Chapter 72: Renewing the old and continuing the old, checking for gaps and filling in the gaps

The 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month is basically the coldest time.

Snowflakes floated in the sky from time to time.

Zhu Yijun stopped the eunuchs who were breaking ice to catch fish on the other side.

He handed the fishing rod to Jiang Keqian, stood up and stretched.

He walked to Chen Jingbang and took the fish he had grilled. It looked a little burnt, so he had to give it to Deng Yizan, the Secretary of the Central Secretariat who was following behind him, and then took the one grilled by Zhang Hong.

Zhu Yijun waved his hand and called several ministers to sit around the stove.

There was a grill in the middle and windproof cloth around it, so it wasn't too cold.

"It's cold, let me get down to business." Zhu Yijun stretched out his legs and moved closer to the stove. "What do you think about the salt policy in Lianghuai?"

Originally they planned to go to Wanshou Palace to discuss business, but Zhang Juzheng was allergic to the bronze chimes on his desk and insisted on going to Wenhua Hall.

In the end, both sides were too lazy to leave, so they just sat around the fire beside the Taiye Lake.

When it came to business, several ministers showed serious expressions.

Zhang Juzheng spoke first, reminding: "Since we are talking about the Lianghuai issue, why not call Minister Shen and the Ministry of Revenue as well."

Zhu Yijun was quick to follow good advice.

He looked at the secretary Deng Yizan and said, "Mr. Deng, go and call the Minister of Revenue Wang Qing and the Vice Minister of Personnel Shen Qing."

Just as the latter was about to take action, Zhu Yijun added, "Call Yu Qing, the horse groom of the Ministry of Finance, as well."

Deng Yizan bowed and withdrew, heading straight for the six ministries’ offices.

Zhang Juzheng asked directly, "What opinions do you mean, Your Majesty?"

As he spoke, he took off the cloak he was wearing, folded it on his legs, and stuffed his hands into the fleece of the cloak.

Zhu Yijun said frankly: "According to the memorial sent back by the Imperial Censor Hai, there are many tricks in the salt administration of Lianghuai."

"I am confident that Hai Yushi can clean it up."

"But, the imperial envoy inspecting the salt industry is just a gust of wind after all, and we are afraid that the wind will pass without leaving a trace."

It is impossible for the central government to send an imperial envoy to inspect the salt every year. Moreover, the imperial envoy may not be Hai Rui in the future, but may also be Yan Maoqing.

The imperial salt inspector only opened a loophole in the Lianghuai Salt Administration, which was impenetrable.

If we want to keep the tax amount in our hands every year, we still have to rely on top-level design.

According to the report sent back from Nanzhili half a month ago, Hai Rui has already started to take action, and the central government must prepare for entry as soon as possible.

Gao Yi declined the skewers that Li Jin offered and continued, "Your Majesty, do you want to make the salt inspection a custom?"

Zhu Yijun turned his head, looked at Gao Yi, and shook his head: "That's not what I meant, sir."

"The imperial envoy's salt inspection is only a temporary measure. I want to take advantage of this trend and reform the salt administration."

"However, I am of low moral character and talent, and I am just a fool. I still need to ask the opinions of the ministers for details."

Zhang Juzheng automatically ignored the emperor's polite words and fell into silence.

He got to the point and said slowly: "Reform the Lianghuai Salt Administration..."

"The cabinet has also read Hai Rui's report. It is estimated that Lianghuai can produce another 500,000 yin of salt."

"It already accounts for 50% of the world's salt production."

"It's really a bit too big to lose."

There are six salt tax transportation offices. The Lianghuai region produces 700,000 jin of salt, the Liangzhe region produces 400,000 jin of salt, and the other four regions produce only 700,000 jin of salt in total.

If Lianghuai could increase its population by another 500,000, it could account for half of the world's salt production.

Lu Diaoyang's eyelids jumped, and he couldn't help but remind him: "Your Majesty, Yuan Fu, Nanzhili has a long history, and the tax types are more complicated, not just the salt policy."

At the beginning, Yan Maoqing also changed the salt policy of Lianghuai on behalf of Emperor Shenzong, but was blocked by Xu Jie. It was precisely because of the sentence "Yan Maoqing suddenly increased the salt tax by 400,000 gold, and (Xu) Jiefeng Censor requested to restore the original amount" that Xu Jie became a thorn in the emperor's side.

The salt administration is just the salt administration, and cutting flesh and bleeding only hurt the people above, and it is not considered as scraping bones to cure poison for the entire Southern Zhili.

The difference is that no matter how powerful and influential a noble official is, as long as you know his name, he can't cause any trouble.

On the contrary, if this aroused hostility from the people of Nanzhili, the central government would not be able to withstand it.

What Lu Diaoyang was afraid of was that the emperor and the prime minister were too radical, which would lead the entire Nanzhili people to unite and launch an all-out counterattack.

Zhu Yijun stretched out his hand and moved it back and forth beside the stove to cool it down.

After hearing what Lu Diaoyang said, Zhu Yijun nodded in approval: "I don't need to bother with what Mr. Lu said. Let's just talk about the salt policy today."

The problem of Southern Zhili was not just about salt administration, but also about a series of issues such as tea tax, grain tax, official system, regional divisions, and culture.

Just as Lu Diaoyang said, if you really provoke a counterattack from both sides, it will not be easy to calm it down.

The central government is currently powerless, and it would be great if we could change the salt administration.

Yang Bo could not help but say: "Now, just by collecting the salt tax, the autumn grain in Nanzhili has been delayed for two months. Your Majesty, you have to be cautious."

Yang Bo cares more about food than taxes.

After all, places like Shanxi and Xuanda rely on grain from the south.

If there really is a falling out, these places will be the first to be affected.

Zhu Yijun was stunned. He really didn't know about this. After all, he had left the Ministry of Revenue's affairs to the Cabinet.

He pressed on: "It took two months? What's the reason?"

Yang Bo smiled bitterly and said, "There is no reason. At first, they said that everything was done according to the rules, which took a long time and happened to miss the time when the autumn grain arrived in Beijing."

"It's winter now, and the canal is frozen everywhere, so shipping has slowed down a lot."

Zhu Yijun sighed.

This is using the overall situation to coerce the center.

The most frustrating thing is that there is often no culprit to blame for such incidents.

The backlash lurking within the system is much more concealed and destructive than that of the so-called Southern Zhili pillar of Duke Wei.

At present, the two capitals of the Ming Dynasty are the political center and the economic center respectively, and the Grand Canal between them is the blood connection.

If Nanzhili always uses the overall situation as a threat, it will be difficult to deal with.

This matter still has to fall on shipping.

Since everyone was not present yet, it was difficult to start the meeting, and Zhu Yijun happened to ask about sea transportation.

He asked Gao Yi, "Sir, what do you think about the shipbuilding project of the Ministry of Industry?"

Gao Yi was blowing air into his hands when the emperor pointed it out to him. He quickly replied, "Our dynasty has not allowed sea transportation for 160 years, and many documents and files have been lost."

"The Ministry of Industry is offering a reward to the craftsmen for the blueprints. We are getting some results."

"Zhu Heng is currently taking the lead and working with the Canal Transport Office to improve the previously tested boats. After the spring, we will try sea transportation according to the original route."

The ships used for sea transportation are different from those used for canal transportation.

Sea transportation has not been possible for over a hundred years and the glory of Zheng He's voyages to the West is long gone.

In order to build large sea-going ships today, we have to conduct some archaeological research.

As he was speaking, the Minister of Revenue Wang Guoguang, the Vice Minister of Personnel Shen Shixing, and the Imperial Household Department's Registrar Yu Youding came together.

Upon seeing this, the eunuch brought out three sets of chairs, cloaks, and an oven for warming the body.

Zhu Yijun extended his hand to allow them to sit down and discuss matters without having to perform formalities. He then finished talking to Gao Yi about the topic just discussed: "Sir, I have a few words to say. Please pass them on to Mr. Zhu for me."

"For matters concerning shipping, one side is under the Ministry of War, and the other side is under the Ministry of Industry."

"I will solve the problem of Japanese pirates sooner or later. I hope the Ministry of Works can build a large ship before then."

"This is the long-cherished wish of my father and Earl Ding'an, and it is also a concern for me and the cabinet. Please spend more time on it."

Gao Yi nodded in agreement.

At this time, everyone was present. Zhang Juzheng spoke a few words to Shen Shixing and others, and the emperor summoned people to discuss the matter.

Zhang Juzheng concluded, "So, Your Majesty wants to reform the Lianghuai salt administration."

Done.

He looked at the emperor again: "What changes does your majesty intend to make?"

Everyone looked towards the emperor.

Wang Guoguang seemed to be thinking about something.

Yu Youding didn't understand why he, a person from the Finance Bureau, was asked to come here.

When Zhu Yijun saw that everyone was present, he wanted to speak.

He subconsciously reached for the microphone in front of him, but missed it. He rubbed his chin awkwardly and said slowly, "I heard Hai Rui say."

"The current Lianghuai salt tax is sold by the Transportation Bureau to the Salt Merchants Association."

"The salt merchants will negotiate the price again and sell it to small salt merchants."

"This is not good, I think it needs to be changed."

This is the standard way to embezzle public funds.

A first-tier subcontractor, relying on the secondary pricing power, almost blatantly manipulates the market.

It goes without saying who gets the money.

Not to mention that after the Chamber of Commerce replaced the Transport Bureau and became a legal subcontracting channel, private salt could also be sold as official salt.

The accounts of the Transportation Bureau were clean, and the salt workers didn't know how much salt they produced anyway.

Small salt merchants were also happy to see this happen. After all, although the purchase price was a bit higher, they could get more goods.

Some people behind the Chamber of Commerce are able to suck blood from the tax source.

It’s a win-win situation for all—except for the fact that the central bank has less taxes.

So this model must be eliminated!
The four ministers and the three people who had just arrived were listening attentively.

The Secretary of the Central Secretariat was taking notes behind him.

Zhu Yijun continued: "That was just one of them."

"And what Yuanfu just said hits the nail on the head."

"Lianghuai produces too much salt."

"Besides, Shandong has no salt inspector, so Lianghuai has to manage Shandong as well."

"Such a huge system does seem to be too big to be eliminated. I think this is the second unreasonable thing."

He continued, "There is another third one."

"The six transport offices and seven salt tax offices each do their own thing, without any coordination or coordination."

"For example, the salt from different transport offices has a fixed number of prefectures where it is sold. The salt from the Shandong Transport Office can only be sold in ten prefectures, including Jinan Prefecture."

"Huai salt was sold to 42 prefectures, such as Wuchang Prefecture in Huguang and Runing Prefecture in Henan."

"Even so, salt merchants dealing in Huai salt will still secretly sell it to Shandong and other places."

"Several transport offices often come to the central government for this matter."

"Or like a few salt inspectors, who often argued over border issues and delayed their work."

"How can you teach me the above three things?"

After Zhu Yijun finished speaking, he looked around at several ministers. The three points he mentioned were the sales model of Huai salt, the volume of Huai salt, and the central government's overall planning power.

All in all, everything needs to be changed.

Seeing that everyone was lost in thought, no one spoke for a while.

He looked directly at Shen Shixing and called him by name, "Mr. Shen, you are from Nanzhili, you speak first."

Shen Shixing stood up quickly and said, "Your Majesty, I have never considered myself a member of the same hometown as you. This matter has nothing to do with my place of origin!"

Zhu Yijun waved his hand, signaling him not to be nervous: "You may not have hometown ties in your mind, but in reality, your hometown always exists. Shen Qing, don't be nervous."

Shen Shixing was helpless.

I thought quickly in my mind.

These three points must not be groundless. The emperor spoke eloquently, probably because he had something in mind.

This is the solution to the imperial examination.

Shen Shixing seemed to be back in the day of the palace examination, with a thousand thoughts in his mind.

What does the emperor mean?
The three points mentioned in the salt policy reform are: salt triggers the industry...central coordination...volume...

Shen Shixing vaguely grasped some clues, but it didn't seem clear enough.

His eyes swept over the Minister of Revenue Wang Guoguang and Yu Youding who were called over together.

Shen Shixing suddenly had an idea in his mind!
A word, or policy, comes to mind.

Shen Shixing hesitated for a moment, met the emperor's encouraging gaze, and uttered a word: "Open the Chinese Law!?"

Zhu Yijun slapped his thigh and let out a long sigh, the heat visible to the naked eye.

He praised: "Restart the Sino-Japanese War!? Shen Qing's idea is worth discussing!"

"What do you think?"

The Kaizhongfa has already been corrupted, so it is natural that it is restarted at this time.

When the ministers saw the emperor's reaction, they immediately understood what he meant.

They were speechless and began to think.

The so-called Kaizhong Law is to issue certificates for salt, whether called salt permits or salt coupons. In short, only with the certificates can salt merchants purchase salt from the Transportation Bureau.

So how do you get the certificate? That's Kaizhong.

As we all know, the South is rich and the North is poor.

To put it bluntly, the North, to a certain extent, is even a burden to the center.

What did the Song Dynasty do? It gave up all the burdens of ruling, such as the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun.

There was even a strange phenomenon where even if the border troops had conquered a territory, the central government would still beg for peace and cede it back.

It is based on this guiding ideology and mentality.

Today's southerners may also have this idea.

But the central government of the Ming court was different. After Taizu established the country, he divided the north into fiefdoms. After Chengzu moved the capital, the emperor was the one who guarded the national border.

In the north, not an inch of land can be given up voluntarily, otherwise the foundation of the country will be shaken.

Although it cannot be thrown away, the problem is how to manage it. Under the constraints of economic conditions, a certain degree of division between the north and the south is inevitable. Grain production alone is a natural contradiction.

In order to provide blood transfusion to the north, Kaizhong came into being.

The so-called Kaizhong refers to merchants completing tasks assigned by the court - such as transporting grain, cloth and silk to the north, in exchange for salt permits.

That is to use the merchants to provide blood transfusion to the North.

The cost is naturally high, but if we do not want to strategically abandon the north like the former Song Dynasty, this is the inevitable operating cost.

Yang Bo jumped up on the spot: "Your Majesty! I agree with Minister Shen's proposal!"

"The failure of the Kaizhong Law is a great pity for the soldiers and civilians in the border areas. I have long heard that the people in Shaanxi, Shanxi, Xuanda, Ningxia and other places miss the Kaizhong Law."

"If the Kaizhong Method can be restored, it will be a good governance!"

Yang Bo's position is beyond doubt.

In this matter, Zhu Yijun could unconditionally trust Yang Bo, who represented the interests of the north.

After the fall of Kaizhongfa, several ministers requested its restoration, all of whom were from border areas.

The most recent person to make an attempt was Wang Chonggu, then governor-general of the three borders of Shaanxi in the second year of the Longqing reign.

Although some people are very selfish, it is not impossible to take advantage of their selfishness in order to implement national policies.

Zhu Yijun looked at Yang Bo with satisfaction and praised him, "Mr. Yang has served in various places and has extensive knowledge. He is just right to check for deficiencies and fill in the gaps."

At this time, Zhang Juzheng said solemnly: "Your Majesty, the corruption of Kaizhongfa is not without reason."

Zhu Yijun turned around and met Zhang Juzheng's gaze.

He nodded calmly: "What the Prime Minister said is right, I have also learned a thing or two."

The failure of the Sino-French war does not mean that this policy is bad.

But... it's a bit ahead of its time.

Because under this system, the certificate for purchasing salt, that is, the salt voucher, can, to a certain extent, serve as a financial currency - at that time, the salt voucher was the hard currency among merchants.

Under backward production relations, the royal family held the right to issue currency, and the result is predictable.

Credit currency in the hands of the central bank of this era is like a sword held upside down. The so-called Jiaozi and Baochao have the same fate - endless and excessive issuance.

Eunuchs, nobles, and bureaucrats all petitioned for salt permits and sold them to salt merchants.

Well, the royal family itself is no exception.

Salt permits are used to anchor salt. The consequences of indiscriminate issuance of salt permits can be imagined. It even caused the spectacle of salt merchants running to the Transportation Bureau but not being able to buy salt, and having to wait in line for several years.

In this way, the salt permit will naturally become waste paper.

During the reign of Emperor Xiaozong, Ye Qi, a native of Huai'an, served as the Minister of Revenue, and he dealt a decisive blow to Kaizhongfa.

That is, paying silver in exchange for salt permits.

This move directly wiped out the original intention of instigating merchants to provide blood transfusions to the north, and turned it into a farce for the central government to grab silver.

The Kaizhong-French alliance also completely collapsed.

In other words, as long as the excessive issuance of salt permits cannot be curbed, the Sino-French policy will never become a national policy.

Zhang Juzheng was reminding the young emperor not to use this as a means of making money, as that would be drinking poison to quench thirst.

Zhu Yijun first gave Zhang Juzheng a reassurance: "Learning from past stories and learning lessons is what I have always done."

"If we want to follow the advice of Minister Shen and reopen the policy of opening up China, we must not issue salt permits indiscriminately."

"For details, you will have to go to the court to discuss the rules. We are here to just make a rough outline."

Zhang Juzheng received the emperor's promise not to give it out indiscriminately, and he bowed his hands to show his acceptance.

Wang Guoguang took over the conversation and said, "Your Majesty, this method is very expensive, and there are often voices from both inside and outside the country that it is exploiting merchants."

"At that time, the censors in Southern Zhili petitioned to abolish the Zhongfa law, which almost overwhelmed the Ministry of Revenue."

To put it bluntly, any policy has a price, and there is no such thing as pure gold.

Since the North had received a transfusion of blood and the central government had only paid salt permits without imposing additional corvée labor, there were always people who were being exploited silently.

The first is the vendors.

It is equivalent to attaching a layer of corvée labor to the salt permit that can be purchased directly.

Because of the long distance, merchants later simply opened up farmland in the north and then transported the grain to the warehouses of officials in the north, which were called merchant settlements.

Whether it was transporting grain or setting up commercial settlements, it increased the burden on merchants.

The second is the South.

Since the merchants had an additional layer of corvee labor, the price of salt was naturally higher.

For salt-producing areas themselves, the price should be relatively the cheapest.

It is natural that people would feel dissatisfied because they spent extra money on salt just to provide blood transfusion to the north.

At the beginning, Ye Qi, a native of Huai'an, did have the intention of catering to the wishes of the people in the south.

Zhu Yijun looked at Wang Guoguang.

He naturally understood that the Minister of Revenue was not singing a different tune, but was simply considering the issue from an economic perspective.

The Minister of Revenue who wrote the "Wanli Accounting Records" is a rare financial talent nowadays.

Of course, what we think about is inevitably limited to accounting costs.

Zhu Yijun pondered for a while.

He came up with some modern financial knowledge to make up his mind and deceive the Minister of Revenue.

The words came to my lips, but I swallowed them back because my heart moved.

Under the gaze of everyone, Zhu Yijun fell into deep thought again, as if he was choosing his words.

A long time passed.

Zhu Yijun finally figured it out and realized what was wrong with him just now.

I was used to discussing things together in my previous life, and I haven't changed my mindset yet. Now that I'm the leader, I can't act like this.

Sometimes you have to be cunning and treacherous, but as a leader, you must not lose your dignified and generous spirit.

Since it is a national policy, the pros and cons, and reasons must be clearly stated.

He slowly stood up and glanced at the ministers.

His face was solemn and his tone was earnest: "Prime Minister, Sir, and the two ministers."

"Your Majesty, this is a mature and prudent statement. I have to agree with it."

He looked at Shen Shixing again and said, "Mr. Shen, I will not promise you in vain. This move will indeed increase the burden on the southerners."

Shen Shixing quickly stood up and apologized.

Zhu Yijun held him down and continued, "I also have something to say, and I have to say it to you in private. I only acknowledge this here, and I will not acknowledge it in the court."

He paused, slowed down his tone, and became more serious: "The conflict between the North and the South has a long history."

"There was the North-South List case in the distant past, and the Huai Salt case recently, and so on."

"Su, Yang and other places are rich and have always provided blood for the central government. I am grateful to them."

"The opening of the Sino-French law will increase the burden on the southerners, so they will definitely be dissatisfied..."

"But, he who bears the disgrace of the country is called the master of the country."

"This has to be done!"

"As a ruler, I have the responsibility to mediate the world and unify the north and the south. I have no choice but to take on this responsibility."

"Even if the southerners are resentful and the merchants are angry, I still think that this opening-up policy is inevitable!"

"Do you agree with me?"

　I had something to do in the morning and didn't have time to write. I'm one hour and 16 minutes late. Sorry.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)