Chapter 283 The continuation of the government meeting of Zhengguo Ben (86)
"Fourteen thousand four hundred taels." Gao pragmatic thought silently for a moment, then said: "This is roughly estimated based on the price of white rice and flour, but I don't think it is necessary to allocate cash. The corn and rice of Yuanmasi Temple in Liaodong last year were quite good.
There is a surplus, which was originally supposed to be sold and recorded this year. Now we might as well change our thinking and allocate food directly from Yuanma Temple.
Let's open 73, 70% corn and 30% rice. At present, corn is much cheaper than flour, so it can be said that the quantity is large enough to satisfy the needs. After replacing the corn, it can give more food to the workers.
In addition, as far as I know, in the past, those who served in the corvee labor force in Liaodong had to bring their own salt. This time, as a reward from the emperor, the salt must be produced by the Liaonan Saltworks. I will write about the saltworks in this matter, and the Ministry of Industry will not be responsible for the freight.
, Jinghua Trading Company will send them to Tieling and Kaiyuan along the way."
That's all. It's nothing more than pragmatism and careful calculation. But as soon as he said that the salt was provided by the Liaonan Salt Farm, everyone immediately praised it, and even Shi Xing had to agree.
Everyone is a sensible person. Gao Pragmatic said that it was "a reward from the emperor." However, in the Liaonan Salt Farm, the emperor only took a share and did not care about its operation. Now, although the emperor's name is used to make salt, in fact, everything is
It is high pragmatism that comes from oneself.
Salt was not worth much in later generations, but it was not cheap at this time. Of course, the price is determined by comparison, so you might as well compare.
There was a house deed in later generations, and it was written on it that in July of the 15th year of Wanli, a resident named Xu in Anhui bought a villa. The villa covered an area of five acres, with three buildings and 28 bungalows.
If a villa like this were placed in Beijing or Shanghai in later generations, it would be worth tens of millions, right? Even in Anhui, the price would be in the millions, right? But Mr. Xu only spent one hundred and sixty-six dollars.
two.
How much is one hundred and sixty taels of silver worth? In the summer of the fifteenth year of Wanli, two taels of rice were sold in the south of the Yangtze River. Converted according to the grain price, one tael of silver was probably equivalent to about 160 yuan in later generations. In other words, this one hundred and sixty taels of silver was not enough.
At the time of the high-pragmatic time travel, Ruanmei's 20,000 yuan would have been enough to buy a villa. Even an ordinary commercial house would not even have enough money for a toilet.
The first conclusion drawn from this is that houses in Daming are very cheap, at least the houses outside the two capitals of Beijing and South are obviously very cheap.
Also in the fifteenth year of Wanli, also in Anhui, people bought a pound of salt, but it cost three coins. Calculated as converting each pound of silver to sixteen yuan, each pound of salt sold for forty-eight yuan. And the iodized table salt of later generations,
On average, it sells for just over one yuan per catty.
From this we can draw the second conclusion: salt during the Wanli period was very expensive.
In fact, according to the food and goods records in the "History of the Ming Dynasty", the government purchased salt from "zao households" (farmers responsible for making salt), paying only one stone of rice for every four hundred kilograms.
In the Ming Dynasty, one stone of rice weighed about 190 kilograms. Calculated at one dollar and sixty cents per kilogram, one stone was equivalent to 304 yuan. The official could purchase 400 kilograms of salt for 304 yuan, which shows that every "stove household"
The cost of producing a pound of salt will never exceed one yuan.
So the question is, how come the price of salt on the market has risen to 48 yuan per pound?
The problem lies in the circulation link. Suppose you are a boss during the Wanli period and want to get some salt to sell. Then you must first apply to the Salt Transportation Department for a salt license, which is a salt distribution license.
After receiving the salt with the salt lead, you must go to the batch inspection office for inspection, and then you must go to a designated place to sell the salt. After selling the salt, you must hand the salt lead to the local government office.
This whole process is not only troublesome, but also costs a lot of extra money. At this time, the official welfare benefits of the government officials are generally low, and they are waiting to find subsidies from elsewhere. If you take the initiative to send it to your door, they will naturally
They have to remind you by putting off doing something until you take the initiative to put their money into their pockets.
Many years ago, Gao Pragmatic once told Gao Gong that although salt merchants make a lot of money, a large part of the expenses are transferred to "other people", so they cannot just catch the salt merchants and scold them. Of course, the salt merchants can scold them.
, but more importantly, those in charge must think about what the problems are in the entire industrial chain, otherwise it will be impossible to cure them.
Returning to the price of salt, although the production cost of salt is very low at this time, the costs attached to transportation and sales are very staggering. Those bosses who sell salt have suffered such a big loss, how can they not keep the price of salt?
Dozens of somersaults?
Some people may say that since the salt merchants have set the price of salt very high, why not get rid of the salt merchants and go directly to the stove households? This is a good idea, but unfortunately it is completely unrealistic, because China has almost always had salt prices since Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty.
The salt monopoly system was implemented. Except for salt merchants with licenses, others could not buy salt from kitchen households, and the Ming Dynasty was no exception.
If you ask why, perhaps the officials of the Ming Dynasty will explain to you: the salt bought from salt merchants is called commercial salt, and the salt bought from kitchen households is called small property salt. Commercial salt is legal, while small property salt is illegal.
But now the situation is different. As the Minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs, Gao Pragmatic, as long as the emperor does not intervene in the issue of legality, he is the final person to define it. He said that it is paid from the Liaonan Saltworks, so the destination of this batch of salt must be legal - but
Don’t forget, after eliminating the intermediate links, the cost of this batch of salt is not high.
Why is power valuable? Gao Pragmatic’s operation is a vivid example.
The manpower problem for post-disaster reconstruction has been solved, but there are still other problems that are difficult to solve. Shi Xing waited for everyone to calm down, and then said: "Mr. Ge is kind, but so many local houses have collapsed, and the Ministry of Industry does not have much wood inventory in Liaodong.
, but I don’t know where to get the materials needed for reconstruction?”
When Shi Xing said this, Gao Pangshi didn't reply, but he annoyed Zhao Yumin, who was the last among the four ministers of the Ministry of Household Affairs. He said with an unhesitating expression: "This is the one in charge of the Ministry of Works. How can Da Sikong push it away with just one sentence?"
Er Jing?”
Shi Xing knew that it was impossible for him to clear his name in front of the Real School, so he was very single. He immediately laughed and said: "If Mr. Zhao Situ said this, there is nothing to argue with in this department, but it is difficult for a clever woman to do anything."
Doesn’t Mr. Zhao, Situ, not know the principle of making a meal without rice?
Since the Ministry of Works handed over financial rights, now even storing an extra piece of wood must be reported to the Ministry of Household Affairs for approval. However, the Ministry of Household Affairs always seems to feel that the Ministry of Works has stored too much, which is not only a waste, but even deliberately profiting from it.
Therefore, over the years, the Ministry of Industry has stored wood and stone materials in warehouses in various places, which is getting smaller and smaller every year. Based on the materials currently stored by the Ministry of Industry in Liaodong, I think that at most it is enough to rebuild the city gates in the two places.
, those yamen, warehouses, barracks and so on... I'm sorry that there is nothing we can do."
Zhao Yumin snorted coldly and said, "Is it that difficult? Isn't it possible to burn bricks on the spot and cut wood nearby?"
"Shao Shao Situ Zhao was born as an official and doesn't seem to know much about building materials." Shi Xing smiled and said, "I wonder if Shao Shao Situ has ever heard of such a saying: 'Sophora wood rafters, elm wood beams, persimmon wood pillars and rammed earth.
wall'?"
Zhao Yumin has never heard of this statement. His Zhao family is a famous family in Changzhi, Shanxi. His father, Zhao Xikui, was a Jinshi in the 14th year of Jiajing. He served successively as the magistrate of Anzhou in Zhili, Tongzhi of Dongchang Prefecture in Shandong, Qianshi in Sichuan and Yunnan, and counselor in Guizhou.
Deputy envoy to Huguang, inspector envoy to Shaanxi, administrative envoy to the right, and administrative envoy to the left in Henan.
In other words, his father was already a second-rank official when he retired. Does it matter what the conditions of his family are? How is it possible to understand what materials are needed for private construction of houses?
Seeing Zhao Yumin's hesitation, Shi Xing said with a disdainful smile: "Sophora japonica means nostalgia, which means not forgetting the ancestors. Sophora japonica is also the 'ghost-covered tree', so we regard it as
The use of rafters in building a house can use "house ghosts" to resist the invasion of "foreign ghosts", so it can stabilize the house. Therefore, when building a house, people like to use locust wood as rafters.
Elm wood has straight texture, clear patterns, and good elasticity. More importantly, it is not easy to deform or crack, and is resistant to moisture and corrosion. Even if the roof leaks, the elm beams will not rot in the short term. In addition, elm wood will not rot in the short term.
It is homophonic with 'yu', which means 'the family has surplus', so people like to use elm wood to make house beams.
Persimmon wood, also known as black persimmon wood, has been revered as a sacred tree since ancient times. It also has the function of attracting good luck and avoiding evil. The texture of this wood is hard and delicate, and the grains are zigzag and changeable. The dark brown wood grains have fine straight lines, curly cloud patterns, and landscape-like patterns.
, it can be said to be varied, so it can make the house more lively. Therefore, people like to use persimmon wood as beams and columns.
As for the rammed earth walls... Could it be that Zhao Shao Situ didn't know that brick houses are more valuable than earth houses, and that earth houses are quite effective in keeping warm in winter and cooling in summer. The people are tired, and it is incomparable to Zhao Shao Situ's house where they can get ice for cooling in summer and burn earthworms in winter.
"
Unexpectedly, he was ridiculed by Shi Xing before he said a word well. Zhao Yumin's face turned red but he didn't know how to refute. In fact, although his family's conditions are good, they can only "take ice in summer" and "burn ground dragon in winter"
But it really doesn't happen.
Even though the cost of using this thing has been reduced due to the rapid increase in coal production in recent years, except for emperors, princes, and nobles, generally only people like Mr. Gao Ge, who don't know how much money they have, can afford to burn it.
However, Shi Xing hadn't finished speaking yet. He continued: "In addition, the wood for building this house is not just cut and used. All types of wood need to be dried in advance, and the time required for drying is also different. Some require
March, some take more than a year, and some even take longer.
If it is used in building a house if it cannot be dried, mold will grow and mushrooms will grow, or it will collapse after a few heavy rains and water will accumulate... Therefore, Zhao Shao Situ's saying of "burning bricks on the spot and cutting wood nearby" is also a good idea.
It’s really not possible.”
Zhao Yumin blushed at what Shi Xing said and didn't know how to answer. Of course, there were people in the meeting who knew how to build houses, and it was not impossible to come up with solutions. However, no matter how much he thought about it, he couldn't get rid of the saying "It's hard for a clever woman to make a meal without rice".
As long as the Ministry of Household Affairs refuses to approve the money, everything you say is in vain.
The problem now is that everyone knows that there is no place dedicated to storing a large amount of construction wood, because the wood also takes up a warehouse. Is there no cost to store so much in the warehouse and to check the warehouse?
In other words, the problem now is not only whether the Ministry of Revenue is willing to pay, but that Liaodong itself may not be able to get so much suitable wood at the moment. So, if these wood have to be transported from the customs, it will be really tofu.
The price of meat is not worth it.
Everyone talked about each other for a long time, but there was no consensus on the outcome. Seeing that the matter was entangled in such details, Gao Pragmatic couldn't help but patted the table and said: "Quiet!"
Everyone stopped talking and looked at the Ming God of Wealth.
Of course, being pragmatic can't change wood, but...he doesn't have to change, because he has.
"There is a shipyard in Jinghua near the Liaonan Saltworks. It was originally built for the construction of inland river ships in Liaodong. It is not large or small. There is a lot of wood stored there, and most of it should have been dried."
He sighed, waved his hand and said: "Although the Spring Festival has passed, it is still very cold in Liaodong. If we can't rebuild it early, I don't know how many people will freeze to death because we are helpless.
Just go to the shipyard for building materials. If the Liaodong shipyard doesn't have enough, I'll send some more from Shandong. What's the price? Let's calculate it at 70% of the market price."
After saying this, he naturally received a lot of praise, and even Gao Jingshi himself felt that he was really a good person. The market price of lumber at 70% is basically the cost price, and since Gao Jingshi agreed to provide it from Jinghua, based on experience
, the shipping costs will also be borne by Jinghua...that means losing money and making money.
Shi Xing was very satisfied with this result. Although he could not compare with Gao Pragmatic in any aspect, since the two sides were definitely unable to compromise, it seemed quite satisfying to disgust Gao Pragmatic through this matter.
After talking about the disaster in Liaodong, everyone naturally discussed the disaster in Zhejiang and South Zhili. Ice disasters in the south are naturally rare in everyone's opinion, but they are not surprised by the high pragmatism - during the Little Ice Age, the precipitation line moved southward.
The low temperature range also moves southward. Is it any wonder?
But the trouble now is not the two disasters that have been reported. What Gao pragmatism is more worried about is that southern Zhili and other places in Zhejiang far away from the provincial capital have also been affected by disasters, but they have not had time to report them.
According to general experience, the disasters in other parts of these two provinces will probably not be minor. So if there is a large-scale ice disaster, the people in Nanzhili and Zhejiang will inevitably suffer huge losses as a result. Not only will it affect the economy of Jiangnan, but it will also be more terrifying.
Then a large number of disaster victims appeared in the hinterland of Jiangnan.
"I'm afraid the disaster in Jiangnan is not limited to just two places. Now everyone should take this into consideration when discussing disaster relief..."
Gao Pingshi said this, and everyone looked at him, but at this moment, a household secretary suddenly rushed outside. He rarely ignored the rules and called out at the door: "Mr. Ge,
Urgent news from the palace: Wang An, the admiral of Dongchang, hanged himself!"
Wang An, the admiral of Dongchang, hanged himself?
When the news came, everyone in the meeting was in an uproar. The dignified Admiral of Dongchang, and the Admiral of Dongchang who was not very old, died so suddenly?
Gao Pragmatic is slightly different from others. His focus is on "hanging himself" - not an accident, not a suicide, and certainly not a death penalty. Wang An "hanged himself".
Gao pragmatic narrowed his eyes slightly.
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ps: It’s 7 o’clock in the morning, everyone shouldn’t be awake yet, so it doesn’t seem too late for me to update at this time?
