CH 181

Elder Wang also smiled, "There are really many talents in Changshan County. I should get to know the head of this trial court when I have the chance."

Cheng Huaixuan, however, did not relax because of the elder's humor. He kept hinting that there was more important information to come.

Elder Cheng, who was Cheng Huaixuan's uncle, frowned when he saw his nephew's strange expression and flipped to the back of the file.

The elder's table fell silent for a moment.

After reading all the evidence, the atmosphere among the elders became slightly strange.

Elder Lin coughed and said, "General Qin has such a long reach. He actually instigated and incited the local powerful clans in Changshan County to rebel."

Elder Ye glanced at Elder Cheng and Sheng Huaixuan and asked, "Is there any connection between Changshan County, East Qin Prefecture, and Qin Gang?"

Elder Cheng denied, "There is no intersection."

"Then why?"

"Yes, and also the incident in Qingcheng last time, it was also Qin Gang."

The four elders remained silent, staring at them silently.

Above these four seats, there was another seat.

Emperor Li Longxing rarely spoke, "Qin Gang, come forward and explain."

In an instant, all eight elders stopped communicating.

Before the production report of Changshan County was submitted, they were questioning Qin Gang about a series of affairs in the Southwest Military Region.

The discussion of Changshan County's production value was just a halftime break to ease the atmosphere.

After the representatives of the highest council, Qin Gang, who was almost standing on the edge of the venue, walked up quickly.

He was dressed in a neat military uniform, about fifty years old, but he did not look old. He appeared more like a young man.

His face was serious, with distinct facial contours. Two knife-like wrinkles fell along his cheeks, making him appear intimidating and awe-inspiring.

He returned to the elder's round table and bowed to the elders.

"Cheng Huaixuan, give him the file," Li Longxing said.

Cheng Huaixuan trembled as he stepped forward and took the file, handing it to Qin Gang, the highest commander of the Southwest Military Region.

The latter calmly accepted it and began to read through it.

After a moment, he closed his eyes.

When he opened them again, he had returned to normal. He bowed and said, "Esteemed elders, these are obviously fabricated evidence, an unknown enemy is framing me. I even suspect it is the work of the Sopdamiya Kingdom, their scheme of sowing discord."

Li Longxing sneered and remained silent.

But the four elders exchanged glances, their expressions becoming serious.

"What is the reason?" one of the elders asked.

Qin Gang bowed and replied, "I have no grudges or conflicts with Governor Sheng, or that little guy from Changshan County. There is no reason for me to do this. Moreover, although this evidence is true, it is too true, which makes it appear false."

"Why?"

Qin Gang proudly answered, "These insignificant bugs need me to personally write letters to incite rebellion."

The elders frowned slightly, but they did not speak further. During the previous questioning, Qin Gang had already yielded, promising to publicly disclose all the data and achievements of the nuclear tests conducted by the Imperial Department.

Moreover, Qin Gang's motives were indeed insufficient.

There was no need to force him any further.

The stability of the empire was the most important.

"Alright, you may leave."

Qin Gang bowed and stepped back, returning to the edge of the venue. However, he did not return the evidence that had been handed to him.

At this moment, Elder Lin Yabo suddenly spoke, "It is unreasonable for Changshan County to ruthlessly plunder the wealth of the people in this manner."

Emperor Li Longxing glanced at him and said, "But it is effective."

"In just one month, he received tax revenue that Changshan County couldn't collect in a hundred years."

"The empire is currently in financial distress, with chaos everywhere, because the taxes from wealthy conglomerates cannot be collected, and the poor are being squeezed to the extreme. As a result, the rich become richer and the poor have no choice but to die."

"I believe we should take a portion of the wealth of the empire's wealthy and impose heavy taxes on them to alleviate the empire's calamity."

As soon as his words fell, everyone's expressions became unnatural.

The four elders said in unison, "No."

Elder Cheng Wei bowed and said, "Your Majesty, the empire needs fairness, treating everyone equally."

Elder Lin Yabo said, "We cannot compete with the people for profit."

Elder Luo Nuo said, "This is the foundation of the empire and must not be shaken."

Li Longxing said lightly, "Then let's make donations. In times of national crisis, everyone here has a responsibility. One million from each person."

Li Longxing called the royal guards and transferred one million to the national treasury on the spot.

Everyone could only follow suit. For those who could sit here, one million was just a drop in the bucket.

Soon, the Director of the Imperial Financial Bureau, Deng Tongxing, joyfully announced, "The national treasury has received 55 million!"

For the vast empire, this amount was not even considered a drop in the bucket.

Li Longxing then said, "Since we have made donations, the imperial officials should also donate. They receive salaries from the empire and should contribute to the empire as well."

This proposal was quickly approved.

The specific details of the donations were to be formulated by the Imperial Financial Bureau.

Li Longxing added, "After the imperial officials donate, all those who have become wealthy because of the empire, all those who have lived a happy life because of our efforts, should also donate."This time, there were already many awakened people who voted against it, but in the end, it still passed with a vote of 30 to 25.

In fact, those who opposed also believed that since they had donated, everyone should donate, but they only voted against it out of instinctive opposition to the expansion of imperial power.

But there was a long argument over the donation line, and in the end, the mandatory standard was set for the "Imperial People" with assets of over one million, while encouraging donations below that but not mandatory.

Sitting in the corner, Princess Li Linyue, who had the right to attend but not the right to speak or vote, blushed and thought to herself, "This is the emperor of the empire, the authority that cannot be desecrated!"

"I must become such a person!"

After that, the meeting began to discuss the empire's economic issues.

The Minister of Finance and the Minister of State were talking about financial non-central trends, the decline of the Gini coefficient, the inflation paradox crisis, and so on.

Li Longxing listened and felt disgusted. He disliked these high-sounding words that people couldn't understand. It was all nonsense.

The problem now is that the treasury is empty, the military budget is insufficient, the finances are tight, the economy is declining, and there are dark clouds looming on the front lines of the Heishui River. They are about to go to war, but there are leaks everywhere internally.

In summary, there are two words: lack of money.

The purpose of this meeting is two words: raise money.

The discussion is about whose money to raise and how to raise it.

Sure enough, after a while, Elder Lin Yabo proposed.

"Since Changshan County is developing so well, it should pay its taxes in full."

The Governor of West Swallow State, Bai Liuxi, said, "That's right. Since they have collected so much money, they should hand it over. Otherwise, they should be dismissed and punished."

Sheng Huaixuan said coldly, "Governor Bai is right. West Swallow State has just completed a large gold transaction. Considering the current difficulties of the empire, it should not be a problem to hand over 3 billion."

Bai Liuxi was a fat man with a large face and a protruding chin. When he got angry, he showed his big buck teeth.

"What do you mean by seizing gold, sheltering rebels, crossing the border, and violating the ban? I haven't settled the account with you yet!"

Sheng Huaixuan didn't even look at him, as if he didn't exist.

Bai Liuxi was furious and wanted to speak, but was stopped by Elder Lin Yabo with his eyes.

Elder Lin Yabo looked coldly at them and said, "Yan Gao, has Changshan County paid the taxes it should pay?"

Yan Gao, the Director of the Imperial Taxation Bureau, replied, "Not a penny has been received."

"How much should they pay?"

"They owe 571 million."

When they heard this number, everyone's eyes lit up.

The Governor of Hezhou, Shi Yuan, asked, "How much money did Changshan County actually collect?"

The Deputy Director, Kong Xiangxi, replied, "At least 2 billion."

When this answer came out, everyone fell silent.

They all had one thought in their hearts: if such a poor Changshan County could collect so much money, then how much could the entire empire collect? That black hole-like financial hole might really be able to be filled.

Suddenly, Elder Wang said, "I think the amount of mandatory donations can be negotiated."

"Yes," Elder Ren said seriously, "since they have become wealthy because of the empire, when the empire is in danger, they should also sacrifice their lives for the empire."

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Elder Lin Yabo stopped Ren Zhengqing from saying dangerous words, "We can discuss the specific amount and detailed implementation later."

"Kong Xiangxi, Yan Gao, you immediately make Changshan County pay the full amount of taxes."

Both of them answered in unison.

But there was a voice of opposition, "Elder, Changshan County is currently recruiting a large number of workers and undergoing major development and construction. Forcibly extracting its funds at this time is destructive and undoubtedly killing the goose that lays the golden eggs."

The one speaking was Sheng Huaixuan.

The Elder frowned imperceptibly. Although they rarely managed imperial affairs, their authority was not diminished in the slightest. Few governors dared to refute their words.

At this time, the Governor of Yunzhou, Zhao Chaoyang, also expressed the same opinion, "Changshan County has recruited 400,000 workers and has made great contributions to the stability of the empire. I also believe that it should not be treated like this."

Xu Chengfeng, the Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, also said, "If Changshan County's financial chain collapses and there are an additional 400,000 unemployed people, it will also have an impact on the order of the empire."

Even Li Changsheng, the Commander of the Imperial Southern Military Region, who had no right to speak, said, "I agree with their words. 400,000 unemployed people will impact the social stability of our southern region."

Lin Yabo said coldly, "You only sympathize with the difficulties of a small county, but not with the difficulties of the empire."

Bai Liuxi shouted loudly, "That's right. The empire should be the top priority. Even if a county is destroyed, it should give its all for the empire!"

After discussing for a while, the four Elders said, "Changshan County's taxes must be paid, but considering the difficulties of Changshan County, we can provide appropriate compensation."

Elder Wang said, "I think Changshan County has its own unique development model. We can help it remove restrictions and give it greater freedom. Maybe it will have better development."Yu Zhongxian immediately agreed, "I concur. I think we can also delegate the financial power as compensation. Changshan County can pay taxes proportionally every year."

Wang Wengong laughed, "It's rare for Director Yu to share the same opinion as me."

Sheng Huaixuan's brows furrowed. Yu Zhongxian surely had no good intentions.

Following Yu Zhongxian's words, he quickly understood. Delegating financial power seemed to be granting authority to Changshan County, allowing it to be financially independent.

However, this also meant that Changshan County would bear its own financial burdens.

From then on, Changshan County would be responsible for its own profits and losses. It would no longer be a burden to the empire. The empire would only be responsible for collecting money, without having to spend a penny.

This was a poisonous scheme.

And it was a scheme that was bound to succeed.