The film and television world begins with the battle for the throne in Kowloon

Chapter 960: Current Situation on the Grassland
There were only three people in the hall, and they were discussing matters. Hermu and Gurentu were reporting to Li Yan on the situation in various areas of the grassland.

Hermu was equivalent to the Turkic prime minister, responsible for civil affairs: "Your Majesty, now our grassland is as rich as the Central Plains, and the annual royal account income is not less than that of the Tang Dynasty. The available financial resources have exceeded that of the Tang Dynasty. There are four major parts."

"First, after the Turks conquered Japan seven years ago, they mined more than 10 million taels of silver ingots every year in the Iwami Silver Mine. Even after deducting the relevant expenses paid to the Tang Dynasty, the Turks could earn 8 million taels of silver. "

"Second, although the trade tax revenue of the four southern market towns is not as high as that of the Tang Dynasty, the sales of a large number of cattle, sheep, war horses, furs and herbs are more than 5 million taels of silver per month, and we can also collect 400,000 to 500,000 taels of silver."

"All told, the annual tax revenue is no less than five million taels of silver;"

"Third, the largest part is the Silk Road in the Hexi Corridor. The Tang Dynasty was rich in products. A large number of exquisite handicrafts such as porcelain, lacquerware, silk, and tea were continuously exported to the Western Regions and Central Asia, and each time they were exchanged for a large amount of gold and silver."

"The protection fees we collected were more than 12 million taels of silver. It can be said to be a galaxy of wealth flowing through it."

"Finally, there are the tributes that the various tribes on the grassland pay to the king's tent every year, and the gifts that various surrounding forces offer to our Turks when they seek refuge or deliberately make friends with us. All in all, it amounts to several million taels of silver."

"The total annual income of the royal account is more than 30 million taels of silver."

In today's world, there are valuable standards of measurement such as gold, silver, and Tang Dynasty's copper coins. However, gold is the scarcest, and Tang Dynasty's copper coins are out of control. The Tang Dynasty's emperors and ministers often issue them indiscriminately to supplement the treasury, causing copper coins to depreciate year by year.

This resulted in a large amount of Turkic wealth being diluted, causing dissatisfaction among many Turkic leaders.

After careful consideration, Li Yan felt that since a large number of silver ingots from Japan flowed into the Central Plains, there was a possibility that they would replace copper coins and become the main trading currency. The most important thing was that the output of silver ingots was under his control.

Silver was then established as the main trading currency and unit of measure of value.

Therefore, when making budgets and plans, Hermu was accustomed to using silver to count the amount of wealth.

In fact, this is also the case with the Tang Dynasty now. Most of the transactions with the Turks are conducted in silver.

At this point, Heermu smiled and said, "There is another item, which is the compensation for the assassins Li Shimin or other forces sent to assassinate the king every year. It is a huge income, between 10 million and 20 million taels of silver."

"Of course, this is the king's personal income. It is not included in the public revenue and expenditure of the Khanate. It belongs to the royal treasury and can be used by the king at will."

The social structure of the Turkic Khanate was simple, and its management model was primitive and crude. Originally, there was no distinction between the Khanate's public revenue and the leader's personal treasury. In the eyes of the leader, all property and population belonged to him.

Managing the forces under his command is like managing a family and a tribe, chaotic and disorderly.

Eight years ago, after Li Yan seized the supreme power of the Turkic Khanate, he made a division of property. The property of the Khanate and the Right Wise King was clearly separated and did not affect each other.

Under his leadership, the left and right great protectors, the twelve great captains, the twenty-four great chiefs, and hundreds of captains all distinguished between their personal property and tribal property, and reported their annual expenditures to the king's tent once a year.

At the same time, those who held positions above the rank of Wanfuzhang also received generous salaries, just like officials in the Central Plains.

In this way, the close ties between the grassland tribes and the central royal court were strengthened, and the original loose alliance relationship of each tribe was gradually broken.

Moreover, over the years, trade between the Turks and the Tang Dynasty has increased year by year. The northern Turkic tribes are better off because the cost of transportation is too high, and many tribes still maintain a primitive lifestyle of herding horses and sheep.

However, the lifestyle and quality of life of many people in the central and southern grassland tribes have also improved significantly. The end of the war and the supply of goods have led to the emergence of some cities and towns along the grasslands along the Great Wall.

The people of the grasslands also got used to enjoying the daily necessities produced in the Tang Dynasty, and became more dependent on the Tang Dynasty's economy. The people of both sides had close exchanges. The influence of the Central Plains had crossed the Great Wall and began to penetrate deeper and deeper into the grasslands, which laid the foundation for the Central Plainsization in the future.

This strategic shift is subtle and gradual.

It is easy for people to go from frugality to extravagance, but difficult to go from extravagance to frugality. Once influenced by the Central Plains, the grasslands gradually left their nomadic state, and it was not far from being ruled by the Central Plains.

Everything was going in the direction Li Yan had envisioned. Li Yan smiled with ease: "Although the income has increased, the expenses cannot be underestimated. Heermu, don't just say nice things. Tell us about the expenses, too."

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

Hermu excitedly picked up the parchment scroll in front of him and said in detail: "The Khanate has three biggest expenses. The first is the Khan's tent and the King's tent, each with 100,000 standing troops. These 200,000 troops have been freed from tribal restrictions and have become what the Central Plains call recruited soldiers."

"In order to maintain strong combat capability and mobility, the annual expenditure is about 5 million taels of silver." "The second is the salary of those above the rank of captain of ten thousand men, which is about the same amount. These cannot be saved."

"Of course, the most important thing is that the grassland is vast and the environment is harsh. Almost every year, it experiences droughts, floods, snowstorms, fires and other natural disasters. Every year, the royal tent has to spend nearly 10 million taels of silver to purchase large amounts of food, cloth and other supplies from the Tang Dynasty to provide relief to the victims."

"All in all, the Khanate's annual income is about 30 million taels of silver, and its expenditure is 20 million taels, so the surplus is 10 million taels, which is not bad."

Li Yan shook his head slowly, smiling: "Heermu, managing a country is not as simple as a family or a caravan. Take the Tang Dynasty as an example. The annual treasury income is 50 million taels of silver, but the expenditure reaches more than 60 million."

"The fiscal deficit is 10 million taels every year."

"We Turks are not only self-sufficient, but also have a 30% surplus, which is already very good. You seem to be dissatisfied?"

Hermu was also puzzled: "Your Majesty, I still don't understand. The annual expenditure of the Tang Dynasty exceeds its income. How is the deficit dealt with? Can it be borrowed from outside?"

"The matter here is very complicated and cannot be explained in just a few words."

Li Yan actually didn't quite understand it, but he did know one thing: it was definitely abnormal for expenditure to be greater than income. No matter how complicated the economic model was, it was definitely unhealthy for the company to be insolvent.

If a company has been relying on external debt to develop, and has been in deficit year after year, it will definitely cause huge problems over time. Perhaps the end of the dynasty and the change of dynasties are also related to the fact that the company can no longer operate and can only choose bankruptcy?
Shaking his head, Li Yan looked at Gu Rentu, who was his chief military officer: "Gu Rentu, tell me about your situation?"

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

Gu Rentu said: "After so many years of adjustments, our Turkic Khanate has gotten rid of the previous model of calling on all tribes to fight together. We now have a standing army of 200,000. These people are powerful and equipped with weapons and armor purchased from the Central Plains."

"In terms of combat power, everyone can fight ten with one. When two hundred thousand cavalrymen are fully equipped, their momentum is like a tidal wave, unstoppable, and no less powerful than the million-strong army before."

"But in terms of logistics resources, we no longer have the burden of a large army like before, and we are more flexible and maneuverable."

"In addition, after so many years of peace, the situation of strong trunk and weak branches has basically been achieved as planned by the king. Last year, Afugan, who was guarding the right wing of the Karluk tribe, was rebelled by the Mishiba tribe. The king's tent only dispatched 30,000 cavalry to suppress the 100,000 rebels."

"With overwhelming force, they swept through the northern foothills of Jinshan Mountain and intimidated a large number of tribal leaders. This shows that the fighting power of the local tribes is no longer comparable to that of the royal tent."

"We don't dare to send these people to the border war with the Tang Dynasty now, otherwise the Tang Dynasty will not be able to resist at all."

Li Yan nodded silently and interrupted to ask, "I heard that there are local indigenous rebellions in Japan from time to time. What's the situation?"

"The Japanese bully the weak and fear the strong, and like to fight among themselves. They are just a bunch of clowns."

Gu Rentu said with disdain, and then said with some worry: "However, my king, there are millions of people in the several major islands of Japan. However, after these few years, the women have been trafficked to the Tang Dynasty, and most of the men have been driven to the mining area."

"Under our exploitation, the death toll is very serious every year."

"With only a decrease in output, the mine has been reduced by more than half. If this continues, in another ten or eight years, there will probably be no one left to work in the mine, and the locals will disappear completely."

Li Yan's face turned cold: "No defense, their role is to provide value for us. If they can't do that, then there is no need for them to exist."

"Don't worry. We have been living in peace with the Tang Dynasty in the past few years, and there have been no major wars. The Central Plains has good weather and the grasslands have also received supplies from the Central Plains. The population is expanding every year. If there are no people in the East, we can recruit people from the grasslands or the Central Plains."

"In the future, we can collect more prisoners in wars and send them to Japan to open mines. In addition, as long as we have money, we can also buy slaves from outside, such as in the Central Plains. They have a comfortable living environment, good government management, and a rapidly expanding population."

"We can add more items to the transaction. I believe Datang will be happy with that."

Li Yan smiled secretly. After the natives of Japan were wiped out, the silver mines could not be abandoned. From the information obtained from later generations, Li Yan knew that the silver mines here could be mined for hundreds of years without being exhausted.

Even at the current mining intensity, it can last until the Ming Dynasty.

(End of this chapter)