prosperous age

Half a month has passed since the army set off.

During this period, the Ming Dynasty government continued to handle its affairs as usual, and no other troubles occurred.

In reality, most officials were also drawn to the army's eastward expedition and consciously did not look for anything else to do during this period.

When the official gazette reached Jiangnan, the gentry there were overjoyed.

After all, they were the biggest victims of the Japanese invasion, losing countless sums of money.

In those years, the government levied heavy taxes on the provinces south of the Yangtze River in order to suppress the Japanese pirates, which was extremely difficult for them.

Now that the imperial court has heard that the Japanese pirates are about to cause trouble again, it has chosen to take the initiative to launch an eastern expedition against Japan. Although everyone is cautious, it is still better than the Japanese pirates landing and burning, killing and looting.

Moreover, the commander-in-chief of this eastern expedition was Qi Jiguang, a man who could kill Japanese pirates as easily as cutting melons and vegetables, so everyone naturally felt more at ease.

Inside a stone building in the Songjiangfu New Port District, you can tell from its design that the house was not built by the Ming Dynasty, but is full of European style inside and out.

This land was leased by a Portuguese businessman who built a two-story stone house here as a hotel, and also built a bar on the ground floor.

Well, in the Ming Dynasty, this kind of bar already existed, but it was called a tavern. It only had snacks to go with the drinks and mainly sold various kinds of alcohol, including yellow wine and white wine. In fact, due to maritime trade, taverns in Songjiang Prefecture and the surrounding areas also sold wine, brandy, whiskey and gin, but in small quantities.

"Op, give me a beer."

This is a bar run by Portuguese people, so naturally there's a wide variety of European drinks.

At that moment, a middle-aged man dressed as a missionary walked into the bar and spoke to the owner behind the counter.

"Okay, a beer."

Oppe chuckled as he poured the man a beer, placed it in front of him, took a small silver coin, and then took out a paper bag from under the counter, saying, "Other missionaries don't drink alcohol, but you do. Aren't you afraid the Vatican will find out?"

In the 16th century, European religions implemented strict prohibitions on alcohol, viewing it as "Satan's trap," forbidding excessive drinking and mandating religious participation.

However, in some non-Puritan-controlled areas, churches would brew their own beer, though it could not be mixed with wine or other alcoholic beverages.

Such prohibition was gradually broken after the seventeenth century.

Clearly, the missionary in front of us, dressed in missionary attire, is not a Puritan, but rather comes from a church in another region, which is why he is allowed to drink beer.

"what is this?"

Seeing the paper bag that Op placed in front of him, the missionary asked with suspicion.

"Haha, Mr. Xu came by the day before yesterday but didn't see you, so he asked me to hand it over to you as soon as I saw it."

Matteo Ricci, you're probably the only one who can freely enter and leave the port area. He said this is the pass issued to you by the Ming Dynasty.

Congratulations! You can now travel freely throughout the Ming Dynasty.

How about we team up? You can help me travel around the Ming Dynasty and buy some local specialties to bring over.

"You need money for missionary work, don't you? I'll give you a cut, how about that?"

Opus stood opposite Matteo Ricci and spoke to him.

"The Ming Dynasty has finally sent me my travel permit? That's great."

The missionary couldn't wait to reach for the paper bag, opening it as he spoke, pulling out a thin sheet of paper and a small booklet.

Both items bear a bright red official seal. The booklet is a document issued by the Songjiang Prefecture government, representing the holder's identity.

Although Matteo Ricci did not have a registered household in the Ming Dynasty, he was registered after disembarking in Songjiang Prefecture, and his registration information is recorded in the register.

That piece of paper was a travel permit issued by the Ming Dynasty government. Only those with a travel permit could travel to various places without being arrested by the government.

Of course, if one has official rank or title, one can travel around freely based on that rank or title.

After all, scholars needed to travel frequently to visit relatives and friends and exchange knowledge, and the Ming Dynasty did not restrict this.

Matteo Ricci held the travel permit as if it were a priceless treasure. He had been applying for it for over a year without success, but Boss Xu had helped him achieve it.

"What do you think of my suggestion? Those Ming Dynasty merchants bring their goods here and mark them up by who knows how much."

If you help me purchase a batch of goods from outside, I'll give you a commission.

With money, you can better proclaim the Lord's mercy.

Op continued speaking.

Foreigners who came to Songjiang Prefecture were generally only allowed to stay in the port area and commercial district and trade with the merchants there.

However, they also knew that, regardless of the quality of goods in the port area, the prices were definitely much higher than those outside the port area.

However, they have difficulty being allowed to leave the port area.

If they leave without permission, they will be arrested by the authorities and forcibly repatriated.

Okay, so that means forcibly sending people onto a foreign ship, no matter where they're going, they can't stay in Songjiang Prefecture.

Matteo Ricci was able to leave the port area to a limited extent thanks to the efforts of his students.

At the age of twenty, Xu Guangqi had already passed the imperial examination for the title of Xiucai in Songjiang Prefecture, thus gaining official rank and status. His family was also a well-known wealthy merchant family in Songjiang Prefecture, and they had connections with the capital. With Xu Guangqi acting as guarantor, Matteo Ricci was naturally allowed to travel around Songjiang Prefecture.

However, because he didn't have a travel permit, he dared not leave Songjiang Prefecture.

Ultimately, the officials here are only refraining from making things difficult for him because of the Xu family's influence, but once they leave this area, who will know who he is?

Therefore, Matteo Ricci could only take advantage of the opportunity to go out with Xu Guangqi to look around, see the real situation of the Ming Dynasty outside Songjiang Prefecture Port Area, and try to preach to the local residents.

The merchants in the port area were mostly corrupted by money and could not possibly become true believers in the Lord, while the laborers were more concerned with making money and naturally had no interest in his missionary work.

Even when Matteo Ricci presented them with gifts, they were reluctant, and only the liquor he bought could make them happy.

"As you know, the Ming Dynasty forbids us from directly entering their market to purchase goods, and we will be severely punished if we are discovered."

It's possible that my hard-earned travel permit and household registration book could be taken back, or I could even be forcibly deported.

I can't take that risk to help you, Op.

Matteo Ricci smiled wryly.

The missionaries were not well-off financially and relied on donations from the foreigners in the port area to make a living.

Of course, because Matteo Ricci had acquired knowledge of mathematics, astronomy, and other subjects from Xu Guangqi, he would occasionally send him a considerable amount of "tuition fees," enough for him to live a wealthy life in Songjiang Prefecture.

But that wasn't why he came to the Ming Dynasty; his mission was to spread Christianity.

Ricci picked up his beer glass, took a big gulp, and then said, "I still need to pack up in the next couple of days before heading to their capital."

As Matteo Ricci spoke, his eyes were already fixed on Oppe.

Opus knew that Matteo Ricci was asking him for donations; he was going to the capital of the Ming Dynasty to spread the glory of the Lord, and naturally needed a lot of money.

"Alright, Matteo Ricci, I'm willing to donate another two thousand risons."

Just as Oppein finished speaking, he saw Matteo Ricci's eyes twitch and his brows furrow, clearly dissatisfied with the number.

Two thousand Swiss francs sounds like a lot, but it's only enough to exchange for twenty Spanish dollars, which is about twenty taels of silver. In the past, when he was only staying in Songjiang Prefecture, twenty taels of silver was enough for him to live in the port area for a long time.

However, having obtained a travel permit issued by the Ming government, he was free to leave the port area and go to other places. Naturally, he wanted to go to the capital to preach there.

The capital city of a country is definitely the area with the highest concentration of population and wealth.

In many small European countries, perhaps only their capital cities can be called cities.

The Ming Dynasty seems to have many cities.

With so many options, Matteo Ricci naturally had to choose the city with the greatest influence to begin his missionary career.

“Well, five thousand Swiss francs, that’s the most I can do. Matteo Ricci, you know that the Ming Dynasty recently attacked Japan, which has affected my trade routes. I must leave enough money to deal with the aftermath.”

Oppe steeled himself and reluctantly compromised.

It is difficult for Chinese people to understand the influence of religion on Europeans in this era, where it was possible to openly rob wealthy merchants and even kings of their wealth.

"Thank you for your generosity. The Lord will bless all faithful believers and make your business grow bigger and bigger."

I'm going to visit Orleans and Bogo; I'm sure they'll be just as generous as you.

Matteo Ricci nodded slightly. Five thousand Swiss francs was not a small amount. There were still some merchants staying in the port area. If each of them donated some more, the expenses for going to the capital would be covered.

"Oh, they should still be fast asleep in bed right now. They stayed up very late here last night and drank quite a lot."

Opp said hastily.

"Well, I understand.

Thank you again for your generosity. I'll be going now.

Matteo Ricci finished his beer in one gulp, put away his household register and travel permit, nodded to Opp, and then turned to leave.

“Father Matteo Ricci, I will have the money ready this afternoon, and you can come and collect it anytime.”

Watching Matteo Ricci's departing figure, Opus hurriedly called out.

In the Grand Secretariat of the Ming Dynasty capital, Wei Guangde was summoning Cao Yikui, the Salt Commissioner of Changlu, to his office. Emperor Wanli was not entirely satisfied with the nine matters concerning salt administration that Cao Yikui had previously submitted. He discussed the matter with Wei Guangde alone for a long time before asking him to summon Cao Yikui to inquire about some details.

"You know the Ministry of Revenue's reply, right? The policy of government purchasing surplus salt has been abolished and should not be reinstated."

Yesterday, when I came out of the Qianqing Palace, His Majesty meant that salt is a daily necessity for the people, and everything should be done as one sees fit.

As for the proposed measures to clean up the salt production areas, aside from heavy corvée labor and the crackdown on smuggled salt, these could be strengthened.

Wei Guangde looked at Cao Yikui and spoke slowly.

"Your Excellency, if this is all there is to it, I'm afraid it won't be enough to change the ills of the salt administration."

The cleanup of the salt fields actually refers to the restoration of the firewood areas where salt producers boil salt. The purpose was to reduce the corvée labor of salt producers by eliminating heavy taxes. As for the crackdown on smuggled salt, it's easier to understand; the imperial court had actually been doing that all along.

However, these are all superficial and have no practical effect.

The current problem with the salt administration in the Ming Dynasty is that, in addition to salt merchants exchanging salt from the salt fields, they are also privately buying up surplus salt from salt producers. Some of this surplus salt has, of course, been subject to salt tax payments to the Ministry of Revenue, but much of it is smuggled salt obtained through tax evasion.

The official salt and smuggled salt were mixed together, making it difficult for the government to distinguish between them.

"But if the government buys up the surplus salt, do you think it's good or bad for the salt producers?"

Wei Guangde asked, and then said to himself, "In the past, when the government purchased surplus salt, the officials would often lower the grade and price, and forcibly seize the profits of the salt producers. This is why the salt producers preferred to sell the surplus salt to private salt merchants rather than to the government."

Over time, this method naturally collapsed and was abandoned.

Do you think things will be better now that you've started again?

"But if the surplus salt is not controlled, the salt administration will collapse sooner or later."

Cao Yikui defended himself.

Having served as the head of the Changlu Saltworks for many years, he had already sensed that the current salt administration was on the verge of complete collapse. If a new system was not introduced in time, he feared that smuggled salt would surpass official salt on the market, causing the imperial salt tax to suffer enormous losses.

Ultimately, these salt administration officials would bear the blame for all these outcomes, while the salt merchant groups would be the only ones to benefit.

"I have some ideas to conduct a pilot program in the area under the jurisdiction of the Changlu Saltworks."

When you go back, the first thing you must do is to eliminate the heavy corvée labor. Salt production is the main occupation of salt-making households, and corvée labor can be offset by salt production. Cleaning up the salt fields will also be carried out.

However, the most important task is to clear up the salt permits owed by the salt merchants who obtained salt from the Changlu Saltworks and to register them separately.

As for the prefectures and counties under the jurisdiction of Changlu Saltworks, they should be investigated according to the population size, and detailed information should be available for each place.

Then, the salt contracts were outsourced to the salt merchants, implementing a system of official supervision and merchant transportation. You needed to know exactly how much salt was distributed to various regions each year.

If the supply is insufficient, the salt supply will be increased to ensure the people's needs are met.

The price of salt in various regions was set according to the cost of transportation, ensuring that salt merchants could make a profit while avoiding large fluctuations in salt prices.

The most important point here is that there is no distinction between regular salt and surplus salt; each salt merchant can only transport that much salt to the sales area.

Those who owe salt certificates for more than fifty years will be compensated with regular salt at a ratio of ten to one.

Wei Guangde didn't consider how much salt each household could produce each year. In fact, as long as it was profitable, salt production could be increased significantly.

However, compared to the profits, most of the profits from increased salt production still went to the salt merchants, who would take the opportunity to lower the purchase price of salt.

Wei Guangde's actual idea was to divide the salt into zones and grant exclusive sales rights, allowing salt merchants to compete for salt sales areas with money, so that the Ministry of Revenue could reap the benefits first.

Then, the salt consumption quotas for each region were determined, and merchants were urged to transport salt in accordance with the quotas.

As for whether they used regular salt or purchased surplus salt, Wei Guangde didn't care; the government only needed to control the salt they transported.

After deducting the costs of salt collection and transportation, and allowing for a reasonable profit, the price of salt in each region is set.

In the early days, the salt administration relied on connections to secure salt-selling areas.

Salt merchants with strong personal connections could be allocated good locations and large, populous cities.

Now, Wei Guangde plans to use a bidding process to secure the sale, no longer allowing private relationships to take the lead.

In addition, it was especially important for the government to supervise the amount of salt that salt merchants transported to various places.

It's not that salt merchants made more money by selling more salt. In fact, they strictly limited the amount of salt sold in their respective sales areas. When supply couldn't meet demand, local salt prices would skyrocket, and they would make even more money from it.

As long as supply is not increased, these profits will continue to flow.

Previously, the government did not actually control the amount of salt that salt merchants transported to various places, and some salt merchants took advantage of this to make a profit.

The high price of salt inevitably led to the emergence of smugglers who were willing to risk their lives to make money.

Wei Guangde instructed Cao Yikui to closely monitor the amount of salt transported by salt merchants to various regions in order to stabilize salt prices and prevent high salt prices from harming the people.

After all, being a salt merchant also requires costs, and having a large amount of salt stockpiled in hand is a burden for salt merchants.

As long as salt merchants are forced to supply sufficient salt to various regions, salt prices will not fluctuate wildly, making it easier to collect taxes based on the quantity of salt entering and leaving the country. (End of Chapter)