"So, you don't object to the introduction of new banknotes?" Xia Shu was very happy, because when the emperor proposed reprinting new banknotes, the cabinet headed by Han Wei did not agree.
They thought it took too much time and money and was very risky. They even cited multiple historical cases to prove it, which made the emperor very depressed.
"I have no objection to the introduction of new banknotes, otherwise the Royal Bank would not be established in Liaoning." Li Dan smiled:
"This year, all industrial, commercial and customs taxes in Liaoning will adopt new banknotes. Urban residents and farmers can choose the form of payment for land tax, oral tax and labor tax. They can be purely in kind, or all in banknotes, or a combination of the two.
However, as far as I know, after the new banknotes arrive in the hands of farmers, many people are reluctant to use them, calling them 'dragon banknotes' and cherishing them.
Therefore, the tax revenue in urban areas will mainly be based on dragon bills, and in rural areas, the majority will still be in kind. To fully use banknotes, new banknotes will be further issued and the circulation will continue to increase.
Before we left, we made an estimate. New money should account for about 40% of tax revenue this year. We will strive to increase it to half or even 60% next year. "
"From this point of view, it will take three or four years to implement the new banknotes in one place. If it is to be used nationwide, I'm afraid it will take even longer?" Xia Shu frowned.
"Not only does it take longer to promote, but it also takes a long time to prepare." Li Dan introduced the preparations for the issuance of new banknotes in Liaoning one and a half years ago, but he also:
“At that time, I had no experience, and I tried little by little with the attitude of crossing the river without touching the stones.
Moreover, paper, printing technology, anti-counterfeiting technology, ink, cutting and packaging, transportation and storage have all gone through many drills and technical improvements, which really costs a lot!
During this period, more than 200 professional technicians, craftsmen and stewards were trained. The preliminary preparations alone cost 400,000 taels! "
"So much?" Xia Shu clicked his tongue, "But where does this money come from?"
"Shareholders contribute capital. The reserve fund of 1.2 million taels already includes the budget to be invested in the early stage." Li Dan:
“But precisely because of this technology and talent reserve, we can now avoid many detours.
The new Royal Bank only needs to spend a sum of money directly to acquire the bank in Liaoning, which is equivalent to buying all the technology, experience and talents there, as well as the business and profits of Liaoning, so that it does not need to spend so much time! "
"Oh! I understand! This is the same as other wines. I directly invest in or buy out his winery." Xia Shu nodded: "Then there is no need to spend so much effort and time, right?"
"It may still take some time, but it's not starting from scratch, but further improving on the current basis." Li Dan pointed to the new banknotes:
“After all, this is for one place, so of course it should be better, more beautiful, and more durable for the entire empire!
This requires us to do more experiments, make better pattern designs, wear-resistant inks, paper that is not easy to get wet, etc. We also need to consider whether to promote it in one place first, or to promote it in multiple places?
In short, the larger the scope and the more complex the situation, the more new issues need to be discussed and considered.
Therefore, what Xiaguan means is that if our goal is to achieve general adoption, we must first establish a research and preparatory organization for new currency and bank management, outline a work schedule, and then advance implementation step by step.
Since the cabinet members will have many troubles and problems when printing money, then we should think about why these problems occur and how to solve them, rather than not doing it because there are problems!
Eating, drinking, urinating and sleeping can cause all kinds of troubles. Is it possible to avoid all these? "
Xia Shu laughed loudly: "Sure, I understand. With your words, I can go back and resume my life! But Mr. Li, you have to be prepared. Maybe the emperor and the cabinet will ask you soon about the new banknotes." What’s the word!”
Wan pointed to the dragon tickets on the table: "Can I take these back and show them to Your Majesty?"
"Of course!" Li Dan had already sent a sample ticket to Zhao Tuo before, but he knew that Xia Shu wanted to use it as a prop and also out of love. He thought he would be happy to do it as a favor.
However, the emperor did not let him have some leisure time at home. After Li Dan happened to be intimate with the two ladies, he was summoned to the palace to discuss matters. The topic was: the issuance of new banknotes and the preparation of the Royal Bank.
Outside the left gate of Chongguang, Li Dan met Zheng Shou, the Minister of Household Affairs. The old man finally replaced the word "Servant" on his head, but Li Dan felt very clear when he saw this man.
After interrogating many senior officials of Kerr's ministries, many people confessed that there were senior officials in Shangjing who secretly maintained personal contacts with Yebi Khan.
Although there is no direct evidence, and Xiangyu alone is not enough to make a final decision, Li Dan has already determined that it is this person.
In the past two years, Shenjie and others have done a lot of work, and even successfully sent a detective to his home. They found that this person actually had secret contacts with Changyi, so Li Dan felt that this person was not ambitious and worthy. Notice!
"Oh my, Mr. Li, when did you return to Beijing?" Zheng Shou narrowed his eyes and smiled like a land father-in-law.
"I have met Mr. Zheng. Your Majesty has just returned to Beijing a few days ago. His Majesty has given permission to rest at home. Today he summoned your Majesty to attend the imperial meeting."
"Oh, let's go together!" Zheng Shou took the initiative to invite.
"My lord, please come first." Li Dan was secretly surprised. Could this old guy be waiting for him here specially? Heart, I’m afraid the weasel’s New Year greetings to the rooster are not out of kindness! "I would also like to congratulate you, sir, for finally taking charge of the household department as you wished."
"Haha, your majesty is so kind!" Zheng Shouwan looked at Li Dan and said, "I am in charge of the household department. It will be a great thing for you, Zedong, to implement the new banknote law!
Because I have been troubled by the chaos of banknotes and the contradiction between banknotes and coins for five or six years, and I have no solution.
I heard that Zedong was issuing new banknotes in Liaoning. Everyone saw samples of the new banknotes and were very encouraged! It would be great if we could clear away those messy old banknotes in one fell swoop! "
"Then we have to rely on the support of Boss Rao!" Li Dan said humbly, thinking that this guy was eager to express his position to me, and it seemed that he wanted to take the initiative in this matter to the Ministry of Household Affairs.
If currency and banking affairs are completely controlled by the Ministry of Accounts, it will not only take away all financial power, but also easily affect the country's economy and people's livelihood. Li Dan sneered in his heart and said:
"The development of new banknotes and banking business is indeed closely related to the Department of Accounts. It will not only make the importance of the Department of Accounts more visible, but also help with the next step of tax reform." That's it for Liaoning's use of new banknotes to collect taxes.
Zheng Shou asked in surprise: "If new banknotes are used to collect taxes, and Liao currency can only be used in Liaoning, how can the taxes in Liao be settled with the Ministry of Household Affairs?"
Because the border town system was implemented in previous years, taxes were converted into military expenditures on the spot and turned over to the national treasury. This year was the first time that the Liaoning Chief Envoy had to pay taxes to the treasury, so Zheng Shou had this question.
"I came back this time to ask for advice from the boss." Li Dan:
“I suggest that the Ministry of Revenue establish a large-scale storage base along the Beitongzhou Canal, such as in Baliqiao, Damuchang and other places. The reserves can be transferred to surrounding provinces in case of emergency, and the Ministry of Revenue can allocate them.
In this way, Hebei, Shandong, Shun, Liaoning, Xuanfu, and Datong can rely on this warehouse for market stabilization, relief, etc.
After the taxes in Liao were collected, the Chief Envoy would come forward to purchase grain, leather, woolen products, medicinal materials, livestock, salt, cured meat and other materials locally.
Some that can be accumulated will be sent to Tongzhou for storage, and the rest will be uniformly distributed to various places by the Ministry of Household Affairs after arriving in Tongzhou. What do adults think? "
"Build a new warehouse? But it will cost a lot of money!" Zheng Shou frowned: "I'm afraid the cabinet..."
"Don't worry, sir!" Li Dan waved his hand: "If the cabinet agrees, the money can be borne by Liaoning and come from this year's taxes. There can be sent personnel to survey the location, make plans and budgets, and Liaoning Bank will allocate funds after approval from the Ministry of Accounts. Implement.”
"Hiss! It costs a lot of money to build a warehouse. Zedong, you have to think carefully. Can Liaoning afford it as a province?"
"Don't worry, sir. Before going to Liaoning, some of the staff had contacts with Luoyang Jiaxing Warehouse due to matters such as the deployment of military rations. Later, the Kaiping Trading Company in Liaoning won the bid and expanded the Dongning Warehouse in Liaoyang City.
Therefore, we are very familiar with building warehouses, and we have specific and feasible plans and an engineering team that is good at it. As long as adults make decisions, we will go all out! "Li Danwan slightly bent down towards Zheng Shou, who was shorter than him, and whispered:
"There is another reason for building the warehouse. Spring comes late on the grassland. From this autumn to next summer, there will be a severe drought in the north! Your Excellency, prepare for rainy days and take advantage of opportunities. This is a great contribution to the country!"
Zheng Shou narrowed his eyes, and his heart moved. This monster, his words are always so accurate. On the other hand, if there is no need for the Ministry of Accounts to spend extra money, there is no harm in doing so. "I have two questions." He.
"Sir, please speak."
"The first question is, what benefits will you do to Liao Di? Master Yao is certainly not stupid. How could he agree to your suggestion?
Could it be that Kaiping Trading Company gave you some promises or benefits? Then if I agree, I will be helping the evildoers! "
Li Dan laughed heartily: "Sir, you see, Liao coins cannot go out of Liao, so they have to be spent on the spot after being collected.
If the Ministry of Revenue agrees that Kaiping Trading Co., Ltd. will go to Tongzhou to build a warehouse, we will pay them as many Liao coins as they spend in Shunfu.
Then this trading company can use these Liao coins to do other projects in Liaoning and earn more money. Doesn’t this mean that Liao coins naturally returned to circulation throughout Liao, but never left Liao? "
"Oh! That's it!" Zheng Shou felt as if someone lit a candle in front of his eyes and immediately turned around. He nodded:
"Okay, then, the second question. Is the tax in Liaoning really enough to build a warehouse? As far as I know, the construction of the Luoyang warehouse took five years and cost one million taels to build!"
"Sir, take Dongning Granary as an example. We built forty new granaries, renovated twenty-six old granaries, built forty-eight new granaries, and renovated twenty-four old granaries. It took seven months and cost ten Thirteen thousand taels.
If a warehouse is built in Tongzhou, it is calculated as five times, which is about 600,000 taels.
Liaoning currently has 300,000 hectares of cultivated farmland, but 120,000 hectares are newly cultivated land and are not subject to tax. The remaining 180,000 hectares can receive a land tax of 640,000 shi.
The current average price of rice and wheat per stone is two yuan and sixty cents in Liaoning dollars, which is one, two, and three dollars in mainland China. Therefore, the land tax is equivalent to more than 2,178,000 yuan in Singapore dollars, or 1,080,000 taels.
Compared with last year, industrial and commercial tax revenue is expected to increase by 20% this year, reaching 840,000 taels.
In this way, the total tax revenue is 1.92 million taels, of which 640,000 taels are allocated as military expenditure according to the agreement, so there is still 1.28 million taels left.
When the emperor established Liaoning province, he decreed that 40% of the tax revenue should be retained by the local government, and the portion turned over to the national treasury should be... "
He escaped from his notebook and opened a page to find the number: "Seven hundred and sixty-eight thousand taels! Sir, you see, it is more than enough. There may be enough left to build a Cangcheng."
Zheng Shou was dumbfounded and walked more than twenty steps before asking: "Is this still the case when there are 120,000 hectares of land without tax collection?"
"Yes." Li Dan nodded: "New immigrants are exempted from tax for three years. In the fourth year, they pay 40% of their income, and then it decreases by half per year, and is fixed at 20% from the eighth year."
"How come?" Zheng Shou was surprised: "Are the land taxes of new immigrants so high?"
"Not high, because Liaoning only collects land tax, and Dingkou and Daiwei are included in the land tax. In addition, the emperor has specifically decreed that Liaoning cannot increase tax within a hundred years. Even if the land is rented out, the rent must not be higher than half of the harvest."
Li Dan added: "And the boss may not know that after the defeat of Kerr's tribes, we obtained 700,000 horses, 180,000 cattle, and tens of thousands of mules and donkeys.
The government gave livestock to farmers in the form of foster care. They have the right to use the animals, and if they give birth to two animals when they reach adulthood, the remaining cubs can be divided equally between the two parties and become property, and the foster animals can also be their own.
We have used this method to enable 70% of farmers to own livestock. For those that they cannot afford to raise, banks can provide low-interest loans that can be repaid in one or two years.
Each township has also hired specialized breeders to take charge of livestock management, teach them their experience, and inspect the feeding and use conditions of each household. Therefore, it will become more and more common for families to use livestock to cultivate land in Liaoning in the future.
Each person owns 40 acres, 30% of which is planted with crops, 30% with beans and pasture, and 30% of which is left uncultivated. Use this method of crop rotation.
The government also encourages trading companies to build new agricultural tools to allow farmers to farm faster, with less effort and with less waste! "Li Danzhu turned around and found Zheng Shou stopped.
"In this way, will it be possible for Liao to become a granary in a few years?" Zheng Shou asked doubtfully, "But I heard it's freezing there?"
"It's colder, but not that scary!" Li Dan pointed to himself: "Isn't it obvious that a southerner like me can come back with my beard and tail intact?
There is plenty of wood and charcoal there, and our briquette stoves are selling very well there, so we are not afraid of the cold at all! When it's cold, it's fun to go hunting wild animals in the woods with a firecracker! "
"Hey! I'm really old!" Zheng Shou shook his head: "I didn't expect you to be as happy as if you had dug up a treasure when you went to such a far place. I thought... Hey, let's not mention it!
In short, I think your Tongzhou Warehouse matter is good. If you bring it up when the time comes, I will definitely support it! "
"Haha, thank you in advance, junior! By the way..., do you know any of the wealthy businessmen in Jinghu? Is anyone interested in investing in Liaoning? Let me give you some advice first, some of the princes from King Tan's family But they all sent their money to Liaoning Bank."
"Oh? Are you serious?" Zheng Shou was shocked. He suddenly realized that maybe he still despised this young official too much from the bottom of his heart. He had actually reached out to the royal family members of Huguang. This was something he never expected!
