Along the way, the group finally came to the salt field where salt is dried. Heifu ordered the craftsmen to make some modifications and excavate some rectangular acres, with stone bricks as the bottom, shallow and wide, and the qualified brine at the filter was filled by the craftsmen.
The ministers carried it here with small wooden buckets and watered it in the salt field.
It was now in the afternoon, with the scorching sun and strong sea breeze, the brine was constantly evaporating, and crystal salt grains had formed at the bottom of the salt field. After the water was completely dry, the concubines went down to the field and piled up the salt with shovels.
In every salt field, there are salt domes half as tall as a person...
These salt mounds looked so pleasant that Qin Shihuang asked someone to take a spoon and look at them. He saw that the salt was white and fine, of pure quality, and its color was no less than that of Anyi salt.
It turns out that the previous filter salt mud and bamboo mats leaked through the net. In addition to increasing the concentration of brine, it also has another purpose, which is to filter impurities in seawater. Therefore, the brine in the salt field looks very clean, and the salt impurities released by the sun are less.
If there is no problem with quality, then what Qin Shihuang cares about is efficiency and output.
He then asked Hei Fu: "How many days will it take to use the new method of rinsing and drying salt?"
The reason why people in Qi cook salt is because simply drying salt is too slow, and it depends on God. Once the time is too long and a sudden rain falls, all the previous efforts will be wasted, so not every place is suitable for drying salt.
Heifu reported: "It took three days to scrape the soil and collect the soil, and drain the brine through the holes. As for drying salt, you need the right time and place. Make sure the sun is at its peak and let the brine be exposed to the sun until dusk.
Get salt!"
So in summary, this method actually only requires four days and five processes! It is as fast as boiling the sea! And the cost is much lower than boiling the sea.
But Heifu also said that this method is extremely dependent on the weather. First, make the salt mud, and then dry it after the tide goes out. Generally, there are two times of high tide every month, each time for about five or six days, so every month
The time for salt exposure is only about half a month to 20 days.
If the sunlight is not strong enough, the salt production rate of the brine will be very low, so the best time of the year to dry salt is from April to October, which is the opposite of boiling salt. This means that a lot of labor will be occupied in this industry.
.
This is a difficult choice. To judge the pros and cons of the two methods, there is only one criterion left: "Which one produces more salt, the old method or the new method?"
Jiang Qi used the method of boiling salt and worked for three months from October to December, and obtained 36,000 bells of salt, which is equivalent to more than 200,000 Qin stones.
During the reign of Tian Qi, a new salt field was opened, and the output increased to 300,000 shi, of which Jiaodong produced 100,000 shi. However, now, due to various reasons, the salt production in Jiaodong has shrunk to 50,000 shi.
When Qin Shihuang thought about it, it would be good if Jiaodong could catch up with the previous output.
But Heifu gave him a big surprise: "In September of the 1931st, in just one month, this salt field had already harvested 20,000 shi of salt! Even if it was only exposed to the sun for half a year every year, it would still yield at least 120,000 shi of salt.
Stone, plus other small salt farms, the annual output is 150,000 stones, no problem!"
Not only is the output half that of boiled salt, the cost is also much lower.
Zhang Cang carried a small abacus with him and immediately made an account for Qin Shihuang: "The amount of salt for a husband is less than half of five liters per month, three liters for women is less than half, and two liters for babies is less than half. In this way, a family of five will
15 liters of table salt per month.”
150,000 shi can supply one million households and a population of about five million. This means that in addition to meeting its own needs, Jiaodong can also solve the salt problem of more than four million people!
Moreover, the salt produced is white salt of better quality, not black salt mixed with a lot of sediment. The salt these days contains more impurities. The soil salt in many places needs to be "cleaned to remove the soil" and dried in the sun.
For consumption, it is normal for a bucket of salt to contain two liters of soil.
This is also the reason why people in the Warring States, Qin and Han Dynasties ate a lot of salt, with an average of 45 grams per capita, far exceeding the standards of later generations. Firstly, it was because of the heavy physical work, and secondly, because the salt consumed was not actually that much.
Zhang Cang was very happy: "In this way, if Jiaodong's method can be extended to the whole world, especially the three counties of Langya, Donghai, and Kuaiji, an additional two to three hundred thousand shi of salt can be produced every year! In this way, the Shaofu can pass the conquest
Salt tax, huge profits!”
Zhang Cang specializes in managing expenditures and living within one's means, equivalent to the National Development and Reform Commission. Naturally, he understands that salt is the lowest cost and most effective means of taxation!
He immediately gave advice and said: "Your Majesty, I have read "Guanzi". Although this book is the work of Jixia doctor based on ancient times, it contains many true insights!"
"In the chapter "Guozhu", Duke Huan of Qi asked Guan Zhong about the strategy of enriching the country. Duke Huan planned to tax the population, buildings, trees, and livestock, but Guan Zhong denied them one by one. In his view, giving to the people will bring happiness, and taking away the people will bring happiness.
Anger is the common sentiment among the people. Taxes and taxes can be seen, and collecting money and food directly from the people will naturally lead to dissatisfaction. A better way is to take it from the invisible, so that people will not be angry!"
Zhang Cang meant what he said. In recent years, the imperial court has spent huge amounts of money, but the Qin Dynasty had many people who knew the law, but only those who knew the economy. The solution was to continue to increase the amount of oral taxes, which caused complaints from all the counties in the world.
In theory, the oral money only needs to be paid once a year, which is only 100 yuan per household. The burden is not too heavy. However, whenever the imperial treasury is tight, it will make decisions about the oral money, so 200 yuan per household per year is the norm.
, as much as three or four hundred!
Many households in the Central Plains have gone to the point of not giving birth to children in order to avoid having to pay endless money! Zhang Cang believed that if this continues, sooner or later the empire will lose the support of the people and must find new ways.
But he is good at calculations, but he doesn't know much about practical politics. Fortunately, Heifu always seems to be able to open up new ideas with novel ideas...
Qin Shihuang was very interested in how to increase the income of the young government. He sat down at a pavilion by the sea and asked Zhang Cang to explain in detail: "How to get it from the invisible?"
Zhang Cang said: "It's very simple, the tax is included in the price!"
He used an analogy: "The household registration in the world is about six million, and the population is more than 30 million. According to the law, a person over one year old must pay 20 qian per year, and one household has a total of 100 qian..."
100 yuan, which is also the amount of each additional tax.
But as long as you add 10 yuan to a liter of salt, you can get 150 yuan more for a bucket and a half of salt, which is more than the oral tax paid by a family. On the surface, the government does not impose taxes, which will not cause "vocal" opposition from the people.
, in fact, they are “all those who obey the nationality”.
Salt must be eaten, and no one can leave it for a moment. Even if the people find it expensive, they still have to find ways to buy it. In addition to directly purchasing salt, the salt tax is also hidden behind many products. Most people will not realize that when they buy it themselves
Inside a salted fish, the government has taxed the salt...
Heifu also nodded. Zhang Cang's suggestion was common in later generations. Hiding taxes in commodities and implementing indirect collection make taxpayers invisible and intangible. Taxes are paid unknowingly without causing any harm.
Psychological resistance.
Zhang Cang was excited when he said it, and bowed again: "This is the economic policy of Qi State in the past, boiling the sea to benefit the world! The reason why Qi State is so rich is because the King of Qi has collected an invisible layer of salt over the heads of the world.
Tax!"
"These Qi people have actually come up with a good plan."
Qin Shihuang pondered: "You said that this policy comes from "Guanzi" and was written by Jixia doctor? It seems that Jixia's learning is not all useless learning and useless books..."
He looked at the vast sea and said with a smile: "On the contrary, I am sitting on boundless profits, but the Shaofu, in charge of the internal history of Su, can only extract oral wealth from the head of Guizhou. I never thought that in the East China Sea, there is actually a place to take advantage of.
The inexhaustible treasure trove is really in vain!"
Heifu felt a little awkward when he heard this. Young Master, if you collect taxes and taxes to govern the history of Su Nei, isn't it for your majesty's great cause? Every time you collect taxes, you have the emperor's tacit approval, but the emperor also understands that this is
Drinking poison to quench thirst. Since there is a better way to make money than adding wealth, he will of course abandon the old and use the new.
Zhang Cang's words moved the emperor's heart. Salt was resold by the government. The Qin Dynasty had been doing this as early as the Shang Yang era. However, Guanzhong was not a salt-producing area. He had to rely on supplies outside the Great Wall, Bashu, and Hedong. He didn't understand this strategy deeply and made a profit.
Not too much money, just to control this strategic resource and avoid being hijacked by salt-producing countries.
Now, Qin Yihai is surrounded by the sea, and Heifu has proposed the method of soaking in brine and drying salt to double the salt production. It is time to sacrifice Guan Zhong's brine stick, use it to beat the world, gather wealth and gather in the Shaofu.
Let it be used by the country!
Seeing that Qin Shihuang was about to readily adopt Zhang Cang's strategy, Hei Fu came forward and said: "Your Majesty, although Zhang Cang's words are reasonable, I think that taking it from the invisible premise is a trick of salt. But now
, but illegal salt is rampant in Jiaodong.”
"Private salt?" Qin Shihuang frowned. In the Qin Dynasty, anything with the word "private" was not a good thing.
Heifu said: "However, the coast of this county is thousands of miles long, and the county soldiers and thieves are short of manpower, so they have repeatedly banned it. Therefore, even if the official salt is taxed, it will have little effect. The head of Guizhou would rather take the risk and buy cheaper.
Private salt consumption..."
"Who are these people cooking and selling private salt?"
Hei Fu shook his head and sighed: "Most of them are from coastal wealthy families, that is..."
He raised his head and said those two words calmly.