Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 1194

On April 1659, 4, the building of the Army Department in Chengguan Town, Dongfang County.

The bright sunlight shone through the glass windows on an old-fashioned Paraná pine desk. Mo Ming, Minister of the Army and Chief of the General Staff of the National Armed Forces, had just finished taking a nap.He is less than 50 years old this year, and he is in the golden age of a political figure. He frequently fights with the civil servant faction on the executive committee, and at the same time, through the association organization of the National Power Alliance, he has a certain appeal among the cross-travelers. ——That's not counting, because of its special experience and some governance concepts, there are also a large number of supporters among the young army officers.

Such a dazzling figure, no wonder the white shirts have been very vigilant!

Chief of the General Staff Mo, wearing a black hat with a big black brim, is not like Peng Zhicheng, Liao Meng and other veterans of the army who had savage faces or fierce faces. His fair skin and delicate eyebrows reveal the demeanor of some Confucian generals—this is actually the East Bank of today. It is a trend in the development of the army. After a large number of "vulgar warriors" (civilian language) in the early days gradually faded out of the army, most of the newly emerging middle-level officers in the army system are the so-called Confucian generals who have been trained for many years and know the past and the present. A few radical military officers who are murderous on weekdays, their articles and speeches are also full of quite fashionable political labels such as "mercantilism" and "capitalism"-such new-age military officers, it is probably easy for them to lose their lives after middle age. Become a politician.

"You already know the message from the Frenchman, right?" After taking a sip of the tea, Mo Ming looked up at the middle-aged man sitting in front of him.

Gendarmerie Commander Putin is over 50 years old this year. Perhaps because he has been engaged in intelligence work for a long time, his face looks a little pale, and his brows and eyes are also a little sinister and cruel—but in front of the powerful Chief of Staff Mo However, Putin's complexion is still relatively "soft", not like the facial paralysis when he faces his subordinates with a straight face on weekdays.

"I know, the analysis report written by the National Intelligence Agency also sent me a copy, and I also read it." Putin, wearing the uniform of a major in the army, immediately replied: "It seems that the French really want to end the war as soon as possible." Yes, after all, after so many years of war (France also spent a lot of money to subsidize other warring countries before joining the war), it is certain that they will encounter great financial difficulties. Otherwise, with their temperament, they have to go to Madrid to sign an alliance under the city. But now, although the Spaniards have suffered a series of disastrous defeats, they may not be without a fight, and France has reached the end of its battle and urgently needs to make up for the financial hole caused by huge military expenditures. Therefore, the two sides are indeed willing to negotiate peace. However With our assistance, the Spaniards have slightly recovered their local armaments. Although they are still afraid of France, they have not yet reached the point of full surrender. Therefore, it may be difficult for the French to obtain the conditions they expected, such as indemnity and land cession. Therefore, They put their ideas on us, but it seems that they have found the wrong person? Why do I think that the Dutch, Christians, and Jews are the biggest benefactors of the Kingdom of Spain? It’s just a second-tier echelon…”

"Bankers in the Netherlands and Italy provide money, and we provide military funds. In the eyes of the French, we may be even more hateful." Mo Ming took a sip of tea and said slowly: "It doesn't matter, the French want to We stopped exporting military supplies and food to Spain, but we couldn't give enough chips of sincerity. Mazaran thought France was a sweet pastry, and everyone wanted to form a "rare friendship" with it? We also cherish our relationship with France more As for the friendship of Spain, after all, there are real interests in it, so what is France!"

"Boss Mo, don't worry if you think so much about the brothers." Puting breathed an exaggerated sigh, twitched the corners of his mouth and said with a "smile": "President Liu of Nantie had dinner with his brothers a while ago, and he also mentioned the trade in Peru. It is the foundation of the Southern Railway Company and its affiliates. If the business is greatly reduced because of the evil of Spain, no one can take such responsibility. I heard that the guys in the navy are also strongly opposed to worsening relations with Spain. It’s even worse for Air Canada, which has just started trading in the New Spain market, and if the relationship with Spain deteriorates in an all-round way, even if the trade is not interrupted, the business will definitely be greatly affected, which is intolerable to them.”

"In two days, this matter will be discussed by the executive committee. I also think there is not much suspense. No one likes France, but too many people like Spain. The situation is already clear. The French are doomed to come here in vain. , unless they can come up with a condition that we can't refuse. I searched carefully, but unfortunately, they don't have any." Mo Ming calmly announced the failure of the French efforts. For this reason, France may have to continue to pay thousands of dollars The lives of tens of thousands of soldiers and military expenditures amounting to more than [-] million livres.

After talking about the French, Mo Ming was silent for a while, and then said: "What about Major General Harrison?"

"The army has little interest in intervening in the British Civil War, mainly because the officer corps headed by Major General Lambert charges too much. Moreover, many people in the Admiralty support the faction of aiding the weak British officer corps to weaken the British Strength, this has strengthened the determination of many middle-level officers in the Ministry of War. Everyone said that the Navy wanted to encourage the Executive Committee to spend 300 million yuan a year to support the British Civil War. Influence!" Puting's inquiring news made Mo Ming smile, the navy really hit the iron plate this time, what are you kidding, 300 million per year?Get out!The military department is now the army's final say!

"Major General Harrison heard that the day before yesterday he had moved out of the British's Golden Deer Shop and lived in the Navy Club, accompanied by naval officers all day long. Moreover, Minister Li Yi has frequently been in and out of the mansions of Chairman Qiang and other senior officials recently. It seems that they want to reverse the position of some committee members so that everyone agrees to assist the faction of the British officer corps.” Putin reported cautiously, “Their biggest obstacle now is that the British are asking for too much money, and the Ministry of Finance has also clearly pointed out that now It is impossible to take out a huge amount of 300 million yuan to go to the UK to 'do nothing'. People in the navy seem to be seeking a compromise solution, that is, to reduce the amount of annual aid and delay the defeat of the officer corps faction, which seems to have caused Interest from some commissioners."

"It's wishful thinking!" Mo Ming commented, "Don't these people know how difficult our country's finances are now? It's just playing the piano! The matter of aiding the British officer corps, or don't do it, if you want to do it, don't be afraid to spend money. Even if it costs 300 million or 500 million a year, we must resolutely stand up and fight the civil war. But how can we have this money now? So we should not do it at all, lest Britain will be completely hostile to us now and cause some unnecessary losses. With me here, the Navy's perverse actions will not succeed, these people are simply in a daze."

话说随着东岸工农业的发展以及人口的日渐增多——这意味着税基的扩大——最近几年东岸政府的财政收入是越来越高了，据财政部的统计，1657-1658税收年度全年可征收契税1万元、营业税18。9万元、消费税31万元、个人所得税33。6万元、关税39。2万元、动产税64。8万元、不动产税107。4万元，合计295。9万元。

Of course, the above figures are only theoretical figures. In reality, due to the lack of tax collectors and the difficulty in collecting the two main types of taxes (accounting for 58% of the total tax revenue), this figure will be greatly discounted.Don't you see, in the vast inland rural areas, farmers are very resistant to the collection of movable property tax and real property tax. Coupled with the collusion between tax collectors and grassroots rural officials, the tax allocation is extremely unreasonable, which aggravates the resentment and grievances among the people. Social turmoil has resulted in a large number of arrears of movable property tax and real property tax several years ago. The total amount has reached more than 2 million yuan.

Fortunately, the existence of a large number of state-owned enterprises has greatly supplemented the government's fiscal revenue. They not only pay various taxes and fees normally (there is no need for state-owned enterprises to evade taxes), but also pay a certain percentage of profits every year according to regulations, which makes the government's actual fiscal revenue. After deducting the arrears and unpaid taxes, when the Government Council formulated the financial budget in 1659, the available funds had reached as much as 455 million yuan, which was finally able to maintain the normal operation of the government.

The 455 million yuan of funds sounds like a lot, but you must know that the stalls of the East Coast government are also large, and the pits dug in the past few years are also too large (bonds issued for loans to Spain are entering the redemption period one after another) , which led to a certain degree of financial difficulty.In addition, now that they have received news that less than 50 Ming immigrants have been captured in the Blackwater region of the Far East, this year the Government Administration Council began to make preparations in advance, that is, to increase investment in immigration transportation, resettlement, and immigration production guidance. It also consumed a large amount of financial expenditure, which led the Executive Committee to not only publicly issue bonds in the Qingdao and West Lake markets, but also secretly printed a lot of money (this will inevitably lead to inflation).

Therefore, you can see how it is possible for such a "poor" executive committee to spend a large sum of money—it is still as much as 300 million yuan—to aid a shitty European country thousands of miles away to fight a civil war?Just for the illusory future prospects?I'm sorry, the concubine can't do it!It is completely powerless!

Therefore, what Mo Ming is saying now is actually the attitude of most members of the executive committee: it is not feasible to aid Britain in the civil war!

(End of this chapter)