Chapter five hundred and ninety-ninth implementation of the new salt law
Can it be so easy to accomplish something that is related to the national economy and people's livelihood?
Zhang Ximeng had already been planning the Salt Law, and Zhu Yuanzhang had also made plans and wanted to promote it... But when it came time to actually implement it, it took a lot of time to implement it, including salt works, commercial banks, selecting talents, and straightening out government affairs... It took several days.
It took several months to acquire several relatively small trading houses in Yingtian.
However, these few trading houses have brought indescribable impact.
People had been queuing up since the night before.
After waiting all night, I didn't feel tired at all.
The slightly stooped back is extremely strong. Everyone is looking forward to it, fearing that it is just a dream.
Finally the door opened.
The first old farmer tremblingly handed over a hundred Wen Bao notes.
They just asked: "How much do you want?"
"Everyone needs it!"
The clerk was a little startled. Seven cents per catty and one hundred cents were not a round number, but since he wanted it, there was nothing else to say.
He immediately put fifteen kilograms of it in his pocket, and then handed it to the old farmer.
"Deduct the weight of the bag, it's just a lot more."
The old farmer could no longer hear what he said. He just took the bag and weighed it in his hands. Then he stretched out his dark fingers, dipped a little salt in it, and stuffed it into his mouth.
Salty!
The old farmer grinned quickly and said, "Really, it's true! I know that Your Majesty doesn't lie!"
After saying this, the old farmer happily picked up his bag, turned around quickly, and ran home. Others behind him looked envious and admired.
Such a bag used to cost almost a ton of money, at least five hundred cash, but now, you can carry so much with just one hundred cash!
So cheap!
"We want it too!"
"Hurry up, everyone can't wait."
The guys in the trading houses didn't dare to hesitate. They were a little in a hurry at first, but they soon found the rhythm. Because of the low prices, the people were completely in the mood to buy goods.
Few of the people in the back took a hundred coins, and some even bought it with a lot of money!
More than one hundred kilograms of salt, is that a lot?
The first ten or so people in the family can eat them all within a year and a half at most. It is so cheap now, what if there is no more food in the future? There is great power in the seemingly thin body.
Even if it is just a woman, there is no difficulty in carrying a package weighing dozens of kilograms.
Everyone gathered with their friends, like they were celebrating the New Year, and came to buy.
In less than a morning, two trading houses were unable to cope with the situation.
I worked hard for most of the night yesterday, and the salt I moved with great difficulty has already bottomed out in just half a day.
Send a message to Prince Fang quickly!
"Good guy! This is so frustrating for everyone, hurry up and move to the city!" Fang Guozhen couldn't wait and took action himself.
Since you want to help, then you have to help to the end!
But soon Fang Guozhen discovered that it was too late to transport it to the city. Why not just start selling it at the dock?
Set up the stall, set up the scales, and arrange for people to collect money.
Then you can sell it!
Fang Guozhen's trick really worked. In fact, in the evening, everyone didn't even need to weigh the food. They just weighed it with their hands, as long as the portions were about the same.
Anyway, it’s so cheap, only a few pennies per pound, so you can’t afford to suffer a loss or be fooled, so what are you waiting for? Hurry up and get started!
Fang Guozhen's big ship was visibly empty.
The salt he brought this time won't last a few days.
I can't help it, everyone is too enthusiastic.
"Anyone can make a profit and lose money, but the key is to sell it like this, will you make a profit?" Zhu Yuanzhang became more and more concerned. He called Zhang Shicheng over and asked.
Zhang Shicheng grinned and said, "Your Majesty, in fact, when I was selling smuggled salt, I thought more than once that I would just sell salt like this! It's clean and tidy, and I can earn three cents per pound!"
"so much?"
"Yeah!" Zhang Shicheng said with a smile: "This is after deducting the rent and freight for the workers of the business... One stone salt can earn 360 cash. Calculated according to the 10% salt tax, it is also 36 cash!"
Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes lit up. Even though it was a small amount, an average of two or three families needed one rock salt a year. And the Ming Dynasty in front of him had a household registration of nearly ten million. After a little calculation, it was a huge annual income.
Moreover, Zhu Yuanzhang was keenly aware that the drop in salt prices could bring about huge changes.
In the past, after the people paid their land tax every year, they only had a little food left over. If they could barely keep themselves fed, it was already pretty good.
There is no balance at home.
Because of this, many women will use all their time to make knitting, embroidery, and weave at home. Men will also raise some livestock, go to the mountains to chop firewood, hunt, collect medicinal materials, and then exchange money.
The money they exchanged was to buy some salt.
But when the price of salt comes down, it will no longer be the biggest burden in people's lives, and other things can be prepared.
For example, building a house or getting married.
Also, when you get married, should you buy some red silk and add some jewelry?
You will find that among the people who came to buy salt with their precious money in their pockets, after discovering the real benefits, many of them were so happy that they turned around and bought two kilograms of meat or a piece of calico to take home.
Other shops followed suit and got a big deal. As a result, business improved a lot, and business taxes also increased accordingly.
The whole Yingtian seemed to be celebrating a festival.
The people were overjoyed and praised the new salt law in unison.
At least in Yingtian, we got off to a good start.
The news of the rapid drop in salt prices in Yingtian quickly spread through newspapers to other state capitals. Suzhou, Hangzhou, Songjiang... In many places, people signed a letter requesting the implementation of the Salt Law. Everyone is looking forward to it!
When your Majesty has something to do, you can't just take it easy. Ying Tian, that is the emperor's feet. We are also the people of the Ming Dynasty. Your Majesty can't favor one person over another!
Good guy, people everywhere are clamoring and snatching it up.
Zhu Yuanzhang was also encouraged, but he was not in a hurry. He endured it for a full month.
In this month, he will comprehensively evaluate the effect of the salt method and see how it goes!
In addition, Lao Zhu still has to wait for more salt to be shipped.
This is no joke. The biggest support behind the new salt law is high-quality and cheap salt. Without this, everything is in vain.
The pressure is on Changlu Saltworks, can you do it?
Zhang Ximeng can definitely tell Zhu Yuanzhang that not only is it possible, but it is also very effective!
Now is the season when the weather gets hotter and the sun shines brighter.
Most suitable for drying salt in salt fields.
In order to produce enough salt, Peng Zaozhu recruited more than 10,000 salt workers. This was not enough. At the busiest time, Hu Dahai brought more than 3,000 people to join the salt drying process.
Standing on the beach, you will see the endless salt fields, which are really like fields, dotted here and there, with no end as far as the eye can see.
After a night of sea breeze, the bottom of the salt pond was covered with snow-white crystals.
As long as they see this scene, no one will think that salt is a rare thing.
It is much easier to produce salt than crops watered with sweat.
The sea water is inexhaustible, and millions of kilograms of coarse salt can be produced in one night...Continue to be filtered and processed to make refined salt, and the Changlu Salt Field can load several large ships with 10,000 stones in a day.
Things that are so easy to obtain have been sold at exorbitant prices for so many years. The common people have really suffered a huge loss.
You can't wait any longer and you can push outward.
Zhu Yuanzhang summoned all the important officials in Beijing and announced the promotion of the new salt law.
Faced with this result, Zhongshu Sheng had no way to object and could not object.
It's just that the Taxation Department has some ideas. Hu Weiyong thinks that the salt tax can be included in the scope of the Taxation Department and levied by them uniformly?
Zhu Yuanzhang said coldly: "The salt tax will be temporarily transferred to the account of Changlu Saltworks. We and the Peiping Dusi will each hold half of the shares. How much tax and how much dividend will be calculated will be calculated clearly. When the time comes, the internal funds will be allocated to the treasury. You guys
Don’t worry about it for now.”
Hu Weiyong agreed calmly.
In one sentence, the tax department's idea was dismissed.
However, Hu Weiyong's words made others feel something was wrong.
Will this grandson rebel?
As long as the taxes are transferred to them, this guy will betray the big guys?
How shameless!
Needless to say, there are various situations in Yingtian Chaotang. With Zhu Yuanzhang in charge, it is difficult to think of anything.
But after leaving Yingtian, there seemed to be trouble. The first problem was in Suzhou.
The team transporting salt from the imperial court to Suzhou was besieged by a group of people. They claimed to be from local salt shops in Suzhou. The imperial court did not give them a way to survive. They had no choice but to fight to get the salt back or to
Killed them!
The two sides faced off for a long time. Fortunately, soldiers and horses arrived, and they were able to disperse the crowd and get the salt to Suzhou City.
But then news came out that whoever dared to help sell salt would be in trouble!
Suddenly, although the salt was shipped in, there was no place to sell it. It was really strange!
"Suzhou, it's Suzhou again! We have long said that Mr. was too soft last time and did not kill them all, and now these people have jumped out to cause trouble again."
Zhu Yuanzhang said angrily, and Queen Ma also frowned. Speaking of it, she was no less concerned about the Salt Law than Zhu Yuanzhang.
Because the prince participated in this salt method, it can be regarded as Zhu Biao's contribution.
If it were smashed into the hand, wouldn't it damage the prince's reputation?
"Chongba, sir, you have thought carefully. The new salt method is naturally good. With your methods, no one in the court dares to object openly... But out of Yingtian, only a few hundred miles away, Suzhou dares to
The blatant opposition to the Salt Law cannot be tolerated!"
Even Empress Ma felt that she was about to strike hard, and Zhu Yuanzhang would not be polite. He transferred the people from the Imperial Guard to arrest him immediately.
But just when Zhu Yuanzhang was about to take action, news came from Suzhou... On the second day after the salt was shipped to Suzhou, a group of female workers suddenly appeared, numbering more than 5,000.
They were divided into teams of thirty or fifty people, and coordinated with the imperial troops to attack decisively. In one night, they arrested more than seven hundred people.
There were those who were making trouble and those who were instigating them behind the scenes, and they were all sent to Zhou Huiniang, the archguard.
This wasn't the end of the story. Led by female workers from the Women's Textile Factory, 20 salt shops were set up in Suzhou City to sell salt directly.
They set a maximum purchase quantity and asked not to make repeated purchases. After buying salt, they were not allowed to resell it at a high price and could only eat it at home.
This group of female workers was actually better organized than Ying Tian, and now they couldn't defeat Lao Zhu.
If every city had such a group of warm-hearted and capable people, how many things would be saved!