"Monsieur Pierre finally decided to sell two plots of arable land, 1,000 acres to Monsieur Anton and 1,000 acres to Mikhail, and now he only keeps 1,000 acres of land, and pays the same rent tax as his neighbor Ivan.10 And the sale of land gives him a large amount of cash, since the new tax law makes the annexation of land no longer a profitable investment, then Mr.
Pierre, who has a large amount of cash in hand, will naturally divert his attention and look for other more profitable investment channels in the market, even if he cannot be a good industrial and commercial investor, At the very least, the proceeds of the sale could be deposited in a bank, which would lend to merchants and factory owners, so that Mr.
Pierre could indirectly contribute to the promotion of industry and commerce, while also enjoying the interest on the deposit.
"Now let's review what changes the land rent tax reform has brought to society: Mr.
Ivan, who owned 1,000 acres of arable land, lived as usual, Mr.
Pierre, who once owned 3,000 acres of arable land, disappeared, and was replaced by Mikhail and Anton, who each owned 1,000 acres of arable land, and at the same time a new Mr.
Pierre appeared, and now he only owns 1,000 acres of arable land, and in addition to the status of landlord, he also has the title of investor."
"If we extend the changes in Mr.
Pierre and his surroundings to the whole society, we will find that the land transaction market is becoming more and more active, the large landlords are becoming fewer and fewer, the tenants are increasing, the bank deposit and loan business is flourishing day by day, the industrial, commercial and service industries are becoming more and more prosperous, the macro national economic growth is accelerating, and the government fiscal revenue is gradually becoming more abundant."
Finally, Roland smiled at the Dauphin, who was listening attentively, and ended his speech with a sentence.
"That's all I want to say, Your Highness Frank, and I hope your humble opinion won't disappoint you too much."
"Brother Roland, you're such a genius" Frank was so excited that he stood up and applauded.
The sound of admiration echoed through the banquet hall like a tidal wave.
Some people understand Roland's analysis, and they praise it from the heart; Some people were confused, and just followed the crown prince's "baton" to echo and tout.
John Raul was also applauding, but there was a strange excitement in his eyes, as if an aggressive beast had discovered a strong opponent.
Roland led the compliments with impeccable grace, and when Frank was back seated, he continued to tell his views on the Empire's agrarian reforms.
Roland did not shy away from it, and went straight to the point against the construction of the empire's big farms.
The reason for the opposition is that "the national conditions are different" and that Handan cannot copy the experience of the Far East.
Unlike the Far East, the main agricultural areas of the Assanian Empire were generally more populated and less landless, there were no large areas of idle land to exploit and cultivate, and without the druids to provide agricultural technical support, the productivity of large farms was not necessarily higher than that of small-scale farmers who cultivated intensively.
Roland's prescription for Frank's agrarian reform was contrary to his policies in the Far East, but it was logically consistent and self-contained.
"Your Highness Frank, when the imperial government succeeded in imposing a marginal land rent tax to force large landowners to sell their arable land, the next priority was to create a state-owned land bank, issue treasury bonds to raise capital for the land bank, and then put the money into the land exchange market to buy a large amount of arable land."
"For the sake of understanding, we might as well imagine the Land Bank as a super-large landowner, except that it does not have a personality, but is the embodiment of the will of the state, and is directly controlled by the imperial government or the royal family, and the next step is to divide the large tracts of fertile land held by the Land Bank into small plots, and rent them at a relatively low price or sell them in installments to those serfs who have just been emancipated, and if they do not have the money to rent and buy land, the Land Bank should provide them with low-interest loans.
The aim was to transform these poor slaves, who had nothing not so long ago, into petty bourgeoisie who could support their families by renting state land.
These serf-turned-petty bourgeoisie will become the foundation of the country's stability, and will also become a staunch supporter of Your Highness. ” Roland also suggested that Frank set up an "agricultural bank" to provide small farmers with "special loans for green seedlings and improved seeds" at low interest rates, reduce the tax burden on small farmers, and implement the package production to households; Establish a grain exchange, use futures tools to hedge agricultural products, avoid the risks brought by abnormal weather to agricultural production, smooth the prices of agricultural products across periods, bring livelihood security to the small peasant class, and consolidate the basic market of governance.
"If Your Highness accepts my suggestion and implements the above-mentioned reform policies in its entirety, while avoiding war as much as possible, supplemented by stricter fiscal and budgetary constraints, I am fully confident that the financial situation of the Assanian Empire will gradually improve, and the social contradictions will gradually ease, and after ten to twenty years of recuperation, the Empire may have an opportunity to rejuvenate."
These suggestions given by Roland are not necessarily the best strategy, but they are also the right medicine for the current situation of the Yashan Empire.
Unfortunately, Frank's attitude changed drastically, and he reacted coldly to Roland's subsequent advice.
The young and vigorous crown prince, anxious to build up his prestige and not wanting to listen to any "long-term plan for ten to twenty years", hoped that the reforms would bear fruit as soon as possible, and automatically ignored the second half of Roland's proposals, starting with the "creation of a land bank", and was only interested in the previous part.
"Mr.
Roland, since your reform practice in the Far East has proved that large farms are far more economically efficient than small farmers in one household, why do you suggest that His Highness Frank support small farmers instead, I guess you will not deliberately lead His Highness the Crown Prince down a wrong path, then I can only think that your heart is too kind, and you know that you cannot treat small farmers well in the Far East, so you can only pin this conscience on His Highness Frank, hoping that he can treat the imperial serfs well for you, so that you will be thousands of miles away.
You don't have to break a copper plate to satisfy your sense of moral superiority. ” With a meaningful smile on his face, John Raul mocks Roland slowly and methodically, and finally strikes the fatal blow with a spicy sarcasm.
"In my hometown, people call good people like you telescopic philanthropists."
Even as the object of ridicule, Roland had to admit that John Lauer said it beautifully, and it was no wonder that the guests in the audience burst into laughter.
Frank laughed the most exaggeratedly, leaning forward and closing his back almost hilariously.
Finally calmed down, he grabbed a napkin and threw it at John Lauer, pointed at his nose and scolded with a smile: "I really should plug your mouth, you red-haired ghost, I don't allow you to bully Brother Roland" John Raul picked up a napkin and tied it to his face as a mask, and raised his hands in a comical gesture of obedience, which drew laughter from the audience.
Roland was laughing, too, laughing from the bottom of his heart, even though he was laughing in the eyes of others
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