Hercule is a human being.

　It is true that Hercule has various ideas and knowledge that are not found in this world, and because he is not bound by the fixed concepts of this world, he can think flexibly. ...... However, he is only human, and his knowledge is limited.

　It is true that Hercule may be smarter than humans, but he is still a human being, and there are limits to what he can do, and he can make mistakes.

　It is true that Hercule is an "agent of God" on earth, but this is only a setting, and in reality he is neither an agent nor a child of man.

　Therefore, Hercule's abilities are limited.


　In the past, the Lemurian Empire placed a great deal of emphasis on agriculture.
　Or rather, in this world.

　In this world, commerce and industry are still considered lowly.

　However, Hercule believed that there was a way to make a living in commerce and industry.

　Therefore, he monopolized coffee and bone ash porcelain, encouraged the cultivation of commodity crops such as sugar and cotton, and formed guilds of merchants to collect taxes from them in order to stabilize his finances.

　However, Hercule was neither a merchant nor an economist.
　There are limits to his abilities.

　And the bureaucrats of Lemuria, while competent, were not very bright in economics.

　So ......
　Hercule decided to hire an expert.




　"Let me start by saying thank you. Thank you, Mr. Shylock and Mr. Antonio, for accepting my offer to be Minister of Finance, Commerce and Trade.
　"No, Your Majesty. I'm honored to be asked to serve in such a prestigious capacity.
　I will certainly do my best to live up to your expectations.


　I was summoned to the audience room by two human men.

　One of them had dark hair and a slim figure. The other was a middle-aged man with a stern face, dark eyes, and a nose as sharp as an eagle's beak.

　This man's name is Shylock.
　He is a six-star man whom Hercule approached to become the Minister of Finance, and he is a merchant who mainly works in finance.

　The other man has brown hair and is of medium height. A young man with a gentle face and light brown eyes.

　This man's name is Antonio.
　He is a Messianic man whom Hercule approached to be the Minister of Commerce and Trade, and is a merchant who is mainly engaged in trading.

　Hercule met these two men about five years ago ......, that is, when Hercule was twelve years old and had started his financial reform.

　After listening to the opinions of the bureaucrats, Hercule began to reform the tax system and monopolize local products, but ...... his policies were not perfect.
　However, his policies were not perfect. These two people pointed this out.

　The fact that a person who is not a nobleman or a bureaucrat can give an opinion to the emperor shows a great deal of courage and shows that he thinks he is right.

　So Hercule took the opinions of the two "experts" and modified the policy.
　The result: ...... was a great success.

　Hercule really wanted to appoint both of them at that time. ......
　But they both had their own problems.

　First, Shylock.
　He was a Six Star.

　The Lemurian Empire was a Messianic nation, and the Six Stars were the enemies of Messianism, who had betrayed and murdered the Messiah, the Son of God.
　There was a lot of opposition to appointing them.

　Then there was Antonio.
　He was a messianist, but not from the ...... Lemurian Empire.

　He was a trader from the western city-state of the Republic of Adleria.

　He himself emigrated to Nova Lemuria long ago and became a citizen of Lemuria. ......
　Since the Republic of Adorlia was an enemy of the Lemurian Empire, vying for control of the Album Sea and the trade zone, there was much opposition to the idea of taking Antonio.

　At the time, Hercule's political base was not yet stable, so he decided not to appoint him.

　At present, however, there are no political forces in the Lemurian Empire that are hostile to Hercule.

　So we can hire him with impunity.

　Now, let's get you two to work. I'm going to outline the second round of tax reform. I want you two to work out the details with the bureaucrats.

　Hercule then told them the details of the second round of tax reform.

　The contents of the previous tax reform, or "First Tax Reform", are as follows

　Commercial Tax

　Before the reform: ...... Collected from each merchant.
　After the reform: ...... The tax is collected from each merchant by forming a guild and receiving a payment from the guild.

　Per capita tax.

　Before the reform ......The tax is collected regardless of the amount of property.
　After the reform: ...... Messianic Orthodox and Achaeans were exempted. After the reform: Messianic Orthodox and Alexians are exempted.

　Land Tax.

　Before the reform: ...... "Payment of money" is recommended (...). Inspection Law. Not including per capita tax (low amount).
　After the reform: ...... "Payment by money" is recommended in principle (...). Pay a fixed amount of tax every year. Per capita tax is included (high amount).

　Emancipation Tax.

　Before the reform: ...... No change
　After the reform: ...... unchanged.


　These reforms were carried out with an emphasis on how to secure financial resources easily and simply without incurring labor costs.

　As a result, there are four areas where the reforms are not thorough.

　One is that the burden of the commercial tax per merchant may be extremely heavy for some and extremely light for others, or that the tax may be levied 'equally' regardless of their income.
　The burden per merchant is decided by the guild and not by the state.

　Therefore, there was a possibility of inequality or excessive equality among merchants.

　Next, the land tax.
　First of all, this method of collecting land tax has a major drawback.
　This is because it does not take into account the value of money, the fluctuation of the price of gold.
　To put it more simply, it does not take into account price changes.

　What does this mean?　Here is a simple explanation: ......



　For example, let's say the size of the land dictates that you pay a tax of one gold coin.
　But for some reason, the value of money plummets and prices rise. ......
　And finally, the price of goods increases a hundredfold.

　If the price of goods increases a hundredfold, the goods that could be bought with one gold coin now require a hundred gold coins.
　In other words, the tax revenue has effectively been reduced to one hundredth.

　This is not much of a problem for a household purse, but when it comes to a national budget, even a slight rise in prices can lead to a significant drop in tax revenue.

　Also, since the per capita tax is still fixed, there is a possibility that tax revenues will fluctuate as well.

　And ......
　The last problem is that the emancipation tax is still untouched.

　This emancipation tax is an antique that has been around for over a thousand years, and it is incredibly archaic.
　To use an analogy, it is on the level of the Japanese tax system, which still has a tax and tax adjustment system.

　Now, in order to solve these problems and secure stable financial resources, Hercule is planning to carry out the "Second Tax Reform".

　The first is the land tax, which will be set at a fixed rate according to the land income of the year. The problem is tax evasion. ...... That's why the bureaucracy has been strengthened.

　This is the reason why Hercule increased the number of bureaucrats.
　This is why Hercule increased the number of bureaucrats.
　So he decided to increase the number of bureaucrats to make it impossible for them to evade taxes.

　The labor cost will increase, but it will be a small price to pay in exchange for a stable tax revenue.

　Incidentally, it is very important to note that ......
　Land revenue is the amount of money made from the use of the land, not the crops harvested from the land.

　A per capita tax is also set at a certain rate based on a person's income. Are we clear so far?
　You have no objections?
　Yes, that's all right.

　Both Shylock and Antonio were merchants who did not own land, so they had little interest in land taxation.
　Shylock was a six-star man, but he was not so poor as to complain about a little per capita tax.

　"Now, as for land tax and per capita tax, Shylock. You sum it up nicely. You're a six-star, and you're good with the ...... nobility, right?
　"Yes, I'll take care of it. Yes, the nobles are my clients.

　The aristocrats were usually landowners and often debtors.
　There are times when a nobleman needs a large sum of money to act like a nobleman, or to invest in new land or irrigation canals,......, and in such cases, they usually borrow money from moneylenders like Shylock.

　In the event that you've got a lot of money, you'll be able to use it as collateral.

　In addition, it is too early to associate debt with poverty.
　As long as you can keep paying back your debts steadily, there is no problem.

　Well, some aristocrats live in extreme poverty, and sometimes their land is really taken away from them. ......
　Most of the time, other nobles will help them out before that happens, and Shylock and the others will cut them some slack.

　The Shylocks can't manage to get their hands on land.

　Now, on to the commerce tax. So far we have been collecting it from the guilds in return for privileges. ...... From now on, we will collect it from each merchant who belongs to the guild. The guilds will be responsible for tax collection and will be fined jointly and severally for any tax evasion, and in some cases the privileges will be taken away.

　All that remains to be done is to periodically check the sales figures to make sure that no tax evasion is taking place.
　This would solve the inequality in commercial taxation.
　And ...... will be able to collect taxes more effectively than ever before.

　"This is Antonio. It's all yours.
　"Yes, I'll see what I can do.

　Antonio has access to all kinds of business and industry.
　He was the perfect person to negotiate and coordinate with the guilds.

　And ...... abolish the emancipation tax and introduce a new tax on the possession of slaves and a tax on the purchase of slaves. Leave the former to Shylock and the latter to Antonio.

　In the first place, slaves are not very desirable in the Messianic view of equality before God.
　Taxes should be taken where it is unlikely that people will complain.
　That is Hercule's idea.

　Hercule's goal is to continue to clamp down on slaveholders and eventually abolish slavery and collect taxes directly from former slaves.

　"Now, besides tax reform, there's something else I want you two to do. I'd like you two to do something besides tax reform, which is the job of the Minister of Finance and Minister of Commerce and Trade. ...... Shylock, I'd like you to sort out the finances, especially the debt. There are too many creditors. ...... It's getting a little messy. Get it together.

　If there are a hundred creditors and twenty, the latter will be easier and less complicated.
　Shylock will be able to do it better than Hercule.

　Also, please point out any waste from your perspective. Also, please review our investments.
　I'm pretty strict, you know?
　Don't worry. If I'm too strict, I'll loosen up.

　The final decision would be left to Hercule.
　I'll respect Shylock's judgment, though.

　"Antonio, you are to protect and foster the industries of the Empire. For this reason, I leave the control of the guilds to your discretion to some extent. Let them compete within reasonable limits.

　In this world, the power of commerce and industry is still weak, and if they are allowed to compete on price in the name of freedom, they may fall together. 　On the other hand, too much protection may cause prices to rise and quality to deteriorate.

　What is needed for the development of industry is a balance between freedom and protection.

　At the moment, Hercule is tipping the scales in favor of protection.

　There are other things I want you two to work on, but ...... will have to do for now. I'll be counting on you.
　"Yes!

　The two of them bowed deeply to Hercule.

　In addition,......, Shylock and Antonio, as you may have guessed from their names, do not get along very well.


　I recruited the two of them at the same time. ......

　The only reason they were recruited at the same time was to pit them against each other and to keep an eye on each other.

　...... Hercule is not the kind of man who would let infidels and gentiles get involved in state affairs without a plan.