Chapter 203 The President’s concern for the people (please vote for me!)

The sun and the moon flow forward like water, and they cannot stay. Autumn passes and winter comes, and winter passes and spring comes again.

As the President of the Republic of China, Yuan Shikai was busy with all kinds of troubles. The feeling of having the power over the whole country was really wonderful, but it was really annoying. Yuan Shikai, who lived in Jurentang, Zhongnanhai, felt like he was in a cold place.

It seems to be extremely unstable, hot and cold, changing day by day, and sometimes going against the seasons. It can be said that life has no order.

No, I met with the Minister of Industry and Commerce Zhang Jian in Jurentang in the middle of the night. The two talked for four or five hours starting in the afternoon and ended at nearly nine o'clock. Although Zhang Jian was there, Yuan Shikai talked from time to time.

He yawned, but now that he was gone, Yuan Shikai no longer felt sleepy as before.

“To handle affairs in a county, one must have a provincial perspective; to handle provincial affairs, one must have a national perspective; to handle national affairs, one must have a global perspective.”

Thinking of Zhang Jizhi's words, Yuan Shikai frowned, and then remembered the plan to "relieve Huaihe River through transportation" that he mentioned when talking to Zhang Jizhi earlier. Although that plan really made him excited, but...

.

"Without spending a single dollar from the central government, the Huaihe River's century-old problem can be solved and benefit 80 million people along the coast."

When he said this sentence, Yuan Shikai raised his eyes slightly and looked at Liang Shiyi. He was the secretary of the Presidential Office. It was for this reason that he was called here at this time.

"It is true that the president does not cost the central government a single dollar, but he robs the local government of millions of cents. Zhang Jizhen's abacus is really accurate."

Although he only heard what the president said, Liang Shiyi still smelled it. Here and there, "using transportation to help the Huaihe River" was basically "controlling the Huaihe River without making any adjustments." Could this idea be his Zhang Jizhi's idea? I'm afraid it was this trip.

Go to Lianyungang for the harvest

"Lijin belongs to the local area. If it spends huge sums of money to connect the Grand Canal and exempts it from the levy along the way on the grounds of unified management of the river basin, it will undoubtedly be poaching the flesh of the local area."

When Liang Shiyi was digging for local meat, both he and Yuan Shikai were thinking about the origin of lijin. In the fourth year of Xianfeng, in order to raise military expenses for pacifying the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, the local government levied lijin. Lijin was originally a temporary war finance.

Then, once the war is over, it should be stopped immediately. However, a common situation in Chinese history is that once a levy is started and the government tastes its sweetness, it is impossible to cancel it on its own initiative. After the Taiping War, Lijin has become

Not only is it impossible to cancel a large amount of local government revenue, but it has also become more severe and vicious.

The most important thing is not that centimeters continue to be levied, but that the Manchu Qing Dynasty originally implemented a strict centralized system, and local governments did not have independent financial rights. With the collection of centimeters, local governments can withhold 80 centimeters for use, and local governments sit on the basis of centimeters.

This in turn stimulated the enthusiasm of local authorities or officials to set up checkpoints to collect taxes in their own territories. The income of lijin was also rising steadily. By the third year of Xuantong, the income of lijin was 43 million taels, which was a tripartite with the land tax and customs.

The three major incomes are established.

On the other hand, collecting taxes at customs and levying lijin when encountering obstacles has long been a huge obstacle to China's economic development. Chinese businessmen and even foreign powers hated the lijin system. In the late Qing Dynasty, there were plans to abolish the lijin system, but it was not until the end of the Qing Dynasty that the lijin system was abolished.

After the fall of the Qing Dynasty, the Lijin system remained the same. After the establishment of the Republic of China, local separatism by warlords became more serious, and they relied on Lijin to make a living. Although he knew that the collection of Lijin was the biggest obstacle to China's economic development, Yuan Shikai knew that the resistance to the abolition of Lijin should not be underestimated.

“The meat of the land is dug, but the blood of the people is saved.”

After sighing, Yuan Shikai said to him in a deep tone.

"Yifu, just now Ji Zhi told me that when transporting raw silk from Sichuan to Hankou Customs for shipment and export, in addition to regular taxes, you have to pay a levy once when you leave the province, and you have to pay two levies in disguise, and you have to pay once when you enter Hubei.

Before going to Hankou Pass, you have to pay three more disguised taxes. After loading at Hankou Pass, you have to pay an export tax of 5 yuan. The raw silk that originally cost more than 500 taels per box has increased to more than 700 taels per box after going through many checkpoints.

Even 800 taels, while the export price of each box is only more than a thousand taels, and export sales are squeezed by Japanese silk dealers. The silk factory is almost unable to make ends meet and is about to go bankrupt. If this donation is not wasted, I'm afraid..."

A sigh came from Yuan Shikai's throat. At this moment, he still looked like a thief, but instead he looked like a great president who was worried about the country and the people.

"Yifu, according to customs figures, last year our country's exports were 430 million taels, while imports were more than 640 million taels, and imports were as much as 11 million taels, while raw silk accounted for nearly

30%, or our country’s raw silk exports will go bankrupt due to donations, then..."

Closing his eyes, Yuan Shikai, who looked worried about the country and the people, stopped talking. Liang Shiyi was a shrewd man. Although he was ten years younger than Yuan Shikai, he was a Jinshi after all. He had been close to him for more than ten years, and he knew her well.

He understands that the president may really be "concerned about the country and the people" when he says this, but he is more afraid that he still wants to make a fuss about money. Whether it is the central government or the local government, to put it bluntly, the central government relies on money.

If there is no money, we have to let the local area become stronger. If there is no money in the local area, then it is naturally impossible for the local area to be disloyal. The key to local money is gold.

Therefore, only by abolishing the Lijin and cutting off the financial resources of local governments. All provincial finances are directly allocated by the central government, so that the government can consolidate power and centralize power. Whether tax revenue should be returned to the central government or to local governments seems to be a trivial matter, but it is

It is a major issue related to the concentration and decentralization of central power. When central power is highly concentrated, financial power will never be delegated to local governments.

After thinking about this link, he spoke.

"President, it can be said that the business circles from all over the country have been calling for the abolition of the lijin more than ten years ago, and they indeed wanted to abolish it at the end of the Qing Dynasty. If those people hadn't listened to the slander, I'm afraid that the lijin would be the same as yours.

Cut off”

When Liang Shiyi mentioned this matter, he glanced at Yuan Shikai. He was the one who presided over the "cutting and increasing taxes" in the late Qing Dynasty. However, as soon as it started, the president was driven home.

"No matter how you look at it, this is something that should be done and must be done. I just don't know what the president wants to do?"

"We just established the Communist Party last year, but if we come up now, we will lose a lot of money..."

Yuan Shikai, stroking his beard, looked extremely hesitant.

"Yes, I'm afraid someone will say that President you have broken off our friendship."

How could Liang Shiyi not know the reason why the president said this? The president has just been elected. If he announces the cuts at this time, who knows what kind of disturbance will be caused in the local area. If Sun Huang and others are allowed to

use……

"President, it's actually quite easy to cut the salary."

As the Deputy Minister of Finance, Liang Shiyi would take this opportunity to bring up something that he had always wanted to mention but had no suitable opportunity to do so.

"oh……"

After a slight response, Yuan Shikai said nothing.

"President, ever since the emergence of lithium-ion manufacturing, it has been in conflict with the customs tax, which led to the negotiations on the lithium-ion tax increase when you presided over the New Deal. Didn't the president at that time just see the lithium-ion tax being levied?

The rather heavy domestic tariffs not only severely hindered the circulation of domestic goods, but also hindered the entry of foreign goods. Not only did the interests of domestic merchants suffer, but the interests of foreign merchants were also greatly damaged. In order to safeguard the interests of foreign merchants, the great powers

The tax cut is a condition for tax increase, so the tax cut can rely on external forces."

Yuan Shikai, who was flattered by Liang Shiyi, smiled faintly and said.

"It was my idea to cut the penny and raise taxes. This was Li Zhongtang's idea back then. I was just picking on others' wit..."

"President, no matter what, tariffs can be said to be the largest tax in China now. If we apply the agreed tariffs worth 100%, we can get nearly 60 million taels of tariffs every year. If we can recover the tariffs and use independent taxes,

The annual income is so many billions. President, if you withdraw the tariffs, one is for the needs of the country, and the other is for the appeal of the people, and the tariffs are for the needs of the great powers. If the government can skillfully use these two points, it will be safe..."

"Yifu, cutting off the border, and restoring the customs are all important matters. They should not be done lightly. We need to act steadily. Whether it is cutting off the border or closing the customs, we need to plan it slowly. But now, this Ji Zhi has thrown a difficult problem for me.

"

Turning to what Zhang Jizhi said, Yuan Shikai's heart sank again.

"Moreover, if you say that this idea is Zhang Jizhi's, I don't believe it."

Yuan Shikai touched his head, and then this look flashed in his eyes.

"In the past, Zhang Jizhi kept shouting about controlling the Huaihe River, but he failed to come up with such an idea. Now when he went to Lianyungang, he came up with all kinds of ideas. Isn't this still..."

"President Li Zhiyuan's talent is obvious to all."

Now that the president has spoken out, there is no need for Liang Shiyi to pretend anymore.

"Li Zhiyuan is so talented... Yi Fu, he did it for himself. Only by cutting a few cents can his products be sold throughout the country. This kid didn't dare to take such a risk, so he tried his best to coax Zhang Jizhi out of this problem."

Voice,"

With a faint smile, Yuan Shikai looked somewhat proud.

"That boy, he did this to transport water to the Huaihe River. On the surface, he wanted to help Zhang Jizhi, but on the inside, he wanted to loosen a hole in the canal. If he could loosen a hole in the canal, how could the business community across the country turn a blind eye to this hole?

When the time comes, the business associations that petition, appeal, and call for cuts will be more than just one person per family. They just want to loosen the soil and shake the roots. When the time comes..."

"When the time comes, we will take advantage of the situation. Please use your discretion, President."

Liang Shiyi took over and laughed.

"Then the president will be able to take advantage of the situation."

Yuan Shikai, who was smiling and silent, raised his eyes and glanced at Liang Shiyi.

"Yifu, we don't need a penny from the government to manage the Huaihe River. If this president returns, won't he be blamed?"

When he said this sentence, Yuan Shikai smiled again.

"However, it is not appropriate for Zhang Jizhi to preside over the management of Huaihai as the president of the Water Conservancy Bureau. This..."

Although it was just a casual remark, Liang Shiyi sensed the meaning of the president's words, so he quickly said, "This management matter should be left to people who are good at it. Only in this way can the result be twice the result with half the effort."...
Chapter completed!