Although Zhang Juzheng said it was difficult, he still put forward his opinion: "In the opinion of my ministers, the food and grass in the border towns have not been focused on repaying the middle for more than a hundred years. Although during the reign of Emperor Shizong, he temporarily reopened the central government and banned residual salt, he persisted for less than a year. Restoration view.”
"At this time, if all the old imports are used and the border reserves are settled by the method of opening up the country, the price of salt will have to be raised, so that long-distance transshipment can still be profitable for merchants. This move is contrary to the emperor's wish to significantly reduce the price of salt. .I think it is better to go one step further and use the method of nesting to solve the problem of official salt accumulation first."
Zhu Yijun nodded after hearing this and asked: "How to solve the border storage issue?"
Zhang Juzheng said: "In the early days of the People's Republic of China, the border reserves were mainly grain and grass in the military villages, followed by the civilian villages, merchant villages, and Kaizhong, and then the local branches, and the rewards from Beijing and silver were just the icing on the cake. Today, the army The laws of the villages and civilian villages were so bad that Shangtun and Kaizhong were unable to cope with them. Most of the border reserves were transferred to large households in the border provinces, which made the people suffer a lot. The weight of Beijing's bank in border reserves increased year by year, or as Shu'an said, the imperial finance It’s dangerous.”
After a pause, he said with a stern look on his face: "The laws of the military and civilian settlements in the border town are very bad. The reason is that the powerful officials usurped and occupied the land, and the powerful officials asked the government to convert the farmland into civilian land without authorization. Trapped in the Corso, exploited, poor and fleeing, fields abandoned and other disadvantages, although the difficulty of restoring the early days of the country is not small, it is no greater than the resistance to fully restoring Kaizhong. I ask the emperor to make up his mind to clear the land and start from the beginning. The beginning of Bianzhen!”
Seeing the solemn look on Zhu Yijun's face, Zhang Juzheng added vigorously: "Your Majesty, this is a rare opportunity! The first is that the salt production will increase greatly, which may resolve the long-standing problems. The high officials and powerful people are happy to see it; the second is that I have a mutual market. In 2008, the border was free of captives, which was a good opportunity to build up military garrison. Only three emperors could carry out the attack. The nobles and powerful men trembled in fear, and dared not make a sound of sticks and horses! But to divide the profits from the nest, a strategy of differentiation could be adopted - —This is just the right time!”
Zhu Yijun was overjoyed when he heard this, and said to Wang Guoguang and others: "Have you seen this? This is an experienced gentleman who plans to build a country!" Wang Guangguang and others nodded like chickens pecking at rice, and they all praised him. Zhang Juzheng stood up and thanked him.
Wang Guoguang followed the report and said: "Your Majesty, in order to protect the foundation, the hereditary merchants are worried about monopoly, and the price of salt is not controlled by the court - this is a disadvantage. In addition, the profit of salt is huge, which will inevitably cause disputes; since the salt works The amount of salt produced has doubled, so I think it is better to digest the old one within ten years. After ten years, recruit new merchants and replace it with the new one, so that we can stabilize the salt tax and control the price of salt."
Zhu Yijun nodded after hearing this and said to Zhang Juzheng: "The Prime Minister of Shu'an Household Department is very organized. Although the compilation of "Accounting Records" has not been completed, I am still reviewing it. Wang Shangshu can be called the 'Ji Xiang'!"
The bones in Wang Guangguang's body were two ounces lighter, his face turned red, and his breathing became heavy. He felt that being praised by the emperor was as satisfying as having sex on the bed. After hearing Zhu Yijun's words, Zhang Juzheng knew what he was saying.
Zhu Yijun turned around and said: "However, if we implement the policy of protecting our base, most of the salt profits will be owned by Gangshang, and I will not take them. I have thought of a 'permit' system, and everyone will refer to it for details."
When Zhang Juzheng heard that the emperor had a new law, he listened with all his ears pricked up. However, Zhu Yijun's first sentence exceeded the limit of their imagination: "I want to decentralize and contract the salt fields all over the world!"
Zhang Juzheng was shocked as if a firecracker had been set off in his ears. Because the emperor had not finished speaking, he listened patiently.
Zhu Yijun said: "Each salt department is still a management office, but its functions have changed. It is no longer in charge of salt production. It only issues licenses and licenses. The salt field is divided into small pieces and is invited to be contracted. It can be a salt merchant forever. Without a license Those who produce salt must be treated carefully!"
"From now on, there will be no distinction between official salt and surplus salt. Salt merchants can produce and sell it at will. The salt tax will be included in the contract fee of the 'license', and the disadvantages of tax evasion on surplus salt will also be eliminated."
Zhang Juzheng did not settle accounts with the emperor at first, but only asked: "What's wrong with Ruzao Ding?"
Zhu Yijun said: "Nowadays, half of the people who work on the land and pay the salt tax before drying the salt are already in the kitchen. How much does the court gain? If all the salt is dried, half of it will be diverted away. It is better to hire the salt contractors themselves, leaving them unemployed.
Everyone was given grain to grow cattle and turned into farmers!"
After Zhang Juzheng heard this, he was so overwhelmed by Zhu Yijun's imagination that he didn't know what to say. The corners of his mouth twitched and he was speechless.
Zhu Yijun continued: "Since the issuance of a 'license' is a hereditary and permanent business for salt merchants, they will definitely try their best to increase production in order to make profits. So it will be more than 150,000 kilograms per year? By then, the price of salt will be really cheap.
It’s like dirt!”
"This is a 'license' for salt production, and there is also a 'license' for salt sales. The states and counties across the country are divided into different sales areas according to their distance from the salt field. Three sellers are selected in each area.
The local yamen will then issue a sales 'license', and the tax on salt sales will also be included in the license. It will be used as local revenue and can be used by the local government. This type of license is not hereditary, and the local government can use it through auction every few years.
Law, the one with the highest price will get it.”
"The imperial court set up price-leveling warehouses in various places and set a maximum price limit for salt. It also set up a salt inspection censor. When it was discovered that the price of salt fluctuated in a certain place and disrupted people's livelihood, the price-leveling warehouses would sell salt to stabilize the market price."
"In this way, the court's salt tax will not be lost, the local tax will be collected, the salt poverty will be relieved for the people, and all the salt profits will be returned to the government. How about this method?"
After Zhang Juzheng heard this, he thought about it several times in his mind. He felt more and more that the emperor's method was comprehensive and far superior to the simple method. If the emperor usually wrote well or something like that, he would often flatter him. At this time, he could not say anything.
Say, just write the word "submit" in your heart.
Wang Guoguang, the general of the world, felt that this "licensing" method could not only be used in the salt industry, but also used the licensing method for tea, iron and other purposes for the national economy and people's livelihood. It was really "the country can use it without adding taxes"!
Chen Zan, the left minister, asked: "Your Majesty, if we use the license method and the court no longer issues salt quotations, what about the old quotations?"
Wang Guoguang had thought everything through at this time, and without waiting for the emperor's reply, he replied: "The old silver can be converted into silver at the market price and included in the issuance of the salt farm license. In this way, the court can digest the old silver without spending a penny."
Zhu Yijun nodded and added: "Salt merchants pay taxes every year according to the certificate. This tax rate can be adjusted by the court - if the salt field suffers an unexpected disaster, the tax can be reduced or even exempted; if there is a bumper harvest year after year, the tax can be increased. This is used to regulate the national salt industry production.
"
He continued: "After the salt farm license is issued, trading is allowed. If a salt merchant dies or changes business, his trading license can be granted and he can go to the Salt Department to transfer the account. The government shall not interfere."
Finally, he said: "I'm not worried about the sales license. The management of the salt field license must be done by the powerful, occupying the tidal flats indiscriminately, producing without licenses or exceeding the quota - in this way, the salt tax is lost again. The establishment of the Salt Department is for this purpose."
Zhang Juzheng said with a smile: "In this way, the court does not need to maintain many salt administration officials and soldiers. I estimate that most of them will be cut off, and the remaining ones will be more than enough to take care of this matter! I wonder how much national money can be saved?" After speaking, he laughed again.
The right minister, Guo Chaobin, interjected: "Your Majesty, do you need permission for this transportation and resale?"
Zhu Yijun said: "The setting up of customs clearance and levy is the main reason for the high price of salt. The stamp tax method can be used. When the salt is produced from the salt field, a stamp is affixed to the package. If there is a stamp, no customs tax will be levied! The imperial court passed the control of stamps.
, on the one hand, we can control the output of each field, on the other hand, the purchase of stamps for transshipment is regarded as a tax in the transportation process." Then, he explained what stamps were, and all the ministers listened to them, and they were all impressed.
Zhu Yijun finally said: "The old man just said that the land should be measured from the border town first, and I agreed. But the news can be spread - if the Xungui family actively cooperates with the Qingzhang, it will have priority when the salt farm license is issued, and the common people can receive it.