I'm really not doing business

Chapter 775: Ten Miles of Silver Beach, Millions of Salt

Zhu Yijun learned detailed information about salt drying in Shandong from the Ministry of Works.

Salt drying in Shandong is divided into two seasons, spring drying and autumn drying. March to May is the peak season, and September and October are the off-season.

From March to May, there is plenty of sunshine, the weather is fine and the temperature is rising. If not enough salt is produced by the end of May, the extremely low yield of autumn drying will not be able to meet the demand, so salt will be harvested in May.

During the peak season for salt drying, the most feared thing is rain, because rainwater falling into the salt pond will dilute the brine and melt the crystallized salt grains, and all the efforts of the previous ten days will be wasted. The pond dam and the upper and lower drainage ditches will also collapse when soaked by fresh water.

Yao Guangqi, who was brought to Shandong by Ling Yunyi, was a scholar, but Yao Guangqi did not receive preferential treatment as a scholar and was thrown into Jimo County to grow kelp. In addition to growing kelp, Yao Guangqi felt that the output of this salt-drying method, which depended entirely on the mood of God, was too unstable.

"Your Majesty, this is the tribute salt from Jie Chi in Jiezhou, Shanxi, and this is the Haifeng salt from Yao Guangqi in Haifeng, Shandong." Feng Bao placed two bags of salt in front of His Majesty.

Jie Chi in Jiezhou, Shanxi (now Yuncheng Salt Lake) is the Hedong Salt Lake, the place where Shanxi merchants made their fortune. Many Shanxi merchants sold Hedong salt to the grasslands and made huge profits. In the sixth year of Longqing, when Zhang Juzheng and the Shanxi Party had a decisive battle, Zhang Siwei was forced to retire because of the Hedong salt incident and was unable to support Gao Gong.

Since Jie salt could be used as a tribute, it must be of extremely good quality, and the quality of Haifeng salt is not inferior to that of Jie salt at all.

This is entirely due to Yao Guangqi's improvement in salt production. The original pool was divided into a sedimentation pool, evaporation pool, crystallization pool and plate drying, which greatly improved the quality of sea salt.

When the tide is high, the seawater enters the sedimentation tank, precipitates the dirt in the water, and flows into the evaporation tank, evaporating the seawater to become saturated salt water, or brine. The brine flows into the crystallization tank and begins to crystallize under the sun. Craftsmen push the salt rake every day to push the precipitated salt crystals into a salt pile.

At this point, the salt is ready to be sold.

As for refined salt, the salt pile is pulled into the shed, dissolved again, filtered with cotton cloth, and then placed in a large fir board to evaporate and crystallize again.

The big board is nine feet long, three feet wide, and one and a half inches deep. Each board has a handle, and three boards can be stacked into a stack with a hat. If it rains, you can stack three boards and cover them with the hat. If it rains heavily, you can carry them into the house.

When in use, one ladle of brine is poured into each plate, about 22 pounds, and after drying, four to five pounds of salt can be obtained. Every two able-bodied men can look after 60 plates.

All the salt ponds are built with cement, mainly to prevent heavy rain from damaging the ponds and drainage ditches. In the ninth year of Wanli, Yao Guangqi built three salt fields, Haifeng, Hairun and Hairing, which could produce 2,000 kilograms of salt per acre.

Ten miles of silver beach and millions of salt.

After Shandong Governor Wang Yi'e arrived in Shandong, he promoted this grading board drying method to the entire coastal areas of Shandong. A total of 14.3 salt fields were built, and the salt production increased from 35.2 jin to jin, completely defeating the salt production of Liangzhe and Lianghuai. It not only met the needs of the entire Shandong province, but was also marketed to northern Zhili, Shanxi, Suiyuan, Liaodong and other places.

And production is still rising.

Wang Yi'e holds salt and kelp in his left hand, and the Artisan Corps and Mizhou Maritime Customs in his right hand. These are all the legacies left by Ling Yunyi. For Wang Yi'e, being the governor of Shandong is much easier than being the prefect of Shuntian Prefecture.

"Our Kelp King gave me a big surprise." Zhu Yijun said with a smile.

"Your Majesty, if these scholars use their brains a little, they will have such abilities! But among so many scholars, no one goes to the salt fields to help the salt workers. A salt worker of fourteen will go blind if he works until he is twenty-three or twenty-four."

"With the current grading board drying method, there is no need for boiling or frying. People can do it from the age of fourteen to fifty without suffering any hidden diseases." Feng Bao immediately threw a basin of dirty water on the scholar. As a eunuch, this was his instinct.

Although people have the ability to change the current bad situation, no educated person does these things.

Zhu Yijun was about to nod, but after thinking for a while, he shook his head and said, "You are wrong. Yao Guangqi just has this talent. I have given the Doctor of Gewu a very high treatment. I have visited all the hermits and only plundered those one hundred people."

"Not every scholar can improve these techniques, and it was not done by Yao Guangqi alone. It was the result of the joint efforts of the salt workers and salt farmers at the Haifeng Salt Field."

If Yao Guangqi had not lost the fight with Wang Qian and offended Ling Yunyi who had returned to Beijing to report on his work, Yao Guangqi would still be a rich young man in the capital and would never have set foot in the salt fields in his entire life. His talent as a craftsman would never have been revealed.

Moreover, the improvement of the process itself was not the work of Yao Guangqi alone, but the result of collective wisdom. The entire Haifeng Salt Field actively contributed ideas and suggestions, which eventually led to this complete set of salt-drying methods.

"Your Majesty is wise." Feng Bao bowed his head and said.

Optimizing production links, improving production tools, and increasing production efficiency do require talent. For example, the iron horse factory located in Shanghai County has already achieved mass production. Yao Guangqi's talent is more of an organizational talent than a craftsman's talent. He is able to mobilize the enthusiasm of these craftsmen.

This is also what the vast majority of scholars do not possess. Among the scholars that Zhu Yijun has seen, most are concerned with their own personal gain, while few are concerned with the benefit of the world as a whole.

How many of you have already passed away, and still expect every scholar in the Ming Dynasty to be a man of great integrity and perseverance who cares about the world?

Feng Bao whispered, "Your Majesty, the Jiangyou Provincial Government has communicated with the Shandong Governor, hoping that Wang Yi'e can send 500 salt workers to Lianghuai to teach them how to dry salt. Wang Yi'e agreed, but Wang Yi'e hopes that Lianghuai can sell their Suixi wine yeast to Shandong."

The clear water of the Sui River makes me pity the fat red carps. They support each other and return home drunkenly stepping on the fallen flowers.

If we really trace the history of Suixi wine koji, it can be traced back to more than two thousand years ago, when the Duke of Song held a blood alliance meeting with other princes during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. The Kouzi wine brewed with Suixi wine koji was also famous throughout the world.

During the opening inspection at the end of May every year, Kouzi Liquor is also a strong contender for the title of the best wine in the world.

"It's interesting. Our Ming Dynasty is a whole chessboard, but this place is also full of intrigue." Zhu Yijun said with a smile.

Lianghuai produces 32.3 jin of salt every year, each jin weighing jin. Lianghuai salt has always been the largest salt producing area, but now it has been overtaken by Shandong. This naturally attracted the attention of Jiangyou Provincial Government. However, knowing the method is not enough, and people are needed to guide the salt drying.

For example, Wang Yi'e reported to the emperor that they had a unique technique for drying salt, called "dahua", which involves using a thick rope to move in the salt pond to make the coarse salt crystals become finer and more uniform, which can effectively improve the quality.

Shandong salt workers need to teach step-by-step how to make the salt flowers and when to make them. Otherwise, the salt produced by Lianghuai salt workers will not be as good as Shandong salt.

The cost of one pound of salt in the Ming Dynasty was about eight cents of silver. It was sold to the Northern Yamen for one cent of silver, or eight cents per pound. It was sold to the distribution center in Spain for one cent of silver per pound, which was nearly ten times the profit.

But considering the annual collection and distribution cycle, as well as the risks and tariffs of maritime trade, the profits were not too high in this era of navigation.

"In March, when the Ming Dynasty's ocean-going merchant caravan sets sail, take some salt and see how things go." Zhu Yijun decided to give it a try first to see if he could open up a trade route.

Salt can be used instead of ballast stones. It will harden when it gets wet, and there is no need to worry about the salt rolling and causing the ship to tilt. The specific gravity of salt is 2.16, while the specific gravity of ballast stones is 2.65. There is no problem in using them as ballast stones.

This is the extra goods brought to the West, which is the extra profit.

The New Deal in the 15th year of Wanli's reign had three main methods for collecting gold: Yanxinglou Trading House absorbed local gold from the Ming Dynasty, large sailing ships carried extra salt for trade, and Western merchants were allowed to use gold to pay for goods. With these three methods combined, it took ten to fifteen years to collect 10 million taels of gold for issuing banknotes.

This process was certainly not smooth sailing, but fortunately, it was a good start.

Feng Bao whispered, "Your Majesty, do you want to conduct an audit of the salt industry? The Ministry of Revenue has calculated that the Ming Dynasty will be short of 1250 million silver in salt tax each year."

The Ming Dynasty should have levied a tax of six taels, six qian and four fen of silver on each draw of salt, of which three taels and one qian were tax, three taels and five qian were paid to the envoys, and four fen were retained by the local governments. According to the Ming Dynasty's salt tax, the annual tax should have been 1370 million taels of silver. Of course, this was only in theory. The Ming Dynasty's salt tax was only about million taels per year.

Zhu Yijun shook his head and said, "Today I am collecting salt taxes, tomorrow the salt dealers will dare to impose salt taxes on the people. Now salt only costs 8 wen per pound, but when I increase the tax, they dare to sell salt for wen. When you ask them why the price has increased, they will tell you that it is because of my tax increase."

"After the collapse of the Sino-French policy, it was impossible to collect the salt tax. In the second year of Longqing, Pang Shangpeng was in charge of the salt industry. Wang Ci Fu was the governor of the three borders at the time. After three years of hard work, he still didn't collect any salt."

Pang Shangpeng and Wang Chonggu were not unloyal at that time. They really wanted to do a good job, but they ended up in a mess. The salt in the three border areas of Shaanxi, Gansu and Ningxia was sold for 400 coins per catty. Pang Shangpeng tried every trick, but in the end the court withdrew its order.

If people don't eat salt, they will get malaria in a few days. When these things fight, only the common people will be tormented. It's really like a fight between gods, and the common people suffer.

The court can win the fight if it doesn’t care about the lives of the people.

Zhang Juzheng's new policy was aimed at enriching the country and strengthening the military, and he did not dare to act rashly with the salt administration, as this could lead to a large-scale civil uprising.

"It would be a great benefit to allow the common people to have cheap salt." Zhu Yijun rejected Feng Bao's proposal.

Wang Guoguang and Zhang Xueyan, the two Si Tu of the Ministry of Revenue, had never thought of trading in salt before, as it was really difficult to do so. Fortunately, due to the fierce competition, the price of salt was very cheap, eight cents per pound, which was really not much.

Salt from the West is sold for seventy cents per pound!
"Your Majesty, Wang Xiyuan, the Chancellor of Shuntian Prefecture, requests to see you." A eunuch walked in and said with his head bowed.

"Xuan."

The only officials who could go to Tonghe Palace to request an audience with the emperor were the cabinet ministers and the court officials in Wenhua Palace. Apart from them, the only way to see the emperor was at the third major court meeting on the first day of each month, or to be summoned by the emperor. However, there were exceptions. For example, the Doctor of Gewu could also request an audience. The Doctor of Gewu had an extraordinary status, so it was normal for him to have such privileges.

There was another exception, that was Wang Xiyuan, the Chancellor of Shuntian Prefecture. He could come directly to Tonghe Palace to meet the emperor, as the emperor had promised him.

If three people are unfortunate, they will be sent to the county magistrate's residence; if three people are evil, they will be sent to the capital's residence; if three people are full of evil, they will be sent to the capital's residence.

It is indeed very difficult to be a prefect in the capital, especially now that the population is surging and the contradictions are complex and ever-changing.

Last year, Zhu Yijun gave Wang Xiyuan the privilege of requesting an audience, but Wang Xiyuan never used it. It is obvious that he encountered difficulties and asked His Majesty the Emperor to help.

"Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you. Long live Your Majesty. Long, long live Your Majesty." Wang Xiyuan greeted respectfully.

Zhu Yijun frowned and said, "Sit down. Have you encountered any difficulties again?"

"The powerful and influential people led beasts to eat people." Wang Xiyuan sighed and said, "I don't know how to deal with it."

"Tell me in detail." Zhu Yijun sat up straight and said with a serious expression.

"Marquis of Xining, Song Shien, likes to raise fine dogs with pointed muzzles, thin waists and long legs. Marquis of Xining has two fine dogs and has someone in charge of them. People in the mansion call them the eldest and second young masters, and they are the most loved by Marquis of Xining. During the Lantern Festival, Marquis of Xining took the two fine dogs to the streets, and they bit people, injuring two people." Wang Xiyuan said with embarrassment.

"Did the Marquis of Xining put pressure on the chancellor of Shuntian Prefecture?" Zhu Yijun frowned and said, "Just tell me, and I will handle it."

Wang Xiyuan said helplessly, "These two dogs bit two people. Two watchtower firemen saw it and beat the two dogs to death. The Marquis of Xining said that he could compensate the injured for medicine, but he wanted the two firemen to pay for the lives of his dogs. Your Majesty, I dare not make such a judgment, so I will discuss it with the Marquis of Xining."

"In the end, the Marquis of Xining asked the two stokers to pay thirty taels of silver. The matter was settled, and he did not make things difficult for the two stokers."

"These two dogs cost several hundred taels of silver from the time they were bought to the time they were three feet tall. Thirty taels of silver doesn't seem like a lot."

Zhu Yijun frowned and said, "Is the Marquis of Xining crazy? He wants to claim compensation? Isn't he afraid that he will have the life to take the money but not the life to spend it!" "Da Zhuang killed the dog of the Confucius Mansion in Yanzhou. The Confucius Mansion in Yanzhou asked Chen Da Zhuang's father to bury the dog! The Duke of Yansheng's Mansion collapsed because of this incident. Doesn't the Marquis of Xining know about it?!"

"How dare you!"

Few people knew that Zhu Yijun had executed Kong Yinlin by dog ​​execution. Others thought that Kong Yinlin was sent to the dismemberment hospital, but there was no specimen of Kong Yinlin in the dismemberment hospital.

“I still wanted to negotiate a few more times, but the two victims who were bitten died suddenly of illness in Huimin Pharmacy after the Lantern Festival, and things became complicated.” Wang Xiyuan talked about why the situation was difficult.

If it's just about losing money, it's actually very easy to deal with.

The trouble is, both injured people died.

One was seriously injured and even the chief doctors were unable to save him, while the other was not so seriously injured and died of leprosy.

Ge Hong recorded in "Emergency Prescriptions for the Elbow": Whenever a vicious dog bites a person, the hands and feet will swell up. The infection will recur once every seven days. If it does not recur for thirty-seven days, the person will die. It will take more than a hundred days to be completely cured.

"瘈狗" means rabid dog. If bitten by a mad dog, the situation is very dangerous for seven days. If you are out of danger on the twenty-first day, you can be said to have survived only after a hundred days.

"What should be done according to the laws of the Ming Dynasty?" Zhu Yijun asked about the specific legal provisions.

Wang Xiyuan said hurriedly, "Your Majesty, there is no clear provision in the Great Ming Code. It only states that if a mad dog is not killed, the person shall be flogged ninety times. I have looked up the old rules and found that the Tang Code Commentary has very clear provisions."

"Oh? What does the Tang law stipulate?" Zhu Yijun asked immediately.

Wang Xiyuan took out a copy of Tang Law Commentary, which was the fifteenth volume. He turned to Article 207 and read: "If a mad dog is not killed when the flag is not properly restrained, the person shall be flogged forty times; if the animal kills or injures a person intentionally, the person shall be punished with negligence. The commentary says: If the animal kills or injures a person, and then injures another person with another animal, the person shall be punished within twenty days. If the animal dies within the twenty days, the punishment shall be reduced by one level of fighting; if the animal dies due to other reasons, the punishment shall be based on the law of injuring another person with another animal."

Zhu Yijun took the Tang Code and started reading it. This section was very long, and Wang Xiyuan only gave a summary.

Marking and tying up means that ferocious hunting dogs must be marked, such as by writing a sign on them. If there is a vicious dog at home, it must be tyed up. If the vicious dog is not tied up properly, the person will be charged with the crime of "intentionally letting the dog go to kill or injure someone."

The discussion is a judicial interpretation. If a domesticated animal kills or injures a person, it is equivalent to other animals injuring a person. If it dies within 20 days, the crime will be reduced by one level according to the law of killing in a fight.

"The purpose of Tang law is that livestock is used to repay people. If the livestock commits a crime, it is the owner who commits the crime." Wang Xiyuan explained the legislative purpose of Tang law.

Using livestock to attack others and false accusations are two typical examples in Tang law.

"Are there many cases of vicious dog bites in the capital?" Zhu Yijun understood Wang Xiyuan's purpose. The case of Xining Marquis Song Shien was difficult to handle, and the legal loopholes of the Ming Dynasty were another issue.

The population in the capital of the Ming Dynasty is becoming increasingly dense, and there are probably more than one cases of vicious dogs injuring people in this city.

"Your Majesty is wise." Wang Xiyuan bowed his head and said. This was where his dilemma came from. He didn't know how to judge the Marquis' case, and there was no law to serve as a basis.

"I will issue a memorial to the Ministry of Justice and the Dali Temple to fill in this blank." Zhu Yijun handed the "Tang Law Commentary" to Feng Bao and said to Feng Bao: "Feng Daban, call the Marquis of Xining to the Leopard Room."

"I obey your order." Feng Bao shuddered. The Leopard House was a zoo left by Emperor Wuzong of the Ming Dynasty, where a bunch of wild animals were kept. It was self-evident what the emperor wanted to do by calling Marquis Xining there.

Add meal.

Wang Xiyuan was not a fool. When he heard it, he immediately knew what the emperor was going to do. After leaving Tonghe Palace, he hurried to Wenyuan Pavilion to find Wang Ci Fu and asked Wang Ci Fu to rescue people.

"I won't go. Your Majesty still has seven blank certificates in his hand that are not being used. After Your Majesty has killed people, submit a memorial to the Ministry of Justice and I will fill in the reasons." Wang Chonggu shook his head repeatedly. His Majesty was very angry at the moment. If he went to offend him at this time, he would be crazy.

"Sir." Wang Xiyuan was so anxious that sweat broke out on his forehead. He didn't really care whether Marquis Xining was dead or alive. He cared more about the wisdom of His Majesty.

The emperor must be wise and blameless, with no blemishes in his achievements. Even if there are some dirty and shameless things, they are done by his ministers and have nothing to do with Your Majesty.

"Hey, I've seen this case a long time ago, and you can't handle it. Transfer it to the Northern Pacification Office and do your own thing." Zhang Juzheng thought for a moment and gave Wang Xiyuan an answer.

This is a hereditary military honor, which is under the jurisdiction of the Northern Pacification Office. Especially when a military honor is involved in a murder case, it is definitely not under the jurisdiction of Shuntian Prefecture, and the Ministry of Justice cannot intervene.

"Let me go there." Zhang Juzheng stood up and went to the Leopard Room.

Wang Chonggu immediately stood up and said, "We can't go. We should stay out of your majesty's business."

"I am also a military hero, I have to go there." Zhang Juzheng signaled Wang Chonggu to be patient. He was going there as a military hero. Qi Jiguang was not there, and the three dukes were all high priests. So as the Marquis of Yicheng, he, Zhang Juzheng, had to be a witness.

As long as he goes, no matter what Your Majesty does, it will not be considered excessive, and any rumors in the future will not be directed at Your Majesty.

"It's because of this incident." Wang Chonggu could only sit down helplessly.

Shen Li, the Minister of Rites, immediately said to a secretary, "Go and call the three dukes to the Leopard Room, quickly."

No matter what Your Majesty wants to do, this pot cannot be borne by Your Majesty alone. The title of Duke is hereditary and has consumed so much salary from the imperial court. It is time for him to play a role. No matter how this matter is recorded in the future, it must be agreed by the three great dukes.

Zhu Yijun first arrived at the Leopard House, next to which was the Yongshou Palace. At that time, Emperor Shizong wanted two million taels of silver to build the Yongshou Palace, but in the end he only got 200,000 taels of silver. The palace was built, but a few days later, it caught fire again.

All the animals in the Leopard House are auspicious signs sent to the capital from all over the country, but because the emperor doesn't like them, these beasts are generally thin.

Zhu Yijun was waiting for Song Shien, Marquis of Xining. The imperial guards had already gone there, but he did not wait for the Marquis of Xining, but for Zhang Juzheng.

"Sir, do you want to stop me?" Zhu Yijun was somewhat curious about the purpose of Zhang Juzheng's visit.

Zhang Juzheng bowed his head and said, "I have never stopped Your Majesty, nor do I have the authority to do so. I am here today to bear witness. In the future, I will say that this was my suggestion."

Soon, the three dukes also rushed to the Leopard House. They were all anxious and sweating. When they saw the emperor, they kept apologizing, saying that they had not disciplined their children strictly and were guilty of negligence.

The military heroes have been favored by the emperor for generations, but it has been a long, long time since a military hero led troops to the battlefield. He has eaten so much salary from the imperial dynasty, but has not helped Your Majesty to solve problems. Instead, he has caused such trouble for Your Majesty. It is indeed a crime. No matter what kind of merit he has, he should be beheaded after five generations.

Zhao Mengyou, accompanied by four imperial guards, carried a stretcher wrapped in plain cloth and hurried into the Leopard Room. He bowed his head and said, "Your Majesty, when I arrived, the Marquis of Xining had already hanged himself at home. It took me some time to verify the identity of the deceased."

"Committed suicide?" Zhu Yijun walked to the stretcher, lifted the cloth and saw the corpse.

"I have asked his family members, and they told me that Marquis Xining has been frightened and restless since the death of the two injured people. He wrote a suicide note last night and hanged himself in the ancestral temple at noon today." Zhao Mengyou presented the physical evidence, which also needed to be authenticated. After comparing the handwriting, it was confirmed that it was indeed written by Song Shien himself, and he seemed a little flustered when he wrote it.

It is more like a confession than a suicide note.

After the two injured people died, Song Shien immediately realized that he was in great danger. It would be fine if the people were not dead, but if they were dead, the case would inevitably alarm His Majesty. Rather than putting His Majesty, the Prime Minister, the Ministry of Justice, and Shuntian Prefecture in a difficult position, it would be better for him, Song Shien, to save face himself.

"Send him back to the Xining Marquis' Mansion and order his burial." Zhu Yijun covered him with a plain cloth.

Song Shien gained dignity for himself and stopped causing trouble for the world, so Zhu Yijun did not impose any additional punishment.

The reason why Zhu Yijun planned to take action in the Leopard House has been clearly described by our ancestors with the idiom "leading beasts to eat people". The main body of responsibility is people, and only by punishing people can they be restrained.

Before the end of the first month of the lunar year, the laws of the Ming Dynasty were further improved. The main one was that hunting dogs were not allowed to be kept in the main urban area, and all hunting dogs in the houses outside the city had to be tied up, otherwise they would be killed. This was the killing of wild dogs, which was also part of the Tang law.

The reason why the Tang Code had to make clear provisions on these things was because the Tang Dynasty's Chang'an City had a population of millions, and the management of a metropolis was difficult, so it was natural to supplement the legal provisions. The gaps in the Ming Code were continuously filled in the revision of the "Ming Hui Dian".

"Your Majesty, the Prime Minister of the Cabinet has submitted a very strange memorial about suspending the Single Whip Law." Feng Bao presented a memorial to the emperor.

Zhang Juzheng led the cabinet to submit a memorial, requesting that the implementation of the Single Whip Law be suspended except for the five major maritime customs offices. Even in the Southern Court, except for Songjiang Prefecture, other places still did not have the basis for the Single Whip Law, so Zhang Juzheng requested an order to stop it.

This is equivalent to the Prime Minister of the Ming Dynasty slapping himself hard in the face and taking back his order.

The cabinet listed several reasons. First, silver was produced entirely overseas, and over-reliance on overseas inflows and the uncertainty of the galleon trade would exacerbate policy instability.
Second, the uneven development of various regions in the Ming Dynasty led to the blockage of silver in the Maritime Customs Office and metropolitan areas with a population of more than one million, while there was not much silver to circulate in the interior of the Ming Dynasty;
Third, it was too difficult for the common people to obtain currency. The overly hasty implementation of the Single Whip Law gave merchants who hoarded goods and greedy Ming officials an opportunity to take advantage of the situation.
Fourth, the supply of goods is still scarce. Except for the five major customs offices, which are the places where all kinds of goods are distributed, the rest of the country is still a small peasant economy, and monetary taxation is not applicable to small peasant economies.
Fifth, the currency was overly concentrated in the hands of a few powerful people. Similar to land annexation, the silver of the Ming Dynasty was completely concentrated in the hands of the powerful and wealthy. Even the local gentry did not have much silver.

Sixth, grassroots officials do not have the ability to implement government orders, which will cause chaos at the grassroots level and easily lead to armed tax resistance, exacerbating the intensification of conflicts.

Based on reports from various places, the cabinet finally learned its lesson and suspended the implementation of the government policy. It was not that it did not want to, but that it could not.

"I've read it over and over again, sir. What you mean is that there is no rush?" After Zhu Yijun finished reading the memorial, Zhang Juzheng still affirmed that monetary tax has positive significance, but for now he would not continue to promote it because there was no rush.

Wherever the economy has transformed from a small peasant economy to a commodity economy, the Single Whip Law will be implemented.

The Ming Dynasty court is now extremely wealthy. Your Majesty invested 30 million silver coins into the Kailong Chidao project, and the next year he took out another 10 million silver coins to start collecting gold. The court has money, so there is no need to brag too much.

"Sir, of course you are not in a hurry. Let me take a look. I am not in a hurry either. Let's just leave the land tax as it is. If we can collect it, we will collect it. If we can't collect it, we won't collect it. It doesn't matter." Feng Bao said in a low voice, "Your Majesty, your meaning is very clear. The Taxation Bureau is the highlight."

"Your Majesty attaches great importance to industrial and commercial taxes, government factory revenue, and tax inspection. Even the silver from tobacco monopoly is more than agricultural taxes."

Feng Bao didn't finish his words, but Your Majesty must have seen what Zhang Juzheng meant. The Single Whip Law was actually a helpless move, which was nothing more than turning an immediate death into a delayed death.

To solve the problem, we still have to start with the narrative of violence, production relations, distribution, morality based on distribution, and order.

Both the emperor and the prime minister made varying degrees of repairs to the fragmented financial and taxation system of the Ming Dynasty, but practice has proved that the more ingeniously designed Single Whip System is not as good as the cruder Tax Inspection Office that relies on the emperor's violence.

"It's rare that you still admit your mistakes, sir." Zhu Yijun approved the memorial to suspend the implementation of the Single Whip Law.

Shen Shixing, Wang Jiaping and Wang Yi'e all reported to the court that this "One Whip System" was very useful in the Maritime Customs, but not very useful in local areas. It was a bit like the wishful thinking of meat-eaters.

The Ming Dynasty made timely policy adjustments, at least the emperor could not lead beasts to eat people.

(End of this chapter)