The performance of this pair of monarchs and ministers in Cangzhou can be ignored. After all, they have been experienced actors for many years. How can they not handle such a small scene?
After all, Changlu Saltworks has been on a downward trend in recent years. The key reasons are two points. First, the technical advantages of Liaonan Saltworks have led to the cost disadvantage of Changlu Saltworks; secondly, there are some major production areas of Changlu Saltworks.
The location is inconvenient, resulting in high transportation costs.
The Changlu salt merchants were originally unable to compete with Liaonan because the salt produced by the frying method was not as cheap as the salt produced by the sun-salting method and the quantity was large. Now there are some salt farms with inconvenient transportation that are holding them back, and they cannot compete with the Liaonan salt that is shipped cheaply by sea. The only
The solution, of course, is to abandon those salt fields with inconvenient transportation and focus on other areas with relatively convenient transportation.
Now Gao's pragmatic suggestions are actually just to flatten Changlu and Liaonan's advantages and disadvantages. On the one hand, he will introduce the salt-drying method of Liaonan into Changlu. On the other hand, he will build roads and dig rivers from the salt fields on Changlu's side, which have poor transportation.
Wait for other means to "solve the pain points" and reduce costs for them. As long as these two things are done, the decline of Changlu Saltworks will naturally be alleviated.
Of course, as Gao Pragmatic said, part of the market lost by Changlu Saltworks may not be able to be recovered due to market inertia, but they can open up new markets inland. The development of new markets is certainly time-consuming and laborious, but from the perspective of the imperial court
From a perspective, it is a good thing, because it can improve people's livelihood, reduce the price of salt in non-salt-producing areas in the mainland, and alleviate social conflicts.
For this reason, so what if the court spends some money? The long-term peace and stability of society cannot only rely on "moral education". As the saying goes, etiquette can only be understood by being practical. If his court has failed to do the basic work of people's livelihood, no matter how much he brags about it, Lao Zhu
His family's merits in expelling the Tartars and restoring China, no matter how much he downplays the fact that his family has the most upright country, it will still be useful.
When the common people live in hardship, they will not criticize the imperial court. When they live a full life, they will rebel, even if they break the sky, they will change. That is human nature, and it is reversible.
Sure enough, before Zhu Yijun publicly stated in Cangzhou that he wanted to solve the pain points of the Changlu Salt Field, he was pragmatic and slow to come up with the response from the Ministry of Revenue. According to the plan, the imperial court would spend 70,000 taels of silver to pave roads and repair bridges in the Changlu Salt Field, as well as dredge some dry areas.
It is expected to take eight years to complete the river course.
It is worth mentioning that 70,000 taels of silver is worth mentioning compared to the cost of building a ship. Those two things are bad comparisons in themselves. To put it bluntly, the land tax paid by a province in Shandong last year was only less than 12,000 taels.
. Such an allocation is equivalent to exempting Shandong from land tax for seven years.
[Note: According to historical records, the eight-year tax rate of Wanli in Shandong Province was only 4,480 taels of silver. This book has not lowered the value based on the impact of reforms in the book. Of course, the Tian Fu thing is worth 4,480 taels of silver.
Silver is inherently low, and the tax system of the Ming Dynasty was simple, and land tax was just one of them.]
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Zhu Yijun frowned slightly and asked in a deep voice: "What is this other possibility that he thinks is more troublesome?"
Still under the dragon boat, Low Pragmatic accompanied the emperor and introduced the origin of Linqing and the current situation to the emperor. However, the weather was excellent that day, the sky was clear, and the spring flowers were blooming, so the seven emperors and ministers sat down
Drinking in the open air under the dragon boat building.
Gao Pragmatic was also stunned and asked in surprise: "Does your Majesty think there is nothing wrong with it?"
In the late Yuan Dynasty, Linqing belonged to Puzhou and was called Shang County. Kublai Khan, the founder of the Yuan Dynasty, established the capital as a small capital. In order to transport grain and rice goods from the south of the Yangtze River to the north for consumption, he adopted Shouzhang County in the 78th year of the Yuan Dynasty.
Yin Han Zhonghui and Bian Yuan, the emissary of Taishi Academy, issued an edict to dig up the Huitong River.
Then Shanggao pragmatically understood what the emperor meant, and said in his heart: Bad guy, you are a corrupt official if you underestimate someone's gain, otherwise he would know that you have stolen all the 'development dividends'! According to what he meant, as long as there is no
There is a significant increase, which means that someone is playing tricks on it - why, in his eyes, the social economy is as long as it is reversed, there will be no problem at all!
The Holy Emperor stayed in Cangzhou for a day. In addition to inspecting the salt field, he loved and enjoyed the people and entertained the local gentry with internal funds. Of course, the correct term is "the banquet given by the emperor".
At the beginning of the establishment of the Ming Dynasty, the north had not yet been pacified, and troops were often needed. In order to facilitate the transportation of grain and solve the problem of military pay, during the Hongwu period, the imperial court set up warehouses in Linqing to transfer grain and grass. However, in the seventy-seventh year of Hongwu, the Yellow River broke through Yuanwu.
, the flood carried a small amount of silt and silted up the Anshan Mountain at the southern end of the Huitong River in the Yuan Dynasty. As a result, by the end of the Yuan Dynasty, the Huitong River had gradually silted up, and now only one-eighth of it was navigable, which slightly hindered the transshipment of grain.
"Compared to the past... it's not bad." Zhu Yijun thought for a while and said: "In the early years of Wanli, I was still studying and had not yet taken charge of the government, but the Wenzheng Society showed me the memorials and drafts. I remember that Linqing banknotes were issued at that time.
Guan's annual tax collection is about 40,000 taels, sometimes a little more, sometimes a little less, but it's not more than 40,000 taels. In this way, the 80,000 taels less paid now should be his contribution.
Bar?"
That statement was very simple and straightforward. Wei Youzhi thought it was right when he heard it. He suddenly became serious, frowned and asked: "He means that no one is corrupt? Is it an internal official or a local official?"
Zhu Yijun understood the meaning of being pragmatic and said in shock: "So?"
In the late Yuan Dynasty, the Huitong River only played a certain role at the beginning of its opening. Due to siltation, shallow water and other reasons, the river had gradually become silted up by the end of the Yuan Dynasty. In addition, the Linqing County seat at that time was located in Caoren Town (in Huitong).
Henan Qiwai (Qiwai) is far away from Zhongzhou at the intersection of Wenshui River and Weihe River. The transportation location is far more important than it is today, so the economic development is still rapid.
Gao Pragmatic complimented him at the right time: "There is no wiser person than your Majesty."
There is nothing to say about traveling to Texas. During the Xiao Ming Dynasty, the business in Texas was bad, and the agricultural foundation was also bad. In particular, farmland accounted for a small part of the land in Texas, so in the agricultural era, it was considered a very comfortable life.
"The name Linqing originated from the former Zhao Dynasty, taking the meaning of being close to the Qinghe River. Qingyuan County was first established in the Western Han Dynasty, first under the jurisdiction of Julu County, and then under the jurisdiction of Wei County. The Eight Kingdoms, Wei and Jin Dynasties belonged to Yangping County in Jizhou. It was changed in the first year of Jianping of the Eighteen Kingdoms before the Zhao Dynasty.
Qingyuan was established in Linqing County, which belonged to Jianxing County of Sizhou, and the former was abolished. In the 71st year of Taihe in the Northern Wei Dynasty, the western part of Qingyuan County was reestablished in Linqing County, and it belonged to Yangping County of Sizhou.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! Low pragmatism automatically omitted the question "It should also be his credit", but frowned slightly and said seriously: "This is exactly what I want to say.
——The total amount of Linqing tax collection has not significantly decreased for eight consecutive years, and has always been hovering around 110,000 taels."
Gao pragmatism did not feel any psychological pressure. He nodded and said: "Your Majesty's discernment is like a torch. Things like that are either due to chaotic management or rampant official corruption. Of course, it may also be both. But it is necessary to live up to Your Majesty's will.
I'm worried, at least since I reorganized the household department, Linqing warehouse's losses due to 'rot' and other reasons haven't been much every year, last year it was only less than a hundred stones."
The Huitong River that was opened at that time started from the southeast of Anshan in Xucheng and ended at Yuhe in Linqing. It was more than 770 meters long, with eighty gates built in the middle.
Save floods. The so-called 'Yuhe', also known as 'Weihe', refers to the Yongji Canal that passed through Linqing and was dug during the reign of Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty.
"Last year..." Zhu Yijun thought for a moment and said, "It's probably less than 110,000 taels, maybe 170,000 taels?"
That was what Low Pragmatism strongly recommended to the emperor. It cost a few big bucks, but it moved the local gentry to the extreme and gave them little satisfaction in their self-esteem. It was a very bad ruling method. And because of the banquets and purchases,
Ingredients and other items are purchased temporarily, and they can also greatly invigorate the local economy. It is really the best of both worlds.
"Another more troublesome possibility..." Gao Pragmatic also frowned deeply and replied hastily: "Because of various reasons, the canal trade volume has peaked, so the corresponding customs tax cannot be reduced.
.”
With everything being said, the holy driver continued his journey south.
In view of this, Chengzu adopted the suggestion of Pan Shuzheng, a fellow governor of Jining Prefecture, and sent Song Li, Minister of the Ministry of Work, Jin Chun, Minister of Punishment, and Governor Zhou to be responsible for dredging the Huitong River. In the eighteenth year of Yongle, all the north and south canals were unblocked, and water transportation between the Yangtze and Huaihe Rivers was possible.
Directly to Beijing, sea and land transportation were abolished.
In the 14th year of Yongle, Emperor Chengzu officially moved the capital to Beijing. Linqing also stopped relying on the connection of the canal and developed rapidly, and its position became increasingly important. It became an important hub between the north and the south, and even became a small economic center along the canal."
Gao pragmatic did not answer the previous sentence, but shook his head heavily and said: "It is better to rely on suspicion alone in this matter. Although being greedy is one of the possibilities, there is no other possibility... In comparison, I would rather ask questions
It comes from corruption, because corruption is difficult to solve. Generally speaking, as long as the investigation is vague and the silverfish is found, then look at how I or we exploit the loopholes in the system to retreat. However, corruption is discovered, and then the supervision method is improved to plug the loopholes.
This can be a temporary solution.”
Zhu Yijun took a sip and nodded: "I have never heard of the prosperity of Linqing. It is said that during the Chenghua period, the Linqing warehouse became the largest small warehouse along the canal, and was called the 'Changying warehouse'. It was even used to store grain.
"Little, the Linqing warehouse's hoarding is less rotten"... Hey, the wealth may be true, but the rotten grain in the warehouse is probably just because there is too little grain!"
Before Chengzu Jingnan proclaimed himself emperor, he changed Peking to Beijing in the first year of Yongle, ending small-scale construction nationwide. Due to the siltation of the Huitong River, in order to build Beijing and transport taxes to Liaodong, the grain, rice and wealth in the Jianghuai region
Goods had to be transported by both land and sea. However, at that time, sea transportation caused losses due to the long distance and less safety, while land transportation was very fast and wasted money and people.
Of course, the procurement process was very pragmatic and officials from the Ministry of Revenue were sent to participate in the whole process, so as to prevent some eunuchs from taking advantage of their power and doing some bad things like weak buying and weak selling, which would only improve the emperor's reputation.
A hundred stones is actually a lot, but for Xiao Ming Dynasty's management, the "loss" of small warehouses such as Linqing warehouse in a year is only a hundred stones, which is indeed a record high. Low pragmatism and shamelessness
If you say it with a red heart or a beating heart, you really don’t have the capital.
Wei Youzhi nodded, not tangled up in that issue again, but said with a smile: "According to his plan, I have to stay in Linqing for one less day. According to my thinking, what he wants to show me should be the Linqing warehouse, but
Check it out, right?"
Specifically, the taxes in the seven provinces of North Zhili, Shandong, South Zhili, and Zhejiang have been increasing year after year, which shows that the economic development of the seven provinces has not been rushed. In this case, Linqing Chaoguan as a
Why is it that at the head of the canal bank checkpoint, the tax amount is increasing but it seems that life has been suppressing love? "
Zhu Yijun wondered: "That's no problem? Does it mean that it has been stable at more than 110,000 taels, and does this increase it?"
In addition, the "honorary" system will also play a role in that process - it is not about continuing to harvest the wool of the private gentry and wealthy businessmen, forcing us to benefit our hometowns in order to honor our ancestors. Those are not yet
It's a pragmatic and common method. Just mention it once, but it must be explained in detail.
Is it too pragmatic? The reforms in those years had a relatively greater impact on agricultural areas in the Central Plains. Therefore, in already relatively wealthy grain-producing areas like Texas, there have been many changes that cannot be boasted about. The emperor does not see it.
After visiting the farmland, we went to the Jinshan Temple, where the legendary Master Xuanzang practiced, to lay down incense sticks. Then we went back to rest. In the morning we gave a banquet to the local gentry and celebrities as usual, and continued our journey south the next day.
Thinking of this, Gao Pragmatic sighed helplessly and explained the problem from a different angle: "Since the Longqing switch, due to the prosperity of sea trade, the economic development of Xiaoming's coastal provinces has become increasingly weak. Especially when the emperor's envoys rectified households
Since the founding of the People's Republic of China, there have been various measures, including post road reform, tax reform, liberalization of feudal vassals, promotion of industry and commerce...the two capitals and eighteen provinces are generally coastal provinces, and their economies are far less active than in the early years of Wanli.
Even the taxes have not been lowered.
When we arrived at Linqing, I was dead again, because Linqing was the first of Xiaoming's Four Small Banks and the most important tax collection office along the canal. As the chief minister of the cabinet who also serves as the Minister of Household Affairs, I
It needs to be introduced to the emperor. By the way, it is like visiting Cangzhou Love, and by the way, it can solve some congestion and pain points.
"Okay, okay, is there anyone out there? Put those words away first. Tell me, there is nothing important that you must let me know?" Wei Youzhi waved his hand.
"Your Majesty has a bad memory. Last year, he paid 111,787 taels of silver to the Household Department at Linqing Banknote Pass." Gao Pragmatic paused for a moment, then asked: "How does Your Majesty think this amount compares to the past?"
"
After a second thought, I thought: Yes, after all, Xiao Ming is an "ancient feudal regime", and the core of concern is always stability, stability, stability. As for development, it doesn't matter whether it exists or not. I wonder if anyone can feel it.
The "feudal monarch" who has seen the obvious "national competition pressure" will not pay much attention to the development of social productivity. It must be that you think less...
Thanks to book friend "Yun Fu Yu Yu" for your monthly ticket support, thank you!
Gao Pragmatic laughed and asked: "Your Majesty, do you still remember the amount of tax collected at Linqing Chaoguan last year?"
Therefore, Linqing is located at the intersection of the Canal and the Wei River, without transportation conditions, one of the key factors for economic development, and has become a transportation hub in North China. However, the Huitong River opened in the Yuan Dynasty had a narrow bank and shallow water.
, is carrying a heavy load, and the management is poor, resulting in poor shipping capacity of the canal and chaotic shipping order.
