Reborn South Africa as a police officer

Chapter 661 Shortsighted

There is a large vegetable field in front of the old Zhang’s house, with an area of ​​about half an mu, which is also standard on Chinese farms in Africa.

Cucumbers and watermelons are the most common. Cucumbers can grow as thick as an adult's wrist. Although the taste is not very good, they are large and full of water. There is nothing to be picky about in southern Africa.

Any watermelon here is more than 20 catties, and the sugar content is very high, so sweet that it makes people feel greasy. The most important thing is that this place is located near the equator, and the temperature is very high all year round, so there are watermelons all year round, and watermelons are also in Nyasaland. People's favorite fruit.

The output of tomatoes and cabbage is also very high. You don’t need to grow too much onion, ginger and garlic. You can’t eat it all if you plant a little bit. Every household here has a vegetable plot, so you can’t give it away, let alone worry about someone stealing it. Old Zhang’s All kinds of dried fish and bacon are even hung directly in the corridor. The only thing to guard against is the cats at home, so they should be hung higher.

The dried fish in the North Sea is now a well-known specialty, perhaps because of the thorns on the fish, so before the Chinese came to the North Sea, the Africans here did not have the habit of eating fish at all. As a result, the fish in the North Sea was a bit flooded. They all weigh more than ten catties and tens of catties, and catching one is enough to feed a family for a day.

The Chinese are so smart in this regard. If they can’t finish the fish they catch, they will make it into dried fish. The Rhodesian canning company will buy it regularly, which is another huge income.

As for bacon, it is not the pigs raised at home, but all kinds of wild animals. The North Sea Police and the garrison will regularly organize the planned killing of wild animals. They always come here once or twice a year. It will be wasted, and the fur will be sold to merchants after tanning, and the worthless meat will belong to the participating farmers.

For each operation, each family can get at least a few hundred catties of meat. If such a large amount of meat is not processed in time, it will deteriorate in the hot weather in the afternoon. If it is white or African, it is really helpless. Decay is magical.

"It's really—" Viscount Gladstone looked at the dozens of large and small jars in the granary and didn't know how to evaluate them. The biggest jar was taller than a person and couldn't be carried by one person, and the smallest jar was even bigger than the ones carried in cars. The barrel is big.

The jars are full of salted duck eggs and goose eggs. These duck eggs and goose eggs are the favorite of soldiers and policemen in southern Africa. Those soldiers and policemen would rather eat salted duck eggs than luncheon meat. Evidence of extravagance.

Don't forget that in Europe, even in the UK, there are still many people who don't have enough to eat.

"In Nyasaland, as long as you are willing to work, you can get the life you dream of. We are not building a garden of Eden that everyone yearns for, but a strong country. Lazy people cannot survive in Nyasaland .” Rock is very satisfied, it is precisely because of countless such ordinary families that the current Nyasaland has been achieved.

"Yes, we don't need lazy people." Viscount Gladstone thought for a while, and then suddenly thought of a very serious question: "How much tax does a family like this have to pay every year?"

tax!

Of course, the Nyasaland state government collects taxes, but most of them are commercial taxes, and agricultural taxes are so small that they can be ignored. A family like Lao Zhang only needs to pay taxes when they sell agricultural products, and the proportion is very low. About 5.00%, others such as poll tax and property tax do not exist in Nyasaland.

"Families immigrating to Nyasaland do not need to pay taxes for the first five years. After five years, they will pay taxes according to the regulations of the State Administration of Taxation. There will be no loss." Of course, Rock is unselfish at this time. A family like Lao Zhang , in the UK, it is almost at the level of the middle class, if you don’t pay a penny of tax.

It can only show that the work of the State Administration of Taxation is not qualified.

This answer obviously did not satisfy Viscount Gladstone, so Rock continued to add: "Nyasaland has no poll tax and property tax, and the form of taxation is more hidden than other states, such as motorcycles, when they leave the factory The tax has already been paid, and then the tax will be paid again when it is sold in the market. When the farmers buy the motorcycle home, the gasoline they use has also been taxed. These taxes are cumulative, although not as good as the poll tax So direct, but the method is more hidden, and the income is more stable, which is more beneficial to the economic development of Nyasaland.”

Viscount Gladstone's complexion finally improved. Compared with Nyasaland, the tax collection level of other states is judged to be higher.

In Natal, the largest tax source is the poll tax.

In the Transvaal, the municipality's largest revenue comes from the gold trade in Johannesburg.

In Cape Town, as more and more ocean freighters choose the Suez Canal, Cape Town's status is being reduced.

According to the provisions of the federal government, states can enact their own laws without violating the Federal Constitution.

Nyasaland's situation is a bit special, and it is different from the situation in other states. The prerequisite for Nyasaland's agreement to join the federal government was that the federal government recognized Roque's ownership of Nyasaland. The Constitution does not impose much constraints on Nyasaland.

However, in order to support Ada's work, Roque is still reasonable in this regard. The tax that should be paid to the federal government is a lot. Of course, don't expect Roque to carry forward his style. Roque is not polite when he changes to legal tax avoidance.

Anyway, the General Administration of Taxation does not check the accounts of the Nyasaland State Government.

Although Viscount Gladstone is the Governor of Southern Africa, Viscount Gladstone has no say in the actual affairs of Southern Africa. However, the strength shown by Nyasaland still makes Viscount Gladstone secretly startled. For the inspection arranged, Viscount Gladstone also decided to go to ordinary people's homes on an impromptu basis.

It was precisely because he hadn't prepared in advance that Viscount Gladstone could be sure that what he saw was the real Nyasaland.

Such a real Nyasaland surprised Viscount Gladstone even more.

Back on the Viscount, Viscount Gladstone fell silent, and then all the way to Ulysses, Viscount Gladstone was a little sullen.

Ulysses is home to the headquarters of the North Sea Police.

In the current North Sea Police, there are four marine police ships with a displacement of more than [-] tons, and [-] marine police ships with a displacement of more than [-] tons. form an overwhelming advantage.

Unlike the Viscount, the large police ship of the North Sea Police is equipped with a 75mm cannon. The basic structure of this cannon is similar to that of the French "Miss Seventy-Five", but the barrel is longer and the range is longer. bigger.

The previous shore inspection was a temporary initiative. When they arrived in Ulysses, the city government had already made preparations to welcome Viscount Gladstone and Roque. All the marine police ships that had not gone to sea were dispatched and lined up beside the port to greet them. This scene surprised Viscount Gladstone even more.

"The Nyasaland Shipyard is already capable of producing naval destroyers, right?" Viscount Gladstone clearly had an idea.

"Water police ship—" Rock's explanation was obviously weak.

"The tonnage of the new destroyer built by the Admiralty is only [-] tons." Viscount Gladstone still knows the navy very well. The Admiralty here must also be the British Admiralty. There is no such institution as the Admiralty in southern Africa.

What Viscount Gladstone was talking about was the tribal-class destroyer that the British Navy had just commissioned. This destroyer has a tonnage of less than a thousand tons and can run at a top speed of 35 knots, but its endurance and seaworthiness are a bit poor.

Of course, this "a bit poor" is in Rock's view. In Rock's eyes, the current dreadnoughts and destroyers are "a bit poor". Come on, it is a nearly perfect destroyer, at least in terms of appearance.

Except no torpedo launchers.

The biggest feature of warships in this era is the flat bow like a knife cut. At least the bow of the North Sea Police Marine Police Ship has used a straight-forward bow, which is more impactful in terms of shape and more powerful. Sense of speed.

Of course, Roque would not explain that the biggest function of the straight-forward bow is to increase the deck area, which can carry more weapons, and the waves are not easy to rush onto the deck. In the event of a hull collision, the waterline will not be damaged. And it can adapt to more sea conditions.

Looking at it this way, it is actually just a piece of common sense, and it brings a lot of benefits.

"I almost forgot, is the cruiser at the Port Edward Shipyard finished?" Only then did Viscount Gladstone recall the strength of the Port Edward Shipyard.

"Not yet. Just after laying the keel, I found that there is a problem with the design, so I am revising the design drawing now." Rock said half and half.

It is true that the cruiser stopped construction as soon as the keel was laid, but the reason was not because of problems with the design drawings, but because of the emergence of new technologies, the previous design standards no longer met Rock's requirements, so the design drawings were revised again.

Of course, this reason is heard by Viscount Gladstone, and it must be that the Port Edward Shipyard is not strong enough.

"You should seek help from the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard." Viscount Gladstone actively helped Roque find a way. The progress of the Southern African Navy is also the progress of the British Empire Navy, even if Southern Africa cannot build large warships like dreadnoughts The ability to build cruisers and destroyers is also a powerful help to the ongoing arms race between Britain and Germany.

A large-scale war requires not only the final decision of the dreadnought ship, but also an escort formation composed of countless destroyers and cruisers.

Therefore, the inability to build dreadnoughts in southern Africa is not only a shortcoming for Viscount Gladstone, but a good thing, so that the British Navy can maintain an advantage over the future southern African navy, which is what Viscount Gladstone cares most about.

"I found it, but it's a pity they ignored me." Rock said helplessly, the British navy is definitely the most stubborn group of people in the world.

"Short-sighted!" Viscount Gladstone was heartbroken.

(End of this chapter)