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Volume 3: The Wind Rises in the South Chapter 96: Court Fight

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    "Ms. Wang, then you mean to force peace with war!" Lin Wanqing's voice came from the curtain.  "Exactly!" Wang Qinian responded loudly: "In my opinion, six more soldiers must be transferred to Burma. In addition to the two battalions originally led by Mr. Zao, Mr. Zao once defeated the French in Annan. The famous general led  With elite soldiers, we can use the power of tigers in the mountains to frighten the British barbarians. The British navy is strong, and the ports in our sea areas must be strictly guarded." "Two battalions?" Lin Wanqing made a calculation in her mind.  : "Two battalions are calculated based on the five steps of one battalion, and the number of soldiers is 25,000. Adding the cavalry, artillery markers, and transport officers, the total is probably no less than 40,000. Such a team  When a large army enters Burma, even if food can be requisitioned from the vassal state, other clothing, quilts, food and ammunition, departure expenses, settlement expenses, and salaries, all in all, will not be able to move beyond 1.5 million taels, and then there will be another 200,000 taels per month.  Three hundred thousand taels of silver, not counting the expenses of building roads and bridges along the way and the cost of the navy. Once the fire money is paid, it will be spent like a waste. In the past few years, the imperial court has had a lot of expenses. How to spend this money?  Is there anything Mr. Wang can do? " After Lin Wanqing said these words, the Yanying Hall suddenly became silent. This is a headache for everyone.  Napoleon once said a famous saying, "There are three elements in war. The first is money, the second is money, and the third is money!" Although this sentence is a bit vulgar, it directly reveals the key to winning or losing wars in modern times -  Whoever can organize and invest the country's resources on the decisive battlefield as efficiently as possible will win the war. In a society where the commodity economy has become dominant, money is undoubtedly the most direct source of national resources.  reflect.  Since Dashun quelled the Changmao Rebellion, the power of local military governors has increased, and many taxes that used to belong to the central government have been withheld by the local government. However, the central government's expenditures on raising soldiers, officials, clan, etc. cannot be reduced.  .  Therefore, although the central government has stepped up efforts to collect taxes on industrial and commercial taxes, customs taxes, salt taxes, alcohol taxes, etc., and the amount of taxes collected has also been increasing, it is still not enough compared with the faster-growing expenditures.  Especially when encountering sudden expenditures such as wars and famines, the central government immediately becomes embarrassed.  "The Prime Minister is here too. If the concubine wants to ask about money, she can just ask Mr. Hu directly!" Wang Qinian kicked the ball to Hu Keqin, the Secretary of the Ministry of Finance who was sitting in the corner. Among the several people in Jiying Hall,  , he is the oldest, has the lowest official position, and naturally has the smallest voice. He just sits there with his eyes and nose, nose and heart, saying nothing, looking like an old monk in meditation.  At this moment, the ball was kicked in front of him, and he couldn't hide it. Hu Keqin had to answer with a grimace: "Queen Mother, Concubine, it's not that the humble minister wants to sing the bitter scriptures again, but there is really no money in the treasury. The old minister is in charge of the household."  In the past few years, the summer and autumn taxes have been spent every year before they were put into the treasury. The salt tax, tea tax and customs tax money from the North have always been returned to Yanshan Prefecture Liushou and Shuofang and other governors.  The government can raise soldiers. All the imperial court can really get is the tax money from several customs offices in Shanghai and Guangzhou, as well as the salt tax and tea tax from Nanfang, Henan, Shandong and other places.  To compensate for the famine, we managed to make a balance of 1.2 million taels last year. As a result, there was a severe drought in Shanxi, and it was not enough to cover it all¡ª¡ª" "Okay, okay!" Lin Wanqing, who was behind the curtain, finally couldn't bear it anymore and shouted.  Hu Keqin put an end to Hu Keqin's complaint: "Master Hu, you are here today not to hear you call me poor in Yanying Hall. Please give me an accurate figure. If the imperial court wants to use troops against Burma, how much money can you spend?"  "Yes!" Hu Keqin frowned and calculated for a while, and then whispered: "If the court wants to use troops within a month, I can probably get 1.6 million taels of silver."  "What about each month in the future?" "That's difficult. The 1.6 million taels were originally borrowed from the income of the following months. I don't know how to do magic. It's just a trick of tearing down the west wall to repair the east wall.  , at most 100,000 taels per month!" "Only 100,000 taels?" Lin Wanqing's voice was full of disappointment. This number was too far away from the number in her mind. You must know that being a soldier  You can treat them harshly at other times, but you must not treat them harshly when you are carrying a gun into battle, otherwise the soldiers will lose their morale, and losing the battle is not something that can be settled with money.  "This old minister is incompetent. There is really only so much he can do. Please punish me!" Hu Keqin quickly stood up and apologized. He was not being hypocritical. In fact, the position of Minister of the Ministry of Revenue was really difficult. He had already reached the age of hearing, and he had already felt this in his heart.  Retreating to Linquan, with the intention of entertaining my grandson.  Empress Dowager Deng behind the curtain was soft-hearted. Seeing Hu Shangshu's gray hair, she hurriedly said: "Master Hu, please get up quickly!" Then she said to everyone: "If you have any other ways to raise money, please tell me quickly.  " Hu Keqin hurriedly thanked him, and when he returned to his seat, he looked like a clay and wood-carved Bodhisattva again. It was not that he had no way to raise money, but the traditional Confucian thought was that he would rather be a thief than a gatherer.  Hu Keqin is already this age, what??I no longer care about getting promoted or getting rich. The only thing I care about is my reputation in the history books of future generations. I don't want to leave a bad reputation as "the evildoer of the emperor".  Qi Zhiti was sitting silently on the side when he suddenly felt his calf being kicked. When he looked down, he saw Wang Qinian, who was sitting upright in his upper body, but kicked himself in the lower body without anyone noticing. Obviously, the other party was hinting that he would step forward.  He couldn't help but sigh in his heart: "It seems that I am the villain again this time!" "Your Majesty the Queen Mother, I secretly believe that since the central government's finances are insufficient, the only way to deal with it is to increase taxes, persuade donations, and borrow money.  , I just don¡¯t know which one is suitable and which one is not suitable!" Qi Zhiti stood up and said.  When Empress Dowager Deng heard that there were so many more words, she cheered up and said in a warm voice, "Ms. Qi, sit down and talk!" "Thank you, Empress Dowager!" Qi Zhiti coughed, sat down again, and then said: "The so-called  Increasing taxes is quite simple. It is nothing more than increasing the types of taxes or raising the tax rates. Naturally, the state treasury will be abundant. However, increasing taxes involves many things and has serious consequences. The former Emperor Chongzhen established a new army by imposing a two-pay tax in order to suppress mergers.  , but I didn¡¯t expect that most of the second-rate wages fell on the poor people, forcing the poor people in the world to have no way of living, and the result was that the world was lost. This is a lesson learned from the past. Moreover, this time it was a military expenditure, not a recurring expenditure. Increased taxes will bring money.  I'm afraid I won't be able to catch up. Secondly, once the war is over, this expenditure will naturally disappear, but the new taxes and tax rates have become a routine and cannot be reduced. In fact, it is exploiting the people." "That tax increase is exactly what my husband said!  I'm afraid this method won't work!" Empress Dowager Deng nodded. Qi Zhiti's words were simple and easy to understand. He analyzed the pros and cons of tax increases by previous dynasties very clearly. Even a woman like Empress Dowager Deng, who was not very intelligent,  Hear it clearly too.  "That's not necessarily the case. After all, compared with the following methods, increasing taxes is the simplest. As long as it is used properly, it is still possible." Qi Zhiti said with a smile: "For example, there are many jewelry, Chinese clothing, fireworks and other shops in Han Jingzhong.  These are mostly places for extravagance and wandering, and you can collect money on cigarettes, cosmetics, and other taxes. These things do not hinder people's livelihood, but taxing them can make the atmosphere simple and beneficial to the country. " "These can earn a few pennies.  "What can be done to help?" Lin Wanqing interjected. It turns out that if these female officials cannot stay in the palace, they often run businesses outside the palace. They have relationships with the sisters in the palace, so many of their businesses have something to do with the palace.  They became extremely rich in high-consumption industries, and the court officials often had shares in them.  The industries that Qi Zhiti mentioned just now are the ones in which they are most involved. As a representative of female officials, Lin Wanqing naturally wanted to object. Qi Zhiti replied confidently: "Lin Taifei, although these industries are not large in scale, they are very profitable.  It's extremely high, even if it's a 30% tax, it's okay. Besides, you can pay the tax for five years to a powerful businessman, let him advance the money, and then let him collect it slowly. That should be enough.  The concubine thinks it's too heavy, so she can stipulate in advance that the levy only lasts for a certain number of years, and that's fine!  There are too many jewelry businesses. Although it is a peaceful age, it is still against the teachings of the saints! Sister Lin, what do you think?" Queen Mother Deng turned to Lin Wanqing and asked.  "The Queen Mother said yes, of course it's a yes!" Lin Wanqing lowered her head and replied, but she secretly cursed Qi Zhiti and Wang Qinian, these two old guys, for taking advantage of Yanying's right performance, they severely tricked her and found her later.  The opportunity must give them a taste of their own power.  "Then let someone write it down! Mr. Qi, what about persuading donations?" "The so-called persuading donations is nothing more than asking wealthy people to give money, and the court will reward them with titles and honorary officers. The advantage of this method is that it brings in money.  It doesn¡¯t hurt your reputation, but the disadvantage is that famous imperial utensils are rewards based on merit and cannot be easily given to others. But now you can get them by losing officials with money, which hinders the moral education!¡± ¡°Well, the moral education is a benefit for all generations.  Don't abandon it for temporary gain!" Empress Dowager Deng thought for a moment, then shook her head and rejected the suggestion.  "Your Majesty, I dare to say something!" Wang Qinian suddenly interrupted.  "Wang Xianggong, please tell me!" "In fact, asking for donations does not necessarily hinder the moral education. It depends on whether it is used properly!" Wang Qinian said solemnly: "Join the Queen Mother and take the lead in reducing the expenses of the palace in order to use it as military resources. The world will be enriched.  Naturally, they will also donate money. In this case, even if they are given a title, who would despise the imperial weapon? " "This is a good idea. Wang Xianggong is indeed worthy of being the first assistant chosen by the late emperor!" Empress Dowager Deng's voice was excited!  His heart was shaking a little. He turned to the female official behind him and asked: "How much silver does my royal fee include every year?" "Reporting to the Queen Mother, there are two thousand five hundred taels of silver every month. Including the regular fees at the end of the year, there are a total of three  Fifteen thousand taels!" Queen Mother Deng replied readily: "Well, just leave one thousand taels every month."??Just donate the remaining 23,000 taels!  " "No!  " "Absolutely not" Lin Wanqing and the ministers inside and outside the curtain replied in unison. Wang Qinian had the highest status. He coughed and said: "Your Majesty the Queen Mother, your palace spends a lot of money, how about one thousand taels a month?  That's enough. When it comes to urging donations, you can just set an example with a few thousand taels of silver. Why bother yourself so much!  "
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