pay! We can't expect the soldiers to each carry an antique vase into battle, can we?"

"Who says it's impossible?" A mysterious smile appeared on Lin Zhen's lips.

He looked at Zhou Xing and said, word by word, "These things can't be used directly, but we can turn them into money."

"Turn it into money?" Zhou Xing and Du Ruhui were both stunned.

“That’s right.” Lin Zhen nodded. “We can establish a trading company controlled by the imperial court. Let’s call it ‘Great Qian Royal Trading Company’!”

"This trading company specializes in handling all the assets we've confiscated from those rebel mansions! Whether it's antiques and paintings, silks and satins, or even land and shops, they can all be auctioned off through this company or sold directly to the public!"

"In this way, we can not only turn these inanimate objects into real, hard-earned silver in the shortest possible time, but also control the commercial lifeline of Jiangnan, and even the entire world, through this trading company!"

"This..." Zhou Xing and Du Ruhui were dumbfounded!

They never dreamed that this regent, who was decisive and ruthless on the battlefield, was a master at scheming and manipulating people's hearts.

In terms of making money, he's a fucking genius!

To establish the Royal Trading Company?

Will the seized assets be auctioned off?

Control the world's commercial lifeline?

This...this is simply unheard of, unseen before, an amazing feat!

A dazzling light also burst forth from Murong Yan's beautiful eyes!

She was also completely amazed by Lin Zhen's imaginative yet incredibly ingenious idea!

She knew that if this plan succeeded, the financial crisis that had been troubling Daqian would be resolved!

Furthermore, the national strength of the Great Qian Dynasty will experience an explosive growth in a very short period of time!

At this moment, she leaned lazily against the phoenix couch, and the Divine Phoenix Descent Dress, her only nightgown, seemed to sense her excitement.

The extremely dark Suzhou brocade, under the bright candlelight, did not appear dull at all. On the contrary, because of her rekindled hope and fighting spirit, it presented a hard and shiny luster like obsidian.

The giant phoenix embroidered with real gold thread seemed to come alive!

Golden light burst forth from his phoenix eyes, filled with boundless anticipation and powerful confidence for the future!

The five-zhang-long dark gold brocade train stretched from her feet all the way to Lin Zhen's feet, tightly connecting the two of them.

It was as if they were announcing to the world that this legendary emperor and empress would once again join hands to create an unprecedented business empire!

"Excellent! Excellent! Your Highness's plan is truly a stroke of genius!" Zhou Xing exclaimed excitedly, his entire body trembling with excitement. "This old minister is in awe! I am utterly in awe!"

"Your Highness," Du Ruhui stroked his beard and exclaimed sincerely, "Your ability to 'turn the dead back to life' has truly broadened this old minister's horizons. In this way, the crisis in the national treasury can be resolved!"

"This is just the first step." Lin Zhen smiled as he looked at the two of them, and then dropped an even bigger bombshell.

“Once the Royal Trading Company is on track, we can also issue something else.”

“It’s called, ‘stock’.”