Under the gaze of everyone, Cui Shao stood up and said:
"Report to the Commander-in-Chief, the tax money from the five provinces of Jiyu, Qilu, Anqing, Liaoyang, and Youyan for the past three months has been delivered to the bank on time... ········”
"Among them, Hebei and Yu paid 133,000 taels of tax silver, Qilu paid 125,000 taels of tax silver, Anqing paid 85,000 taels of tax silver, Youyan paid 71,000 taels of tax silver, and Liaoyang paid tax silver of 71,000 taels. Fifty-six thousand, totaling 470,000 taels of silver!"
"In addition, Dadongsheng Company and various properties under Fengwu Army had a profit balance of 130,000 taels of silver last year!"
"Coupled with the current financial balance of 150,000 taels of silver and the balance of bonds issued by Dadongsheng Company of 300,000 taels of silver, the total financial balance is now 1.05 million taels of silver!"
"In the past three months, apart from the food, firearms, armor and other support items, the finance has allocated a total of 910,000 taels of silver to Yunbin. This means that the average daily cost of Yunbin battlefield is about the same. Ten thousand taels of silver!"
"In order to keep the war going, many necessary government affairs have been suspended, but even so, at least one hundred thousand taels of silver are needed every month to maintain the smooth operation of various places and prevent large-scale unrest and riots."
"I think the large-scale aid that Commander Yuan refers to refers to food, firearms, armor and other things. There is no financial problem. There are still many of these things in the warehouse, which can meet Commander Yuan's requirements... ···················"
"But if Commander Yuan wants more troops, it will be difficult to support them financially now!"
After Cui Shao's words, everyone who was originally excited also became quiet at the moment. Those present were all senior officials of the Fengwu Army, and they all knew that what Cui Shao said was the truth.
Ye Mingsheng heard this and continued to look at Cui Shao, waiting for Cui Shao's next step. He knew the above-mentioned facts without having to tell Cui Shao. He believed that Cui Shao understood that what he was asking him was the solution to this matter.
Under Ye Mingsheng's gaze, Cui Shao pondered for a moment and then continued:
"Financial matters are nothing more than increasing revenue and reducing expenditure. In terms of expenditure reduction, the government has already done everything it can. One hundred thousand taels per month to maintain stability is the most basic and cannot be reduced any more!"
"As for open source, I think we can start from three points. The first point is to let Dadongsheng Company issue bonds again. The amount issued is no less than the one million taels issued last time, and the backlog of grain, minerals, etc. in the warehouse Get the supplies on the market and sell them!”
"Second point, there is currently a shortage of money financially, but there is a large amount of money stored in banknotes in various places. For example, Dadongsheng and Rishengchang together have at least one million taels. If the commander-in-chief gives you the order If you temporarily borrow the money from these ticket numbers, the money issue can be easily solved..."
"The third point is to increase taxes. Currently, although the commercial tax under our military rule has generally reached 30%, the agricultural tax is only more than 10%. If we can increase the commercial tax to 40% and the agricultural tax to 30%, it is expected that We’re going to raise nearly a million in taxes!”
After hearing these three suggestions from Cui Shao, Ye Mingsheng not only did not feel relaxed at all, but on the contrary, he frowned.
】
Regardless of Cui Shao's implementation of these three points, they can effectively alleviate the current financial difficulties of Fengwu Army, but in Ye Mingsheng's view, these three points are poison filled with honey!
First of all, the Fengwu Army just issued one million taels of bonds not long ago. Will those who issue bonds again buy it again?
And if you apply forceful pressure, although you can collect the money, it will inevitably cause rifts within the Fengwu Army!
Taking the grain, minerals and other things in the warehouse for sale on the market will inevitably lead to oversupply and cause the originally stable market price to plummet, which will undoubtedly destroy the jobs of farmers and miners.
Next is the second point. The most important thing for a ticket number is not money, but reputation!
If he orders the transfer of money from bank accounts in various places, people who are worried that their money will be taken away will inevitably go crazy to collect money from bank accounts.
In this way, the ticket number will be run on, and it will be difficult for the ticket number to sustain itself. Once the ticket number cannot be sustained, there will be a lack of credibility, and the people will be bitten by snakes. I deposited my life's hard work into the ticket number····························
For Ye Mingsheng, the banknote number is an important tool for him to use private savings to develop and build the country in the future!
Therefore, Ye Mingsheng will never give up such an important tool just for the sake of small profits in front of him!
As for the last tax increase, it will shake the fundamentals of the Fengwu Army. One of the important reasons why people all over the world support and love the Fengwu Army is because they are fed up with excessive taxes and miscellaneous taxes, while the Fengwu Army lightens taxes and corvees. The policy impressed them and won their support.
And now if the Fengwu Army raises taxes, it will undoubtedly dampen the people's enthusiasm for supporting the Fengwu Army!
After pondering for a moment, Ye Mingsheng asked the others:
“Do you have any good ideas for increasing fiscal revenue?”
Facing Ye Mingsheng's inquiry, everyone else here lowered their heads and said nothing. They didn't have many good solutions. Just when Ye Mingsheng was a little disappointed, Gu Sansi stood up and said:
"Commander Qi, I think Mr. Cui has already said a very comprehensive statement on the financial source, but I think we still have some ways to save money in terms of expenditure reduction!"
As soon as these words came out, several important officials in the civil service looked at each other. They didn't know what Gu Sansi meant. The minimum stabilization fee of one hundred thousand taels a month mentioned by Cui Shao just now was not his personal opinion, not that of the civil service system. Everyone’s general consensus······························
Before Gu Sansi could continue speaking, Li Jian, the director of the Legal Affairs Bureau, took the lead in standing up and asking Gu Sansi:
"Master Gu, this monthly maintenance fee of one hundred thousand taels was discussed collectively by various departments under the Central Council. It includes the salaries of officials stationed in the army, the salaries of the craftsmen of Dadongsheng Company, and some necessary expenditures of the government. Wait, it’s already the minimum standard and it can’t be reduced any further!”
After listening to Li Jian's words, Gu Sansi nodded and said:
"Mr. Li, please be patient. Our Personnel Bureau is also involved in the discussion of the one hundred thousand taels per month for stability maintenance expenses. I also agree with this plan. I am not saying that we need to save on stability maintenance expenses!"
Seeing that Gu Sansi was not trying to save money on stability maintenance, everyone looked at Gu Sansi with some confusion, wondering what Gu Sansi meant.
Seeing this, Gu Sansi didn't show off, and spoke directly:
"My lords, according to what I said, at least half of the money allocated to Yunbin from the finance is for rewards and pensions. Although this part of the money is nominally distributed to Yunbin battlefield, it is actually distributed to local prefectures and counties. I think We can make optimization adjustments in this regard!”
As soon as these words came out, the military who had been watching the show couldn't sit still. Guo Zhiping, the current deputy chief of staff, was the first to stand up and said:
"Master Gu, the victory on the Yunbin battlefield was achieved by the soldiers fighting with their lives, and the reason why the soldiers fought with their lives was because they believed that even if they were killed and injured, the commander-in-chief would not forget them, and neither would the Fengwu Army. I will forget them and take care of their families..."
"Master Gu, I don't know how you want to optimize and adjust the pensions and rewards of frontline soldiers, but I know that we cannot let frontline soldiers bleed, sweat, and shed tears!"
Looking at the excited and indignant Guo Zhiping, Gu Sansi smiled and waved his hand and said:
"General Guo, don't get excited yet. It won't be too late for you to get excited after hearing what Gu said!"
"Although Gu is in the temple, he is well aware of the hard work of frontline soldiers, so naturally he does not dare to reduce the pensions of frontline soldiers!"
"The optimization adjustments I am talking about do not mean to reduce the pensions of frontline soldiers, but to increase the pensions of frontline soldiers!"
Listening to what Gu Sansi said, everyone in the Zhongyong Hall became more and more confused. They didn't know what Gu Sansi meant. If the pension for frontline soldiers was increased, wouldn't the financial expenditure be higher soon? Wouldn't this go against the grain?
Ye Mingsheng, who was sitting in the main seat, said in a deep voice:
"Think twice. Stop showing off. What are your thoughts?"
Gu Sansi nodded towards Ye Mingsheng who was sitting there and said directly:
"My idea, Commander, is not complicated. To put it simply, it is to eat Yin's food!"
"We can provide a new method of pension and reward to the families of soldiers, which is to first provide half of the original amount of the pension and reward, and then pay the remaining half in batches over ten years. During these ten years, we will pay the interest rate according to the bill number. twice to pay interest·······························"
"At the same time, for the families of soldiers and soldiers who choose this kind of pension, the local government should provide more help in terms of cloth, salt, grain, vegetables, fruits, children's education, support for the elderly, etc."
Everyone in the Zhongyong Hall was impressed by Gu Sansi's suggestion. They felt that the method proposed by Gu Sansi was very good. Ye Mingsheng also thought that this method was very reliable. If it can be implemented, it will greatly reduce the current expenses.
At this time Guo Zhiping stood up again and said:
"Master Gu, although the idea you mentioned is good, the current reward and pension plan is deeply popular among the military. If it is changed rashly, I think it will cause turmoil in the morale of the military and affect the combat effectiveness of our army!"
Faced with Guo Zhiping’s different opinions, Mr. Gu continued to explain:
"General Guo, you are right. Changing the new pension and reward plan will indeed affect the combat effectiveness of the frontline soldiers. However, my proposal of this plan does not mean the end of the original plan!"
"I think these two plans can be implemented at the same time, giving frontline soldiers one more opportunity to choose, allowing them to choose the one that suits them more freely among the two plans. I believe our soldiers will be willing to trust the Fengwu Army! "
Having said this, Gu Sansi continued to preach:
"Now that I have said this, I still have some information that I would like to introduce to everyone here!"
"Before, our Fengwu Army distributed rewards and pensions directly in one go. Some soldiers and their families have never received this money, so they don't know how to spend it..." ··············”
"They did not spend their money on such righteous paths as buying houses, land, and marrying wives. Instead, they spent their money on gambling stalls, hook-up bars, and other places. It didn't take long for them to spend all their money, and some even paid for it. I am burdened with debts, contracted by the disease, and embarked on a road of no return!"
"Director Li, am I right?"
Seeing Gu Sansi directing his words towards him, Li Jian, the director of the Legal Affairs Bureau, stood up again and nodded:
"What Mr. Gu said is true. Last year our Legal Affairs Bureau investigated hundreds of similar cases from various police departments!"
After Li Jian finished speaking, Gu Sansi continued:
"Of course, these are only part of the situation. Most of our Fengwu Army officers are honest people, but I think it is still necessary to guide their spending. This is also for the sake of our officers and prevent them from making mistakes!"
Faced with Gu Sansi's words, Guo Zhiping and Zhao Han, the chief of staff, looked at each other, and then Zhao Han stood up and said:
"Master Gu is right, our staff supports Master Gu's plan!"
Seeing that the military had no objection at all, Ye Mingsheng nodded happily, and then ordered:
"If you think about it like this, then you should cooperate with the staff and seize the time to implement and improve the new plan as soon as possible. At the same time, the staff should cooperate with the Legal Affairs Bureau to publicize the cases just now so that the soldiers understand the dangers and have more faith in the military. ······························"
After hearing Ye Mingsheng's order, Gu Sansi, Zhao Han, Li Jian and others also followed the order. Cui Shao, who was silent on the side, glanced at the complacent Gu Sansi intentionally or unintentionally.
After discussing some other matters, Ye Mingsheng announced the end of today's Zhongyong Hall meeting, and then left Cui Shao, Gu Sansi, Zhao Han and others alone. After looking around at everyone, Ye Mingsheng ordered again:
"The next thing is a secret among secrets, and no one is allowed to leak it!"
Seeing Ye Mingsheng's solemn expression, several people looked solemn and nodded one after another, indicating that they understood the seriousness of the matter.
Seeing this, Ye Mingsheng waved to Huo Sanyi, who immediately introduced him:
"Murong Lun, the official minister of the Luo'an court, contacted our army through some channels and expressed that he could help our army capture Wei Pass!"
As soon as the news came out, everyone's expressions changed in different ways. The name Murong Lun was no stranger to everyone. It could even be said that they had heard of it for a long time. This person not only served as the military envoy to Hebei Province, Murong Lun Yuliang's eldest brother is also a representative figure of the current family...
