Novel East
Chapter 140.1
In this era, large ships are the most important means of transporting goods.
The more ships there are on the river, the more it often signifies a developed economy.
Dynasties and empires with advanced economies have, by conservative estimates, at least a thousand ships launched.
Some are even near the ocean, developing maritime trade, and they possess over 3,000 large ships.
Although Great Xia currently has only 20 ships, which is nothing compared to them, it is still a very good start!
Lin Beifan had already begun to daydream about the prosperity of Great Xia when thousands of ships sailed on the nations waterways.
Impatient, Lin Beifan asked, Minister, what is our annual production capacity for large ships? How many can we launch this year?
After a moment of contemplation, Heshen bowed and replied, To report to Your Majesty, our shipyards have been established, and based on the current progress, we estimate that we can produce approximately 80 large ships a year! Since we are just starting this year, about 50 large ships will be launched to serve Great Xia.
Lin Beifan furrowed his brow, Eighty ships a year is somewhat insufficient! To build a thousand ships, it would take over 12 years! Therefore, continue to expand our scale and strive to reach an annual production of 200 ships!
Heshen felt immense pressure. An annual production of 200 ships was unheard of, even for those empires.
We are just a great kingdom, can we really achieve this?
But, even if its impossible, one must still try, for His Majesty has given the order.
His Majestys commands, no matter how unreasonable, must be followed, or one risks losing their official hat.
Yes, Your Majesty, your humble servant will do his utmost! Heshen said with a solemn expression as if he had taken a military oath.
Good! no๐e๐east.๐om
Lin Beifan said loudly, I have great faith in your abilities, Minister! Moreover, this year, put in extra effort to strive for a breakthrough of 80 ships! Tell the people at the shipyard this news, and if they can achieve this target, I will surely reward them handsomely!
Yes, your humble servant will comply! Heshen said loudly.
Thus, half a month passed peacefully, and then another piece of good news arrived.
It was the autumn harvest, and Great Xia had once again reaped a bountiful grain harvest.
Report to Your Majesty, we have had another bumper harvest of grain this year. The yield has reached XX jin, more than double that of last year, equivalent to the annual food supply for 25 million people. It is more than enough to feed the entire nations common people!
Heshen reported with great excitement, as this was a significant achievement for him.
Lin Beifan was very pleased: Good! Very good! Minister, you have made another great contribution! Haha
Heshen responded with trepidation: All of this is due to Your Majestys merit; this humble servant dares not claim the credit!
Lin Beifan chided with a smile: The credit that is due to you is yours; can I, the Emperor, really compete with my own minister for merit? However, lets just note this achievement for now and save it for the end of the year!
Minister, you are also responsible for many other tasks, all of which have been completed exceptionally well so far. Therefore, I plan to wait until the end of the year to conduct a thorough review of contributions and rewards, and then I will properly bestow rewards upon you!
Heshen was already excited!
He was indeed in charge of many important tasks now, and he had achieved results in all of them, all worthy of reward.
A single reward each time is nothing compared to a grand one!
His Majesty has always been generous, never shortchanging his ministers!
Heshen exclaimed loudly, Thank you for Your Majestys great kindness!
Just then, a voice echoed in Lin Beifans mind.
Ding! As the players national power has grown, your strength has increased accordingly, rewarding you with the Demonic Sword Realm!
The Demonic Sword Realm is a swordsmanship realm that is in no way inferior to the Heavenly Sword Realm! This demonic aspect does not refer to becoming possessed by demons but rather a kind of obsession, an obsession with the sword! When a player enters the Demonic Sword Realm, the sword in their hand becomes a hellish blade, with its power increased by thirty percent! If the enemy wields a sword, they will be suppressed by it, with their strength reduced by thirty percent!
Lin Beifan closed his eyes, rapidly absorbing the essence of this swordsmanship realm.
He discovered that when using Sword Technique Twenty-Three, the effect was the best and the power was the strongest.
At this moment, a doubt surged in Lin Beifans heart.
Now that I possess two swordsmanship realms, namely the Heavenly Sword Realm and the Demonic Sword Realm, what would the power be like if I were to enter both realms at the same time and execute sword moves?
At that moment, Empire Sandbox provided the answer.
These two states are not in conflict; if one enters both states simultaneously, the power of the sword technique will increase by sixty percent! If the enemy wields a sword, their strength will be reduced by sixty percent!
Lin Beifan was overjoyed: Excellent!
Although his cultivation level had not increased, his strength had greatly improved.
All of this was brought about by the bumper harvest of the crops!
Lin Beifan then launched the Empire Sandbox.
Empire Sandbox (Intermediate Level)
Territorial Area: 1.54 million square miles (Arable land 1.5 million square miles)
Domestic Resources: 522 million taels (3 gold mines, 4 silver mines, 6 copper mines, 11 iron mines)
Population: 15.24 million (Wealthy people 3%, Common people 65%, Poor people 32%)
Military Strength: 1.2 million (14 Innates, 4600 martial artists)
Comprehensive National Power: 3050 (Quasi-Dynasty level)
Among these, the Territorial Area has shrunk back.
The growth in Domestic Resources is not significant.
In terms of Military Strength, aside from the addition of three Innates, there hasnt been much significant change.
The increase in Population is not substantial, but there has been a huge shift in the population structure.
Originally, Common people made up just over 30%, while Poor people accounted for over 60%. However, after a bumper harvest, the figures have completely reversed, with the number of Common people reaching 65%, and the number of Poor people reduced to 32%.
This means that nearly 5 million people have been lifted out of poverty and are on their way to a moderately prosperous life!
This is an incredibly significant achievement!
Even for those empires and dynasties, having Common people and Wealthy people make up over 40% of the Population is considered quite good. But Lin Beifan has achieved over 60%, very close to 70%, far surpassing them!
Precisely because of this, the comprehensive national power has significantly increased, breaking through 3000!
Seeing this achievement, Lin Beifan couldnt help but feel a sense of pride.
At this moment, Lin Beifan had a thought: Empire Sandbox, now my Great Xia is considered very powerful among the great kingdoms, the next step is to establish a dynasty! What conditions must be met to carve out a dynasty?
Empire Sandbox immediately provided an answer.
Ding! According to the game rules, a country can only step into the ranks of a dynasty when its comprehensive national power breaks through 3000!
But at the same time, several fundamental conditions must also be met!
The Territorial Area must exceed 2 million square miles!
Domestic Resources surpass 400 million taels!
Military Strength surpasses 2 million, and at the same time, one must also possess 20 Innates, as well as a Grandmaster to preside over the land!
Once all these conditions are met, the nation will be promoted to a dynasty! At the same time, the Empire Sandbox will also unlock more game features with the upgrade!
Lin Beifan pondered seriously; these conditions could be considered easy or difficult.
A Territorial Area surpassing 2 million square miles was not difficult for him.
He wanted to expand his territory; which neighboring kingdom could withstand the might of his iron cavalry?
Great Shi, Great Zhu, or the Five Northeastern States?
Lin Beifan is ready to expand his territory at any time.
With a population surpassing 20 million, although he currently has only 15 million people, with a shortfall of 5 million, its not a problem for him either.
After expanding his territory, the people of other nations will become his subjects, and the population gap will quickly be filled.
He might not even need to fight; seeing how well Great Xia is developing, they will come over on their own.
Domestic resources have surpassed 400 million taels, and Lin Beifan has already exceeded his target.
Military strength needs to surpass 2 million; he is currently 800,000 short. Although the gap is significant, it can be filled by recruiting more soldiers.
Therefore, the most difficult problem he faced was the matter of Innate Masters and Grandmasters.
He needed 20 Innate Masters, but currently, he only had 14, falling short by 6a significant number.
Innate Masters werent as common as cabbages; they couldnt be recruited simply by wishing for them.
Over the past year, Lin Beifan had managed to recruit only 8 Innate Masters through all sorts of underhanded tactics.
Now, with the reputation of Great Xia tarnished and being blockaded by neighboring countries as well as noble families, recruiting Innate Masters had become even more challenging.
But this wasnt the key issue; the crux of the problem was a Grandmaster.
Grandmaster. That is someone who has reached the pinnacle of mastery in the world, standing in a place so high that its bitterly cold, with their numbers being extremely rare.
Within an empire, they are akin to the level of nuclear weapons.
Moreover, these experts often keep a low profile, elusive as a dragon seen the head but not the tail, moving in and out of sight.
Lin Beifan has not yet encountered a Grandmaster to this day.
Even if he were to meet one, convincing them to exert effort for Great Xia would be as difficult as ascending to the heavens.
Now, Lin Beifan can only place his hopes on his disciple, the Sword Elder.
He hopes that after learning his own Way of the Sword, the disciple will have great enlightenment and breakthrough to become a Grandmaster-level powerhouse.
But looking at his comprehension, it seems quite challenging.
Thinking of this, Lin Beifan couldnt help but sigh: Alas, I can only do my best!
***
Sponsored Chapter by Lost Record
17/40
We are currently recruiting. CN/KR/JP Translators/MTLers are welcome!
Discord Server: https://discord.gg/HGaByvmVuw
The source of this content is ๐๐ป๐๐๐๐๐ซ๐ฃ๐ธ๐ซ๐๐.๐ฌ๐ธ๐ถ