Catherine spoke, happy as a lark.

Jiang Chen smiled and said, "You'll get used to it. I've already ordered the construction of ships, and I believe it won't be long before they're built."

Catherine immediately asked, "Will they be able to reach my homeland?"

"The goal, of course, is to be able to reach your homeland," Jiang Chen said with a smile.

"Wow! That's wonderful! Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Catherine cheered like a child.

Watching Catherine run off to share the news with the imperial concubines, the smile on Jiang Chen's face slowly faded.

He hoped that those places wouldn't disappoint him when the time came.

The New Year of this year passed in an atmosphere of peace and happiness.

On the first day of the new year's court session, Jiang Chen ordered Yang Lechuan, the governor of Liangguang, to immediately return to Liangguang and choose a suitable place in the coastal area to build a port.

This sudden news caught the ministers off guard.

The other ministers didn't dare to say anything. Xu Changqing calculated in his mind and then stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, I have just calculated this year's budget."

"Although there was a surplus of nearly twenty million taels of silver last year, the continuation of last year's water conservancy projects, agricultural tools, and the addition of soldiers will be a considerable expense. If we also build a port and construct ships, I'm afraid we will be stretched thin."

Jiang Chen frowned and asked, "With the current state of the national treasury, how long can we sustain all these endeavors together?"

Xu Changqing calculated and said, "At most, half a year."

"That's enough!"

Jiang Chen waved his hand, signaling Yang Lechuan that he could leave the court and prepare to set off.

The remaining ministers all looked at Jiang Chen curiously.

According to Xu Changqing, the national treasury would be empty in half a year.

And usually, the national treasury has basically no income in the first half of the year.

In other words, these projects that have been launched are likely to be abandoned halfway.

This was very bad!

The Emperor must have thought of what they could easily figure out.

But the Emperor still allowed Yang Lechuan to continue to act according to the plan, which meant that the Emperor must already have a solution.

They were eager to know what Jiang Chen's solution was.

After all, in such a short period, they had not come up with any effective solutions, including Xu Changqing.

Jiang Chen chuckled and said, "Indeed, there is not much income in the first half of the year within our Great Wei. But we can look outward."

Before Jiang Chen finished speaking, the expressions of Xu Changqing and Yao Shouxin, the Minister of War, changed simultaneously.

Yao Shouxin quickly stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, the Western military camps managed by Tian Cheng have been completely wiped out by our Great Wei. Now, the Western military camps have not yet recruited enough soldiers, so we must not start another war."

Xu Changqing also said, "Your Majesty, if we start another war, I'm afraid we can only last for three months at most, or even less. Your Majesty, please think twice!"

The ministers were also taken aback, all thinking that Jiang Chen was going to war again, and they all knelt down and said, "Please think twice, Your Majesty!"

"When did I say I was going to war?"

Jiang Chen was a little dumbfounded.

He raised his hand to let the ministers rise. Seeing that the ministers were still confused, he smiled and said, "Gentlemen, previously, our Great Wei was separated from some countries in the West by the Quanrong, so we could not trade with them."

"Now that the Quanrong have been incorporated into our Great Wei's territory, we can naturally trade with them."

The ministers were stunned, and then their eyes lit up.

That's right, how could they have forgotten about this!

For a moment, most of the ministers' minds became active.

However, Xu Changqing, the Minister of Revenue, was not so optimistic. Instead, he said, "Your Majesty, the envoys we sent have not yet returned, and we do not yet know their customs and culture, as well as what they need..."

Jiang Chen raised his hand to interrupt Xu Changqing's worries and said, "You can rest assured about this, Xu Qing."

"The climate there is extremely dry, and our Great Wei's unique products such as silk, tea, and porcelain are all loved by them!"

Xu Changqing was from a merchant family, and his expression became excited when he heard this.

If Jiang Chen was right, then this transaction would be an extremely profitable business for Great Wei!

However, none of the hundred ministers in the court knew about the situation over there. How did His Majesty know?

Seeing that many ministers were looking at him with suspicion, Jiang Chen chuckled.

"I saw it in the collection of rare books in the palace."

The ministers suddenly understood. So that's how it was!

Many ministers who liked to read felt a little eager.

His Majesty was able to speak a fairly fluent foreign language, and now he was quite knowledgeable about Western countries.

The collection of books in the palace was truly rich!

Seeing that some of the ministers were eager to try, Jiang Chen quickly ended the topic.

"Xu Qing, I will leave this matter to you."

"Your subject obeys!" Xu Changqing said loudly, with a hint of excitement in his voice.

Doing business was his specialty!

With Jiang Chen arranging the statistics of the county offices in various places, as well as the assistance of the charity foundation, this winter, although colder than usual, was the easiest winter for the people of Great Wei to get through.

As the weather gradually warmed up, the entire Great Wei gradually regained its vitality.

Jiang Chen took Jing Yue and Xu Changqing to the countryside on the outskirts of the capital to inspect this year's agricultural affairs.

Jiang Chen stood on the ridge of the field, looking at the old farmer plowing the field with an ox, and said with a smile, "Old man, is this ox easy to use?"

When the old man heard this, he burst out with hearty laughter, "Easy to use, of course it's easy to use! How can an ox that doesn't cost money not be easy to use?"

Jiang Chen nodded with a smile.

This was one of the orders he had given to the Ministry of Works: each village should have at least one communal ox, first supplied to farmers from poor families.

This old man was obviously one of the beneficiaries.

Looking at the old man's joyful face, Jiang Chen said with a smile to Xu Changqing, who was beside him, "For the people, even if it is just an ox, it can make them extremely satisfied."

Xu Changqing couldn't help but nod.

When he was in charge of the Xu family's business, he often focused on the overall situation.

He knew very little about such detailed matters concerning individuals.

This time, he understood that the people's demands were actually very small.

Jiang Chen was also lamenting that, whether in the previous dynasties of the previous world or in his current era, the people were the easiest to satisfy.

But it was a pity that the monarchs of all dynasties had not learned this lesson.

Just as he was about to leave, he saw several people with unkind expressions approaching from the distance.

After those people approached, the old man, who had been full of joy just now, suddenly changed his expression.

"Good! Old thing, you actually secretly used the ox!"

"We thought the ox was lost! If we hadn't seen that you old thing wasn't at home, we wouldn't have known what happened!"

A fat woman in the lead spat out one sharp and mean word after another like a machine gun, even before she arrived.

Behind the fat woman, a middle-aged man in his forties and a young man in his twenties also had rather unkind expressions.