In October, the autumn harvest began in various parts of Dengzhou.

Wu Conghan and the Ministry of Civil Affairs were very busy and began to urge the counties to collect taxes.

At this time, the taxation of Dengzhou was reformed by Li Congyan, and it was very different from the taxation of other prefectures and counties.

Dengzhou's taxes are mainly poll tax, land tax, property tax and commercial tax, and the rest of the miscellaneous taxes have been abolished.

After a busy month at the Ministry of Civil Affairs, by the end of October, the Ministry of Civil Affairs had roughly completed the statistics on the amount of taxes paid this year. Of course, the taxes paid in various places will not be collected and put into the treasury until the beginning of next year.

Dengzhou Mansion.

Li Congyan summoned all the officials at and above the level of the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the Ministry of Military Affairs, and at the same time, Wang Zuhe, the commander of the left battalion of the new army, and Li Ren, the commander of the right battalion, were also present.

Li Congyan saw that everyone had arrived, so he said: "It's the autumn harvest season of another year, I will set a rule here, starting from this year, the shogunate will formulate a budget plan for the next year in the autumn harvest season every year, and the Ministry of Civil Affairs, the Ministry of Military Affairs, and the Ministry of the New Army will report the plans for the expenditure required for the coming year, and hand them over to me for approval and implementation after deliberation at the meeting." ”

"When you come next year, how much food you have in your hands will depend on how much the budget approves!"

Everyone was shocked when they heard this, in the eyes of everyone, such things should only exist in the imperial court, and now the shogunate is going to do this?

Li Congyan looked at everyone's surprised expressions, and said with a smile: "The so-called budget and the final accounts of the following year, to put it bluntly, are the calculations that the imperial court does every year, and they are not a rare thing. The reason why I want to implement this policy in the shogunate is because the shogunate has too many stalls in all aspects, too many affairs, and too many places where money and food are needed, so the shogunate's income and expenditure must be planned and within the limits of income. ”

Everyone had no opinion, and they all agreed with each other.

"Good!"

Li Congyan looked at Wu Conghan and said, "Then Minister Wu will talk about this year's income first." ”

"Whoa!"

Wu Conghan saluted everyone with his hands crossed, and then took out a copy of the data of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, and said loudly: "Lord, everyone! This year, the tax revenue of Dengzhou has increased significantly, as follows. ”

"After several rounds of recovering the displaced people and liberating the hidden households, the population of one city and four counties in Dengzhou has grown greatly, and there are currently a total population of 238,000 households and more than 894,000 people, and according to the tax rate of five yuan per person in Qingzhou and two yuan per person for the elderly, weak women and children, a total of 2,300 yuan of poll tax is levied."

"At present, there are 278,000 mu of cultivated land in one city and four counties in Dengzhou, and a total of 278,000 stone of land tax should be levied based on the levy of 100 catties of grain per mu. However, some of the cultivated land was newly cultivated this year, so this year's land tax was exempted, and this year's land tax should be more than 194,600 stones. ”

"Merchants and families from all over Dengshu have all declared their assets to the shogunate, and after verification, they have not concealed it. According to the shogunate's property tax rate, this year's property tax will be collected in total, with more than 163,000 koku and 54,000 koku of grain. ”

"Among the various taxes paid by the shogunate, the commercial tax accounted for the largest share. Through the implementation of the policy of tax stamps, the merchants from all over Dengzhou and the surrounding merchants who came to do business could not evade taxes, and a total of 247,000 commercial taxes were collected this year. ”

After talking about the various taxes of the shogunate, Wu Conghan continued: "Next, I will explain to the Lord and you the income of the workshops of the Industrial Division. ”

"The Haiyan Workshop and Liuli Workshop under the Industrial Division have a surplus of 397,000 yuan after deducting the shares to the Li family in Penglai and the Chen family in Huangxian County."

"After deducting the cost of the carpentry workshop and the fertilizer workshop, there is a surplus of 73,000 yuan."

"After deducting the cost of the brewery, there is a surplus of 164,000 yuan."

After speaking, Wu Conghan concluded: "This year, the shogunate's various revenues totaled 1.047 thousand, and the income was 249,000 stones!" ”

When everyone heard this, they immediately cheered, and in just one year, Dengzhou has become extremely rich from being poor and weak, and this kind of income was not even thought of last year.

And this is still exempting the people from many harsh taxes and miscellaneous taxes, and without increasing the burden on the people!

Li Congyan looked at everyone's excited looks, and said with a smile: "Okay, this is just the income, let Minister Wu talk about the expenses of the shogunate's ministries." ”

"Whoa!"

Wu Conghan took out another piece of data and said loudly: "The various expenditures of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, the Ministry of Military Affairs and the Ministry of Military Affairs of the Shogunate, as well as the various prefectures of Dengzhou, a city and four counties, totaled 113,000 yuan. The New Army's expenditures on salaries, military maintenance, armor, and baggage amounted to 119,000 yuan. In addition, the shogunate's other temporary expenditures, such as the construction of mineral deposits and the construction of eight strongholds, amounted to 154,000 kan. In summary, the shogunate's various expenditures totaled 386,000 kan. ”

After speaking, Wu Conghan forked his hand and said: "Lord, at present, the shogunate still has a balance of 661,000 guan and 249,000 stone of grain. ”

After Li Congyan's reform, all the salaries of the current Dengzhou officials were changed to monetary payments, and taxes were also converted into money, instead of being paid with grain, even cloth and sundries, as before.

Of course, although this is very convenient and convenient for the shogunate's various settlements, if the amount of private money is insufficient, it will also bring a lot of trouble and add a great burden to the people.

However, fortunately, at present, various workshops and businesses in Dengzhou are prosperous, and the amount of private currency is sufficient, and these problems do not exist in Dengzhou for the time being.

At this time, Li Congyan looked at everyone and said, "Okay, before I summoned you, I had you draw up your own budget plans, now let's talk about them." However, there is one thing I said earlier: you don't have to worry about the 249,000 koku of grain surplus from the shogunate, and all of this grain must be allocated to the Ministry of Military Affairs as a reserve for the new army, and no one is allowed to misappropriate it. ”

"Whoa!"

Then, starting with the Ministry of Civil Affairs, Wu Conghan planned to do four things next year: first, to build water conservancy in the whole of Dengzhou, second, to repair the official roads in Dengzhou, third, to repair the government offices in one city and four counties in Dengzhou, and fourth, to increase the income of officials at all levels.

“…… Therefore, according to the budget plan, the Ministry of Civil Affairs needs at least 280,000 yuan. ”

Li Congyan thought for a while and said: "The government offices in one city and four counties in Dengzhou do not need to be repaired for the time being, this item is rejected!" Recalculate, how much money is needed for the remaining three? ”

Wu Conghan hurriedly calculated, and then said: "Enlighten the Lord, you still need 172,000 yuan. ”

Li Congyan nodded and said, "Okay, pass!" ”

Wu Conghan breathed a sigh of relief, but Li Wei, Li Ren, Wang Zuhe and other personnel of the Military and Political Department and the New Army became nervous.

The shogunate had a total of 661,000 kan of funds, and the Ministry of Civil Affairs took 172,000 kan at once, how to distribute the remaining 489,000 kan?

Just when everyone was making their own calculations, Li Congyan looked at Li Wei, Minister of Military Affairs: "How is the budget situation of the Ministry of Military Affairs?" ”

Li Wei forked his hand and said: "Your Excellency, the Ministry of Military Affairs needs a huge amount of funds next year, and his subordinates are ready to expand the army by another 10,000 next year, and at the same time, the Military Division, the Military Medical Department, and the Baggage Division will purchase various materials in large quantities, and the R&D Department also has several projects to be approved, so after several checks, the Ministry of Military Affairs will need funds of 395,000 yuan next year." ”

Li Ren and Wang Zuhe were immediately anxious when they heard this, the budget of the Ministry of Military Affairs was twice that of the Ministry of Civil Affairs! So how much money is left for the Forces nouvelles?

Li Congyan thought for a while, and then said: "Okay, the budget of the Ministry of Military Affairs has passed!" ”

Li Wei suddenly breathed a sigh of relief, and Wu Conghan saw the clue: next year, the focus of the shogunate will no longer be internal affairs, but external!

Next, the budget of the new army was reported by Li Renyu.

Most of the funds needed for the new army next year will be for raising troops and training, and there are not too many projects, but it still needs 123,000 yuan.

However, at this time, the shogunate's surplus was only 94,000 kan, and at this time there was a shortfall of nearly 30,000 kan.

This is not counting, Li Congyan knew that the shogunate should also set aside an emergency fund, such as to deal with wars, natural disasters, etc., and at the same time, it should also set aside a part of the mobile funds for the Ministry of Civil Affairs, the Ministry of Military Affairs, and the New Army to deal with the temporary increase in expenses.

But now that there is no limit for these funds, Li Congyan also feels that it is very tricky.

Li Congyan frowned slightly, thought for a while, and first said: "The funds approved by the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the Ministry of Military Affairs include emergency funds and mobile funds, Minister Wu and Minister Li should distribute these funds reasonably, and in the next year, the shogunate will not have any more financial support, you have to remember!" ”

Wu Conghan and Li Wei were both stunned, and the two glanced at each other with a wry smile, but thinking about the predicament of the new army, the two of them couldn't say anything, and immediately took the order.

Then Li Congyan continued: "The cost of the new army is short of 30,000 yuan, and I am going to raise donations from the Dengzhou merchants, and the shogunate will issue an announcement on this matter and distribute it to the merchants tomorrow. ”

Wu Conghan was a little worried: "Lord, will this move cause misunderstanding among businessmen everywhere?" ”

Li Congyan said with a smile: "I am a fundraiser, which merchant is willing to pay, the shogunate will issue a receipt to him according to the amount of money raised, and these businessmen can deduct tax stamps with the receipt of fundraising." ”

This is also the idea that Li Congyan thought of in a flash, and after a deep sigh at this time, he continued: "The specific rules are like this: for every 10,000 yuan raised by a businessman, he can get a receipt, and one receipt can be used to deduct the businessman's tax receipt for one month. ”

After listening to this, everyone thought for a while, and then understood. Li Congyan's idea was to use the commercial tax as collateral to borrow money from the merchant on credit.

It's just that whether a businessman who borrows on credit can get back his principal with the receipt of fundraising depends on how much business tax he needs to pay in a month!

Wu Conghan said with a smile: "The good methods of the Lord are really endless, and my subordinates admire them. But in this way, will it affect the collection of commercial tax next year? ”

Li Congyan said: "Naturally, it will affect some, but don't worry. Dengzhou will only get better and better in my hands, and the amount of taxes will be raised to a new level next year, and the amount of tax lost by commercial tax will be completely offset by the increase in commercial tax next year! ”

In this way, the people were completely relieved.

The next day, the shogunate sent a donation letter to the merchants of the whole prefecture, and in just ten days, the shogunate raised 130,000 yuan and issued 13 receipts for donations.

Subsequently, Li Congyan approved the budget of the new army, and the remaining 100,000 guan was put into the shogunate's treasury as an emergency fund for the shogunate.

Sensing the urgency of the budget, Li Congyan decided to expand the shogunate's sources of revenue, so he summoned Wu Conghan and Li Sisheng to discuss the matter.

"Since I want to make money, then I have to come up with more good things!"

Li Congyan said secretly in his heart, and a smile unconsciously appeared on his face.