Ming Dynasty: Domination of the World from the Imperial Examination

Chapter 232 Numbers Don’t Lie! (rd Update)
Hearing Xia Zhibai's targeting, Mei Sizu couldn't help but snorted coldly.

Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes lit up slightly.

He was actually aware of the problems with the local salt administration, but he had never been able to find a solution. When he heard Xia Zhibai's suggestion, he became thoughtful. If this move was really feasible, the court's supervision of the salt administration would be greatly enhanced.

At this time.

Tian Jing stood up again.

He had regained his normal state of mind and said, "Your Majesty, I have something else to report."

Zhu Yuanzhang glanced at Xia Zhibai, then at Tian Jing, and nodded, "Approved."

Tian Jing said: "Your Majesty's emphasis on the salt industry is well known to the world. Now the Ming Dynasty has established the Salt Transport Commissioner Office in the six major salt-producing areas of Lianghuai, Liangzhe, Changlu, Shandong, Hedong, and Fujian. In other salt-producing areas, there are 7 Salt Tax Administration Offices responsible for managing the production and sales of salt in various salt fields."

"The salt industry departments such as the Transport Department are under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Revenue and are not subject to the control of local governments."

"I have been a salt official for some time and have some understanding of the internal situation of the Salt Transport Bureau."

"As far as I'm concerned, the salt management agencies of the Ming Dynasty are scattered all over the country. The mountains and rivers are far away, and the management of the Ministry of Revenue is often out of reach. In addition, the salt industry is lucrative, and the production and sales links are controlled by one agency. In the absence of limited supervision, the salt management systems in various places have fallen into corruption one after another."

"The current chaos in the South is also caused by corruption."

"The Ming Dynasty's salt administration has become corrupt to a considerable extent."

"In the early years of the Hongwu reign, salt taxes were set in various places, and the border defenses were very strict, so the border reserves were relied on for relief. In recent years, officials have been slack, and the salt warehouses have not been stockpiled. Merchants have been waiting for a long time but have not been paid. The country's border finances rely on salt. In recent years, private salt has been prevalent and many people have started to trade, while the price of official salt is low and few people pay it."

"Corruption is rampant in the salt tax nowadays. The salt tax has been in arrears for many years, and private salt is prevalent in the local area."

"I think the court should also rectify the salt officials."

"The salt production and marketing system of the Ming Dynasty has been severely damaged. The imperial court should make corrections."

Hear the words.

Wei Heng and other salt officials' faces changed drastically.

They looked at Tian Jing with horror, they never expected Tian Jing to say these words.

Moreover, Tian Jing said these words without discussing them in advance, which was a direct stab in the back.

Zhu Yuanzhang looked surprised.

He looked at Tian Jing deeply, a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth, and said: "This matter is not urgent. Judging from the situation of the salt administration and salt fields, there are indeed many problems. The court may indeed focus on rectifying them. Since you are willing, then tell me, how do you think the salt administration of our Ming Dynasty can be changed?"

Zhu Yuanzhang became interested.

He is no longer in a hurry.

Tian Jing said: "In the past, salt management agencies were scattered all over the place, and the salt farmers were scattered all around. The Ministry of Revenue could not manage it at all. If the court reformed the salt administration, abolished the salt farmer system, and established large salt factories in the local areas, the Ministry of Revenue would not have to disperse manpower to manage it, and the management of the local salt industry would be more effective."

"at the same time."

“Local salt production should also be restricted.”

"Therefore, I dare to suggest to Your Majesty that the salt 'big factory' system be implemented throughout the country, and then the local transportation bureaus will be responsible for managing and inspecting the production and sales of each salt factory."

"However, this alone is still a bit one-sided, so I am bold enough to unite the six transport offices and seven salt tax offices across the country to form a salt organization led by the Ministry of Revenue to verify the production and sales of salt in various places and ensure the supply of salt in various places."

"Any legal salt factory in the Ming Dynasty must be incorporated into the Salt Organization."

“Otherwise, it will be illegal and will be considered smuggling.”

"In this way, the salt transportation in various places can directly supervise the local salt industry by managing local large factories, and the Ministry of Revenue can effectively supervise the salt transportation offices in various places by supervising the Salt Association. The existence of the association can also help the production development of salt enterprises in various places, and at the same time jointly combat smuggling."

"Then ensure the normal operation of the Ming Dynasty salt industry."

"This is a solution I suddenly thought of. If it is inappropriate, please calm down, Your Majesty."

Tian Jing bowed respectfully and then stepped back.

The hall was dead silent.

The audience was silent.

Everyone was shocked by Tian Jing's words.

Xia Zhibai only wanted to rectify the salt administration, but Tian Jing wanted to rectify the salt affairs directly. If they really did so, it would be even more difficult for local governments to interfere in the salt industry. Whatever they did would fall into the eyes of the salt officials in various places, and the Ministry of Revenue would be able to easily supervise them. The situation of being far away from the mountains and rivers in the past would also be greatly reduced.

This is indeed a great benefit to the imperial court, but it is very bad for many of them.

Salt makes huge profits.

Now that they have finally got a share of the pie thanks to the steam engine, how could they be so willing to give it up?

Moreover, if all the salt in the world was produced in large salt factories in various places, then the imperial court would have a clear view of the production and sales of salt in the world. How could the local governments enrich themselves or manipulate the situation?
Moreover, the salt industry is not subject to the control of local governments.

This is equivalent to a large source of local tax revenue being directly controlled by the imperial court.

This is all free money!

What frightened them even more was that if this was done, would the iron smelting industry be able to do the same in the future? Would other industries such as textiles be supervised in the same way? In the long run, wouldn't the local tax sources fall under the supervision of the court?
This affects their private property.

For a while.

All the officials wanted to eat Tian Jing alive, and the way they looked at him was more like looking at a dead person. If eyes could kill, Tian Jing would have been riddled with holes. Even so, many officials' anger and dissatisfaction with Tian Jing were directly revealed on their faces, and some even glared at him. Tian Jing trembled slightly.

He took a deep breath and stood firmly in the hall without wavering.

He had no choice.

Not crazy, not live.

If he wants to survive now, he can only take a gamble.

Moreover, it must be even crazier and more frightening than the suggestion given by Xia Zhibai. Only in this way can he become the knife in His Majesty's hand. As long as he is still useful to His Majesty, he can continue to live. Moreover, he is holding back a rage in his heart and wants to tell those who plotted against him that if they plotted against him, they should be prepared to be retaliated by him.

He is a man of letters, but also a man of blood.

This is what others asked for!

Weren't they treating him as a chess piece? They could decide his own life or death at will.

Since the other party had done this, how could he give up so easily? He chose to overturn the chessboard directly, making these people completely miscalculate.

Xia Zhibai looked at Tian Jing, whose eyes were bloodshot, and was also slightly dazed.

Tian Jing's radicalism was completely unexpected.

As a result, he was pushed to the forefront of public opinion and became a thorn in the eyes of all officials. They even wanted to kill him. He didn't know whether this was good or bad for Tian Jing, but he respected Tian Jing's choice.

However, Tian Jing’s proposal is too idealistic.

He hoped that the Ministry of Revenue, the Salt Transport Bureau, and the Salt Tax Association would supervise each other to rectify the administration of salt fields, improve salt industry regulations, and maintain normal salt industry order. However, power was too concentrated. In addition, the Salt Transport Bureau was originally managed by the Ministry of Revenue, and now production and sales were indirectly supervised by the court. As the system became increasingly rigid and interest groups gradually solidified, the suggestions put forward by Tian Jing would instead accelerate the corruption of salt administration in the future.

It's just that it's appropriate right now.

And it is very likely that Zhu Yuanzhang would agree to it.

Because Zhu Yuanzhang really wanted to take control of the local tax source.

If the imperial court could manage the industry through this means, it would be equivalent to directly depriving the local areas of a major source of tax revenue, the salt industry. This would be welcomed by any central dynasty. However, salt has always been regarded as a source of profit, involving the interests of many parties. If one wants to reform the salt administration from top to bottom, one would encounter too much opposition.

Li Shanchang stepped out and said, "I think this is inappropriate."

"Salt administration is related to the stability of the country, and we cannot make any major changes lightly. The local areas are already showing signs of instability. If we make any major changes at this time, it will only exacerbate the local unrest and cause disorder between the upper and lower levels. How can this be a good thing for the Ming Dynasty?"

"Besides."

“It is equally undesirable to concentrate salt works into large factories.”

"The local population is already large, and now it is facing great pressure from unemployment. This measure will only increase the number of unemployed people. Not only will it not solve the problem, but it will also worsen the local situation. This suggestion is really absurd. It only cares about the salt policy reform and completely ignores the impact on the world."

"As for the establishment of a salt association, it is also grandiose and useless, not practical at all, and will only waste people's time and money."

"If there is trouble in the south, then we should solve the problem instead of escalating it."

“There’s a difference between the north and the south.”

“How can the North imitate what happened in the South?”

"Xia Zhibai and Tian Jing just made so many impassioned speeches, but they were all nonsense. There was not a single true statement, and there was no practical reason."

"We should not intensify local conflicts, nor rush to reform the salt administration."

“The priority should be to stabilize the situation.”

"The local salt administration may be corrupt or greedy. Once the situation in the south calms down, the court can send an imperial censor to investigate. Why make such a big fuss? Isn't this a waste of the court's power? There are many places where the Ming Dynasty needs money. Even a copper coin should not be wasted on such a small matter."

"This discussion just now is meaningless."

Li Shanchang spoke indifferently.

Directly put the matter into context.

There is no room for much discussion or forced fabrication, and we should only focus on the South.

After Li Shanchang spoke, the atmosphere in the hall instantly relaxed. The officials who were originally on edge also relaxed and looked at Tian Jing with sarcasm.

Looking at the expressions of His Highness and the officials, Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes turned cold.

This is what he hates the most.

Officials have the same interests, they protect each other, conspire for wealth and fame, and unite to fight against the court.

This was a difficult problem that he had been pondering over and trying to solve for so many years, but now he was faced with it again.

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Li Shanchang coldly, with a strong murderous intent in his eyes.

At this time.

Xia Zhibai's voice sounded again.

"Since Grand Tutor Li is so sure, why not do some calculations?"

“Numbers don’t lie!”

(End of this chapter)