Turn 3 - First Action ResultsTURNTURNTURNBureaucratic Expansion And National Standards
Money is good. More money is better. Having sources able to provide more money on a steady basis is even better.
Bad business is bad, so the empire has bean counters audit businesses in order to identify poorly managed enterprises with potential to thrive. This Imperial Revenue Service helps successful business owners find and buy out failing businesses within the same field in order to improve efficacy of the markets overall. Businesses that benefit from BEANS have a slightly increased tax rate but benefit from boosted business brought on by preferential treatment and closer overall ties to the Empire. Monopolization is good if it works in our favor’
[Lucky] Everyone loves money. Very few people in the Imperial Court have any complaints about this reform, since it should make everyone richer. And with the Imperial budget recently reviewed, it proves relatively easy to identify sectors where profitability could be increased. The Imperial Revenue Service quickly gains a beloved status- a visit from the IRS means getting more money, after all. Even those whose businesses are bought out don't complain too much, since they are given fair compensation.
Establishing BEANS does come with some up-front costs, but the treasury is well-stocked, and the investments quickly pay for themselves. Concerns have been raised, however, that if we were- hypothetically- to find ourselves in a tight monetary situation, we might not be able to pay for these sort of projects, even knowing they will quickly prove profitable. After all, for the Empire to stoop to taking
loans seems unthinkable. Even merchants are reluctant to take loans, given the tendency of lenders to be... predatory in their requests for compensation.
On the other hand, some merchants that the IRS has been dealing with complain of the opposite problem- too much money. Which sounds like... not actually a problem, but apparently these merchants feel like money should be moving around, not sitting in a vault. But they're busy running their own businesses, and can't always find places to 'invest' their wealth profitably- they don't want to just lend out money to whoever asks, since there's too much risk.
Anyway, that's probably an unsolvable problem. Fortunately, it isn't a problem for us, since BEANS has increased our tax income significantly
(+1 Wealth), whilst also revitalising the economy in several areas. Not that the economy was in a bad shape, but extra resilience never hurt.
The heavy rains continue, but local governors report that they have moved or rebuilt afflicted villages, and shored up flood defences in at-risk areas. The matter is resolved.
The State of the Empire:
Population: 6
Wealth: 7
Military: 6
Technology: 7
Reputation: 7
DISASTER: nothing at the moment.
REFORMS:
-Revived Senate (chance to avert civil wars)
-Revised Imperial Budget (makes financial reforms easier)
-Imperial Workforce And Relief Fund (makes infrastructure expansion easier, makes peasants unhappy)
-Northern Canals And Ecological Livability Project (increases risk of flooding, decreases risk of drought)
-Bureaucratic Expansion And National Standards (decreases risk of economic turmoil)
Choose your second action, and a stat to manually decline.