After being reminded by a certain villain, Chongzhen believed that the salt produced by the Lianghuai salt merchants accounted for half of the salt needed in the world. How much would it be for them to provide five million taels of silver every year?
Of course not much!
But has the total annual tax paid by Lianghuai salt merchants reached 5 million taels?
of course not!
It has not even reached this number in five years!
Is it because the output of the salt fields under the jurisdiction of the Lianghuai salt merchants is low?
of course not!
Are the Lianghuai salt merchants hoarding goods and reluctant to sell them?
Of course not!
A certain nunzi explained to Chongzhen that he would also provide one hundred catties of salt to the market. These one hundred catties were official salt, so he would have to pay a corresponding one hundred catty salt lesson.
There are fifty kilograms of official salt in the one hundred kilograms, so you can only pay half the tax.
The current situation is that for every one hundred kilograms of salt sold on the market, at least ninety kilograms are private salt!
In some places, the amount exceeds ninety-five kilograms!
Does private salt need to be taxed?
Obvious!
All fools know the result!
The greater the proportion of private salt, the more beneficial it is to salt merchants, because there is no need to pay the corresponding taxes.
It's nothing more than showing some respect to the river defense and local officials, and keeping the bulk in his pocket.
Otherwise, if the top thin horses in Yangzhou are sold for more than a thousand taels of silver, how come the buyers are still like crucian carp crossing the river?
Yangzhou Shouma sells to a wide range of customers, but there is no doubt that Lianghuai salt merchants are the manufacturer's largest target customer group.
The wealth of the salt merchants is known to all the world!
The same is true for the poverty of the imperial court!
On the way to Nandu, Chongzhen thought about how to collect taxes and how to deal with the Lianghuai salt merchants.
I just didn’t expect that after arriving in Nandu, the salt merchants would still be stubborn and even colluded with the gentry to yell at me!
It was naturally Chongzhen's intention to ask Song Ji to lead troops to Yangzhou. Huang Degong did not dare to act so rashly without getting the emperor's hint.
It was just a warning, and he symbolically took away the salt worth one million taels of silver and exchanged it for half a million taels of silver. He was not severely punished, otherwise he would be killed.
How much is five hundred thousand taels of silver?
It can be compared horizontally. For example, a certain traitor sent Shen Xun south to handle the "Shi Hui case"!
Shi Kui worked for Huai and Yang, the richest people in the world. During this period, he put all the money in the warehouses of the two places into his own pocket, and later took away nearly 300,000 taels of salt tax money. .
A certain prince didn't care about the life or death of Shi Hui. He always only recognized the money and not the people. The task assigned to Shen Xun was very simple and clear, that is, no matter whether he lived or died, he must get the money back!
He also gave Shen Xun the right to kill first and report later, and also equipped him with a large number of factory guards, with the purpose of recovering all the lost money.
As a capable fellow of Zuo Maodi, Shen Xun spent more than three months to dissatisfy the expectations of a certain prince, brought back as much as one million taels of silver, and escorted Shi Hui's family back to Beijing.
This includes Shi Hui's corruption and the life-saving money of the Lianghuai salt merchants. Anyone who dares not to hand over will be escorted to the capital to await trial.
The salt merchant is not stupid. After entering the prison of the factory guard and trying to get out, he will definitely spend more money. Then why not take care of Shen Xun, the God of Plague, locally and let him return home as soon as possible.
Counting the Song Dynasty's raid on Yangzhou this time, for the salt merchants, this was equivalent to being robbed by the imperial court twice in just six months!
With the large-scale launch of Haiyan, it is expected that the third disaster will happen early next year...
The salt merchants were already furious, but they had no soldiers or generals. Facing the wolf-like and tiger-like Yongwei camp, they could not bribe them, so they had no choice but to admit defeat.
So he could only secretly contact Donglin, Fushe, Jishe and other gangs, hoping to vindicate himself at the court meeting, and it would be better to vent his bad breath.
Unexpectedly, the Dog Emperor actually became smarter and couldn't stop choking. Donglin and Fushe suffered huge losses. The Dog Emperor had the upper hand for a while and was beaten to the point where they were unable to parry.
"Your Majesty, this method may exhaust the fish..."
Zheng Sanjun was not sympathetic to the plight of Dong Lin and other gangs, but he felt it was necessary to remind the emperor about how to collect taxes, so as not to make the same mistakes as during the Wanli period.
At that time, Emperor Wanli sent a large number of mine supervisors to various places, which caused great infamy, and the annual tax revenue only increased by hundreds of thousands of taels.
The man in front of me got a million taels in one fell swoop. Taking into account the deeds of the prince and former Fan Yongwei Ying Song Ji Department, what did the Lianghuai salt merchants think?
"Fish in the lake? My dear, I'm serious! I'll give Lianghuai Salt Merchants less money. For example, if they only evade three million taels of tax silver in one year, it will be as much as 150 million taels in fifty years! At an annual interest rate of three Calculating a million taels, the money I collected from him is not even half a year's interest! The Lianghuai salt merchants can spend a lot of time, indulge in extravagance, and be romantic, but they are unwilling to pay tax according to the amount! They don't even have the stipulation of 10% tax for 30%. I want to ask how greedy these salt merchants are. The salt merchants give benefits to those moths in the court, and these moths say in front of me that the court must increase taxes and pay farmers, which has nothing to do with merchants. Isn't this an extremely ridiculous move? Such officials are the scum of the Ming Dynasty by favoring merchants who evade taxes! In the future, regardless of rank, whoever dares to say a good word for those merchants who evade taxes will not blame me for falling out. Ruthless! Starting from next year, the total amount of tax paid by Lianghuai salt merchants must reach one million taels per quarter! If you fail to pay the money, you can be arrested and imprisoned! As long as the country of Ming Dynasty is still surnamed Zhu, and the emperor of Ming Dynasty is still me, such profiteers will It can’t change the world!”
Originally, Chongzhen agreed to pay two million taels of silver per year for the salt, but the factory guard came to report that the Lianghuai salt merchants had become active recently and were contacting Donglin and other gangs, hoping to use officials from these gangs to wait for opportunities at the court meeting. Get angry.
When Qian Shisheng and others saw this, the fire in Chongzhen's heart was immediately stoked.
These businessmen must know how serious the consequences of plotting against the emperor are!
Don’t you have money to bribe Dong Lin?
Now that Donglin is suppressed by me, I want you to spit out the money you have eaten!
Even if I don’t spit it out completely, I will spit it out until I am satisfied!
"...Your Majesty, I am not speaking for the salt merchants, but as a result, the salt workers in the salt fields under the jurisdiction of the salt merchants will not be able to keep their jobs. These salt workers are all shouldering the burden of supporting their families. If they lose their jobs, the family will... …Furthermore, once the Lianghuai salt merchants secretly obstruct it, the salt works will not be able to operate, which will inevitably lead to a surge in salt prices on the market, or a situation that will get out of control!"
The emperor's harsh words shocked Zheng Sanjun. Isn't this considered a waste of money?
Besides, behind the salt merchants are tens of thousands of salt workers, and behind the salt workers are more than 100,000 family members.
It is easy to deal with the salt merchants, but what should the families of the salt merchants do?
The imperial court can't adopt these family members as well, right?
How much of a burden is that?
Regardless of the salt workers and their families, once they start a quarrel, it will be so loud and serious that the resentment will boil over!
"My dear, don't worry too much. The prince has already told me about the relevant matters. If Huai salt cannot be put on the market, the prince can adjust the sea salt produced in Shandong to fill the gap. The price of sea salt is much lower than that of Huai salt. The prince said that sea salt contains... Iodine can treat big neck disease. In this way, wouldn't it benefit the people? As for those salt workers and their families, if they are unwilling to change their profession, I can send them to the Shandong Salt Fields under the jurisdiction of Beiting to continue working as salt workers for good wages. It is higher than that in Lianghuai. If you are willing to change your career, you can dig coal locally in the Lianghuai coal mine, or come to Ma'anshan to smelt iron. The wages are still higher than in the original salt field. The reason for this arrangement is to tell the salt merchants in Lianghuai, The people can live without Huai Salt, the court can live without Huai Salt, and I can live without it!"
The treacherous son had already prepared his back-up plan, so he was not afraid of the Lianghuai salt merchants causing trouble.
In the past, Chongzhen was deceived by the treacherous people around him and did not know what was going on. Now that he understands the outline of the Lianghuai salt merchants, it becomes much clearer and easier to start.
Both the Liu Han and Zhao and Song dynasties could rely on salt to collect a large amount of taxes and fees. Why did this road become unavailable in the Ming Dynasty?
Since there was no way to get through, Chongzhen planned to get through first and then leave!
"Your Majesty is wise, this arrangement is very appropriate, but the Lianghuai Salt Farm is closed down, and the tax will be taxed in the future..."
Zheng Sanjun expressed his approval and support for the emperor's arrangement, but if the money from the Lianghuai salt merchants was lost, where would the court find it?
Count on the coal mines in Lianghuai and the iron mines in Ma'anshan?
I am afraid that the income capacity of the salt farm will not be reached in a short period of time. Without other new inputs, there will be a big hole.
Just now we said one million taels per season, and now we have to use sea salt to replace Huai salt.
Zheng Sanjun didn't know whether the emperor wanted to beat the Lianghuai salt merchants half to death or bury them directly...
"In the past, the salt merchants were unjust, but now the court is unkind! And I don't want to completely eliminate Huaiyan salt, but to punish the salt merchants who evade taxes. If the salt merchants in the two Huaihe areas abide by the law in the future, they can naturally continue to operate as usual. . Even if the current salt merchants openly defy the imperial court, the future salt merchants may understand the truth. In the past, the Shanxi merchants who collaborated with the enemy and betrayed the country were all hunted down by the prince. Now a new batch of Shanxi merchants obey the orders of the Northern Court. This method also applies to the two countries. Huai salt merchant."
The Lianghuai salt merchants were still useful. Chongzhen did not want to kill them with a single blow. In the future, they could still pay taxes of two million taels of silver every year, which was not much less than the tea merchants.
Salt, tea, porcelain, and silk are the four pillar industries in Jiangnan. If each industry can pay taxes and fees of 150 to 2 million taels, plus other industries, it will be enough to support Beiting. Maintain the operation of Nanting.
It would be fine if there were problems in one or two industries. The current difficulty is that all industries do not want to pay taxes in full and regard paying taxes in full as their number one enemy, especially salt merchants. This forced Chongzhen to take drastic measures to rectify the problem. .
It’s okay if you don’t want to pay the full amount!
Then let the whole family die!
You can take the money and give it to the Lord of Hell!
If the Lord of Hell doesn’t accept money...
Then I'm sorry, the person will die and the money will stay!
Chongzhen didn't believe that all Lianghuai salt merchants were willing to die!
The traitor said that there are only a few people who regard wealth as their life. For most wealthy gentry, the richer they are, the more they value their lives.
Otherwise, where would there be so many kidnapping robbers?
Song Ji used practical actions to prove that this was indeed the case. The salt merchants did not dare to resist when faced with the soldiers of the Yongwei Camp.
The reason is that firstly, they all have the fatal flaw of tax evasion, and secondly, the activities of rogue bandits are extremely rampant in the western part of South Zhili.
Once the Yongwei camp is accused of secretly collaborating with bandits, it will be enough for the whole family to die ten times...
Song Ji has no evidence that the salt merchants collaborated with the enemy, but does the salt merchant have positive evidence of his own innocence?
Neither!
Since there are none, Song Ji can use trumped-up charges to punish all the salt merchants who are unwilling to pay money!
Want to reason out your grievances?
Come on, come on!
You first use your neck to reason with the steel knives in the hands of the officers and soldiers, and see if you can win!
If you lose, you will lose your head!
"..."
Zheng Sanjun was speechless. He didn't want to say anything good for the salt merchant. Now that the matter had come to this, he could only follow the emperor's instructions.
One million taels per season!
This amount would probably scare the Lianghuai salt merchants to death!
It would be nice to be scared to death, but if you are not scared to death, you will either run away or hand over the money honestly.
Is the emperor afraid of being infamy?
Of course I'm afraid!
Therefore, nine times out of ten, the prince will be blamed for this matter...
Scholars and rich gentry scolded the prince, but the prince was far away in the northern capital and could not hear them.
If we really form a team and go to Beidu to protest, I'm afraid the end result will be mining or guarding the border!
The prince will not tolerate these people. The Shanxi merchants have been slaughtered and the moths have been copied. Do they still need these things?
What the Lianghuai salt merchants did was so excessive, after all, it was the imperial court that got used to it.
He was allowed to collude with the local government and use private salt to replace official salt, which led to the current consequences.
Nanting had lost actual control over local taxation. The emperor had no choice but to send out troops if he wanted to receive sufficient taxes.
The army is not an official, it is not good at collecting taxes, and its methods and methods are not as gentle and gentle as the local government.
You can live by paying money!
If you don't pay, you will die!
This is how the military collects taxes!
Not convinced?
Go sue!
When the people who complained came back, there would be grass growing on the graves here!
Song Ji also slaughtered several stubborn salt merchants in Yangzhou. These ignorant people imagined that Donglin would redress their grievances, and even tried to fight against the Yongwei camp to the end.
When the huge head fell to the ground, the remaining salt merchants were all subdued. Some were not only subdued, but also sat on the ground and peed their pants...
When Shen Xun dared to deal with the salt merchants, the key was that a certain prince had already spoken in advance - killing the Lianghuai salt merchants was not illegal!
There are a small number of honest officials in the imperial court, but among the Lianghuai salt merchants, there is not one who pays taxes in full!
Therefore, there is no problem of killing by mistake!
It’s nothing more than who to kill first and who to kill later!
It’s okay to kill according to the order of the twelve zodiac signs, and it’s okay to kill according to the surnames of hundreds of families!
You can chop with an ax, shoot with an arrow, and smash with a mace!
If you have a cannon, you can also shoot targets!
On one hundred ways of death for Lianghuai salt merchants...
A certain prince never intended to make money from the poor. He would make money from whoever had money.
Now Chongzhen has also learned it. Since he has tasted the front part and is still in the excitement stage, he never tires of it!
In the past, when money was collected from the poor, the poor would rebel if they were forced to do so.
Now the rich are being forced to accept money from the rich...
Hong Chengchou's troops are located in the west of Nanzhili and can reach the north bank of the Yangtze River in three days at the fastest!
Chongzhen wanted to see which madman dared to rebel at the feet of the emperor!
His servants have not been trained. Even if there are 50,000 people, they cannot defeat Huang Degong's 5,000 elites!
"The prince set the tax standard in the northern capital as ten taxes and two, but the northern capital became increasingly prosperous. The revenue in Taicang, the Ministry of Household Affairs, was no less than 25 million taels. In the southern capital, the tax amount was only thirty taxes and one. No one responded. It is really This is extremely ridiculous! Since the merchants from the eight southern regions are so reckless and ignore me, I will raise the tax standard of the Southern Court to the same as that of the Northern Court. I want to see who dares to resist and disrespect the decree! My companion, I will draft the decree after I retire from the court. Send it to the General Affairs Department first and publish it in the Nandu Daily published tomorrow so that it can be announced to the world!"
You are getting more and more outrageous, don't blame me for getting more and more outrageous!
That traitor is good at innovating, but I am good at copying!
Not only do I want to raise tax standards, I also want you to spend money to buy newspapers to watch the court raise tax standards.
"Your Majesty, given the current situation, I am afraid that raising taxes will discourage merchants from all walks of life!"
The second assistant, Gao Hongtu, who had been silent until now, spoke up now, mainly because if the fuss continued like this, the emperor might even come up with some wild ideas.
The current situation is that you can't collect even 10% of the 30% tax. If you suddenly come up with 20% of the 10% tax, isn't this a joke to the merchants?
The imperial court's tax collection is such a child's play, can Taicang, the Ministry of Revenue, still receive tax money?
