The Censorate fully implemented Chu Fan's orders, and the price of refined salt in Wei State was basically affordable for the people.
The censors of the Imperial Censorate kept a close eye on the price of refined salt. Whenever they received a report that someone in any city in Wei was not selling refined salt at the price of one hundred copper coins per pound, they would investigate and collect evidence, and then hand it over to Prime Minister Qin Hui for punishment.
However, up to now, the Censorate has not received any reports from anyone. Instead, it has received a large number of poems and songs from the people praising His Majesty, who praised His Majesty for allowing them to eat such cheap refined salt.
Chu Fan carefully examined each memorial one by one. He found that there were no particularly serious problems in the memorials submitted by various departments.
All departments were carrying out their work in an orderly manner, following established plans and procedures. Whether it was finance, military affairs, or people's livelihoods, all aspects of the work were progressing steadily, with no obvious omissions or errors.
Chu Fan felt a sense of relief. After all, the Wei Kingdom was in a precarious situation. A country with such a vast territory not only had to face invasion but also had to deal with famine. Maintaining such efficiency and order was truly remarkable.
Suddenly, Chu Fan felt a surge of anger. It's certainly a good thing for the people to live and work in peace and contentment, but aren't you ministers and generals a little too obedient? Don't you realize you should be planning a rebellion and becoming emperor yourself? Why wouldn't they be tempted by the position above all others?
How can I complete the system tasks if these ministers and generals don't rebel?
However, at this time, Chu Fan saw a memorial that made him really angry. This memorial came from Qian Dai from the Ministry of Revenue.
When the Hedong Kyushu region suffered a severe disaster, the Ministry of Revenue was unable to provide sufficient money and grain to relieve the victims. At that time, it was said that the Xiongnu invaded, and taxes were not collected in various places, so there was no money for disaster relief.
Now the disaster victims in the nine states of Hedong have been properly resettled, and new taxes should have been collected. However, Chu Fan discovered that there was still not much silver in the treasury managed by the Ministry of Revenue.
This made Chu Fan very confused and dissatisfied with the work of the Ministry of Revenue. Could it be that there were rats in the Ministry of Revenue who stole the money and grain?
Chu Fan decided to get to the bottom of the situation. He summoned Qian Dai to inquire about the details. He sat in the imperial study, patiently awaiting Qian Dai's arrival. Though filled with anger, he still wanted an explanation. He was also afraid that he had wrongly accused the Ministry of Revenue officials.
Although Wei is not a very wealthy country now, its treasury should not be as poor and empty as it is now.
Chu Fan couldn't help but ask himself: Even if he didn't hand over the refined salt business to the Ministry of Revenue, Wei is a country after all, so there should be some taxes anyway, right?
Even if the tax revenue was low due to the many natural and man-made disasters last year and this year, it wouldn't leave the treasury so empty. He secretly thought that there must be something wrong, and perhaps Qian Dai could provide some reasonable explanation.
The moment Qian Dai stepped into the imperial study, he saw Chu Fan concentrating on reviewing memorials.
Qian Dai stood respectfully aside, waiting for Chu Fan's instructions. Chu Fan finally finished reading the memorial in his hand and raised his head, his eyes falling on Qian Dai. He said softly, "There's a stool over there, please sit down and talk."
However, Qian Dai didn't dare to actually sit down. Although Chu Fan didn't care about the difference between the monarch and his subjects, Qian Dai, as a veteran minister in the court, was well aware of his identity and status, and he would never dare to do anything that overstepped the boundaries.
Seeing Qian Dai still standing there, Chu Fan said nothing more. After all, he was the emperor and Qian Dai was a minister, so there was a certain distance between them.
Chu Fan asked Qian Dai with a serious expression, "Minister Qian, could you explain in detail why the treasury is still empty and there is no trace of money and grain? As far as I know, this year's taxes should have been paid in full."
Qian Dai seemed to have anticipated that Chu Fan would raise questions about this matter.
He replied respectfully, "Your Majesty, this year the nine provinces of Hedong suffered severe natural disasters, resulting in widespread crop losses or even complete crop failure. Therefore, the amount of tax revenue collected from these areas is extremely limited. Furthermore, the daily expenses of the army and important projects such as the construction of water conservancy facilities also require a large amount of capital investment. As a result, there is very little silver left in the treasury."
However, after Qian Dai finished speaking, a wry smile appeared on his lips. He did not dare to mention the biggest expenditure of the national treasury.
Chu Fan's brow furrowed after hearing this. He was also aware of the disaster situation in the Hedong Kyushu region. The three citadels currently under construction outside Kaifeng were primarily staffed by disaster victims from the Hedong Kyushu region. Under these circumstances, it was clearly impossible for the state to collect taxes from these disaster-stricken people.
Chu Fan posed a serious question to Qian Dai: "Can you explain to me in detail the current tax regulations implemented by the Wei State?"
As the Minister of Revenue, Qian Dai was naturally familiar with these regulations. He cleared his throat and began to explain in detail.
Qian Dai began by saying, "Your Majesty, the main sources of tax revenue for the State of Wei currently include land tax, commercial tax, salt tax, liquor tax, and market tax. Among these, land tax, as the mainstay of national finance, has always been the one we attach the most importance to.
However, in recent years, due to continuous wars and frequent natural disasters, farmland in many areas has become barren, resulting in a significant reduction in land tax revenue, which has put considerable pressure on the national finances.
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