"What should I do?" Xu He asked.
"To understand what to do, we must first solve a problem, which is the group of people who benefit the most from the existing salt method! Once we deal with them, the salt method we propose will be a practical salt method!" Xu He said firmly.
Chen Hua nodded: "That's right, but you just said that the only ones who make profits are the officials and the unscrupulous people in the salt field!"
"Didn't you already solve this problem by eliminating hereditary salt tyrants and establishing a system to manage these people?"
Xu He shook his head: "For a country's major policies, there must be more than just a few people sucking blood on them. Let me tell you one thing first, how do you solve the problem of hoarding?"
The so-called hoarder is naturally a businessman who hoards.
Merchants in the salt industry can be divided into three types according to their nature. One is the border merchants. These are the people who transport grain to Jiubian and then go to the salt department to carry salt with warehouse notes and prospecting.
The second is internal businessmen. These people are the so-called businessmen who stay in the salt field every day. They hold salt in their hands. Nowadays, the price of official salt is high. The official salt in their hands is often unable to be sold. Once it is pressed in their hands, it is worth ten dollars. For eight years, it was miserable.
The third is hoarding merchants. This group of people is very powerful. Border merchants or internal merchants are in urgent need of money when encountering natural or man-made disasters. They take the opportunity to buy salt or official salt at low prices, and then take advantage of the high price of salt. Sell it out, which is also called hoarding.
Most of these hoarders come from domestic businessmen. If they want to do this kind of business, they must not only have tens of thousands of assets, but also have a strong political backing.
They definitely don't want to see their vested interests damaged.
In other words, if you don't have the determination to sink the boat, don't use the Salt Law easily, otherwise these people and the forces behind them will definitely kill Chen Hua and the Xu family.
Chen Hua's newly ignited reform ambitions suddenly fell apart under Xu He's analysis.
Yes, he wants to leave a name in history, and he wants to have a prosperous official career, but that is based on the lack of life safety.
Chen Hua didn't want to be like Shang Yang and Le Yi. The country became stronger because of their reforms, but he died a miserable death.
Xu He could see his hesitation and retreat, but he was not prepared to persuade him, because what he needed was a firm supporter of reform, not a coward who backed down halfway.
Therefore, he continued: "In addition to the merchants, there are also the first assistant and the king of Qi, the second assistant and the prince, including..."
He pointed upward, his meaning couldn't be more obvious.
After hearing this, Chen Hua had completely decided to give up. What kind of bullshit reform, this was going to offend everyone from top to bottom, and the reform was just a piece of cake.
Xu He saw that the fire was almost done, so he smiled and said: "Master Chen, are you scared when you hear these names?"
Chen Hua's face turned red instantly, not because he was excited after being framed, but because he was really ashamed.
Yes, he was really scared.
Xu He could also understand this. People are part of the bureaucracy. You expect him to be like Zhang Juzheng. He is obviously a member of the bureaucracy, but he still digs up the officials' graves every day. In the end, the officials' graves were not dug up. He himself The coffin was opened and the body was slaughtered. It was extremely miserable!
Xu He smiled slightly at him and said: "There is a method. The court has taxes, the cooks have a way to live, and the hoarders say good things about you. The chief minister, the second minister, the prince, and the king of Qi all praised this method loudly. In the end, only Our Majesty has no money in his inner treasury to build the Taoist temple, what do you want to do?"
"What?" Chen Hua stood up and said excitedly: "Is there such a good way?"
Xu He nodded.
Chen Hua said excitedly: "Do it! Why not do it? If there is such a way, I will be the first to report it, and I will also find..., ahem, find some important officials in the court to help with the matter!"
Xu He laughed in his heart, this Chen Hua is also an interesting and smart man.
Because he knows that no system can satisfy everyone, so choose the lesser of two evils. Sorry, Your Majesty, we won’t take you to play anymore!
This is what Xu He wants. As long as the country and the people have money, I don't care who you are, the emperor.
Wouldn't Emperor Zhizheng be unhappy by then?
Then you go and say goodbye to your ministers. It has nothing to do with me.
"What good ideas does Mr. Xu have? Please tell me quickly!" Chen Hua almost held Xu He's hand and had a long conversation.
Xu He nodded and said: "My method is called Gangyun Method!"
"What? What do you mean?" Chen Hua was confused.
Xu He signaled him to calm down, and then slowly told him about the salt method he designed for the Wei Dynasty...the Gangyun Method.
In fact, it is very simple to say, that is, the kitchen workers produce and sell their own goods, and the more work they do, the more they get.
Of course, this kind of overwork is completely different from Xu Dai's, because the bargaining power on salt prices is dominated by the court, and the kitchen men and salt merchants participate in the discussion. The three parties restrain each other. The court cannot force the kitchen men and merchants to produce and purchase salt. Salters, cooks and merchants also have the right to negotiate prices.
The three parties jointly managed the salt price, which was equivalent to the bidding of later generations. The imperial court set a salt price ceiling based on the living conditions of the people. Under this ceiling, the kitchen households and salt merchants discussed the price. The kitchen workers felt that this price could support themselves, and there were also After saving, the merchant felt that this price was profitable, and the final salt price was born.
To put it bluntly, the market and the relationship between supply and demand determine the price of salt, which prevents the common people from being unable to afford salt, prevents the low price of salt from harming the interests of cooks, and protects businessmen to a certain extent.
This method of direct participation of businessmen and cooks in production and sales also avoids the disadvantages of too many administrative orders and blind instructions that do not follow market rules.
Chen Hua nodded when he heard this and said: "It's really unbelievable to let the cook and the merchants participate in the price negotiation, but if it can really be done, it seems like it is indeed what you said, and it will be good for everyone!"
Xu He continued: "However, in this process, merchants, as one of the three parties, are very important. The court must identify the merchant's purchasing power and ability to resist risks. To put it bluntly, this is not a trivial matter. Do you want to participate in the salt industry?" To be involved in the business, not only do you need to be clean for three generations, but you also need to have a fortune of tens of millions."
Chen Hua nodded to express his understanding. These days, if you don't have a little money, you can't do anything with bulk trading commodities like salt.
For example, if the Lianghuai Salt Farm encounters disasters such as wind, snow, rain, and typhoons, the harvest may fail.
If a small businessman pays a deposit, but the salt factory cannot deliver the goods, and loses working capital, what will he still do?
The only option is to go bankrupt.
Moreover, the court had to spend a lot of manpower and material resources to maintain the small businessmen of Didi Lala. Therefore, the salt was either a monopoly of the court. If the court could not monopolize it, the private sector must have sufficient resources.
So where do these people come from?
Hoarder.
Although hoarders are treacherous, buying low, selling high and hoarding, they have money and people.
If they were allowed to participate, wouldn't it perfectly solve the difficult problem of implementing the salt law and the problem of hoarders' opposition to the new law?
"So, we only need to propose to the imperial court to set up a salt institute, sort it according to its assets, demarcate a volume, and divide the salt from the Huaihe River into ten categories. For each category, those who have received the remaining silver will be deducted a full 200,000 yuan, and the saints and virtues will be surpassed. Throughout the ages, the imperial fan has compiled the nine-circuit cross as the album number. Every year, one line is used to introduce the old one, and nine lines are used to introduce the new one!"
Chen Hua's eyes lit up. The meaning of Xu He's approach is, don't worry, everyone, the court will not ignore the old merchants in their hands, but don't rush in to squeeze the salt. Every year, I have Yigang merchants to help repay your salt.
The advantage of this is that the court will still collect the other nine salt taxes without delaying the repayment of old debts. The finance and salt industry will not collapse all at once. Everyone will be finished, and the empty promises made in previous years will be renewed. The salt merchants paid for it on his behalf, and the court elements did not come out. How wonderful!
The new salt dealer will not be troubled by old debts. Anyway, everyone will help pay it off. Compared with the money earned by the salt industry monopoly, it only pays for one year in ten years. This thing is going somewhere.
Especially since the old Yin will be paid off sooner or later. At that time, they will be hereditary merchants, and their descendants will just make money while lying down.
This salt method is very painful for businessmen who have old cigarettes on their hands.
But the old documents in their hands are no different than waste paper. Now the imperial court will help you find out. Although it will take a long time, at least you still have hope.
Chen Hua looked at Xu He with admiration, what a talent he is, this is a genius, God only allows his talents!
"These chapters involve a lot of salt method knowledge. Twenty chapters are not enough to expand the salt method, but people will definitely not like to read it, so I have adjusted some of the key points. There are also some things that have nothing to do with this book. No longer.
In short, these chapters may be a bit boring, but they are an important introduction to the subsequent chapters, so I have to admit it!
Has anyone read this book? If you have any, please leave a message and send a wife to each one! "
