I, the Ming Dynasty, can still save me

Chapter 180 Suggestions on Salt Policy Reform

Seeing that the matter between Caolanchang and Jingying came to an end, Zhu Youxiao didn't stop much.

But before I left, I made an appointment with Cao Bianjiao to come see him again when I have time and experience his other skills.

Cao Bianjiao had a young mind, and when he saw that the emperor valued and loved him so much, he promised with all his heart that he would train well and show off to his Majesty when he comes again.

"Then let Sun Yuanhua and the others teach you well. What I want is not only martial arts, riding and shooting, but also you can use guns and cannons. These are all skillful skills. Don't be lazy, or I will punish you well next time."

After Zhu Youxiao finished his instructions, he immediately got up and walked out of the holding area without caring about the bitter-faced Cao Bianjiao, got on the dragon boat and headed towards Qianqing Palace.

Today is already the 28th of the first lunar month, and there are only a few days until the Wenhua Palace edict is due.

Even though the issue of equalizing land and equalizing service had already overshadowed the Wenhua Palace imperial edict, as the first day of February got closer, more and more officials wrote letters to participate in the discussion. After all, the Kaizhong Salt Tax was so big This matter involves huge interests and must be taken seriously.

When Zhu Youxiao returned to Dongnuang Pavilion of Qianqing Palace, under Zhu Youxiao's special instructions, Wei Zhongxian had already sent the inscriptions on the imperial edicts of Wenhua Palace from all the officials.

Looking at the thick title book on the document, which was as heavy as a hill, Zhu Youxiao couldn't help but feel a headache, but there was no way. He had to see these things in person, otherwise he would not be at ease, so he asked He Ning to bring in these things that he had compiled a long time ago. I started to take a good look at the table of contents in the question book.

After issuing the edict last time, he also asked the Hanlin Academy and the Ministry of Household Affairs to collect information on the opening of Zhongfa and the current Gangfa salt policy.Since then, I have learned that although the imperial court has implemented the Gangfa Salt Policy, in fact, the Kaizhong Law can still be implemented in the Border Army area. Merchants can still transport grain to the Border Army in exchange for salt. However, the Border Army's military garrison is now in disuse. The implementation of the "Compendium of Laws and Salt Policy" has brought this ratio down a lot.

Therefore, the frontier army's military garrison is now depleted, and there is no open supply of food. As a result, the price of food for the border army is also rising, so the cost of military expenditure is also increasing. In addition, the income of the military towns and farmland has dropped sharply, and the nine-border pay that needs relief from the court has also been increased. There are more and more, from no nine-border salary at the beginning of the country, to more than 100 million in Jiajing, and to 400 million in the past generations.

If this continues, the pressure on the court will increase, and this cannot be solved by more than just opening the Chinese law.Therefore, many people in the question book support the use of the Chinese method, and feel that although the use of the Chinese method is of little use now, it is better than nothing.

But more people think it is useless. Ye Xianggao is one of them. He pointed out a very clear problem in his memorial, that is, the current salt policy was implemented in the 45th year of Wanli, only three years ago. year, and the income to the court was also considerable, nearly 200 million taels.

If it is abolished rashly now, he cannot guarantee how much tax money will be obtained by using the new salt policy in the future. Therefore, this outline salt policy cannot be abolished easily. However, it is a fact that the salaries of border troops are getting higher and higher, so he proposes to return it. It would be better to start with the military settlements and continue to reorganize and revitalize the military settlements in the north. This would be a better way to cure the root cause.It can also reduce the pressure on the court.

Seeing this, Zhu Youxiao threw away the question book and couldn't help but sneer on his face. This is completely treating farming as a panacea. Everything can be solved by farming. If it was so easy to farm on the frontier, we would still have what we have now. Despite these broken problems, we still have to clean up the military settlements. This is because we think the border army's rebellion is not fast enough.

He also took a look and found that there were quite a few people who supported not changing the current salt policy, but very few had any opinions on the growing military expenditures of the border troops. Even if they did, they were all for farming. Some clichés that serve no purpose at all.

Only Wang Yingjiao, the current Minister of Household Affairs, and others also provided some useful insights.

Wang Yingjiao had worked in the Ministry of Household Affairs for many years, so he naturally knew the imperial court's expenditures very well, and he also understood that the purpose of Zhu Youxiao's Wenhua Palace edict was nothing more than to make money.

So he was straightforward and directly proposed to start from both ends. He also served as the Minister of Household Affairs in Nanjing. He knew the extravagance of the salt merchants and nobles in Nanzhili. Sometimes he would spend tens of thousands of taels of silver just to win the favor of a famous prostitute in Qinhuai. With a blink of an eye, not to mention the gardening and extravagance at home, which cannot even be compared to the homes of nobles. Therefore, there is a saying in Jiangnan that it is better to be the son of a salt merchant than the grandson of a prince.This is especially true for the noble families who protect these salt merchants. They have fertile lands and hordes of traveling servants, all of which are supported by money.Therefore, if the reform of the salt policy does not cause trouble, it is best to change the original lineage salt merchant system from lineage to election every five or ten years. Every time you choose, you have to pay a deposit and pay taxes on time. Such harm It is only the interests of these lineage salt merchants. When those middle and lower class salt merchants see the opportunity to squeeze in, they will be happy and grateful to the court.

Zhu Youxiao also thinks it is feasible. The reason why these hereditary salt merchants can be so extravagant is because they have golden rice bowls and have no worries about making money. In that case, put some pressure on them. After all, there is pressure and competition, which is better than Hereditary is stronger.

Hereditary salt merchants can be re-elected. In addition to the salt tax, they must pay a deposit every five years. At the same time, in order to please the middle and lower salt merchants, the shares of one or two salt merchants can be divided into multiple shares to allow more people to participate. Although There are some difficulties in management, but it can prevent one company from becoming too big and difficult to control.

If you do this, how can those hereditary salt merchants with vested interests give up? They will secretly oppose it and encourage those officials who have enriched themselves to write letters to obstruct it. Even the imperial court will secretly obstruct it when it implements the new salt law.What's even worse is that when he heard that he was discussing the matter in Wenhua Palace, he started to take action secretly.

But it doesn't matter if he thinks of Zhu Youxiao here. He has enough enemies, and he is still afraid of a mere salt merchant.

"Your Majesty, Luo Sigong, commander of the Royal Guards, would like to see you."

He Ning's question came from his ears, interrupting Zhu Youxiao's thinking.

Luo Sigong, I didn't summon him, but what happened in Southwest or Liaodong?Zhu Youxiao, who came back to his senses, was also puzzled, and immediately asked Luo Sigong to see him.

"His Majesty Saint Ann!"

"I'm safe, get up."

Zhang Chang also brought a chair at this time and asked Luo Sigong to take a seat. Since Zhu Youxiao came to the throne, he usually asked court officials to take a seat when meeting them. Now it has become a habit by default.

Luo Sigong also knew the rules and didn't mince words. He immediately bowed and took his seat.

"Your Majesty, there has been progress in the White Lotus Sect's conspiracy in Shandong, Shuntian Prefecture and other places that you asked me to investigate a few days ago."

"Oh? Let's hear it"

When Zhu Youxiao heard this, his brows were instantly happy, he relaxed his frown, and immediately asked.

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(End of this chapter)