After Zhang Hong left, Li Xin summoned He Tongyuan.

He Tongyuan has now handed over all his intelligence work to Xie Yuchen. After all, they have entered the capital, and Dongning's territory is now larger, with more things to deal with.

Since Liu Jingxuan took office as governor, all affairs of the Prince's Mansion, big and small, have been handed over to He Tongyuan.

As the business of the Prince's Mansion grew, He Tongyuan, the head steward, became even busier.

Not only the income and expenditure of the Prince's Mansion, but also the money donated to the Prince's Mansion by Qingyu Trading Company and other trading companies, were all managed by He Tongyuan.

He Tongyuan is indeed a rare talent in housekeeping.

Looking at He Tongyuan, Li Xin asked, "Has the grain from Nasr Nuh's side arrived yet?"

"His Majesty,"

He Tongyuan bowed and replied, "One million shi of grain was transported to Dongning some time ago. Of the remaining four million shi, two million shi are expected to arrive this month. The other two million shi will probably arrive around the Lunar New Year."

"Um."

Li Xin nodded and said, "Now that we've arrived in the capital, and Dongning is about to freeze over, we can tell Nasr Nuh to have the grain transported to the capital."

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

He Tongyuan agreed and continued, "Besides Nasr Nuh, other merchants at the Dongning auction have also been transporting grain to Dongning one after another."

When I arrived, Dongning had already stored more than two million shi of grain. Adding our own grain, we now have three million shi.

This amount of grain is enough to last us until next autumn.

"besides,"

He Tongyuan continued, "Every month, the goods we sell in Dongning also generate a large sum of income from grain sales!"

"The income is quite substantial."

Li Xin nodded and said, "However, expenses have also increased, which you haven't factored in yet. Now that we have taken over Zhili, Daiyue, Hedong, and Heluo provinces, the expenses of officials after these local governments were established are a huge sum of money."

Moreover, after entering the capital, we issued an edict to continue the Dongning policy, exempting the province from taxes and poll tax for five years. As a result, the tax revenue that can be collected from these provinces will probably be very little.

"He Tongyuan, this time after you come to the capital, I have an important task for you to take charge of."

He Tongyuan immediately perked up his ears and continued listening.

"I intend to put you in charge of all domestic fiscal and tax issues."

Li Xin stared at He Tongyuan and continued, "You did a very good job managing the government before, especially the accounts in Dongning, which you were very clear about."

Now, I intend to entrust you with the responsibility of all the accounts of the entire Daqian Kingdom.

Can you do it well?

"Please rest assured, Your Majesty!"

He Tongyuan quickly assured him, "Your subject will certainly do his utmost to accomplish this task!"

"Sit down and talk."

Li Xin waved his hand and said, "In Dongning, we have always been very lenient with taxes for the people and farmers. This will continue after we enter the interior."

Although ordinary people and farmers will not pay taxes for five years, we cannot stop collecting any taxes for five years.

I hereby appoint you to oversee fiscal and tax matters. In addition to managing the household and the national treasury, you are also required to develop a detailed tax system.

Land tax and poll tax were no longer collected, but salt tax and commercial tax would still be collected.

In particular, taxes on overseas trade are essential.

If these taxes can be properly formulated, the annual revenue will certainly be substantial!

He Tongyuan, you need to draft a detailed list of tax types and tax regulations.

This includes considering how to collect land taxes five years from now, which should be taken into account as early as possible.

Tax policy formulation!

He Tongyuan silently recited it in his mind, then quickly nodded and said, "Your subject understands."

Your Majesty, the customs tariff policy currently in effect in Dongning can be continued. However, the number of trading ports will be increased from the original one in Dongning City.

During this period, I also discussed with the foreign merchants that the increase in trading ports should take into account the actual volume of goods exported.

Therefore, I have initially selected ten cities as trading ports: Dongning City, Busan City, Silla City, Jinzhou City, Yuguan City, Jinghai City, Dengzhou City, Laizhou City, Jiaozhou City, and Haizhou City.

As trade increases in the future, we will also add more trading ports, while the types and rates of taxes will continue to be determined by ourselves.

Your Majesty, what do you think of this?

After thinking about the ports He Tongyuan mentioned, Li Xin nodded slightly and said, "These ports are already very good!"

The customs tariff details have been basically finalized.

As for the salt tax, we will continue to follow the policy of Dongning.

As for commercial taxes, more tax checkpoints should be set up in various regions to collect taxes. Specific tax types, tax rates, and policies regarding inter-provincial transactions should all be finalized.

"He Tongyuan, draft a set of articles of association first, and submit it later."

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

He Tongyuan quickly agreed.

"in addition,"

Li Xin continued, "Besides taxes, there's another matter that you need to take responsibility for."

That's a financial issue!

Public finance includes not only taxation, but also revenue and expenditure, budgeting, and other matters.

Taxes are only a part of fiscal revenue, and the amount of other revenue sources that can be generated each year must be calculated in advance.

Especially now that we've entered the customs area, our expenses will increase significantly.

A budget must be prepared to determine the annual expenditure and the specific projects involved.

You also need to draft a set of regulations for this area as soon as possible and submit it.

"His Majesty,"

He Tongyuan nodded and said, "Our annual expenses can actually be divided into these major parts."

The major components include military expenditures, official expenditures, and construction expenditures.

Especially regarding construction expenditures, Your Majesty has already mentioned that the Ordnance Bureau and Steel Plant will continue to be expanded, so a large sum of money must be set aside each year for construction expenditures.

"Your Majesty, I will carefully plan these projects upon my return and draft a proposal."

"good!"

Li Xin nodded and said, "I intend to split the Ministry of Revenue and establish the Ministry of Finance and Taxation to coordinate the management of finance, taxation, and grain."

He Tongyuan, you will be appointed as the Minister of Finance and Taxation!

This is a very important matter; it's a long and arduous task, so let's do a good job!

The Ministry of Finance and Taxation was also the first major reform that Li Xin implemented in the court after entering the pass.

The original Ministry of Revenue was responsible for far too many things, including civil affairs, agricultural affairs, and financial and tax affairs—it was far too complicated.

Therefore, Li Xin decided to dismantle the Ministry of Revenue and rebuild the various departments of the imperial court.

"Please rest assured, Your Majesty!"

He Tongyuan quickly stood up and expressed his opinion.