Chapter 893 Finance

Chapter 893 Finance

Chapter 893 Finance (Part )

The sky was hung with lead-gray clouds, blocking the sun completely.

The cold wind mixed with snowflakes swept across the earth, bringing waves of chill.

Before the end of the first month of the year, Yang Bao, the General of Revenue (fifth rank, originally sixth rank), and Yu Hua, the Supervisor of the Imperial Household (third rank), got together to hand over their official duties.

Of course, things will naturally be handled by the people below, and they only need to give orders and sign.

"I actually forgot to bring paper and pen." Yang Bao exclaimed as soon as he sat down in the thatched pavilion.

"I brought it." Yu Hua said.

Yang Bao was speechless.

"Yang Jizi, this matter is supervised by the king." Yu Hua reminded him, "I can give you at most ten more days to handle it yourself."

Yang Bao breathed a sigh of relief and quickly stood up to express his gratitude.

He was not annoyed that Yu Hua called him by his nickname. They were both under Sima Yue's command, and Yu Hua was older and held a higher position than him. He had taught him a lesson many times, and now he needed help.

"Is this manor well managed?" Yu Hua asked, pointing to the distance.

It was a dilapidated manor.

The dilapidated state only affected the houses, for there were only a few hundred households and not enough space for so many houses, so no one was too lazy to repair them and they were left to be eroded by wind and rain.

Several hundred households came from Hongnong. They were Wang Mi's surrendered soldiers and had moved here several years ago.

Most people were unmarried, with one man or one person in each household. Less than two hundred people were married, and they married widows from Pingyang. The entire manor had only more than 1,300 people.

In terms of their composition, they were all garrison soldiers. They followed the garrison commander to cultivate the land somewhere, had no personal freedom, and were not much different from hereditary soldiers. The only difference was that they did not have to implement the "endogamy system" and could marry ordinary people.

The military farming army had made contributions and had been on many expeditions. Many of them had been turned into civilians, which was considered a relief. For example, the former Luyang military farming army was extremely large, with more than 10,000 households and nearly 30,000 people, but now they are all civilians.

As of the ninth year of the Shengui reign (325), there were still ten military garrisons in Yingyang, Langling, Xiping, etc., with a total of more than 35900 households and more than 88700 people, cultivating about hectares of farmland, and another to hectares of grassland, forests, and ponds.

These people were previously under the jurisdiction of Yang Bao, the General of Revenue, and were the second largest force under him, after the troop transports under the jurisdiction of the various lieutenants of the Revenue.

So, Yang Bao, without making any noise, actually holds enormous power and is very profitable.

Yu Hua had always been greedy for money, and he knew all the ways to make money, and he knew all the twists and turns involved.

He didn't want to fall out with Yang Bao on the spot, so he gave him ten days within the scope of his authority to make up for the deficit that should be made up. As for what could not be made up, he would not jump into the pit and take over the mess anyway.

"This manor can be delivered today." Yang Bao said happily.

"Are there any missing grain, cloth, equipment, and personnel?" Yu Hua asked.

"Not a small amount." Yang Bao assured, patting his chest.

The first three are not a problem. The deficit is mainly in personnel, because there are so many people who have fled that it is a bit difficult to explain.

Most of them were captured. They had no wives and children, no personal freedom, no private land and houses of their own. They missed their hometowns and had to go to the battlefield as cannon fodder. There was no pension if they died. How could they not escape?
Yang Bao originally thought that he would "settle the account" the next time he went out to fight, report a major defeat, or go to Wu to snatch some people back - the military farming troops were often mobilized to go south to the Huai River to guard against the Wu troops.

Unfortunately, before he could wait, the military farm troops were about to be handed over to the Shaofu.

"Don't say I didn't warn you." Yu Hua pointed his finger at Yang Bao's chest and said, "The king knows all about your bad deeds. He just gave you a break because of your hard work and contributions and because you have been following him for many years. Otherwise, why do you think the Tuntian Army was transferred to the Shaofu for no reason?"

"Yes." It was a cold day, and Yang Bao couldn't help but wipe the sweat from his forehead.

Yu Hua nodded, asked his followers to heat a pot of wine, and waited leisurely.

Of course, this was not the only reason why the Tuntian Army was transferred to the Shaofu.

The Military Equipment Inspectorate was established last year, and the Shaofu no longer manages the manufacture of military equipment.

According to Shao Xun's plan, this department would become his purse and a supplementary source when finances were insufficient.

Yang Bao, the Lieutenant General of the Imperial Revenue, transferred ten garrison troops.

Yin Xian, the Minister of Agriculture, handed over all the imperial gardens and the Ministry of Finance.

Yuanlin, as the name suggests: gardens and forests.

Specifically, the old forbidden garden in the northwest of Luoyang City has been surrounded by a low wooden fence with a circumference of more than 200 miles and was named "Xiyuan".

There is also a garden to the west of Yecheng, with a circumference of more than 100 miles. Shao Xun personally named it "Sangzi Garden" because of the many mulberry forests in the area - it is not the Sangzi Garden of Xiangguo.

To the west of Pingyang there is the "Shanglin Garden", which is over a hundred miles in circumference and is currently managed by the king's eldest son Shao Zhang.

Zuoguo City to the north of Lishi also enclosed a piece of land with little flat land and many mountains and forests, with a circumference of 150 miles, and was named "Zuoguo Garden".

There are the remains of Gyeongbokgung Palace in the southeast of Xuchang, with a circumference of fifteen miles, and was named "Gyeongbokgung Garden".

The last one is Guangchengze, which is the largest and has the most people, and is named "Guangchengyuan".

As for the Tongjue Garden in Yecheng, the Hualin Garden in Luoyang, and the Hualin Garden in Pingyang, they were small in size and not worth paying much attention to, so they were all given to the Shaofu for management. Some of these gardens were deserted, such as the West Garden near Luoyang, where a group of deer were violent, escaped from the fence, and ate the young crops, which showed that no one was managing them.

Some are managed by people, a typical example being Guangchengyuan.

These six gardens in the wild can be a great fortune if well managed.

As for the management staff, they naturally came from the military farming army.

Yes, the military farms will be relocated again, and one third of them will become "gardeners" directly under the jurisdiction of the Shaofu, and will be dispersed among the six major gardens, farming, grazing, raising fish, and collecting for the Shaofu. They will not have to go to the battlefields, and the Shaofu will also find some war widows to help them start a family.

If you calculate carefully, this income is actually quite large. It can contribute hundreds of thousands of hu of grain every year, as well as an incalculable number of fruits, vegetables, fish, shrimp, leather, cloth, meat, milk, medicinal materials, wood, bamboo strips, cattail mats and other items.

The needs of the court's sacrifices and banquets were all provided by the Shaofu, and most of the rest could be used to reward military generals and officials. Especially Shao's favorite students, they were often summoned to eat and drink, and the leftovers were packed up and taken home. When they left, they were also given a cart of gifts. From now on, all of this was paid for by the Shaofu.

This kind of thing was not invented by Shao Xun.

The finances of the Northern and Southern Dynasties were in chaos, and officials had to work long hours at their own expense. Even during the reign of Emperor Taizong of Tang, banquets were still often held, and the emperor would find an excuse to reward officials with gifts to make up for the shortfall in official salaries. Don't laugh, he even gave away onions and peppers as rewards.

In an era when precious metals were scarce and paper money could not be issued, it was normal for officials' salaries to be paid in kind.

What Yu Hua received were real properties, which came from the former Wang's manor in Pi County - now converted into salary fields and official fields, cultivated by official slaves.

After drinking half a pot of wine, he was already a little tipsy.

At this time, the manor was handed over, and Cao Yi, the former material officer and current Shaofu Shaojian (fifth rank), stepped forward.

Yu Hua understood, stood up and walked a few steps. Cao Yi whispered something in his ear and took out a stack of documents to show him.

After a while, Yu Hua came back, sat down again, and said, "It's all right. The food, equipment, and people are all right. This group of people will be sent to Luoyang West Garden in a while."

"Yes." Yang Bao actually stood there waiting for him. He was relieved after hearing this and asked, "How do we deal with the land and houses here?"

"Maybe they sold it to the honorable officials at a low price." Yu Hua sighed and said, "The king is too good to them."

The Left Cavalry Guard (Luonan Prefecture Soldiers) was established very early. Some of their soldiers died in the years of war, and some of their sons and nephews replaced them, but there are still many old soldiers around 40 years old.

They get married neither early nor late, and most of them have children in their teens or twenties.

What can a father do? He can't just give all the 200 acres of land to the son who will inherit his position as a soldier, and leave the others to starve, right? Obviously not.

Therefore, selling the land to the old soldiers at a price far below the market price so that they have more land to distribute is a good thing for both the country and the people.

In the State of Yu, the next generation of soldiers have sufficient land output and can still maintain a certain level of combat effectiveness, delaying the decline of the soldiers.

For the people, it eased the contradiction between the large number of people and the small amount of land in the families of government soldiers, allowing them to benefit and maintain their living standards.

Of course, this is only limited to the Luonan area where land resources are relatively tight. For other places, especially the soldiers in Changshan, Zhongshan and other places, there is no need to do so. There is too much land, so they can just allocate it nearby.

"What you said is absolutely right. It's very good for military strategists." Regardless of his identity as a military strategist, Yang Bao followed Yu Hua's words.

Yu Hua sneered and said, "Forget about it today. Go home and have a rest. We will go to another place to make the transaction tomorrow. You lead the way."

"Okay." Yang Bao nodded repeatedly.

Although Yu Hua was not in a good mood towards him, his men still slowed down and gave him time to piece together the situation.

Alas, it is not easy to be an official. Without a backer, you are nothing. I can kill you if I say so.

I guess I have to get closer to the Yu family in the future so that I can enjoy the shade under the big tree.

It was when he heard that Prime Minister Yu Chen fell ill again during the New Year that made him hesitant.

Can Yu Chen hold on with this body?

If he is not here, who will take over?
According to recent rumors, there are roughly three candidates: the first is Wang Yan to take over and serve as a transitional period for a few years; the second is Yuzhou Governor Chu Huo; and the third is Xuzhou Governor Yu Liang.

I heard that Shangshu Ling Pei Miao was also vying for the position, but his health was not much better than Yu Chen's, and it looked like he was about to die...

Your mother is a servant! It is even more depressing than the war.

Yang Bao thought for a long time and was undecided until Tian Gui, the commander of the Pingyang Duzhi Army, brought him the handover register.

Tian Gui was also an old man. He was the nephew of Tian Hui, the chief clerk of Sima Hu, the former King of Fanyang. He was from Youzhou and had close relations with a group of beggars in Hebei.

When Prince Liang was still the Duke of Chen, this man entered the palace as a servant. Later, he made great contributions in recruiting the Qihuo Army and was promoted all the way. Now he is the Pingyang Duzhi Cavalry Captain (sixth rank).

He had not been here long. He was sent here by King Liang to replace his predecessor who had resigned and returned home due to his father's death.

Yang Bao was a little wary of him, after all, he was not familiar with him, but on the surface he was still okay with him because Tian Gui represented King Liang.

"All right." Yang Bao glanced through the register and said, "After handing over this manor, I feel relieved. Let's go back to the government office first and go to Gaoxian tomorrow."

Tian Gui silently responded "yes".

(End of this chapter)