The salt merchants, like many industrial and commercial gentry, had both a greedy side and a weak and naive side.
I always imagine that as long as I give up a lot of money and show my kindness to the person holding the knife, the person holding the knife will let me go.
Just like in the Chongzhen period in history, Chen Yan, who was essentially a businessman and a gentry, took the initiative to donate 30,000 taels of silver after Li Zicheng entered Beijing, thinking that by donating 30,000 taels of silver, he would avoid death and torture. , but instead inspired the greed of Li Zicheng's general Liu Zongmin and others.
Now these salt merchants are no exception. When they are about to be eliminated, they become naive and forget the cruelty of this world.
"Everyone, since you are suspected of rebellion, in order to avoid major changes in Yangzhou, I can only kill you first and report later!"
At this time, Shen Yiguan said something that would shatter the illusions of the salt merchants, and then waved his hand.
As a result, sergeants with loaded guns ran over, arrested Fan Shanjun and others, and forced them to kneel down by the river.
Fan Shanjun and other salt merchants were shocked.
"We are not trying to rebel, you are slandering us, pure slander!"
Salt merchant Cao Youke even shouted at this time, his face full of indignation.
"Shen Yin County, how can you be so cruel and deliberately want to kill us all!"
Salt merchant Xu Weihe was also so angry that he almost cried.
He did not expect that Shen Guanyi directly accused them of treason and refused to give them a way to survive.
Fan Shanjun understood a little better at this time and smiled bitterly:
"I forgot that at this time, the one who wants us dead the most is no longer the Emperor!"
"cut!"
Following Shen Yiguan, Zhongjun Zhao Wenming gave an order.
Strands of silver light appeared on the side of the canal instantly, and the people on the canal bank and on the boat couldn't help but close their eyes.
A moment.
When the common people opened their eyes again, these salt merchants had already fallen to the ground one by one.
A red haze soon appeared on the river.
Fan Shanjun and other salt merchants broke their necks.
"Tell all the soldiers and civilians that this is the fate of being disloyal to the emperor!"
"No matter how rich you are, you must fear your Majesty and the King's law!"
Shen Yiguan spoke righteously to the officials around him, and then ordered Zhao Wenming:
"Although the salt merchants are guilty, their family members are at most guilty of supporting and concealing their miscarriages. Therefore, when they go against the grain, they must be treated with kindness and not be treated lightly and not damage the friendship between compatriots. Before the specific trial and conviction by the three judicial departments, all of them must No penalties can be imposed.”
"yes!"
…
"Your Majesty, according to the imperial history of salt inspections in Zhejiang and other places, in order to prevent kitchen households and salt merchants from suffering too much loss due to the salt policy reform, we ask for your permission to apply to open new salt fields overseas and draw up the proportion of overseas salt taxes."
"By the way, a salt merchant expressed his willingness to pay five million silver dollars as a guarantee."
Zhu Yijun also received Wang Xijue's proposal on salt policy reform from the salt patrol censors in other salt-producing areas outside the Huaihe River.
And Zhu Yijun naturally knew that there were naturally stove households and salt merchants in these places expressing their willingness to actively invest in going to sea to open up new salt profits for the imperial court, and to cooperate with the imperial court's salt tax reform.
Zhu Yijun was naturally willing to see this.
He also knew that it was not ruled out that the salt merchants in these places were the minions of ministers such as Wang Xijue and Shen Yiguan.
And this also means that these people are actively seeking a win-win situation with the emperor, so Zhu Yijun will not refuse even more, and simply said: "Allow what he says."
"yes!"
As a result, only the kitchen households and salt merchants in Lianghuai suffered the greatest losses and were almost uprooted. However, the stove households and salt merchants in other places actively chose to cooperate, and their resistance to the reform was not that great.
This is related to the fact that the Lianghuai salt merchants were the most powerful in the past, and most of them were large salt merchants who had moved to Yangzhou from Shanxi and other places after the reform and opening up of China and France in the Hongzhi Dynasty.
Therefore, if these big salt merchants did not succeed in resisting the reform, salt merchants in other places would naturally be more afraid and would only cooperate more.
However, salt merchants in other places still suffered losses.
After all, what they lost was a huge domestic market.
And they have more or less hoarded salt, especially those who have nothing to do with the DPRK and China and do not know relevant important news.
In fact, it is not just the salt merchants who are suffering.
Many wealthy and middle-class families who grabbed a lot of salt suffered losses.
Because as the government put a large amount of the seized salt into the market, the price of salt began to continue to fall.
People who paid higher prices for salt before naturally suffered a loss.
Laidi said while dressing Liu Quexian that day:
"I have been doing business for so many years and this is the first time I have lost money. Master, please punish me!"
"It's not your fault!"
"The whole people were grabbing salt at that time. In order to crack down on the salt merchants, the imperial court announced in advance that they had stolen the salt from the two princes' palaces without knowing the purpose. They also sealed the news tightly and told everyone not to grab salt. Few people could stabilize their minds. .”
Liu Quexian smiled and comforted Laidi.
Then, Liu Quexian smiled again and said: "However, through this incident, you and I have to understand that if you want to make money, you have to follow His Majesty's footsteps, be loyal to the Emperor, and take the country at heart. Otherwise, if you don't say anything about the loss, you might These Yangzhou salt merchants are the best example. With their abilities, they should know that the court wants to reform the salt policy to benefit the people, but instead of cooperating, they insist on touching the dragon's beard. The result is , Your Majesty can’t even think of saving their lives, there are many powerful bureaucrats in the world waiting to carve them up!”
"So, this is the reason why you are not worried about the Steamship Manufacturing Bureau that you are in charge of. It has lost more than two million silver dollars for the research and development and manufacturing of steamships. Even though many officials have accused you of corruption and incompetence and embezzlement of national funds, you are not worried?"
Laidi asked with a smile at this time.
Liu Quexian also smiled and replied: "Of course! As long as your majesty says he is worth it, the losses here are nothing, and it doesn't matter if the censor impeaches him. All I have to do is to make huge losses due to the research and development of steamships. , just think of ways for Daming Central Commercial Bank to make more money in other areas."
After hearing this, Laidi said: "The fate of a country, as well as the fortune of a person, are all determined by the emperor's thoughts. We are lucky to be born into a saintly king and a benevolent master, so that we can be so rich now!"
"yes."
"The common people in the city can now eat cheap salt, and it is because they were born with such a saintly king and benevolent lord that they have such great fortune."
"No matter how confused future generations are, if they see the price of salt, they will not be able to discredit His Majesty today."
After Liu Quexian answered, he put on his official hat himself and left Laidi's room.
When Liu Quexian came to the market street, he saw that due to the sharp drop in salt prices, the number of people buying back cured meat had also significantly increased, and the facial swelling of many people had also been greatly reduced. People are more energetic than before.
Don't underestimate the impact that the imperial court will no longer use salt to benefit the people, and its impact on the entire nation.
You must know that salt, an essential nutrient for human beings, will affect the brain and muscle nerves, as well as digestion ability, etc. if the intake is insufficient. It is closely related to the improvement of a nation's intelligence and physical strength.
certainly.
This also makes ordinary civilians more daring to fight against officials and slaves.
There is no other reason.
In the past, if the common people did not consume enough salt, their physical strength and intelligence would be poor. But if the common people consume enough salt later, their physical strength and intelligence will naturally be much stronger.
Now that the price of salt has dropped, the people's salt intake has greatly increased. Naturally, they have become stronger and stronger, their intelligence has improved, and it is easier to understand various types of court propaganda.
In addition, the drop in salt prices has also greatly improved the domestic demand economy.
Discretionary consumer goods are starting to be purchased by more people.
Even the number of barbecue stalls suddenly increased.
"Roasted pork belly!"
“Grilled lamb kebabs!”
…
When Ye Xianggao went to Xiaoling with his retinue that day, he heard shouts from the nearby streets and smelled the aroma of barbecue. He swallowed his saliva and said to Jiao Hong:
"When I came to Nandu early last year, I didn't hear so many people shouting to buy barbecue. Now there are a lot more, and the smell is stronger."
"It's all because of Shengde that the price of salt is far less than the price of meat, so there are more and more barbecuers! It's not that no one wanted to do barbecue business in the past, but spreading salt is like spreading silver."
Jiao Hong replied with a smile.
Ye Xianggao nodded, and secretly thought that he would try it in the evening. By the way, he also imitated Su Dongpo and wrote an "Ode to the Taoist", which not only remembered the food, but also the peace and prosperity of the country and the people, and even eulogized the saints. When the time comes, if Jin Yiwei hears it, If it reaches His Majesty's ears, His Majesty may like it more than singing directly in front of the Emperor.
Not long after Ye Xianggao thought this way, he arrived at Xiaoling with his retinue.
Because this day was the Qingming Festival in the 24th year of Wanli, and the salt administration had been rectified, and many preparations for worshiping Xiaoling had been completed, Zhu Yijun decided to worship Xiaoling on this day.
Xiaoling is the mausoleum of Zhu Yuanzhang.
Zhu Yijun came to offer sacrifices to Xiaoling, which was different from other emperors offering sacrifices to Xiaoling.
The sacrifices he offered were all kinds of gifts given by the soldiers and civilians along the southern tour, such as salted meat and fish, chickens, ducks, geese, etc., and even a jar of ordinary pickles and the like.
The purpose was to let Zhu Yuanzhang see how popular the Ming Dynasty was under his rule and how wealthy the people under his rule were.
Then there are the heads of a group of salt merchants and forms with various economic data and martial ethics data.
Facing Zhu Yuanzhang's mausoleum, Zhu Yijun said to Zhu Yuanzhang: "I know that you, Taizu, are a pragmatic king who loves the people, so I have no intention of using some vulgar objects to offer sacrifices. Now I am offering gifts from all the people to me. Maybe this will make you feel more I’m so happy. If you are grateful for this, please bless me for the great Ming Dynasty and peace for all the people in the world!”
After Zhu Yijun said this, Zhu Yuanzhang bowed to him and said:
"I also present the heads of a bunch of profiteers to show my courage in overcoming obstacles. I also offer a price list. I hope you can see my contribution to protecting the people and the country!"
"Whether it is the price of grain, salt, or cloth, all the people in the world know what a prosperous age is. To encourage future generations, I have decided to erect a monument next to your mausoleum to commemorate this merit, so that future generations will come to worship you again. , if he fails to achieve this feat and brags that he is good at governing, please ask Taizu to shame him!"
After Zhu Yijun said this, he stood up and ordered: "Erect a monument!" (End of this chapter)
