Crusader Kings: Prisoners of War.

Chapter 57 Shortage of Funds
In order to boost people's morale, Vespa set the tone for this triumphal ceremony as "grand celebration", with all the necessary activities included.

Dramatic performances, simulated naval battles, gladiator competitions, public banquets. Huge amounts of public budget were invested in them, greatly satisfying the local people. This was the so-called bread and circus.

After symbolically walking around the field a few times and having a simple meal, Orville and Tia were called to Vespa's residence in Rome.

Rome had just entered the imperial era at that time, and the previous emperors generally took a "people-friendly" approach. They had their own decent residences on the Palatine Hill, which was a wealthy area, but many other nobles also had their own houses on the hill. There may be some differences in specifications between the two, but there is no essential difference.

It was not until Nero, who died last year, that the emperor had his own magnificent palace. Nero marked out a large area on the Palatine Hill as his palace.

Vespa certainly did not want to be associated with Nero or some other ridiculous emperor, so he did not live in Nero's palace. Instead, he bought a not particularly luxurious mansion on the Palatine Hill in the wealthy area as his new residence in Rome.

He was not of high birth, and although his original residence was a single-family house, it was located in a civilian area. Although the elders did not want to see the emperor have too many privileges, it was obviously inappropriate for a "monarch" to live in such a place.

Led by the servants, Tia and Orville crossed the unfamiliar courtyard and came to the reception room.

Vespa sat in the main seat in the reception room, while Tia and Orville sat on the left and right sides.

There is no need to exchange too many polite words among family members, so Vespa went straight to the point.

"I am glad that you can return safely with honor after the war, but to be honest, the situation in the city is not very good now."

Tia became nervous: "Is someone rebelling again?!"

Vespa smiled and shook his head. "It would be much easier if that were the case. We have a bigger problem right now. The fiscal revenue is insufficient and the treasury is already empty. We need to think of a way to get more money."

During Nero's reign, the treasury spent a lot of money, but it was barely able to maintain itself. Later, there was a big fire in Rome, and Nero did not take effective measures to rebuild it.

Later, the emperors changed constantly like a revolving lantern. When each emperor came to power, he would definitely spend a lot of money to stabilize the people and buy off the army. These people were either overthrown before they had time to make money, or they never thought about what to do after the treasury funds were spent.

In addition, the remnants of the Germanic Legion and the two major legions fought again in Rome, and the city was damaged again. After Vespa came to power, he must give priority to rebuilding the city in order to stabilize the people's hearts. Such astronomical expenses were definitely beyond his financial resources, so he could only embezzle a large amount of national treasury funds.

Combined with this grand triumphal ceremony and various reward activities, the national treasury has actually run out of money.

He called the two over because he actually wanted to hear their opinions. Although he was not a dictator, the Senate still gave the emperor a lot of autonomy and he could make many decisions, such as how to increase government revenue. Tia thought seriously for a while before answering carefully: "First of all, I think we can increase taxes on some provinces with spare capacity, and then use the collected money to conduct a census. The last census was 26 years ago. I think the population of the empire will increase further. By collecting various regular taxes from these people, we should be able to alleviate the financial difficulties.

In addition, since the time of Caesar, there have been many scattered lands that have not been included in the taxation scope. We can measure these lands and impose taxes on them, which should also be considered as income.

Then some senators are obviously wealthy enough to provide some funds for the country. We can ask the Senate and the new nobles to donate to the country. At the same time, I think we should also limit their spending and not let them be too extravagant. We can charge higher tariffs on Eastern trade and still meet the country's financial needs. "

There are only two ways to increase national fiscal revenue: increasing revenue and reducing expenditure. What Tiyati proposed are relatively realistic and there is no resistance. They are panaceas.

Vespa nodded slightly after hearing this. He had indeed used a similar method in history.

But I'm afraid this routine operation is not enough. The treasury needs money coming in immediately. Tia's method will take three to four years to complete. Time is too slow and we can't wait. At least we have to use some other method to deal with this most difficult time first.

Tia's methods are too aboveboard, but in extraordinary times, extraordinary measures should be taken.

So Orville suggested at the right time: "I think we can appropriately increase the types of taxes, or not just limit them to taxes. We can sell some of the priests of small temples, middle and lower-level officers in the provinces, and even some minor official positions in Rome in exchange for fiscal revenue."

Tia interrupted Orville directly: "Isn't this equivalent to selling official positions and titles?"

Orville did not shy away from saying, "That's right, so everything must be within a reasonable range. We are short of money now, and the operation of the country requires money as its blood. If we don't do this, where will the money for military expenses, public utility expenses, civil servants' salaries, social welfare expenses and national reconstruction come from?"

Vespa was also somewhat interested in this proposal. He was much more pragmatic than Tia: "Then what? Any other ideas?"

Compared to ancient people, Orville actually felt that he had no advantage in IQ, physical strength, EQ or any other aspects, but there was one thing in which he absolutely had an overwhelming advantage - enough ideas, regardless of whether they were feasible or not. The imagination and life of modern people are completely different from those of ancient people.

"There are many more. For example, for some prisoners, as long as there are qualified people willing to guarantee them and can come up with a sum of money, we have a reason not to detain them before the trial, but to give them a certain degree of freedom, so that they can move freely within a certain range. I call this practice 'bail'. It is not difficult for a prominent family to spend a little more money for freedom.

In addition, you can deliberately promote some corrupt officials, and catch them red-handed when they have embezzled enough money. In this way, you can gain a reputation for strict law enforcement and the money of corrupt officials.

Also, Emperor Nero devalued the currency and reduced the silver content of silver coins, which is an extremely dangerous move. It will reduce the credit of the currency. We should pay attention to this and never make a fuss about it. But we can also benefit from financial behavior. Perhaps it would be better to draw inspiration from Alexander's successors. The Romans did absorb the financial methods of the Greeks, but perhaps not enough."

(End of this chapter)