Chapter 64 Blue Training Card [Salt and Iron Franchise]
Jinling City, inside Jinshen Hall.
Yu Zhaoling looked at the southwest war map in front of him, his expression extremely ugly.
All the civil and military officials of the Xia Dynasty, with heavy faces, stood in the hall with bows and remained silent.
The silence in the hall was so solemn that one could not even take a breath.
Yu Zhaoling took a deep breath, looked around at the ministers in the palace, and said in a deep voice:
"The Wuling Prefecture army reported that Yun General Wu Zixu led his troops to invade and was defeated by our Wuling Prefecture army. He suffered heavy losses and has returned to Tianmen Prefecture!"
As soon as these words came out, several people among the officials in the palace quickly answered:
"Congratulations, Your Majesty, on the great victory in Wuling Mansion!"
When Yu Zhaoling, who was sitting on the dragon throne, heard the courtiers' congratulations, his face suddenly darkened.
"A great victory?"
Yu Zhaoling's sharp eyes scanned the people who were flattering him, and he sneered:
"In the prefectures and counties of Anshun, there is only one Yunyang Prefecture left in the hands of the imperial court, and the troops in Yunyang Prefecture are empty. However, thousands of local county soldiers are stationed there, so it is difficult to hold on!"
"All the prefectures and counties in the western part of Shaoyang County have fallen into the hands of the Yun army. Marquis Deyang led his troops to retreat to Hengyang Mansion to prevent the Yun army from advancing into Shaoyang County. However, Yun general Di Qing changed his usual cautious approach and led his troops to attack Hengyang Mansion. Hengyang Mansion was on the verge of collapse.
.”
"Hahaha, you guys, you call this a great victory? It seems that my ministers know very little about battlefield military affairs. They can't even see the current situation clearly?"
The Wuling Mansion battle report that reached Jinling City was indeed a good report. In addition, the one who was defeated was Wu Zixu, who had annihilated hundreds of thousands of Xia Kingdom's border troops. It was natural to publicize it to boost the hearts of the government and the public.
But to be honest, in the battle of Wuling Mansion, the Yun Army's losses were not too great and they only retreated temporarily.
When Yongzhou, Yangping Pass was lost, and most of Anshun and Shaoyang counties were lost, no matter how many victories the Wuling Mansion fought, it would only delay it for a while and be useless to the overall situation. When the Yun army regrouped and marched in three directions to encircle, then
Wuling Mansion can only abandon its defense!
At this time, Yu Zhaoling's cold and gloomy look and tone that hinted of violence made the officials in the palace suddenly become silent.
The people who spoke fell to their knees with a thud, trembling and kowtowing in apology.
These ministers wanted to flatter Yu Zhaoling and whitewash him. But they forgot Yu Zhaoling's temperament!
Holding his nose and announcing the "Great Victory of Wuling Prefecture" was his intention to appease the government and the public. But if these civil and military ministers really took this so-called Great Victory of Wuling Prefecture seriously, it would be too ridiculous!
Xia Guo Situ and veteran Mei Chong stood up to smooth things over and said:
"Your Majesty, I am not good at military affairs. I only know that the situation in the southwest is difficult. Just in case, I can only make plans in advance to prevent the army from being defeated. The Yun army marches straight in to conquer the Central Plains!"
"Now the imperial court has raised 800,000 taels of silver, 80,000 pieces of armor, 20,000 war horses, countless weapons, food and fodder for His Majesty's disposal! In addition, the veteran has ordered the generals to start building armor and weapons in case of emergencies.
need."
When Yu Zhaoling heard what Mei Chong said, his expression softened slightly and he said in a deep voice:
"Old Situ, how much money is left in the imperial treasury that can support the imperial court until the taxes are paid next year?"
When Mei Chong heard this, his face became solemn and he said in a deep voice:
"There have been frequent wars in recent years, and the national treasury cannot make ends meet. After the additional military taxes levied by the nine counties in the south of the Yangtze River were escorted to Beijing, 800,000 taels of silver were able to be allocated... The remaining treasury should be able to sustain it until next year. But if there is another
Unexpectedly, we can only allocate money from His Majesty's Young Mansion."
Yu Zhaoling sighed heavily and said worriedly:
"Although eight hundred thousand taels of silver is a lot, if you have to maintain the war in the north and south while building armors, weapons, and training elites, I'm afraid it won't be able to sustain it for long! There is only less than one million taels of silver left in the young manor...
…”
In order to resist the Turks, the northern border of Xia State maintains a force of more than 200,000 elite troops all year round. Their annual military expenditure requires two million taels of silver.
Now in the southwest, in order to defend against the Yun Kingdom, the Xia Kingdom has also formed an army of similar size. In addition, it must continue to train soldiers and horses and build ordnance.
The Xia Kingdom's treasury, plus the emperor's young master's office, totaled less than two million yuan, which could only last half a year!
It's so difficult, how can we not make Yu Zhaoling worry?
Mei Chong was silent for a while, then gritted his teeth and said in a deep voice:
"The country is in a difficult situation. Please ask Your Majesty to impose taxes again!"
All the ministers in the palace suddenly looked at Mei Chong with astonishment on their faces.
Yu Zhaoling shook his head repeatedly and refused:
"No! The DPRK has just increased taxes from Jiangnan by 800,000 taels. If we increase taxes again, I'm afraid there will be more complaints from the people."
Mei Chong raised his head slightly and said firmly:
"The salt industry is state-owned, and it is a monopoly. Salt officials are set up by the government and the central government to organize people to make and sell salt!"
"Since the founding of the People's Republic of China in Daxia, there has been no ban on private salt production and sales, and only a small salt tax has been levied. Today, private salt merchants are richest in the world, but the court cannot obtain enough taxes from them. The promotion of monopoly shows that the profits of the salt industry are all over the world.
Return it to the court, and the rich harvest will be enough for Your Majesty to train elites to resist the Yun Kingdom!"
As soon as these words came out, all the civil and military officials in the palace looked extremely shocked.
They never imagined that old Situ Meichong, who had been thoughtful and calm in his life, would actually say such advice in the court today!
"What Old Situ said is extremely ridiculous, Your Majesty must not do it!"
"If you compete with the people for profit, you will lose their support!"
"Your Majesty, please think twice about such remonstrances that shake up the country and the country!"
Suddenly, many officials in the palace immediately stood up, refuted Mei Chong's advice with great righteousness, and talked to Yu Zhaoling about the shortcomings of this salt monopoly.
Nowadays, in the Xia Kingdom, every kilogram of salt is only 30 cents per dou, which is inconspicuous at first glance.
But this thing is something that no one in the world can live without. Even if the price is only increased by ten cents per bucket, the Xia State's treasury can immediately increase taxes by hundreds of thousands of taels every year!
It is precisely because of the huge profits from the salt industry that the Xia government only levied a small amount of tax, and countless businessmen among the people gained huge wealth from it.
And these salt merchants, hehehe, it’s hard to say that the master behind them is not in the Jinshen Palace at this time!
"Hehehe, competing with the 'people' for profit?"
A sneer sounded in the hall at an inappropriate time.
Feng Chu, the first-grade embroidered envoy of the current court, Yu Zhaoling Qiandi's confidant, suddenly stood up and looked around at the opposing officials in the palace with a sneer.
Although the Embroidered Clothes Envoy repeatedly ran into obstacles in front of Dongchang and Guanggan, his reputation in the Xia Kingdom was forged by the heads of countless corrupt officials.
Feng Chu suddenly spoke at this time, and the few courtiers in the palace who were the most opposed were immediately pinched by the neck, and were speechless.
Feng Chu immediately turned to look at Yu Zhaoling, cupped his hands and said:
"If you, your lords, insist on objecting, I have a suggestion, which is to raise gold and silver for your majesty to pay for the army!"
When Yu Zhaoling heard this, his brows moved and he immediately answered:
"What advice?"
"I heard that the current Emperor Yun was in trouble both internally and externally when he came to the throne, and the national treasury was empty. Just by confiscating the Buddhist temple properties of Yun Kingdom, and the wealth of the rebellious and corrupt officials in the Yun Kingdom court, the national treasury was abundant, and he has not been in trouble so far.
…”
If Xiao Cheng were in the Jinshen Palace at this time, he would probably slap his thigh and say to himself: No, the secret of getting rich has been stolen!
At this time, Feng Chu sneered again, looked around at the ministers in the palace, and continued:
"If your Majesty agrees, I can take action tomorrow!"
There was almost no hint of threat in his words.
Many of the courtiers in the palace, facing Feng Chu's gaze, no longer felt confident, their expressions were shaken, their eyes were evasive, and they did not dare to look at him.
As mentioned just now, many of the officials in the palace have their own servants in their homes to run the salt business.
This indeed did not violate the national laws of the Xia Kingdom, at most it just took advantage of a loophole.
But before that, they had uprightly opposed the salt industry in the palace. If it was later found out that their family was involved, wouldn't the Embroidered Clothes Envoy seize the opportunity?
The Jinshen Palace was quiet for a moment, and then I heard a minister suddenly say:
"Actually, the current national situation is so difficult, it won't hurt if we make some adjustments!"
"That's right! The quality of private salt among the people varies. When I was a local official, I tried a case where a commoner died after eating poisonous private salt."
"The imperial court specializes in it. At least it can guarantee the quality of the salt, which is of great benefit to the people!"
"Yes, I second the proposal!"
Yu Zhaoling was sitting on the dragon chair. He just glanced at the expressions of the ministers in the palace, and he couldn't help but reveal a mocking sneer.
How many ministers say they are loyal and righteous, but only care about business in their hearts, yet they insist on acting like they are serving the world. It is really disgusting!
Yu Zhaoling sneered a few times, then shouted in a deep voice:
"Old Situ, I will leave this matter to you. I will ask Feng Chu to work with you. If there is any inconvenience, just ask him to handle it!"
Mei Chong and Feng Chu immediately came out of the queue, bowed and saluted, and replied:
"I, my ministers, obey your order!"——
In Zhongqing City of Yun State, in the Yangxin Hall of the Imperial Palace.
Xiao Cheng looked at the secret message sent back from Jinling City in his hand, suddenly laughed, shook his head and said:
"Salt franchise?"
Nowadays, Guanggan Department, Dongchang, has penetrated very deeply into Jinling City.
In Jinling City, it is an exaggeration to say that Xiao Cheng would be aware of every slightest change. But if there were any changes in the Xia Kingdom's court, Xiao Cheng could quickly receive the news.
Xiao Cheng handed the secret fold in his hand to the eunuch beside him, pointed at a young official waiting in the palace, and said in a deep voice:
"Look at it too!"
When the young official heard this, he quickly bowed and saluted, and carefully took the secret fold from the eunuch's hand.
After a few glances, the young official nodded and said:
"This Xia Kingdom Situ Meichong has been cautious and steady for decades since he entered the officialdom. Everyone thought that he was just a wood-plastic Situ who was used by the current Xia Emperor to stabilize the government. But now he only relies on the salt industry.
It can be seen from the admonitions from the official camp that everyone in the world underestimates him!"
Xiao Cheng heard this and said with great interest:
"Then if it were you, how would you deal with such a situation?"
After the young official pondered for a moment, he immediately raised his hands and said:
"I am young and proficient, and more radical than Mei Chong. If I were in charge, it would be more than that!"
"Both salt and iron are related to the foundation of the country. If the country is stable, all of them should be nationalized. The common people have a lot of good wine, and winemaking also consumes a lot of food. We should set up wineries to control the profits of wine. In addition, there are taxes,
Local governments mostly pay taxes in kind. Prices vary across the country and are easy to be lost when transported to the capital. I can set up uniform transportation offices in various places to transport taxes in kind to adjust supply and demand and balance prices..."
As soon as the young officials talked about their political views, they immediately spoke endlessly.
In addition to the salt industry, the advice also included ironware, wine, balanced control of prices, etc. It was indeed much more radical than Mei Chong!
If he were an ordinary king, he would probably feel that this young official was too bold and a bit arrogant at this moment.
But Xiao Cheng didn't care, and nodded with appreciation:
"You have talent. If you continue to serve in the cabinet, it will be a waste of your talent!"
"It is decreed that Sang Hongyang, who is walking in the cabinet, will be moved to the head of the Branch Office of the Household Department."
[Blue training card, salt and iron franchise
Card effect: After using it, you will get Sang Hongyang from the center.
Card description:
Sang Hongyang was a politician and financial expert in the Western Han Dynasty. He was one of Emperor Wu's ministers and was promoted to the imperial censor. Later, due to political disagreements with Huo Guang, he was implicated in the rebellion of Yan King Liu Dan and was implicated in the genocide.
He has been in politics for more than sixty years. During his period in charge of national finance, he formulated or revised and implemented a series of new financial policies such as institutional reform, salt and iron government operations, equalization of losses, and wine reform. These measures significantly increased the government's economic performance.
Income, economically strengthened centralization, consolidated unity, and curbed the development of wealthy businessmen and powerful merger forces.
Force 53, Literature 89, Wisdom 92, Morality 52, Age 26, Dominance 60, Politics 89, Charisma 72, Loyalty 100, Ambition 70]
Hearing what Xiao Cheng said, Sang Hongyang was slightly startled, then he was overjoyed, leaned down and prostrated, and shouted:
"My lord, thank you for your kindness!"
Sang Hongyang entered the official position, and within two months, he was directly promoted from the seventh-rank cabinet to the head of the household department of the sixth-rank official.
No wonder people in both the government and the public are spreading the word that this is a good place to go to the cabinet, to be a counselor in the Military Aircraft Department, or to serve in front of the emperor. As long as you have talent and learning, you can help others to rise to the top!
At this time, Sang Hongyang couldn't help but feel moved by Xiao Cheng's trust.
How long has it been since I first became an official? And at such a young age, I was directly promoted to the current position of head of the household department of the sixth rank. Your majesty’s kindness is really hard to repay even if I die!
Xiao Cheng encouraged Sang Hongyang for a few words and asked Sang Hongyang to step back.
Wang Zhi, who had been waiting outside the hall, saw this and quickly walked into the hall, knelt down and said:
"Slave, I have seen your Majesty! Di Renjie, the Minister of Dali Temple, has urgently delivered a secret report from the Wei Chu Mansion, please check it out!"
While speaking, Wang Zhi held up a box with a small lock and an exquisite mechanism. It was the secret folding box that Xiao Cheng had given to Di Renjie before he came to Beijing.
The secret box was created by the Mo family. Only the keys in the hands of Xiao Cheng and Di Renjie can open it. If they are forced to open it, the mechanism will immediately activate and destroy the secret fold in the box.
Xiao Cheng waved to Feng Bao beside him, took the key to the secret box, opened it and saw that it was Di Renjie's report on the investigation progress of the imperial examination fraud case.
Xiao Cheng sneered and said:
"The imperial examination fraud case involves so many people, almost most of the government-run local academies are involved. I don't believe that a mere ceremonial doctor has the ability to pull so many people into trouble!"
Having said this, Xiao Cheng's eyes sharpened and he immediately shouted:
"Wang Zhi!"
"My slave is here."
"The doctor in the Ceremony Department of the Ministry of Etiquette is involved in the imperial examination fraud case. Send people to arrest it quickly. If there are any obstructionists or assassins, they will be captured regardless of their official title, or whether they are relatives or nobles!"
Wang Zhi leaned down to salute and immediately replied:
