The prince came up with a plan to drain the salary from the bottom of the cauldron. Chen Biqian was caught, and felt guilty, so he had to shirk his responsibility and report back: "Your Highness, I am not working in the Ministry of Household Affairs, and I have not been involved in salt affairs since I became an official, so I am not familiar with it. thing."
Chen Biqian realized that this was a trap set by the prince for himself, so it was better to distance himself from the relationship before the prince pursued the relevant responsibilities. But I was still complaining in my heart. I just had a chance to win, but why did I get this result in the blink of an eye?
Yaoji had no intention of letting go of this person who was actively seeking death, and asked step by step: "If that's the case, who does Chen Aiqing think is trying to steal something in our Ming Dynasty?"
Criminal gangs are that small group of interest groups. Anyone who dares to say good things for them has been bribed by them. There is no need to continue to breathe, because if your dog bites its owner, it will be turned into dog meat.
Chen Biqian understood that he had to pretend to be a grandson now. If he continued to argue, something would really happen. He had to think about his family, so he bent down and saluted, respectfully resigned and said: "I am not an official of the Metropolitan Procuratorate and the Ministry of Personnel. I hope His Highness will be aware of your identity!"
After trying to deal with the prince on the surface, Chen Biqian planned in his heart that this matter must be conveyed to Jiangnan as soon as possible, so that his colleagues should be prepared. If the miners sent by the prince were allowed to succeed, the consequences would be disastrous.
Yaoji affirmed meaningfully: "We need to be careful. Tens of millions of taxes are evaded in one year, and as much as 200 million taels in twenty years! The disappearance of such a huge sum of money is truly an anecdote for the ages!"
A certain uncle said it best: take what’s mine and give it back! Eat mine and spit it out!
"However, this matter has been going on for a long time, and the salt merchants have become inert. It is difficult to trace the case, and it is not easy to close the case. It requires long-term planning. Therefore, leveling the land in the northern and southern coastal areas of the Shandong Peninsula and using it as salt fields is a foolproof strategy. Today There is a severe drought in the north. Although the crops have failed, there are many victims. However, the coastal counties should also take advantage of the bright sunshine to turn disadvantages into advantages, so that the crisis can be turned into safety and the burden on the court can be reduced. I have calculated that one acre of land can last for one year It can produce more than 1,000 kilograms of salt. Even if it is rounded up, 10,000 acres can produce tens of millions of kilograms of sea salt every year. 10% is retained locally, and the remaining 90% is shipped to various places for discount. Excluding the salary of salt farmers, one acre of salt fields If farming is done carefully, the imperial court can earn only one tael of silver per kilogram of sea salt, and can also earn an income of 100 taels of silver a year. Ten thousand acres is one million taels, and one hundred thousand acres is a huge amount of ten million taels. If Shandong With the concerted efforts of officials from all over the country, this time the year after tomorrow, not only will there be no need for relief from the court, but the people will also be able to live a prosperous life."
Yaoji is estimated based on the output of salt fields in later generations. One acre of land can produce more than one ton of sea salt, which is more than two thousand kilograms.
One pound in the Ming Dynasty was 596.8 grams, which was 100 grams heavier than the market pound. The area of one mu of land is about 615 square meters, which is smaller than the modern 667 one mu.
However, if Yaoji directly cuts sea salt production in half, it should be able to close the gap between them. If it doesn't work, just cut it in half again. As long as it can feed the victims and not lose money, it doesn't matter whether the court makes money or not.
If this expectation is not met, either the officials at all levels below will do nothing and wait to die, waiting to be executed by the queen. Or it would rain every day, which would be better, and the drought would be solved.
When they heard that drying salt in the sea could actually make a fortune, the laymen and courtiers all showed great shock. Everyone tried their best to think of a way, but they couldn't find a way to get the best of both worlds. Unexpectedly, the prince As soon as he opened his mouth, half of the household's troubles were solved.
When Yan Jizu, the former governor of Shandong Province, was still calculating in everyone's minds how to make money from this salt-drying method, he immediately knelt on the ground and gave a flattery: "Your Highness's actions saved Wan Min from fire and water, and the guilty minister represents the millions of victims in Shandong. Thank you for the Holy Grace!”
If Haiyan really had such a huge income, it would be much easier for the governor of Shandong to do his job. Moreover, the salt fields are all located in the coastal areas and are relatively concentrated, making it easier to dispatch troops to monitor them.
However, Yan Jizu still has doubts about whether the prince will re-activate him. However, judging from the current situation, the emperor may not have the intention to kill him yet, and he may not be reinstated.
After hearing what the prince said, Li Daiwen, the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, thought about it carefully and felt that this method had a high probability of success, so he supported the prince's strategy. The Ministry of Revenue received half of the nobles' property, and only To solve the urgent need, we must find a stable source of income: "I report to His Highness the Crown Prince that this method is feasible. In this way, the imperial court only needs to provide relief to Shandong for one year, and then each place can be self-reliant, and there will be a large number of supplies at the end of the year." The remaining balance can be transported to Taicang, which can greatly alleviate the current dilemma of poverty!"
What moved Li Daiwen the most was that the prince said that the salary of the salt farmers would be cut off and the Ministry of Household Affairs would receive 90% of the income from sea salt.
Even with such huge benefits, Liu Zunxian, the stubborn Minister of Industry, still expressed his opposition: "I report to His Highness the Crown Prince that this method is extremely inappropriate. Reclaiming salt fields will inevitably occupy the people's fertile land. This is putting the cart before the horse. Drinking poison to quench thirst is bound to happen again." Falling into a situation of competing with the people for profit, it caused the people to complain, which was detrimental to the appearance of the holy dragon."
As long as the mantra of "competing with the people" is on the lips, any method that the emperor and the emperor's son plan to implement will be killed in the plan if it conflicts with the interests of a small group.
In response to this, Yao Ji smiled instead and asked: "May I ask how much fertile land Liu Aiqing has at home? Have you ever cultivated land before?"
Liu Zunxian was confused when asked, so he could only answer vaguely: "Your Highness, I do have some land, and I have been farming it at home during my free time. I don't know what your Highness's intention is..."
If asked about the specific number of fertile fields under his jurisdiction, he would be frightened again. I wonder if the prince was beating himself up with this.
"Haha, Liu Aiqing must have been promoted to Minister of the Ministry of Industry. He should know that there is no fertile land on the seaside, it is all saline-alkali land, right? Because seawater will erode coastal land from underground. After the seawater dries up, the salt will naturally remain in the soil, causing the land to be barren. , turned into inferior farmland, even Yu Min knows this, Liu Aiqing can't be unaware of it, right?"
Do you want to use this to antagonize me?
Dear, have tons of sea water entered your brain?
Liu Zunxian realized that he had made a huge mistake and hurriedly apologized: "I was negligent and my words were rude. I hope your highness will forgive me! If the farmland is converted into salt fields, it will still damage the people's foundation, or it may be suspected of occupation." !”
Since the previous statement was wrong, Liu Zunxian simply insisted that the prince's method harmed the interests of the people and let's see how he explains it.
Yao Ji directly denied what this idiot said and explained his plan: "No, no! This land acquisition is not the other land acquisition, it is renting land. The land ownership, that is, the land deed, still belongs to the people. The government-run salt fields are only leased. After the farmland is converted into salt fields, it will still be cultivated by the people. The official collects salt at five cents per catty, and there is no cap on the quantity purchased. The more the better. This method is not to compete with the people for profit, but to give them great benefits. ! Because one acre of salt field can produce thousands of kilograms of sea salt per year. If it is handed over to the government, the salt farmer can get fifty taels of silver. Isn't it much more than the income from farming? If a family has two acres of low-grade saline-alkali land, it can earn one hundred taels per year. Even if the silver is reduced by half, there are still fifty taels. Can't we still live and work in peace and contentment? There is no need to worry about the seedlings being destroyed by natural disasters. Nowadays, there is a severe drought in the north and the seawater evaporates more rapidly. Even if the salt farmers are sitting in their own salt fields Here, they are all making money! Salt farmers do not have to pay any taxes. The taxes and fees directly offset the rent of the salt fields requisitioned by the government, which is a mutually beneficial move. Liu Aiqing’s suspicion of competing for profits with the people is hard to justify, right?"
According to the current weather conditions, it would be good if it rains and snows for fifty days a year. From late spring to early winter, it is basically sunny. This place in Shandong is close to the sea. If you don't reach out to the sea for money, are you really waiting for the government to provide relief? Where can I get so much money to feed you?
Lin Yuji, the Minister of Rites, realized that there were still several loopholes in this move, so he went out to ask for answers to questions: "Your Highness, the Crown Prince, I am stupid and there are still three things I don't understand. I hope Your Highness will clarify!"
"It's okay for Lin Aiqing to speak out!" Anyone who says he is stupid is holding back his bad feelings.
After weighing it repeatedly, he felt that there was nothing wrong with it, so Lin Yuji expressed his doubts: "Your Highness, I think that if this method is followed, salt can be sun-dried all along the coast, and it can also be done in the south. I am the salt producer of the Ming Dynasty. A sudden increase in the amount of salt will inevitably cause the price of salt to fall, for one. The people who dominate the salt affairs of our country are the Lianghuai salt merchants. If the Shandong government-run salt farms can harvest a good harvest and sell them to various places, it will inevitably affect their business income. This will Two. If the supply of salt to various places increases sharply, the price of salt will inevitably be unstable, causing salt merchants to compete with each other, and the market will be chaotic and difficult to control. The third. These three are my concerns, and I hope that Your Highness will consider it as appropriate."
Yaoji nodded after listening, it seemed to make sense, at least he was not as messy as the previous one.
Seeing that what you said is reasonable, I will give you a simple explanation: "Lin Aiqing doesn't need to worry too much. I have already taken the things mentioned into consideration. The floods in the south and the north are the general trend. I am in The Immortal Realm has been informed by Grandpa Taizu. There are spring rains in the south of the Ming Dynasty, spring rains in the summer, autumn rains in the autumn, and storms throughout the year, but not in the north. It is not an exaggeration to say that the sky is blue for thousands of miles. As for the salt merchants in Lianghuai, When they harmed the interests of the court and evaded taxes on a large scale, did they ever think about the feelings of the court? Now that the court is promoting the policy of "relief through work", there is no need to care about their opinions. As for the price of salt, there is a proverb in the fairy world, that is 'Natural selection, survival of the fittest', market competition will inevitably lead to the elimination of inferior goods with defects. When government-controlled sea salt is launched on a large scale, the court will support a group of government-controlled salt merchants who specialize in sea salt. The market price is three coins per catty. , the official salt merchant sells it for two cents and five cents per catty, the quality is the same but the price is lower, this is a move to benefit the people!"
