Soon, an idea from later generations entered Wei Zheng's vision...

After the end of World War II, the powerful Soviet Union fell apart in just a few decades. In addition to the increasingly rigid system in the Soviet Union, there is another very important reason.

As for this reason, it can be summed up in four words: arms race...

Under the drag of the arms race, the Soviet economy, which was already strong outside and worked at the middle, was dragged down little by little.

In front of me, I can use the same method to drag down the court's finances.

The only difference is that I want to change the arms race to a military race...

Through the Kuojun, the Nanjing court was forced to follow the Kuojun in order to ensure its own safety.

With more troops, the court will consume more and more food and money every year. When the troops reach a certain level, the Nanjing court will become a powerful and powerful court.

In this way, in order to support the army, the court will try every means to increase its income.

The result of this is that the tax pressure on ordinary people will become increasingly greater... and finally reaching an unbearable level. If you are forced to force yourself, you may raise the flag to rebel...

At that time, the imperial court far away in Nanjing will become step by step like when he was still in Beijing, facing a bad financial situation that was ineffective and peasant uprisings everywhere in the country. In the end, the entire imperial court will be dragged into the abyss and cannot get up even if it is still in Beijing.

In addition to letting the court break up their already very fragile economy through military militia, they can also further reduce the court's income through smuggling and other means.

Of the 20 million taels of tax per year in the Nanjing court, except for 10 million, the tax comes from fertile land.

Of the remaining 10 million taels of silver, more than nine million were obtained by the imperial court by monopolizing the two things of sea salt and iron.

If you can find a way to break this monopoly, it will not be very difficult for the court to get the tax of tens of millions of taels of silver.

Thinking of this, Wei Zheng's eyes lit up and he shouted directly to the guard at the door: "Immediately notify Zhou Changjun, Vice Premier Zhou, to come to my place, hurry up..."

Zhou Changjun, a merchant-born man, did not disappoint Wei Zheng. When Wei Zheng expressed his thoughts, he immediately received recognition from Zhou Changjun. "Prince, this method is absolutely feasible... Since the seawater salt drying on the coast of Shandong, the sales price of ordinary sea salt in several northern provinces has been reduced to one pound two pounds ago, not even 20% during the imperial rule... "As for fine salt, it has also been reduced because the price of raw materials has been greatly reduced. So far, the price of fine salt has been reduced to ten cents per pound, which is also only 20% a year ago... "" Because the price of fine salt has been greatly reduced. Now, among the northern provinces, more than 80% of ordinary people have eaten fine salt. "" And the Jiangnan area under the jurisdiction of the imperial court, because the imperial court monopoly, whether it is the price of ordinary sea salt or fine salt, it is still the level of a year ago, and there is no reduction... "Now, my Shandong coastal releases every month

The 50 million kilograms of ordinary sea salt produced were sold to the court at a price of 2 cents per kilogram, and transported to Jiangnan by the court itself, and then sold by major salt merchants in Jiangnan at a price of nearly 10 cents per kilogram. ""I can be sure that, except for the cost and the profits of major salt merchants in Jiangnan, the Nanjing court could charge at least five cents of taxes per kilogram of sea salt... Five cents per kilogram of salt, and fifty million kilograms of salt is 250,000 taels of silver... "" That is,

To say that if we are close to sea salt, the Nanjing court can charge a salt tax of three million taels of silver... ""Ordinary sea salt three million taels. The more profitable fine salt is counted as three million, which is a total of six million taels of silver... ""If we can find a way to smuggle sea salt into Jiangnan, so that ordinary sea salt and fine salt are only the hands of the court and the salt merchants in Jiangnan. Then, the Nanjing court will be able to collect one million taels of salt every year... Thank God...

According to Zhou Changjun, the tax on the court's five million taels of silver was removed at once. If you make a move in other aspects, you can get rid of the tax on the court's tens of millions of silver...

So, after Zhou Changjun finished speaking, Wei Zheng's eyes had already shot out two rays of hot light.

He subconsciously asked Zhou Changjun: "Since the plan is feasible, then are there any difficulties in operation..."

Zhou Changjun replied thoughtfully: "Prince, since it is smuggling, the more smuggling points and the more hidden they are, the less likely they are to be discovered by the court..."

"As long as we are willing, many merchants go back to do the people who enter Jiangnan to smuggle and sell sea salt... because the profits are too big... As long as you sell the salt, it means making money..."

"However, among these links, there is one very difficult... that is, how to secretly transport salt to every point in Jiangnan without being discovered by the court... You should know that over the past year, the sea salt entering Jiangnan was transported by the court itself. In addition, the court has arranged heavy troops on all major transportation routes, and it is almost impossible to transport a large number of sea salt into Jiangnan by land..."

Wei Zheng nodded and asked, "From what I know about you... Since you have raised this question, there must be a solution... Tell me about your ideas. As long as the problem is not big, I will support you..."

"Yes, prince... My idea is to let the navy participate in this smuggling... We all know that the imperial navy has been destroyed in name only after several defeats. As long as the navy is dispatched, we can transport sea salt to every corner of the south of the Yangtze River through water..."

"Yes..." For the future of the Tiger and Leopard Army, in order to curb the development of the imperial court and reduce the burden on the people in Jiangnan, Wei Zheng answered without thinking!

"The Navy participated, on the one hand, to help the Foreign Trade Department smuggle sea salt into Jiangnan, and on the other hand, it can also train the army through smuggling... Tell the navy soldiers that during the smuggling process, if they encounter siege, if they encounter siege, I will allow them to fight back..."

Salt can be smuggled, greatly reducing the salt tax revenue of the Jiangnan court.

There is no doubt that iron can do this.

In addition, after the court lost Jiangnan, it was impossible to meet the needs of Jiangnan with its iron production. As long as Wei Zheng was willing, the court's iron tax of at least two million taels of silver per year could be reduced at any time...

However, what Wei Zheng did not expect was that because of his smuggling and the unimpeded movement of the Tiger and Leopard Navy in the waters of the south of the Yangtze River, it actually led to an arms race, forcing the conceited Emperor Chongzhen to draw military expenses from the new army, build naval warships, re-establish the navy, and fight against the Tiger and Leopard Navy...
Chapter completed!