It is very difficult to do serious business in this world. At that time, whether it was Zhu Shenzui or Wangjiacun, their families were so poor that they could not even afford rice and noodles. Doing business with capital?
Therefore, the business that Zhu Shenzui and the others were engaged in was quite special. Although it was not the kind of business where they were the king of a mountain and killed and robbed without any capital, it was not that far off. Because the business they do also carries great risks. In layman's terms, this business is smuggling salt.
Smuggling salt has always been a risky business in the past dynasties, but to be honest, it is a small business with big profits, and you can make a lot of money from doing it.
Therefore, people who are engaged in this business have never stopped, even wealthy businessmen with salt quotations are selling private salt in private.
Zhu Shenzui encouraged Wangjia Village to sell smuggled salt, which was his decision after much deliberation.
First of all, Zhu Shenzui and Wangjiacun are all poor people. It is impossible for poor people to make money through normal means. The only chance is to take shortcuts and take risks.
Selling illicit salt is such a shortcut. The cost of illicit salt is small but the profit is big. A trip can bring in at least dozens of times the profit. Moreover, salt is a necessity. Both humans and animals must eat salt. If they do not eat salt for a long time, the mild ones will be weak and weak, and the severe ones will die.
Especially in the army, both people and war horses consume a lot of salt. In addition, the Mongols in the northern grasslands also have a large demand for salt, so there is no need to worry about the market for this stuff.
Secondly, Zhu Shenzui knew very well that as the Ming Dynasty entered the countdown, troubled times were coming soon.
Although the weather has been changeable in recent years, it is still manageable. But it won't be long before successive droughts and severe winters are coming. In addition, since the defeat of Saarhu in Liaodong, Ming Dynasty's annual military expenditures have remained high in order to fight the Hou Jin Dynasty.
The Ming court began to levy "Liao pay" to maintain the war. As soon as the Liao pay came out, local complaints abounded. What's more, the corruption in the officialdom of the Ming Dynasty had reached the extreme. The top officials dared to ask for ten for just one levy. There were natural disasters and man-made disasters. Wait until The day when people can no longer live is the day when the death knell rings.
To prepare for a rainy day, Zhu Shenzui started preparations early. He roped in Wangjiacun to sell private salt together to make money, and his most important purpose was to fall in love with Wangjiacun's basic base.
Most of the people in Wangjia Village are military households, and Wangjia Village is from my mother's clan. The village chief and one hundred households, Wang Rong, is my uncle. No matter how you look at it, Wangjiacun is not only reliable, but it can also win over the people of Wangjiacun for its own use. You must know that although Wangjiacun is not big, there are nearly a hundred young people in the village. Except for a few, most of them are The best sources of soldiers, especially the children of military families, all have some ancestral skills in their hands. With a little training, they can be of great use.
Troubled times are coming, and if you have soldiers, you will be the Cao Tou King.
Zhu Shenzui did not want to be a bull and horse to be slaughtered and take the entire Wangjiacun for his own use. Zhu Shenzui had a certain degree of confidence. When the time came, Zhu Shenzui had enough confidence to lead the children of Wangjiacun to a new path. A way out.
Another reason why Zhu Shenzui led Wangjiacun to sell smuggled salt was the geographical environment here.
Wangjiacun is close to Pingyang Mansion in the north and not far from Jiezhou in the south.
Jiezhou is a famous salt producing area in Shanxi. The salt wells here existed as early as the Tang Dynasty and have been mined since the Song and Yuan Dynasties until now.
Jiezhou's salt supplies more than half of Shanxi, and it is even sold as far away as the grasslands. However, going to the grasslands is expressly prohibited, but it cannot be said in private. Who sells it has long been an open secret. As early as after the promulgation of the Opening of China Law, the phenomenon of privately hoarding salt and selling it for smuggling has never been eliminated. What Zhu Shenzui and others did was to take a few sips of the soup that leaked from people's fingers.
Zhu Shenzui nodded, lowered his voice and said sternly: "Since everyone has made arrangements, I won't say much more. We will set off tomorrow morning. It will only be a month before everything goes well for this trip. Wait for this trip. It’s over, we can rest this year, and everyone can have a good year.”
"Don't worry, Mr. Six. Brothers are all ready and waiting for you to speak." Wang Yinsheng looked excited. Wang Yinsheng is Wang Chuer's cousin and is also a son of the Wang family. Except for Wang Rong and Wang Jinwu, they are In addition to Wang Yinsheng and Wang Chuer, there are two young people named Wang Gui and Xia Dong.
Wang Gui and Wang Yinsheng are both descendants of the Wang family. As for Xia Dong, his surname is not Wang, but although his surname is Xia, he is still one of his own. The Xia family settled in Wangjia Village a hundred years ago, and the family has been with the Wang family for generations. After intermarriage, they have become their own people long ago.
"Sixth Master, there is something I don't know whether to talk about or not." As soon as Wang Yinsheng finished speaking, Xia Dong said.
"We are all brothers, there is nothing inappropriate to say." Zhu Shenzui said with a smile.
Among these young people, Zhu Shenzui actually valued Xia Dong the most. Compared with Wang Jinwu and others, Xia Dong had read books. The ancestors of the Xia family also had a child, so he could barely be considered a farming and reading heirloom.
Zhu Shenzui and Wang Rong confessed privately that if he was not in Wangjiacun, he could discuss it with Xia Dong if anything happened. Xia Dong has also been doing his best to assist Zhu Shenzui and Wang Rong in taking care of their private affairs. After going back and forth, he not only won the trust of Zhu Shenzui, but also impressed Wang Rong and others. His status in the gang was second only to Zhu Shenzui. Shen Zhui and Wang Rong father and son.
Xia Dong is reliable and talented, and now he has been given the responsibility for illicit salt production from Jiezhou.
"Jiezhou has been a bit uneasy recently." Xia Dong said seriously.
"It's not peaceful? Why is it not peaceful?" Zhu Shenzui asked with a calm look on his face.
“The salt road in Jiezhou may change next year.”
"Has there been a change? Is there a new mine supervisor?"
"That's not the case. I just heard from the manager at the mine that the demand from the military has intensified and the share of salt production will be adjusted. I'm afraid it won't be so easy to import salt from Jiezhou next spring..."
"The military needs it?" Zhu Shenzui frowned slightly. This reason was too vague and too strong.
Jiezhou is the most important salt-producing area in Shanxi, and since the 24th year of Wanli, Wanli began to set up mine supervisors in various places.
The so-called mine supervisors were eunuchs sent by Emperor Wanli to take charge of mining and collecting taxes, thereby collecting money for the internal treasury. After Wanli established mine supervision, it soon spread all over the country, making officials extremely dissatisfied.
In fact, the mining supervision system has little impact on ordinary people, but has the greatest impact on local officials, especially those in charge of mining affairs.
After all, in the eyes of the common people, whether the mine can be opened or not, and how much profit the mine will make, has nothing to do with the common people. But it was different with the emperor and officials.
Whether it is iron ore, copper mines, salt wells, etc., these are all mining affairs. How much is mined and how much profit is made. Although there are accounts, how to keep the accounts and how to report them is in the hands of local officials. Wanli is not stupid. You must know that Wanli is a disciple of Zhang Juzheng, and his IQ ranking is not low among the Ming emperors.
Officials of the Ming Dynasty deceived superiors and subordinates, colluded internally and externally in order to obtain more benefits, and made false accounts behind the emperor's back.
Especially in mining affairs in various places, phenomena such as over-mining and under-reporting, wanton increase of costs, illegal mining and private sales, etc. are common. In an industry that is obviously very profitable, the final data shown in the account book is either barely maintaining or losing money.
Wanli was very smart and saw the problem at a glance. He knew in his heart that court officials and local officials were colluding to make money from this, but he just ignored him as the emperor and said that the mining losses needed court subsidies.
How could Wanli, as smart as him, be willing to do such a thing? It's obviously a profitable business, but you guys are so full of money in private, yet you, as the emperor, have not benefited from anything and still have to take the blame for you? Since you guys in turbans are unjust, then don’t blame me, the emperor, for being unkind.
In this way, Wanli directly decreed the establishment of a mining supervision system and sent eunuchs around him to various places to supervise. He wanted to see how you were losing money every day when you said you were losing money in mining, and where the money was lost. A business that was obviously profitable was turned into a loss by you. Since you can't do it, don't blame him for coming in person.
The mine supervision system was established, and the eunuchs were the domestic slaves around the emperor. Their rights and status came from the emperor, and they were also responsible for the emperor. Therefore, with the establishment of the mining supervision system, the phenomenon of mining losses in various places was changed as soon as the mining supervision was put in place.
The mine supervision system has enabled the mining operation to "turn losses into profits" and the internal treasury will have money. But the cake was only so big, and after Qin Wanli took the lion's share, there were fewer officials. This caused extreme dissatisfaction among the officials who originally controlled the mining affairs. For their own interests, officials at all levels united to write a letter to the emperor, criticizing the mines. The prison system plundered and harmed the people, and strongly urged Wanli to cancel this system that ruined everyone's jobs.
How could Wanli agree? It is impossible for Wanli, who belongs to Pixiu, to give back the benefits he has received?
In the 33rd year of Wanli, due to pressure from all parties, the emperor nominally agreed to abolish the mine supervision system, but in fact he delayed its implementation. In this way, the mine supervision system continues to this day.
