After hearing these cruel words, Chongzhen couldn't help but have a new understanding of this traitor. This traitor was really extremely vicious when he dealt with merchants!
No wonder you can get millions of taels of silver from merchants in the capital. It turns out that this is how you do it!
However, despite being contemptuous, this is a way to rectify the unscrupulous businesses, otherwise those profiteers will be allowed to continue to do whatever they want.
For those profiteers who could evade taxes, Chongzhen was helpless before. He shouted at the top of his lungs for a long time, but the other party would not pay attention to him.
In special times, extraordinary means must be used to make this group of profiteers, who are cheating on the inside and outside the country, and have connections with the Eastern captives and barbarian enemies, understand how serious the consequences of betraying the imperial court will be.
For the salt merchants in Lianghuai, the maritime merchants in the southeast, the porcelain merchants in Jiangqian, and the silk merchants in Suzhou and Hangzhou, Chongzhen decided to dig out at least two million taels of silver from each of them.
The total amount is 8 million taels, and maybe some more can be dug out, which will reach a huge amount of 10 million taels, which is enough for the Nandu court to survive the first year safely.
The five million taels of silver given to this traitor will also be deducted from the daily taxes, but after deduction, there will probably be little left in the total, so punitive measures must be taken against those profiteers.
"For the Lianghuai salt merchants who are the richest in the world, my father can also rectify their industry and auction the business license for 500,000 taels of silver, valid for ten years. The reason is that the sea salt dried by my son in the mountain building will be It will be launched in the autumn, which will have an extremely positive and significant impact on the Daming Salt Industry. Especially in the northern region, the salt produced by Lianghuai will no longer be needed. All unscrupulous salt merchants who do not pay taxes in full will be rectified, and their sales will be cancelled. The business qualifications will never be restored. In severe cases, the family property will be confiscated and the family members will be given mountain houses to mine."
Dui Gan was disobedient, and when Shandong Haiyan was put on the market, he was squeezed to death. No matter how cheap Huai salt is, it is not as cheap as sea salt. Even the workers who dry the salt can be a disaster. How much does it cost to hire them?
To take a step back, even if a certain prince does not make money himself, he will first squeeze out the Huaiyan merchants. After monopolizing the market, he will have the final say on the price.
"...A maritime trade license only costs 50,000 taels of silver? Why does a salt merchant's license cost as much as 500,000 taels of silver?"
Chongzhen didn't know what the difference was between the maritime license and the salt merchant's license, why there was a ten-fold difference in amount, and what the villain's intentions were.
"Father, due to the large number of maritime merchants, exports are mostly scattered. The production and sales of salt merchants are highly concentrated, and the Lianghuai salt merchants account for 50% of the world's share. The 'Yangzhou thin horse' costs thousands of taels of silver per horse, so why pay for one horse? Hard to find? It’s because the salt merchants used the taxes originally paid to the court for their own consumption! It’s slightly different from the maritime merchants’ rectification method. The salt merchants are divided into five levels. The first level has the most power, and the license is 500,000. There are two silver coins per piece, one hundred thousand taels for the second class, fifty thousand taels for the third class, twenty thousand taels for the fourth class, and ten thousand taels for the fifth class. There are only ten first-class licenses, and the corresponding rights are Salt farms can be opened in Lianghuai and Huaihe salt can be sold in various places in the south. Second-class licenses and third-class licenses are cheaper and have no limit on quantity, but the corresponding powers are also greatly reduced, and salt farms can only be opened in designated areas. 2 The first-class salt merchants can sell Huai salt within the territory of a chief minister, the third-class salt merchants can only sell Huai salt in a prefecture, and the fourth-class and fifth-class salt merchants can only sell salt in the county and city. Then the emperor can let them Supervise each other and report to each other. If they are enemies in the same industry, they will definitely bite each other, and then the court will be able to reap the benefits."
It is easy to deal with the Lianghuai salt merchants, and the salt merchants have no soldiers. How can the servants with little combat effectiveness fight against the wolf-like tigers of the factory guards and government troops?
A certain prince could do whatever he wanted. Just by selling the license, the eighteen prefectures under the jurisdiction of Southern Zhili, plus the entire Chief Secretary, could pocket one million taels of silver.
If you break it down further, it is estimated that licenses worth hundreds of thousands of taels of silver can be sold. From now on, if you don't sell salt from the court, the court will not let you sell salt. It doesn't matter if the court doesn't know, colleagues will "buy" it for you when the time comes.
"...Can this move be considered a competition for profit with Min?"
After hearing this, Chongzhen was stunned for a moment. This traitor's method was really dark, but it was incredible. If he was allowed to rectify the Lianghuai salt merchants, I am afraid those salt merchants would understand the true meaning of the phrase "disaster is imminent".
As the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, what he was most concerned about was the crime of "competing with Min". Some ministers with ulterior motives below also used this trick repeatedly. Chongzhen was very excited about the salt merchant license worth millions of taels, but he also Cherish your feathers.
"Father, I think the traitor is not Min! If you pay taxes in full, you will be protected by the court, otherwise you will be attacked by the court. Not to mention that the Lianghuai River, which is usually beyond the reach of the court, is not even the capital at the feet of the emperor. A salt merchant can pay taxes in full. Among the salt merchants captured by factory guards, after interrogation, it was found that all of them had engaged in varying degrees of tax evasion. You can imagine how serious the situation in Lianghuai is. After my father moved to the southern capital, no matter which ministers blamed my father for the profiteers, they must have colluded with the profiteers. These days, if there is no benefit, who will say good things for the profiteers? My father asked the factory guards to confiscate his family property. Naturally, The truth will come to light. I have a list here, and my father can take a look at it."
A certain prince wrote a review sheet last night about the courtiers in the Jiangnan area. It listed the future fate of a bunch of Ming Dynasty courtiers and their personal strengths and weaknesses, all under the guise of Liu Bowen's military advisor's finger-picking calculations.
"..."
Chongzhen took it and took a look. He only scanned the summary of the first one and fell into endless contemplation.
The first one on the list is of course a certain prince’s wild uncle, Donglin Tangkui—Zhou Yanru!
This person was used by the dumper for the second time two years later. However, due to his obvious shortcomings, especially the manipulation of power and bullying, he was ordered to commit suicide four years later by the dumper. He is a typical example of "falling in love and killing each other".
The reason is that because Pigtail entered the pass, Jifu was captured, so he let the chief assistant lead the army to defend against the enemy. As a result, when he reached Tongzhou, he stopped because of cowardice. He drank and had fun every day, and sang triumphant songs to the superiors. It didn't take long. Then the incident happened...
After finally regaining his composure, Chongzhen continued to look down. His face turned dark. The second person in the second place was the famous official Qian!
A certain prince wrote very clearly that Qian Qianyi knelt down and surrendered to Prince Dodo of Donglu in Nandu in the 18th year of Chongzhen, and he was appointed as the Minister of Rites of Donglu. The reason for the surrender was that the water was too cold to enter!
Personal evaluation: Greedy for life and afraid of death, fearful of enemies like a tiger, follow the influence of others, deceive the world and steal reputation, want to be a loyal minister, but do not have the integrity and courage to be loyal and good, and ultimately his behavior is despised by the world.
This reason for surrendering to the enemy really made Chongzhen dumbfounded, so he doubtfully asked Nizi: "Did you make up the reason why Qian Qianyi surrendered?"
A certain prince respectfully reported back: "I am reporting this to my father, as the immortal military advisor Liu Bowen said. Although this person has surrendered to the enemy, he has some uses, and my father can make use of it!"
After hearing this, Chongzhen responded angrily: "Why should such a sinful minister be used?"
A certain prince came up with an idea: "After my father moves to Nandu, the number of officials from the capital must be limited, and he must use local people from Nandu. Donglin has a huge influence in Jiangnan and cannot be excluded. Instead of watching Donglin make trouble in the wild, it is better to He uses his leader Qian Qianyi to restrict Donglin Yehao. This person has always been in favor of others and desires power. As long as my father tries to win him over and uses him as a bait to join the cabinet, he will definitely take the bait."
Chongzhen thought about it and realized that what the traitor said was not unreasonable. Donglin was the one he had been guarding against for many years. Back then, he and his eunuch had to fight to the death. Zhou Yanru’s first entry into the cabinet did not play its due role. Chongzhen had This is also quite disappointing.
Unexpectedly, a few years later, he would order the death of Zhou Yanru. If this matter had evolved in the immortal world, it would most likely be true. It can only be said that the world is full of changes and fate has its way with people.
"Join the cabinet?"
"Exactly!"
"If this person is allowed to enter the cabinet, how can there be peace in the Southern Capital?"
Chongzhen didn't expect that this rebellious son actually wanted Qian Qianyi to join the cabinet. If such a person became the cabinet minister, wouldn't the Nandu court be overthrown by Dong Lin? It's too late to defend, but you still want Dong Lin to join the cabinet?
"Father, please see how your ministers use Xue Guoguan, and how you use money to be humble. The cabinet is dominated by the first assistant, the second assistant is the assistant, and the other cabinet elders are the wings. No matter the first assistant or the second assistant, there must be one person who is shrewd. He is capable and can handle errands for the Holy One. The other person does not have to do this. He only needs to do one thing well, that is, he has a responsibility and must take the initiative to take responsibility for the Holy One. Whenever something goes wrong, his father will let Qian Qianyi take over it. That’s it.”
Allowing Qian Qianyi to join the cabinet means letting him take the blame for this second-rate emperor. Otherwise, after arriving in Nandu, the blame-shifting father would have to issue one or even several copies of the "Edict on Sin".
"...I will naturally take over my responsibilities, no one else needs to be responsible!"
Chongzhen was a little embarrassed by what he said, thinking that the traitor was teasing him, so he responded confidently, saying that he could no longer let the traitor look down on him.
"Father, in this important matter, if the people were massacred by the Donglu, you will naturally bear the responsibility. If profiteers evade taxes, it is because the local officials deliberately condone and cover it up. What does this responsibility have to do with you?"
It is estimated that the side effects of the previous confrontation were a bit serious and have not been eliminated now, so the blame dumper would answer like this. A certain prince explained to him, lest this guy would take everything on him after arriving in Nandu. Then That's bad food.
"...And this Qian Qianyi?"
Chongzhen was still hesitant about appointing Qian Qianyi. He had to appoint a second minister who had rebelled against the country and surrendered to the enemy, and letting him join the cabinet was psychologically extremely awkward.
"Father, Zhou Yanru is determined not to be used this time, and he will be punished severely. But if you want to show the emperor's grace and punishment to Donglin, there must be a reward. This is the case for Qian Qianyi. Father Now that he knows this person's weaknesses very well, with just a few pointers, Qian Qianyi will become respectful and obedient to his father. It may not be possible to control Dong Lin directly, but it will be a success if Dong Lin doesn't cause trouble."
The purpose of wooing Qian Qianyi is not to deal with him personally, but to suppress the entire Donglin. Otherwise, with the ability to dump the blame, he would never be able to defeat this behemoth, let alone go directly to the opponent's lair.
Donglin is located in a corner of the south of the Yangtze River. There are as many as a thousand named members. Counting peripheral members, it is estimated to be tens of thousands. Even many gentry are affiliated with Donglin in order to gain a good reputation. .
Fushe and Jishe are just derivatives of Donglin. Back then, Zhang Pu was able to control the wind and rain because the financial backers behind him were willing to contribute. Otherwise, how could a scholar spend so much money on it?
If the scapegoat wants to deal with a group of "anti-zao societies" in Donglin and the surrounding areas, he must first find an agent who is willing to follow the trend. There is no doubt that Qian Qianyi is the most suitable candidate.
Only those who are greedy for life and afraid of death don't want to die the most. By seizing this fatal handle, the blame dumper can firmly control Qian Qianyi. As long as Qian Qianyi is obedient, he can get most of what he wants.
"...Hmm! If that's the case, why use Qu Shichun? I have heard a little about this person, so I worship Qian Qianyi as my teacher. Teachers and students join the cabinet together, and they are all Donglin. Isn't it a good thing?"
Chongzhen could consider using Qian Qianyi as his rebellious son, but he was very skeptical about using Qu Shichu as his first assistant. After all, Qian Qianyi's personal ability and influence were visible, but Qu Shichu was different. Very far.
"Father, Military Advisor Liu said that this man is quite talented, has strong planning and planning skills, and is good at calming people's hearts. He has led the army several times to resist the Eastern invaders from going south. Although Qu Shishu came from Donglin, he focused on the court, was loyal to the emperor and patriotic, and was favored by Donglin. He was a prisoner and died heroically."
It can be said that Nan Ming was able to survive for several years. In addition to Li Dingguo's skillful command and his two victories, he had to count Qu Shichun who ignored the past and tolerated the rebels. Otherwise, Nan Ming would have been pigeon-holed long ago just because of He Tengjiao, a selfish waste. Eliminated.
Among those who are qualified to join the cabinet, Qu Shiqi's ability is considered outstanding, and he has the innate conditions to be the first assistant. And Yuan Jixian still knows the military well. It may not be possible to let him lead the troops to fight in person, but it is okay to give advice to the blame-dumping father.
Qian Qianyi's later reputation was not good, so he could only use his current prestige to appease Donglin. Especially during the period when the dumper had just moved to Nandu, winning people's hearts was indispensable.
As long as Donglin can't cause trouble, the profiteers will lose their biggest backer. Facing the factory guards, they have no chance of winning, so they can only hand over the money obediently, otherwise they will "keep the money but not their lives"!
Others who are qualified to join the cabinet include Gao Hongtu, Wan Yuanji, Jiang Yueguang, Chen Liangmo and others. Ma Shiying is a spare tire. Use it if you are obedient. If you are disobedient, you can take the blame after using it and then execute him.
"Could it be that...my Ming Dynasty is really...dead???"
Chongzhen heard about the bad future from Nizi, couldn't restrain his curiosity, and asked directly. After these words came out of his mouth, even he felt very incredible.
Previously in the main hall, the emperor wanted to kill the crown prince, and the crown prince wanted to curse the emperor. Those words could only be regarded as angry words from both sides, but they did not count. Now that they are calm, they can discuss the real future.
"The capital city was captured by rogue bandits five years later, the southern capital was captured by Donglu after six years, and the entire territory of the Ming Dynasty was occupied by Donglu after twenty years!"
Seeing that the second-rate emperor's demeanor was quite gentle, a certain prince briefly talked about the subsequent process. Talking more would irritate the other party's sensitive nerves.
"...Is this...serious?"
Chongzhen was determined not to believe that he was the king who had subjugated his country, so he specifically asked about it.
"Absolutely true!"
You are the famous emperor, and the crooked neck tree on the mountain is prepared for you, but it seems that it is no longer needed now.
