Ling Tianfang also intended to recruit the government's army. The price of spices in the empire has soared over the past year, which has greatly dissatisfied the people in the empire, especially some wealthy classes. They originally thought that they could fully enjoy the benefits by controlling the Meli area, but they did not expect that the price of spices even increased a lot than before. The reason is that the demand in the Western Continent has increased sharply, and the merchants are driven by interests and naturally will not take care of the domestic needs of the empire.

Xiao Tang and Su Qin were also angry. As the empire's area continued to expand, the population in the territory also increased sharply. The empire's economy continued to grow rapidly in recent years, and the number of emerging wealthy classes also increased significantly. On the one hand, they increased investment and expanded reproduction, but on the other hand, they also began to pay attention to the quality of life and continuously improve the taste and level of life. This also caused a significant increase in demand for various luxury goods. Spices are undoubtedly a necessity for improving the taste and quality of life for the wealthy people. The spices in the Meli area in the Central and Northern Melis are obviously difficult to meet the huge wealthy people of the empire. Moreover, the number of this type of wealthy people is still growing rapidly, and the gap between demand and supply will become larger and larger. The discovery of Lilac Island undoubtedly pointed out a path for the needs of the middle and upper classes of the empire. If Lilac Island can be developed, it can greatly reduce the pressure on the empire for these spices, and at the same time create considerable wealth for the empire.

"How much time does it take to sail from Lilac Island to Sikkim?" Both Wufeng and some other people in the hall are very sensitive to this issue. This is the most important issue, involving the transportation cost of spices.

"If you sail according to the current route, it will take at least one and a half months, and there will be no mistakes and delays in the process." Ling Tianfang replied: "The Naval Intelligence Bureau and the Surveying and Mapping Bureau are working hard to open the route directly across the Eastern Latin Ocean from Dingliu Island. It is estimated that if this course can be opened, the sailing time from Dingliu Island to Sikkim can be shortened to about twenty-five days. However, this is just a preliminary idea. Everything needs to be determined after it is truly opened and a detailed and reliable chart is made."

After breathing, Wufeng fell into deep thought. The importance of Lilac Island to the empire is beyond doubt. Even he felt the rising spice prices. There were many representatives in the Citizen Court questioning that the empire's price of spices did not fall but rose after controlling the Meli region in the Central and Northern China. This made the empire's Ministry of Commerce a little passive. The demand for spices in the Western Continent continued to grow. Whether from the psychological distance or the actual distance, it was better to export spices to the Western Continent than to the Eastern Continent.

It is much more expensive to travel from Luxor to board the ship and the Baltic Sea and the Aegean coast. Even if pirates are rampant, as long as you pay the fee, you can be safe. If you really can't walk by land, go through the coastal county and the West Indian county to the Hansen alliance. In transiting the countries of the Western continent, the transportation costs are much more cost-effective than crossing the Central continent by land or entering the Latin Ocean through the Bay of Adria and the South Ocean to the Empire. This also led to the rise in spice prices in disguise.

"Mr. Ling, what are the natural conditions in the Great Lakes?" What broke the silence was the trust of the Minister of Agricultural Administration and Water Resources Zhan Huacai. He was the only official among the central ministries of the Empire who neither followed Wufeng from the Western Xinjiang nor remained in office in the former Tanghe Empire. He was originally just a senior scholar at the Imperial University and had great achievements in agriculture and water conservancy. Later, he was jointly recommended to the North Korea by representatives of the Citizens' Academy. Wufeng simply appointed him directly as Minister of Agricultural Administration and Water Resources, which once again set a precedent for the appointment and removal of officials, which also made Wufeng widely praised in the Shilin.

"The Great Lakes area is a thousand miles in a radius, with abundant water and good water and heat conditions. The forest covers half of the timber resources are extremely rich. The rest are tropical savanna areas. If they can be reclaimed, they will definitely become fertile fields. Moreover, according to the climate and environmental conditions of this area, such economic crops as gum trees, cocoa, palms, and sugarcane, should all be widely planted and the irrigation conditions are good. However, the basic conditions in this area are poor now. From Mountbatten to Lake Tanganika, from Asab to Lake Malawi, now there are only some paths we have figured out by ourselves. Logistics support is very difficult, so the construction of the colony has been stopped. There are also a large number of indigenous black people in the forest. Most of them make a living by fishing, hunting and collecting plant fruits and seeds. If the empire needs it, it is necessary to build a colony. There are also a large number of indigenous black people in the forest. Most of them make a living by fishing, hunting and collecting plant fruits and seeds.

As long as we plan it well, they can become cheap laborers of the empire. Because this area is located in the inland hinterland of the New World, whether it is the Kingdom of Leeds, the Famini Empire and the Barolz Kingdom, their power has not yet been extended here. They have more energy on the coastal areas of the mainland. Our empire is just an expedition team itself to explore and map around the lake. However, according to my judgment, if we leave it alone, the Leeds and Famini people will step here in less than ten years. At that time, it would be very difficult for the empire to monopolize this fertile area." Ling Tianfang licked his lips, obviously he was very yearning for the fertileness of the Great Lakes Region. Such a large fertile land was ignored, which was simply a crime.

Ling Tianfang's description made many people in the hall swallow. The fertile land is the best wealth for everyone. It can produce as long as there are people without any worries. Although it is far less profitable than the industrial and commercial industry, it is the most stable income. This is also the most stable income for many imperial gentry and nobles who made money in the industrial and commercial industry, even if they made money, they still like to buy a large amount of land as a means of investment.

"Well, what are your plans to let you go that day?" Wufeng asked directly without giving Xiao Tang and Su Qin a chance.

"My thought is very simple. I can control this land as quickly as possible, so that the empire can become the legal master here. When the Leeds and others come here, this is already the actual control area of ​​the empire, and they can only watch us, just as we can only watch them control the north and west of the New World now. This is called preconceived ideas." Ling Tianfang's words were straightforward and neat.

"Mr. Ling, have you considered the problem too simply? How much does the empire need to invest in controlling this area? The army, immigration, infrastructure, navigation route development, and logistics support, you should be clear that the recognition of international diplomacy is not that you send two teams of soldiers to build a few posts and insert a few grass signs and signs to prove that the land belongs to you. If you want the other party to admit that this is your actual control area, then you have to prove to them that the residents of this land are subject to your rule, and the government is indeed implementing effective administrative management. I think we need to understand this point." Su Qin couldn't help it. Although he was also very moved by the prospect of Ling Tianfang's outline, it was too unrealistic to hear that the other party could turn the huge land into an imperial controlled area and let the strong people in the Western Continent admit it.

"Of course I know that the investment in the middle will not be small and the difficulties will be great, but I think it is a piece of land worth our efforts. No matter how much we invest, it will produce ten or even hundreds of times the output. I know this more than anyone else!" Faced with the ridicule of colleagues in the State Council, Ling Tianfang faced the tit-for-tat without any mercy.

He was so choked by the other party's tough attitude that he couldn't speak for a while. Su Qin realized for the first time that this No. 1 person in the Privy Council, who didn't like to speak, was not bad at speaking, but everyone was used to his silence and conciseness. Once it broke out, everyone immediately looked at him with admiration.

With a dry cough, Wufeng had to interrupt the upcoming quarrel. He didn't want to see this scene. He hoped that everything would go according to the process he led. "Tianfang, so far, have you figured out the outline of the entire New World? How big is this continent and how many islands are there around it, especially in the eastern and southern regions. Do the indigenous people living on the New World know? Have we completed our voyage around the New World?"

"I'm sorry, your majesty, our navy is quite limited and has not been able to do this. The indigenous peoples on the New World know nothing about this, and their level of civilization remains at the primitive level. Fortunately, the Leeds and Baroloz people did not do this, but we and they are still working actively. We have to realize our strengths and weaknesses. The advantage is that we control the entire eastern part of the New World, and other countries cannot make any moves for the time being. The disadvantage is that our power in the north and west is quite weak, and because we control the vast eastern areas, other countries are somewhat hostile to the empire."
Chapter completed!