Your Majesty, you don't want to be discovered for secretly cutting the basic salary of military officers, right?

Numbers are the most intuitive thing. When the difference between four million shi of grain and one million taels of silver came out, most officials looked thoughtful. Even the official who came out to refute Princess Wanshou fell into deep thought.

Princess Wanshou went a step further and produced her own data: "In the past, taxes were collected by the government in designated granaries, and the people transported the grain to these granaries, and the people had to bear the loss of grain on the way."

This included the amount of grain scattered due to the bumpy road, and the amount of grain eaten by the people on the way.

"There was a case where the transportation distance was too far, and the transporters consumed one and a half of three carts of grain. In other words, in reality, the people only had to pay taxes and pay three carts of grain, but in reality they had to pay four and a half carts."

Princess Wanshou gave them a simple analysis: "But if silver is collected, the people can transport the silver and buy grain directly on the way, and the loss will be much less."

Her thinking made sense.

But a policy must be questioned.

Another official came out and asked in a good tone: "Doctor, this move is indeed intended to make profits for the people, but if an official maliciously raises the silver price during the summer and autumn tax periods, how should we deal with it?"

- This is an official who was promoted from a county magistrate and is very familiar with the situation at the grassroots level.

Princess Wanshou pondered for two breaths and said: "No matter how things change, they still remain essentially the same. This matter can be handled in the same way as when merchants maliciously raise grain prices during disasters."

That is, during the tax period, the court will set the silver price in each region according to the situation in each region, and private price increases are not allowed.

Then, the imperial guards and the Jinyiwei will monitor the whole country and severely punish officials and merchants who maliciously raise the price. Once someone is found to have taken the opportunity to raise the price of silver, not only will their illegal gains be recovered, but they will also be severely punished to serve as a warning to others.

All of this was written in the memorial submitted by Princess Wanshou.

The official showed a look of approval, nodded, and bowed to the old emperor: "In this case, I have no objection."

Wei Ren, the right assistant minister of the Ministry of Revenue, stepped out: "Your Majesty, I think this move should first be implemented in a few prefectures to ensure that it is feasible, and then it will be promoted."

The old emperor nodded: "It is indeed necessary..."

[Oh! Try it! ]

The king and ministers of Daxia: "!!!"

Xu Yanmiao, how did you come back to your senses so quickly! Don't take another look at what makes you look so familiar!

If you do this, we will have to distract ourselves and listen to the excitement you bring. It's hard to do two things at once!

The old emperor finished the rest of his words firmly: "We do need to select a few prefectures to implement it. Do you have any ideas?"

The right assistant minister of the Ministry of Revenue casually threw out some data: "Nowadays, the annual land tax in Daxia does not exceed 29.5 million shi, of which 12 million shi are controlled by local governments. Of the remaining 17.5 million shi, 4 million shi come from the south and 13.5 million shi come from the north. However, 7.5 million of them are military expenses, which is to say..."

He threw out the final answer: "The amount of grain that needs to be transported to the capital is 4 million shi in the south and 6 million shi in the north. There is less in the south and more in the north. We should select two prefectures in the north that have difficulty transporting grain to implement this policy, and then select a prefecture in the south that also has difficulty transporting grain to implement this policy."

[Wow!] Xu Lang applauded in his heart: [Are these data written down normally! 】

The Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue was so energetic that he seemed to have taken an elixir.

He even wanted to tell the world.

He! Wei Ren! He was praised by Bai Ze today! He must be blessed with good luck today!

——He is a serious superstitious patient.

He couldn't help but show off his sensitivity to numbers: "Speaking of tax distribution, the salary of all military officers in previous years was about 100,000 taels of silver, but this year it has been raised to nearly 200,000 taels. Your Majesty is so gracious and kind. Although I am a civil servant, I am also grateful for it."

At the top, the old emperor was stunned for a moment, coughed, and changed his tone: "There is no need to bring this up specifically. Military officers have fought for me and risked their lives. It is only right that their salaries be raised."

"Your Majesty!!!"

All the military officers burst into tears.

The old emperor: "Ahem, let's continue talking about taxes. There's no need to mention these small matters in the future."

[Because they secretly deducted the salaries of the military officers, they were afraid that they would be discovered if they asked too much?]

The military officers were silent today.

A civil servant friend asked quietly, while Yu Shi turned a blind eye: "Are you okay?"

The military officer said dryly: "A little dizzy." The

civil servant friend patted him on the shoulder and said sympathetically: "My condolences."

The right assistant minister of the Ministry of Revenue was dumbfounded.

He never thought that this matter would be exposed.

He knew!

The right assistant minister of the Ministry of Revenue had a worried look on his face.

It seems that his luck is particularly bad today, and he might lose his job or beheaded. But because of Xiao Bai Ze's blessing, it turned into a disaster that did not involve his life!

That's right! It must be like this!

The Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue straightened his crooked jade sceptre and exhaled with a "Huh!" sound.

[Come to think of it, are there no deductions for civil officials? Let me see... There are indeed no deductions, although there is a great possibility that they will not be able to survive if they are deducted any more, as their salaries are already not enough to allow a low-ranking official to eat meat every day. Military officers at least have the old emperor giving them bonuses from time to time in the name of supporting the balance between civil and military affairs to keep them alive.]

The old emperor: "..."

Xu Yanmiao, don't have any ulterior motives. In any dynasty, even a low-ranking official could not eat meat every day.

The military officers looked at the old emperor with resentful eyes.

Your Majesty! Don't ignore us! What's going on? Explain it clearly! It's a pity that we used to think that we were your most beloved military officers, and that's why we got your bonuses from time to time!

The old emperor: "..."

Ah... this... that...

The old emperor stared at his shoes, as if he could see through the uppers of his shoes the swollen insteps of his feet due to the high intensity of farming.

[However, it was not easy for the old emperor. He spent 35 years trying to restore the mess left by the previous dynasty.]

[For example, the calendar was calculated incorrectly, which resulted in the inability to increase the yield per mu.]

[For example, the currency system is in chaos…]

[Unfortunately, we have encountered natural disasters year after year. Every year, there are floods, droughts, locust disasters, and snow disasters in the country. It has only been slightly better in recent years and is not so frequent.]

[You can't just tell the military officers: The country is in trouble now, you should cut your salary and we will all get through this together. They risk their lives for you and tighten their belts to conquer the world, not to continue to tighten their belts after conquering the world. They are no longer at the age where they can live on ideals.]

[So we can only say from the beginning of the founding of the country that your salary is so and so taels of silver. This was still discussed by the old emperor and Yuan Shangshu. 】

【Speaking of which, the salaries of military officers have increased in the past 35 years. After all, at the beginning of the country, the total salary of all military officers was about 88,888 taels of silver... It's auspicious. 】

Military officers: Bah! What's the use of auspiciousness! Give me something more practical!

【However, at the beginning of the country, it was originally planned to be more than 100,000 taels, but it was reduced due to insufficient national strength. Now it has been changed to 200,000 taels, which is higher than before. 】

The military officers counted on their fingers.

In other words, after deducting the money that His Majesty secretly gave us, we can make up for the losses by working hard as officials for another ten years? But I always feel that something is wrong?

Xu Yanmiao's logic was very good, and he turned it around in an instant: [But does this mean that the rewards that the military officers received in the previous thirty-five years were not rewards, but just compensation for losses? You thought it was a bonus, but it was actually a salary supplement secretly given? What about the reward for a good job in the previous thirty-five years? ]

Facing a bunch of resentful eyes, the old emperor also felt guilty for a rare time.

This... this... your pockets have become fatter recently, why not give another wave of rewards?

——It's just that my heart aches.

The old emperor: "Who else has ideas about taxation?"

The military officers stared at him silently.

Your Majesty, don't change the subject.

The old emperor stared at Princess Wanshou quite intently, with eager expectations for her in his eyes.

Princess Wanshou lowered her eyes in embarrassment.

She has almost finished what she wanted to say.

Princess Wanshou racked her brains: "Your Majesty, this..."

"Hmm?" The old emperor said in a gentle tone: "It's okay, take your time."

Princess Wanshou looked at the prince and suddenly an idea flashed in her mind: "Your Majesty, I think we can learn from the Kickers Guild. In order to demand their wages, they prepared strike reserves in advance. The Ministry of Revenue can also prepare enough relief food for this new type of tax. If there are problems, the people will fall into difficulties due to paying taxes, and they can be given relief in time."

The suggestion is very good, but the Ministry of Revenue will have to allocate some money.

The old emperor: "I think this is feasible."

After speaking, he subconsciously looked at Yuan Zheng, waiting for the other party to refute.

Yuan Zheng, the former Minister of Revenue and current Minister of Works, raised his eyelids and said nothing.

The old emperor reacted: This person has been transferred.

In other words, he can now freely control the inner treasury and the national treasury!

The old emperor was immediately excited.

"Ahem, how many mines do we have in our country now? Previously, the mines that the court could not afford to mine were purchased by the private sector. Now they should also belong to the court?"

Make money! Make money!

Many officials looked at Minister Yuan.

This was the policy he had come up with before.

Because under the rule of most founding emperors, the national strength had not yet risen, and many places were unable to do so.

For example, the court did not have too much manpower to develop the mines, so Minister Yuan suggested that it be contracted to the private sector. After the mines were dug out, the government would take 20% of them and have the right of first refusal, and the rest would belong to the owners.

Moreover, after the government discovered the mine, it started bidding - that is, an open bidding auction. Those who want to obtain the right to develop the mine must first pay a deposit of 300 guan, and then they are allowed to bid, and the highest bidder wins. Those who fail to win the bid can get their deposit back. However, those who pay the deposit but do not bid will not get their deposit back, and will be punished.

Yuan Shangshu stood there quietly, as if the policy the old emperor talked about had nothing to do with him.

Then, then...

All the officials hesitated: "We can give it a try."

Now that the country has been founded for 35 years, and with the support of the mines in Wadao, the treasury is now abundant, so it shouldn't be a big problem, right?

The old emperor: "What do you think about the court's next move? This is a good time to talk about it."

- The boss generously gave the funds!!!

All departments were shocked, and more than a dozen officials stood up at once.

The doctor of the Ministry of Finance said: "Your Majesty! If the Maritime Customs Office can hold a banquet to reward foreign merchants and sea merchants every year when ships are dispatched, the cost will be less than 200 guan, but it can attract more foreign merchants to trade in Daxia. It can also encourage sea merchants to go out to sea." The old emperor said