Chapter 225 Chen Cheng settles accounts In the conference room, the civil and military officials sat opposite each other. Although there was no smell of gunpowder, the atmosphere was still a little solemn. Chen Gong took a stack of account books and flipped through them casually. Cheng Yu was looking at the battle report and casualties of the Hebei battle. After all the people who could come arrived, Tian Ze looked at both sides helplessly and coughed lightly. "Okay, then let's get ready to discuss the issue of military expansion and the military budget." "I'd like to make it clear in advance that you are all my important officials and must work together in solidarity. This time we are just discussing the matter at hand. After all, although the money and food we have are relatively abundant, they are still limited." "All matters are of great importance, whether it is domestic affairs or armaments. Our discussion this time is not to provoke conflict, but to set the tone and clarify issues such as the approximate proportion of the armaments budget." "Zhongde, since you proposed this, you should start first." Upon hearing this, Cheng Yu stepped out, bowed to Tian Ze first, and then asked Chen Gong and others. "Gongtai, how much tax is collected annually in our jurisdiction?"
Upon hearing this, Chen Gong took out the account book. "Thanks to your wisdom, the people under our rule are relatively wealthy, and their income is growing rapidly. The average annual income per person can reach 15,000 coins. With nearly 40 million people, the total annual output of wealth is about 600 billion coins." "According to the situation in previous years, commercial taxes, agricultural taxes, etc., together account for about 40% of the total revenue. By this calculation, the tax revenue is about 240 billion yuan." Tian Ze was slightly stunned when he heard this, but didn't say much. Although Chen Gong laughed it off and did not directly state last year's tax figures, the figures he reported were still relatively reasonable, just a little too conservative. Cheng Yu obviously realized the trick, but this number was also within his psychological range, so he did not pursue it any further. "Two hundred and forty billion yuan!" Cheng Yu said loudly. "In the past, during the reign of Emperor Shun, the imperial court collected only 6 billion coins in taxes each year, but was able to support hundreds of thousands of troops. Our income is more than 40 times that, so why do we only support 600,000 troops?" "During the battle in Hebei this time, our army was constrained and schemed against everywhere because of insufficient manpower, so that the Taihang Mountains were almost lost, the northwest of Jizhou was ravaged, and even the lord was in danger. Why can't we even expand the army to a million?" Hearing Cheng Yu's loud question, all the generals nodded in agreement. Chen Gong patted the account book calmly and said, "Can the soldiers under your command be compared with those during the reign of Emperor Ling? The so-called army of hundreds of thousands is mostly soldiers from various counties and states and young and strong men who are temporarily serving. If you want to settle the accounts, then let's settle the accounts." "All the soldiers under your command are soldiers. Their salaries, food, armor, weapons, horses, and other benefits are guaranteed. On average, each person gets no less than 60,000 coins per year, and the annual cost is no less than 42 billion coins. And that doesn't include the cost of fighting, pensions, and family security. What else do you want?" "Is the money allocated to you by the Ministry of Finance too little? If you think there are not enough soldiers, why don't you just reduce their salaries and recruit more?" Upon hearing this, the generals immediately looked around as if nothing had happened. Are you kidding? Don't they know the benefits of elite soldiers? The battle in Hebei is the best proof. Yuan Shao acted as fiercely as a tiger, but in the end he was still beaten. Although Gao Lan had the advantage in military strength, he simply used his soldiers to die one after another to contain Guan Yu. Apart from being able to fight in a frontal combat, he was unable to perform any fine operations and could only retreat step by step. The only one who was defeated was Xu Huang, because the enemy was too numerous and acted too quickly. If it weren't for his elite troops and quick action, he would have been left there. It was only in the battle of Xinding Basin that Yuan Shao's army really made use of the advantage of having more soldiers. But that was because of Yuan Shao's talent. Otherwise, a charge from Le Jin and Ma Teng would have been enough to resolve the battle, and there would have been no need for such trouble.
Even a commander as powerful as Shen Pei could not perform some very delicate operations when facing such a large number of miscellaneous soldiers. It was not because he was incapable, but because the soldiers' execution ability could not keep up. Unless one reaches the level of Han Xin, it would be too difficult to command an army of more than 100,000, especially if the troops are not elite. Having a lot of soldiers is not necessarily a good thing. Given a certain amount of resources, having a large number of elite soldiers is better. "Isn't it a lot? Military expenditure is less than 20% of the total revenue." Cheng Yu continued to question. "Don't you want to develop your area? Don't you need to pay the officials salaries? Don't you need to repair the water conservancy projects? Don't you need to provide education for the people? Don't you need to attract more people? Don't you want to be compensated and rewarded for fighting this war? Don't you want to stabilize the area?" It would have been better if Cheng Yu didn't say anything, but as soon as he said it, he was criticized by Chen Gong. "Even so, if we don't say that the military expenditure and domestic expenditure are split in half, at least 30% to 40% should be left. This is how the Han Dynasty used to be. With so much money, can we spend it all on domestic affairs?" Cheng Yu still said firmly. "Haha!" Seeing that Cheng Yu was still holding on to this matter, Chen Gong laughed in anger. "Well, since you asked, let's settle the accounts. I also ask you, the Minister of War, to check it for me." Chen Gong directly took out the account book. "I won't go into the details, you can check it yourself. I'll only talk about the big ones." "There are no less than 800,000 officials under my jurisdiction. The salaries of officials and the operation of the twelve ministries cost no less than 40 billion yuan each year. Do you have any doubts about this amount of money?" As Chen Gong finished speaking, the eyes of the other civil officials immediately turned to Cheng Yu and the many military generals. "No." Cheng Yu gritted his teeth when he saw this. Chen Gong nodded. "The Jixia Academy and the education of the people cost no less than 20 billion yuan every year. Do you have any doubts?" Zhang Zhao and Dong Zhao both looked at Cheng Yu. "No." The Jixia Academy and education were the most important national policies set by Tian Ze, so Cheng Yu naturally didn't dare to say anything. "Medical care, housing, factory production, social security, etc. cost no less than 20 billion yuan every year. Do you have any doubts?" "No." This includes medical care for military dependents and the manufacture of military equipment, which accounts for a considerable proportion. Cheng Yu naturally would not make things difficult for himself. "Water conservancy projects, canal construction, and the development of the Northeast Plain cost no less than 30 billion yuan a year. Do you have any doubts?" "No." These major projects not only determined the development of the area under his rule, but also affected the logistics and transportation of the army. Naturally, Cheng Yu would not ignore the overall situation. "Population recruitment and resettlement costs no less than 50 billion yuan per year. Do you have any doubts?" "Have!" Cheng Yu finally found the breakthrough point and said quickly. "It is true that attracting population is important, but it is only for the next two years. In the future, the number of people that can be attracted will decrease, and this budget can be cut by half."
Chen Gong seemed to have been prepared for this. He snorted coldly and said, "Resettlement of the population doesn't cost anything? Do you think it's okay to just leave the people we recruited there to fend for themselves? At least in the past one or two years, we couldn't even get back the money we invested." "Moreover, even if there is some money left over, it will be used to move people to other sparsely populated counties and encourage childbirth." "Population is the foundation, and now there are too many newborns. For at least a decade, there will be no returns on investment, resulting in little growth in our total income, while total expenditure is growing rapidly. This money cannot be diverted anyway." Tian Ze, who was sitting in the main seat, nodded slightly when he heard this. Cheng Yu was unwilling to accept the fact and asked, "What about the remaining 38 billion? That's enough to expand the army." Chen Gong couldn't bear it any longer and smashed the account book in Cheng Yu's face: "Do you know how much money this war cost? Pensions, rewards, resettlement, etc. all cost money, at least no less than 20 billion!" "If you can give up the 20 billion, I will let you expand your army." "That means there are still 18 billion left, right?" Cheng Yu kept pestering. "You're not going to fight next year, right? You're not going to fight anymore? If you don't, I'll give you the 18 billion." Chen Gong pointed at Cheng Yu and shouted angrily. "And what I said before was the minimum. Ten billion would be good enough. Shouldn't we leave some surplus for backup? In case of any natural disaster or man-made disaster, I can sell you for money?" His money bag is not easy to come by! He estimated that the overall situation was already being tackled with gritted teeth when the army was expanded by 100,000 men before, and now they were going to go even further. (End of this chapter)