84: Five-Year Plan

Chapter 84: Five-Year Plan

Cui Jinghao said, "Your, Your Humble Servant is advanced in years and lacking in energy, this subject requests to retire!"

As he spoke, he knelt down and wept, saying, "Your Majesty, I hope Your Majesty will consider this old subject's loyalty and devotion to Great Yu for so many years, and allow me to retire..."

Zheng Yi frowned. Is this old man threatening me?

Since you want to retire, then go ahead.

After all, the Cui Family was an aristocratic family of Great Yu, and throughout the entire imperial court, besides Cui Jinghao, there were several other officials of the fifth rank and above.

He immediately said, "Elder Cui is dedicated to the country and the people, and I am deeply moved."

"However, during this period, some court ministers have submitted memorials impeaching Elder Cui for accepting bribes from Pseudo-Yan, including gold, silver, and land. This matter..."

Cui Jinghao widened his eyes in anger. "Your Majesty! This is a baseless accusation. When has this old man ever accepted gold, silver, and land from Pseudo Prince Yan?"

"I also believe this matter is groundless, but public condemnation can melt metal, and rumors are rampant, which might be unfavorable to Elder Cui."

"How about this."

Zheng Yi said, "Elder Cui may retire, but you need to donate a certain amount of land to the people of Yan. Surely Elder Cui's action will win the gratitude of the people of Yan, and they will no longer riot."

"What? Land!"

Cui Jinghao was stunned. What does Your Majesty want? He's actually asking him for land!

What a joke!

Land was the lifeline of all aristocratic families and court ministers.

As long as there was land, food and wealth could be continuously produced.

The more land they had, the more prosperous the aristocratic family would be.

Among the mountain villagers, anyone who dared to sell the clan's ancestral land would inevitably be considered a prodigal son!

"Correct."

Zheng Yi said, "Elder Cui wants to retire, but someone has submitted a memorial impeaching you, and I truly do not know how to handle it."

"As long as Elder Cui produces one million mu of land, I will agree to your request for retirement."

"The matter of bribery will never be mentioned again!"

This was a naked transaction.

It all depended on how Cui Jinghao would act.

"What, one million mu of land!"

Cui Jinghao was startled once more.

His Cui Family had spanned over three hundred years to this day, and they indeed possessed large tracts of fertile land, but asking him to produce one million mu of land all at once was practically taking his old life!

He stammered, "Your, Your Majesty, this, this old subject truly cannot produce that much."

"C-Could this old subject compensate with gold and silver instead?"

"For so many years, some descendants of my Cui Family have also been involved in business matters..."

"No."

Zheng Yi said, "I only want land to distribute to disaster victims and meritorious officials. I hope Elder Cui will think it over carefully."

"Enough!"

Not giving Cui Jinghao any more chance to bargain, he said, "Elder Cui is advanced in years and intends to retire. I cannot refuse, so I hereby revoke Elder Cui's status as a Cabinet Minister."

"At the same time..."

Zheng Yi glanced around and said, "Li Changfeng enters the Cabinet."

As soon as these words fell, many officials subconsciously raised their heads.

Especially Ministry of War Minister Li Changfeng.

If he entered the Cabinet, wouldn't that mean...

Zheng Yi continued, "Cabinet Ministers and the Ministers of the Six Ministries, proceed to White Jade Capital to discuss matters."

"All other personnel, dismiss court!"

"Understood!"

The court ministers withdrew one by one, and no one dared to pay attention to Cui Jinghao, who looked as if he had lost his parents.

His mind wandering beyond the heavens, he staggeringly walked out of the palace gates.

One million mu of farmland?

If it were truly handed over, then their Cui Family would be more than half ruined.

If they refused to hand it over, and His Majesty investigated the matter of contacting Pseudo-Yan, the crime would be tantamount to treason!

By then, what would be demanded was not one million mu of farmland, but the entire Cui Family!

"Master..."

A servant ran over and cautiously helped Cui Jinghao up.

Cui Jinghao suddenly said, "Go, have the madam enter the palace to pay respects to Consort Cui. Tell her... this old man is sick!"

The servant blinked and immediately said, "Yes, Master!"

On the second floor of White Jade Capital, the seven Cabinet Ministers and the Ministers of the Six Ministries had all gathered. Zheng Yi sat upon the dragon throne and waved his hand.

Soon, a few eunuchs holding a wooden tray walked in.

"My beloved ministers, this is the Five-Year Plan I have made for the next five years of our Great Yu Dynasty. You may take a look, express your opinions, and check for any omissions or defects."

A Five-Year Plan?

What kind of thing was that?

What was Your Majesty up to again?

Several ministers took it with strange expressions. It was a booklet bound from more than a dozen sheets of paper.

The content was very brief, yet shocking.

While the ministers were examining it, Zheng Yi said, "This plan is a national policy I formulated based on the specific current conditions of the Great Yu Dynasty. I hope that in the next five years, all my beloved ministers can make arrangements according to this plan and successfully complete these objectives."

"Five years from now, I will naturally inspect the completion status of various tasks."

"After five years, it will be a new stage, and a new Five-Year Plan will be discussed!"

As Zheng Yi's voice fell, the ministers did not speak, all of them carefully reading the booklet in their hands.

He was not in a hurry either, waving his hand to signal palace maids to bring up tea and serve it to the ministers.

"The Great Yu Dynasty's first 'Five-Year Plan' has the following specific details:"

"First: Suppress the rebellious people in the northern lands, striving to suppress them within three years and resettle the refugees within five years..."

"Second: The Ministry of Works shall vigorously develop the military industry centered on Red Barbarian Cannons and firearms, recruit fifty thousand skilled workers, and establish ten large-scale military factories..."

"Third: Repel the invading troops of Wu Country."

"Fourth: With the capital as the center, the Ministry of Rites shall build national schools in every village and county, striving to educate school-aged children."

"Fifth: Establish the 'Atonement Farmland' system, using farmland to commute crimes. Anyone who commits an offense only needs to surrender sufficient farmland to receive a corresponding reduction. Note: Major crimes such as murder, treason, and rebellion are not within the review scope of the Atonement Farmland system. Furthermore, the Atonement Farmland system shall only accept farmland and must not accept gold, silver, or external goods."

"Sixth: Establish the Northern Ocean Navy..."

"Seventh: The Ministry of Rites shall establish a 'Propaganda Department' to print court documents informing about state affairs and news transcripts of political intelligence every week by dedicated personnel, and can also print other content to propagate the court's ideology..."

"Eighth: The Taiyuan Hospital and the Ministry of Rites shall establish a 'Medical College', recruiting students interested in medicine to enroll and study, taught by dedicated personnel from the Taiyuan Hospital to spread medical science..."

"Ninth: The military merit system. After all soldiers achieve merits, judged by the Ministry of Works, they shall be granted farmland and wealth..."

"Tenth: ..."

There were a total of nine items in all, all established by Zheng Yi based on the current situation of Great Yu and the intelligence gathered by the Jinyi Guard.

Some of the contents were whimsical, while others were very well suited to the current national conditions.

After the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, Zheng Yi said, "My beloved ministers, do you have any questions?"

At this time, the ministers had also finished reading the contents of the Five-Year Plan, looking at each other in dismay with shock beyond measure in their minds.

The newly appointed Cabinet Minister and Ministry of War Minister Li Changfeng asked, "Your Majesty, you mentioned suppressing the rebellious people in the northern lands within five years and repelling the invading troops of Wu Country. How should this be suppressed, who will lead it, and how specifically should it be executed..."

Zheng Yi said, "This item is merely a plan; the specific details should naturally be discussed and decided together by Minister Li and the various court ministers."

Li Changfeng said, "Your Majesty, can the Red Barbarian Cannons developed by the Ministry of Works provide limited support to the Ministry of War?"

The reason Pseudo-Yan was defeated by the Great Yu Dynasty so quickly was entirely due to the existence of the Red Barbarian Cannons!

If these firearms and artillery were equipped to all military forces of Great Yu, then...

Zheng Yi said, "This was originally my idea. Red Barbarian Cannons, Thunderbolt Mines, and firearms will sooner or later be arranged for all Great Yu armies, but not now!"

"Taking the Shenji Camp as the core, I will gradually distribute the Red Barbarian Cannons and Thunderbolt Mines, ensuring that within five years, the Forbidden Army around the capital, the Imperial Guards, and the Five City Garrison will master firearms and artillery."

"At the same time, I will personally train military branches and gradually spread it to other provinces and counties."

After pondering for a few minutes, Li Changfeng said sincerely, "Your Majesty is wise! But Your Majesty, what exactly is this Northern Ocean Navy?"

"It's very simple. A navy, whose general base is located at the estuary of Bin Province. I plan to build a naval base there."

Zheng Yi said, "This base is located in Bin Province, facing Jizhou and Sizhou across the sea. We can recruit local fishermen, water bandits, and others to form a navy, use ocean-going ships as the foundation to conduct deep-sea trade, and open up maritime trade routes with places like Yu Country and others."

"Of course, the four seas not only have Yu Country, Bin Country, and other nations, but also a large number of Japanese pirates, which is why we need the protection of strong ships and powerful cannons even more!"

"I want to place Red Barbarian Cannons on ocean-going ships and then undertake long voyages. While protecting ourselves, we can also strike at pirates and Japanese pirates!"

"This is my construction plan for the Northern Ocean Navy."

Hearing Zheng Yi say this, the rest of them were filled with shock.

Develop a navy?

Deep-sea trade?

This...

If it were truly developed, that would be a rolling source of wealth!

Li Changfeng felt his voice was a bit dry and hoarse as he asked, "Your Majesty, who will command and manage this Northern Ocean Navy?"

"Moreover, the construction of large ships and bases consumes an astronomical amount of money and grain, as well as time. This subject fears..."

Zheng Yi said, "This matter will be discussed later; I have my own plans."

"As for the matter of money and grain, in the Early Stage, I will use the inner treasury as support, while opening up a portion of shares in deep-sea trade to sell to private merchants, gathering private funds."

"As long as merchants and aristocratic families are willing to shell out money to support the construction of the Northern Ocean Navy, then after the Northern Ocean Navy is successfully built, the deep-sea trade can take them along!"

Deep-sea trade!

As one who had been through it, Zheng Yi naturally knew how huge the benefits within it were.

Many ministers and aristocratic families located along the coast had long disregarded the court's ban and were secretly using small boats to trade privately with other countries.

Even some fishermen dared to use sampans to run to other islands and islets to dump goods.

If they could do this, why couldn't I?

Moreover, the establishment of the Northern Ocean Navy was not purely for deep-sea trade.

But for... seeking immortals!

The headquarters of Fuyou House was in Yu Country after all!

"My beloved ministers, do you have any other questions?"

Ministry of Rites Minister Kong Xiangsi spoke up, "Your Majesty, building these national schools also consumes a tremendous amount..."

Zheng Yi said, "It is merely centered around the capital. In the Early Stage, we will build them within the capital first, and then gradually increase and expand them to other provinces and counties."

"I have said that this is a long-term plan; do not think about completing everything in one go."

"Understood!"

Someone else asked, "Your Majesty, the Taiyuan Hospital is already short-handed. If the imperial physicians of the Taiyuan Hospital are sent out to teach, then when people in the palace fall ill..."

"We can summon famous doctors from all over the world to be professors and establish the Grand Medical College. I will give them everything they want—money and fame—as long as they cultivate a large number of young medical students for me!"

"After these medical students complete their studies, they will be assigned to the military to become military surgeons, protecting my soldiers!"

Someone else asked, "Your Majesty, this rule of Atonement Farmland will probably... breed a large amount of corruption and corrupt officials, and there will be public criticism among the common people. This plan... might cause improprieties."

Zheng Yi said indifferently, "This plan will not exist for long; all other plans are extended from this plan."

"There are numerous corrupt officials and tainted bureaucrats in the imperial court. If we were to execute them all completely, a major upheaval might arise, which is why I came up with the strategy of Atonement Farmland."

"As long as they are not officials, aristocratic families, merchants, and others who have committed major cases such as murder or treason, they can all be heavily penalized in 'farmland' to reduce their crimes."

"Remember!"

Zheng Yi looked fixedly at the Ministry of Punishments. Ministry of Punishments Minister Cui Jinghao had retired and returned home, and those attending at this moment were two Junior Vice Ministers of the Ministry of Punishments.

"What I want is farmland, it is land! Whether it is paddy fields, dry fields, or mountain land, I only want these!"

"Whoever dares to substitute it with gold and silver, do not blame me for being merciless!"

The two Junior Vice Ministers of the Ministry of Punishments were so frightened that they hurriedly knelt on the ground: "We obey the decree!"

"Very well, everyone, do you have any other questions? I will answer them one by one!"

"Your Majesty, this policy still has some loopholes..."

"Your Majesty, this subject has another stratagem!"

"Your Majesty..."

Several days later, after discussions with the heavy ministers of the court, the Great Yu Dynasty's Five-Year Plan was freshly released and rushed by fast horses into the government offices of the thirteen provinces to keep the officials informed.

And several of the plans within it sparked monstrous discussions!

Seeking monthly votes~

Seeking monthly votes~

Seeking monthly votes~

Seeking monthly votes~

Seeking monthly votes~