Dream of the Red Chamber: Start by gaining Zhao Yun's martial prowess, and be ennobled in a sin

Xue Baochai knew that Jia Jing and Yuanyang had come to see Lin Daiyu together.

She had originally planned to come over, but Tan Chun and the others were busy handing over the household accounts and checking the tally with Wang Xifeng, so she was too embarrassed to speak up.

After finishing her work there, she hurried to Lin Daiyu's courtyard.

I thought Jia Jing had already left, but who knew he was still here.

What she didn't know was that Jia Jing had been delayed by Qin Keqing's matter and then by discussing Daiyu's illness with Wu Qian, so he hadn't left yet.

When Lin Daiyu saw Xue Baochai walk in, she frowned slightly, composed herself with mixed emotions, and remained silent for a moment.

Jia Jing looked up and glanced at Baochai.

She was wearing a honey-colored brocade cloak with floral patterns and foreign thread, her skin was radiant, and her maid Ying'er followed behind her.

Jia Jing responded in a deep voice:

"When talking to Lin Daiyu about her uncle in Jiangnan, Lin Daiyu said that her uncle was inspecting salt in Yangzhou, which was no easy task, and Lin Daiyu was worried about his safety."

"Sister Xue, is it because Third Sister and the others have finished the handover?"

Upon hearing the words "salt inspection," a barely perceptible hint of joy flashed in Xue Baochai's moist almond-shaped eyes.

Is this another discussion about the salt administration in Jiangnan?

I've been reading quite a few articles on this topic these past few days.

Because Jia Jing had previously discussed current affairs with Baochai, and had shown considerable interest in the topic.

Therefore, Baochai spent a lot of time at home studying the current court policies and military strategies, so that she could speak eloquently and demonstrate her talent when Jia Jing brought it up again.

I didn't expect the opportunity to come so quickly. I was really in the mood to talk about the salt administration in Jiangnan.

Baochai chuckled lightly:

"As soon as the handover was completed, Sister Tanchun went back to her own courtyard to sort out the accounts and formulate new family rules and regulations."

"Sister Yun and Sister Xichun are also coming to see Sister Lin. I'll walk faster, and they'll be behind me. They should be here soon."

After saying that, Xue Baochai added, seemingly casually:

"The salt administration is a major undertaking for the imperial court."

"In recent years, a significant portion of the imperial court's revenue has come from the salt tax in Lianghuai. I read in a book that during the previous dynasty, the salt tax at its peak could reach 60% of the imperial court's income, making it the bulk of the imperial court's tax revenue."

"When this dynasty was first established, the salt tax could reach more than three million taels a year, but now it is not so; the salt tax in Lianghuai is only a little over one million taels."

Xue Baochai's words were reasonable and well-founded, clearly showing that she had genuine knowledge of this matter and was speaking the truth.

However, she was only thinking of showing off her understanding of politics to Jia Jing, an important official of the court, but she did not expect that her words would inadvertently touch Lin Daiyu's sensitive nerve.

Lin Daiyu's delicate brows furrowed even more, and she thought to herself:

What did she mean by those words?

Is the salt tax not as high as before? Is this implying that his father, as the Salt Commissioner, was negligent or incompetent?

Although Daiyu didn't pay much attention to court affairs, she was, after all, the daughter of Lin Ruhai, the salt commissioner, and had lived in Yangzhou before, so she naturally had some understanding of salt administration.

She frowned and said:

"When the imperial court was first established, the salt tax revenue was indeed more than three million taels, but it decreased year by year thereafter."

"By the time of the retired emperor, the salt tax in Lianghuai was less than one million taels. Many salt merchants were secretly selling smuggled salt without buying salt permits. Smuggled salt was rampant throughout the Jiangnan region, and the salt system was in chaos."

"After my father took office, he carried out many reforms, and the salt tax was able to rise to more than one million taels, and it has been steadily increasing over the years."

"Sister Bao, do you think there's something wrong with this?"

Hearing Daiyu say this, Baochai belatedly realized that she had said the wrong thing.

She is usually a meticulous person, and this kind of thing shouldn't have happened to her, but she was in such a hurry to show off that she didn't think things through.

Xue Baochai first looked at Jia Jing sitting opposite her and saw that his expression remained unchanged, and there was even a faint smile in his eyes.

Then he looked at Lin Daiyu and smiled apologetically:

"Don't take it personally, sister! I didn't mean anything by Lord Lin."

"As the Salt Commissioner, I had heard of Lord Lin's good reputation in Jiangnan a few years ago. Everyone said he was a capable and efficient official who made many reforms to the salt administration, promoting benefits and eliminating abuses, and achieved great results."

"However, the problems with the salt administration are deeply entrenched and difficult to reverse. Many salt merchants in Jiangnan and officials of the Salt Administration are in cahoots. It must have been a difficult journey for Lord Lin to make steady progress and increase salt tax revenue."

Upon hearing this, Lin Daiyu scoffed inwardly. Who's overthinking this?

Is this an insult calling me petty?

She didn't know what was wrong with her today. Watching Xue Baochai talk eloquently about current affairs in front of Jia Jing, and Jia Jing even seemed to approve of her, she felt quite uncomfortable.

So what if I know a little about government affairs? I'll do that too someday…

Jia Jing then frowned and looked at Xue Baochai, asking:

"Sister Xue's observations on the deep-seated problems of the salt administration seem quite insightful. Is there anything else you haven't said?"

Xue Baochai's cheeks flushed slightly as she was looked at, but she was secretly delighted.

In her view, it was an extremely honorable thing to be asked for her opinion by the young man opposite her.

This wasn't some casual chat among sisters; it sounded more like high-ranking officials in the imperial court discussing major policies.

She casually brushed a stray strand of hair from her forehead, thought for a moment, and said softly:

"Based on the population of about 100 million in our great Han Dynasty, each person should need about 5 to 6 catties of salt per year, including salt for pickling and animal husbandry."

"Based on a standard of 400 catties for a large permit and 200 catties for a small permit, and with the imperial court's official price of 4 fen of silver per catty, plus the population tax, theoretically the total annual tax revenue should not be less than eight million taels of silver."

"But the current salt tax revenue of the imperial court is far from enough to cover this amount."

"If the imperial population hasn't decreased, where did the salt tax go? It's obvious that it was evaded and corrupted through tax evasion and manipulation."

Baochai began to speak fluently, and Jia Jing's encouraging expression and gaze reassured her considerably.

Moreover, she had actually done some research on it recently, so she felt more ashamed than afraid.

"Much of what I learned came from official gazettes, Beijing newspapers, and books. I just read from the books. Please forgive me if I say anything wrong, Third Brother."

"The reason why the salt administration is unable to collect taxes nowadays is probably due to four points."

"One aspect was the legalization and additional levies on surplus salt: Salt producers who collected salt beyond their regular quotas had surplus salt called 'surplus salt.' Initially, the government bought it up, but later, due to financial constraints, it allowed merchants to buy surplus salt directly, but they had to pay an extra silver fee. This was originally a temporary measure, but it later became a mandatory additional levy. For example, a few years ago, 'processing salt' was created in Lianghuai, forcibly requiring merchants to bring surplus salt, which was equivalent to adding a quota of 35 yin (a unit of dry measure) outside of the regular quota, resulting in a 'one-third increase in quota,' which could not be absorbed."

"Secondly, there is the abuse of power and the 'occupation of salt permits' by powerful and influential people: these people use their privileges to seize salt permits without paying taxes, and then resell them to merchants, reaping huge profits. They undermine the fairness of the court's laws, making it impossible for the actual grain transporters to make a profit, and leaving the border defenses vulnerable."

"Thirdly, there was the rampant extortion by officials and clerks of the Salt Administration. In previous years, the court sent officials as tax supervisors to directly interfere in the salt administration. For example, officials in Lianghuai extorted the surplus salt that was not in the government's possession, arbitrarily increasing the amount of salt and the weight of salt, which caused great disturbance to merchants and the people. They also created dozens of taxes and fees out of thin air, such as 'replenishing the warehouse at a discounted price,' 'accumulating salt in the form of salt,' and 'adding taxes with extra fees,' using every means possible."

"Finally, corruption was rampant. Corrupt officials and salt merchants and their cronies manipulated the market at will, driving up salt prices, monopolizing the salt market, and causing large amounts of salt tax to be evaded or swindled."

"I read in a book that Guan Li, a censor in the previous dynasty, summarized the problems with the salt law as 'six difficulties': irregular opening of the market, powerful officials monopolizing power, lawsuits and penalties, years of unpaid salt, excessively high prices, and rampant smuggling of salt. Each of these difficulties was accompanied by bribery by clerks and corruption by officials, resulting in extremely high transaction costs."

Baochai's words greatly surprised Daiyu, who was standing to the side.

As the daughter of a salt inspector, I didn't even have such a deep understanding of salt administration.

How did she know so much? She spoke so eloquently and logically, and it even sounded quite reasonable.

Baochai has put in a lot of effort behind the scenes!

She's a young lady, yet she doesn't read "Instructions for Women" or poetry and prose; instead, she's interested in current affairs and military strategy!

Daiyu felt a mixture of curiosity and wariness.