TO ACHIEVE IMMORTALITY, I CULTIVATE USING QI LUCK

Chapter 945: Chapter 395 Shenwu Prosperous Era Chapter 945: Chapter 395 Shenwu Prosperous Era In fact, thanks to grain trade with Wei and Liang, Chu State made a fortune from the war.

Not only did this stabilize domestic agricultural production, but it also brought in over a hundred million silver taels of foreign trade income through grain trade every year, significantly enriching the treasury.

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As of now, the annual revenue of Chu State has reached a staggering three hundred million silver taels.

Of this, the agricultural poll tax accounts for about eighty million silver taels.

Domestic and international customs duties account for about ninety million silver taels.

The commercial tax accounts for about fifteen million silver taels.

Various miscellaneous taxes account for about five million silver taels.

In addition, eighteen vassal states of Lingnan and the Southwest annually contribute ten million silver taels.

Plus the annual one hundred million silver taels from grain trade, the yearly income of Chu can reach three hundred million silver taels.

Such a vast income also made Chu’s finances unfathomably prosperous.

After all, Chu currently only had two million soldiers, even if their military spending was calculated at the full rate for active soldiers, it would only be a hundred and twenty million silver taels a year, which is less than half of the yearly income.

And the remaining expenditure, including salaries for officials at all levels, investments in local development, maintaining local stability, and the running of local governments, could not possibly use up the left-over one hundred and eighty million silver taels.

In truth, let alone one hundred and eighty million, even eighty million silver taels would be more than enough for the Chu court to spend lavishly with open hands.

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Therefore, essentially, Chu ensured a fiscal surplus of one hundred million silver tailes every year.

As of now, the national treasury of Chu has amassed almost six hundred million silver taels, enough to cover the expenses of the present two million army for five years.

With the population flourishing, grain harvests succeeding year after year, and the treasury full and affluent, all these aspects of growth have made Chu’s national power climb steadily over the years.

Now, both within the court and among the populace, it is said that under the reign of the Holy Emperor, the people live in peace and the country is prosperous, heralding an unprecedented golden age.

Since Lu Yuan’s reign is named Shenwu, among the commoners, this era is also called the Shenwu Golden Age.

Especially in the north where wars rage, and it seems like the whole of the Nine Provinces is embroiled in conflict, maintaining such a tranquil and affluent life in Chu located in the south is like a paradise on earth.

This makes it even more precious.

However, amidst the praise and adulation from all corners of the court and country, Lu Yuan, the creator of this golden age, is not that jubilant.

Instead, he remains worried.

…

Midnight in Baling City still blazes with lights.

As a city with a population of two million, Baling might well claim to be the largest city of the age in the current Nine Provinces.

The king, being magnanimous, alleviated the people’s suffering after ascending the throne by specifically lifting the nighttime curfew, allowing the citizens to conduct business in the streets at night and providing them another way to make money.

And with over a decade of development, as various groups converged on the Imperial Capital, Baling has grown increasingly prosperous and now boasts the ninety-nine districts, acclaimed as the ‘Heavenly City on Earth’.

If someone asked where the most entertaining place in Baling City was, everybody would definitely mention the three thousand boats on Dongting Lake outside the city.

The serene lake, twinkling with red lights, reflects the noisy splendor of ornate boats that traverse it beneath the moonlight.

This is where Jianghu meets, at the border of Dongting Lake and the Yangtze River, the most joyful place in Baling, and the setting of countless people’s indulgence in luxury and pleasure.

“It truly is prosperous,” Lu Yuan said, standing on the second floor of a pleasure boat, gazing at the distant, star-like boats on the lake and listening to the ever-present, soothing songs that drift across the water, he couldn’t help but remark.

Behind him, in the hazy red light, several gracefully shaped women danced while skilled musicians in the pavilion sang and played their instruments, with a faint aroma of wine permeating the air, filling the boat with a sense of decadence.

“Indulging in merriment and neglecting one’s duties, lingering here could only lead to waste and complete degeneration,” said Sun Siwen, who walked up behind him.

He frowned disapprovingly at the absurd scene on the boat and throughout Jianghu, always a stickler for propriety.

“Don’t be so harsh,” Lu Yuan responded, turning around and smiling at his old friend.

“The joys of the flesh are human nature.

Everyone yearns for beautiful and relaxing things, and among those, carnal desires are the most symbolic.

Otherwise, the three thousand boats of Jianghu wouldn’t be famous far and wide, and people from all over the Nine Provinces would not continuously come here, making it almost a trademark of Great Chu.

If we want to experience the wealth of Baling, how could we not stop by here?”

With that, Lu Yuan took a cup of wine from a favored attendant on the pleasure boat, downed it at a gulp, tossed away the cup, and casually pulled over the leading courtesan who was leaning on the railing and laughing.

He lifted her chin with a grin as she gasped and said, “Lady Qingyu, your name is renowned across Jianghu, isn’t it so?”

Qingyu, gazing at the handsome young master before her, felt his robust physique and the light fragrance wafting from him, blushed at the manly aura he exuded, and stammered, “Young Master Lu speaks truly.

Outsiders who come to Baling, if they haven’t visited Jianghu, can’t claim to have seen the Imperial Capital.”

After saying this, Qingyu realized she might have spoken out of turn and quickly added, “That’s what they all say around here.”

Watching his friend’s frivolous demeanor, Sun Siwen instinctively wanted to lecture him.

As a king, one must not indulge in lust but govern diligently and love the people…

a whole list of reasons that he had always disapproved of.

But suddenly remembering their location and their identities at that moment, he forced himself to quell the impulse.

Eventually, he said gruffly, “Male and female natures, though natural, must still be practiced with propriety.

Such excessive indulgence could only lead to the decay of public morals.”

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