Chapter 57

"Is Your Majesty overthinking it? With the current speed of motorcycles, sending a message to Your Majesty is effortless. The roads in the north of the Great Tang have already been mostly built, and after the roads in the south are completed in the second half of the year, it will be even more convenient," Su Liang said nonchalantly.

"Hehe... That is true," Li Er laughed.

He then looked at Su Liang with deep eyes and continued, "There was a severe drought in Hebei this spring. Now, the people of Hebei worship you, virtuous son-in-law, very much!"

"When building roads in the south in the second half of the year, the court officials will certainly not remonstrate again, and it will be much easier to build roads then."

As he finished speaking, Su Liang smiled slightly; at worst, he would use silver to pave the way again.

Su Liang had been coveting the Iwami Ginzan Silver Mine in the Wa country for a long time. At its peak, the silver produced by Iwami Ginzan accounted for about one-third of the world's total, making it the largest silver mine in the Wa country. It shouldn't be long before the Wa country could be conquered.

Su Liang then looked at Li Er with a smile and said, "Hehe... Your Majesty, rest assured, this time I will gift you a silver mine!!"

"A silver mine? Could it be the same as what you mentioned before, a mineral vein within the borders of our Great Tang?" Li Er asked, staring at Su Liang with burning eyes.

Before this, because of building workshops, Taoyuan City, Changan City, and so on, Su Liang had also recommended several mineral veins to Li Er.

"Naturally not. This time, I am talking about the largest silver mine in the Wa country, the Iwami Ginzan!"

"If it produces 38 tons of silver per year, it can be mined sustainably for over 400 years!"

"Not only that, but I will also gift Your Majesty an additional gold mine with reserves of about 170 tons." After Su Liang finished speaking, he took out a map of the Wa country and pointed out the locations of the Hishikari Gold Mine and the Iwami Ginzan Silver Mine for Li Er and the others to see.

Subsequently, Su Liang intermittently introduced all the large-scale mineral resources of the Wa country to everyone one by one. Su Liang's plan at this moment was to use the natural resources of the Wa country to accelerate the industrialization of the Great Tang.

At this moment, everyone was more excited than the last.

They hadn't expected that besides gold and silver mines, the Wa country was also so rich in mineral resources like coal, limestone, sulfur, copper, and bismuth; there were more than two thousand copper mines alone.

Su Liang smiled at this; the Wa country's title of "Gold Island" was not just empty talk. The types of mineral resources in the Wa country were very complete, with almost every kind available. The problem was that although they had them, the quantities were very small. It was practically a periodic table of elements within a country, known as the "Specimen Country of Metal Resources."

Just as everyone was surprised, Li Ke suddenly said, "Father Emperor... Father Emperor, your son is willing to lead troops to the Wa country."

"Hehe... No rush, no rush. Although the Wa people on the Changshan Archipelago have been eliminated, there are still two hundred thousand Wa people in Tamna that need to be dealt with as soon as possible!" Li Er laughed.

He then looked at Li Ke and said, "Ke'er, you should resolve this matter first. Besides, 3,000 soldiers of the Divine Machine Battalion alone cannot fully spread out across the Wa country."

Just as Li Er finished speaking, Su Liang immediately reminded him, "Hehe... Your Majesty, have you forgotten about the nearly three hundred thousand members of the Wa country's Liu clan?"

"Are you trying to use the power of the Liu clan to control the Wa country, virtuous son-in-law?" Li Er asked.

"Not only that, but there are also the Ezo people. The Wa people have tried every possible way to drive the Ezo people out of Honshu Island, and the Ezo people have long harbored deep resentment toward the Wa country. Moreover, the Ezo people have always submitted to our China and will certainly assist the Great Tang!"

"Hehe... Chumo and the others will arrive in Hokkaido in a few days," Cheng Yaojin said, putting down the clams in his hand and chiming in.

Subsequently, everyone discussed this matter...

Half an hour later, Li Er looked at Li Ke and said, "Ke'er, you should set off early! The Zhenguan is also entrusted to you for use."

"Your son will certainly not fail Father Emperor's trust!" Li Ke said solemnly.

After Li Ke finished speaking with determination, Li Er looked at Su Liang and asked, "Do you have anything else to add, virtuous son-in-law?"

"For the Wa people entrenched in Tamna, kill some and keep some!"

"As for how many to keep, that depends on the Prince of Qi's wishes. Drive all the rest out of Tamna."

"After this matter is completed, cancel the position of Star Lord held by the King of Tamna, Fu Dajia, have all his subjects return to the Tang, and rename Tamna to Zhantang Island."

After Su Liang finished speaking, he let out a heavy sigh of relief. In this way, Zhantang Island would become the Hawaii of China.

Zhantang Island has a total area of 1,848.85 square kilometers, with a length of 73 kilometers from east to west and a width of 31 kilometers from north to south. It is dry and windy in winter, humid and rainy in summer, with a mild climate all year round. The average annual temperature is 16 degrees, the highest temperature in summer is 33.5 degrees, and the coldest month in winter is only 1 degree. The climate is very pleasant.

Hehe... It would be quite nice to come here for a vacation often in the future.

At the same time, Li Er and the others all looked at Su Liang in disbelief. How could Su Liang even know the name of the King of Tamna?

"The current ruler of Tamna is the Zhinan King, Fu Dajia, and their king is called the Star Lord."

Su Liang said a few simple words, not wanting to dwell on it too much, and then looked at Li Er to change the subject: "Hehe... Hasn't Your Majesty always taken the Qin Shi Huang Huang as your idol? Shouldn't you consider the matter of immigration next?"

"Are you trying to have me emulate the Qin Shi Huang Huang, have Han people move to Zhantang, and Sinicize Tamna, virtuous son-in-law?" Li Er asked.

As he finished speaking, Su Liang nodded heavily.

"Good, good, good... Then where do you think we should migrate the population from, and how many would be appropriate?" Li Er was too lazy to think much and threw this difficult problem to Su Liang.

"Only one hundred thousand people are needed."

Jeju Island in later generations only had a population of over 700,000, so that should be enough. As for specifically where to migrate the population from, Su Liang thought for a moment and had the answer.

He immediately looked at Li Er and said, "The one hundred thousand people to be migrated can be recruited from the five hundred thousand refugees from the six northern provinces last year."

Li Er heard this and nodded heavily. Now, the five hundred thousand refugees in Taoyuan County were very convinced by Su Liang. As long as Su Liang spoke, this matter would be effortless.

"Your Majesty, let's go back first, so the Zhenguan can be handed over to the Prince of Qi."

"At this moment, the sweet potatoes and potatoes in Shandong have also reached the harvest season."

As he finished speaking, Li Er also remembered this. Since Su Liang said there would be a severe drought in Shandong in the summer, there certainly would be. He then looked at Su Liang and said, "Virtuous son-in-law, where should the sweet potatoes and potatoes for the second half of the year be planted?"

"Your Majesty should decide this. As long as it's not in Shandong!" Su Liang said lightly.

Subsequently, Li Er, Su Liang, Er Hu, and Cheng Yaojin returned to Penglai City. Along the way, Su Liang also educated everyone on the general terrain and pleasant climate of Zhantang Island.

"Sigh... You'd better stop talking, virtuous son-in-law, I'm already tempted," Li Er sighed deeply.

Just then, Cheng Yaojin laughed, "Hehe... Zhantang Island is really good. Not only is it not hot in summer, but it's also not cold in winter. I, old Cheng, will also go there to retire in the future, to catch fish and shrimp."

At this moment, Cheng Yaojin was still immersed in the joy of catching fish and shrimp and lingering on the various seafood delicacies.

"Hmph... Don't even think about it. As long as I haven't been able to enjoy it, you can't either," Li Er snorted coldly.