Midyear Reports (I)

The next day, Victor happened to be listening to the territory officials' routine mid-year report.

"... Duke Grace, according to the statistics of the Household Registration Department, the total population of the Golden Sunflower Family's three territories has now exceeded 3.5 million, which is still a little short of 4 million."

However, based on last year's birth and death rates, it is estimated that a breakthrough can be achieved within five years. The territory's population is very young, and according to the Research Institute's prediction, the population growth rate will become even faster in the future.

We've determined that our territory no longer needs to purchase population from outside, so we can save on that expense!

As the Sheriff of Two Rivers County and concurrently the Minister of State for three territories, Powell was usually the first to give a report, which was a summary based on population data of the territories.

After hearing the territory's current population data, Victor nodded, but offered a different opinion. "Don't stop buying people yet. The war has just ended, and slave prices are at a historical low. Now is a good time to buy slaves, and the territory isn't short of money."

As for when to stop, it's not too late to stop after slave prices rise.

Next, the Taxation Department reported, "Currently, the Golden Sunflower Territory in Two Rivers County and Boler County has generated 33,000 gold in tax revenue for the first half of this year, representing a 7% year-on-year increase..."

The tax revenue of Qinghe County in the first half of the year mainly came from the summer harvest agricultural tax, which achieved a breakthrough of 5,000 gold coins. This amount was enough to meet the needs of the government system and the garrison.

Therefore, as per the previous plan, the tax revenue was directly allocated to the county government.

Education Department: "This year, the territory's education system has added 13,700 new students."

Currently, there are 41,000 students in primary education and 3,400 students in secondary education, a small increase.

The higher education sector has reached a historical high through joint programs with the Raine Kingdom, with the total number of enrolled students exceeding 2,000, reaching 2,041, representing a year-on-year increase of 67%.

Duke Grace, I believe the time is ripe to continue expanding enrollment in primary and secondary schools within the territory!

After listening, Victor remained silent for a moment, then said, "Indeed, since the establishment of the Golden Sunflower Academy, the number of students in higher education has grown rapidly, exceeding 2,000 so quickly. But can the teaching quality and environment be guaranteed?"

Minister of the Education Department Gallawell quickly replied, "Your Duke, please rest assured that the first phase of construction at the Golden Sunflower Academy has been completed and is sufficient to meet the teaching needs of 2,000 students."

Meanwhile, many of these students are exchange students sent by the Raine Royal House. Most are enrolled in short-term programs, and currently half are interning in factories and Research Institute. It can be said that the academy's educational resources are quite abundant, and there is even room for further enrollment.

Victor nodded. "In the future, higher education will mainly consist of college education. The number of students in the part-time work-study education model in Research Institute will gradually decrease, and it will become a higher level of education, only for those students who perform the best and have the highest quality."

However, the college is not in a hurry to expand its enrollment, as its current student body basically includes all those who are capable of pursuing further education at the intermediate level.

However, the territory can indeed continue to increase the number of students in the intermediate and primary education stages, which is also beneficial for talent selection.

I will increase the budget for the Education Department next year. Have you formulated any plans to expand enrollment?

"Your Duke, the plan has been devised."

According to our calculations, primary education currently lasts about four years, but will increase to five years in the future. By adjusting the curriculum, we can free up some teaching staff and hire a new batch of teachers, which will allow us to increase enrollment by 3,000 students per year. Within the next five years, we can increase the number of students enrolled and the total number of students in school to over 100,000.

The increase in funding is not significant, since primary education in the territory is still fee-based, with half of the funding coming from the students themselves and the other half from the territory's allocation.

The additional educational expenses for these 3,000 students per year, even including the costs of hiring teachers and textbooks, would not exceed 1,000 yuan.

The enrollment scale for secondary education can be directly increased to 2,000 students. Originally, our secondary education was a three-year program, with an annual enrollment of about 1,100 students. This expansion is almost double, and there is a large funding gap in this part of education.

After all, the vast majority of tuition fees for secondary education come from government funding, and calculations show that an additional 1,000 gold coins are needed each year.

Victor: "In that case, I'll directly allocate an additional 5,000 gold coins to you. You can expand your enrollment, but you can't sacrifice teaching quality. At the same time, you should also increase the salaries and benefits of your faculty and staff."

"Yes, Your Duke."

The Navy Department jointly reported, "Currently, the Golden Sunflower Family has standing military personnel, including more than 100 in the Army and more than 100 in the Navy and inland river fleet."

In addition, there are local Garrison Army and more than 137,000 registered militia members of various types, including first-level militia members who can guarantee training once a quarter.

Currently, due to the recent merger with Qinghe County, the territory has seen a significant increase in its Garrison Army, which has been deployed there. However, the number of the Garrison Army in the territory is still insufficient.

The territory's navy was also divided into two parts, one stationed along the coast of Qinghe County and the other stationed in Two Rivers County. The navy also suffered from a certain degree of manpower shortage.

Therefore, based on the current defense needs of our territory, our Army Department and Navy Department wish to continue expanding the military.

At the very least, the Garrison Army should be increased by about 8,000 personnel, while the navy hopes to add 8 light patrol ships and 3 medium-sized cruisers, totaling 2,000 tons, with a crew of 1,300.

Victor frowned. "Although the Garrison Army is considered a relatively inexpensive unit among the standing armies, with smaller equipment and troop size compared to regular legions, it is not a cheap mobilization force like the militia."

Adding 8,000 people at once is a significant investment, not to mention supporting them.

The navy is even more expensive. To increase the number of naval ships and soldiers according to this structure, the ships and equipment alone would cost around 5,000 gold, which is comparable to the increased education expenses.

This reinforcement of troops by the army and navy, along with the investment in equipment maintenance and military construction costs, exceeds ten thousand gold coins, which will definitely put a considerable burden on the entire territory's finances.

Victor did not give the Navy Department a reply, after all, the various funds for the territory were still very precious, and he could not agree directly.

He simply asked the heads of the Army Department and Navy Department to reassess the situation and reduce the number of reinforcements.

He planned to listen to the report from the Commerce Department first.