Changing Farmland into Mines

Gu Chengyin paused for a moment and turned the topic to Luo Zhao:

"Her Highness has shown me great favor by recognizing my worth, and through her personal guidance in words and deeds, I have gained much. I also know that my talents are limited and my knowledge is shallow, so I especially need time to settle and hone myself."

"I earnestly beseech Your Majesty to allow me to continue following by Her Highness's side, learning through practical affairs and growing through trials. In the future, when I have achieved some minor accomplishments, if Your Majesty does not disdain me, I am willing to serve the Great Luo with the utmost loyalty."

"Only in this way can I live up to Your Majesty's grace of appreciation today, and not disappoint Her Highness's kindness in promoting me."

A tactful refusal!

Gu Chengyin had actually tactfully declined the offer to enter the Cabinet.

His reason was that he was too young and needed polishing, wishing to remain by Luo Zhao's side to learn and accumulate experience.

This answer once again exceeded everyone's expectations!

The moment Luo Zhao heard Gu Chengyin's refusal, her taut heartstrings suddenly relaxed, followed by a surge of extremely complex emotions.

He actually rejected Imperial Father? He chose to stay by her side? Even if only temporarily?

Upon the dragon throne, Emperor Luo quietly listened to Gu Chengyin's answer. His face remained expressionless, but his profound gaze lingered on Gu Chengyin for a while longer.

After a long moment, he finally spoke slowly, saying indifferently:

"What a pity."

It was unknown whether he was pitying Gu Chengyin's choice, or something else.

However, Emperor Luo did not fly into a rage at being rejected. Instead, following Gu Chengyin's words, he nodded:

"For a young man to understand the need to settle down, being neither arrogant nor impatient, is indeed rare."

Changing the subject, he no longer mentioned the matter of the Cabinet, as if the stormy waves from just a moment ago were merely an interlude, and it was now time to return to the main topic.

"Since you wish to temper yourself more by Zhao'er's side, very well."

Emperor Luo's voice returned to the flatness of discussing court affairs. "Then, I shall place a heavier burden on the shoulders of you young people."

He looked at the officials standing in attendance. "Shangguan Yuan."

A minister with a lean and ascetic face hurriedly stepped forward. "This subject is here."

"Briefly summarize the memorials recently submitted by the Ministry of Revenue," Emperor Luo ordered.

The Minister of Revenue, Shangguan Yuan, rallied his spirits. He cleared his throat and began to report in detail.

It was nothing more than poor tax collection across the various commanderies, the impact of natural disasters, and the massive expenses of the stationed armies.

Coupled with the recent expenditures on the palace, waterways, and other engineering projects, it had led to an empty state treasury and a severe situation, and so on.

When he finished his report, Emperor Luo's gaze fell upon Luo Zhao and Luo Yanchen:

"The foundation of a nation lies in its finances. An empty state treasury is a mortal threat."

"Zhao'er, Yanchen."

"What are your thoughts on this matter? Do you have any good strategies to break this deadlock?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the Second Prince immediately jumped out:

"Reporting to Imperial Father! Your son indeed has a strategy that might solve the predicament of the empty state treasury!"

He took a deep breath and then said, "Imperial Father, everyone knows that our Great Luo has a vast territory and abundant resources."

"However, the current emptiness of the state treasury is not because our Great Luo is truly barren, but because wealth is buried underground, unexploited and underutilized!"

Pausing for a moment, the Second Prince saw that he had attracted some attention. His courage bolstered, he sped up his speech: "As far as your son knows, and it has been investigated by specialists, within the borders of our Great Luo, especially beneath many lush plains and fertile fields that have always been regarded as top-grade farmland..."

"...due to the nourishment and gathering of the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, there are astonishing mineral deposits hidden! Gold, silver, copper, iron, and even various spiritual stones and fine jade... Their value far exceeds the grain and rice produced above them!"

His voice took on a somewhat bewitching fervor: "Your son's strategy is that, rather than sticking to the old ways and using these treasure lands where spiritual energy gathers merely for farming to produce a limited amount of grain, it would be better to... convert the fields into mines!"

As soon as these words came out, a wave of suppressed exclamations and sharp intakes of breath instantly echoed through the imperial court!

Many officials, especially those from local provinces who knew the importance of agriculture, revealed expressions of disbelief and even horror on their faces.

The Second Prince, however, seemed oblivious and continued to paint his grand blueprint: "Imperial Father only needs to issue a decree, select a few places rich in mineral deposits, recruit refugees and craftsmen, and excavate on a massive scale!"

"With the strength of our Great Luo's skilled craftsmen, supplemented by the methods of cultivators, we will certainly be able to rapidly extract this underground wealth!"

"Gold and silver can directly enrich the state treasury, while spiritual stones and fine jade can be sold to cultivators in exchange for vast amounts of money, grain, and supplies! When that time comes, why worry about the state treasury not being abundant? Why worry about insufficient funds? This is a brilliant strategy of turning waste into treasure, a golden touch!"

Upon the dragon throne, Emperor Luo listened quietly, neither joy nor anger visible on his face. Only after the Second Prince finished speaking did he ask indifferently, "Convert fields into mines? Then what about the food?"

This simple question struck directly at the core of the issue!

Food is the paramount necessity of the people. Without fertile fields for farming, where would the grain come from?

Without grain, where is the foundation of the nation? Where is the social order? No matter how much gold, silver, and jewelry there is, can it be eaten as food?

The Second Prince was clearly prepared for this. Hearing the question, he immediately revealed an almost fanatical expression:

"Imperial Father! This is precisely the most ingenious part of this strategy! As for the food problem, your son already has a foolproof solution!"

He puffed out his chest, as if announcing an epoch-making great invention:

"Under your son's command, there are extraordinary individuals who, after years of research, have finally created a peerless cultivation technique!"

"This technique is endlessly profound, and most importantly, it has no threshold! Regardless of whether one possesses a spiritual root, regardless of how high or low their talent is, as long as they are of sound mind, anyone can practice it!"

His gaze swept over the civil and military officials of the entire court, carrying an almost evangelical incitement:

"The marvel of this technique lies in its ability to guide mortals to directly absorb the free spiritual energy between heaven and earth, converting it for their own use, nourishing their physical bodies, and replenishing their vitality!"

"Once mastered, one can gradually reduce and ultimately break free from their reliance on the five grains! Simply by breathing in and out spiritual energy, one can maintain their life vitality, strengthen their body, and prolong their lifespan!"

He grew increasingly excited as he spoke, as if he could already foresee a beautiful future where everyone cultivated immortality and no longer needed to worry about food:

"Just imagine, if all the citizens of our Great Luo practiced this art, if everyone could dine on the wind and drink the dew, feeding on spiritual energy, then what meaning would farming still have?"

"The vast fertile fields could naturally be freed up to excavate the endless treasures underground! This achieves multiple goals at once: it solves the empty state treasury, improves the physical constitution of the citizens, and furthermore, allows our Great Luo to stride into a new era where everyone is like a dragon!"

"Imperial Father, this is a great undertaking that will benefit the present generation and leave a legacy for millennia to come!"

In the imperial court, this time there were no suppressed exclamations, but a deathly silence.

Many officials, including some military generals and civil ministers with considerable cultivation bases, looked at the Second Prince as if looking at a madman.

A cultivation technique with no threshold?

Not needing to eat just by absorbing spiritual energy? This was simply the raving of a lunatic!

It violated the most basic common sense of cultivation and the laws of heaven and earth!

If spiritual energy were so easily absorbed and utilized, how could there still be mortals in the world?

How could there still be people starving to death everywhere? How could the path of cultivation be so arduous?

Even Emperor Luo, who had remained expressionless all along, had a glimmer of light flash through his profound eyes.

But he did not refute it immediately. He merely gave a noncommittal hum and turned his gaze to the silent Luo Zhao.

"Zhao'er."

"What do you think of Yanchen's strategy?"