Chapter 190 About Taxation, Salary and Trade

Maximus paused for a moment: "My idea is...all the families who let the reserve tribesmen farm their own land should pay 20% to 40% more tax to the tribe, and the tribe will transfer 10% or 20% of the tax to the tribe." It was given to the preparatory people who farmed the land for them as their reward. However, the current preparatory people did not have their own houses and apprentices to store food. They could wait until they became official people and then settle the settlement with them.

This way, they won't need additional help from the tribe when they can live on their own. At the same time, it can also make other families who do not allow reserve tribesmen to help farm the land feel that it is fair and will not make trouble with the tribe. "

"But chief, we think it's a bit unfair. We have to pay two or three times more taxes than others -" Pigris bravely raised an objection.

"Don't worry, everyone, listen to me." Maximus waved his arms and continued seriously: "The iron workshop, furniture workshop, pottery workshop... these are owned by the tribe, not private individuals, so These craftsmen all work for the tribe, just like the officials in the tribe, so we cannot let everyone work in vain. I think the tribe should pay these craftsmen.

Officials received different salaries according to their positions, and craftsmen received different salaries according to the quantity and quality of the things they made. In this way, although everyone has to pay a lot of land tax, they will make up for it by getting paid for doing things for the tribe, and these wages are not taxed. What do you think? "

There was a commotion in the hall.

It is understandable that craftsmen are paid for their work, but officials can also be paid for doing work for the tribe, which has never been heard of among the tribes and city-states of the Western Mediterranean. According to Quintus, Capito, Volenus and others, Roman senators and political officials not only did not receive salary, but sometimes spent their own money to please the citizens, such as holding large banquets or gladiators. The games are free for citizens to watch.

"Chief, if you want to pay everyone, how much should you pay?" Cornelius asked.

"How exactly are officials and craftsmen paid? How much?... We will discuss this separately in the future and formulate a charter. In short, we cannot let everyone who works hard for the tribe suffer."

"But in the future, the wealth in the tribe will mainly come from taxes, and then it will be paid out as salary every month. The tribe will not have much left. If there is another war, I am afraid that there will not be a lot of materials to support the army in combat." As the head of the Ministry of Property, Cornelius was certainly worried about this.

"Don't worry, everyone." Maximus had considered all of this, and now he explained patiently: "Let the reserve tribesmen help the tribesmen who farm the land to pay more taxes, which is to make up for the salary.

In addition, the ironware produced in the ironworks workshop, the pottery produced in the pottery workshop, and the furniture produced in the furniture workshop...are not distributed to the ethnic groups for free, but are required to be purchased by them and the property obtained from selling them. Returned to the Ministry of Property... Therefore, we have to set up markets in the tribe, build shops, and sell various things made in various workshops to the tribesmen. This is the responsibility of the Ministry of Commerce.

I remember that there were some ethnic people who were good at buying and selling in the original baggage camp. You can select some outstanding people from among them to serve as managers of various shops, and also pay them salaries.

In addition, when we signed the alliance with the Aldiyi tribe, we agreed to trade with each other. However, due to the sudden change in the situation, we did not implement it. I think we can start doing it now. "

"Chief, leave the trade matters to our Commerce Department. I can guarantee you that the Property Department will no longer have to worry about not having enough money!" Pigris said excitedly, feeling that the time had come for him to show off his skills.

"Chief, the people are just living alone now, but they don't have money to buy anything." Volenus reminded.

"You can let everyone take credit first, and then deduct it when the fields are harvested and taxes are paid. Pygris, in our tribe, the price of the items sold to the tribe must be cheap, so that everyone will be happy to buy, and not There will be complaints about the tribe.”

"Uh... what's the price for selling it to the Aldi people?" Pigris asked unwillingly.

"The current situation of the Ardi people is not very good. It is best to sell them cheaper prices so that they can afford it and be willing to buy it. When they are accustomed to buying and using various items made by our tribe - -" Maximus said meaningfully: "They are more willing to get close to us than to leave."

Pygris rolled his eyes a few times and said: "Chief, I understand. When the market is established and the sale of goods begins, I will leave the proposed prices of various goods to you for review."

Maximus shook his head: "This is the responsibility of your Ministry of Commerce. You can decide for yourself. Moreover, the price of goods is not constant. It will change according to the scarcity and demand of the goods. You should know this.

But there is one principle you must remember! That is, not only do we want our people to be able to afford and like to use various items produced by their own tribes, but we also want the Ardei people, the Pannoni people, and even the various tribes in the mountains to like to use and buy the things we make. Things, by then our tribe will become the trade center of the entire Great River Plain. No matter how cheap we sell it, we will be rich. So I have great expectations for the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Commerce. Let’s work together. ! "

"Chief, our Ministry of Commerce will not disappoint your expectations!" Pigris was so excited by these words that he turned to look at Capito, who was also looking at him, and both of them had burning eyes.

"So... the weaving team that Capito just mentioned can be disbanded, but the most skilled ones must be selected from the original ones to form a weaving workshop. I see there are a lot of reeds on the edge of the Varidosi swamp. It grows very well and can be used to weave straw shoes, straw mats, ropes, straw baskets...anything that can be weaved with straw is sold to the people to make their lives easier.

We don’t have flax and wool now, so we can first buy it from the Ardie people, let the weaving workshop weave it into cloth and blankets, and hand it over to the Ministry of Commerce for sale. In the future, the tribesmen can be encouraged to grow flax and raise sheep, and the tribes will spend money to purchase them, so that there will be no shortage of raw materials for the weaving workshops..."

Maximus was excited when he said: "There is no need to disband the entire transport team, leaving only a dozen or twenty people with the best skills and a dozen pack trucks with the best equipment to form a new transport team. The Ministry of Commerce will manage it. After all, if the Ministry of Commerce wants to purchase and transport iron ore from the Aldi tribe, or transport large quantities of items to other tribes for trade, it must have a transportation team. "

"The leader is thoughtful!" Pygris complimented happily.

"I have no problem with that," Capito responded.

"When the transportation team is idle, it can serve the ethnic people and meet their transportation needs, but it will charge a small employment fee and then hand it over to the Ministry of Property."

"This is a good idea!" Pygris then praised.

"There is one thing I hope to attract everyone's attention." Maximus looked at everyone and said in a serious tone: "Although the craftsmen in various workshops under the control of the Ministry of Works and the clerks in various shops under the responsibility of the Ministry of Commerce are not tribal officials, they are They work for the tribe, not ordinary people, and they fall under the supervision of the Ministry of Personnel Affairs.

Moreover, they have many opportunities to come into contact with goods and money, and are more likely to breed corruption. Therefore, officials from the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Commerce must strengthen their management, and the Ministry of Human Resources must conduct regular inspections to prevent problems in this regard. "

Capito and Pigaris felt nervous when they heard Karina say loudly: "Chief, don't worry, I will keep a close eye on them and will never allow anyone to steal the tribe's property!"

"Okay." Maximus nodded in approval, and then asked: "We just talked about transportation. Capito, your Ministry of Works is responsible for the construction of roads. What are your plans for this?"

"Chief, in a short period of time, our Ministry of Works has decided to focus on solving the traffic and transportation problems between the two villages of Snotia and Westney. The original dirt road is not flat and wide enough, and it will become worse after it rains. It is potholed and muddy, so I want to transform it into the style of a Roman road, so that it will be more convenient to travel between the two villages, and we can also show our unique strength to other tribes in this mountain.”

Capito held his head high and said: "We have tried it in Campania and Apulia, and have experience in building roads in this area, and the distance between the two villages is not long. If we call in soldiers to start from both sides at the same time, The construction can be completed within a month. The only problem now is that there is no volcanic ash here. We use kiln-fired lime powder mixed with mud made from river sand. Without the addition of volcanic ash, it will be difficult to bridge the spliced ​​stone slabs on the ground. The ground remains solid for a long time——"

Maximus was moved. In his previous life, when he was drawing and reviewing information for the game Civilization, he had learned about cement, an ancient technology, and had some impressions. He immediately said: "When the limestone is kiln-fired, add Some iron ore powder should increase the strength of the mud after it hardens."

"Add iron powder to the kiln for burning?" Capito thought for a while and said uncertainly: "When the lime kiln is completed, I will let them try it to see if it works. In addition, in addition to land roads, Our two villages are both on the banks of the Kupa River, and the tributaries of the Kupa River, the Korana River and the Mrezhnica River, lead to the territory of the Ardei people, and the lower reaches of the Kupa River flow through the territory of the Pannoni people. Therefore, it will be more convenient to develop transportation on the river. Our Ministry of Public Works is preparing to build an inland river terminal in Snotia and expand the simple terminal in Westney.

We are also preparing to build a shipbuilding workshop. Many of the carpenters in the Swamp Camp are shipwrights from Campania and Sarapia. However, in the past, most of them built sea ships. They have all gathered together these days. Considering the few wooden boats currently in the village, I believe that it won't be long before they can design a boat suitable for transportation and fighting on the Kupa River. However, the wood used for building the boat needs a long time to dry in the shade. Therefore, if you want to build a good boat It will take at least half a year. "

"Very good, you are very considerate." Maximus looked at Capito and said earnestly: "The Ministry of Works has a very important task! It needs to expand the village houses, build wooden bridges, build various workshops, and let the craftsmen People manufacture products, build roads, docks, and ships... a lot of things, it's not easy!

But I believe that you, Capito, can make overall arrangements and make full use of manpower and materials, so that these matters can be completed well in the end! If you encounter any difficulties during the implementation, you can report it to me at any time and I will do my best to help you solve it in time! "

"Thank you, chief!" Capito responded with rare excitement. He did not have a headache due to too many tasks. On the contrary, this kind of challenge was what he liked.

After Maximus realized that he had arranged the affairs of the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Commerce, he turned the topic to the Ministry of War: "Although we have defeated the Pannoni army many times, the Pannoni people are still far stronger than us. And now that we have moved away from the temporary camp and settled on the bank of the Kupa River, which is closer to them, we are undoubtedly taking a great risk! Frontinus, Quintus, Lebilus and your military department are crucial to protecting the entire tribe. What’s the plan for your security?”

The three of them looked at each other. With Quintus' humility, Frontinus stood up: "Chief, our military department's defense plan against the Pannonians is already in the process of being implemented. All the second and third legions The soldiers moved to Westney as a whole for the convenience of command and combat.

In the next few days, the soldiers will work hard to repair the damaged wooden walls, dig trenches, and bury deer fortresses to enhance Westney's defense capabilities. Hagox's cavalry would take turns going out to the east of Westeny every day to detect the movements of the Segestica people.

At the same time, we are also preparing to send people to the mountains to the south to re-build the secret camp where Pecott led the team when they were lurking. According to your previous instructions, we will build a sentry tower in the camp and send a small team of sentries there in turn. Stationed there, once they discover that the Brochs are attacking, they will light dead grass that can create a lot of smoke to warn the tribe...

No matter which direction an enemy attacks, all ethnic groups must immediately return to their respective villages, prepare for defense, and then formulate a suitable battle plan based on the situation of the invading enemy... Well, Capitoti just now As for the construction of docks and ships, if this plan is completed, I believe it will make the tribe stronger in defense and have more options when attacking. "

Maximus nodded and asked again: "In the past, our soldiers trained all the time except for marching and fighting. That's no longer possible now. They have their own homes and are busy farming and grazing. They can't continue training anymore." Like before, how will you arrange training in the future?”