"During this time, your police department has really worked hard, and many units have insisted on patrolling the streets 24 hours a day, and I have seen all of this." Zhuang Tao nodded, naturally knowing that the purpose of Li Yuan's visit this time was nothing more than to expand the police force, especially to greatly increase the number of patrol police teams. Millions of refugees poured in at once, and all of them were out-of-towners with no place to live.

In order to survive, these refugees have long since been shattered by their original values and sense of honor and disgrace after a long period of displacement and hunger and cold, and they have done many things that are contrary to their conscience, morality, and law.

With the influx of refugees, the public order situation in many counties and cities has indeed deteriorated a lot, and there is an element of Jiang Qiang's deliberate action; first, it is necessary to show the Japanese, and second, it is impossible for these people to enjoy high welfare for free as soon as they come, and there must be a gradual process.

In addition, the uneven quality of the refugees themselves and the mixing of dragons and snakes are also an important reason, and most of the refugees who have survived so far are not or are no longer honest ordinary people. At this time, if there is not a sufficient number of patrol police teams with excellent combat effectiveness, there will be a big problem! Countless facts have proven throughout the ages that refugees have always been an unstable factor, and no matter what country or nationality they are, as long as they are refugees, there is no one who will not make trouble.

Even modern Europe is not a result of the influx of refugees, which has caused a series of serious social problems. So, the police force should indeed be expanded.

Thinking of this, Zhuang Tao nodded and said, "If there are not enough people, you can recruit another batch." How many people do you want to recruit? By the way, how many police officers do we have at the moment? Li Yuan hurriedly replied: "Report to the mayor, there are currently 6,752 police officers we are staffing!" I think that according to the current trend, there should be at least more than 3,000 people. "Why, the police force is only 6,752 in total?"

Zhuang Tao raised his eyebrows, and silently calculated in his heart: In his work "American Police", the American scholar Walker repeatedly emphasized a ratio, that is, how many police officers should be in 10,000 people. According to Walker's theory, there should be at least 25 police officers for every 10,000 people, and if this number is lower, there will be certain problems with social security.

According to the data, there are about 35 police officers for every 10,000 people in the United States, which is significantly more than Walker's statement. In our country it is much inferior, except that the capital has reached the standard of 35 policemen per 10,000 people. Ordinary prefecture-level cities have always been at the level of 15 to 20 police officers per 10,000 people.

At present, the population of the Shandong Group Army defense area has reached 18.5 million, and if the minimum police force allocation according to the Walker theory is followed, the police force should have at least 51,300 people. Obviously, if you calculate this way, the police force in your own jurisdiction is indeed too small, far below the minimum requirement.

But then again, there is a clear difference between the current and later modern societies, and in the war years, in addition to the police force, there are also a large number of garrison troops that can participate in the maintenance of law and order at any time, and even wartime military management. In this case, Zhuang Tao still decided to vigorously expand the police force, because the army and the police should perform their respective duties, the army is responsible for resisting the enemy and is responsible for defensive operations, and the police maintain social stability.

After a pause, Zhuang Tao nodded and said, "Okay, I approve you to increase the number of police officers by 15,000, and you go back and make a detailed expansion plan and hand it over to me for approval!" "Ah, 15,000 establishments? Okay, okay, that's great! Boss, I'm going back to writing a plan. ”

Li Yuanxi raised his eyebrows, originally felt that an increase of 50% in one bite was already a "lion's mouth", so he had already delineated the bottom line of a minimum of 2,000 people in his heart, but he never dreamed that Yang Fanru was generous, not only did he bargain, but also gave a full 12,000 more establishments.

With this new increase of 5,000 police officers, Li Yuan can indeed show his strength and vigorously grasp public order, and no longer have to worry about a large number of headless cases that cannot be solved because of the lack of manpower.

"General seat, Minister of Finance Wu Rongbang came to ask for a meeting, please instruct!" Not long after Li Yuan left, the president of his own bank came to the door. Zhuang Tao naturally had to give face, and immediately replied: "Please let him in!" After Wu Rongbang entered the door, he greeted him very politely: "Governor, I'm sorry, I have something urgent to look for you." ”

"Minister Wu, please be seated!" Zhuang Tao nodded in response, because it was a businessman's business, he naturally had to call each other his position, so that it seemed to have a sense of ceremony. After sitting down, Wu Rongbang began to complain: "Governor, our current financial expenditure is too large, just to pay military salaries and wages, the monthly expenditure is as high as 38.5 million yuan.

If you add in the expenditure on urban construction, administrative management, public financial investment, social security, culture, education and health, it will cost 44.74 million yuan per month.

But in terms of our financial revenue, it is currently 58.6 million yuan per month, which is completely beyond our means. Sooner or later, something big will happen! ”

Jiang Qiang has long since completely abolished the agricultural tax, and the major enterprises in the area under his jurisdiction are basically "state-owned," and most of the products produced by these state-owned enterprises, such as guns and ammunition, electricity, gasoline, natural gas, cement, steel, and so on, are used in the military and urban construction, and there is no financial revenue at all.

The main sectors that make money are tobacco monopoly, salt monopoly, department store companies, film factories, paper companies and other state-owned enterprises for people's livelihood, as well as various tax revenues, but the money earned is far less than the money spent.

Seeing Zhuang Tao smiling and silent, as if he didn't realize the seriousness of the problem, Wu Rongbang's voice raised several degrees and said urgently: "Governor, don't be indifferent!" Now that we have a large influx of refugees here, your old man has waved his hand, not only taking care of food, shelter and changing new clothes, free physical examination and medical treatment, but also giving each person a 30 yuan settling-in allowance, which is as high as tens of millions of yuan.

Relief for refugees is indeed a great deed, but we also have to do what we can, the economy has collapsed, and that is not a joke! Governor, you must know that our current fiscal deficit is as high as more than 53 million yuan, and if it weren't for the continuous flow of supplies from the United States, we would have been unable to open the pot a long time ago! ”

"Minister Wu, don't worry, drink saliva to moisten your throat first!" Zhuang Tao waved his hand, and then said with a smile: "The money is not enough, it's not simple, you are the governor of the People's Bank of China, won't it be over if you let the mint company print more banknotes?" ”

Wu Rongbang glared at Zhuang Tao angrily and said, "Are you joking with me?" Do you want to print as much money as you want? Although printing more money can solve the fiscal deficit, it is simply drinking to quench thirst! ”

Zhuang Tao didn't panic at all, but nodded solemnly: "Don't worry, I am naturally sure of this, how can I destroy the foundation I have worked so hard to build?" You just let it go, I have already notified the mint to print an additional 500 million yuan! You really don't have to worry about the fiscal deficit and money shortage! ”

There are usually three ways to solve fiscal deficits: First, increase tax revenues. This is the most straightforward way to increase taxes on business individuals. However, the side effects of this move are obvious, and the increase in taxes will also increase the burden on business residents, which will inevitably cause a rebound, especially when the economy is in a recession, if the tax is increased, it will inevitably be scolded by the people, so this move is not the best policy. The second is tax reduction.

According to general logic, don't tax cuts increase the fiscal deficit even more? In fact, tax cuts mean reducing the burden on corporate residents, and with less corporate taxes, they will invest more, hire more people, and give employees a raise. The same is true for the people, who pay less tax every month and spend more, and a virtuous circle begins. As long as the tax base is increased enough, it will increase government tax revenue, and the deficit problem will be solved, and it will be a win-win situation. It's just that this degree must be grasped well, when to reduce taxes, how much taxes to cut, and so on.

The third is money printing. Activating the money printing press, printing enough money, encouraging businesses to invest, increase employment, and thus boost consumption, is also a direct solution to the deficit. However, the side effects of this move are extremely obvious, causing inflation in the whole society, and will exacerbate the gap between the rich and the poor, reduce the government's credit, and the sequelae are extremely serious.

However, for Jiang Qiang, it is not feasible to increase taxes and reduce taxes at present, and the most effective way is to open the faucet and release water to print a large amount of money. As for the problem of inflation, there is no need to worry about Jiang Qiang, because there is not only a steady stream of huge wealth flowing into the United States. As long as we do a good job in military defense and urban infrastructure projects, and completely absorb and digest the tens of millions of people in the areas under our jurisdiction, we will be able to form a good internal circulation system at that time.

At most, it is a lot of spending on the military, instead of frantically investing in construction in all aspects like now, and throwing a lot of money out! "What? Do you want to print 500 million yuan at once? Did I hear me right? ”

Hearing this, Wu Rongbang rolled his eyes directly, if such a huge amount of money flows into the jurisdiction, it will be no different from a flood beast, and it will be strange if the RMB does not depreciate wildly at that time. Wu Rongbang didn't know that Jiang Qiang had the support and help of Shanghai, nor did he know that he could directly move back the materials purchased by the United States through the system to pick up the goods, but he only knew that a cargo ship could arrive in Qingdao every month.

And the value of the goods on that cargo ship is only millions of yuan at best, equivalent to more than 10 million yuan at most, and it is completely impossible to hedge the fiscal deficit of printing and printing, let alone offset the impact of the frenzied release of the renminbi. Of course, Zhuang Tao didn't explain this, but nodded very seriously and said, "Minister Wu, I didn't say it wrong, and you didn't hear it wrong!"

There are some things that I can't tell you the details of yet, but I will never shoot myself in the foot, don't worry, and you must trust me! "Alright! I know what to do!! ”

Hearing that Zhuang Tao was not joking, Wu Rongbang wanted to know that Jiang Qiang had a lot of little-known secrets, and since everything was said about this, he could only put away his doubts and follow the instructions of Zhuang Tao, the governor, to carry it out. "If nothing else, then I'll take my leave."

After chatting a few words, Wu Rongbang took the initiative to leave, originally he wanted to persuade Zhuang Tao to open up sources and reduce expenditure, increase taxes and reduce unnecessary extravagance and waste to solve the fiscal deficit, but Zhuang Tao did not think about it, so he directly opened a large amount of money and did not mention other measures.

Therefore, Wu Rongbang can only point to the end. "Hey, money is really useless!" Looking at the back of Wu Rongbang leaving, Zhuang Tao couldn't help but sigh lightly, although he pretended to be like the wind just now, and sat firmly in the Diaoyutai detached posture, but he couldn't help but feel pain in his heart.

Now the monthly expenditure of RMB is as high as 44.74 million, this is not a full-scale hard and bloody battle with the little devil? If the fire is fully connected at this time, doesn't it mean that the consumption rate will have to be at least quadrupled, even if the United States is full of blood transfusion, coupled with the output of the Shanghai Industrial Zone, it can only barely break even!

If you take a step further and turn defense into offense in the future, and take the initiative to start a full-scale war with the Japanese army, not to mention, the materials and wealth consumed will not be counted at all. Sure enough, it was a cannon that sounded ten thousand taels of gold, no wonder the little devil had been preparing for so many years, but in less than two years after the real full-scale war, he had consumed the capital accumulated for many years, and there was no way to continue to maintain a large-scale all-out offensive, so that the War of Resistance entered a stalemate stage.

"No matter what, the most important thing now is to steadily accept and digest all the refugees in Shanghai! The others are slowly lewd and developing! After thinking for a while, Zhuang Tao retracted his thoughts and returned to his desk to continue working on important documents that needed to be approved.

Before and after the outbreak of war in Europe in 1939, President Roosevelt decided that the United States' line of defense was in Europe, and repeatedly proposed to Congress to amend the neutrality law. On November 3, 1939, after a long debate, Congress passed an amended Neutrality Act, which abolished the arms embargo and allowed belligerents to purchase arms in the United States, but on a "pay-as-you-go" principle.

The new law supported Britain and France in arms and materiel; In the East, it is in favor of Japan and not in favor of China, because China is unable to carry it on its own.

It's just that this is not difficult for the government of the Republic of China, and the government of the Republic of China can borrow British and French ships to transport arms to the British colony of Burma through various diplomatic channels, and then transfer to the Yunnan-Burma Highway into China! Although it will cost more money to do this, it is a hundred times better than being robbed by Japanese devils on the way.

Tokyo Ume Agency. Strode into the office of Shadow Zuo Zhenzhao, glanced at Shadow Zuo Zhenzhao who was buried in dealing with official documents, and said loudly: "Your Excellency Osa Zuo, do you have something to do with me?" "Inu-san, you're here!" Kagesa Zhenzhao raised his head and said with a smile, "You hurry back and prepare, and follow me to see Commander Okamura in half an hour." ”

"Nani, Commander Okamura?" Inuyang Jian was surprised, "Shouldn't he be in Wuhan now?" Kagesa Zhenzhao smiled, "Commander Okamura was planning a major military operation recently, but due to the lack of food and grass, he made a special trip to Tokyo before the war.

When I arrived in Tokyo, I heard that Inukai-kun was an expert in economics, so Commander Okamura asked to see you by name. When the time comes, you'll have to behave! "Okay! Good! Your Excellency, go back and change your dress! ”

Ken Inukai is the third son of former Japanese Prime Minister Inukai Takeshi, and belongs to the second generation of authentic officials, but he is still only a small role in front of Okamura Ninji. Okamura Ninji can be said to be in the ascendant of the day, not only deeply respected by His Majesty the Emperor, but also deeply connected in the army, and more importantly, he is also capable of outstanding, and it is rumored that it will not be long before he will be promoted to the general of the Japanese Army, and the future can be described as limitless.

Therefore, the shrewd Inuyoken knows very well that there are only benefits and no harm in having a good relationship with Okamura Ninji, and he must deal with it with twelve points of spirit. Ying Zuo Zhenzhao smiled and waved his hand, "This time I saw that it was a private dinner, and it was not good to dress too formally." Well, you don't need to wear a dress, it's good to wear a kimono. ”

Dog Raising Jian paused and said, "Haiyi! Thank you for your advice! So he went back and changed his clothes. Less than a quarter of an hour later, Inukai Ken returned to his lounge to change into a kimono, then got into the car with Kagesa and headed straight for a private residence in Tokyo.

When Shadow Sazhen Showa Inuyoken arrived in a car, he saw two rows of Japanese soldiers with loaded guns standing guard at the entrance of this house, and within a few tens of meters, not only the Chinese, but even the Japanese were not allowed to approach. "Shadow Osa, Inu-kun, please come in!" When Kagesa Zhenzhao and Inukai Ken appeared outside Akita's house, the captain of the Japanese guard stepped forward to confirm his identity, and then ordered the Japanese soldiers standing guard to let them go immediately.

"Your Excellency Dazuo, please first!" Walking to the door, Inuyang Ken hurriedly stepped forward to lift the dark blue curtain, and waited for Kage Satsuaki to enter before bending in, only then did he find that there was already a person sitting in the lobby. If you look closely, this is a middle-aged man, dressed in a dark black kimono, with a pair of black-framed glasses on the bridge of his nose, a thin face and bright eyes, giving people a kind of high-ranking person who is not angry and arrogant.

"Your Excellency, General!" Almost at the same time, both Kagesa-zhen Showa and Inu-Ken recognized the other party as Lieutenant General Okamura Ninji, the commander of the Eleventh Army, and hurriedly stepped forward and bowed his head respectfully.

"Yo Xi, today is just a private party, don't be too restrained, please take a seat!" Okamura Ninji waved his hand, nodded and smiled indifferently. "Hello!"

Kagesa Showa Inuken nodded respectfully again, then took off his wooden shoes, climbed on the tatami mat, and then knelt down opposite Okamura Ninji across the low table, his body was straight, and his face looked extremely calm.

Okamura Ninji behaved very easy-going, as if he was just a kind elder, but Okamura Ninji was a lieutenant general after all, and he was favored by His Majesty the Emperor, and it was very likely that he would be promoted to general. And Shadow Zuo Zhen Showa Inu Raising Ken, a newly promoted big Zuo, and a little Shao Zuo. The difference in class status between the two sides is too great, so Kagesa-Zhen Showa and Inu-Yoken can't be unrestrained.

The performance of the two completely fell in their eyes, the corners of Okamura Ninji's mouth turned slightly, and he couldn't see through it, and after glancing at it, his eyes first fell on Inuyangjian's face, and he asked with a smile: "Kagesa-kun, this must be the economics expert you mentioned, Inu-ken-kun, right?" ”

Kage Zuo Zhenzhao hurriedly nodded and said: "Yes, Your Excellency General, he is the head of the economic section of our Mei Agency, and he is very good at seizing opportunities to create wealth!" "Thank you for your love!" Inuyangjian nodded at Kagezo Zhenzhao, and then turned to Okamura Ninjiton, "Despicable Inugen, please take care of Your Excellency General!" ”

"Inu-kun is too modest! I have long heard that you are an economic expert, and you have earned a lot of money for the empire, and although you did not go to the battlefield to kill the enemy, your merits and contributions are great! Okamura Ninji praised a few words of praise without hesitation, and then chuckled:

"That's why I've made a special trip to Tokyo this time to ask for advice from the dog breeder, and I ask you to take care of it and help solve the food and funding problems of our Eleventh Army." Okamura Ninji is really not modest, and little Japan is really having a big problem with money and food now.

Because of the large-scale guerrilla warfare of the Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army in the occupied areas of North China, Central China, and East China, the strategy formulated by Little Japan before the war to feed the war was completely nullified. Therefore, small Japan could only transport grain from the Northeast and the mainland to China, which led to the rapid rise in the price of rice in the Northeast and even in the mainland.

By now, the price of rice in Japan has risen several times, and the direct consequence is that a large number of citizens have gone bankrupt or even committed suicide. Some people may ask, at present, there is a surplus of grain production in the United States, and the price of grain is extremely cheap, so why can't Japan go to the United States to buy it? The main reason is that Americans accept dollars, pounds, dollars, gold, but not yen.

Therefore, when Japan goes to the United States to buy grain, it must pay US dollars, pounds, or gold and silver currency, but the Japanese government's pounds or dollars belong to foreign exchange, and these precious foreign currencies are to be used to import rubber, scrap steel, and crude oil, and must not be wasted on grain. The same is true for gold and silver currency.

Therefore, in order to alleviate the local food crisis and avoid domestic turmoil, the Japanese army base camp could only let the invading Japanese army raise food on their own, instead of grabbing food from the teeth of the local people.

For example, the Kwantung Army, the North China Front, the First Army stationed in Shanxi, and the Twelfth Army stationed in Shandong basically had no difficulty in raising grain. The 21st Army stationed in Mongolia and Hainan was slightly more difficult, but it could be overcome due to the small number of troops, but the 11th Army of Okamura Ningji was the most difficult.

Because the Eleventh Army now only controls the narrow areas on both sides of the Yangtze River and on both sides of the Pinghan Railway, and on the periphery of these areas, there are millions of troops entrenched in the two war zones of the Chinese! Therefore, the Eleventh Army could not collect any food at all, and in turn, the combat tasks of the Eleventh Army were far more onerous than those of other armies, such as the large-scale winter offensive of the National Army!

Unable to mobilize grain from within the country, and large-scale guerrilla warfare was fought in northern, central, and eastern China, and there was not much surplus grain in the northeast, Okamura had no choice but to go to Shanghai to find a way. Naturally, Dog Yangjian would not shirk, and immediately nodded and said: "It is my honor and duty to share the worries and sorrows of His Excellency the General, may I ask how many catties of food is still lacking for His Excellency the General?" ”

"Naturally, the more food, the better!" Okamura Ninji raised his eyebrows, and when he heard the tone of the dog Yangjian, he seemed to be very relaxed, and after a little hesitation, he said: "Now that it is winter, it is impossible to collect food on the spot, and it needs to meet the needs of the 200,000 army for at least four months, which means that there must be a gap of 50 million catties."

Dog breeder, such a big gap, I was embarrassed to speak, but at present, the three armies have not moved the grain and grass first, these grains are very important to us, please think of a way no matter what! ”