When Li You entered the east chamber outside the Meridian Gate, he was not very respectful to Yuan and Peng, which did not surprise others. Everyone in the room knew that Li Zhongshu and most of the elders were in conflict with each other.
, and his personality has a bit of the arrogance unique to Jiangnan talents. If he suddenly becomes groveling, it would be abnormal.
Li You, an uninvited guest, made the court elites feel a little strange in their hearts. Some people quickly suppressed this feeling, while others couldn't suppress it.
As the nominal leader of the scholars, Jin Shangshu of the Ministry of Rites had a strong Qingliu complex. He couldn't help but said: "Old Yuan Ge advocates strictness, and Elder Peng Ge advocates leniency. What kind of high opinions does Li Zhongshu have that is not empty talk?"
His meaning is very obvious. There are only two ways to solve the problem. It is either this or that. Li You, what else can you say? Moreover, Li You is not on good terms with the elders of the two pavilions. No matter which side he agrees with, there may be something wrong.
Good show to watch.
Academicians Yuan and Peng looked at Li You together. For some reason, they were all curious to see who Li You was going to help this time.
Li You found an inconspicuous seat in the corner. As soon as he sat down, he heard Jin Shangshu ask questions, and said humbly: "The old man is looking up to the boy, too much."
Jin Shangshu smiled slightly, you are self-aware and know that it is better to hide your clumsiness, so he stopped talking to Li You. Just when he was about to turn his head, he heard Li You beat the snake and follow the stick and said: "Since the boss wants me to show my embarrassment, then I
I won’t hide my clumsiness anymore, I apologize for any offense I may have caused.”
This... Jin Shangshu suddenly realized that Li Zhongshu mocking the old talk of the two pavilions at the door seemed presumptuous, but it was definitely intentional. Jiang Taigong took the bait when he was fishing for willing people, in order to provoke others to examine his thoughts. Otherwise, he would go without asking.
As a junior, what right can I have to say when I enter the imperial court?
It's a pity that I have been in the imperial court for many years, but today I accidentally fell in love with Li You, a small official from the south of the Yangtze River... Jin Shangshu thought, fortunately, I am not the first, and I probably won't be the last.
Li Yousheng was afraid that others would block his mouth, so he looked at the bachelor of Wenhua Palace and said quickly: "Old Yuan Ge advocates strictness? Who are you trying to destroy?"
Then he looked at the Grand Scholar of Wuyingdian, "Mr. Peng Ge advocates leniency? Who are you trying to appease?"
Mr. Li originally wanted to complain about the fourth son of the Peng family, but after thinking about it, he decided not to add any extraneous venom and continued: "Sun Tzu said that if you know yourself and the enemy, you will be victorious in a hundred battles. Where is the "enemy" who dares to ask this? Take measures according to the enemy's conditions.
, who is this enemy? Without even knowing ourselves and the enemy, talking about the strategy of leniency and strictness is a bit empty."
The two bachelors suddenly felt that they had the same enemy, their faces darkened, and they both cursed secretly, "You really can't expect a dog's mouth to spit out ivory."
Others, who were thinking quickly, already understood what Li You meant. There were at least hundreds of large and small merchants belonging to the Hejian Changlu Salt Transportation Department. They usually did their own thing and enjoyed the official salt, but this time they went out of business.
The trend also spread spontaneously because it was unbearable. They did not have an organizational entity or industry representatives. No matter whether they tried to appease or force them, it was like punching the air. They couldn't just do it one by one. Really.
If we do this, even if it takes a long time and finally succeeds, the border troops will probably be hungry enough to rebel.
"Then what do you want?" Hu Kedu asked Dong Wensheng during the matter. His rank was about the same as that of Li You, so he didn't have any concerns about his status when asking.
"Every industry I saw in the south of the Yangtze River must have its own business, but the salt industry in the capital has no guild because it has always been controlled by the government. In today's situation, don't those salt merchants who have no profit and can't afford to start early not want to negotiate with the court to make profits? I just hate that they have no guilds.
There is no way out. You can ask the Zhili salt merchants in the capital to establish their own salt industry guild. The system will be modeled on the old guild hall. Choose a general director, and then choose ten or twenty people to take charge of the duties. Gai Neng will be the leader of the salt industry. The court has laws and regulations.
Then the guild will be informed of it, and then the guild will issue it on its own. Why should the imperial court waste manpower and take care of hundreds of families one by one? Therefore, I believe that this is a top priority, instead of formulating a strict and lenient policy, it should be to supervise the completion of the salt industry.
Guild, in order to be targeted."
Hearing this, Mr. Lu, the Secretary of the Ministry of War, who was dozing off, suddenly raised his head and glanced at Li You thoughtfully. If he remembered correctly, the victim of the Cheng family's unjust case was secretly stuffed into his home and hidden by Li You.
He was a salt merchant. When he heard the report from his servants, he thought it was just a kid who had taken a fancy to the daughter of the Cheng family, so he just laughed and pretended to be confused. Now it can be concluded that this kid has an ulterior motive.
The work of the Sixth Section has always been a matter of inspection and nitpicking, so the Household Section continued to question Dong Wensheng habitually during the matter: "Doesn't this encourage the salt industry to form cliques and form societies to fight against the government and the court?"
Hahahaha, Li You laughed: "My Ming Dynasty has millions of soldiers and good ministers. Shouldn't we be afraid of hundreds of salt merchants? Don't forget that the output of the salt field is owned by the imperial court, and all salt and stove households are under the jurisdiction of the government.
"Using salt merchants is just to transport, market and trade, so what's the point of forming a guild? As the saying goes, capture the thief first, capture the king. With this guild, it is easier for the court to control it, with more advantages and less disadvantages!"
All the princes in the court felt that Li You's idea was a good one, and they talked among themselves for a few words, and no one objected.
This cannot be said that others are not as good as Li You. Among the other big bosses who have many things to do, no one pays much attention to the salt matter. It was not until recently that the situation became serious that he was temporarily brought to the court for discussion. In order to improve his reputation as an officer, Li You deliberately chose
I regard this as a stepping stone for myself, and I have carefully studied it for a long time based on my two lifetime experiences. When compared with others, it can be said that I am well prepared, and I use my intention to compare my lack of intention.
However, now we have only solved the problem of methods, and the core headaches have not been touched yet. For example, the reward of salt to the powerful and the accumulation of salt in the hands of salt merchants over the years are the two major problems that the Queen Mother is so distressed that she cannot avoid them.
question.
Yan Shangshu of the Ministry of Revenue was in a slightly relaxed mood. Regardless of whether Li You was polite or rude, he at least pointed out a way. He then took a note and said: "Everyone has no doubts anymore. Li Zhongshu can decide on this proposal first. After the court discussion, he will write to the Holy Mother."
"Ah!" Li Zhongshu suddenly screamed strangely, "I almost forgot in the past half day. The Holy Mother ordered me to go to the East Chamber to deliver the decree. Lin Wuying Hall summoned all the princes to discuss the salt matter! So today's court meeting is considered abandoned, Yan Situ
There’s no need to bother recording the inscriptions!”
…
…
The princes of the imperial court came out of the Dongchao room majestically, solemnly, and filed out quickly, passing through the Meridian Gate like wind and fire, rushing towards Wuying Hall. Those with good memories will recall that Li You once said, "The Queen Mother ordered me to
"Come to the East Palace" instead of "The Queen Mother asked me to attend the court meeting".
While everyone was standing in the Wuying Hall waiting for the Empress Dowager to come to the palace, they were not idle except cursing Li Zhongshu. They were thinking that the Empress Dowager had obviously had no idea before, so she had entrusted the whole matter to the ministers to handle the matter. Why did she have to summon him again now?
They discussed? They must have some new plan.
The smarter ones have already guessed that Li You is involved. He probably has something to do with Li Zhongshu. Remembering the way he talked eloquently just now, it can be guessed that Li You must have given the Holy Mother some secret advice, so the Holy Mother is no longer in trouble.
Yes, Li You is now also a person who is qualified to give secrets to the Queen Mother. If he wants to say anything, he can go straight to heaven. For example, he wrote a secret letter yesterday and sealed it in Cisheng Palace.
He said: "The household department is mediocre and incompetent, and is afraid of being pushed around. Even a trivial salt matter dares to alarm Heaven, which makes the Holy Heart worried. The sin is undeniable! Although I am not talented, I am willing to share the worries of the Holy Lord and resolve the salt matter. The plan is as follows
…”
He gave full play to the advantages of being an inner court official, giving eye drops to the Ministry of Household Affairs, making slanderous remarks, and promoting his own package of solutions. What he said was so profound that he successfully won the appreciation of Queen Mother Qian.
Today, the Queen Mother summoned Li You to have a secret meeting in person. After the discussion, she ordered Li You to go to the East Chamber to deliver oral instructions and convene ministers to discuss matters.
But young people can't help but show off. It's a bad habit. Li You acted as an angel for the first time in his life, and he made some mistakes. So the empress dowager who had been waiting for a long time was promoted to the throne and first fined Li You a year's salary.
, very satisfying.
The last salary penalty has not been completed yet, and this time it was fined for another year. It seems that Mr. Li will continue to work for the Zhu family for a long time in the future. This is the reason why the Queen Mother is in a good mood, otherwise the punishment would not be so
Cheap.
After the salute was completed, the holy voice said: "Li You, please discuss your plans with all the ministers."
Li You has rehearsed this scene in his mind countless times. This is a new way for him to build an official through hard work, transform his image, and achieve sustainable development - Piaotian Literature -!
"There are three things that I have planned and presented to the Holy Mother. The first one is the Salt Industry Guild. I have already discussed it with the princes in the court room, so I won't go into details. But the court wants to find a way to win their trust. The second one is about the salt merchants.
I have accumulated a debt of salt over the years..."
Even those who looked down on Li You pricked up their ears and listened carefully. You must know that due to the squeeze of the powerful, it is difficult to support salt distribution. According to the statistics of the Changlu Salt Transportation Department in Hejian, there is as much as 100,000 yuan of salt in arrears in the hands of salt merchants.
More than 300,000 yuan, equivalent to three-quarters of the annual output of Changlu Saltworks.
"It is absolutely impossible to withdraw the old salt within one or two years. However, we can make a strategy to withdraw the salt in ten years, gradually digest it, and give the salt merchants 40% of the interest as a favor from the court to appease their dissatisfaction. For example, someone
There are 1,000 old salt coins, and a total of 1,400 coins can be withdrawn in ten years, but only 140 coins are allowed per year. Calculated in this way, the 300,000 salt coins only need to be paid for more than 40,000 coins per year, which is not enough for Changlu.
If the output is only 10%, there will be room for maneuvering, and the new Yantai will not be completely cut off due to the payment of the old Yantai."
"Very good!" Someone in the palace cheered impolitely.
It is indeed a way. Li You brought out the concept of bonds from his previous life. He turned the old salt he owed into interest-bearing bonds that were repaid in installments and guaranteed by the court's credit. On the one hand, it attracted salt merchants, and on the other hand, it could pass time.
to digest slowly.
The ministers who originally didn't have much hope for Li You had to give him a small surprise at this time. No wonder the Queen Mother came out to discuss the matter refreshed and easily spared Li You's accident.
However, the issue of rewarding salt gifts to the powerful is even more troublesome than digesting the old salt gifts owed to them.
From the Queen Mother to the ministers, everyone knows that if the unthinkable happens, the behavior of rewarding salt and water should definitely be restricted or even stopped, but they are unwilling to say it out of their own mouths, or they don't want to be such a villain. Being punished by generations.
, three-digit princes and high-ranking military officers hold grudges, and no one will have to struggle.
Let’s see what Li Zhongshu says. If he bravely takes the initiative as a reform pioneer and proposes to limit or suspend the salt reward, everyone will have no choice but to follow it without risk...
"As for the reward of salt and Yin, out of consideration for the Sacred Heart, there is no need to stop suddenly..." Under the focus of everyone's attention, Li You thought thoughtfully and said: "But we can set a law to reward Yin and Yin. It is not allowed to distribute salt at Changlu Saltworks."
"If you can't support salt, what can you do with it?" Dong Shiyi asked again.
"It can be related to the Salt Industry Association. Order the Salt Industry Association to convene salt merchants and contribute a total of 100,000 to 200,000 yuan in capital to set up a salt shop in the capital. Anyone who is rewarded with salt and salt must sell salt, and he can only go to the salt field south of the Yellow River to sell salt. This is too much. Those that are far away can only be sold at the Yanyin Shop in the capital, and then transferred to the Guild Salt Merchants from the Yanyin Shop."
Here, Li You applied the concept of general dealers and transferred part of the profits from the hands of the powerful to the salt merchants who became mere dealers, in order to achieve mutual compromise and appease the salt merchants.
Everyone carefully studied the meaning of this, and there are roughly three points. First, it maintains the dignity and reputation of rewarding salt introduction; second, it deprives the powerful of the profits from selling salt and transfers it to the salt merchants; third, if there are no powerful people to directly pay the salt, then in the Invisibly, the order of Changlu Saltworks was improved.
Although there is still the hidden danger of more salt than production, it at least ensures that most salt merchants have some soup to drink, and they will not have to go out of business when they can't even drink the soup because of the powerful plunder. It's better to postpone it for now. Let future generations worry about things.
Someone else asked: "I'm afraid that the salt merchants won't buy the salt in the salt shop. What can I do?"
Li You smiled and said: "Don't worry about this. All salt rewards that are transferred to salt merchants through the salt merchants will be converted into salt stamps. They are not limited to the sales place and are allowed to be trafficked by the salt merchants themselves. I am afraid that no one will do it anymore." It would be useless to reduce the salt lesson by one tael in order to attract salt merchants to compete for it."
These days, Yanyin not only stipulates the withdrawal location, but also the marketing location. It is very rigid and cannot be missed at all. It is a complete planned economy. Salt that does not limit the marketing location can be sold to areas with convenient transportation or high prices. This is a planned The temptation for salt merchants to sell outside is still quite large. But the essence is to spread the burden of Beizhili and the capital to the whole country...
In fact, according to Li You's ultimate vision, it should be to completely break the plan and monopoly, completely change the salt quotation into salt stamps, cancel the name of Gangshang and no longer limit the number of salt merchants, and achieve marketization... But he is timid, he really wants to do this Come on, the powerful and the salt merchants will eat him together.
After the presentation, there was no applause, what else could be said? While the big bosses were still debating whether to appease or coerce, Li Zhongshu had already quietly come up with a very complete set of plans to provide to the Queen Mother...
Li Zhongshu, who theoretically solved the big trouble with ease and ease, stood quietly in the hall, receiving the baptism of everyone's attention. He was well-groomed and distinguished, and he looked like a pillar of talent.
Peng Gelao, the great scholar of Wuyingdian Palace, suddenly spoke and said sincerely: "I don't think Mr. Li has such a master's advice behind his back. Can you please introduce me to him?" He looked like he was not ashamed to ask.
"You didn't instigate the salt industry trend, did you?" Old Scholar Yuan Ge of Wenhua Palace muttered. He knew some of what Li You had done in Suzhou. Could it be that this time it was Li You's thief's call to catch the thief? ?
Li You was speechless. He understood why it was difficult to do things in the officialdom and even harder to do practical things. This was considered retribution.
In fact, there are still many people who believe in Li You. After all, he received many years of education in his previous life, and his economic thinking is several steps ahead of the average level of this era. At least he knows the laws of planned market value and other terms. He built an embankment in the Xujiang River and saved the silk weaving industry.
, had built a city gate in Suzhou, and it was not without showing his economic talent, some people had heard of it.
