Chapter 124 Private Investigation
"Fifty million catties?" Du Duan's hand shook, and the tea in the lid bowl almost spilled out. The lid, which was not caught between his two fingers, fell and fell to the ground with a clanking sound and broke into several pieces. A servant hurriedly came over to clean with his head lowered. Ignoring this, Du Duan looked up at Luo Shifan in shock and repeated the number he just heard in disbelief.
Having dominated Daning's private salt business for more than ten years, the Du family's annual business was only around four million jins during the most favorable times. That was the year before he left office as governor of Yunyang. On the one hand, he was about to leave office, and he really didn’t want to cause any trouble. On the other hand, the faction in the DPRK and Central Committee had lost power and could no longer continue to hang out in the officialdom. They were discouraged and prepared to go home to retire, and basically didn’t do much to check the secrets.——Rao Even so, Du Duan still delivered a full 20,000 taels of "reward"!
Due to their status, several officers from Fubiao and the troops brought by Luo Shifan were stationed outside Daning City. They did not participate in the meeting under the banner of checking the private affairs of Fubiao Camp. Luo Shifan only brought four guards including Sun Chunlong into the city. Visit Du Duan.
"Yes, fifty million catties." Luo Shifan seemed not to notice Du Duan's embarrassment. He casually picked up the teacup and took a sip, then praised, "It smells so good."
"Commander Luo knows, even if there is an escort from your army, even if Fubiao turns a blind eye, even if I have all the shops in Badong, Guizhou, and Yiling doing their best... well, in Yidu, There are also several shops opened in Jiangling. To be honest, the military adviser said that after Yiling, it is no longer my territory. My hands are so long that I have to show off to the local dock guys. At that time, I don't think I have to bother your army to borrow a hundred brothers to help - it can only digest seven to eight million catties." Du Duan had heard about Xiao Luo's military advisor for a long time, but when he suddenly heard this number, he was already thinking in his heart Most of the Qin Jing dispersed at once. I thought to myself: After all, they are young people who only care about bragging and don’t know how high the sky is! The tone of his words was slightly lecturing.
Luo Shifan seemed not to have heard Du Duan's voiceover, and shook his head and said calmly: "I have done the math, these places may not be able to sell for seven or eight million jins, and the Dangyang Mansion is about the same. Of course, if necessary, Our army can use up its meager resources at any time. These are all trivial matters, needless to say. However, if we rely solely on Du Yuanwai's method to flow out this much salt at once, we will lose a lot of money in terms of price. After all, we will not be able to make a few bucks. Money."
Du Duan was stunned when he heard this, and thought to himself: "It seems that this little brother Luo has really done some homework. He can't be said to be a layman. But how can he be so confident in his tone?" Before he could speak, he stood there. Du Da Chong, who was beside him, couldn't hold it back anymore and interrupted: "Master Military Advisor, in this case, what about fifty million kilograms?"
"No etiquette!" Du Duan turned his head and glared at Du Da Chong and cursed. Then he turned to Luo Shifan and said, "Master Luo, I'm sorry, my foolish nephew is a rough guy who doesn't understand the rules, and I made you laugh. But..." At this point, he stopped talking, picked up the new tea cup, and fiddled with the bowl lid. With the tongues of Emei birds floating upright, they waited quietly to hear what Luo Shifan had to say.
Luo Shifan smiled softly: "Except for Mr. Du, don't be anxious. Brother Du, fifty million kilograms is not just what Luo said. Each person eats three qian of salt per day*, one kilogram per month, which is twelve kilograms per year. Huguang is a place The population is no less than 10 million, including the young and old, no matter how much we save on food, 50 million catties will not be enough."
"Ahem, cough, cough..." When Luo Shifan was talking, Du Duan choked just after taking a sip of tea, and almost lost the teacup again.
Du DaChong was also stunned and murmured: "Quan Huguang? Master Military Advisor has such a big appetite!"
Luo Shifan ignored Du DaChong, looked at Du Duan intently, and said word by word: "Although Du Yuan's path is wide, it is also limited. Of course my commander-in-chief's thoughts are all over Huguang. This is the first year. Next year, we will do more in Gansu, Shaanxi, Yunnan and Guizhou, so we will double the number."
This topic is too big. Du Duan decided not to drink tea again until the discussion was clear: "Let's not talk about Gansu, Shaanxi and other places next year. Could it be that Marshal Guan is going to open salt farms all over Huguang? Then... what about Huaiyan?"
In order to put an end to the smuggling of Sichuan salt, the Ming court stipulated that the salt in Huguang must use Huai salt, which was supplied by the salt fields in Lianghuai. Not to mention various regular taxes and local miscellaneous taxes that are more than ten times the amount along the way, the transportation and labor costs for thousands of miles are all added to the unit price. The price of Huai salt is ridiculously high, almost twenty times the price of the place of origin. This is also Du Duan The main reason why private salt can become so popular.
"There are so many ready-made official salt farms in Huguang, why do you still need the commander to open one yourself?" Luo Shifan's smile looked innocent and a little evil.
"Let Guanzhuang sell our private goods? Then Mr. Jian... ahem, Mr. Jian," there have been too many seizures, especially in the past six months, more than a hundred lives have been injured in a row - this means that Du Yuanwai every year Du Duan had long hated Jian Jingneng to the core of his mind when he wanted to give three to four thousand taels of pension to the orphans and widowed mothers. He had already gotten the word "Jian old dog". Fortunately, he was quick-thinking and finally changed the word "老" as soon as he said it. He came over and said, "Can Mrs. Jian agree?"
"Of course not. Even if Lord Jian can agree, the court will never agree." Luo Shifan's smile looked very hateful in the eyes of the Du family's uncle and nephew, "Lord Jian will never allow this."
"Commander Luo, I'm stupid and really confused. Don't be pretentious anymore." Du Duan raised his hand and said half-truthfully.
"Excuse me, Mr. Du. Please listen to Luo and speak slowly." Luo Shifan also raised his hand and made a bow gesture, "You know, Guanzhuang in Huguang has two sources of goods. Seven out of ten. Eight is the official salt from Lianghuai, and two and three are the confiscated Sichuan salt. The imperial court established the governor of Yunyang, and the most important tasks were to suppress the refugees and investigate the confiscation of Sichuan private property. Most of the so-called refugees were related to Sichuan salt It's related to smugglers, right? So, this is actually the same thing. More smugglers are confiscated, and there are fewer refugees. This is a resounding political achievement. Why not Jian Futai? To tell you the truth "It's too late for Jian Futai to be happy! If the amount of Sichuan salt seized suddenly increases, no matter how much, wouldn't it all have to be sent to Guanzhuang to be sold?"
"Ah?" The uncle and nephew of the Du family looked at each other, and their hearts moved. Du Da Chong's thinking was obviously slower than Du Duan's, and he interrupted again: "Then...even if our goods enter Guanzhuang, how can we recover the price of salt?" Du Duan already had the idea, but this time he didn't. He wanted to hear Luo Shifan say it himself to confirm his guess.
"The salt payment cannot be recovered. The confiscated private goods are not official salt. They are sold through Guanzhuang. The salt payment for each copper plate must be clearly recorded in the official account. It is impossible to give back the salt price." Luo Shifan Said, "But...brother Du, don't be impatient, just listen to me. If you investigate too much, it is a solid proof that adults at all levels have lived up to the great trust of the court, and soldiers have fought to the death to serve! Right? Investigate illicit salt, suppress refugees, and officials." There will definitely be casualties in the army. The more investigations are carried out, the greater the casualties will be and the greater the pensions will be. The court loves the people like sons and will never betray the soldiers who serve the country and chill everyone's hearts! Brother Du, what do you think? Isn’t that right? Master Fu Zun needs to recruit more volunteers and build the east of Chongqing and the north of Hubei into an impregnable copper wall. Only then can he be worthy of repaying Heaven’s kindness and ensuring people’s livelihood! The recruited volunteers must be fed and paid. For smuggling, you need to build fortresses in dangerous passes in the mountains, build official roads, store grain and grass, and build weapons and equipment..." Luo Shifan twirled his fingers and looked at Du Duan with a smile, "The volunteers are raised by Du Yuan and others, so the food, salary, housing expenses, etc. are all natural. It is also up to Du Yuanwai to take care of matters such as distribution, building official roads, and building fortresses. Jian Futai will allocate money and distribute food. We must not let Du Yuanwai, who understands the righteousness and serves the country wholeheartedly, suffer! As for the acceptance check? ...I don’t think any of you would dare to question Mr. Du’s sincerity if you want to have trouble with Mr. Fuzun! Even if there is a few people who are trying to please the public, Mr. Jian’s Fu Biao is busy with personal investigations, and it should be escorted by our department. Right? Why is Du Yuanwai worried? And... Luo guessed that in order to commend Du Yuanwai for his pure heart, if the Daning County Lord can come forward to ask for Yuan Wai's credit, the Lord Fu Zun will definitely not be reluctant to do so. It’s because of the scholar’s reputation!”
"Master Military Advisor is unparalleled in talent, I am convinced!" Du Duan, who was already dumbfounded, was completely convinced. He had been in the private salt business for decades, and saw that he was wiped out. He never expected that a different way of thinking would lead to such a bright future. Not only did he change his title, but he also solemnly left his seat and bowed to Luo Shifan. Du Da Chong hurried forward, knelt on the ground with a plop, and kowtowed heavily.
"Brother Du, please get up soon." Luo Shifan also left his seat and extended his hand to support him, "From now on, we are one family, so don't be polite."
Returning to his seat, Luo Shifan asked again: "Executive member Du, can you supply these 50 million kilograms of goods?"
Du Duan thought about it for a moment, and replied with a troubled expression: "It's not difficult to return to the military advisor. Because except for the little old man's personal belongings, most of the well property belongs to the official family, and all the brothers in the well belong to the government." To cope with the errands. Even if the existing labor force is more serious, the output can be more than doubled. If more manpower is recruited, not to mention 50 million catties, but tens of millions of catties is also possible. However, how many wells, cooking There is a limit to how much salt comes out. Even if you put some thought into the accounts, it will still be limited..."
Luo Shifan blinked: "I've heard the name of Daning Salt Well for a long time. The earliest well should have been opened in the Tang and Song Dynasties, right?"
Du Da Chong, who was eager to express himself, once again took the lead: "Tangjing is not an ancient well, but there are several Hanjings, and there are also a few from who knows which dynasty and which generation. They are much older."
Luo Shifan blinked at the thoughtful Du Duan again: "After thousands of years, some wells may have dried up, right? If they have been in disrepair for a long time, and a few thousand-year-old wells have collapsed, whether it is Kuizhou Prefecture or Dazhou Ning County, the adults should be able to understand, right? A broken well will of course no longer be able to produce salt... If anyone doesn’t believe it, they can go to Mr. Jian to make it clear!"
Du Duan, who was convinced and no longer had any doubts, was elated and finally picked up the tea cup with confidence. Taking a sip of tea to moisten his throat, he suddenly remembered something: "Master Military Advisor, our salt is sold to the whole province of Huguang, what about the salt from Lianghuai? If you sell it, you will make a profit. Needless to say, the adults in each government here , over there...but there are also many adults who rely on Huaiyan to cross the border to make a living."
"Luo Mou feels that what the adults in Huaihe and Huaihe need to worry about is not the Huaiyan salt crossing," Luo Shifan said lightly. Then, when the subject changed, his tone suddenly became cold and threatening, "It is the crossing of our army!"
Luo Shifan gave an impassioned speech: "Since our army has been recruited by the imperial court, we should take it as our own responsibility to protect the territory and the people! If there are two Huaihe salt lords who dare to smuggle private goods and disturb the people and cause trouble in Huguang, our army will be on the alert and we will give them a hard blow! The goods will be without officials and the people will be with them. Zhengfa! Thousands of miles from northern Shaanxi to Huguang, when it comes to inter-provincial pursuit and suppression... Humph, who else can be stronger than our army!"
"Bang!" Seeing the sudden cold light in the eyes of Luo Shifan, who had always been smiling, Du Duan couldn't help but trembled all over. His hand shook, and another teacup broke.
"Hahaha, Du Yuanwai must have heard 'goods mean no official' and thought that we could sell more, and he was so happy that he couldn't hold the cup!" Luo Shifan joked.
After breakfast the next morning, the uncles and nephews of the Du family sent Luo Shifan out of Du's house. They didn't straighten up until the young military advisor's figure walked away. Du Da Chong murmured: "What an amazing young military advisor!"
Du Duan said: "Young hero, I can't say that. In two days, you can go to the Young Master's camp to help. We can no longer bother the Young Master with such trivial matters as managing various private shops in the government and village. He is doing big things. Yes. We have nothing serious to do here. We just carry brine and dry it with salt and then send it somewhere to wait for the bidders to copy it. I will just let Cheng Haer watch. You should be sharper with your eyes and hands. Don't make the young military advisor angry. . I have a thousand-year-old ginseng. If you bring it with you later, it will be called a return gift. Also bring a few kilograms of tea, the young military advisor likes to drink it. Unfortunately, I don’t know if the young military advisor has a family... Please pay attention! You are such a sister. It's six years old, and it's time to find someone to marry. If we can get into such a marriage, our Du family will have a big mountain to rely on!"
Du Da Chong responded, and Du Duan said again: "I just don't know if the young military advisor likes a family like ours. Don't be reluctant to give up the money! Make more friends over there, and everyone can show off to the young military advisor, just say what I said , it’s okay to be a concubine!”
*Mingjin is about 600 grams, sixteen taels, equivalent to 3.75 grams per coin. The recommended daily intake for modern people is 6 grams, and the actual per capita daily intake in my country is 12 grams. In ancient times, ordinary people mostly engaged in heavy physical labor, and did not have air conditioners or fans. They sweated much more than modern people, so they needed more salt. Luo Shifan estimated that three qian of salt per person per day is equivalent to about 12 grams. Moreover, people in Sichuan, Chongqing, Hunan and Hubei have heavier tastes. Luo Shifan was slightly conservative, mainly because he took into account the price of salt and the purchasing power of ordinary people.
