Ming Dynasty: Domination of the World from the Imperial Examination

Chapter 279: The place is not monolithic either!

Hua Lun and Lian Zining cleaned up for most of an hour and finally sorted out the information about the salt factory that Lu Cang brought back.

Compared with the salt factories reported by local salt transport bureaus, the number is not large.

Less than ten.

But without exception, they are all big companies.

Lian Zining put the list on the gray cloth on the table, glanced at Xia Zhibai and said, "These people really went to great lengths to deal with you. Not only did they falsify the accounts, they also manipulated people's hearts and used all kinds of shady tricks, just to hide these less than ten salt factories?"

He looked puzzled.

In his opinion, it wasn't worth it.

The news of the unrest among the cooks in the south had long been a hot topic, and it was undoubtedly a huge political problem for the local government. Although it could be attributed to the excessive expansion of the salt factory and the desire to save money for the court, the ultimate answer was poor local supervision.

The place is guilty.

Moreover, in order to fool the people sent by the court, they falsified accounts and concealed information. Once discovered by the court, it would be enough to cost them their heads. He couldn't understand why the local government was willing to take such a big risk.

Xia Zhibai smiled.

He knew that not only Lian Zining couldn't figure it out, but Hua Lun, Jie Min, and even Tang He couldn't figure it out either.

I don't understand it either.

In the eyes of many of them, this is a completely thankless task.

Great risk for little benefit.

Although salt can generate huge profits and can be smuggled and exported, it is not that safe after all. Compared to incurring the wrath of heaven and people, it is obviously not worth it, and there is no need to take such a big risk. It is completely possible to fool the court first and then do it privately. Isn't this better?

He looked around and saw that everyone was looking at him. He pondered for a moment, patted the water stains on his sleeves, and said calmly: "Although I have given some simple descriptions, they are not comprehensive and I have not explained them in all aspects. It is normal for you to be confused."

"But even though you can't figure it out, many people in the area can see it clearly."

"In the final analysis, it's all about profit!"

Hua Lun and Lian Zining looked at each other, their eyes still filled with confusion.

Xia Zhibai looked at Hua Lun and said, "Hua Lun, do you still remember the accounting method I gave you?"

Hua Lun nodded.

Of course he knew this.

But what does this have to do with the salt administration in the south?
Xia Zhibai said: "I had intentionally raised a point at the time, which was to increase the court's eyes and ears by opening state-owned enterprises, and the salt factory was one of them."

Hear the words.

Hua Lun's face suddenly changed.

He vaguely understood the reason.

Xia Zhibai sighed softly and said quietly, "This matter was not concealed. It was told directly to all the officials in the court at that time, so it naturally fell into the ears of others. At first, not many people paid attention to it and they all regarded it as a joke."

"Even if Kyoto Salt is successful."

"But the success in Yingtianfu does not mean that it will be successful in other places."

"But as I went north, I gradually persuaded the northern princes, especially after I arrived in Peking, I made the Prince of Yan listen to my advice. I was the one who directly said that the salt factory should be set up as the eyes and ears of the court. I am afraid that this news has gradually spread to other people with ulterior motives."

“Some people panicked!”

Hua Lun asked, "So since then, someone has been targeting you?"

"Privately bribing Li Sheng and others, stealing steam engine blueprints, poaching your workers at high prices, etc., these were actually expressions of dissatisfaction with you, or warnings to you, but you were far away in the north at the time and had no idea about it."

“So they switched to another approach.”

"It's just to escalate the situation?!"

Hua Lun's eyes lit up slightly and his expression was a little excited, as if he had sorted out some of the situations based on this point of view.

Xia Zhibai looked at Hua Lun, nodded with a smile, then shook his head and said, "You are both right and wrong. They never thought of warning me or expressing their dissatisfaction with me. They don't even have me in their eyes. What they fear is the 'hand' of the court!"

“They knew one thing.”

"Your Majesty has a strong obsession with power."

"They can't stand seeing their subordinates doing things behind their backs, especially when they are corrupt and abuse their power. However, hundreds of years of inertia in the world have pushed them forward on the path of greed. They can't turn back, and they won't turn back."

"They knew that if they continued to allow the Kyoto Salt Industry to expand, sooner or later, the Kyoto Salt Industry would reach out to the south."

"And Kyoto Salt is a state-owned enterprise."

"That is, it itself is the eyes and ears of the court."

"It's just that I am the one in power now, but sooner or later, it will return to the court."

"Nowadays, the imperial court supervises all officials. In addition to the Metropolitan Censorate, there is also the Imperial Guard. In comparison, the supervision of local areas is much simpler. Only the Provincial Criminal Supervisor is appointed."

"Although in the 15th year of Hongwu, the Censorate was set up in prefectures (states) and counties, and all prefectures (states) and counties across the country were included in the Censorate's supervision system, overall, the supervision of local areas was not strong enough, and there was no Jinyiwei to supplement it."

“The further down you go, the less supervision you see.”

“Therefore, there is a lot of room for local governments to manipulate the situation.”

"If a state-owned enterprise like Jingdu Salt Industry is transferred to the local government, it will fill the supervisory power to a certain extent. For local officials, it is undoubtedly a sharp knife hanging over their heads, which may fall and chop off their heads at any time." "Especially in my original description, state-owned enterprises are directly managed by the court and are not controlled by the local government."

“This is like a nightmare for local officials.”

“They can’t accept it.”

"So they want to destroy the form of state-owned enterprises?" Lian Zining has understood some things.

Xia Zhibai nodded.

Xia Zhibai sat upright, smiled faintly, and said: "As for why the South has evolved into this, in fact, in my opinion, this matter itself is beyond the expectations of many people, because they initially just wanted to destroy the existence of the 'state-owned enterprise' as a 'spying', and did not care about the profit of the salt factory at all."

"It's just that when it really landed, some people saw the huge profits."

"As a result of local fighting, it has become the mess it is today."

“The local area is not monolithic either!”

"Where there are people, there are conflicts and conflicts of interest. Some people get more, some get less, and salt itself is very profitable. In particular, some people can use it to gain political achievements and privately withhold money and grain that should have been distributed to the kitchen households. As a result, local internal conflicts have intensified."

"finally."

"Neither side believed in the other, and after a while, it led to disaster."

Hear the words.

Several people suddenly realized.

They feel that things in the South are very contradictory.

It shouldn't have been a big deal, but it suddenly became a big deal. It should have been properly resolved, but in the end it was never resolved. All parties have been shirking responsibility and taking credit for themselves. They don't seem to be a whole at all. After Xia Zhibai's explanation, they finally sorted it out.

There were also struggles within the South.

And the struggle is no small one.

However, due to the high pressure from the imperial court, they had to maintain a certain degree of harmony, and sometimes they had to unite to deal with the imperial court. But privately, they were probably already quarreling with each other, and might even be enemies with each other.

It all comes down to uneven distribution of spoils.

The emergence of the salt factory was equivalent to a new profit point, but some people only wanted to use it to bring disrepute to the state-owned enterprise, while some wanted to get a piece of the pie, and some wanted to take the opportunity to make a lot of money. Ultimately, they were unable to reconcile, and everyone dealt with their own affairs, causing things to get out of control.

But when they saw the imperial court coming, these people reluctantly sat together again.

However, judging from the current situation, there are still people who are unwilling to give up the benefits they have obtained. They want to maintain a certain status quo and at least keep a few ways to make money.

Now it just shows that things are calming down.

Hua Lun asked, "So, they are not a monolithic entity and can also be disintegrated from within?"

Xia Zhibai shook his head and said in a deep voice: "At the moment, it's unlikely."

"Their current conflict is just about different views and practices on the newly emerged profit points, but it does not involve the division of past profits. They are generally in agreement, especially since they have been rooted in the local area for so long that they have long been part of each other."

"Self-destruction, they won't do it."

"During the time we have been in Yuhang, the local authorities have put in a lot of effort. Isn't this also an attempt to cover up the matter for others?"

"Then what should we do now?" Jie Min looked over.

Xia Zhibai did not answer Jie Min's question, and continued: "Now under my step-by-step pressure, they should choose to obey the majority, give up their interests in the salt market, and then seek to let us leave as soon as possible."

"Otherwise, if we continue to delay and uncover other things, it will be more serious than just three or two."

"A thousand pounds can't stop me!"

"Now I am a plague in their eyes, and they just want to send me away as soon as possible. Although they will still make some obstacles and be reluctant in the process, in the end, after weighing the pros and cons, they will still choose to agree."

"In the current situation, local governments have lost everything."

"The local governor will therefore agree to let the salt farmers move north, and the Salt Transport Bureau will be supervised by the Ministry of Revenue. As for the salt factories, they will be directly merged, and those that have been hidden will be taken back one by one. This is just my guess, but now that things have come to this, if we want to end it as soon as possible, we can only do it with a heroic measure!"

Hear the words.

Hua Lun seemed to be thinking about something.

He finally understood why Xia Zhibai did not emphasize the need to 'take it over as a state-owned enterprise'. He was probably trying to leave a way out for the local government. Although the local government suffered heavy losses in the salt administration this time, it still retained some face and its efforts were not completely in vain.

And Xia Zhibai knew it equally.

The local authorities have gone to so much trouble to prevent this.

If I insist on holding on, I'm afraid I'll force them to take risks, which will end up in a bad way.

Taking a step back is to move forward better.

But Xia Zhibai had retreated here. It was impossible to make him retreat further. Moreover, those officials from the south would not dare to gamble. If they lost the bet, Xia Zhibai would be completely enraged. As Xia Zhibai would report everything to his superiors, who knows what trouble he might cause.

At present, Xia Zhibai is promoting salt administration reform.

The local governments achieved their original intention of "abolishing" state-owned enterprises.

It was indeed something that both parties could reluctantly agree to.

(End of this chapter)