On the second day after Li Longji returned to the capital, a large court meeting was held. All the fifth-rank officials in the capital had to line up at Hanyuan Hall.
Light snow was still falling, but there was no snow under the steps of Hanyuan Hall. The snow that had fallen before had long been cleared out. There were even hot water pipes under the steps, which was geothermal. It was a benefit for officials.
The officials had been very busy recently. There were many things to do at the end of the year. After this period, it would be the New Year holiday in a few days. They could spend the New Year with their families.
The busiest person in the crowd was the Minister of Revenue, Wang Bei. In the past half a month, he had already worked six extra nights at the Ministry of Revenue. He was always busy until dawn, so naturally, he couldn't go home.
He had lost a few kilograms, but his spirit was good. He had money now. Except for the last month, which needed to be calculated in January of next year, all the tax data for the first half of the year had been sorted out.
"Wang Qing, have you calculated the taxes for the eleventh month of this year?" Li Longji had just arrived at Hanyuan Palace Hall and had just sat down when he impatiently asked about the money.
Wang Bei glanced at Zhang Zhong beside him. He was in a good mood. He thought that the emperor would ask about the Ministry of Works first, but he didn't expect that he would ask about his own Ministry of Revenue. Money was really important.
Zhang Zhong glanced at Wang Bei from the corner of his eyes, but didn't respond. Money was nothing. Don't mention money to me. It's meaningless.
Wang Bei clearly felt Zhang Zhong's contempt. He secretly cursed, "I'll make you lose all your business tomorrow." Then he stepped out of the line.
He was holding a ceremonial tablet in his hand. It was different from the original rectangular one. It was one foot long and one foot wide. There was a clip on one end and a small slot on the far right. A pencil was stuck in the slot, and under the pencil was a piece of rubber. On top of the ceremonial tablet was a piece of paper. It was actually a clamp board for office use. It kept pace with the times and was not as inconvenient as before.
"Your Majesty, according to the statistics of the Ministry of Revenue, the total tax collected in the first eleven months of this year was 311.669622 strings of coins and 400 strings of coins. The expenditure in the first eleven months was 106 million strings of coins. As of yesterday, the treasury had a total of 367.792150 strings of coins and 316 copper coins."
After Wang Bei finished reading from the book, he puffed out his chest and raised his head, as if he was the one who earned the money.
The eyes of all the civil and military officials lit up. Wang Bei glanced at Zhang Zhong proudly. He could estimate the annual income of the Zhang Family and the Wang Family. Unless the other party evaded taxes, it would be clear to calculate based on the taxes they paid.
The income of the Zhang Family and the Wang Family this year was four million strings less than last year. The only thing that could not be accounted for was the Precious Candy House, which was a tax-free industry. The other thing that could not be accounted for was the income of the Great Tang Private Bank. The Great Tang Private Bank was owned by the Emperor, and it was also taxed. However, the tax was not accurately reported, and the difference in interest rates between the reporting of losses and the collection of payments had to be deducted.
Obviously, there was a lot of money involved, and it was His Majesty who ordered it. How could anyone know how much money His Majesty had? Furthermore, there were many expenses that could not be accounted for, such as the cost of espionage. Which official was qualified to know how much the Emperor had spent on his espionage system?
The Zhang Family and the Wang Family were probably hiding the same thing, but just like His Majesty, there was no way to investigate. This was because Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan had sent many spies abroad, and they could not afford to spend less.
But no matter what, the normal tax return was indeed lower than last year. It was just that they had not found the time to investigate why.
Zhang Zhong still ignored Wang Bei. He could guess what Wang Bei was thinking. Wasn't it just that the income today was lower? That was right. Otherwise, the Great Tang would not have so much money. A portion of the family's money was used to expand the private army, especially in the area of weapons. Whether it was the improvement of weapons or the consumption of ammunition, they were all money. After all, they were going to war, so they had to have more reserves.
Seated not too far away, Li Longji saw Wang Bei's actions, but he didn't care. The main reason was that Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan didn't care.
"Alright, our court will be able to do many things next year. All departments, calculate the budget for your work so that we can allocate more money." In a good mood, Li Longji began to distribute the money.
"Your Majesty, there's something that this subject doesn't understand. Why is our tax return double compared to last year?" A young general from the Bureau of Military Personnel, who used to be a border guard and had only been promoted last month due to his outstanding performance in the military sandbox examination, mustered up his courage and stood up to ask.
A few days ago, he heard from others that last year's income was 130 million strings of cash, and he knew that it was easy for the sudden increase in income to become worthless. For the sake of his brothers in the military, he had to ask.
As soon as he spoke, he realized that the entire Hanyuan Palace was silent, and he couldn't help but feel even more worried.
After a few moments of silence, Li Longji looked at the officials below and softly sighed. He turned on the microphone and said to Zhang Jiuling, "Official Zhang, you speak."
Zhang Jiuling's expression was very unnatural. Back then, his family was in Guangzhou, and that place produced preserved vegetables. His family had also been involved in the business, and in the first half of the year, the officials still had the income from the land as their salary. Now that he had handed over the land, he naturally had less of an excuse to sell his family's produce. However, his family's business didn't stop, and they continued to sell preserved vegetables, earning quite a bit of money.
Now that His Majesty had called out his name, Zhang Jiuling had no choice but to stand up. He looked at the faces of the other officials, and they all lowered their heads and entered a meditative state.
"Yang Zuofeng, this matter is very simple." Zhang Jiuling loudly said to the military official who had asked the question. This person was surnamed Yang, a member of the Imperial Guard of the Left. He used to be in the Thousand Bull Manor, and the authority of this official had been very small for a period of time. Now that the military service system had been changed and the Great Tang's economic strength had increased, more military power was required to maintain this position.
The military official surnamed Yang said nothing, continuing to listen attentively.
"Listen to me one by one." Zhang Jiuling took a deep breath and organized his words, "Last year, the tax rate of our dynasty was set low, and the official's salary was more based on the output of the land. This year, His Majesty was wise and went out to inspect the land road construction. Along the way, he heard the advice of a capable official and changed the tax rate of our dynasty and the official's salary.
As for the tax, the commercial side has increased by nearly five times. During the trial period, there are not too many people who are willing to pay the tax. In addition, the officials are getting their salaries. While they spend their money, they also promote the flow of goods and materials, which forms a part of the tax. Therefore, our dynasty's revenue has increased.
Furthermore, after many years of hard work, the Agriculture Temple has distributed a large number of crop seeds this spring, and the output of the land has increased significantly. This year, there are no major events around the dynasty, and the people are living in peace. The livestock production has also increased. "
Zhang Jiuling forced himself to finish his words and kept wiping his sweat.
The military official surnamed Yang raised his head and rolled his eyes. He thought for a while and nodded, admitting that this would increase the tax rate. When all the merchants in Great Tang agreed, it wouldn't be a problem to double the tax rate.
"Oh, I know, but I don't know which capable official it is? Can he make a decision in the court? What if he goes on a business trip? "The military official surnamed Yang was serious. Who would be so awesome as to directly influence His Majesty's decisions?
Zhang Jiuling glared at him, "General Yang, who do you think it is?"
"Oh, I, I am not too sure. I won't ask. The person who came up with this plan is truly capable. Your Majesty is wise." The military official surnamed Yang guessed who it was in just a few breaths' time. He was clearly not confident enough.
You know how to be afraid of the contempt of all the officials?
Li Longji didn't mention the names of Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan. In any case, officials of a certain rank would know who could easily influence Great Tang's decisions.
"Next topic." Li Longji leaned back and waited.
He didn't feel comfortable with the increased tax rate. He was exchanging benefits. The railways in the country hadn't been fully connected yet, and the trains hadn't been fully delivered yet. The carriages for the steam engines had already been distributed, and the salaries of the officials were more than two times higher than the current income of the farmland.
'If not for Xiao Bao's astounding calculations, which would change the railway transportation system and make the land more valuable, I would have been angered to death this time.'
Li Longji thought as he looked at the officials in the court with an unfriendly gaze. How many officials didn't have private property? When it came to disaster relief, no one was willing to fork out money. But when it came to investing in the Ministry of Works, there was already money. This was especially so after the tractor carried the investment officials around the streets of the capital. Why weren't you all so enthusiastic when the national treasury was low?
In Xiao Bao's words, it was because your table manners were too unsightly. It's good that you all took out a hundred strings of coins to pretend that I can't deal with you all. Why don't you all invest? I'll get Xiao Bao to deal with you all. '
While Li Longji was thinking about how to take revenge on the officials, the topics in the court were passed one after another without any hindrance. The national treasury was rich, and many of the topics were about money.
The wealthy Li Longji felt that any problem that could be solved with money wasn't a problem at all.
When it was almost noon, Li Longji realized something. No one mentioned anything about Great Tang's infrastructure. There was a solution for the railways, but what about the roads? It wasn't a good thing to have too much spare money in the national treasury. It would depreciate.
Thus, he looked at Zhang Zhong and asked, "Minister Zhang, does the Ministry of Works have any topics to discuss?"
Zhang Zhong shook his head and said, "Your Majesty, the Ministry of Works doesn't lack money now. The Ministry of Works has produced many new chemical products. Other than the research costs, we still have some surplus. For example, soap, toothpaste, fertilizer, and kerosene lamps are selling well. There are also candles and shoes with rubber soles."
As he spoke, Zhang Zhong finally looked at Wang Bei. Last year, the Ministry of Works needed money for its research and was severely hindered by the Ministry of Revenue. His son and daughter-in-law were furious and took revenge on the other party. However, in the end, it was better to rely on oneself than to rely on others.
According to his son, their technology wasn't good enough, so they could only use the local method to produce. It wasted a lot of resources and caused a lot of pollution. However, during special times, they had to treat it differently.
Wang Bei lowered his head and looked at the document. He was very engrossed and didn't know what good story was written in it.
"What about the roads and infrastructure?" Li Longji ignored the conflict between the officials and asked about the things he wanted to know the most.
"As for the roads, this official is still waiting for the officials to report. Once the reports are completed, this official can withdraw the funds from the Ministry of Revenue. The Ministry of Revenue will review the funds and then allocate the funds through the Great Tang Bank," Zhang Zhong answered truthfully.
Li Longji nodded. Yes, the money needed to be paid by the Ministry of Revenue or by him or the Head of the Secretariat. Although it was said that the Ministry of Works should be in charge, the Ministry of Works didn't have any real authority in the area of infrastructure. The Ministry of Revenue could bypass the Ministry of Works and directly negotiate with the local officials about the allocation of funds. Of course, the Ministry of Works could also bypass the Ministry of Revenue and directly allocate funds to the local construction management department. This was because the Ministry of Works had its own money. It was just that Zhang Zhong didn't allocate the funds.
Li Longji's expression became serious as he said to Wang Bei, "Next year should be a special year for transportation. We don't want to see key supplies blocked because of money."
"This official understands," Wang Bei replied loudly. In his heart, he looked down on Zhang Zhong even more. The other party was too immoral to point him out and let the Emperor give him a warning.
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