Chapter 276 Fiscal Surplus
Severely dealing with Tang En, Richard successfully made an example of others and maintained the seriousness of the law. However, it is difficult to recover the more than 10,000 tons of food that were stolen and sold. The territory has increased its population by 250,000 this year, and the grain reserves are less than 100,000 tons.
20,000 tons of the 100,000 tons of food must be reserved for next year's planting, 13,000 tons of military food must be reserved, and several thousand tons must be used for brewing wine. Only 60,000 tons of food are left for the contract slaves.
Now there are 400,000 contract slaves in the Harland territory, and each person only weighs 300 kilograms on average. 60,000 tons of food is not enough.
Richard turned around and asked Roger, "How are you going to solve the problem of food shortage?"
"According to the standards of previous years, we need to buy 30,000 tons of food to get through the difficulties. This problem is not a problem now, because we have a large number of sheep for sale this year.
This year, the number of sheep we control has reached one million. In addition to selling them in Black River Fort, we also sold some to Duke Jonathan as military rations. After winter, more than 500,000 sheep were slaughtered, and there are 20,000 tons of mutton in stock. With these 20,000 tons of meat, it is not a problem to maintain it until the autumn harvest next year."
Since last year, there has been a serious surplus of mutton in the Harland Territory. This year, there are more than one million sheep waiting to be slaughtered after shearing, and the hundreds of thousands of people in the Harland Territory can't eat them all.
This situation seems like a black humor.
However, Richard was knowledgeable in his previous life and knew that this situation would indeed occur in some areas.
In the 19th century, English colonists in Australia had more than 10 million sheep waiting to be slaughtered after the wool shearing season every year. The mutton could not be eaten up locally, so the sheep could only be slaughtered and buried.
After the Spanish colonists in South America slaughtered the bison, they would only cut off the tongue for food, not even the hide and tendons, and let the beef rot in the wild. This kind of life lasted for about three hundred years. Even in the 21st century, the average consumption of Argentine beef exceeded the level of developed countries.
Although Harland Territory is a mountainous area with abundant rainfall and rich resources, tens of thousands of square kilometers of land can support hundreds of thousands of people, and it has not reached the upper limit of population carrying capacity.
Although the agricultural potential of this area is average, it is very suitable for mountain animal husbandry.
After Richard's continuous support for many years, the mountain animal husbandry in Harland Territory has developed, which is equivalent to walking on two legs, and the ability to resist risks has naturally increased a lot.
Because of the increase of 250,000 people, this year's agricultural surplus needs to fill this hole, and it is naturally impossible to sell grain to the outside world in exchange for funds.
Because of the war, the steel trade has made very good profits, and the output has increased slightly compared with last year. Although Richard has slightly lowered the wholesale price, the profit still exceeds 35,000 gold coins.
The wool textile market is still not saturated this year, and the profit even exceeds that of steel, breaking through 40,000 gold coins for the first time in history.
The wool textile products of Harland Territory have appeared on the market for six or seven years. Many nobles have sent textile craftsmen to specialize in wool textile technology and have made original products.
The threshold of wool textile technology is not high. This year, wool textile technology has begun to spread. Many nobles are preparing to raise sheep. This market can be monopolized for three or four years at most. Although the wool textile technology of Harland Territory is better, it cannot compete with the nobles in other territories.
There is no free trade in the Dawn Plane. There is a market economy. The nobles will engage in commercial competition through political and military means. Because they have mastered everything about the serfs, the nobles have almost no labor costs for production. If the life dependence relationship between serfs and nobles is not broken, capitalists who master advanced technology cannot compete with feudal nobles at all.
This world has extraordinary power. By monopolizing extraordinary power, the strength of the nobles is far greater than that of ordinary people. They can easily suppress the resistance of serfs. Without strong external forces, it is basically impossible for the serfs to turn over.
The nobles hated the outflow of gold coins, and tried every means to develop manor economy and small peasant economy. They liked to be self-sufficient and did not like to buy goods from the outside world.
As long as the technology spreads, there will inevitably be counterfeit products everywhere. In the foreseeable future, the wool textile market will gradually decrease in three or four years, and profits will gradually decline, just like the liquor trade, and it will take many years to return to the original level.
Nowadays, the animal husbandry in the Harland territory is developing very fast. This year, 500,000 sheep were sold, of which 300,000 were sold to Duke Jonathan as military rations, bringing a total income of more than 60,000 gold coins.
According to Richard's estimation, the wool textile market can only be monopolized for three or four years at most. Without the wool textile market, sheep farming has lost a large part of the profit. Starting next year, Richard will arrange for the transformation of the wool textile business to produce more goods such as blankets and felt.
Because the market prospects are not good, sheep farming can no longer expand.
Moreover, the carrying capacity of the southern foot of the Eagle Mountains is close to the upper limit. In order to avoid damaging the environment, Richard is not going to continue to expand the sheep population and maintain the annual number of sheep at one million. Starting next year, Richard will lower the purchase price of wool in the territory, collect higher wool taxes from freemen, and suppress the enthusiasm of freemen to raise sheep.
More than 160,000 freemen in Harland Territory paid taxes this year, and the income from field taxes has exceeded 40,000 gold coins. Together with the income from property taxes, business taxes, and tariffs, the tax revenue has reached 53,000 gold coins. Next spring, 60,000 indentured slaves will become freemen, and with the new tax of wool tax, the tax revenue will increase significantly.
This year, the production of brown sugar exceeded 1,400 tons, and the market also expanded to Nolan. Even if the wholesale price dropped by another copper coin, the total profit exceeded 30,000 gold coins for the first time.
The brown sugar tree is a forest resource monopolized by the Harland Territory. The threshold of this industry is very high. Only the great nobles have the ability to develop this industry and compete with the Harland family. The small nobles don’t even have magicians and can’t pass the seed cultivation test at all.
The upper limit of this industry is also very high. The market is expanding every year and the development speed is very fast. The potential of the brown sugar industry is far from exhausted. In a few years, the annual income will exceed 100,000 gold coins and become an important commodity in the Harland Territory.
Richard attaches great importance to the brown sugar plantation and specially dispatches soldiers to patrol and prohibit outsiders from approaching. Today, the great nobles of the Grant Kingdom are not clear about the production process of brown sugar, nor have they discovered the precious economic tree species such as the brown sugar tree. Even if the brown sugar manufacturing process is leaked, it will take at least more than ten years of cultivation to produce enough commodities to compete with the Harland Territory.
With more than ten years of buffer, the brown sugar produced by the Harland Territory will exceed tens of thousands of tons, sinking the market to the free class, so that competitors will not make much profit.
The income from hunting monsters is still unstable. This year, the luck is good. The demon hunting team hunted several mid-level monsters and successfully caught more than a dozen iron-horned horses. In addition to the bonus for the demon hunting team, it brought a profit of 14,000 gold coins to the Harland Territory.
Due to the interference of the war, the research on magic crystal charging technology has not developed too fast. Although the efficiency has improved a little, the total income is only 12,000.
Because the territory market has expanded and the army has been expanded, the profit of the wine industry has increased a lot, and it has reached 18,000 gold coins, reaching the highest level in history.
Because of the war, the prices of various materials have risen, and the income of hemostatic ointment has skyrocketed, with a profit of 26,000 gold coins.
Hemostatic ointment is a strategic resource in the Grant Kingdom. There is always a shortage of supply in the market. The three legions control one-third of the share at a low price, and the army of the Harland Territory deducts another one-third. The share put on the market cannot meet the huge demand at all.
This year, the price of hemostatic ointment has tripled due to the war, bringing a very considerable profit. In addition to other medicines in the Harland Territory, the medical income this year is actually 32,000 gold coins.
After so many years of development, relying on the relatively developed medical research level of Harland Territory, the pharmaceutical manufacturing industry has gradually grown into an important industry in the territory. The variety of medicines is becoming more and more abundant, and it has also brought more and more profits.
Because of the intervention in the war, the transportation industry is still developing rapidly. Harland Territory has won a part of the military transportation orders. With the income from the sale of four-wheeled carriages, the profit is almost the same as last year, a total of 18,000 gold coins. Compared with last year, the orders for four-wheeled carriages have decreased by 40% due to the emergence of a large number of counterfeit goods, and the profit of military transportation orders has increased by 30% compared with last year.
Because of the increase in population, the output of coal mines in Harland Territory is also increasing, with an annual output of more than 60,000 tons and a net profit of about 14,000 gold coins.
The increase in population has driven the development of the building materials industry. The profits of bricks, cement, and glass have all increased a lot, and the power of real estate has begun to show.
This year, Harland Territory has opened more than 30 small furniture factories alone. These more than 30 furniture factories have also driven the increase in the output value of the logging industry and cultivated more carpenters for the territory. No wonder countless countries in the past have been vigorously developing this industry. Real estate has a long industrial chain, which has greatly promoted the development of the national economy.
This year, the combined profits of these industries involving the downstream of real estate have reached 26,000 gold coins, and they have gradually grown into an important industry in the Harland Territory.
Rose perfume monopolizes the market of the Grant Kingdom, but the profits of this luxury business are far less than those of bulk commodities. The market potential has reached its peak, and the market size is just over 20,000 gold coins, with a profit of 10,000 gold coins.
In the Harland Territory, perfume manufacturing has gradually developed into an important industry. The number of people serving this industry is about more than 1,000. This includes rose growers, perfume manufacturers, commodity sales personnel, etc.
Miscellaneous small industries such as canned fruits and book printing have brought in 7,000 gold coins, which contributes less to fiscal revenue.
This year, the cash income of the Harland Territory is 369,000, an increase of 105,000 gold coins compared with last year.
Fiscal data show that the industries in the Harland Territory have ushered in a great development this year.
Taxes, brown sugar planting, aquaculture, and drug sales have almost doubled their profits, with rapid expansion and steady market share.
This year, the cash income of the Harland Territory is close to 370,000, and its financial capacity is close to that of the four marquises in the east.
By next year, with the integration of the power of the eastern county of Grotta River, the strength of the Harland family will exceed that of the four marquises in the east, second only to several duke families in the country, in terms of military and economic strength.
This year, the army of the Harland Territory has 4,000 soldiers participating in the war, and military expenditures have increased a lot.
First of all, the expenditure on military pay adds up to more than 80,000 gold coins, and the consumption of logistics is far more than last year. The materials consumed by the expedition are a huge amount, adding up to 60,000 gold coins.
The collection of 5,000 captive soldiers requires a large amount of armor, weapons, and pack animals, adding up to more than 40,000 gold coins.
The pensions for soldiers killed and disabled have also increased this year. So far, more than 3,000 soldiers have received subsidies for the dead and disabled, and the annual pensions add up to more than 9,000 gold coins, which is already a large amount of funds.
Haland Territory has 4,000 auxiliary soldiers. Although the salary of auxiliary soldiers is low, with only one gold coin subsidy per year, the auxiliary soldiers are almost all trained in winter, and the cost of maintaining the army is relatively high. Not only do they need to provide better food, but they also need to provide winter uniforms such as cotton-padded clothes, cotton hats, cotton gloves, and leather boots. It also requires 15,000 gold coins in military expenses per year.
Haland Territory's intelligence, public security and other paramilitary forces add up to more than 3,000 people. The salaries of these people are also a considerable investment.
Especially the intelligence department, which has a high demand for funds, and many of them are shameful. The funds for these paramilitary forces this year are as much as 25,000 gold coins this year.
In addition to some scattered expenses, the investment in the military and intelligence departments alone exceeds 230,000 gold coins this year, which exceeds 60% of the fiscal revenue.
The number of territory bureaucrats has increased by 500 this year, and the total number has exceeded 2,000. Among the bureaucrats added this year, there are a large number of Riverbank Primary School graduates and a large number of retired disabled soldiers.
The army of the Harland Territory has cultural education courses and will hold some literacy activities. After working in the army for a few years, you can basically recognize most of the characters and understand official documents.
Compared with the officials selected from slaves at the beginning, these newcomers are of higher quality, at least the literacy rate has been greatly improved.
The salary expenditure of the bureaucracy of more than 2,000 people exceeds 20,000 gold coins. The office expenses of government affairs also issued a subsidy of 8,000 gold coins. Together with miscellaneous expenses, a total of 30,000 gold coins were consumed.
Because a primary school, a middle school, and a new hospital were built this year, the investment in education and medical care exceeded 20,000 gold coins.
Due to the impact of the war, most members of the territory mage group participated in the war, and magic research stagnated for half a year. The research funds only spent half of last year, about 10,000 gold coins. However, the funds of major research institutes in the Harland Territory have increased a lot this year, adding up to a total of 12,000 gold coins.
Including miscellaneous expenses, a total of 340,000 gold coins were spent this year, and the fiscal surplus was about 65,000 gold coins. Including the funds saved from last year, the fiscal surplus of the Haaland territory has reached 100,000 gold coins.