Although Xun Yu and his companions anticipated significant expenses, they never imagined they would be this high. The Han Dynasty has seen improvement over the past two years, but the total annual tax revenue barely reaches two hundred billion coins, which is already several times higher than before, nearly the most abundant the government treasury has been in the past two hundred years!

That’s the combined total of all the feudal lords, with Liu Xuande alone covering almost seventy percent of that amount.

The rest of the feudal lords together only contribute about seventy billion, a figure that rivals the total tax revenue of the Han Dynasty in most periods.

However, compared to Chen Xi’s proposed seven hundred and fifty billion coins, the gap is enormous; it’s basically the entire nation’s tax revenue for four years. The problem is, the annual tax revenue can’t all be allocated to Chen Xi’s plan—what if other issues arise?

No need to mention other issues. Just supporting the military alone, without doing anything else but Chen Xi’s plans, would likely be unaffordable.

"If it really requires seven hundred and fifty billion coins, implementing such a plan would be very difficult." Xun Yu said quietly as he looked at Chen Xi.

Hearing this, Chen Xi waved his hand dismissively, "Just seven hundred and fifty billion coins? With that small amount, you want to get things going? What a joke," he said, "You only calculated what I’ve distributed."

"Yes," Liu Ba and Mi Zhu said simultaneously, acknowledging that Chen Xi was indeed very extravagant.

Everyone was somewhat speechless. Obviously, the seven hundred and fifty billion coin investment couldn’t cover it all; the things Chen Xi mentioned later hadn’t been calculated at all.

"Don’t be so afraid, it’s just over seven hundred billion coins; it’s actually not much," Chen Xi said, smiling, "We’re actually quite wealthy, and if you spend carefully, these reforms don’t have to be that expensive—don’t be afraid to spend money."

Chen Xi’s words rendered Xun Yu and his companions speechless. Despite what he said, seven hundred and fifty billion coins is no small amount, even if you do invest in batches, the sum remains quite large.

"You useless bunch," Chen Xi looked somewhat helplessly at Xun Yu and Zhou Yu, "You can’t even come up with this small amount of money; can you invest one hundred billion coins in the first year?"

"..." Zhou Yu and Xun Yu were truly at a loss; they couldn’t come up with that amount of cash on hand, even though Chen Xi would certainly cover most of it. However, they weren’t able to scrape together the remaining thirty billion coins.

"I can’t even talk to you guys anymore," Chen Xi sighed, "I’ll teach you, find a wealthy man like Zizhong and seize his assets—you’ll definitely get one hundred billion coins, then cobble together the rest."

Mi Zhu’s eye corner twitched twice involuntarily; he wanted to say that his family didn’t have a hundred billion coins in cash, and their current cash was tied up in the Money Exchange, which was inconvenient to use in copper coins.

"Alas, I’ve never seen such despair," Chen Xi said helplessly, "Forget it, I’ll lend you some back later, but it can only be used to buy materials. Um, to prevent you from messing around, I’ll just rent the materials to you."

Zhou Yu and Xun Yu didn’t quite understand what Chen Xi was up to, but both were astute; after thinking for a moment, they nodded in agreement with Chen Xi’s proposal.

[Now it’s roughly set. Liu Xie will surely mess up Xun Yu’s plan. Cao Sun and we will inevitably clash; I’ll quietly take them down first.] Chen Xi thought, curling his lip. Anyway, no action will be taken next year; one year should be enough.

Once the social reform system begins, as long as Chen Xi keeps it discreet and uses the Great Aristocratic Family and business ethos, they surely won’t care if the entire economy appears to be tied together by thick ropes in a haphazard system.

If Chen Xi is a bit careful, Xun Yu and the Two Zhangs will only see the economic improvement under their governance, completely unaware of the crisis hidden below the surface, though regrettably, one year seems a bit too short.

If it could be longer, Chen Xi could push Cao Cao and Sun Ce to surrender through integration—an entire region appearing fully under their control, yet in fact, they’re all profiting from others.

They’re making money relying on Chen Xi’s side, and if the situation continues to prosper due to this, when Cao Cao and Sun Ce finally make a desperate move, it will inevitably result in a comprehensive counterattack from the forces under their control.

Because it’s not about blocking one person’s interests, but everyone’s. Though Cao Sun is outstanding, when faced with a counterattack from an entire region’s forces and engaging in war with Liu Bei, their defeat would be inevitable.

[Cao Cao and Sun Ce probably don’t understand this era deeply; they may have forgotten that the world hasn’t fragmented and the Han Dynasty’s flag hasn’t fallen yet—everyone rallies under this banner, and siding with anyone isn’t rebellion.]

Chen Xi thought quietly, "With this banner as a shield, once the situation reaches an overwhelming level, even if many aristocratic families dislike Liu Bei, if ultimately forced to use their influence to fill the unending hole of the Liu Cao Sun tri-force battle, they’ll make the most correct choice."

Aristocratic families have never had loyalty; from the start, they’re interest holders without the concept of loyalty. Benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and trust are just protective layers; when interests are large enough, they’ll naturally submit.

And now, the benefits that Chen Xi can offer are gradually breaking through those conservative shells—when Cao Sun’s governance gradually falls under Chen Xi’s system and Chen Xi grasps the entire system, when the final card is revealed, the outcome is already determined: subjugating opponents without battle.

"I always feel you’ll misuse the money I lend to you, so I’ll convert it to materials instead. Remember, there’s interest," Chen Xi muttered his advice. Zhou Yu and Xun Yu wore expressions of helplessness, curious about where Chen Xi acquired so much money.

"Zichuan, are you sure you want to lend them money to build those basic facilities?" Jia Xu voice transmission asked Chen Xi.

"Why wouldn’t I lend during such a good annexation opportunity?" Chen Xi retorted.

"Can you annex them while doing this?" Jia Xu’s voice had a hint of surprise.

"Oh, hardly a problem; if it goes well to the end, those who manage their money and grain under their governance will practically be ours. It’s unfortunate I can’t achieve integration—can only infiltrate covertly—but even if not to that extent, I can certainly seize their money and grain; it’s only natural to repay debts," Chen Xi’s slightly mocking voice transmitted to Jia Xu.

"They won’t repay when it comes to that!" Jia Xu replied indignantly.

"So before then, it won’t be just us they owe; imagine them owing all the aristocratic families in their governance, while those aristocratic families owe us?" Chen Xi said with a laugh.