Chapter 517: Sharpening the knife to the salt method
Here, I have to emphasize that economy, economy, economy are the fundamental determinants of a country.
Shanxi merchants, represented by the Eight Imperial Merchants, were equivalent to compradors in modern times. They were desperate for money and made outstanding contributions to the collapse of the Ming Dynasty.
Of course, this was also due to the weak control of the border by the imperial court in the late Ming Dynasty, so that the so-called sealing and control became illusory and the smuggling of materials became widespread.
In the final analysis, Shanxi merchants were just a facade, but in reality, after more than two hundred years, the small-scale peasant economy that the Ming Dynasty relied on for support went bankrupt and collapsed.
When the gentry and officials, coupled with some disasters, made it difficult for the farmers to survive, Shaanxi, as the shortest link of the barrel, became a loophole, and no matter how hard it was to fill it, it would be in vain.
Upper decision decided by the economic background.
The small-scale peasant economy of self-cultivating farmers can only give birth to a feudal dynasty. Even if a constitutional monarchy or a republic is implemented, it is just a castle on the beach, which can be washed away with a splash of urine.
Anyone who knows some historical knowledge knows that the Celestial Dynasty entered society only after the three major transformations were completed, but in the years after the founding of the People's Republic of China, it was not a society.
The question is raised, whether it is a feudal society or a capital society, the economy plays a decisive role.
As for the newly born Ming Dynasty, once the blockade policy is completely implemented, for the Manchu Qing Dynasty, which only occupies a small corner of the world, destruction will only be a matter of time.
But not many people see this kind of strategic vision.
Even in the cabinet, ministers still evaluated the Manchu Qing in terms of troops, population, food, etc.
In their predictions, the Manchu and Qing Dynasties still maintained a strength of nearly 100,000 troops. Although they lost some elites, their strength was not much different from before leaving the Pass.
Therefore, if the Ming Dynasty is number one in the world, then the Manchu Qing Dynasty is the number two in pursuit and should not be underestimated.
The emperor bluntly said that Liaodong could be recovered in one or two years, which was no less shocking than the bald eagle in later generations trying to destroy Maozi.
There are many retired generals from the steel plant.
"Your Majesty, war is not a trivial matter."
Zhao Shu frowned, his expression ugly.
"Conquering the enemy without fighting!" Zhu Yixi chuckled and said: "This is the power of the trade blockade. The Mongols have repeatedly knocked on the border, how can we avoid establishing slaves?"
"Just wait, the Jian slaves will either fight the Mongols, or they will want to enter the customs and plunder them."
Such confident words made several people in the cabinet feel in a trance, thinking that the emperor's words over the years were basically accurate, could it be true this time?
As a result, the topic immediately changed, and several people began to chat about how many years it would take to pacify Liaodong.
After fooling the cabinet, the emperor breathed a sigh of relief. Thinking that there were only a few months left, he still had some inexplicable nostalgia for Nanjing.
However, when talking about the economy, he thought of the Salt Policy regarding Jiangnan's stubborn problems.
If the land tax and business tax are clear swords, then the salt tax is a soft knife that cuts flesh, with less repercussions, and there are still salt merchants to draw hatred.
In the Song Dynasty, the salt tax reached tens of millions of taels. In the Daoguang period of the Qing Dynasty, the salt tax exceeded 10 million taels. By the end of Guangxu's reign, it was as high as 30 million taels, which was the peak in history.
Regarding the salt tax, when we were in Huguang, a guild system was implemented. Merchants took salt at a prescribed price and then sold it within a certain price range.
Strictly control the price of official salt, thus earning a lot of money for the shogunate.
In the Jiangnan area, the Ming Dynasty's salt law has always been implemented, and the Lianghuai salt merchants were prevalent.
Many people are curious, why are salt merchants so famous during the Ming and Qing Dynasties, but are rarely heard of during the Tang, Han, and Song dynasties?
In essence, it was due to the salt system invented by Cai Jing that it completely collapsed during the Wanli period.
That is, similar to the Ming Dynasty treasure banknotes, salt drinks were over-distributed and flooded, so much so that it was difficult to get salt even if there was salt.
Under such circumstances, in the forty-fifth year of Wanli (1617), the salt method was implemented according to the instructions of Yuan Shizhen of the Salt Method.
To put it simply, it is to eliminate those fake salt merchants and let the real salt merchants take the salt, thereby balancing the salt price and increasing tax revenue.
Professionals do professional things.
This idea was a good one, and it had miraculous results at first, but in the end it evolved into a hereditary salt merchant, from which he made a fortune and continued to be rich.
It fully illustrates that policy is one thing and implementation is another.
The court knew it was bad, but had no better way, because these big salt merchants were rich and could pay taxes as much as possible and sell salt throughout the country, but there were too many small salt merchants and they were too scattered to take care of them.
In this regard, for Emperor Shaowu, who was determined to change the country and make his rule stable, this salt system must be changed.
Soon, salt merchants and Lianghuai salt transport envoys received the emperor's order in Yangzhou.
However, during this interval, Zhu Yixi received a secret message from Zhu Jing in Beijing.
Basically, it is a statement, the affairs in Beijing, the conflicts between Jiang Yueguang and Chen Dong, and the views on the Chahar Ministry, etc., are described one by one.
"Beijing is generally quite stable."
The emperor showed a smile. He stood up and looked at the scorching sun outside the window, feeling somewhat refreshed in his heart.
Daming is a newly born giant ship, and it is slowly turning the rudder according to his direction.
The future may be bright or bleak, but who can predict it hundreds of years from now?
Yangzhou is very close to Nanjing. If you are in a hurry, you can reach it in one day.
The next day, Wei Kang, the Lianghuai salt transport envoy, took small steps to the palace.
He is from South Zhili, and is now from Tongcheng, Anqing Prefecture, Anhui Province. He was a second-level Jinshi in the first year of Chongzhen. After more than ten years, at the age of nearly fifty, he climbed to the third-level salt transport envoy.
It can be said that this is a lucrative position, but it is also an extremely important official position.
During the Hongguang period, no, it was the eighteenth year of Chongzhen, he curried favor with Ma Shiying and took the position of salt transport envoy. In the first year, he achieved 1.5 million taels.
And you must know that the maximum salt tax in the Ming Dynasty was only 2.5 million taels, and Huaiyan accounted for half of the salt industry, which was only more than 1 million taels. This was considered an outstanding achievement for him.
When the Manchus came, he lived in seclusion and thus escaped the purge in the second year. He was reinstated and served as the Salt Transport Envoy again.
For the Shaowu court to improve its finances in a short period of time, using the old man Wei Kang was the best choice.
So, what appeared in front of the emperor was a thin man with a serious face, which made a good impression.
"How much Huaiyan can we get this year?"
When the emperor saw him, he asked directly without beating around the bush.
Wei Kang was stunned, blinked, lowered his head, and reported in a low voice: "Your Majesty, although the second year of Shaowu has just passed, thanks to the peace of the world and the smoothness of the salt industry, if nothing happens, this year
Huai salt can be obtained at 1.5 million taels, which is a record high in history."
Although what he said was exciting, Zhu Yixi was not satisfied.
You must know the Ming Dynasty's Salt Law. Huai Salt was sold exclusively to South Zhili, Jiangxi, Huguang, and Zhejiang, and its profits were the highest in the world.
This little money is almost like sending a beggar.