The 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month is basically the coldest time.
Snowflakes drifted in the sky from time to time.
Zhu Yijun stopped the eunuch on the other side who was chipping away at the ice to catch fish.
He handed the fishing rod to Jiang Keqian, stood up and stretched.
I walked up to Chen Jingbang and took the fish he had grilled. It looked a little burnt, so I had to give it to Deng Yizan, who was following behind, and took the fish cooked by Zhang Hong.
Zhu Yijun waved his hand and summoned several ministers to sit around the fire.
There was an oven in the middle and a windproof cloth around it, so it wasn't too cold.
"It's cold, let me get down to business." Zhu Yijun straightened his legs and approached the stove, "What do you think about the salt policy in Huaihe River?"
Originally he wanted to go to Wanshou Palace to discuss business, but it turned out that Zhang Juzheng was allergic to the copper chime on his desk and insisted on going to Wenhua Palace.
In the end, neither party was too lazy to leave, so they just sat around the fire next to Taiye Pond.
When it came to business, several ministers showed serious expressions.
Zhang Juzheng was the first to speak and reminded: "Since we are talking about Lianghuai, we might as well call Shi Lang Shen and the Ministry of Finance to come."
Zhu Yijun follows goodness like a stream.
He looked at Deng Yizan, the person in Zhongshushe, and said: "Deng Qing, go and call Wang Qing, the Minister of Hubu, and Shen Qing, the Minister of Officials."
Just as the latter was about to make a move, Zhu Yijun added: "Call Yu Qing from the Economic and Economic Affairs Bureau to wash horses."
Deng Yizan surrendered and went straight to the Sixth Ministry's official office.
Zhang Juzheng got straight to the point and asked: "What views is your Majesty referring to?"
As he spoke, he took off the cloak he was wearing, folded it on his lap, and stuffed his hands into the velvet of the cloak.
Zhu Yijun said frankly: "According to the memorial sent back by Yushi Hai, there are many tricks in the salt policy of Huaihe River."
"I'm confident that Yushi Hai can clean it up."
"However, the imperial envoy patrolling salt is just a gust of wind in the final analysis. I am afraid that the wind will pass without leaving a trace."
It is impossible for the central government to send an imperial envoy to patrol salt every year, and in the future the imperial envoy may not necessarily be Hai Rui, but may also be Yan Maoqing.
The imperial envoy's salt inspection only opened a hole in the Lianghuai Salt Administration that cannot be poured out.
If you want to keep your tax amount in hand every year in the future, you still have to rely on top-level design.
According to the report sent back by Nanzhili half a month ago, Hai Rui has already begun to take action, and the Central Committee must prepare for the entry as soon as possible.
Gao Yi declined Li Jin's grilled meat skewers and continued: "Your Majesty, do you want to customize the salt patrol?"
Zhu Yijun turned his head, looked at Gao Yi, and shook his head: "That's not what you meant, sir."
"The imperial envoy's salt inspection is just a temporary measure. I want to take advantage of this trend to reform the salt policy."
"However, I have little virtue and talent, and I am just a fool to worry about things. I have to ask your cabinet ministers for their opinions."
Zhang Juzheng automatically ignored the emperor's polite words and began to ponder.
He pointed directly to the core and slowly said: "Restructure the Lianghuai Salt Administration..."
"The cabinet has also read Hai Rui's report. It is estimated that Lianghuai can produce another 500,000 yuan of salt."
"It already accounts for 50% of the world's salt production."
"There are indeed some tails that are too big to fall off."
There are six salt transfer departments. The two Huaihe Rivers produce 700,000 tons of salt, the two Zhejiang provinces produce 400,000 tons of salt, and the remaining four places add up to only 700,000 tons.
If the Lianghuai River increases by 500,000 yuan, it can be said that half of the world's salt production will be produced.
Lu Tiaoyang's eyelids twitched and he couldn't help but remind him: "Your Majesty, Yuan Fu, Southern Zhili has a long history and the taxes are more complicated, not just the salt policy."
At the beginning, Yan Maoqing also initiated the salt policy in Huaihe and Huaihe on behalf of Emperor Shizong, but was blocked by Xu Jie. It was precisely because of the sentence "Yan Maoqing suddenly increased the salt class by 400,000 gold, and (Xu) Jiefeng Yushi requested to restore the old amount."
Only then did Xu Jie become a thorn in the emperor's side.
The salt policy is just a salt policy. Cutting off the flesh and bloodletting only hurts the people above, not counting the scraping of bones to treat poison in the entire South Zhili.
The difference is that no matter how big and deep-rooted an honorable official is, as long as he knows his name, he will not be able to cause trouble.
On the contrary, if it arouses hostility from the top and bottom of Southern Zhili, the Central Committee will not be able to resist it.
Lu Tiaoyang was afraid that the emperor and his chief assistant would be too aggressive, which would lead to an all-out counterattack by all the people in Nanzhili.
Zhu Yijun stretched out his hand and moved it back and forth next to the stove to warm it up.
After listening to Lu Tiaoyang's words, Zhu Yijun nodded in approval: "I can ignore what Lu Qing means. Today we will only discuss the salt policy."
Southern Zhili is not only a problem of salt administration, but also a series of problems such as tea tax, grain tax, official system, zoning, and culture.
As Lu Tiaoyang said, if it really provokes a counterattack, it is not that easy to calm down.
Now that the central power has failed to catch up, it would be good to launch a salt policy.
Yang Bo couldn't help but said: "Now just because of the salt tax, the autumn grain in Southern Zhili 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 food from the south.
If there really is a falling out, these places will bear the brunt.
Zhu Yijun was startled. He really didn't know about this matter. After all, he had left all the affairs of the Ministry of Revenue to the cabinet.
He asked: "It took two months? What's the reason?"
Yang Bo smiled bitterly and said, "There's no reason. At first, I said everything was done according to the rules, but it took a little longer and happened to miss the time when the autumn grains enter Beijing."
"It's the middle of winter again now, and the canal is covered with ice, so sailing is much slower."
Zhu Yijun sighed.
This is to use the overall situation to coerce the center.
The most uncomfortable thing is that there is often no culprit found for this kind of thing.
The backlash lurking within the system, both in terms of concealment and destructive power, is much stronger than the so-called Southern Zhili Pillar like Wei Guogong.
At present, the two capitals of the Ming Dynasty are the political center and the economic center respectively. The Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal in the middle is connected by blood.
It would be really difficult to handle if Southern Zhili always takes advantage of the overall situation.
This matter still has to fall to shipping.
Anyway, not everyone was here, so it was difficult to start the discussion. Zhu Yijun happened to ask about shipping.
He asked Gaoyi: "Sir, what do you think the Ministry of Industry has to say about shipbuilding?"
Gao Yi was breathing into his hands with his mouth when he was called upon by the emperor and hurriedly replied: "The country has not been able to transport by sea for 160 years, and many documents and files have been lost."
"The Ministry of Industry has offered a reward for the drawings in the hands of the craftsmen, and they have some clues."
"Right now, Zhu Heng is taking the lead. Together with the water transportation yamen, we will first improve the ships that were previously trialled. After the spring is over, we will try to trial sea transportation according to the original route."
Sea transport vessels are different from water transport.
Now that sea transportation has been impossible for more than a hundred years, the glory of Zheng He's voyages to the West has long been lost.
Nowadays, if we want to build large shipping ships, we have to conduct some archaeological research.
Just as he was talking, Wang Guoguang, the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, Shen Shixing, the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, and Yu Youding, the Minister of Economics and Management, came hand in hand.
Seeing this, the eunuch took out three sets of chairs, a large cloak, and an oven to warm himself.
Zhu Yijun stretched out his hand to ask them to sit down and discuss the matter directly without saluting. Then he finished the topic with Gao Yi and said, "Sir, let me say a few words and pass them on to Zhu Qing for me."
"As for shipping, one end is with the Ministry of War and the other end is with the Ministry of Industry."
"I will solve the Japanese pirates issue sooner or later. I hope the Ministry of Industry can build a big ship before then."
"This is the long-cherished wish of our emperor to take the exam and settle on Amber. It is also a close concern of me and the cabinet. Please spend more time on it."
Gaoyi nodded in agreement.
When everyone arrived, Zhang Juzheng said a few words to Shen Shixing about the matters the emperor had summoned to discuss.
After Zhang Juzheng finished speaking, he concluded: "So, Your Majesty wants to reform the Lianghuai Salt Administration."
Finished.
He looked at the emperor again: "How are you going to change it, Your Majesty?"
Everyone looked towards the emperor.
Wang Guoguang was thoughtful.
Yu Youding didn't understand why he was called a member of the Economic Bureau.
When Zhu Yijun saw everyone gathered, he wanted to speak.
He subconsciously grabbed the microphone in front of him, but missed it. Then he rubbed his chin awkwardly and said slowly, "I heard what Hai Rui said."
"Today's Lianghuai Salt Course was packaged and sold by the Transportation Department to the Salt Merchants Chamber of Commerce,"
"The salt merchants will negotiate the price and sell it to small salt merchants."
"This is not good, I think it needs to be changed."
This is the standard way of embezzling public funds.
A first-level subcontractor, relying on its secondary pricing power, is almost blatantly doing its bidding.
Among them, it is self-evident who will get the money eaten.
Not to mention that after the Chamber of Commerce replaced the transshipment department and became a legal subcontracting channel, private salt could also be sold as official salt.
The accounts of the Transshipment Department are clean, and the salt workers don’t know how much salt they produce anyway.
Small salt merchants are also happy to see the results. After all, although the purchase price is higher, they can get more goods.
Some people behind the Chamber of Commerce are even able to suck blood from tax sources.
Triple win – except the hub pays less tax.
So this model must be abolished!
The four assistant ministers and the three people who had just arrived all listened carefully.
Zhongshu Sheren was writing down records behind him.
Zhu Yijun continued: "Fang is one of them."
"And what Yuan Fu just said hit the point."
"There is too much salt produced in the Huaihe River."
"Besides, there is no salt censor in Shandong, so the two Huaihe Rivers have to take care of Shandong at the same time."
"Such a system is so huge that it really seems too big to lose. I think this is the second unreasonable thing."
He kept talking and continued: "There are three more."
"There are six transportation departments in the capital and seven salt management departments, each doing their own thing without overall coordination."
"For example, the salt from different transshipment departments has a fixed number of states where it can be sold. The salt from the Shandong Transshipment Department can only be sold in ten prefectures including Jinan Prefecture."
"Huai salt is sold to 42 prefectures, such as Wuchang Prefecture in Huguang and Runing Prefecture in Henan."
"Even so, salt merchants who sell Huai salt will still secretly sell it to Shandong and other places."
"Several transshipment departments often come to the Central Committee over this matter."
"Or maybe it's like a few salt patrol censors who often argue over border issues and delay their business."
"How can you teach me the above three things?"
After Zhu Yijun finished speaking, he looked around at several ministers.
The three points he talked about were Huaiyan's sales model, Huaiyan's size, and the center's overall planning power.
All in all, everything needs to be changed.
I saw that several people were deep in thought and were speechless for a while.
He looked directly at Shen Shixing and called him by name: "Shen Qing, you are from Nanzhili. You speak first."
Shen Shixing stood up quickly: "Your Majesty, I have never regarded myself as a township party. This matter has nothing to do with my place of origin!"
Zhu Yijun waved his hand, indicating that he shouldn't be nervous: "There may not be a rural party in mind, but in fact there is always a place of origin. Shen Qing doesn't need to be nervous."
Shen Shixing was helpless.
I thought quickly in my mind.
These three points are definitely not groundless. When the emperor talked about it, he probably had something in mind.
This is a broken question in the imperial examination.
Shen Shixing seemed to have returned to the day of the imperial examination, with thousands of thoughts going back and forth in his mind.
What exactly does emperor mean?
The three points mentioned in improving the salt policy, salt-related activities...central coordination...volume...
Shen Shixing vaguely grasped some context, but felt it was not clear enough.
His eyes swept over Wang Guoguang, the Minister of Household Affairs, who was also called over, and Yu Youding.
Suddenly an idea came to Shen Shixing's mind!
A word, or policy, springs to mind.
Shen Shixing hesitated for a moment, met the emperor's encouraging gaze, and uttered one word: "Kai Zhongfa!?"
Zhu Yijun patted his thigh and let out a long sigh of relief. The heat was visible to the naked eye.
He expressed his appreciation: "Restart the opening of China and France!? Shen Qing's idea is worth discussing!"
"What do you think, sir?"
The Kaizhong method has been corrupted, so it is natural to restart it at this time.
When several ministers saw the emperor's reaction, they immediately understood what he meant.
While I was speechless, I started thinking about it all at the same time.
The so-called Kaizhong method is to issue certificates to salt, whether it is called Yanyin or salt coupons. In short, only with the certificate can the salt merchants purchase salt from the transshipment department.
So how to get the certificate? That is Kaizhong.
As we all know, the south is rich and the north is poor.
To put it bluntly, the North is even a burden to the central government to a certain extent.
What did the Song Dynasty do at the beginning? That was to give up all the burdens of governance, just like the Sixteen States of Yanyun and so on.
It even happened that the central government eagerly sued for peace and ceded the territory back to the territory conquered by the border troops.
It is out of this guiding ideology and mentality.
Today’s southerners may not have this idea.
But the center of the Ming Dynasty was different. After Taizu established the country, he entrusted the north with entrustment. After Chengzu moved the capital, the emperor guarded the country.
In the north, we cannot voluntarily give up even an inch of land, otherwise we will shake the foundation of our country.
It cannot be thrown back and cannot be thrown away, so how to manage it becomes a problem. Under the constraints of economic conditions, a certain degree of separation between the north and the south is inevitable. Food 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 traders completing tasks assigned by the court - such as transporting grain, cloth, silk, etc. to the north in exchange for salt.
That is to say, they use traders to provide blood transfusions to the north.
The cost is naturally high, but if we don't want to strategically abandon the north like the former Song Dynasty, this is an inevitable operating cost.
Yang Bo jumped up on the spot: "Your Majesty! I agree with Minister Shen's proposal!"
"The corruption of the Kaizhong method is a great pity for the soldiers and people in the border areas. I have long heard that people in Shaanxi, Shanxi, Xuanda, Ningxia and other places miss the Kaizhong method."
"If the Kaizhong method can be revived, it will be a sign of good governance!"
There is no doubt about Yang Bo's position.
In this matter, Zhu Yijun can unconditionally trust Yang Bo, who represents the interests of the north.
After the corruption of Kaizhong Law, ministers requested its restoration several times, but they were all outsiders.
The most recent attempt was made by Wang Chonggu, who was the governor of the three sides of Shaanxi in the second year of Longqing.
Although some people have serious selfish motives, it is not impossible to take advantage of these people's selfish motives to implement national policies.
Zhu Yijun looked at Yang Bo with relief and praised: "Mr. Yang Ge has served in various places and has extensive knowledge. He is responsible for checking and filling in the gaps."
At this time, Zhang Juzheng solemnly said: "Your Majesty, it is not without reason that the Kaizhong method was corrupted."
Zhu Yijun turned around and met Zhang Juzheng's gaze.
He nodded calmly: "Yuan Fu is right, I also know a thing or two about it."
The corruption of Kai Zhong Law does not mean that this policy is bad.
But... it's a little ahead of its time.
Because under this system, the voucher for purchasing salt, that is, salt citation, can, to a certain extent, serve as a financial currency - at that time, salt citation was the hard currency among merchants.
Under backward production relations, the royal family held the right to issue currency, and the results can be imagined.
Credit currency in the hands of the central government of this era is tantamount to Tai Ah's inversion. The so-called Jiaozi and Baochao have the same fate - endless issuance.
Eunuchs, nobles, and bureaucrats all petitioned for salt and sold it to salt merchants.
Well, the royal family itself is no exception.
Yanyin is the anchor of salt. The consequences of indiscriminate distribution of salt can be imagined. It even caused salt merchants to go to the transshipment department and ended up with unavailable salt. There was a queue that lasted for several years.
If you do this, Yanyin will naturally become useless paper.
During the reign of Emperor Xiaozong, Ye Qi from Huai'an became the Minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs, and even launched a decisive attack on Kai Zhongfa.
That is, paying silver in exchange for salt.
This move directly eliminated the original intention of instigating traders to transfuse blood to the north, and turned it into a farce for the central government to seize silver.
The Kaizhong method is also completely corrupted.
In other words, as long as the indiscriminate distribution of salt cannot be curbed, opening up the law to China will never become a national policy.
Zhang Juzheng was reminding the little emperor not to use this as a means to make money. It would be drinking poison to quench his thirst.
Zhu Yijun first gave Zhang Juzheng reassurance: "Learning from past stories and learning lessons is what I have been doing."
"If we want to follow the advice of Shilang Shen and restart the Kaizhong method, we must not be indiscriminate."
"To be more specific, we still need you to go to the court to discuss the regulations. We are here to just make a rough outline."
Zhang Juzheng received the emperor's promise that he would not spam his post, and he accepted it by handing over his hand.
Wang Guoguang took over the conversation and said: "Your Majesty, this method is very expensive, and there are often voices of robbing merchants both inside and outside."
"At that time, the officials in Nanzhili asked to stop writing memorials to Zhongfa, which almost overwhelmed the Ministry of Household Affairs."
To put it bluntly, any policy comes with a price, and there is never complete gold.
Since the north has been transfused with blood, and the central government has only paid for salt and not sent more corvees, there will always be people who are silently being exploited.
One is the traders.
It is equivalent to adding a layer of corvee to the salt that can be purchased directly.
Even because of the long distance, traders later simply cultivated acres of land in the north, and then transported the grain to the warehouse of Yousi in the north, which was the so-called merchant village.
Whether it is transporting grain or building a business camp, it increases the burden on merchants.
The second is the south.
Since the merchants added a layer of corvee, the price of salt was naturally higher.
The price in the salt producing area itself should be relatively the cheapest.
Just for the sake of blood transfusions for the North, you will naturally feel dissatisfied if you spend too much money on salt.
At the beginning, Ye Qi, a native of Huai'an, had no intention of catering to the public opinion of the southerners.
Zhu Yijun looked at Wang Guoguang.
He naturally understood that the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue was not singing a different tune, but was simply considering this issue from an economic perspective.
The Minister of Household Affairs who wrote the "Wanli Accounting Records" is a rare financial talent today.
Of course, what we think about is inevitably limited to accounting costs.
Zhu Yijun thought about it for a while.
After thinking about modern financial knowledge, I came up with sophistry to deceive the Minister of Household Affairs.
When the words came to my lips, my heart moved and I swallowed them again.
With him in the eyes of everyone, Zhu Yijun fell into deep thought again, seeming to be considering his words.
A long time passed.
Zhu Yijun finally figured it out and understood what he felt was wrong just now.
I was used to discussing things together in my previous life, but I haven't changed from this mentality. Now that I'm the master, I can't act like this.
Sometimes you have to be cunning and deceitful, but as a master, you must not lose your grandeur.
Since it is a national policy, the pros and cons and reasons must be made clear.
He stood up slowly and glanced back and forth at the several ministers.
His face was solemn and his tone was sincere: "Yuan Fu, sir, two pavilion elders."
"Wang Qing made a mature and prudent statement, and I have to agree with it."
He looked at Shen Shixing again: "Shen Qing, I am not lying to you. This move will indeed increase the burden on the southerners."
Shen Shixing quickly stood up and confessed.
Zhu Yijun held him down and continued: "I also have something to say, which I have to say to all the ministers in private. I only acknowledge it here, and I will not acknowledge it when it comes to the court discussion."
He paused and softened his tone, but became more serious: "The conflict between the North and the South has been going on for a long time."
"There are the North and South Bang cases in the distance, and the Huaiyan case in the near future, to name a few."
"Su, Yang and other places are rich and prosperous, and they have always produced blood for the central nervous system. I am also deeply impressed by it."
"The opening of China to France will increase the burden on the people of the South, and they will definitely be dissatisfied..."
"However, those who accept the filth of the country are called the masters of the country."
"This has to be done!"
"As a master, I mediate in the world and confuse the north and the south. I cannot avoid it and I will do my duty."
"Even if the southerners are resentful and the merchants are not angry, I still think it is imperative to implement this method!"
"Do you think so, sir?"
I had something to do in the morning, so I didn't have time to write. I'm an hour and 16 minutes late. I'm sorry.
Chapter completed!