Chapter 2313 - 2053: Let the World Witness Our Glory

"But in reality, aren’t we out of money? Without the forty billion coins borrowed from Liu Zichuan’s side, shouldn’t we be broke by now?" Cao Hong was a penny-pincher who didn’t understand the concept of balanced budgeting; he only understood having money or not. He was generally considered an "Iron Rooster" who only takes in, never gives out.

"On the contrary, this kind of state is actually profit maximization in practice. Saving money is mostly just a precaution against unforeseen circumstances. The significance of balanced budgeting lies in constantly using money to make more money, thereby creating greater benefits, and the scope becomes increasingly larger." Liu Ba gave Cao Hong a sidelong glance and said that if the money was gone, we could simply earn more. People like Cao Hong, who only hoard, have no future.

"So, without this sum of money, wouldn’t we be able to do nothing, just stare blankly?" Zhang Xiu looked tense; he was still waiting to expand his ranks, to boost his Xiliang Iron Cavalry. He had painstakingly trained a batch of Dual Talent soldiers with Hua Xiong’s support of two hundred people, and now he was waiting for funding to expand his army.

"That’s not the case. At the beginning of the year, I already calculated each expenditure. I have a clear idea of when and what funds need to be allocated." Liu Ba smiled and said, "Being out of money this time is simply because there was a loan available, so I spent it."

Afterward, Liu Ba explained the entire process as simply and straightforwardly as possible to everyone. Of course, after speaking, most people were still bewildered, only feeling that Liu Ba was quite impressive. Those who understood were clear that in this situation, the speed at which the country’s strength would recover would be rapid, and they obviously held Liu Ba in higher regard.

After all, hoarding money serves no purpose; instead, converting it into tangible assets that continuously generate profit is more valuable.

"Speaking of which, at this speed, do we have any hope of catching up with Grand Commandant Liu over there?" Chen Qun asked with a hint of curiosity. Though he instinctively felt it was unlikely, he was nonetheless interested in inquiring about it, especially since having a professional dispel some doubts would be beneficial.

"Absolutely not." Liu Ba said, twitching his cheeks, "Not to mention that Marquis Chen’s methods are similar to what I’m using now, but more sophisticated; just in terms of timing, the opposition began this very early, and back then, Marquis Chen had a constant source of loans for development, making it even more unfathomable now."

Because Liu Ba learned so much, he understood what Chen Xi’s current situation was like. Chen Xi himself had become a credit principal; as long as Chen Xi’s credit system didn’t collapse, whether he used fields or copper mines as collateral, as long as this system remained intact, to him, money was just a number.

Moreover, compared to Cao Cao’s side, which was still striving to perfect upstream and downstream industries, Liu Bei’s side was practically complete. In this situation, even if Chen Xi didn’t utilize his credit system, the risk resistance of a complete industrial chain was sufficient for Chen Xi to extract funds for other purposes.

This was why, for a while, Liu Ba continually wished to link his industries to Chen Xi’s industrial chain, but unfortunately was always kicked out by Chen Xi, leading to Liu Ba feeling quite disgruntled. Leaning on a big tree is a great relief, but always getting kicked by the tree is frustrating.

"Alright, Zichu, let the allocation of funds continue to be managed by you, as per our collective decision, start basic construction in the domain." Although Cao Cao generally understood the situation and knew there was no contesting Chen Xi in this realm, hearing Liu Ba’s explanation still left him incredibly conflicted.

"The cement factory arranged by Marquis Chen has already begun operations, and the cement produced daily is sufficient for our use, with a slight surplus. I’ve also obtained raw materials, but replicating it may not be possible until next year." Liu Ba said with some helplessness.

First, there was a material issue, which had been resolved, but then there was the proportioning of materials, which remained a problem. Lastly, there was the firing process; whether in terms of temperature or other special requirements, multiple tests were needed. Overall, it was quite a headache.

Estimating based on the time taken to fire one batch, Liu Ba reckoned that replicating it in the coming months would already be a miracle, and if luck was on their side, it would likely appear next year. Without luck, the time spent would be even greater.

Incidentally, when Chen Xi initially knew about the materials, he merely instructed people to fire them according to the materials, and after considerable effort, the finished product emerged. Even if Cao Cao could replicate it within a year, Chen Xi wouldn’t be surprised, though by then, the country would be unified, and Liu Bei’s side would directly provide this to Cao Cao.

"Not until next year can it be replicated?" Cao Cao fell silent for a while before speaking, "Mobilize a batch of craftsmen to study if we can successfully fire it within a short period, and if one kiln isn’t enough, build two; if two aren’t enough, build three."

Liu Ba nodded. In his view, there wasn’t much necessity to invest in this area, but since Cao Cao wanted to increase investment in it, Liu Ba didn’t mind. It was merely a matter of spending some money.

"What’s the current situation of the western road?" Cao Cao continued to ask.

"I’m overseeing it, and the more than a hundred thousand captives of Miscellaneous Hun are extremely humble, likely due to being entirely defeated by us in the North. Their work ethic surpasses that of typical captives, and at this rate, we’ll extend to the Western Regions by year’s end." Du Xi glanced at his calculated work schedule and spoke.

"That’s good. We must also build a road from Chang’an to Hanzhong. If Liu Jiyu can carve peaks into paths, we can do the same." As Guo Jia previously predicted, Cao Cao paid little mind to this matter; he had many things on his agenda and no interest in worrying about captives.

As for Du Xi, he divided the Miscellaneous Hun captives into forty-odd groups, each numbering three hundred, serving both as markers and surveying the road conditions, divided into forty sections for exploration and construction, directly transforming the route merchants used to traverse the Western Regions into a national highway accommodating twelve carts abreast.

"Alright." Du Xi nodded. Such matters posed no significant difficulty, although in their concept, altering mountain ranges affecting Feng Shui and geomancy was a concern. Therefore, before undertaking this, it required enlisting experts in Feng Shui geomancy, akin to what Liu Zhang did, to thoroughly study which mountains could be cut, and which ones couldn’t.

"Changwen, how’s the investigation you were tasked with? What lies to our West?" Cao Cao turned to Chen Qun and inquired, "Our Western expanse, what’s out there?"

"There are already some leads. West of the Western Regions, there are indeed countries, and quite a number of them. I’ve perused numerous classic books and have basically confirmed that west of the Western Regions, there exists a country possibly comparable to our Han Dynasty." Chen Qun slowly spoke.

"Zixuo, once the road from Chang’an to Dayuan, and then to Onion Ridge is completed, how long will it take us to travel from Chang’an to Onion Ridge?" Cao Cao slowly asked, already harboring suspicions.

"Once the road construction is finished, though there’s thousands of miles from Chang’an to Onion Ridge, if marching with cavalry, the speed should bring us there within a month." Du Xi paused and replied, realizing the situation.

"Within a month? If transporting food supplies and resources, would it also take less than a month?" Cao Cao inwardly smiled bitterly. He already had a clear understanding of what Chen Xi intended, to compete globally by venturing out of the Central Plains?

"In terms of distance, because when we construct roads, we don’t detour unless due to natural deserts where roads can’t be built, if discussing distance, it’s probably about eight thousand miles, and with our current cavalry, their speed greatly surpasses that of the past." Du Xi, at this point, couldn’t help but marvel.

Upon hearing Du Xi’s words, others also silently nodded. If previously, urgent dispatches could travel eight hundred miles a day, a cavalry unit of one man with three horses could cover three hundred miles a day, then now, urgent dispatches could likely travel four or five thousand miles a day, easily exceeding two hundred miles an hour.

Although one man with three horses cannot compete with urgent dispatches that travel day and night, marching a thousand miles a day certainly poses no problem. With an eight thousand-mile separation, discussing deploying an army isn’t just idle talk.

Counting in urgent dispatch, deploying troops, within twenty days one can dispatch an army to Onion Ridge, far exceeding the Empire Ultimate Wall standards where urgent dispatch and troop deployment require over three months to reach.

Of course, requesting every person to have three horses is certainly nonsense, but even ordinary pack horses, under current conditions, can cover two hundred miles a day without issue. Estimating based on this, reaching Onion Ridge would take only a month and a half, leaving half the time to spare.

"So that’s how it is, no wonder Chen Zichuan wants to build pastures in the North, is his goal to strike out?" Cao Cao asked with a face full of realization, "With roads, animal labor on top of fate management, and high-quality breeds, we truly have the means to strike outward now."

Previously, whether in the Western Han or Eastern Han era, advancements stopped at Onion Ridge, the primary issue being the difficulty in troop deployment. For the Han Dynasty, the adversary there wasn’t unconquerable but rather deploying forces to such a remote region entailed insurmountable losses.

Thus, unless absolutely necessary, no emperor was willing to fight an inconsequential war in such a distant place.

Methods like Chen Xi’s forcibly shortened the distances, reducing the difficulty of troop deployment to this level. Let alone the current vast improvements in animal power and other aspects, even if there wasn’t such terrifying enhancement, the disposition of Han Emperors would still entail forcibly acquiring the Western Regions.

It’s an inherent will to expand and conquer that flows through Han bloodlines, and thus with this briefly unveiled path, Cao Cao understood that Chen Xi’s goal wasn’t about continuing to play internal Dynasty games in this domestic ’pond’ but rather to strike outward and let the world witness their glory.