"Alright! County Magistrate He! I have already sent out everything that you wanted to report to my husband! "
Lantian County, Yong 'an Marquis Manor, main hall.
Han Yuxi, Li Jingmo, Madam Li, and County Magistrate He were all in the hall. However, Han Yuxi was sitting at the table at the head of the hall, and in front of her was a large box. At this moment, Han Yuxi stood up and spoke to County Magistrate He.
This was the imperial edict that had been sent out this morning. Just as all the officials of Lantian County were in a dilemma and were at their wit's end, County Magistrate He personally visited the Marquis's Manor and requested Han Yuxi to inform Li Zexuan, who was in the military camp, of the current situation in the county office through the telegraph.
Han Yuxi was, after all, a married woman. Although the Tang Dynasty was liberal, it wasn't liberal to the point of allowing men outside to meet their wives alone. Therefore, after knowing the purpose of County Magistrate He's visit, Han Yuxi personally moved the telegraph from her room to the main hall while instructing the maidservants to invite Li Jingmo and Madam Li to the main hall of the Marquis's Manor. On the surface, it was to accompany them, but in reality, it was to avoid suspicion!
"Thank you, Madam! This official and all the officials in the county office are extremely grateful! "
County Magistrate He stood up and bowed respectfully to Han Yuxi from afar. However, he didn't have any intention of leaving because he still had to wait for Li Zexuan's reply!
Han Yuxi pursed her lips and chuckled, "County Magistrate He is too serious! My husband isn't in the county, so I still have to trouble you to help my husband manage Lantian County! Furthermore, my husband didn't consider it thoroughly and should have prepared a telegraph for the Lantian County office! "
When County Magistrate He heard this, he blushed and said, "Cough, cough! Madam, you must be joking! Even if Marquis prepared a telegraph for the county office, no one in the county office would know how to use it! "
He was a scholar and had studied the Four Books and Five Classics. After Li Zexuan took over Lantian County, he worked under Li Zexuan. Although he had received many new ideas and knowledge, he still felt that he couldn't handle a new thing like the telegraph that required a higher professional knowledge!
"County Magistrate He, you are too modest!"
Han Yuxi smiled faintly, then bowed to Li Jingmo and Madam Li and said, "Father, mother, there are still some matters in the backyard, so Yuxi will be busy first. I'll have to trouble you to accompany County Magistrate He! Just now, County Magistrate He's report involves a lot of things. I think my husband will have to think for a while before replying. When the time comes, you can just send someone to the backyard to call me! "
Han Yuxi's thoughts were still relatively conservative. She did not want to get too involved in official matters. Moreover, she felt that it would be rather awkward for her to continue staying here, so she found an excuse to leave.
Li Jingmo nodded and replied, "Good, good, good! Go ahead and do your work! "
County Magistrate He cupped his hands and sent him off.
…
Black Armored Army's camp, inside the tent.
After receiving the telegram that County Magistrate He entrusted Han Yuxi to send, Li Zexuan was in a dilemma. Just as County Magistrate He said, if Lantian County's government responded to the imperial court's reward policy, Lantian County's business tax revenue would be greatly reduced this year. There was a high probability that they would lose more than half of their business tax revenue. Furthermore, Lantian County was currently in a period of rapid development. Many of the infrastructure in the city were not complete, so they needed a large amount of money to invest in infrastructure. If the business tax revenue was "pulled down", it would directly affect Lantian County's development progress!
However, if Lantian County's government insisted on its own governance and did not implement the preferential tax policy, the merchants in the county, especially those who attended the donation ceremony yesterday, would definitely feel disappointed. This would not be beneficial to Lantian County's business development!
"Money, money, money. In the end, it's still a matter of money …"
Li Zexuan furrowed his brows and paced back and forth in the tent in frustration. In the end, this matter was still a matter of money. If the Lantian County yamen had a lot of money, they wouldn't have this problem at all. Then give them a discount? What was there to be troubled about? But the problem was that the government had no money now!
Before entering the military camp, Li Zexuan had heard County Magistrate He mention that the expansion of the city and the laying of electric wires in the city would require a large sum of money. The government had already borrowed a few thousand strings of coins from the Yanhuang Bank and planned to return the money after the taxes were collected. However, now that Li Er's imperial edict was out, if Lantian County followed the imperial edict, Lantian County's government might not be able to repay the debt owed by the Yanhuang Bank this year!
If it was Li Zexuan's financial situation in the past, he would definitely be able to help Lantian County's government out of its financial predicament. Why was it in the past? It was because after a few times of squandering (building the medical school, building the Protective Mountain Formation of Yunshan, creating armor and equipment for the Black Armored Army for free, etc.), Li Zexuan did not have much cash on hand! This might sound unbelievable, but it was the truth!
But then again, even if Li Zexuan had the ability and capital to help Lantian County's government get out of its financial predicament, he would not directly use his own personal funds to make up for the government's financial deficit! This was because a few months ago, Li Zexuan had already made Lantian County's government independent of its finances. The taxes collected by the government did not have to be handed over to him. Similarly, when the government needed a large amount of money to build infrastructure (roads, bridges, schools, medical centers, etc.), they could not ask him for help!
"Money, money, money! That's right! Isn't this a matter of money? If I don't have money, I can find someone to build it for me! "
Suddenly, a thought flashed through Li Zexuan's mind, and he thought of a plan that could satisfy both sides, and that was …
"Beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep!"
As soon as he thought of it, Li Zexuan immediately returned to the table and started to operate the telegraph machine to send a telegram. After a short wait, someone finally responded. Li Zexuan hurriedly sent his idea in the form of a coded message:
"Order, Lantian County's government will fully comply with the Emperor's decree and implement the corresponding business tax preferential policies in the city. As for the government's financial shortfall this year, with the Marquis' and Lantian County's government's name and credit as guarantee, we will apply for a long-term loan of fifty thousand strings of cash from Yanhuang Bank. The term of the loan will be two years. As for the interest rate, you can discuss it with the King of Shu!
This fifty thousand strings of cash will be used for the reconstruction of Lantian County's infrastructure, the expansion of the city walls, and the laying of electric wires. Every expenditure must be recorded in detail and no one is allowed to embezzle it!
When the reconstruction of the city is completed and the business environment is greatly improved, I believe that Lantian County's business will become even more prosperous. When that time comes, a mere fifty thousand strings of cash will definitely be paid off in less than two years! "
This last paragraph was mainly to dispel County Magistrate He's concerns. Otherwise, with County Magistrate He's cautious personality, he would definitely not dare to borrow such a large sum of money from Yanhuang Bank!
That's right, Li Zexuan was planning to follow the path of rapid development in most modern cities. That was, the government would invest heavily in infrastructure. On one hand, it would expand domestic demand (because infrastructure required the support of many upstream and downstream industrial chains, as well as many workers). On the other hand, it would improve the city's infrastructure. In fact, it was mainly the transportation facilities that would drive the development of various industries in the city!
…
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