Officials from various departments in Chang'an City suddenly discovered something extraordinary.
The emperor has become more diligent recently!
That’s not all, the emperor actually held the eldest prince Wu Tianci’s hand!
These days, Fu Xiaoguan took Wu Tianci to various departments of Daxia. He did not announce anything to anyone, but it was obvious that this official in the central government of Daxia in Chang'an City did not get to this position for nothing. They realized something in an instant.
Fu Xiaoguan moved around in various departments. Every time he arrived at a department, he would have tea and chat with the department head. Sometimes they talked about national affairs, sometimes about personal matters, and sometimes about matters of other departments.
Wu Tianci stood quietly behind Fu Xiaoguan, watching quietly, listening quietly, never saying a word, but his eyes were full of joy and curiosity.
He was eleven years old. Although Wu Ling'er had never told him that he would soon become the crown prince of the great Xia and the master of this powerful country, he had learned many principles of governing a country from Wen Xingzhou, and he knew what this meant.
Father is a great man!
He came from Linjiang and was a first-rank official in the former Yu Dynasty and became a Duke.
Then he succeeded to the throne as emperor in the Wu Dynasty, and then he unified the five kingdoms and founded the Great Xia.
He fought wars in the south and the north to establish the vast empire of Great Xia, making the four seas submit to him and earning the respect of the world.
This is an extraordinary father, he is Wu Tianci’s idol!
He followed his father's instructions, listened more, watched more, and thought more. If he had any doubts, his father would explain them to him in detail after returning to the imperial study.
But he was only an eleven-year-old child after all, and this was his first time being exposed to state affairs. He could only listen and watch, and as for thinking... he couldn't think of anything yet.
Fu Xiaoguan was not in a hurry. This would require a process, a very long process, because Wu Tianci was not a time traveler and he did not have any plug-ins.
That day, the father and son came to the Ministry of Revenue.
This was the third time he came, which made the Minister of Revenue Yun Xiyan wonder if he had done something wrong recently. Otherwise, why would the emperor always visit his place?
"Have someone bring us last year's account books... the last one to be put together."
Fu Xiaoguan was sitting in Yun Xiyan's office. This sentence scared Yun Xiyan. He recalled carefully that last year the accounts of the Ministry of Revenue were merged with the Ministry of Commerce. He was so busy that there were bound to be some mistakes. Could it be that the emperor found out?
"What are you standing there for? Don't let your imagination run wild. I'm just showing it to Tianci."
Yun Xiyan finally breathed a sigh of relief. "Your Majesty, you almost scared me to death. If you don't explain, I'll call all the officials in the Ministry of Revenue to recheck all the account books from last year."
Fu Xiaoguan laughed heartily. Yun Xiyan finally wiped his sweat and walked out. Wu Tianci was a little curious. "Master," he said, "the heaven, the earth, the emperor, the parents, the teacher. A minister must observe his duties in front of the emperor and must not appear frivolous. The emperor must maintain his dignity in front of his ministers and keep a proper distance from them..."
But the relationship between the Emperor and his ministers seems to be different from what the teacher taught!
He had observed carefully these days and found that his father and the ministers were very casual. The higher the official, the more casual they were in front of his father, such as this Minister Yun and Minister Qin of the Ministry of Works, and so on.
I will have to ask my father this question when I return to the imperial study: What exactly is the way to rule your subordinates?
After a moment, Yun Xiyan hurried back with a thick account book in his hand.
"The final summary from last year is all here. It contains the detailed income and expenditure of the eleven prefectures of Daxia and the two autonomous states last year, but..."
Yun Xiyan looked at Wu Tianci, then at Fu Xiaoguan, "It's just that the data is so huge, I'm afraid the eldest prince will be very tired reading it."
"No problem,"
Fu Xiaoguan took the account book and turned to look at Wu Tianci. "Tianci, there's no difference between a country and a family. A family's income and expenditure from various industries throughout the year will all be reflected in the account book."
"After you take it, look carefully and see which income can be improved to increase it more, and which expenses can be saved or reduced. In this way, at the end of the year, there will be more money left in the account."
"This remaining money can be used to invest in new workshops next year, or to improve equipment and recruit talent, etc. Therefore, the Ministry of Revenue is extremely important to a country. Using the Ministry well is like using your purse well. You will slowly understand the reasoning behind this."
"Your son obeys!"
Wu Tianci took the account book and felt a chill in his heart... It's so thick, how long will it take to read it?
Fu Xiaoguan and Yun Xiyan started to make tea.
"Have the education fund and pension fund accounts been separated?"
"It's independent now, but Your Majesty, according to your instructions, the funds injected into these two accounts... that's one billion taels of silver!"
Fu Xiaoguan raised his eyebrows and said, "Daxia has nearly 500 million people now, and the average person has only two taels of silver. How much is that?"
"Starting next year, at the end of each year, 10% of Daxia's annual savings will be deposited into these two accounts."
"Education is a century-long plan for Daxia. Elderly care is Daxia's humanistic care and a reward for the people of Daxia. You must not underestimate it. You must take it seriously!"
Yun Xiyan poured two cups of tea and said, "I think we should handle these two huge sums of money like this: invest them, for example, in some businessmen, or in an arms factory or something like that. Let these two sums of money move, and use money to make money. Given the current business environment in Daxia, it would be difficult to lose money."
Fu Xiaoguan's eyes lit up. "This is a great idea, but the risks must be managed. On the one hand, we need to ensure sufficient funds for education and retirement, and on the other hand, we need dedicated personnel to handle this matter. You have to be careful, this could also be a breeding ground for corruption. There's a lot of room for manipulation, so be very cautious when hiring people."
"Yes, I understand. There's no rush. I'll find a few people who understand economics to handle this."
Fu Xiaoguan nodded, picked up the teacup and took a sip. "Also, has the account for the poverty alleviation fund been sorted out?"
"Alright, as you instructed, one billion taels of silver have been deposited into the poverty alleviation fund."
"Alright, this money can't be touched. It needs to be used once Yan Xiwen and the others come out with their findings. Ten billion taels of silver isn't enough. I think the money for building roads and bridges in impoverished mountainous areas should be taken from the Ministry of Revenue's general ledger. After all, this is considered Daxia's infrastructure."
"And this 1 billion taels of silver poverty alleviation fund will be used to improve the living environment of the people and buy them means of production, such as seeds and oxen."
"Alright... Your Majesty, I'm going to say something I shouldn't. The world is so vast, and people are so diverse. To equalize the rich and the poor... it's not realistic."
"Well, I know. I just hope I can do something for them. As for the consequences... some people will definitely escape poverty and live a good life, while others will definitely continue to live a languid life as usual."
"This can be considered a screening, and we'll see the aftereffects."
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