Mediterranean Hegemon of Ancient Greece

So Archibades set his mind and bravely retorted: "We have harvested some gold and silver mines, but Your Majesty has warned our finance department that gold and silver cannot be spammed, and must be related to the annual grain output and taxes. Corresponding... In short, when there is more gold and silver, the silver coins in our hands become worthless, so mining gold and silver directly from the gold and silver mines, as the cost of this new mercenary, the finance department can’t do it. It must be approved by His Majesty." After speaking, Archibades turned and bowed respectfully to the doctor.

Daveus said softly: "Archibades is right, the gold and silver mines are the kingdom's strategic materials and cannot be used as long-term financial expenditures unless there are unexpected special circumstances."

"Your Majesty's decision is right! If you step on, dig, and send out gold and silver mines in an uncontrolled manner, and let the gold and silver in the kingdom overflow, it will only destroy the kingdom's trade prosperity and cause chaos." Mariji, the Minister of Commerce, immediately agreed. Archibades endorses.

Archibades continued with excitement: "And... Master Alexis, you have only seen how much land the kingdom has added, but you have not seen how many officials we have added to manage these lands. Over-remuneration, this is already a huge expenditure. Not to mention the large relocation costs that are required to move citizens to these new lands, as well as roads and repairs on these new lands Bridges, temple repairs... repairing various public facilities and maintenance costs, which is a huge expense. To be honest with you, if it was not for the prosperity of commerce and trade in recent years, the increased commercial tax income barely compensated for these increased Expenses, I am afraid that the monthly salary paid to you will be reduced."

Archibades said, and nodded his thanks to Mariji.

Alexis was dumbfounded. He thought that with this new decree, the kingdom could have two or three more special legions that could be ready to fight at any time, and the military department would feel much more relaxed. Behind.

He said helplessly: "Since everyone agrees to build such an army of free foreigners, and believes that it must require sufficient military expenditure to maintain it, but now the treasury cannot provide military expenditure for it, but there is no military expenditure. The army cannot be built, so what should we do?"

Lucias looked at his nose and looked at his heart with a contemplative look.

Ciplos' eyes rolled, and he stopped talking several times.

What Mariji and Sedorum said in a whisper.

Hermon shrugged and said apologetically: "I don't know much about the kingdom's finances."

Archibades, who had previously shouted for no money, remained silent at the moment.

The other ministers either really didn't understand this and were at a loss, or they looked like they were thinking, and a strange calm appeared in the palace hall.

This is a loud voice: "Because the establishment of an army that is truly separated from daily labor and can be put into battle at any time is an ever-increasing need for the territory of our kingdom, it is a brand new and long-term important national policy, so its military expenditures It’s better to levy new taxes on the people alone!

As soon as this remark came out, some people were shocked, some expressions were still there, and others were obviously relieved.

Tax increase, and finally someone said it!...Daveus clasped the armrests of the seat with both hands and looked at the speaker: Ataris, it really was him!Dare to serve and courageous to serve, it is worthy of being the outstanding talent recommended by Kunogolata at that time, knowing that it would offend the people, he still did not hesitate to say that the safety of the kingdom is more important than his own gains and losses.In contrast, another rotating chairman he valued, Cypros, who is more capable of doing things, obviously considered too much. As for Lucias, Hermon, and Cedolum...hehe.

Daphus glanced quietly at the group of ministers and put all living beings into his eyes. When he was in contact with Cipros's eyes, Cipros quickly turned his head away. He had realized that his performance just disappointed Davos. Too.

"Tax increase? It's not so good, I'm afraid it's difficult for the people to accept it." The first responder was the Secretary of State Helps.

"Yeah, since the establishment of Dionysia, the direct tax of the Kingdom has been 1%. It has remained the same for almost 20 years. The people are used to it. If they are taxed now, let them pay more money. I am afraid it will be difficult for them to accept." Minister of Construction Heracled also subsequently expressed his attitude. As a technical official, he and Helps did not seem to consider the issue from the perspective of the kingdom. The first thought was the mentality of the people .

"Your Majesty has just said that the times are changing, the environment is changing, the kingdom is changing, and of course our laws should also change to meet new needs! Only 20 years ago, when Dionysia was established, did we have three The four small towns may have a population of less than 30,000, which is very unremarkable. Now the kingdom is already the overlord of the Western Mediterranean, with a territory more than ten times that of that year, a population of more than 3 million, and many more Our city-states and forces are no longer the little city-state alliance that year!"

Cipros finally stood up to speak, and he said emotionally: "When Dionysia was first established, all public officials, including elders, were not paid, and now the junior officials of the Kingdom can buy a cow for a month, and more Don't say us

Twenty years ago, Dionia sent troops to fight, and all the combatable citizens combined had less than 10,000 people. They could reach the front line within a few hours. After a day or two, they could end the battle and return to the city-state. The time was short. Even the rations carried by the soldiers from their homes were not finished;

Nowadays, once the kingdom launches a war, it can easily dispatch tens of thousands of people. The combat time is calculated in months. The required military food is counted in tons as the basic unit. It does not include other material consumption. These are all caused by the kingdom. To provide

Twenty years ago, Dionysia had no major expenditures other than building roads. Today, there are countless public buildings in the Kingdom. Not only the construction costs, but the maintenance costs are not a small number, and there are schools in various towns. The money earned from the public hospital is simply not enough to maintain its operation. It needs subsidies from the kingdom to maintain...

The larger the kingdom, the greater the consumption. Will the 1% tax alone meet the growing needs of the Kingdom of Dionysia?of course not!We rely on the business tax collected due to the trade prosperity brought by the Kingdom's power!Relying on the inheritance tax collected because the kingdom is powerful to make citizens rich!It depends on the other expenses that Kingdom Power has made people's lives rich and colorful (such as lottery tickets for competitive games hosted by the Ministry of Commerce, library borrowing fees, etc.)!Relying on the wiseness of your majesty and the dedicated work of everyone, it barely guaranteed the development of the kingdom today!

To be honest, the direct tax collected by the Kingdom has been maintained at 1% for 20 years, which is definitely a huge miracle!This is the blessing of Hades!This is His kindness!Even when the war is the most difficult, the kingdom only borrows money from the people, instead of blatantly collecting high war taxes. The people of Dionysia should feel very lucky that they live in such a happy kingdom, and nowhere else .

Looking around us, this is no longer the traditional world where citizens of Greek city-states did not charge direct taxes decades ago.

In the former east of Sicily, during the reign of Dionysius, the war tax in each city-state reached more than 30%, and it lasted for many years. Even if he was overthrown later, Syracuse’s annual direct tax was close to 10 %, to ensure that the city-state can restore its strength as soon as possible, and can guarantee safety under our pressure;

In the western part of Sicily, the tax rates of the Phoenician and Carthage sub-states are relatively low, but they also exceed 5%. It is said that these taxes are spent on the conquest of southern Iberia.

Looking at the mainland of Greece, wars have occurred frequently in the past few decades. Which city-state has a direct tax of not more than 20%. Even in the richest Athens, they even came up with a wonderful tax collection method to divide the Demo district under their jurisdiction. There must be a lot of settled foreign businessmen in each tax collection area, and then stipulate how much tax must be paid in this area. If it fails, it will be punished. Often because of the plea and persecution of the people in the area, more than half of the tax amount is paid by these The rich businessman took it.

Not to mention Sparta, it has always been the government that controls all wealth earned by the city-state, and it is then responsible for distribution.

Ladies and gentlemen, this is a world with frequent wars and dangerous rebirths. The countries and forces around us are all accumulating strength and struggling.Even though Dionysia is now strong, it cannot be taken lightly. The Kingdom should not only increase taxes, but also the tax rate should not be too low, so as to ensure the normal operation of the Kingdom, enough power to defend the security of the territory and the interests of the people!"

Cipros's words were deaf and irritated, and some people suddenly lost their minds, and some people suddenly realized.

Immediately after, Davers praised aloud: "Good talk!"

Many people realized at this time: Your Majesty supports tax increase!

The atmosphere in the hall began to change, but Lucias was still worried and persuaded: "Your Majesty, once the additional tax is raised, it will not only cause great controversy in the Senate, but also cause great dissatisfaction among the people. May cause turmoil in the kingdom and have a great influence on your prestige!"

Dave Si smiled lightly and said in a deep voice: "For Ataris and Cipros, for the benefit of the country, regardless of personal honor and disgrace, I have the courage to make such a proposal. As a descendant of Hades, the patron saint of this kingdom, do I still care about this Do you want to talk about it! I just ask you, Lucias, should the tax increase be?"

Daveus pointed directly at the center, and Lucias could not avoid it. He could only answer: "Your Majesty, from the perspective of the kingdom's current situation, we... need an army formed by foreign citizens; in order not to affect the kingdom. In normal operation, we also... need to add a little extra tax to provide material support for this army."