Survival Three Kingdoms

Chapter 306

"Advances can be made, but they will be deducted in the next year. If the Finance and Taxation Department exceeds the overall amount, you can borrow from a commercial bank, but you will have to repay the loan. Both advances and borrowings will be counted as half interest, and the State Shepherd's Mansion is no exception." Zhou Cang replied, "However, commercial banks are not allowed to borrow from outsiders for the time being. If there is a war that requires additional military expenditures, the Chief of Staff will raise additional funds."

Zhou Cang explained the general strategy, and everyone wrote it down one by one, and it would take a long time to digest it when they went back. "It's the end of June now, and I'll give you three months to come up with the relevant regulations. We'll discuss it again, and we'll start to gradually implement it next year."

Although there is a lot of pressure, considering that there is still half a year to go, it seems that there is still hope for completion.

"Furthermore, Xuzhou officials and governors, no matter how big or small, are not allowed to engage in business for profit, and are not allowed to use their power to seek personal gain for their clansmen. If I learn that someone digs a corner in Xuzhou and turns their elbows outward, don't blame me for being ruthless! Zhou Xi, Supervision Department Keep your eyes open and watch the door for me." Zhou Cang coughed a few times: "The ancients said: Traveling a hundred miles and a half ninety. It is difficult to start a business, and it is even more difficult to maintain a business. It seems that we can breathe a sigh of relief when we get Xuzhou, but we must know that there is a long way to go. Be prepared for danger in times of peace."

"My lord, manpower is what each department lacks the most. Although this budget system is good, it requires a large number of people to plan and execute." Zhang Shuang mentioned a very practical problem.

"Although this is a problem, don't worry. The big exam is just around the corner, and a group of talents can be selected immediately. At that time, each department will give priority to selection. However, each department should not expect to fill it all at once. First calculate the gap in personnel and report to the Department of Civil Affairs. "Zhou Cang has long been prepared for this issue, otherwise he would not throw out the budget system now.

Zhang Shuang and Su Ping looked at each other and said, "My lord, there is still one thing we don't know, and I have always wanted to ask the lord for advice. Now that Xuzhou is stable, the weather is good, and the harvest has been bumper in the past two years. It is reasonable that the market price should drop, but The market price has risen instead of falling, which is puzzling.”

Inflation?Zhou Cang was taken aback. "What do you mean by price?"

"First of all, the price of food. It is very strange that the price of food has risen. In other words, the price of food is raised by the commercial banks. The reason is that the prices of other commodities have risen. In order to avoid damage to the farmers, the commercial banks have no choice but to increase the purchase price. The prices of other commodities have risen: one is Housing prices, a large number of people are pouring into Xuzhou, although Xuzhou is not expensive, the money that can buy a house the year before last can only buy two rooms now. The second is cloth and various products, the output has increased, and the price should be cheaper We thought about it, could it be that the people in Xuzhou are rich, and the price rises because of more money? Will increasing the commercial tax cause the price to continue to rise? "

Zhou Cang has a bit of a headache about complex economic issues. Even in modern times, this issue is still a topic of debate among scholars, and he has never been able to come up with an effective solution.In the past few years, a large amount of money has flowed into Xuzhou. The market in Xuzhou has to digest it, either there is enough commodity support, or there is a shortage of materials and rising prices.The increase of commodities requires a large number of people to produce them. If the income of these people increases beyond the income of grain, the peasants will give up their land and become handicraftsmen. Therefore, they have to raise the price of grain, and grain is the basis of all commodities. Kind of vicious circle.Could it be that inflation is about to begin to appear in Xuzhou now?
External expansion and transfer is also a way, but that is at least a strategy that can be adopted after a year.Zhou Cang thought for a long time. Except for Zhang Shuang, Su Ping, Zhang Jin, and Mi Fang who understand the importance of price in governance, the others don't know anything about it.On the surface, he was listening attentively, but actually he was thinking about the errands arranged by Zhou Cang.

"Increasing prices are inevitable. Except for housing prices, will other goods increase significantly?" Zhou Cang asked.

"Other gains have been slower, but we don't think they can be ignored."

"It's okay, it's okay." Zhou Cang breathed a sigh of relief.As long as the rise is not too outrageous, it can be curbed for the time being. The officials who are businessmen under him have done a good job. They discovered the signs earlier and avoided being passive in the future. In the future, the gold from the gold mine will be put into the market. What will the price be? One can imagine. "There is still time."

"I plan to set up an Economics Department in addition to the Finance and Taxation Department and the Commercial Bank, which will be responsible for regulating the future economy, including property production and price evaluation. Zifang, your home is a merchant, so you must have experience with it." Zhou Cang said to Mi Fang Said, "The economic department will not be established for the time being, you first do some preliminary preparations and planning."

"Yes, how to operate it, please give me some advice, my lord." Mi Fang was very happy to be reused, but she didn't know what to do, and felt a little uneasy.Under Zhou Cang, there are too many new things. The first staff department and the current economic department are unheard of.

"Well, let's start with the industrial layout first, and you can use it as a reference in the future." Zhou Cang said, he didn't care whether others could understand what an industry was. "Zhang Jin, the Xuzhou commercial bank is already very large. It has set up a head office in Xuzhou and has several small commercial banks under it. The head office is your big shopkeeper, and the small commercial banks you arrange small shopkeepers. The Xuzhou headquarters is responsible for managing these small commercial banks and their accounts. Small Commercial firms can be divided into several types. For example, a wine store can be located in Xiapi, a salt store can be located in Guangling, a paper-making store can be located in Langya, etc. You can discuss the specific locations. In short, one cannot be in the Xuzhou government office, and the other is that it should be nearby. The origin of raw materials, and the third is convenience and transportation. Small businesses can set up small shops in various states and counties or jointly set up shops."

"Wonderful!" Mi Fang and Zhang Jin said in unison.This is equivalent to the diversion of industries, and it will also form a diversion of personnel, and the pressure on the Xuzhou administrative office will be weakened.Mi Fang also understood that one of the tasks of the Economic Department is to make a good layout of business and production, neither too concentrated nor too scattered.

"Now Xuzhou's financial resources are mainly grain, salt, wine, and paper. When doing foreign trade, commercial banks should pay attention to what other areas need. We can achieve it by improving the technology, and strive to increase a few more financial resources."

"Wonderful!" The two said again.Mi Fang quickly wrote it down, and there is another job to focus on the market to create goods, or to control the types of goods.

"Grain is not sold externally, but salt, wine, and paper will generate huge profits." Zhou Cang said again, "But a small part of these profits will be brought back to Xuzhou in cash, and the rest of the income will be exchanged for goods and shipped back from various places. It doesn’t matter if you spend more money on other needs of each department, such as iron, medicinal materials, wood, cattle, and silk cloth, but it must be what Xuzhou needs, and you can even negotiate with Jiangdong to buy ships. As for luxury goods such as gold, silver and jade, No, it’s not useful. After these goods are shipped back, they can be discounted to the Finance and Taxation Department as an expense, and the Finance and Taxation Department can still count them as expenses for each department, but the accounts must be clear.”

"Understood!" Mi Fang wrote down again, the third job is to barter to adjust the supply of goods in Xuzhou, and the external income and expenditure are roughly balanced with a slight surplus.

Too much money is not a good thing?
(End of this chapter)