Chapter 1652: Sitting Firmly on the Throne for Three Hundred Years

As for the two more important mines in Huaxia, one for saltpeter and one for sulfur, after so many years of development, the scale of extraction is now very large. The sulfur mine, in particular, has reached large-scale extraction; it is no longer like before, where some Slaves were arranged to dig there. After all, the sulfur mine is now completely within the territory of Huaxia, and it can be reached directly by land, so there is no fear of being discovered.

In addition, Huaxia needs Bombs everywhere, so the usage volume is quite large, and there is no fear of having any left over. Now, even post stations and couriers are equipped with Bombs, just to avoid being attacked by wild beasts and savages in remote wilderness areas.

Furthermore, Huaxia has also started selling Bombs to the other two countries, but the quantity is not large, and they are not equipped with shrapnel, greatly reducing their power. They can only be used for mining and clearing paths, or for scaring off wild beasts. Moreover, the wrapping paper has a few fewer layers; if they do not use them quickly and keep storing them, they will become damp and unusable. Therefore, there is no need to worry about them hoarding them for decades and then using them to attack Huaxia, and there is even less fear of them reverse-engineering the formula—how could they analyze it when it is mixed like that?

At the same time, Huaxia discovered another large Iron mine within its borders, which is an open-pit hematite mine with a higher iron content. Coupled with Huaxia's large-scale mining of the previously discovered Magnetite, this has led to the rapid development of Huaxia's iron smelting industry, qualitatively changing Huaxia's situation of iron shortage. Not to mention that over these fifteen years, a large number of Workers have entered the workforce, making labor no longer so scarce.

All of Huaxia's industries are developing prosperously; commerce has also shown scale, handicrafts and the catering industry are developing rapidly, and there are other industries developing as well. Even clinics and Pharmacy have appeared under private operation.

The preferential policies for commerce have ended, so Baifeng naturally does not go soft on commercial taxes. There are even a large number of merchants who specialize in traveling between the three countries, taking local specialties to resell and trade. Official trade between the three countries, on the other hand, has begun to gradually shrink because the volume of private trade is larger, which is more helpful for the circulation of materials.

At the same time, in the ninth year, Huaxia officially ended the era of promissory notes and began the era of currency. Because of the groundwork laid by the notes, everyone's ability to accept currency was easier. Coins of different types have different denominations, and the materials are copper, Iron, and gold. Huaxia is not afraid of private minting by the public because they do not yet have that capability. Moreover, metal in this era inherently possesses the attributes of currency; even if you cut the currency in half, half of it still has the value of half its denomination.

For larger amounts, paper money is still used because it is convenient to carry and can save metal to a greater extent; otherwise, just minting currency would consume too much of Huaxia's metal.

The other two countries have not yet implemented a currency policy, so in Huaxia now, currency does not leave the country. People crossing the border for trade must first pass through checkpoint inspections; they must not carry currency and can only use Cloth as currency for trade. Otherwise, Huaxia's metal would flow into other countries, which is not a good thing for Huaxia.

Because of the control over the national economic lifeline, Changle naturally became the head of the Gold Bank, firmly grasping the power of national finance, and the original Ministry of Revenue was also reformed into the Ministry of Finance.

Baifeng's old friend Xiong is very old now, but it looks like he still has a few years to live. He spends every day strolling around Huaxia City, living a retired life. He is quite satisfied with his life, and he is not prepared to move to the capital. He has spent most of his life in Huaxia City and does not want to go to a strange place when he is about to die. Furthermore, he retired long ago and has no position, so whether he goes or not does not matter.

The current Grand Marshal of the military is being led by Lu. In another ten years or so, he will retire, and the successor has long been decided to be Shaoyin. When Shaoyin takes over, he will be in his prime, which is most appropriate.

People in other departments have some who are old and retired, and some who can still work for a few more years. However, a young man has entered the Court. He started from the grassroots and performed excellently all the way, being upright and unyielding. No matter what your status is, it can be said to be of no use to him. He does not fear Nobles and even punishes Nobles, so he has won the hearts of the people and has an excellent reputation. Many second and third generations who relied on their family's power have fallen into his hands, and because of his existence, many second and third generations have been intimidated.

Baifeng naturally saw his performance, so he also focused on cultivating and promoting him. Later, Miaoyin also took a fancy to this young man, and the two of them successfully married, putting one of Baifeng's worries to rest.

This young man born from the grassroots finally had the biggest backer in Huaxia, becoming the very power-holder he hated most. However, he also relied on this status to dare to exercise his power more strictly, and he is even known in Huaxia as the Iron-faced Judge.

If you ask why, it is because his father was trampled to death years ago by a group of Noble children playing with horses, but they did not receive what he considered to be severe punishment. Therefore, he made up his mind to study hard and must enter the Court. No matter what the status, as long as someone does something bad, they must be severely punished by the law without any mercy. That young Sangtang, who once clenched his fists, also achieved his goal.

However, this has also made the relationship between the Court and the military relatively tense. After all, Shaoyin was the mastermind who caused the death of Sangtang's father back then. Although Shaoyin was punished at the time, he still feels some guilt in his heart now, but apologies are useless now, and with his current status, how could he go and apologize again?

Now, with Sangtang becoming Baifeng's son-in-law, the two of them can only keep silent about this matter and just know it in their own hearts.

Changle later married many more wives, including those given by Xuanyuan and those given by Chiyou, and the number of children born was also large. Baifeng could not take care of them all, so the two older ones, Zhinan and Zhibei, were instead raised by Baifeng himself, which gave them an advantage.

However, they also inherited their father's unfinished cause and devoted themselves to the field of Science to explore the secrets of the world. The other children also have some talent to varying degrees; there are a few who are outstanding, but most are relatively mediocre. Baifeng's family is not full of geniuses.

But through Baifeng's teaching, at least they will not use their status to do evil. Those with ability should study well and do what they are good at; those without talent should enjoy the happiness of being born into the Royal Family.

Yulong is the same, having married many wives and having many offspring, but Baifeng only seriously teaches one, and that is Qihu. Just this year, Qihu's Legitimate Son was born, and the fourth-generation successor of Huaxia was born.

Qihu's first and second children were both daughters; it was not until the third that a Legitimate Son was born. This child naturally received extreme attention from Huaxia because, according to Huaxia's succession system, as long as he grows up smoothly, he will naturally be the fourth King of Huaxia.

Only after the birth of a Legitimate Son was Qihu allowed to marry a secondary wife; this is to avoid trouble caused by the eldest son not being the legitimate heir.

Baifeng also decided, after waiting for this child to be born, to officially pass the throne to Yulong and then move the capital, while he himself would specialize in cultivating this child, ensuring that before he dies, he cultivates a qualified fourth successor for Huaxia. In this way, Huaxia can at least sit firmly on the throne for three hundred years.