4350 years (AD 1653), November 21st.
The autumn harvests in various places have been completed, grain taxes have been paid into the treasury, and the tax revenue in various places has also been obvious.
Today's imperial meeting will discuss next year's budget based on this year's estimated fiscal and tax revenue.
The cold wind howled, and heavy snow fell from the sky.
In front of the Qianqing Palace in the Forbidden City, everyone still had smiles on their faces even though their faces were red from the cold.
The smiles of Prime Minister Qian Mingyi, Director of the State Administration of Taxation Zhao Wenfeng, and Shaofu Ling Qi Zizhang became even more obvious.
Li Yan, the Secretary of the Ministry of Finance, does not look very good. He has little to do with the surge in fiscal and taxation.
But the Ministry of Finance is in charge of allocating funds for many projects, and he is under great pressure. There are people of high status behind many projects, and it is impossible to cut them off.
He only regretted that he had not entered the cabinet, and he would not have been under so much pressure if he had been in the cabinet.
The familiar sound of brakes sounded, and Prince Su Shu's car stopped in front of the Qianqing Palace.
Prince Su Shu stepped out of the car, greeted the civil and military officials, and walked to the front of the team.
Not long after he arrived, the time for the imperial meeting arrived. The eunuch opened the door of Qianqing Palace and they entered Qianqing Palace in an orderly manner.
Prince Su Shu sat next to Emperor Su He. He looked at the civil and military ministers who were sitting one after another.
After his father's words and deeds during this period, his political literacy also continued to grow.
He could now see that some of the civil and military ministers in front looked calm and calm. They were looking around and whispering to others.
This is a sign of eagerness. This group of people is dominated by Fang Yizhi, the Minister of Industry, Tian Jiapeng, the Minister of Science and Technology, Lu Guanghan, the Minister of Education, and military generals.
They are all big spenders, and it is impossible not to feel anxious when it comes to budget allocation.
Maoxiang, Minister of the Ministry of Justice, Kong Renxin, Director of Taiyuan Hospital, Minister of the Ministry of Medicine, and Li Tianyang, Minister of the Ministry of Official Affairs.
These three ministers are very easy-going because the annual budgets of these three departments are almost fixed.
When they encounter special situations, such as extremely serious cases in the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Medicine's response to the plague, they can apply for special budgets from the cabinet.
There was no need for these three to fight. They were very easy-going and had an attitude of not having anything to do with themselves.
Emperor Su He looked at the ministers and said in an easy-going tone: "The weather will be good this year and the grain harvest will be bumper.
In particular, water conservancy facilities and fertilizer plants in Nanyang provinces such as Cochin and Siam have been put into use one after another.
This led to the import of rice from Nanyang provinces to inland areas, and grain prices generally remained stable.
I can declare to my ancestors that the empire can initially solve the problem of food and clothing.
Even beggars at the bottom of the empire and orphans who have lost their parents and relatives can go to welfare homes across the empire and eat free meals.
The empire has the ability to ensure that, unless a catastrophic disaster occurs and the empire is within its means, not a single citizen will starve to death. "
When Emperor Su He saw this situation, he was very pleased.
The Great China Empire continued its colonial expansion and developed productivity through industrialization, finally solving the problem of food and clothing for the people.
The empire now has the ability to raise some beggars who are not engaged in childbirth.
Food prices have been pushed to the lowest level. Only by reducing residents' basic living expenses can they have enough money to consume industrial products and promote the development of the empire's industrialization.
As for the peasants, Emperor Su He abolished exorbitant taxes and restrained grassroots officials.
These two practices have brought farmers to the most relaxed era.
The farmers on the land of China are very docile as long as they can survive.
The empire also provides low-interest loans to these farmers. As long as they have the ability and want to develop, they can rely on their own abilities to break into a new world.
Pan Hongcai, Minister of the Ministry of People's Livelihood, stood up excitedly and said: "Your Majesty has great authority all over the world. The empire's agricultural tax is not high, and the common people who till the land have their own land.
The people's enthusiasm for farming has been aroused, and God has been kind.
Colleagues in the Water Resources Department of the Ministry of Industry are working very hard, and they also use a lot of chemical fertilizers.
Grain production increased by 40% this year.
This ensures that the people of our country will have three meals of white rice and flour per person per day, and everyone will have enough to eat.
The empire also has nearly a thousand tons of rice and wheat that can be exported abroad.
If you include sweet potatoes, corn and potatoes, three widely grown cereals, the empire's food output will be higher and it can easily feed more people.
If there are enough miscellaneous grains, there will be enough feed.
Nowadays, the private pig, chicken, duck and goose breeding industry has developed rapidly inland.
In the northern grassland areas, a large number of cattle and sheep have also begun to be raised. When the pastures are not rich, the cattle and sheep are fed some miscellaneous grains as supplementary food.
The empire's land was vast, and the population growth rate did not keep up with the territorial expansion.
I have always been worried that some fields have been abandoned due to insufficient population.
Some time ago, I witnessed the development of agricultural machinery. Only two farmers can easily cultivate more than a hundred acres of land using various agricultural machinery.
One harvester can harvest faster than fifty farm workers.
The speed of tractor plowing is even faster than that of ten cows, and it can dig out deeper soil. "
Pan Hongcai wanted to continue talking, but he saw that Emperor Su He could still concentrate at first. As he reported, Emperor Su He's eyes shifted in other directions.
He knew that his words were a bit long-winded, and he stopped immediately.
If he continued talking, it would leave a bad impression on Emperor Su He and his colleagues.
When Emperor Su He saw Pan Hongcai finish speaking, he said with appreciation: "The development of industry has a great role in promoting agriculture.
The emergence of diesel agricultural machinery can improve farmers' productivity, and only a small number of farmers can cultivate more land.
Agriculture requires only a small population to produce enough food, vegetables, and fruits.
More people can enter the industry and service industries.
The main role of the cabinet in the future is to regulate the development of the empire's economy and provide more jobs for the people.
This year is already the end of the year, and Pan Aiqing has already finished introducing the harvest situation.
Zhao Aiqing and Qi Aiqing, please introduce the situation of taxation and the Shaofu. "
Zhao Wenfeng, director of the State Administration of Taxation, said with excitement: "Your Majesty, the estimated tax revenue this year will increase by 35% to 37% compared to last year.
Minister Pan has just explained that agricultural taxes have increased by 40%, but the overall proportion of agricultural taxes is low, and the main growth item is commercial taxes.
The normal growth rate is only about 15%. The current growth rate is due to three new technologies: wireless telegraphy, telephone and diesel engine.
It has become a habit for people in the empire to call friends in the same city, and it has also become a habit to send telegrams to friends far away.
The ability of these two technologies to attract money is astonishing.
There is also diesel engine technology. The court has granted tax exemptions to diesel engine-related companies, but diesel is not tax-free.
As the number of machines equipped with diesel engines increased, diesel sold for one million taels of silver coins in just a few months.
There are five copper coins for every liter of diesel, including two copper coins for tax. The tax on diesel is as high as 40%.
This is the reason why the cabinet is considering promoting diesel engines and reducing diesel prices in the early stage.
With the price of diesel soaring, the tax on diesel alone is as high as several million taels of silver coins every year.
The empire's tax revenue this year has officially exceeded 100 million taels of silver coins, reaching 103.9 million taels of silver coins. "
As for the specific taxes, except for a few people such as Emperor Su He, Prince Su Shu, and Prime Minister Qian Mingyi, most people knew the specific amount of taxes this year for the first time.
They all took a breath. They didn't expect that industrial and commercial taxes could reach so much.
They sincerely admired Emperor Su He for positioning the empire's main tax on industrial and commercial taxes.
At the end of the Ming Dynasty, the tax system had collapsed. The gentry and nobles basically did not pay taxes. All the pressure of taxation fell on the farmers at the bottom.
After scraping away all the people's fat and anointing, they enriched the tax collectors and officials who collected taxes. The court only received a small part of the tax revenue, a mere four million taels of silver.
As a huge country, four million taels of silver a year is simply unable to maintain the operation of the entire country, and its collapse is inevitable in the future.
The empire's current tax revenue has exceeded 100 million. Compared with the previous 4 million, that is the difference between Yinghuo and Haoyue.
Many people of the former Ming Dynasty have not yet passed away, and they are the contributions made by this generation. Just because the emperor and ministers were changed, the results were very different.
Many ministers knelt down and shouted that the emperor was wise.
"My beloved sires, it is the joint efforts of me and all my dear sires that can make the empire's tax revenue exceed 100 million.
Breaking 100 million is just a phased achievement. I have already anticipated that I will create more brilliance with all of you in the future. "
Emperor Su He immediately let the officials stand free and affirmed their achievements.
He would definitely not be able to develop the empire to this point with his own strength.
The strength of the empire is inseparable from the efforts of ministers and people.
After Qi Zizhang got up, everyone else was sitting in their seats, but he still remained standing.
Zhao Wenfeng put a lot of pressure on him. The empire's taxes were too scary.
When he first joined the company, even if the tax revenue exceeded 100 million yuan in ten years, let alone more than 100 million yuan in one year, it was an astonishing thing.
Qi Zizhang's father was a martyr in the Battle of Jianmenguan.
His father's death in battle earned him a future.
After he passed the imperial examination at the age of eighteen, he was immediately assigned to be a county magistrate in Quanzhou, Fujian.
Qi Zizhang rose through the ranks without encountering any setbacks.
He was promoted to prefect, but due to his youth and limited ability, he could no longer be promoted, so he was immediately transferred to Shaofu to take charge of the state-owned water company.
He has a lot of experience at the grassroots level and knows the taxation of 100 million taels of silver coins. What is the concept of this?
This money is used to arm the empire's army. With the empire's current strength, it can destroy any country.
Hundreds of millions of silver coins falling from the sky could bury the Forbidden City.
Even if Qi Zizhang refused to admit defeat, he knew that he was not better than Zhao Wenfeng.
This is not because his ability is not good, but because the Shaofu cannot compare with the State Administration of Taxation.
Qi Zizhang put aside his thoughts of competition. The Shaofu still pays taxes, so it cannot be compared with the State Administration of Taxation.
He spoke seriously about the issue that His Majesty the Emperor and the ministers were concerned about, that is, how much money will the Young Master turn over to the court this year?
"I have ordered Qi Zizhang to report to Your Majesty that this year due to the huge sales of weapons and ammunition, telephones, coal, petroleum and other commodities.
The Shaofu deducted taxes and costs, and the remaining profit was 67.53 million taels of silver coins. "
It was precisely because the Shaofu held more than 60 million taels of silver coins that he had the confidence to compete with the State Administration of Taxation.
If the State Administration of Taxation stays put, the Shaofu's profits plus taxes will exceed the rest of the commercial taxes.
The Shaofu will be very outstanding by then.
He never thought that tax revenue could increase so quickly.
Many ministers were also shocked when they heard that the Shaofu's balance was so high.
Prime Minister Qian Mingyi said happily: "So next year's budget will be as high as 170 million taels of silver coins. I have never allocated such a wealthy budget."
Qi Zizhang hurriedly retorted: "Prime Minister, this money is the balance of the Shaofu, not the amount turned over to the court by the Shaofu.
The Shaofu is very large and controls companies directly under the imperial court.
The Shaofu needs a sum of money for the expansion of its companies, and the rest of the money will be turned over to the court. "
Prime Minister Qian Mingyi knew that the Shaofu wanted to keep some funds for development. The reason why he spoke out was because he wanted the Shaofu to keep less money.
The profits turned over by the young master can solve many things.
The fundamental reason for some things in the empire is that there is not enough money.
As long as there are enough silver coins scattered and corresponding policies, most problems can be easily solved.
Prime Minister Qian Mingyi said as emotionlessly as possible: "I don't think there will be much change in Shaofu's business between this year and next year.
This year, the Shaofu is building a multi-level telegraph network and producing some new weapons.
This has saved more than 20 million taels of silver coins. I think 20 million taels of silver coins are enough for the Shaofu's budget for next year. "
Qi Zizhang could tell from Prime Minister Qian Mingyi's words that he wanted to collect more money.
A Shaofu Ling who doesn't cry about poverty is definitely not a qualified Shaofu Ling.
Qi Zizhang said with a frustrated face: "Prime Minister, you also know that the Shaofu is responsible for some functions that should be undertaken by the government.
The state-owned water company needs to lay water plants and water pipelines in every county.
Because iron pipes corrode very easily, ceramic pipes are relatively fragile.
The main pipes of water pipes are huge cement pipes.
Branch and entrance pipes are all made of brass.
Lead pipes were the cheapest, but His Majesty vetoed them.
Iron pipes corrode easily and are useless.
State-owned water companies can only choose brass pipes.
This is a copper pipe, and every meter of pipe is extremely expensive.
The state-owned telegraph and telephone company needed to invest a lot of money to create confidential communications for the military and government.
Telegraph and telephone lines are all pure copper lines and are extremely expensive.
A state-owned steel plant, an open-hearth furnace used to refine special steel, costs as much as 6.7 million taels of silver coins.
The three examples I gave are just the tip of the iceberg of Shaofu.
The state-owned companies under the Shaofu are responsible for many important functions of the empire.
These companies are expensive, but necessary.
What's more, diesel steam locomotives will be successfully developed next year.
The state-owned railway company will upgrade railways and locomotives across the country.
This investment alone will consume at least 20 million taels of silver coins.
According to the Shaofu's budget, at least 40 million taels of silver coins must be reserved to meet the Shaofu's continued development. "
After Prime Minister Qian Mingyi heard what Qi Zizhang said, he couldn't help but stand up, pointed at Qi Zizhang, and asked with a trembling voice: "What did you say? The young master wants to keep 40 million taels of silver coins.
There are more than 70 million taels of silver coins in total, and you have to keep more than half.
Impossible, absolutely impossible.
The Shaofu simply cannot spend so much money, and upgrading the railway cannot be completed in one year. "
Prince Su Shu saw the two quarreling and felt that their actions were reasonable.
He turned his eyes to his father and observed how he would handle this matter. (End of chapter)
