Chapter 908 Increase revenue and reduce expenditure!
Under the gaze of everyone, Cui Shao stood up and said:
"Reporting to the commander-in-chief, the tax silver for the first three months of the five provinces of Jiyu, Qilu, Anqing, Liaoyang, and Youyan has been delivered to the silver vault on time..."

"Among them, Jiyu paid 133,000 taels of tax silver, Qilu paid 125,000 taels of tax silver, Anqing paid 85,000 taels of tax silver, Youyan paid 71,000 taels of tax silver, and Liaoyang paid 56,000 taels of tax silver, a total of 470,000 taels of silver!"

"In addition, the profit of Dadongsheng Company and the various industries under the Fengwu Army last year was 130,000 taels of silver!"

"Add to that the 150,000 taels of silver in the fiscal balance and the 300,000 taels of silver in the bonds issued by the Great Dongsheng Company. Now the treasury has a total of 1.05 million taels of silver!"

"In the past three months, apart from the food, firearms, armor and other supplies, the treasury allocated a total of 910,000 taels of silver to Yunbing. This means that the average daily cost of the Yunbing battlefield is nearly 10,000 taels of silver!"

"In order to keep the war going, many necessary government affairs have been suspended, but even so, at least 100,000 taels of silver are needed every month to maintain the smooth operation of various places and prevent large-scale unrest and riots."

“I think the massive aid that Commander Yuan mentioned refers to food, firearms, armor and other things. There is no problem financially. There are still a lot of these things in the warehouse, which can meet Commander Yuan’s requirements…”

"But if Commander Yuan wants more troops, it will be difficult to support it with the current financial situation!"

After Cui Shao finished speaking, the originally excited crowd quieted down. Those present were all high-ranking officials of the Fengwu Army, and they all knew that what Cui Shao said was the truth.

After hearing this, Ye Mingsheng continued to look at Cui Shao and waited for Cui Shao's next words. He knew all the above facts without Cui Shao saying them, and he believed that Cui Shao understood that what he was asking him was the solution to this matter.

Under Ye Mingsheng's gaze, Cui Shao hesitated for a moment and continued:
"Financial matters are nothing more than increasing revenue and reducing expenditure. The government has done everything it can to reduce expenditure. Ten thousand taels per month for maintaining stability is the most basic and cannot be reduced any further!"

"As for increasing revenue, I think we can start from three points. The first point is to let Dadongsheng Company issue bonds again, with the amount issued being no less than the one million taels issued last time, and to sell the accumulated grain, minerals and other materials in the warehouse on the market!"

“The second point is that the treasury is short of silver now, but there are large amounts of silver in the banknote exchanges in various places. For example, the Dadongsheng and Rishengchang banks together have at least one million taels of silver. If you, the Marshal, order the silver from these banknote exchanges to be temporarily borrowed, the silver problem can be easily solved…”

"The third point is to increase taxes. Currently, under our army's rule, although the commercial tax has generally reached 30%, the agricultural tax is only more than 10%. If we can increase the commercial tax to 40% and the agricultural tax to 30%, we are expected to increase tax revenue by nearly one million!"

After hearing Cui Shao's three suggestions, Ye Mingsheng did not feel relieved at all. On the contrary, he frowned.

No matter which of Cui Shao's three points are implemented, they can effectively alleviate the current financial difficulties of the Fengwu Army. However, in Ye Mingsheng's view, these three points are poison covered in honey!
First of all, the Fengwu Army had just issued one million taels of bonds not long ago. Will those people buy into it again if it issues bonds again?

If he exerted pressure forcefully, although he could collect the silver, it would also inevitably cause a rift within the Fengwu Army!

However, selling the grain, minerals and other things in the warehouse on the market will inevitably lead to oversupply and cause the originally stable market prices to plummet, which will undoubtedly destroy the jobs of farmers and miners.

The second point is that the most important thing for a bank is not money, but reputation!

If he ordered the borrowing of silver from the banks in various places, the common people who were worried that their silver would be taken away would inevitably rush to the banks frantically to withdraw silver.

In this way, the bank would be subject to a run, and it would be difficult for the bank to sustain itself. Once the bank could no longer sustain itself and its credibility was lost, the common people would be afraid to deposit their life’s hard work in the bank again··································

For Ye Mingsheng, the banknote exchange house is an important tool for him to develop and build the country in the future with the help of private savings!
Therefore, Ye Mingsheng would never give up such an important tool for the sake of immediate petty gains!

As for the last point of tax increase, it will shake the basic base of Fengwu Army. One of the important reasons why people all over the world support and love Fengwu Army is that they are fed up with heavy taxes and levies, and Fengwu Army's policy of light taxes and light corvee labor touched them and won their support.

If the Fengwu Army increases taxes now, it will undoubtedly dampen the enthusiasm of the people in supporting the Fengwu Army!
After a moment of silence, Ye Mingsheng asked the others:
"What good ideas do you have for increasing fiscal revenue?"

Facing Ye Mingsheng's question, everyone else in the room lowered their heads and said nothing. None of them had many good solutions. Just when Ye Mingsheng was a little disappointed, Gu Sansi stood up and said:
"Your Excellency, I think what Lord Cui has said about increasing financial revenue is very comprehensive, but I think we still have some ways to save money!"

As soon as these words came out, several important officials in the civil service looked at each other, not knowing what Gu Sansi meant. What Cui Shao had just said about the minimum monthly stability maintenance fee of 100,000 taels of silver was not his personal opinion, but rather a general consensus among the civil service system...

Before Gu Sansi could continue, Li Jian, director of the Legal Affairs Bureau, stepped forward and asked Gu Sansi:

"Master Gu, this monthly maintenance fee of 100,000 taels of silver was collectively discussed by all departments under the Central Council. It includes the salaries of officials and garrisons, the wages of craftsmen of the Dadongsheng Company, some necessary expenses of the government, etc. It is already the minimum standard and it is impossible to reduce it any further!"

Listening to Li Jian's words, Gu Sansi nodded and said:
"Master Li, please be patient. The monthly maintenance fee of 100,000 taels of silver is also discussed by our Personnel Bureau. I also agree with this plan. I am not saying that we should save the maintenance fee!"

Seeing that Gu Sansi was not trying to save on stability maintenance costs, everyone looked at him with some confusion, not knowing what Gu Sansi meant.

Seeing this, Gu Sansi did not keep the secret and spoke directly:
"My Lords, from what I have learned, at least half of the money allocated to Yunbing by the government is used for rewards and pensions. Although this money was nominally given to the Yunbing battlefield, it was actually given to local prefectures and counties. I think we can make some optimization adjustments in this regard!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the military who were originally watching the show could no longer sit still. The current deputy chief of staff Guo Zhiping was the first to stand up and say, “Lord Gu, the victory on the Yunbing battlefield was won by the soldiers fighting with their lives, and the soldiers fought with their lives because they believed that even if they were killed or wounded, the Marshal would not forget them, and the Fengwu Army would not forget them and would take care of their families…”

"Master Gu, I don't know how you want to optimize and adjust the pensions and rewards for the soldiers on the front line, but I know that we can't let the soldiers on the front line shed blood, sweat, and tears!"

Looking at Guo Zhiping, who was excited and indignant, Gu Sansi smiled and waved his hand and said:

"General Guo, don't get excited yet. It won't be too late for you to get excited after listening to what Gu has to say!"

"Although I am in the government, I am also aware of the hardships of the soldiers on the front line, so I naturally dare not reduce their pensions!"

"The optimization and adjustment I mentioned does not mean to reduce the pensions of the soldiers on the front line, but to increase them!"

Listening to what Gu Sansi said, the people in the Loyalty Hall became more and more confused. They didn't know what Gu Sansi meant. If the pensions for the soldiers on the front line were increased, wouldn't the fiscal expenditures be higher soon? Wouldn't this go against the grain?
Ye Mingsheng, who was sitting in the main seat, ordered in a deep voice:
"Think twice, don't keep me in suspense. What do you think?"

Gu Sansi nodded towards Ye Mingsheng who was sitting there and said directly:
"My idea is not complicated, to put it simply, it means living beyond one's means!"

“We can provide a new form of pension and reward to the families of soldiers. That is, we will first provide half of the original pension and reward in silver, and then pay the remaining half in installments over ten years. During these ten years, we will pay interest at twice the bill rate…”

"At the same time, the families of soldiers who choose this type of pension should be given more help in terms of cloth, salt, grain, vegetables, fruits, children's schooling, and elderly care!"

Everyone in the Loyalty Hall was impressed by Gu Sansi's suggestion. They thought that Gu Sansi's idea was very good. Ye Mingsheng also thought that this idea was very reliable. If it could be implemented, it would greatly reduce the current expenses.
At this time, Guo Zhiping stood up again and said:

"Master Gu, your idea is good, but the current reward and pension plan is very popular in the army. If we change it hastily, I think it will cause unrest in the army and affect our army's combat effectiveness!"

Facing Guo Zhiping's different opinions, Mr. Gu continued to explain:
"General Guo, you are right. Rashly changing the new pension and reward plan will indeed affect the combat effectiveness of the soldiers on the front line. However, my proposal does not mean the end of the original plan!"

"I think these two plans can be implemented at the same time, giving the frontline soldiers more opportunities to choose, allowing them to more freely choose the one that suits them. I believe our soldiers will be willing to trust the Fengwu Army!"

At this point, Gu Sansi continued his sermon:
"Now that I have come to this, I still have some information that I would like to introduce to everyone present!"

“Before, our Fengwu Army distributed the rewards and pensions all at once. Some soldiers and their families had never received this money, so they didn’t know how to spend it…”

"They didn't spend their money on proper things like buying houses and land, getting married, etc. Instead, they spent it on gambling dens, brothels, etc. It didn't take long for them to spend all their money. Some even got into debt, contracted syphilis, and embarked on a path of no return!"

"Director Li, am I right?"

Seeing that Gu Sansi directed the conversation to himself, Li Jian, the director of the Legal Affairs Bureau, stood up again and nodded and said:
"What Master Gu said is true. Last year, our Legal Affairs Bureau investigated hundreds of similar cases from prosecutors all over the country!"

After Li Jian finished speaking, Gu Sansi continued:
"Of course, this is only part of the situation. Most of our Fengwu Army soldiers are honest people. However, I still think it is necessary to guide their spending. This is also for the sake of our soldiers to prevent them from making mistakes!"

Facing Gu Sansi's words, Guo Zhiping and Zhao Han, the chief of staff, looked at each other, and then Zhao Han stood up and said:
"Master Gu's words make sense. Our General Staff supports Master Gu's plan!"

Seeing that the military had no objections at all, Ye Mingsheng nodded with relief, and then ordered:
“In that case, you should cooperate with the General Staff and seize the time to implement the new plan as soon as possible. At the same time, the General Staff should cooperate with the Legal Affairs Bureau to publicize the cases just now, so that the soldiers can understand the dangers and have more faith in the army…”

Hearing Ye Mingsheng's order, Gu Sansi, Zhao Han, Li Jian and others also obeyed his orders. Cui Shao, who did not speak, glanced at the complacent Gu Sansi intentionally or unintentionally.

After discussing some other matters, Ye Mingsheng announced the end of today's Zhongyong Hall meeting, and then left Cui Shao, Gu Sansi, Zhao Han and others alone. After looking around at everyone, Ye Mingsheng instructed again:

"What follows is a secret among secrets. No one is allowed to disclose it!"

Seeing Ye Mingsheng's serious look, several people became serious and nodded, indicating that they understood the seriousness of the matter.

Seeing this, Ye Mingsheng waved at Huo San, who immediately began to introduce:

"Murong Lun, the Minister of Personnel of the Luoan court, contacted our army through some channels and said that he could help our army capture Weiguan!"

As soon as this news came out, everyone's expressions changed differently. The name Murong Lun was familiar to everyone. They could even say that they had heard of his name for a long time. This man was not only the elder brother of Murong Yuliang, the governor of Ji and Yu of Fengwu Army, but also a representative figure of the aristocratic families of the time...

(End of this chapter)