Chapter 2157 People can't help themselves in officialdom
On December 28, the forty-seventh year of Xuanping, if it were normal times, the whole country would naturally be peaceful in the past few days as the New Year approaches. Most people are busy preparing for the most important festival of the year: spring.
The royal family is no exception. It will start preparing for the Spring Festival state banquet early and send tickets to the royal Spring Festival state banquet, which represents the glory, to those dignitaries and typical representatives who are looking forward to it.
For most of the empire's official structures, they have already spent the first twenty days of December, the busiest time of the year. At most, there are only a few matters that need to be concluded, and then they can spend it peacefully.
During this Spring Festival, some of the people who are not on duty can start their vacation on the 30th day of the year.
Although the vacation is a bit short, only three days, it is still a rare vacation.
The Tang Empire clearly stipulates that traditional festivals such as the Spring Festival, Qingming Festival, Dragon Boat Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival, Double Ninth Festival, and Winter Solstice are holidays, but they are not long holidays that last for several days. Even important festivals such as the Spring Festival only have a three-day holiday.
All are only for one day.
Therefore, many people in many organizations are already thinking about how to effectively use this rare three-day holiday.
You know, for many people with official status, it is not easy to get a three-day Spring Festival holiday, and they often have to queue for several years before it is their turn.
After all, it is impossible for the official agencies of the Tang Empire to stop operating because of holidays. Even during holidays, all official agencies must maintain operations. Even some agencies that have more contact with the people and are related to people's livelihood not only do not take holidays during holidays,
Instead, I have to work overtime.
For example, the police patrol agency!
The patrol policemen of the Tang Dynasty have never had a tradition of taking holidays during festivals. Instead, they have a tradition of working overtime during festivals!
After all, during holidays, the flow of people in various public places will increase sharply, and various potential risks will also increase sharply. Therefore, during holidays, when people are having fun and having fun, patrol police and other agencies are busiest.
For other institutions that will not be busier due to holidays, they must also maintain normal operations. At most, they will have fewer staff, but necessary personnel on duty are required.
But this is just the Spring Festival holiday for ordinary officials, but for the empire's top officials, these days approaching the New Year's Eve are the most important days of the year!
Why?
Because of the budget!
It has been a tradition in Datang for decades that the budget for the following year will be determined at the end of the year!
And because of the fierce quarrels, the final budget plan is often not finalized until the New Year's Eve.
And these last few days are often the performance time for the imperial ministers!
This performance is really a performance!
Because the empire's budget allocation every year, the general direction is actually there and cannot be changed at all. For example, no matter how noisy the military is this year, it is impossible to increase the military expenditure ratio to 20%. But similarly, no matter how the cabinet
No matter how much trouble there is, it is impossible to reduce the military expenditure ratio to less than 18%.
Because between 18% and 20%, this is what Shengtianzi has long based on many professional reports from the secretariat and economists at the Royal Institute of Technology, and based on the situation in previous years and changes in the situation in the next few years.
A determined range.
The quarrel between the military and the cabinet can only be fought within this scope.
In fact, this kind of struggle cannot be achieved through quarrels. Just one percentage point is worth millions of Tang Yuan. Even if Chen Lifu fights in person, it is impossible for others to give in even one percentage point.
In fact, this kind of debate is more of a compromise and deal that cannot be put on the table.
And the reason why these secret compromises and deals are said to be secret is because these things cannot be brought out on the table at all.
But, for an official organization, the value is not how many things you do, but how much funding you can get!
If someone else's department receives 10 million in funding, but you only get back 8 million, then the people in your department will be very dissatisfied and feel that you, the person in charge of the department, are not very good.
So, every year during the duty meeting in the Royal Study Room, the normally aloof ministers on duty and the walking ministers would quarrel like shrews in order to fight for funds?
What a fight, the specific divisions have long been discussed privately.
Arguing in an open duty meeting in the Royal Study Room is just to show the outside world, especially the people in this department, that I have tried my best!
In this regard, no matter whether it is a military boss or a civilian boss, everyone does this.
Even Chen Lifu, the most senior and most powerful minister on duty in the imperial study, had to abandon his former dignity and die personally. He needed to let all the civil servants know that Chen Lifu had the unshirkable responsibility for dealing with the military!
But in fact, in the past two years, Chen Lifu has supported the military in developing and equipping advanced weapons and causing trouble overseas.
But, actual support is one thing, public stance is another.
Chen Lifu is like this. Naturally, all the other important officials in the imperial study can't escape. It doesn't matter what you really think, or even how you did it before. But in these few days at the end of the year,
, you must take a firm stand and stand clearly on the side of your department.
Well, people in official circles have no control over themselves!
So in previous years, during the last few days of the new year, it was the time for a large number of important ministers to show off their acting skills!
However, the end of this year is a bit special. Although these big guys are still working hard on the annual budget, there is another thing that has become the focus of their recent discussions.
Even public opinion is very concerned.
This is tax reform!
In November, Emperor Sheng already stated at the imperial government meeting that the empire would continue to promote tax reform and serve the people's livelihood.
Although the Holy Emperor didn't say a few words at that time, you have to know that the imperial government meeting was a public meeting, and it would be announced to the public through the Tang Dynasty Newspaper after the meeting.
At this kind of meeting, every word spoken by the Holy Emperor is worthy of careful consideration and repeated pondering.
Because this often means that the Holy Emperor publicly reveals his subsequent direction!
This time the Holy Emperor personally spoke about tax issues, and he also spoke about tax issues in such a public forum, which meant that the empire was about to carry out in-depth reforms of the tax system.
Many people even expect that this time's tax reform would be best to impose restrictions on the tax system, and it would be best to ban the tax inspection team in the tax system.
In a mature and stable empire, the law enforcement power over illegal and criminal matters, whether other crimes or tax evasion, should be limited to the patrol police.
This does not mean that a tax collection agency can also have the power to enforce tax evasion matters.
It doesn’t matter if they have law enforcement powers. What matters is that the tax department also has the armed forces!
There is still a tax inspection team under the Ministry of Taxation!
The tax inspection team was famous in the Tang Dynasty and fought fiercely!
When encountering armed smugglers who evade taxes, the tax inspection team does not even need to ask for assistance from the military, let alone the patrol police. The action team members of the tax inspection team can do it themselves.
The fourth largest armed force in the empire is not just something that is blown out of proportion, it is something that is produced through fighting!
The tax inspection team, which has artillery, machine guns, gunboats and other heavy weapons, has been ranked fourth in the empire in terms of combat effectiveness since its establishment, second only to the army, navy, and guards!