"Fourteen thousand four hundred taels." Gao pragmatic thought silently for a moment, then said: "This is roughly estimated based on the price of white rice and flour, but I don't think there is any need to allocate cash. The corn and rice at Yuanmasi Temple in Liaodong last year were quite good. There is a surplus, which should have been sold and recorded this year. Now we might as well change our thinking and allocate food directly from Yuanma Temple.
Let's open it at 70%, 70% corn and 30% rice. At present, corn is much cheaper than flour, so it can be said that the quantity is large and the food is full. After replacing the corn, it can give more food to the workers.
In addition, as far as I know, in the past, those who served in the corvee labor force in Liaodong had to bring their own salt. This time, it was regarded as a reward from the emperor, and the salt must have come from the Liaonan Saltworks. I will handle this matter at the Salt Works, and the Ministry of Industry will not be responsible for the freight. Jinghua Trading Company will send it to Tieling and Kaiyuan. "
That’s all what I said before, it’s nothing more than pragmatism and careful calculation. But as soon as it was said that the salt was provided by the Liaonan Saltworks, everyone immediately praised it, and even Shi Xing had to agree.
Everyone is a sensible person. Gao Pragmatic said that it was "a reward from the emperor." However, in the Liaonan Salt Farm, the emperor only had a share of the shares and did not care about the operation at all. Although the emperor's reputation is now used as a pretext, in fact everything is produced by Gao Pragmatic himself.
Salt would appear to be worth little in later generations, but it is not cheap at this time. Of course, prices are determined by comparison, so you might as well compare.
There was a house deed in later generations, and it was written on it that in July of the 15th year of Wanli, a resident named Xu in Anhui bought a villa. The villa covered an area of five acres, with three buildings and 28 bungalows.
A villa like this would be worth tens of millions in Beijing or Shanghai in later generations, right? Even in Anhui, the price is still in the millions, right? But Mr. Xu only spent one hundred and sixty taels of silver.
How much is one hundred and sixty taels of silver worth? In the summer of the 15th year of Wanli, two taels of silver were paid for rice in the south of the Yangtze River. Converted according to grain prices, one tael of silver was equivalent to about 160 yuan in later generations. In other words, this one hundred and sixty taels of silver is less than 20,000 yuan of soft girl coins. At the time when Gao Pragmatic traveled through time, such a small amount of money would not be enough to buy a villa. Even an ordinary commercial house would not even be enough for a toilet. of.
The first conclusion drawn from this is that houses in Daming are very cheap, at least the houses outside the two capitals of Beijing and South are obviously very cheap.
Also in the fifteenth year of Wanli, also in Anhui, people had to spend three coins to buy a pound of salt. Calculated at sixteen yuan per silver coin, each kilogram of salt sold for forty-eight yuan, while iodized table salt in later generations only sold for an average of just over one yuan per kilogram.
From this we can draw the second conclusion: salt during the Wanli period was very expensive.
In fact, according to the food and goods records of the "History of the Ming Dynasty", the government purchased salt from "zao households" (farmers responsible for making salt), paying only one stone of rice for every four hundred kilograms.
In the Ming Dynasty, one stone of rice weighed about 190 kilograms. Calculated at one dollar and sixty cents per kilogram, one stone was equivalent to three hundred and four yuan. Officials can purchase 400 kilograms of salt for only 304 yuan, which means that the cost of producing a kilogram of salt for "zao households" will never exceed one yuan.
So the question is, how come the price of salt on the market has risen to 48 yuan per pound?
The problem lies in the circulation link. Suppose you are a boss during the Wanli period and want to get some salt to sell. Then you must first apply to the Salt Transportation Department for a salt license, which is a salt distribution license.
After receiving the salt with the salt lead, you must go to the batch inspection office for inspection, and then you must go to the designated place to sell the salt. After the salt is sold, the salt must be handed over to the local government office.
This whole process is not only troublesome, but also costs a lot of extra money. At this time, the official welfare benefits of government officials are generally low, and they are waiting to find subsidies from elsewhere. If you take the initiative to send it to your door, they will naturally You should be reminded by procrastinating and not doing anything until you take the initiative to put the wasted money into their pockets.
Many years ago, Gao Pragmatic once told Gao Gong that although salt merchants make a lot of money, a large part of their expenses are transferred to "other people", so they cannot just catch the salt merchants and criticize them. Of course, the salt merchants can be scolded, but more importantly, those in charge must think about what the problems are in the entire industry chain, otherwise it will be impossible to cure them.
Returning to the price of salt, although the production cost of salt is very low at this time, the costs attached to transportation and sales are very staggering. Those bosses who sell salt have suffered such a huge loss, how can they not keep the price of salt? Dozens of somersaults?
Some people may say, since the salt merchants set the price of salt very high, why not get rid of the salt merchants and go directly to the stove households? This is a good idea, but unfortunately it is completely unrealistic, because China has almost always implemented a salt monopoly system since Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. Except for salt merchants with licenses, others cannot buy salt from kitchen households, and the Ming Dynasty is certainly no exception.
If you ask why, perhaps Ming officials will explain to you: the salt bought from salt merchants is called commercial salt, and the salt bought from kitchen households is called small property salt. Only commercial salt is legal, while small property salt is illegal.
However, the situation is different now. As the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, Gao Pragmatic will be the final definer of legality as long as the emperor does not intervene. He said that if it is paid from the Liaonan Saltworks, then the destination of this batch of salt must be legal - but don't forget, after eliminating the intermediate links, the cost of this batch of salt is not high.
Why is power valuable? Gao Pragmatic’s operation is a vivid example.
The manpower problem of post-disaster reconstruction has been solved, but there are other problems that are difficult to solve. Shi Xing waited for everyone to calm down and then spoke again: "Mr. Ge is kind, but so many local houses have collapsed, and the Ministry of Industry does not have much wood inventory in Liaodong. I don't know where to get the materials needed for reconstruction?"
When Shi Xing said this, Gao Pangshi didn't reply, but he annoyed Zhao Yumin, who was the last among the four servants of the Ministry of Household Affairs. He said with an unhesitating expression: "This is in charge of the Ministry of Works. How can Da Sikong push it away with just one sentence?" Er Jing?”
Shi Xing knew that it was impossible for him to clear his name in front of the Real School, so he was very single. He immediately laughed and said: "If Mr. Zhao Situ says this, there is nothing to argue with in this department, but it's hard for a clever woman to do anything." Doesn't Mr. Zhao, Situ, not know the principle of making a meal without rice?
Since the Ministry of Works handed over financial rights, now even storing an extra piece of wood must be submitted to the Ministry of Household Affairs for approval. However, the Ministry of Household Affairs always seems to feel that the Ministry of Works has stored too much, which is not only a waste, but even deliberately profiting from it.
Therefore, over the years, the amount of wood and stone stored by the Ministry of Industry in various warehouses has been decreasing year by year. Judging from the materials currently stored by the Ministry of Works in Liaodong, I think that at most it will be enough to rebuild the city gates, government offices, warehouses, barracks, etc. "
Zhao Yumin snorted coldly and said, "Is it that difficult? Isn't it possible to burn bricks on the spot and cut wood nearby?"
"Shao Shao Situ Zhao was born as an official and doesn't seem to know much about building materials." Shi Xing smiled and said, "I wonder if Shao Shao Situ has ever heard of such a saying: 'Sophora wood rafters, elm wood beams, persimmon wood pillars and rammed earth. wall'?"
Zhao Yumin has never heard of this statement. His Zhao family was a famous family in Changzhi, Shanxi. His father, Zhao Xikui, was a Jinshi in the 14th year of Jiajing. He served successively as the magistrate of Anzhou under Zhili, Tongzhi of Dongchang Prefecture in Shandong, Qianshi of Sichuan and Yunnan, counselor of Guizhou, deputy envoy of Huguang, deputy envoy of Shaanxi, and right Chief Envoy, Henan Zuo Chief Envoy.
In other words, his father was already a second-rank official when he retired. Does it matter what the conditions of his family are? How is it possible to understand what materials are needed for private construction of houses?
Seeing Zhao Yumin's hesitation, Shi Xing said with a disdainful smile: "Sophora japonica means nostalgia, which means not forgetting our ancestors. Sophora japonica is also a 'ghost-covered tree', so we treat it as a tree." The use of rafters in building a house can use "house ghosts" to resist the invasion of "foreign ghosts", so it can stabilize the house. Therefore, when building a house, people like to use locust wood as rafters.
Elm wood has straight texture, clear patterns and good elasticity. More importantly, it is not easy to deform or crack, and it is resistant to moisture and corrosion. Even if the roof leaks, the elm beams will not rot in the short term. In addition, elm and "yu" are homophonic, which means "the family has surplus", so people like to use elm wood to make house beams.
Persimmon, also known as black persimmon, has been revered as a sacred tree since ancient times. It also has the function of attracting good luck and avoiding evil. The texture of this wood is hard and delicate, and the grains are zigzag and changeable. The dark brown wood grains include fine straight lines, curly cloud patterns, and landscape-like patterns. It can be said to be varied, so it can make the house more lively. Folks like to use persimmon wood as beams and columns. .
As for the rammed earth walls... Could it be that Zhao Shao Situ didn't know that brick houses are more expensive than earth houses, and that earth houses are quite effective in keeping warm in winter and cooling in summer. The people are tired, and it is incomparable to the fact that Zhao Shao Situ's house can be used to cool ice in summer and burn ground dragons in winter. "
Unexpectedly, he was ridiculed by Shi Xing without saying a word well. Zhao Yumin's face turned red but he didn't know how to refute. In fact, although his family's conditions are good, they can only "take ice in the summer", but "burn the ground dragon in winter" is not really possible.
Even though the cost of using this thing has been reduced due to the rapid increase in coal production in recent years, except for emperors, princes, and nobles, generally only people like Mr. Gao Ge, who don't know how much money they have, can afford to burn it.
However, Shi Xing hadn't finished speaking yet. He continued: "In addition, the wood for building this house is not just cut and used. All types of wood need to be dried in advance, and the time required for drying is also different. Some require In March, some take more than a year, and some even take longer.
If it is used in building a house if it cannot be dried, mold will grow and mushrooms will grow, or it will collapse after a few heavy rains and water will accumulate... Therefore, Zhao Shao Situ's saying of "burning bricks on the spot and cutting down wood nearby" is also true. It really doesn't work. "
Zhao Yumin blushed at what Shi Xing said and didn't know how to answer. Of course, there are people in the meeting who know how to build houses, and it is not impossible to come up with solutions, but no matter how you think about it, you can't get rid of the saying "It's hard for a clever woman to make a meal without rice." As long as the Ministry of Household Affairs refuses to approve the money, everything is in vain.
The problem now is that everyone knows that there is no place dedicated to storing a large amount of construction wood, because the wood also takes up a warehouse. If there is so much storage, does it cost nothing to store and inspect the warehouse?
In other words, the problem now is not only whether the Ministry of Revenue is willing to pay, but that Liaodong itself may not be able to get so much suitable wood at the moment. So, if these wood still have to be transported from within the pass, it would be really worth the price.
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We have been talking to each other for a long time, but there is no consensus on the outcome. Seeing that the matter was entangled in such details, Gao Pingshi couldn't help but patted the table and said: "Quiet!"
Everyone stopped talking and looked at the Ming God of Wealth.
Of course, being pragmatic can't change wood, but...he doesn't have to change, because he has it.
"There is a shipyard in Jinghua near the Liaonan Saltworks. It was originally built for the construction of inland ships in Liaodong. It is not large or small. There is a lot of wood stored there. Most of it should have been dried."
He sighed, waved his hand and said: "Although the Spring Festival has passed, it is still very cold in Liaodong. If we can't rebuild it early, I don't know how many people will freeze to death because we are helpless.
Just go to the shipyard for building materials. If the Liaodong shipyard doesn't have enough, I'll send someone to send some more from Shandong. What's the price? Let's calculate it based on 70% of the market price. "
After saying this, he naturally received a lot of praise, and even Gao Pragmatic felt that he was really a good person. For wood, 70% of the market price is basically the cost price, and since Gao Pragmatic agreed to be provided by Jinghua, based on experience, Jinghua will be responsible for the freight... That means making money at a loss.
Shi Xing is very satisfied with this result. Although he is completely incomparable to Gao Pragmatic in any aspect, since the two sides are definitely unable to compromise, it seems quite happy to disgust Gao Pragmatic through this incident.
After talking about the disaster in Liaodong, everyone naturally discussed the disaster in Zhejiang and South Zhili. Ice disasters in the south are naturally rare to everyone, but Gao Pragmatic doesn't think it's strange - during the Little Ice Age, the precipitation line moved southward, and the low temperature range also moved southward. What's so strange?
But the trouble now is not the two disasters that have been reported. What Gao pragmatism is more worried about is that South Zhili and other places in Zhejiang far away from the provincial capital have also been affected by disasters, but they have not had time to report them.
According to general experience, the disasters in other parts of these two provinces may not be as severe. So if there is a large-scale ice disaster, people in South Zhili and Zhejiang will inevitably suffer huge losses. Not only will it affect the economy of Jiangnan, but what is even more frightening is that a large number of disaster victims will appear in the hinterland of Jiangnan.
"I'm afraid the disaster in Jiangnan is not limited to just two places. Now everyone should take this into consideration when discussing disaster relief..."
Gao pragmatically said this, and everyone looked at him, but at this moment, a household secretary suddenly rushed outside. He rarely ignored the rules and called out at the door: "Mr. Ge, Urgent news from the palace: Wang An, the admiral of Dongchang, hanged himself!"
Wang An, the admiral of Dongchang, hanged himself?
When the news came, everyone in the meeting was in an uproar. The dignified Admiral of Dongchang, and the young Admiral of Dongchang, died so suddenly?
Gao Pragmatic is slightly different from others. His focus is on "hanging himself" - not an accident, not a suicide, and certainly not a gifted death. Wang An "hanged himself".
Gao pragmatic narrowed his eyes slightly.
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Thanks to book friend "Cao Mianzi" for your reward and support, thank you!
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ps: It's 7 o'clock in the morning, everyone should not be awake yet, so it seems that it is not too late for me to update at this time?
