"Look, the ship is coming back!"
At this moment, Mi Zhu pointed, causing Lin Yi's gaze to instantly turn to the Great Ning River, where he indeed saw several huge multi-story ships approaching from afar.
These are the warships from Eastern Wu that I acquired earlier; it seems Gan Ning sent people to them.
From a distance, several boats could be seen returning fully loaded, a sight witnessed by those waiting on the shore, who cheered with excitement.
"My goodness, what a haul! How much are these fish worth?!"
"A trip like this would probably cost enough to feed a whole city for several days. That's terrifying! That's pure money!"
"It's a pity my ship is still in the registration process and needs permission from the Prince's Palace to join the fleet, otherwise I would be rich today."
"It seems Old Zhang from Dongping got his permit and went with them today. Look at that guy, his boat is practically full of fish too, that's ridiculous."
Everyone looked in the direction the man was pointing and sure enough, they saw a small boat filled with so many fish that it was almost overflowing—it was truly outrageous.
Holy crap!
Those who were already interested in marine fisheries couldn't resist their greed after seeing this scene; they had to participate in something so lucrative.
These days, it's not easy to get meat, but fish is still meat, it's nutritious and good for your health. If you sell it all, you'll make a killing.
Seeing the fervent expressions on the faces of the people at the dock, Lin Yi couldn't help but glance at Mi Zhu beside him and chuckled strangely, "Good heavens, I see now. Gan Ning is your shill, isn't he? With what he's gained this time, I doubt anyone wouldn't be tempted!"
What Gan Ning is doing now, to put it bluntly, is being a professional plant.
Only tangible benefits are truly captivating; just look at the longing in their eyes, and you can feel their desire.
Grunt!
He Jin swallowed hard and whispered, "Don't laugh at me, my lord, but I'm thinking of going fishing. It's much faster than slaughtering pigs; it's a risk-free business!"
Pigs need to be raised, but these fish are everywhere in the ocean; all you have to do is go out to sea and catch them. It's definitely a good deal!
"Ha ha ha ha!"
Lin Yi couldn't help but laugh, but he didn't mean to mock He Jin. It was indeed a risk-free business, but to say that there was no risk at all would be utter nonsense.
When fishing at sea, if you encounter storms, you basically won't even find the body.
Gongsun Zan, standing to the side, couldn't help but frown and said, "My lord, if we let them fish in the ocean now, they won't even collect taxes. Aren't we losing out big time? Although the people are rich and the country is strong, we can't let them take everything!"
He felt that although the common people gained some benefits, most of the benefits went to the merchants, leaving Xiliang with nothing—wouldn't that be a huge loss?
"Hehe, nobody says anything. Would I do a deal that doesn't benefit me?" Lin Yi glanced at him and said meaningfully.
Upon hearing this, Wang Yue immediately became alert and ordered his men to cordon off the surrounding area.
This is our lord discussing future strategies. If the enemy overhears this, it could be a small but serious problem. We must be careful.
Xun Yu glanced at him and nodded approvingly. No wonder the lord appointed Wang Yue as the leader of the Net; this man is indeed cautious.
He looked at his lord and laughed, "I suspect that our lord is trying to confuse Li Anlan, thereby misleading others and quietly strengthening the navy!"
He had this idea a long time ago. After all, his lord usually didn't like to suffer losses, so it was problematic that he was now willing to suffer losses to promote marine fisheries.
There must be something fishy going on here!
"Haha, of course it's not just that!"
Lin Yi chuckled, gazing towards the ocean, and murmured, "Have you ever considered that since we already have Northern Liang Xiliang, what's wrong with adding another Sea Liang Island?"
I see!
Xun Yu and the others' eyes lit up, instantly understanding their young master's meaning: he was going to build a third base, and one that was hidden deep behind Great Ning.
My God, this Great Ning danger.
In the future, it will be attacked from both sides. Once this so-called Sea Liang Island grows stronger, it will face attacks from both sides at any time, which will be extremely difficult.
Tsk tsk!
Xun Yu couldn't help but marvel at this, exclaiming, "My lord's move is truly ingenious! And with Sea Liang Island, what difference does it make if we have Sea North Island or North Sea Island as well? Li Anlan must be crying now!"
Everyone felt a chill run down their spines. If they were in Li Anlan's shoes, imagine the islands filled with soldiers and generals; once war broke out, chaos and smoke would inevitably engulf the land.
Just thinking about it sends chills down my spine; who could withstand that?!
"Our lord's ideas are truly boundless. Others might not be able to do it, but after our lord encouraged these fishermen to go to sea in large numbers, he could accomplish all of this completely without anyone noticing."
Chen Qun's eyes lit up. This was definitely a brilliant move; no one but the lord could pull it off.
You should know that creating something from nothing is what our lord excels at.
Gongsun Zan and the others were also excited. With this in mind, great things were on the horizon. Even if Li Anlan had the entire country combined, he couldn't defeat their lord.
Lin Yi nodded slightly and smiled, "Yes, that's also one of my ideas. Whether it can really be done is still unknown. However, although fishing is tax-free, I didn't say that selling fish is also tax-free. There will still be a profit!"
"Besides, my Xiliang warships patrol and protect the fishermen, and they have to pay protection fees, which is basically a form of tax, but compared to the profits, it's just a drop in the ocean."
Forehead!
Everyone suddenly realized that the longest journey they had taken was still through their lord's schemes.
It's supposed to be a tax-free industry, but it turns out that while the fish are tax-free because they're caught from the ocean, you still have to pay taxes when you sell them.
"This..."
He Jin's lips twitched. If this weren't our lord, we'd all be cursing. This is just too much!
"What, He Jin, do you have a problem with me?"
Lin Yi glanced at him and sneered.
"Hey-hey!"
He Jin's face instantly broke into a smile, and he chuckled dryly, "I, He Jin, am utterly loyal to my lord. How could I possibly have any complaints against him? What are you saying? If my lord were to order me to die, I would do so without hesitation."
"Alright, stop flattering me. We need to promote pig farming in the military camp. Soldiers need to eat meat, otherwise they'll all be skinny and weak. How can they fight against those strong grassland people?" Lin Yi glanced at him and said in a deep voice.
So-called vegetarianism is actually a distortion of human nature. Look at people who eat meat regularly; they are all tall and strong. Apart from the influence of race, it is at most the effect of eating meat.
Just as mules and horses need to eat beans to maintain their strength, meat is like a superior form of bean for humans. If mules and horses eat grass every day, even if you are a winged celestial horse, you will eventually become weak and powerless.