People's living standards can be high or low. Even herdsmen may be self-sufficient in other aspects, except salt, which means they cannot be self-sufficient.
Salt is something that people need to maintain life. Any government needs to control the salt production area. This is a truth that even the chieftain understands.
But on the other hand, everyone's demand for salt is not large. A few kilograms a year is enough for daily needs. Therefore, people are not as sensitive to changes in salt prices as they are to changes in food prices. There are huge profits hidden in this process. With the existence of this characteristic, salt became a good tax revenue support for the imperial court.
In the Ming Dynasty, salt tax was the second largest revenue, second only to grain tax.
In the Tang Dynasty, the salt tax reform after the Anshi Rebellion made salt tax revenue account for half of the total tax revenue.
Liu Chengzong had not been exposed to these things in the past and did not understand them, but Yang Dingrui knew these things very well.
From the court's point of view, taxation is necessary and more needs to be collected, but how to get the most wool and listen to the least amount of sheep is progress.
Yang Dingrui did not think that the reforms Liu Chengzong was going to carry out in the seven counties of Kangning Prefecture were progress. Although he wanted to give slaves the treatment of free people and distribute land, this could only be a good thing at best.
If you endure the pain yourself and seek benefits for others, isn’t that a good thing?
Yang Dingrui believes that the progress Liu Chengzong needs to make is not to be a good person, but to establish a progressive court.
In the past, in northern Shaanxi, it was enough to be a good person. Whether it was the land or food that had been robbed and distributed to others, the poor people could be followed by the hungry army. They could lead people to fight and live day by day.
It was correct at the time.
But now that we have a stable place, we have to consider long-term stability.
"Salt and iron must be specialized, and I think this is not the time to promote paper money on a large scale." Yang Dingrui said: "We have too little silver. Promoting paper money at this time will make a quick buck, but it will not help long-term stability."<
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Yang Dingrui said with a smile: "When there is more silver, we can try to promote lion tickets. After all, we need to promote a currency, and no party, including the government, is allowed to reject this currency."
There is no problem with collecting taxes to raise lion votes. The problem is that their silver reserves are too small.
This really made Liu Chengzong feel funny. Just a year ago when they arrived in Cowan, he was still complacent about having 300,000 taels of silver. He didn't expect that in just one year, 300,000 taels of silver would be nothing.<
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The main reason is that there are too many troops involved in the Western Expedition. If there were only two battalions of the Liu brothers, this money should be enough to provide military pay for five years.
Now when Yang Dingrui said it, Liu Chengzong understood where the currency opportunity he was talking about was.
Currency reserves and credit are indispensable. Without reserves, this currency cannot resist risks; without credit, people will not be willing to use it.
The Ming Dynasty's treasure banknotes are the lessons learned from the past. Firstly, there is no reserve fund, and secondly, the treasure banknotes are not collected when taxes are collected.
The problem before Liu Chengzong now is the same. He needs reserves, and he needs to collect bills to collect taxes. But if all he collects are bills, and if the silver reserves remain unchanged, sooner or later the bills will be overissued.
What he has to face is not just tens of thousands of troops in the Gulf of Curtain, but at least 200,000 people within his jurisdiction, and this number will increase as he controls this land.
All the work must start from here.
Yang Dingrui said: "And the establishment of the Salt Law can also solve a problem, the problem of transporting silver from north to south. As long as we control the salt field here, we can turn the salt into silver. If we make the people rich, the people will be able to give us more money."
Taxes are the key to progress."
"This is a good idea. Several salt fields around Nangqian are now in my hands. As long as the regulations are formulated, construction can start immediately."
Liu Chengzong raised his hand and said: "But we have to calculate the wages of the salt dryer."
The salt fields of Kangning Prefecture are concentrated in Nangqian County. These salts made Nangqian the largest market in the surrounding area, but they did not make King Nangqian rich.
Because several large saltworks in the surrounding areas used to be under the name of Genbeng Temple, the only saltworks that did not belong to monks, the leader paid more tribute to King Nangqian every year, so it was difficult to make a qualitative change in wealth.
Anyway, it’s quite strange. It is clearly the largest salt producing area in the surrounding area. It has no wealthy ruler, the salt is still sold very expensive, and the people do not benefit from it.
"Salary?"
Yang Dingrui touched his chin and found that things were not simple: "How did they calculate wages in the past? Was it a private salt farm that paid salt tax, or a government-run salt farm that sold salt out?"
Liu Chengzong shook his head: "Without the salt tax, the people who cook the salt are not ordinary people but slaves, with an annual salary of 365 tsampa."
Yang Dingrui grinned, lowered his head and scratched the edge of his hairline, with confusion on his face: "You shouldn't, Tubo doesn't do this either."
"Nangqian has 4,000 households, including more than 2,000 households of slaves, and more than 1,000 households of poor people who have no extra food and need to store it. There is no need to produce more salt."
Liu Shizi spread his hands and said: "Of course there is no need to consider the salt method. Just set a price and take it out. If you can afford it, eat it. If you can't afford it, go home and eat light food. For the local serfs, boiling salt in the salt farm is very happy.
Work."
Yang Dingrui was very puzzled by this. When he came, he met many people who came to see him on the road. They were all well-dressed and well-organized. It was very quiet and peaceful. With the beautiful scenery of snow-capped mountains, along the way, he felt
Except there are fewer people, everything else is pretty good.
Why did Liu Shishi now say that one tsampa every day in the salt field has become a very happy job, like hell on earth.
When he raised his doubts, Liu Chengzong shook his head with emotion: "The reason you came here to see the peace and tranquility is because on the way into Kangning Mansion, all the slaves in the territories were recruited by me to fight. There are people in this land who enjoy the world.
The greatest blessing is that some people endure the deepest suffering in the world."
"Sir, let me tell you a story, about slaves and salt."
Liu Chengzong sat on the edge of the bed, leaning against the Kang table with his legs crossed and said: "Basang is a serf. One day, gods appeared and gave Basang many things, including a large piece of fat and thin stewed mutton, a large stack of sheep skins, and a bag.
Sugar, several bags of highland barley noodles, and a salt brick the size of a watermelon, guess what?"
Yang Dingrui smiled: "This Basang is really lucky. He eats stewed mutton dipped in sugar, carries highland barley noodles in sheepskin, and carries salt bricks home. It's a good thing."
"He didn't care about eating meat. He threw himself on the salt brick and licked it. After licking it, someone wrapped it for him and sent it to Nangqian for his wife to lick."
Liu Chengzong raised his hand and knelt on the kang table twice, looked at Yang Dingrui intently, and shook his head slowly: "This story is true, there are no gods. This is the reward given to Basang the day after I led the army to Danba." Yang Dingrui didn't speak. This matter exceeded his understanding of the normal world. He wanted to speak several times, but he was confused for a long time before asking: "Why is he? If he doesn't eat salt, it won't be like this!"
"There is a difference in cognition between you and him."
Liu Chengzong said expressionlessly, then raised his thumb and said to himself: "I know that if I don't eat salt for a few days, I will turn into a soft-footed shrimp. At this time, I will have to eat some salt to return to normal, but
For him, that's not the case."
"He thinks salt is a magic medicine and eating it will make him stronger... Sir, do you understand what the difference is?"
Yang Dingrui was silent.
Liu Shizi always ate salt, but the experience of being without food as a soldier made him realize that he would be weak without salt.
Basang does not eat salt. His only few experiences of eating salt taught him that eating salt will greatly increase his strength.
But Yang Dingrui had no way of knowing all this. He had never stopped eating salt in his life, and sometimes he even thought the cooks at the Yan'an government office were too salty when cooking.
This made him silent for a long time, and then he said: "Originally, I wanted to give you the service regulations compiled by Fourth Master and I, but now it seems that it is not possible. There is also the Salt Law. You should forget what I said first.
”
Liu Chengzong asked: "What?"
"Give me an interpreter. I learned some Western language in Ju'erwan and the Fan soldiers in Riyue Mountain, but I still can't understand some of the words I spoke quickly. Do you still have the slaves you mentioned in Nangqian? I still have to go to Makang
Going to the county?"
Yang Dingrui said: "I plan to eat and live with the slaves for a period of time. They are the largest number of people in this set of regulations. The laws must be adapted to local conditions."
"Eating and living together? There is a salt farm in the southeast. The leader there is quite respectful and has not touched him for the time being."
As Liu Chengzong spoke, he couldn't help but imagine the Jinshi teacher squatting under the ladder and stuffing tsampa into his mouth. He quickly shook his head and said: "Forget it, let's go to Makang. Basang's barracks is better, although the food is not so good.
, you can ask them about their past days."
But Yang Dingrui became stubborn and shook his head: "No, just go to the salt field, just in time to see what they are doing!"
"No, no, no!" Liu Chengzong waved his hand and said: "Sir, you just said you were a guest, and you were served by the leader as a guest. Just take a look with your own eyes and ask questions. You can't stand it if you eat and live together.
The suffering."
Yang Dingrui stood up proudly: "The words of the Generalissimo are very contemptuous of your teacher. I, Yang Xingzhuang Hanchuang, have endured the hardships of studying hard for twenty years, what other hardships can I not endure?"
That’s it for sure. Is studying fucking called suffering?
Perhaps for Yang Dingrui, after twenty years of sharpening a sword, unsheathing it and being admitted to the imperial examination to become a fifth-rank official, he became a leader among hundreds of thousands of people.
Perhaps the sword was not very sharp or satisfactory to him, so Han Chuang's hard study became the greatest hardship he had ever experienced in his life.
But the happiest time in Liu Chengzong's life was during those twelve years of studying.
Compared to working as a servant in Yuhe Fort, studying hard in a cold window is nothing!
Although Yang Dingrui wore glasses and had a very scholarly temperament, Liu Chengzong knew that his teacher was also very strong-minded and could not stop him from doing what he wanted to do, so he sent a message to the leader of the salt field, asking Yang Dingrui to go over and do it.
It’s just a few days of work, let’s go and take a look.
In fact, he had expected that Yang Dingrui would be unhappy in the end, and the local leader who was carefully serving him would also feel uncomfortable.
But he never expected that Yang Dingrui was only there for three days.
The name of the salt field is Baizha, which is ninety miles away from Nangsuo Qianmo Palace and is surrounded by forests.
Baizha means monkey. Legend has it that a long time ago, monkeys in the forest often gathered in one place, licked the spring water and then left. Later, people discovered that the spring water had a salty taste, and it tasted good when mixed with spring water in food, so they established
Saltworks.
The salt in all the salt fields in Nangqian comes from spring water, so it is different from the lake salt in Chaka and Shanxi. It is spring salt, but it also needs brine to dry, which is similar.
I spent one day in the past and stayed one night nearby. On the second day, I went shopping all day and slept all night. On the third day, I worked all day and rode horseback to Nangqian overnight.
It was already early in the morning when we arrived at Nangqian. He rushed into the third floor of the manor in a hurry. Fan Sanlang, who was on duty in the hall, was so frightened that he almost pulled the trigger.
Liu Chengzong was woken up in his sleep, and he heard Yang Dingrui say in a daze that he wanted to raise the king's master two hundred and defeat Baizha.
With a swish, Liu Chengzong suddenly woke up. Anger arose in his heart. He was completely sleepless. Who dares to bully my teacher?
He asked: "What's going on?"
Yang Dingrui's talk gradually calmed down Liu Chengzong's anger. Instead, he and Fan Sanlang sat in the hall, both holding back their laughter.
Liu Chengzong met Bai Zhatou. He lost his hand in the war to protect Ga Ma's brother. He was a very loyal and honest middle-aged man.
What's too bad is that it's too honest and simple.
As far as normal people are concerned, if the teacher of the Generalissimo of Qinghai said that he wanted to visit this salt farm, eat, live and live with the slaves, and do the same work, wouldn't that improve the status of all the slaves? Everyone should eat something good.
Have a nice stay.
Liu Chengzong originally thought the same thing. Anyway, he had long been mentally prepared. Even if Bai Zhatou took good care of him, Yang Dingrui would definitely complain about the slaves, and Bai Zhatou's territory would never be preserved.
But it doesn't matter. Liu Chengzong can compensate the leader who was loyal to the old master and let him go to Lin Cong as a floating official. Anyway, it is a general trend to change from native to local. Those who change first will get better treatment, but those who change later will get less benefits.
But Bai Zatou did not have this understanding. He was a very loyal and capable leader to the slave owner, not a very loyal and capable official.
A very loyal official will choose to be flexible in matters, but a very loyal leader will not. He will only complete the master's orders to the letter, even if he is smart enough to know that completing the orders in this way will be harmful to him.
No matter what.
Because the slave only needs to complete the order and cannot arbitrarily speculate on the reason why the leader issued the order, the leader also cannot arbitrarily speculate on the reason why the king issued the order.
In their context, the word Jiabo has no distinction between king or emperor. It means the most powerful man in the land.
So Liu Chengzong is the king here. The king asked his teacher to be a slave in Baizha, that is, being a slave.
Yang Dingrui went there on the first morning, visited the manor, and looked at the various treasures collected by Bai Zatou, hoping that he would take whatever he liked.
At the banquet, we ate beef with sand and gold and silver silk cakes, drank a cup of sweet fermented grains made from oats, and slept on a bed covered with camel hair. There were also two girls who were bathed and fragrant. p>
That night, he was the most distinguished guest of Baizha Salt Field.
But when he woke up, everything changed. He was roughly stripped of all his clothes, stripped naked, put on shackles and chained, and was led staggeringly to the salt field along with countless slaves.
They cannot wear clothes, as clothes will take away the salt water from their owners.
To be precise, it's them.
All the people who work in the salt field are women, and there is only one man, Yang Dingrui. Everyone is naked. Yang Dingrui is the whitest one in the crowd, so white that he shines.
He will never forget that on that day when the sun turned his face red, he was like a white bamboo shoot, deeply rooted in the salt field and not daring to move.
That day, he endured the long whip whipped by the supervisor all day long, not to bask in the salt, but to cover the wind chimes swinging under his crotch.
