Chapter 1153: Carrying on the Past and Opening up the Future (Forty-Three)

It was dark at night, and everything in the palace was completely silent. Except for a few places where lights were still on, other places had fallen into darkness. The huge palace of the original Yan Palace was divided into two parts, one third by a high distance. One is where he and his wife live, and the other is divided into various offices of the imperial court. A wall of red walls and blue tiles separates the two, forming two different worlds.

Although it was almost midnight, Gao Yuan was still working at his desk. He had left a large part of the government affairs to the political hall. He only took the helm, but the army was still firmly in his hands. , this time he was determined to reorganize the army, but this matter needed to be done by himself.

The current Han army has four field army groups: East, South, North, and Central. This is an old brand army. Later, he formed a young guard army under his own leadership. During the battle against Donghu, a new army was formed. The First Army, when fighting Qi, established the Qilu Army. The total strength exceeded 300,000. Different from the people of Chu and Qin, these soldiers are pure combat troops, that is, professional soldiers. However, the standing armies of Chu and Qin were not so large. Many of them were half soldiers and half civilians, and were only recruited during battles.

Maintaining such a large military corps and the high military salary system of the Han Dynasty have always been a huge burden on the court's finances. Wang Wudi has always been dissatisfied with this. He either abolished part of the army and followed the example of Qin and Chu, or reduced military pay. , in order to reduce financial pressure, but obviously neither of these two methods was what Gao Yuan wanted. Now that the Qin-Chu alliance has been formed, Han is facing huge external pressure, and the army must not slack off. Instead, they should strengthen construction. As for reducing military pay, that was a no-brainer. Only Wang Wudi, a guy who was obsessed with money, could come up with this bad idea. If this policy is really introduced, I'm afraid there will be trouble in the military.

Fortunately, things have been going well for the Han people in the past two years, and fiscal revenue has been rising year after year. Kou Shuguang's navy went to sea twice a year, which would bring huge profits. There is a slight financial buffer, but at the same time the amount of money spent has also increased significantly. The main one is large-scale infrastructure construction across the country, including roads and water conservancy, which are major expenditures. It is also a necessary expenditure and a necessary measure to look to the future. No matter how difficult it is, this must be done.

The salaries of officials must also be increased. This call has been very loud, and the political affairs hall has also included it in the necessary processing projects. The salaries of various ministries, yamen, and local officials in the Han Dynasty have never been high. For example, the salary of a county chief is not as good as that of a battalion commander in the army. This was also an emergency measure when Han Dynasty was always in war. After all, officers were risking their lives on the battlefield, but things are different now. The regime is gradually becoming more stable, domestic conflicts are beginning to emerge, the pressure on the civil service system is strong, and affairs are increasing. Wages must be raised, otherwise the enthusiasm of officials will definitely be affected. In the past, everyone worked hard to start a business and had less money. But there is a bright future to look forward to, and everyone has nothing to say. But now, everything has been realized. If everyone is not allowed to taste the sweetness, it will inevitably make people feel resentful and slack.

The anti-corruption work of the Han Dynasty was quite strict. The Domestic Department of the Oversight Yuan was one of the most important tasks. Those who want to take advantage of their positions to make money will definitely not end well. From last year to now ,

In less than a year, the Supervisory Yuan arrested nearly a hundred corrupt officials and handed them over to the court. In the current Han bureaucracy, this is no longer a small number, because among the yamen at all levels in the Han Dynasty, There are not many officials, and one person often does the work of several people.

The salary increase is something that must be completed this year so that all officials can have a happy New Year. But after seeing the salary increase plan of the Ministry of Finance and the calculations of the Ministry of Finance, Gao Yuan couldn't help but smile bitterly. The Ministry of Finance was very generous, and the increase doubled. King Wu of the Ministry of Finance did not turn into an iron rooster this time, but according to the final calculation The guy used a red pen to write out the extra salary he needed to pay each year in big letters for himself.

shocking.

This guy Wang Wudi was shrewd this time and decided not to play this annoying role. If he vetoed the salary increase proposal, he would probably become the target of public criticism. He shrunk his head and threw the blame away. Gave it to myself.

After smiling wryly and signing the words "Reconsideration" on the copy, Gao Yuan put him aside and picked up another report, which was written by Wu Kai.

Wu Kai, who had just joined the Council, was now in charge of the expansion of the entire Jicheng. After reading the report, Gao Yuan finally smiled. This was a rare good news during this period of time. After Wu Kai was enlightened by himself, he carried out commercial development in the reconstruction of Jicheng. So far, the framework has been set up and the work has progressed very smoothly. The old city wall of Jicheng has begun to be demolished, and the immigration work outside has also begun. The land auction that Wu Kai once worried about was far beyond his expectations. The transaction price of each piece of land was several times higher than the starting price, especially those lands near the old city wall, which were sold at a premium of ten times. This made Wu Kai realize that his previous price was too low. However, there is no regret medicine in the world, but even so, the expansion of Jicheng not only does not require the court to pay a penny, but also has a surplus of hundreds of thousands of taels of silver. If the subsequent profits are taken into account, this piece will be magnified. Those merchants who sold their land needed to buy bricks, wood and other building materials to build houses. The bricks, stones and wood left over from the demolished old city walls became hot commodities. These were all good materials. Recycling waste could make a lot of money. A large number of construction projects began, and a large number of laborers were needed. These people had jobs and money to earn, which solved the livelihood problems of many people. These people had to spend their money. As long as they spent money, the court would have taxes to collect. After careful calculation, it was really an incredible income.

He wrote a line of big characters on the report: I have read it, and I am very happy. He took it up and blew the ink dry. Looking at the big characters flying in the wind, he couldn't help but feel happy. His calligraphy was also gradually improving, not like before.

Compared with the big guys in the Political Affairs Hall, my handwriting is really not up to par. Fortunately, in my family, Ning Xin's handwriting is better than mine. Although Ye Jing'er can read, she is not much better than me in writing. As for Helan Yan, I am afraid that she still can't hold a pen smoothly.

Pick up another document, which was sent by Guo Quan from Liaodong. This diligent Minister of Industry has only spent a few days in Jicheng. In a year, he now spends ten months in Liaodong. The previous financial difficulties have been greatly alleviated because Gao Yuan agreed to publicly auction the mining rights of mineral resources in Liaodong. A large amount of silver and money from the sale of mineral resources has continuously flowed into Guo Quan's engineering department, which has accelerated the road construction project in the three counties of Liaodong. The auxiliary roads built by those wealthy bosses at their own expense to transport ore or future finished products to the main road are progressing much faster than the main roads. A well-connected transportation network is being formed in the three counties of Liaodong.

When this transportation network is officially completed in Liaodong, the court's control over the three counties of Liaodong will reach a new level. Gao Yuan has made great efforts to circle these sold mines. They seem to be scattered in the east and west, but if they are marked on the map and the roads now built are connected, it can be clearly seen that this road transportation network leads to every corner of the three counties of Liaodong. The places that were previously inaccessible and poorly controlled will be brought under the control of the court in the future.

The end of many bandits who are still rampant in the three counties of Liaodong is coming soon.

In his report, Guo Quan first predicted that the main road project in the three counties of Liaodong would be completed as early as next summer, and then asked Gao Yuan if he could allocate another batch of explosives to him. Because of this batch of explosives, some time-consuming and laborious engineering sections in the past were now easily opened up, saving a lot of manpower and material resources. Guo Quan fell in love with these seemingly inconspicuous yellow particles and hoped that the court would increase its support.

Although several new production lines were built outside the Yizhen Research Institute, the output of this thing is limited. The army wants it, and Guo Quan also wants it. Due to Guo Quan's application of explosives in Liaodong, the big bosses of the mines also immediately noticed the wider use of this thing, and have proposed to open the civilian use of explosives in the parliament. Although it was rejected by the parliament on the grounds of national security, this is the general trend. Explosives will eventually be put on the civilian market, it's just a matter of control.

Apart from these two good news, the rest are complaints and money. All counties and regions are trying their best to get some money back from the central court. With the county councils and county councils spreading in various places, officials in various places have been greatly shocked. If an official does not serve the people, he will really go home to sell sweet potatoes.

Money! It's still money that troubles Gao Yuan.

The economic war against Qin and Chu has just begun, and it will take time to reap the rewards. Although Kou Shuguang's side is a business without capital, it cannot last long. If you want to make money for a long time, you still need time to operate. The Han Dynasty, which is in need of reconstruction, looks very bright from the outside, but the central government is very clear that it earns a lot every year, but spends more. It operates at a deficit every year. In other words, the court is always a big debtor.

Fortunately, it is the end of the year. After paying the principal and interest of the bonds of the previous year, new bonds can be issued. Wang Wudi has proposed three-year bonds and five-year bonds. This is a good idea. You can try it first. It mainly depends on the people's trust in the court. As long as the court's credit is still there, it can still make money. (To be continued)