Ming Dynasty: Domination of the World from the Imperial Examination

Chapter 272: There is no order without rules. We must first establish a system!

Time flies and the agreed time has arrived.

Yuhang became lively.

This official-business conference was not widely publicized, but when it was officially held, it still aroused heated discussions among many people in the city.

"Official and business conference?"

"What on earth is going on here?"

"Just discussing the government and merchants, isn't that just the kitchen owners making trouble?"

"Why do you care so much? As long as the price of salt doesn't go up, the court can hold whatever meetings it wants."

"."

The people in the city had a very indifferent attitude towards this meeting between officials and businessmen. They only had the most ordinary curiosity. This was normal. After all, from ancient times to the present, this was the first time that the government and businessmen were brought together for a meeting with such fanfare. In which previous meetings had the government not given direct orders?
In the eyes of many people, this is just a formality.

They only care about one thing.

Salt price!

In Yuhang County, the venue had already been set up in a spacious lobby.

Salt merchants from all over the country arrived one after another, each of them dressed simply, many of them wearing coarse linen clothes, with some mud stains on their faces, looking tired and exhausted, but their brows were filled with pride and complacency.

Fang Rengang looked around and walked towards Wang Chongde who was standing aside.

Seeing this, the others followed suit.

They were all salt merchants from Zhejiang.

None of them said anything, but just stood together tacitly, which had already expressed their opinions and views. The other salt merchants from the Governor's Office looked at Fang Rengang and his companions, and they all smiled at the same time. They all came here with a purpose.

It doesn’t matter what Xia Zhibai says.

All they have to do is cooperate fully.

And they dared not disobey, because officials have two mouths, and they can eat people when they open their mouths.

Not long after.

Salt Transport Offices from various places sent officials to the scene.

The entire venue fell silent and the atmosphere gradually became serious.

Zhang Tong stood where he was, glanced around, and nodded to Fang Rengang. Fang Rengang understood and bowed respectfully. He was well aware of his status and position in the scene. Merchants like them were not qualified to be present at such occasions.

Even if you are present, you have no say.

The decision-making power always lies with the government!
The notice they received was to try their best to stop Xia Zhibai and embarrass him, while also striving to gain as much benefit as possible for the merchants. If Xia Zhibai insisted on suppressing them with force, they could simply remain silent. As long as Xia Zhibai didn't go too far, it wouldn't hurt to give in a few more times.

After dealing with the government for so many years, they are very familiar with this.

Soon.

There was a sound of footsteps outside the venue.

Everyone in the room fell silent instantly, and their eyes all turned toward the door.

A young man with slightly dark skin but bright eyes appeared in everyone's sight, and then he led the way into the lobby.

Seeing this man's spirit and energy, the other provincial government officials and salt merchants present immediately recognized who he was, Xia Zhibai.

Only this person can have such an aura!

"Greetings, His Excellency the Imperial Envoy." Someone shouted from somewhere.

Upon hearing this, other officials and merchants also bowed their heads and performed formalities, saying loudly, "Greetings, Your Excellency the Imperial Envoy."

Xia Zhibai smiled slightly and said in a friendly manner: "This is a meeting of officials and businessmen. We are here to discuss the salt administration in the south. Why do we need so many empty formalities? Please don't bother me. Get up quickly."

As he was speaking, Xia Zhibai had already arrived at the main seat.

He stood in front of the main seat, turned around, looked at the officials and merchants attending the meeting, nodded with satisfaction, and said teasingly: "The number of people attending the official and merchant conference this time is somewhat beyond my expectation. I thought that there would only be one salt merchant in each prefecture, but it turns out that the south is really developed, and there can even be two or three in each prefecture."

"I, Xia Zhibai, underestimated the population strength of the South."

The whole audience laughed.

Zhang Tong said, "Your Excellency is too kind."

"The imperial court has issued an order, how dare we, the local government, disobey it?"

"How dare merchants not listen?"

"We are all citizens of the Ming Dynasty and have always been loyal to the emperor. When we received the imperial decree, we were overjoyed. How could we conceal it and stop it?"

"Even if a small number of officials have this idea, merchants and most officials will not agree."

Xia Zhibai smiled and sat down. He didn't like beating around the bush and got straight to the point: "This time we called the officials in charge of salt administration in the southern provinces and the merchants who run local salt factories. The main purpose is to solve the problem of salt administration in the south."

"The kitchen household has been in turmoil for quite some time."

"Although there is a brief reprieve now, it is only temporary."

"It is impossible for the imperial court to continue to subsidize the stove households on such a large scale, so solving the livelihood of the stove households has become a major issue at the moment."

"I was a salt merchant for a while, so I understand how merchants operate."

"The ancients said that there is no businessman who is not dishonest."

"That's not entirely true. After all, there's a saying that goes 'Poverty breeds evil, while wealth breeds conscience.'"

"Merchants in the Ming Dynasty still have consciences."

"but"

"As the saying goes, there is no rule without rules."

"The emergence of steam-powered salt has changed the current salt administration structure. It is no longer appropriate to continue using the past system. In addition, the South is not very suitable for the Sino-French trade. Salt administration reform is urgent." "I believe you have all heard the reform ideas I proposed."

"Why don't you tell me what you think and suggest?"

Xia Zhibai made a simple opening speech and prepared to let everyone speak freely.

Hearing Xia Zhibai's words, everyone looked at each other.

Salt merchant Fang Rengang said, "Sir, you are joking. How dare we, salt merchants, raise any objection to the court? Your Excellency has the final say. We dare not raise any objection."

Xia Zhibai was not modest and nodded, "Since you all think so, then it couldn't be better."

“My argument is simple.”

“Put an end to the barbaric sprawl of salt works.”

"Only salt factories approved by the imperial court can produce and sell salt. All others will be considered illegal. The imperial court will shut down those salt factories and move the corresponding salt-making facilities away. In addition, the production and sales of salt produced by salt factories in the future must be registered and submitted to the Salt Transport Bureau on a monthly basis."

"in addition."

"In order to prevent overproduction of salt, which would seriously affect the operation of salt factories, it is planned to integrate salt factories in various places."

“Simplify the complex.”

"The salt factories in various places will be aggregated into a large salt factory. The imperial court will control the amount of salt produced in the salt fields every year according to the population of the corresponding area, and the profits of the salt factories will be distributed in proportion to the current profitability of the major salt factories."

"Salt production must be firmly in the hands of the court."

"Whether it is salt production or salt sales, it must be supervised by the court."

"In order to strengthen the supervision of local salt transport bureaus, a salt association is also planned to be established to effectively supervise the salt transport bureaus in various places. The emergence of the salt association will greatly guarantee the efficiency and profits of local salt factories, and can also concentrate efforts to combat salt smuggling."

"You pay taxes, the Salt Transport Bureau supervises, and the Association supervises the Salt Transport Bureau, and then ensures that the interests of merchants are not greatly infringed."

"at the same time."

“The salt factory no longer applies the stove-household system.”

"From now on, we can only recruit workers. As for the specific recruitment situation, it will be discussed at the next workers' meeting. This is to protect the rights and interests of workers. All of this is to ensure the formalization and institutionalization of the salt industry. It is not only to protect your vital interests, but also to prevent corruption."

"."

As soon as Xia Zhibai said this, the hall fell silent.

Fang Rengang and other salt merchants looked at each other in bewilderment, and Zhang Tong and other salt officials also had gloomy faces.

They really didn't expect that at this time, Xia Zhibai still didn't give in at all, and even became more aggressive.

What’s the difference between this and handing over the salt factory?
Fang Rengang stood up and said, "Sir, is this a little inappropriate?"

"Let's not talk about whether the merger will be successful. Even if it is successful, the cost of transporting salt will increase significantly. Isn't this just losing money to gain publicity?"

"Besides."

"We opened the salt factory to make money, and we all paid taxes honestly. We believe we have never done anything illegal. Why do we need another layer of supervision above us? Since you have been in business, you should know that every additional layer means more mouths to feed."

"How can our small business withstand such destruction?"

"Please show some mercy, sir."

"Otherwise, if the price of salt goes up, local people will be resentful, but they can't blame us."

"We can follow your advice and stop employing stove owners. Instead, we can recruit stove owners and pay them a certain salary every month. But in other aspects, we hope that everything will remain the same. At the same time, if the stove owners cause trouble in the future, they can't blame us."

Wang Chongde also said with a frustrated face: "Sir, your request is too much, we really can't agree to it."

"This is our salt factory, which we built with our own money."

“We should have the right to make our own decisions.”

Wang Chongde's words aroused the response of many salt merchants.

The scene became one-sided for a while.

Xia Zhibai said: "That's why I convened this meeting of officials and businessmen, just to discuss this with you all."

“Everything is negotiable and can be discussed.”

"As long as you are willing to discuss it."

Wang Chongde said: "How dare we disobey the government's order? Of course we are willing to discuss this, but we cannot sacrifice our interests too much, otherwise we would rather give up the salt factory than swallow this bitter pill."

Wang Chongde acted unusually tough.

It seemed as if he had really decided to take over Xia Zhibai and didn't dare to close the Southern Salt Factory.

This affects the salt use of tens of millions of people.

If this causes dissatisfaction among local people, Xia Zhibai will be in trouble.

Xia Zhibai clapped his hands, glanced at everyone in the hall indifferently, and said in a cold voice: "The large factory system is not negotiable. If you don't agree, you can go to the door and fill in your name. I don't know if the local salt transport officials have told you that I brought a lot of engineers with me this time."

“It also brought new salt-making technology.”

“Salt production is faster and more efficient.”

“It also produces more salt.”

"If there is anyone who is willing to withdraw at this time."

"I, Xia Zhibai, agree."

"Since the imperial court dared to make this decision, it must have made sufficient preparations."

“Transportation costs will indeed increase, but under the large-scale factory system, operating costs will also drop significantly.”

"The two are enough to offset each other."

(End of this chapter)