When Liu Huaiwen heard about an opportunity to make money, he immediately perked up.
It was impossible not to make money, how empty was the treasury of the Great Ming? Even the rats were starved to death!
Thinking of the miserable state where the treasury was so empty it could starve rats, Liu Huaiwen eagerly asked, "What method? How much can be earned?"
Zhu Jinsong calculated secretly and said, "Getting a million or two million taels should be no problem. If the situation is ideal, getting tens of millions or even hundreds of millions is not impossible."
Hiss!
Upon hearing the figure of hundreds of millions of taels, even the big shots like Zeng Cheng couldn't help but gasp.
Tens of millions of taels?
Tens of millions of taels could rival the annual income of the Great Ming's treasury! If it were hundreds of millions of taels, wouldn't that be equivalent to more than ten years of the Great Ming's treasury income?
Liu Huaiwen tentatively asked, "Your Majesty means to instigate conflicts between countries and then sell a batch of firearms and cannons?"
Zeng Cheng also nodded and seconded, "This idea proposed by Macartney has very little possibility of being implemented in the short term, at least not that easily.
"But we can first release rumors, set a general time limit, and require each country to demarcate its own territory to avoid future conflicts over territorial issues.
"For example, France, will they only be content with their small territory in France? And England, will they only be content with such a small territory?
"They want to expand, and other countries also want to expand. The demand for firearms and cannons will inevitably increase greatly, and earning several million or tens of millions of taels is normal."
Watching Zeng Cheng's mouth open and close, Zhu Jinsong, whose heart had been in turmoil once already, felt his heart in turmoil once more.
However, before Zhu Jinsong could recover, Zeng Cheng continued, "However, there is one issue that needs to be considered, and that is that the Great Ming itself still has many territories that have not been reclaimed. Therefore, the deadline should be set far into the future, at least ten or eight years."
As Zeng Cheng finished speaking, the leaders of the Five Military Commissions were immediately displeased.
Zhu Sanshun, who was in charge of the Rear Military Commission, was the first to speak, "As long as Your Imperial Brother agrees, I will immediately lead troops north to retrieve Qian Long's dog head!"
Liu Erniu, who was in charge of the Left Military Commission, also expressed his stance, "That's right, as long as Your Majesty agrees, our Left Military Commission's navy will cooperate with the Rear Military Commission to recover Liaodong in the shortest possible time!"
Geng Rui, who was in charge of the Right Military Commission, seeing that Zhu Sanshun and Liu Erniu had both stated their positions, followed suit, "Our Right Military Commission can recover the Western Regions within a year. As long as the logistics are sufficient, we can rebuild the Anxi Protectorate within two years and fully recover the former lands of the Yuan Dynasty within five years."
Seeing that the leaders of these military commissions had spoken first, Liu Huaiwen's face immediately darkened. "Logistics are sufficient? You really stand there and talk without getting a sore throat! Come, come, Gou Shengzi, tell me, with what will you provide logistics?"
Being called by the nickname Gou Shengzi in public, Geng Rui's face immediately turned ashen, "Uh, I was just saying, Uncle Huaiwen, please calm your temper, ah, calm your temper."
Liu Huaiwen snorted coldly, and while puffing on his water pipe, he said, "You fools, think about how His Majesty fought when he first raised his army? What, now that conditions have improved a little, you only know how to rely on logistics? Can you not fight without logistics?"
"In any case, there is only one sentence, the treasury is empty. Even if there is money, it cannot be squandered by you prodigals - I don't know who you learned this habit from. Whenever you fight, you first use cannons to bombard the ground, and then use grenades to bombard the ground. After a battle, the shells and grenades are more numerous than bullets!"
Zhu Jinsong's face immediately darkened.
You're scolding them, so scold them. Why are you always glancing at me? And you few who are being scolded, why are you all looking at me? Did you all learn these habits from me? And you! Zhu Laosan, if you nod again, I'll beat you to death!
After giving Zhu Laosan a fierce glare, Zhu Jinsong continued, "Alright, this matter is settled for now. Release the news first, let those barbarians fight quickly, and notify Northern Industries and Southern Armaments to increase their production capacity.
"Once this level of war breaks out, the consumption of shells, grenades, and bullets will be an astronomical figure. Don't let buyers come to the door and the Great Ming has nothing to sell them."
The leaders present immediately nodded in agreement.
However, Zeng Cheng mused that since they were already shameless, there was no difference between being a little shameless and being very shameless. Anyway, as long as there were beings more shameless than the Great Ming, then the Great Ming was the one with more face.
Moreover, who in this world dared to say that the Great Ming was shameless? England? France? Or who?
After thinking for a moment, Zeng Cheng pointed at the globe on the table and said, "Why don't we take advantage of Qian Long's engagement with Russia and have the North Sea Fleet go to Alaska directly? It is said that Russia only established a foothold there, and there are not many troops - it is an old land of the Yin Shang."
Zhu Jinsong couldn't help but be tempted.
More than 1.7 million square kilometers! It seemed like a good deal to get such a large territory back into his hands. At worst, it could also annoy the Russian bears and the silly eagles.
Nodding, Zhu Jinsong looked at Liu Erniu and said, "Does your Left Military Commission have the confidence? I'll tell you in advance, this battle will be fought across the sea, so you cannot rely on the Great Ming mainland to transport logistics for you. You will have to rely on yourselves more."
Liu Erniu stood up with a whoosh and replied, "Your Majesty, rest assured, the Left Military Commission guarantees the recovery of the old land of the Yin Shang!"
Zhu Jinsong hummed, gestured for Liu Erniu to sit down, and then looked at Zeng Cheng and the other big shots, "As the saying goes, even mosquito meat is meat. While stirring them up to fight each other can yield a large profit, there is also a small amount of money that we cannot just let go of.
"Of course, if operated properly, this money may not be small. Not only can it establish the image of our Great Ming, but it can also bring new business opportunities to our Great Ming merchants."
When Zhu Jinsong said this, the big shots present were a bit stunned. If it could be considered mosquito meat by Zhu Jinsong, the Emperor of the Great Ming, then this piece of meat was definitely not small. The market it could drive might even be as large as a whale.
So, besides firearms and cannons, what else could yield such huge profits, not to mention establishing the image of the Great Ming and finding new business opportunities for Great Ming merchants?
While everyone was bewildered, Zhu Jinsong directly turned his gaze to Zeng Cheng. "Director Zeng, discuss with Pierre and Macartney later, and say that I plan to invite the monarchs of Europe to visit the Great Ming."
Hearing Zhu Jinsong say this, Zeng Cheng couldn't help but be stunned, and Liu Huaiwen couldn't help but be angry. Inviting a bunch of barbarian kings to visit? Forget about making money, it would be good if they didn't lose money!
Zhu Jinsong continued, "In addition, remember to tell them that I am moved by the endless wars in many countries in the world and the difficult lives of the common people, so I intend to invite various countries to each send a contingent of people to participate in competitions in the Great Ming. Whoever wins the championship, I will generously reward them with gold medals, to show my intention of 'I only wish to replace war with competition'."
Liu Huaiwen's face turned even darker.
Well, inviting the monarchs to visit was already destined to lose money, and now you want to invite so many barbarians to participate in the competition? If they really respond to your call and come to participate, you'll have to provide for their food, lodging, and transportation. How can you earn any money?
Also, what can the champion get? Can't a bronze medal do?
Prodigal!
While Liu Huaiwen was secretly complaining, Zhu Jinsong continued, "As for the competition events, you discuss them slowly. Anyway, do everything you can. Allow those barbarians to come and watch the games. Remember to charge admission fees.
"Also, hold the competitions separately. For example, some events will be held in Jinan, some in Luoyang, and some in Yunnan, Guizhou, Jiangxi, and Sichuan. We will not only directly boost local infrastructure projects through this event but also through this event, make those barbarians spend more money in our Great Ming.
"In addition, remember to have Pierre set up a betting pool."
"For example, in Cuju, if everyone else bets on our Great Ming team to win, then let our Great Ming team lose the match. If everyone bets on the French team to win, then let France lose the match.
"Of course, this kind of play still needs to be done carefully, not too obviously, otherwise, no one will play in the future."
After thinking about it, Zhu Jinsong added, "Hold this competition in the name of world peace, and hold it once every four years thereafter.
"In addition, for this event, our Great Ming will take seventy percent, and the remaining thirty percent will go to France, otherwise, France will be too much weaker than England, which is not a good thing for world peace."
Four years is a reasonable timeframe, as venues and related infrastructure require time, and the growth of the "leeks" also requires time.
When the various prefectures and counties of the Great Ming have hosted it, then they will open up the bid to the outside. By then, it is estimated that things like broadcast rights can also be sold for money.
As for world peace... Long live world peace!
The Great Qing?
Let alone that the Great Qing is currently busy fighting, even if the Great Qing is not busy, it is only a rebel force of the Great Ming. What qualification does it have to participate in such a world-class competition?
Joseon?
Did Joseon not belong to the Great Qing? Even if Zhu Jinsong sent a large army to liberate and conquer it, it would still be the four prefectures of Liaodong after recovery. There would be no need to consider whether to participate in the competition.
...
After summoning all the envoys currently in Jinan Prefecture, Zeng Cheng got straight to the point and said, "The board and lodging for all participants will be borne by the Great Ming. The principle of the competition is just, fair, and open. Everyone can purchase tickets to watch the games.
"This is the intention of His Majesty the Emperor of the Great Ming. Instead of fighting endlessly, it is better to compete on the field and replace war with the spirit of sportsmanship.
"Especially after ten years, when the International League is established, countries will not be allowed to initiate wars at will."
Having said that, Zeng Cheng picked up his teacup and said, "Those who are willing to give face to His Majesty the Emperor of the Great Ming can stay and continue to discuss the competition events and rules. Those who are unwilling to give face to His Majesty the Emperor of the Great Ming can leave now."
No one left.
Even the Portuguese envoy, who had just arrived in the Great Ming not long ago, did not leave. Before the organization was established, everyone still had to rely on the Great Ming's firearms and cannons to snatch territory. Who would dare to not give face to the Emperor of the Great Ming at this time?
Is it possible not to rely on the Great Ming's firearms and cannons?
Yes, it's absolutely possible. Just don't cry when you're severely beaten later.
Seeing that many envoys did not leave, Zeng Cheng put down his teacup and said with a smile, "Since everyone agrees with this event, let us each arrange personnel and discuss the competition events and rules."