Hearing these words, Liya's face became ugly and she frequently winked to make Chen Feng shut up.
Anyone with a little bit of common sense knows that overseas trade is not that easy to accomplish? Gladstone had already tried similar things, but they all ended in failure.
We have wasted people and money, but gained nothing...
Because this process requires a lot of time and money, just opening an overseas route will take at least several years.
What's more, there are still many unresolved matters such as selling goods externally and agreeing on import and export taxes. It is not as simple as imagined.
Chen Feng, on behalf of the Coast Guard, promised to raise five million kilograms of rice and flour for the empire in just one year. This required opening up new routes, making money through trade, and then purchasing local grain and transporting it back to the port.
Taken together, this is an almost impossible task.
But Chen Feng ignored Leah's gesture and continued: "In addition to these five million kilograms of grain, I also want to develop Jingluo Island into a large city for international trade, and its scale is likely to exceed that of King Monti.
"
Seeing this, Greenlan beside him coughed a few times and interrupted him.
"It's like this. Prince Chen Feng drank too much last night and is still not completely sober. If you brag, just listen to it. Don't take it seriously. Who hasn't talked nonsense after drinking?"
"I feel that what Commander Greenlan said is unreasonable. This is a court, not a vegetable market. If you say it in front of Emperor Leia, you can't change it at will if you promise it for a thousand dollars."
Prince Desi smiled and looked at the nobles behind him, "There are more than a hundred nobles behind me, and they all heard clearly. Prince Chen Feng said that he would raise five million for the Monty Empire through overseas trade within a year.
Jin of grain, if not finished, beheaded."
"Of course it's true. A gentleman's words are hard to follow!"
Chen Feng's attitude was firm.
"Okay, then I and you princes will give Prince Chen Feng one year to do whatever you want without intervening. But if you fail to complete the agreement after one year, I hope you can fulfill your promise."
Having said that, the princes and nobles left the court and dispersed their respective soldiers, thus ending the civil war that had raged for several days in King Monti's city.
At this time, only Leah and Greenland were left in the empty palace.
"Now that the matter is resolved, I will return to Jingluo Island first. Time is tight and I cannot delay."
Chen Feng was about to say goodbye, but was stopped by Liya, "Chen Feng, I have always thought you are a mature and steady man, how could you be boasting in front of all the princes?
You must understand that today next year, if you fail to fulfill your promise, for the sake of the safety of the empire, I will have no choice but to execute you with my own hands."
"Your Highness Leia, you have to have confidence in me! You may not be able to complete the task beyond the quota."
"How can it be exceeded? That's five million catties, not five hundred catties!"
Greenlan shook his head and said: "The farming civilization of the Monti Empire is far ahead of other continents, but the yield per mu of land is very low, generally only a few kilograms. Only in places with fertile soil can the yield of more than ten kilograms per mu occur.
Moreover, food is a strategic material and is generally not sold outside the country."
"How many kilograms per mu? Are you kidding me?" Chen Feng's face turned green when he heard this.
In the real world, he is a programmer and is not interested in farming, but he occasionally learns about Grandpa Yuan's annual output on TV.
Super hybrid rice can achieve a yield of 1,000 kilograms per mu, so under normal cultivation, it should be at least 500 to 600 kilograms.
The farming civilization in Azerothia obviously lags behind the real world. Even if it is half, it may weigh one or two hundred kilograms, but I never thought it would be a few kilograms per mu.
It's not just a little bit behind, but a whole thousand years.
"If the weather is favorable, we can achieve a yield of several kilograms per mu, but if there are droughts and floods, there will be no harvest."
Leah hid her face and sighed, and murmured in confusion: "Even if I empty out the treasury, I may not be able to collect five million kilograms of food."
The power of the hereditary nobles has been entangled in the Monti Empire for more than two hundred years and cannot be eradicated. There are hundreds of princes alone, and only one prince has been promoted through the military merit system, Chen Feng.
The two simply cannot compete.
Especially during the time when Chen Feng was away from King Monti, this group of hereditary nobles did not even take Emperor Leia seriously.
Even though their knightly regalia has been abolished and their military power has been deprived of power in disguise, the guards alone in their respective mansions can still muster an army of millions.
If Chen Feng fails to fulfill his promise and Liya breaks her promise and does not kill him, it will definitely cause a large-scale civil war.
"There's still one year left, why are you panicking?"
Although he was a little flustered, Chen Feng still pretended as if nothing had happened.
I pretended to be awesome and had to finish it with tears in my eyes.
That night, Chen Feng was not in a hurry to leave King Monti. Instead, he rested in a wing of the palace and sneaked into Greenland's room in the dead of night.
"If you feel lonely, then you should go to Emperor Leia at this time. If you are in the same room with me, a man and a woman alone, aren't you afraid of outsiders gossiping?"
Greenlan was only wearing a translucent thin chest-wrapping skirt. When she saw Chen Feng barging in, she picked up the quilt and wrapped it around her chest.
"What are you thinking about? I'm here to discuss something important with you."
Chen Feng extinguished the candle and looked around. After making sure that no one was around, he pulled Greenland behind the screen.
"Oh!" Greenlan filled a cup of tea under the moonlight and handed it to Chen Feng.
"The rebellion in King Monti's City in the past few days has made me aware of the hidden dangers in the new empire. We must prepare early."
"Hidden danger? Are you referring to those princes?"
Greenlan put the teacup to his lips and took a sip of tea.
"Hereditary nobles are not just titles. Behind them are large families that have coexisted with the empire for more than two hundred years. They are deeply rooted. If you want to eradicate them without justifiable reasons, I am afraid it will cause a mutiny."
The hereditary nobles owned fiefs and subjects, which were not fully recovered in the early days of the Monti Empire.
"The only ones who pose a threat are the one hundred and twenty princes. The marquis, counts and viscounts are not to be feared. This whole year is considered a buffer period. When I am away, new troops will be transferred to the palace to protect Leah's safety.
Then the Petersburg intelligence agency was dispatched to secretly collect evidence of the princes’ crimes and place undercover agents in the mansion.”
"Your Highness has Monty's blood flowing through her body. The hereditary nobles dare not touch her. You can be busy developing overseas trade with peace of mind. I will guard Monty's Royal City and His Highness Leah."
"Then please, these princes will always be a threat if they are left here. When I return with my army in a year, I will annihilate them in one fell swoop."
Chen Feng could only make two preparations, which was a helpless move.
If the promise can be fulfilled, everyone will be happy. Relying on the absolute advantage of military strength, the prince's fiefdom and military resources will be slowly weakened.
If the promise cannot be fulfilled, then troops will be sent to destroy all the princes.