Kai Fu Han

Chapter 138

June [-]th.

The summer grain collection work, which had been delayed due to the impact of the Penglai Defense War, began.

According to the previous provisions of the Xinghan League Land Law, only [-]% of the grain tax will be levied on all cultivated land in Penglai County this year.

Penglai County currently has 170 million acres of arable land that can collect grain taxes. Because Penglai County is located in a hilly area and most of it is dry land, the average yield per mu is not high.

The annual yield of irrigated land can reach four stones per mu, while the dry land is only half of that of irrigated land.Moreover, the Shandong Peninsula has two crops a year, and the summer grain output is only average.

When the gentry were cleaned up, [-] mu of public land was confiscated and returned to the public, and [-]% of the land rent was collected for these [-] mu of land.

It is estimated that this year's summer grain collection should be 25 shi, which is 500 million jin.

"The annual grain output of future republics will be 3000 trillion kilograms." Liu Xinqi muttered.

Two thousand and five million kilograms seems like a lot, but now the Xinghan League has more than 500 officials and troops supported solely by financial support. These people consume 1 million kilograms of grain based on the daily requirement of three kilograms of grain. .

If we add in the craftsmen and laborers who indirectly need financial support, as well as the welfare of the citizen class, there is still a gap of at least 1000 million jin, which is one hundred thousand shi.

After Liu Xinqi discovered that the food gap was so huge, he hurried towards the headquarters of the Xinghan League and summoned the Minister of Political Affairs Luo Cheng, the Secretary of Household Li Lian, the Secretary of Taxation Jiang Xue, the Secretary of Finance Lu Congxue, and the Minister of Political Affairs and Secretary of Agriculture Lu Ren.

After everyone had arrived, Liu Xinqi expressed his concerns first.

"The Xinghan League has to support so many people, which is unprecedented, and the food tax has been reduced so much. It is natural that there will be a gap." Jiang Xue said.

"So we have to solve this problem. Do you have any good ideas?" Liu Xinqi asked.

Luo Cheng thought for a while and replied: "It can only be bought with money. After several battles have been won, the Xinghan Alliance's monetary reserves are still sufficient."

"This treats the symptoms but not the root cause, and food is the foundation. Food is the most important thing for the people. If food is not stable, the government will be unstable." Liu Xinqi replied: "If you buy it with money, you will be controlled by others and be too passive."

"What about raising taxes?" Jiang Xue said.

"We must keep our promise to never raise taxes." Liu Xinqi did not agree.

Seeing that everyone had no choice, Liu Xinqi said: "This is what I think. We only levy [-]% of the tax. Farmers must have extra food in their hands that they can't eat up. It's impossible to store all of it by themselves. Some of it must be exchanged for food." Money. If we buy this part, the food problem will be solved."

"Isn't this bought with money?" Luo Cheng asked doubtfully.

"It's different. I plan to legislate to prohibit private grain transactions, otherwise they will be dealt with according to law." Liu Xinqi replied: "Do you think it can be implemented?"

"It's possible, but it requires a lot of manpower, and it definitely requires the cooperation of the military." Luo Cheng was a little worried: "The government participates in the grain trade and has a monopoly. Does this count as competing for profits with the people?" "No. , I will analyze it for you." Liu Xinqi said, and then conducted a detailed analysis.

During the two seasons of each year, the price of food on the market will inevitably drop during the harvest. The gentry and grain merchants collect grain at low prices, then hoard it until the lean years, and then sell it to people who are short of food at high prices.Not only do they make huge profits, but they also make those who grow food hungry all year round.

Liu Xinqi planned to establish a grain reserve mechanism for the Xinghan League and pass legislation to prohibit private trading of grain. All grain farmers' excess grain must be sold to the government.

The government collects grain at a reasonable price, and then sells it to those who need it after adding some management and storage costs.The grain harvest price will definitely be higher than the market price when the grain is harvested, and the grain sales price will definitely be lower than the market price when the grain is not harvested.

In this way, not only can the government receive excess grain from farmers at a cheaper price to supplement the government's food gap, but it can also stabilize food prices during times of food shortages and disasters to ensure that people do not go hungry.

The population of Penglai County has not increased. At most, it has increased by more than 1000 people in Liujiabao. These 10 people used to have enough food to eat, and now they will have enough food after the management of Xinghan League. It is just a transfer of initiative.

"That requires building a lot of granaries and recruiting a lot of managers," Luo Cheng said.

"There are mature talents on the market. After all, there were already people doing the grain trading before, but now it is dominated by the government. These people can be recruited into the staff." Liu Xinqi replied: "And I just can't say that private But our government can sell to some grain merchants with good reputation and support the Xinghan League, and set the maximum sales price of their basic grains (coarse grains). This not only does not reduce our initiative in grain control, but also reduces our Administrative costs.”

"It seems that you already have a detailed solution, please continue to tell us," Luo Cheng said.

Liu Xinqi also referred to the grain reserve policy of later republics. Later republics also prohibited private trade in grain, and farmers could only trade in small quantities and on a small scale at most.

"The Ministry of Finance established the Grain Storage Department to be fully responsible for this policy. Wu Liang is the director of the department. Wu Liang is also responsible for building the granary. He is a craftsman and is most suitable for this job. He has been using cement to build houses in Baishiwan recently. Already have some experience." Liu Xinqi replied: "Cement is the best material for building granaries."

Wu Liangshi, a laborer previously recruited outside Laizhou (Ye County), acted as a labor representative at Baishiwan to petition Liu Xinqi.This person is literate, good at arithmetic, and has good craftsman skills and good management skills, so he can convince the public.The most important thing is that he can use cement, and he is also the first group of people to use cement, with rich experience.

"As for the subsequent operation details of the Grain Reserves Department, I will come up with a rough charter, which will be refined and improved by Uncle Luo. The Chief of Staff Wu Xinggong is responsible for recruiting enough staff to join the Grain Reserves Department and cooperate with the establishment of the Grain Reserves Department. "

"Lu Ren, do you have a suitable candidate to take over the job of your Agriculture Department?" Liu Xinqi finally asked Lu Ren.

"My deputy, Zhang You, is active in work, has a stable personality, is proficient in farming, and loves studying improved seeds. I think he is the most suitable to take over." Lu Ren replied.

"Okay, let him take over your work in the Agricultural Department." Liu Xinqi arranged: "Next, you must make every effort to establish the Ministry of Justice and strive to set up the framework of the Ministry of Justice within a month."

"There is another most important task. It is best to make the "Xinghan League Grain Storage Law" within two days. If it cannot be done, you can also issue a simplified notice first. I will ban private transactions in grain in two days."

"This matter is very important. If it is delayed for too long, farmers may have sold out all their summer grain."

Luzhin stood up and took the order.

(End of this chapter)