When Zhu Yijun asked Governor Li Chengliang to do this, he naturally wanted to use troops.
As for why we need to mobilize troops?
the reason is simple.
The purpose of this rectification of the salt policy was to bring all the salt mines under the control of the imperial court for its own production, transportation and marketing.
This means that kitchen households will no longer be able to make salt for the imperial court.
In addition, major salt merchants no longer had to transport and sell official salt for the imperial court.
At the same time, the court will also intensify its efforts to crack down on illegal salt sales.
It can be said.
This is simply digging up the roots of kitchen households and salt merchants, completely cutting off their wealth!
Even if they do not rebel directly, they will mobilize the salt men under their control to rebel against private salt dealers to safeguard their own interests.
Don't underestimate these kitchen households and salt merchants.
Needless to say, salt merchants, the big salt merchants are extremely wealthy, and the bigger behind-the-scenes salt merchants are actually big landowners such as feudal princes, nobles, and gentry.
Most of the kitchen households are local powerful people.
The salt collectors and private salt traders who are brave enough to fight and are good at fighting are mostly desperadoes.
Otherwise, the business of making salt would not be possible.
Therefore, now, if the court wants to rectify the salt policy in this way, it must use troops.
Fortunately, Zhu Yijun had already adopted Qi Jiguang's proposal, and used his prestige from several foreign campaigns and personal expedition to the northwest, as well as the support of Qi Jiguang and others, to prevent the army from doing business in your army's way. Even generals like Li Chengliang took the initiative to sell out. Only after losing their own property did the army have nothing to do with these Zaohu salt merchants.
Otherwise, Zhu Yijun would not be able to directly mobilize troops to rectify the salt policy easily.
Because no one can be sure whether the military will also participate in the salt industry if this is not done in advance.
"Originally, I planned to have a good talk with them and ask them to hand over their salt and profit in a dignified manner and make a decent transformation. But if they refuse to give me dignity, I can only let him taste the iron fist of the imperial court!"
Zhu Yijun said: "Pass the decree, in the name of escorting the sects and vassals, to mobilize troops to guard the salt. No matter who dares to obstruct the rectification of the salt policy, they will be killed!"
"yes!"
Li Chengliang replied, and called all the Privy Council officials who were accompanying him to him, and ordered:
"On the Navy side, let Marquis Weng Yuan personally lead the troops to reach Donghaiwei;"
"As for the army, let General Yang Yuan, Staff General Yang Shaoyuan, and Staff General Gao Ce lead their troops to station in Xuzhou, Huai'an, and Yangzhou respectively. Wang Rulong's troops will be transferred to Nandu to strengthen their alert. All other troops will be mobile and ready to obey orders at any time."
As a result, large-scale mobilization of troops and horses began to occur throughout the Jianghuai area.
The salt merchants in Yangzhou soon realized something was wrong.
"What is the court going to do?"
Fan Shanjun came to Ye's garden early that morning and asked about Ye Shanzong.
Ye Shanzong said: "I don't know about this. It is said that he is escorting the vassal king to the southern capital."
"We should not raise such a large-scale army to escort the feudal lord. I have a hunch that the emperor's actions should be aimed at us."
Fan Shanjun said.
Ye Shanzong asked: "How to target it?"
Fan Shanjun said: "I don't know either. The court's information control is very tight now, so we can't pry for a while."
"Report!"
"Our people in the DPRK sent word that the imperial court has issued a decree to rectify the salt administration. All salt mines will no longer be produced by kitchen households, but will be directly responsible for production by the imperial court. Salt will no longer be transported and sold by merchants, but will be handled by the imperial court. Government-run commercial firms at all levels of government handle transportation and sales.”
At this time, Fan Shanjun's confidant servant Ning Gui walked over quickly and conveyed a message.
Both of them looked shocked after hearing this.
Fan Shanjun was the first to react and said: "The imperial court is trying to dig up our roots!"
Ye Shanzong nodded after a while and said, "What a great gesture!"
Then, Ye Shanzong looked at Fan Shanjun: "What should we do?"
"Break the salt!"
Fan Shanjun said: "Didn't we discuss this before? If the court does not allow us to engage in this salt business, we will cut off salt! Wherever we eat Huai salt, the soldiers and civilians will not be able to eat salt!"
Ye Shanzong nodded solemnly: "Then cut off the salt!"
Like Fan, Ye and others, salt merchants stopped selling salt one after another.
The price of salt suddenly skyrocketed.
Many scholars and civilians suddenly panicked and had to look for salt at high prices.
But the salt merchants are just cutting out salt.
Zao households and private salt dealers, as well as salt collectors who were bribed by salt merchants and Zao households, directly resisted the imperial court's seizure of the salt field by force.
"Kill!"
Zeng Shishu, a Zao householder, brazenly united with private salt dealer Cheng Daqi and others to gather more than 3,000 salt workers to rebel and rushed to the salt field Haian Town, intending to plunder Haian Town to build momentum and recruit local gangsters to expand the team.
When Zeng Shishu was still ordering a large-scale plunder of Haian Town, he said to Cheng Daqi with a stern face: "Since the court does not allow us to cook salt and we have to cook it ourselves, then what do we need from the court! We might as well become the emperor ourselves. !”
"That's right! Brother Zeng is one of the best heroes in the world. He has thousands of brothers and tens of millions of gold in his family. Why should we look at his Zhu family's face? As the saying goes, he would be willing to cut himself off just to pull down the emperor and not let us live. , we won’t let them live!”
Cheng Daqi also echoed.
However, Hai'an Town has already stationed five hundred pro-guard officers and soldiers of Commander-in-Chief Zhuang Ding's army.
Therefore, when Zeng Shishu and Cheng Daqi led more than 3,000 saltmen to attack Hai'an Town, they saw that Hai'an Town had dug several trenches and low walls.
"I was already on guard!"
"It seems that the imperial court has already mobilized its troops."
Therefore, Zeng Shudun felt uneasy.
Cheng Daqi said: "Fight first. If you can't beat me, go to Fu'an Town. When my brother and I were a pirate, there were governors who strengthened defenses in advance. But not all officers and soldiers dare to fight. There are always some who are afraid of death. So I usually just attack if I can, and if I can’t, I’ll attack other towns. There’s always a chance to conquer the next one. As long as I conquer one town or one county, I won’t lose anything!”
Zeng Shishu nodded: "Then pass the order and attack Hai'an Town immediately. Capture the Prime Minister of Hai'an Town alive and reward him with five hundred taels of silver!"
Boom boom!
But at this time, Zhuang Dingguo, the commander of Hai'an Town, had already led 300 horse-mounted infantry troops. He rode around behind these people, dismounted and walked towards these salt soldiers with a self-made fire gun.
Bang bang!
The dense volleys of muskets knocked these salt cubs who also had Western muskets to the ground.
Zeng Shi's army was defeated on the spot.
Zeng Shishu and Cheng Daqi only led hundreds of salt men to flee towards Fu'an Town in panic.
Zhuang Dingguo did not lead his troops in pursuit, because his mission was only to guard Hai'an Town, and Fu'an Town had other officers and soldiers on guard.
What these kitchen households and private salt dealers didn't know was that the Privy Council of the Ming Dynasty had mobilized a large number of troops and horses to the Huaihe River, so that all key towns and villages in the two Huaihe River areas were heavily guarded.
It can be said that there is a heavy gathering of troops.
It was like a big iron fist falling from the sky and hitting the two Huaihe Rivers.
Local soldiers are only responsible for patrolling.
Naturally, the forces like Zeng Shishu and Cheng Daqi did not conquer Haian Town, and ended up fleeing at sea to be wiped out by the navy.
Unlike Zeng Shishu and Cheng Daqi, there were also kitchen households who chose to take advantage of the salt pond and resist.
When Shen Yiguan, who was in charge of the salt collection field, came to Jinsha Field in person, Luo Wence, a powerful Zao household here, directly led more than 2,000 salt workers under his command and more than 1,000 private salt dealers he bribed to defend the field. And refused to recruit soldiers to surrender.
"We can only accept that we will no longer secretly sell salt to private individuals, and will sell it all to the government honestly in the future, but you can't take away the salt pond! Taking away the salt pond will leave us with no way to survive, and we can only fight hard!"
When Luo Wence refused to surrender, he loudly stated his reasons.
"fart!"
Chen Yixiu, the soldier in charge of recruiting Luo Wence to surrender, cursed loudly and said: "You Zaohu households have been secretly selling salt to private salt dealers for many years. If you don't make a lot of money, or have a family fortune of hundreds of thousands, it doesn't matter. Even if you don't work, you can still have food and clothing for a few lifetimes without worrying about food and clothing. What's more, every family still has fields, land and other properties. Now they just don't want to lose the most profitable business. If they know the situation, they will surrender and cooperate with the court. If they don't know the situation, Just sit back and wait to be wiped out.”
"Come if you have the guts, these people I raise are not vegetarians!"
Luo Wence was obviously very aggressive and he immediately refused.
As a result, the officers and soldiers immediately began a force attack, with artillery and guns attacking Luojiazhai in stages.
Within an hour, Luojiazhai in Jinshachang was breached, and Luo Wence himself was killed.
When Shen Guanyi entered the Jinsha Fields under the escort of Chinese Army Zhao Wenming, the blood had not dried in many places, and the bodies had not been removed. Even the salt cubes that actually cooked the salt were still cooking salt, and the sound of boiling brine kept ringing. .
It was only after Shen Yiguan arrived that the military commander Chen Yixiu ordered the salt men to stop cooking salt and come to see the imperial envoy.
But Shen Yiguan said at this time: "This matter has nothing to do with them boiling salt. Tell them not to stop and continue cooking!"
"Although Hedong salt and Sichuan salt have been transported, it is naturally a good thing if the salt can be produced more."
Then, Shen Yiguan said again.
Although, according to the Salt Policy Reform Regulations, these salt workers who are actually responsible for producing salt must be unified as state-owned employees of the Daming Salt Industry Head Office, Shen Guangyi clearly planned to send them to the factory without notifying these salt workers and asking their opinions. Directly become state-owned employees.
Chen Yixiu had no choice but to say yes and pass on the order.
"Don't stop, keep cooking!"
"Don't stop, keep cooking!"
So, not long after, the sound of boiling brine started again.
Shen Guangyuan watched this scene with great enjoyment, and ordered: "Collect the salt here, let those Guanzheng Jinshi who came here to practice history to immediately check the account books, pay the wages directly to Yan Ding's family, and then go to the next scene !be quick!"
Therefore, it didn't take long for the families of these salt cooks to be called in according to the list, and each one lined up to receive the silver coins. Seeing this, the salt cooks became more and more enthusiastic about their work.
at the same time.
Local officials and officials from Daming Bank are issuing loans and salt monopoly certificates to people who apply for interest-free special loans for salt orders and salt monopoly certificates with household registration certificates and guarantee letters.
Pan Jixun, the Minister of Household Affairs, personally led a group of Guanzheng Jinshi to refute the application materials for special loans and salt monopoly certificates.
The so-called refutation refers to review and rejection to prevent someone from colluding with local officials and falsifying materials.
In the end, a large number of ordinary people were able to obtain the qualifications and special financial support to sell salt.
Soon, many people discovered that small grocery stores near their homes were selling very cheap salt.
"Is this salt true?"
Laidi found a grocery store selling cheap salt at the market near her home that day, and asked the owner of this store. (End of chapter)
