Lu Yuan's life was going very smoothly these days.
I don’t know if there is really God’s will in the dark, and everything is affected by luck and destiny.
Since he left the Jinling court, his country was named Chu, and he formed his own system.
The 10% of luck that had to be diverted away because of righteousness was all taken back.
After his luck was complete, Lu Yuan's luck exploded like a blowout, and all kinds of good things came one after another.
First of all, good news came from the country, the army, and various departments of the Forbidden Army.
The nine forbidden armies, with a total of 180,000 soldiers and horses, have mostly taken shape after more than a year of reorganization and running-in.
Especially the tense confrontation with Ning Guo some time ago, and with almost actual combat training, these Forbidden Army, which was composed of the original Yue, Miao, Zhou, and Qiang people, are finally familiar with each other and can form a tacit cooperation. .
Not to mention the local county soldiers.
There are fewer of them and it's easier to get along. And they don’t have to take on heavy tasks like the Forbidden Army. As early as a year ago, its combat power had already taken shape.
At this point, the central and local troops have successively taken shape. The military reform that began in the ninth year of Hongdao has finally come to an end.
Chu State's combat power has completely reached its peak.
Not only in the military, but also in domestic affairs, good news is spread one after another.
First of all, it is naturally the most significant immigration project in the entire Chu State.
This immigration project, which also started in the ninth year of Hongdao, lasted for a year and a half from the first month of that year to June of the first year of Shenwu. It was finally concluded at this time.
Not only that, except for the several groups of immigrants who moved after Lu Yuan regained Xichuan, most of the early immigrants have already established stable production in the local area, built houses, cultivated farmland, planted mulberry trees, and run businesses. They have stable incomes, which is considered complete. Settled down at home.
Even for the later batches of immigrants, most of their houses had been repaired by this time, although they were not ready for spring planting and summer harvest. But in Dongting County, where two crops are harvested a year, this year's autumn harvest has caught up.
As long as this year's autumn harvest is completed, all the immigrants, totaling about 2 million and 300,000, will have completely settled in Chu State.
These people who were captured from the Northern Expedition have almost digested it.
This year's first batch of summer taxes was also collected from various places in July.
According to the reports from various prefectures and counties, through Cui Changqing, Sun Siwen and a group of court ministers, by the time they were reported to Lu Yuan, the tax revenue for the first half of this year would have a specific amount.
"Your Majesty, this summer's tax collection, the three counties and 17 prefectures in the country collected a total of 2.21 million taels of land tax, 1.17 million taels of calculated tax (head tax), and a total of 1.17 million taels of oral tax (excluding the head tax). Head tax) 560,000 taels of silver.
These three items totaled more than 3.94 million taels of silver.
In addition, there are customs duties in various places. Since the founding of the Chu State, as the local area has become increasingly stable, businesses in various prefectures and counties have recovered, and various shops have gradually been established.
The local people's livelihood was stable, so there were frequent business trips between counties and prefectures. The customs duties collected at Jinkou were greatly increased.
In the first half of this year alone, domestic tariffs collected 820,000 taels of silver.
As the local area recovers further, this tax will continue to increase. According to statistics from the Ministry of Household Affairs, it will eventually reach 1.5 million taels of silver.
And this is just domestic.
Nowadays, the reputation of our country, Chu, is growing day by day, our national power is getting stronger and stronger, and the number of business trips to and from all countries in the world are also increasing day by day.
Merchants from Nanhai, Su, Jiangdong, Liang, Zhou, and Southwest Yi could all be seen in groups in Baling Market.
Commodities and goods from all over the world are transported here.
Just to collect these external tariffs, there were 920,000 taels of silver in the first half of this year.
Moreover, the news of my new establishment in Chu has not spread yet. When all the countries in the world know that I am powerful, there will be even more business travelers flocking to me.
By then, external tariffs may rise to two million taels of silver, and the potential is far greater than domestic tariffs.
But even so, domestic and foreign tariffs, in the first half of this year alone, amounted to 2.04 million taels of silver.
In addition to tariffs, Da Chu will also levy commercial taxes on shops in the city and market transactions.
Although these commercial taxes are not comparable to tariffs. But in the first half of this year, all business taxes added up to 830,000 taels of silver.
In addition, there are some miscellaneous taxes. Although the amount is small, the total amount is 480,000 taels of silver.
There are five major taxes in total, including land tax, oral tax, accounting tax, customs duty, and commercial tax. Counting miscellaneous taxes, our country in Chu collected a total of seven million taels of tax money in the first half of this year. "
In the Qianyuan Hall, Lu Yuan received Sun Siwen, and then listened to his friend's report on his income for the first half of this year, and he couldn't help but be stunned.
There are seven million taels of silver in half a year. Is my country of Chu so rich?
He couldn't believe it, so he couldn't help but ask: "Sun Qing, in the first half of this year, was there really a tax revenue of seven million taels?"
Sun Siwen also knew Lu Yuan's surprise. To be honest, he was surprised when he got the final number.
Because the tax revenue in the first half of this year was really unexpected.
However, they checked this number several times and sent people to the local area to check. The true number they came up with is absolutely correct.
So when Sun Siwen heard this question at this time, he smiled and said: "Back to your Majesty, these tax dollars will be deposited into the treasury of each government, and they will be sent back to Beijing in two months. They can be inspected at that time."
Seeing his friend's affirmative reply and knowing that the other party would never lie to him, Lu Yuan finally believed this fact in his heart.
And after believing it, it was a surprise.
"If there is a summer tax of 7 million taels of silver in the first half of the year, then by the time winter comes, the annual tax will be 8 million taels of silver. Adding the two taxes together, my great Chu's tax this year will be 1,500 taels of silver. That's ten thousand taels of silver." Lu Yuan calculated the amount.
Dachu inherited the Qianyue system, and taxes were divided into two times a year. They are summer taxes collected in July and annual taxes collected in November.
Among them, due to the addition of some other miscellaneous taxes and the increased business travel between various places near the end of the year, the customs duties and commercial taxes that can be collected in the second half of the year will also increase compared with the first half of the year.
Therefore, at the end of the year, the annual tax is usually more than the summer tax, which will be 10 to 20% more.
Therefore, there is a summer tax of 7 million taels in the first half of this year. Based on the 1.5% increase, there will be an annual tax of at least 8 million taels in the second half of the year.
The two items add up to fifteen million taels of silver, which is not a small amount.
At the very least, Da Chu currently has 240,000 soldiers and horses, with a total military expenditure of 16 million taels of silver. The current year's tax revenue can almost cover it, and it is only a shortfall of 1 million taels of silver.
But Nanhai State and Su State also receive five million taels of silver in aid every year.
The difference of one million taels of silver is enough to make up for it.
Not even just filling in.
Lu Yuan thought of this and asked, "Sun Qing, I remember that domestic expenses are around three million taels, right?"
"His Majesty, it is true."
Sun Siwen nodded, and then said: "Today, in our country, there are 3,071 officials, large and small, in the imperial court and various prefectures and counties. The salary expenses of these officials require more than 578,000 taels of silver and ten meters per year. Thirty-six thousand stones.
In addition, the daily administrative expenses of various local governments, the maintenance of official residences, and outbound office expenses totaled 630,000 taels of silver.
There are also road repairs, city wall maintenance, water conservancy construction, city cleaning and other projects in various places, which also require more than 1.25 million taels of silver every year.
In addition, the imperial court had fought many wars in the past years, and more than 50,000 soldiers were injured and killed in the battles.
Although these people had already paid pensions at that time, Your Majesty Wang Rende still provided a monthly alimony. This item adds up to 120,000 taels of silver per year.
Every year, the imperial court allocates funds to colleges in various places to support students. There are also support fees for local widowers and lonely people. Adding these two items together, there are more than 80,000 taels of silver.
On the other hand, the imperial court also needs more than 230,000 taels of silver every year for daily administration, various outings, inspections of places, missions to other countries, etc.
There are also royal expenses on the king's side. The court also needs to give three hundred thousand taels of silver every year as daily expenses.
The total of the above amounts to approximately 3.2 million taels of silver. "
When Sun Siwen said this, he paused and then continued: "But this is only the expenditure under normal circumstances. In case of some emergencies, such as floods, droughts, and poor harvests in various places, the court still needs to provide subsidies and relief.
Another five hundred thousand taels of silver need to be left every year for emergency purposes. "
The maintenance of a dynasty is not cheap.
Nowadays, Chu has three counties and seventeen prefectures. After excluding military expenses, the annual normal expenses are 3.7 million taels of silver.
This is still based on the premise that the government is relatively clean and the king is extremely frugal.
If we were in a situation like Qianyue, where the local officials were greedy and the court ministers and the royal family were extravagant and extravagant, this expenditure would have to quadruple.
Even if there is an egg and ten taels of silver, it is not strange.
In other words, this phenomenon may have already existed in Qianyue, and even in the Ningguo court today.
After all, it was a family group that had been inherited for two thousand years. The class was so solid and deep-rooted that it was normal for any weird things to happen.
But this is something that will only happen if the dynasty lasts for a long time.
Today's Dachu really doesn't have to worry about this happening for the time being.
In other words, before Lu Yuan died, there was no need to worry about anyone daring to trick him like this with an egg and ten taels of silver.
And want to burn yourself to death?
Lu Yuan looked around and realized that no one in the entire Dachu, or even the entire Jiuzhou world, could live longer than him.
Therefore, there is a high probability that this kind of corruption, or corruption in the palace, will not occur.
If someone really has no vision and dares to be greedy for his own money.
Then King Shenwu doesn't mind, let him know what it means to be as majestic as the sky and not to be offended.
An immortal emperor, as long as he does not fall, can be considered a good thing for the subjects under his rule.
In terms of self-discipline, Lu Yuan feels that as long as he still has goals to strive for and as long as there are threats outside, he basically doesn't have to worry about falling.
Um.
Logic closed loop, perfect.
Thinking this slightly proudly in his heart, Lu Yuan was also calculating the accounts at the same time: "In this case, the imperial court's military expenditure for a year is about 16 million taels of silver. The daily expenditure of the imperial court is about 370 taels of silver. One hundred thousand taels of silver.
The total is 19.7 million taels of silver.
The income is 15 million taels of silver per year. In addition, Su and Nanhai countries also receive 5 million taels of silver and 4 million shi of food aid every year, which adds up to 20 million taels of silver.
The balance after one year is around three hundred thousand taels of silver, right? "
Lu Yuan looked at Sun Siwen.
"This year, it is indeed the case." Sun Siwen nodded, and then said: "However, the king has issued an edict that no taxes will be collected for the first three years from the people who migrated from Hanzhong and Xichuan counties.
Therefore, this year's tax revenue of 15 million taels does not include the land tax, oral tax, and calculated tax of the 2.3 million immigrants.
Now that last year has passed and half of this year has passed, after another year and a half, which is the third year of Shenwu, these immigrants can collect taxes.
At that time, there will be 2.3 million more people paying taxes, and the land tax, oral tax, and calculation tax in the country will be able to generate approximately 2.7 million taels of additional tax revenue.
As these immigrants settle in their places, they will also buy commercial goods and attract business travelers.
By then, the country's tariffs and commercial taxes will also be higher than this year. Probably about 1.8 million taels more silver.
Various miscellaneous tax revenues can also be increased by 500,000 taels of silver.
This resulted in an additional tax revenue of about five million taels.
Therefore, two years later, in the third year of Shenwu, our country of Chu's annual tax revenue should reach 20 million taels of silver. It is enough to maintain the use of the country's army and the imperial government.
By then, the five million taels of silver donated by Su and Nanhai countries can be saved and used for other purposes. "
Sun Siwen had obviously thought about this issue, and his answer at this time was also very orderly.
Fortunately, after Lu Yuan had passed the previous buffer, he was not as surprised as before when he heard the number of twenty million taels of silver.
Think about it too.
Nowadays, there are 5.7 million people in Chu State with registered households. Taking into account the young, old and women, there should be about 2 million adult men.
If Lu Yuan remembered correctly, when he was in Luling Mansion, the lowest-level coolie in the county could earn one tael of silver a month.
That's it, you still have a household registration, and the income is at the bottom of society.
Other normal farmers and city dwellers with some skills in other crafts can earn even more, up to two or even three taels of silver per month.
Therefore, if only adult men are counted, the income of the people of the entire Chu Kingdom is calculated as the median value of 1.5 taels, and the total annual income is about 30 million.
But in fact, the total income of a normal family cannot depend entirely on one man.
Even women can help with farm work in rural areas, plant mulberry trees and weave cloth, thus earning extra income.
If you are in the city and want to find a job to make money, it is even easier.
Helping others with laundry, cleaning, working as a servant in a wealthy family, or running a small business for oneself, there are simply not too many ways to do it.
Women can do the above tasks, and so can the elderly and children, and they can also generate income.
Therefore, including the family's income, there are 5.7 million people in Dachu, and if only the lower class people are included, the total annual income should be around 50 million taels.
These are just the lower class people.
From them, the court could only collect some land taxes, oral taxes, calculation taxes, and some business taxes.
Others include aristocratic families, local tycoons, wealthy businessmen, landlords, officials and powerful people. The wealth possessed by these people is not necessarily less than that of these lower-class people.
And now it is a time of great strife. Countries are at war, and troops are used every year. The demand for money and food is not small.
Even if you are a powerful gentry, you are still equal when it comes to tax collection.
We will not charge you less just because you are a scholar, an official, or a noble.
Of course, tax evasion and mutual concealment of property are unavoidable.
But even counting these, if we look at the annual income reported publicly in Da Chu today, the annual income of these aristocratic families, local tycoons, wealthy businessmen and landlords, officials and dignitaries should be between 50 million and 70 million.
The specific size will vary depending on whether the local government implements tax laws in place.
But even so, the annual income of all the people and dignitaries in Dachu, calculated at the lowest level, is 100 million taels of silver.
From the income of 100 million taels, the tax of 20 million taels is only one tax per five.
Compared with other countries, Dachu's taxes are already very light.
Among the surrounding countries, the only one that can be like the Chu State is the Nanhai State, which is not very troublesome.
To the east, Ningguo heard that in order to cope with successive years of war, taxes had been increased to four to one.
The two countries of Hanzhong and Xichuan in the west also paid four taxes and one in order to support their armies to resist the threat of Zhou.
In the Su State in the south, under Su Xuange's aggressive militarism, the tax rate increased to a crazy rate of three taxes to one. The people were forced to live no longer, and there were a large number of people fleeing.
Compared with a group of neighbors, Lu Yuancai's tax rate of five to one is really a benevolent government.
The fact that the local people returned home so quickly had a lot to do with his generosity.
But one thing you need to know is that the above tax rates are only apparent taxes.
Just like when Lu Yuan was still a hunter, if he wanted to enter the city, he would be charged a lot more for entering the city.
At the local level, the fees set by the court are the same, but how those local corrupt officials and subordinates implement them is another matter.
The Chu State is a little better. With the establishment of a new dynasty, everything is a matter of starting over. There are not so many interest networks, and the politics are relatively clear.
Even if the people below want to make money under the pretext, they don't dare to go too far.
But Nanhai, Ninghai, Xichuan, Hanzhong, and Ningguo, which inherited all the long-standing shortcomings of the former Yue, were different from Lu Yuan in that they had a large network of interests.
Let these people collect taxes.
Believe it or not, the tax law of four taxes and one tax can directly give you three taxes and one tax?
From three taxes to two taxes and one?
Don't be surprised, this is normal.
You must know that Chu State, on the border with Su State, has taken in more than 5,000 refugees from Su State in just over a year, according to reports received by Lu Yuan.
According to these people, in their local area, when all kinds of exorbitant taxes and levies are added up, the government only has two taxes and one tax.
If it wasn't for the fact that he couldn't survive, who would be willing to abandon his family and career and flee to another country?
'It's really prosperous and the people are suffering. Death, the people suffer. '
Thinking of these, Lu Yuan sighed in his heart, and then he felt happy.
Because if what Sun Siwen said is true, in two years' time, the Chu State's income will reach 20 million taels of silver, then it can truly be self-sufficient and not ask for anything from outside.
Until then.
Even if the South China Sea and Ninghai countries are at odds with themselves, they don't have to worry about military expenditures.
Even now, the five million taels of military assistance provided by these two countries each year can be used for other purposes.
For example, Lu Yuan is worried about where the military funds for building a navy will come from.
At this time, there is a clue.
