Although Zhang Juzheng said it was difficult, he still put forward his opinion: "In the opinion of my ministers, the food and grass in the border towns have not been focused on repaying the middle for more than a hundred years. Although during the reign of Emperor Shizong, he temporarily restored Kaizhong and banned residual salt, he persisted for less than a year. Restoration view.”
"At this time, if all the old imports are used and the border reserves are settled by the method of opening up the country, the price of salt will have to be raised, so that long-distance transshipment can still be profitable for merchants. This move is contrary to the emperor's wish to significantly reduce the price of salt. . I think it is better to go one step further and use the method of nesting to solve the problem of official salt accumulation first."
Zhu Yijun nodded after hearing this and asked: "How to solve the border storage issue?"
Zhang Juzheng said: "In the early days of the People's Republic of China, the main food and grass reserves in the military villages were grain and grass in military villages, followed by civilian villages, merchant villages, and Kaizhong, and then local branches. The rewards from Beijing and silver were just the icing on the cake. Today, the army The laws of the villages and civilian villages were so bad that Shangtun and Kaizhong were unable to support them. Most of the border reserves were transferred to large households in the border provinces, and the people suffered greatly. The weight of the Beijing Bank in the border reserves increased year by year, or as Shu'an said, the imperial finance It’s dangerous.”
After a pause, he said with a stern look on his face: "The law of military and civilian settlements in the border town is very bad. The reason is simply that the powerful officials usurped and occupied the land. The powerful officials asked the government to convert the farmland into civilian land without authorization. Trapped in poverty, exploitation, poverty, and land abandonment, etc., although the difficulty is not small if we restore the early governance of the country, it is no greater than the resistance to fully restoring Kaizhong. I ask the emperor to make up his mind to clear the land and start from the beginning. Bian Zhen Shi!”
Seeing the solemn look on Zhu Yijun's face, Zhang Juzheng added vigorously: "Your Majesty, this is a rare opportunity! Firstly, the salt production will increase greatly, which may resolve the long-standing problems. The noble officers and powerful people are happy to see it; secondly, I have a mutual market. In 2017, there were no captives on the border, and it was a good opportunity to build a large army and garrison. Only three emperors could carry out the killing. The nobles and powerful men were trembling, and they dared not make a sound of sticks and horses! To divide the profits from the nest, a strategy of differentiation could be adopted - —This is just the right time!”
Zhu Yijun was overjoyed when he heard this, and said to Wang Guoguang and others: "Have you seen this? This is a mature gentleman who plans to build a country!" Wang Guangguang and others nodded like chickens pecking rice, and they all praised him. Zhang Juzheng stood up and thanked him.
Wang Guoguang followed the report and said: "Your Majesty, we are pursuing the policy of protecting our base. The hereditary merchants are worried about monopoly, and the price of salt is not controlled by the court - this is a drawback. In addition, the profit of salt is huge, which will inevitably cause disputes; since the salt works The number of salt production has doubled, so I think it is better to digest the old quota within ten years. After ten years, we will recruit new merchants and replace it with the new quota, so that we can stabilize the salt tax and control the price of salt."
Zhu Yijun nodded after hearing this and said to Zhang Juzheng: "The Prime Minister's Household Department in Shu'an is very organized. Although the compilation of "Accounting Records" has not been completed, I am still concerned about it. Wang Shangshu can be called the 'planning prime minister'!"
The bones in Wang Guangguang's body were two ounces lighter, his face turned red, and his breathing became heavy. I feel that being praised by the emperor is as satisfying as having sex in bed. Zhang Juzheng knew what Zhu Yijun said.
Zhu Yijun turned around and said: "However, if we implement the strategy of protecting our base, most of the salt profits will be owned by Gangshang, and I will not take them. I have thought of a 'permit' system, and everyone will take note of the details."
When Zhang Juzheng heard that the emperor had new laws, he pricked up his ears and listened. As a result, Zhu Yijun's first sentence exceeded the limit of their imagination: "I want to decentralize the contracting of salt fields all over the world!"
Zhang Juzheng was startled as if a firecracker had been set off in his ears. Because the emperor had not finished speaking, he listened patiently.
Zhu Yijun said: "Each salt department is still a management office, but its functions have changed. It is no longer in charge of salt production. It only issues licenses and licenses. The salt field is divided into small pieces, and the salt field is invited to be contracted. It can be a salt merchant forever. Without a license Those who produce salt must be treated carefully!"
"From now on, there will be no distinction between official salt and surplus salt. Salt merchants can produce and sell it at will. The salt tax will be included in the contract fee of the 'license', and the disadvantages of tax evasion on surplus salt will also be eliminated."
Zhang Juzheng did not settle the scores with the emperor at first, but only asked: "What's the matter with Ruzao Ding?"
Zhu Yijun said: "Nowadays, before the salt is dried, half of the farmers pay the salt tax. How much does the court gain? If all the salt is dried, half of it will be diverted away. It is better to hire the salt contractors themselves, leaving them unemployed." Everyone was given grain and cattle for farming and turned into farmers!"
After Zhang Juzheng heard this, he was so overwhelmed by Zhu Yijun's imagination that he didn't know what to say. Every corner of his mouth twitched, unable to speak.
Zhu Yijun continued: "Since the issuance of the 'license' is a hereditary and permanent business for salt merchants, they will definitely try their best to increase production in order to make profits. So it will be more than 150,000 kilograms per year? By then, the price of salt will be really cheap. It’s like dirt!”
"This is a 'license' for salt production, and there is also a 'license' for salt sales. The states and counties across the country are divided into different sales areas according to their distance from the salt field. Three sellers are selected in each area. The local yamen then issues a sales 'license', and the tax on salt sales is also included in the license. It can be used as local revenue and can be used by the local government. This type of license is not hereditary, and the local government can use it through auctions every few years. Law, the one with the highest price gets it.”
"The imperial court set up price-leveling warehouses in various places and set a maximum price limit for salt. It set up a salt inspection censor. When it was discovered that the price of salt fluctuated in a certain place and disrupted people's livelihood, the price-leveling warehouses would sell salt to stabilize the market price."
"In this way, the court's salt tax will not be lost, the local tax will be collected, the salt poverty will be relieved for the people, and all the salt profits will be returned to the government. How about this method?"
After Zhang Juzheng heard this, he thought about it several times in his mind. He felt more and more that the emperor's method was comprehensive and far superior to the basic method. If the emperor usually writes well or something like that, he will often flatter him. At this time, I didn’t say anything with my mouth, I just wrote the word “submit” in my heart.
Wang Guoguang, the general of the world, felt that this "licensing" method could not only be used in the salt industry. If tea, iron and other purposes for the national economy and people's livelihood were to use the licensing method, it would really be "the country can use it without adding taxes"!
Chen Zan, the left minister, asked: "Your Majesty, if we use the license method and the court no longer issues salt citations, what about the old citations?"
Wang Guoguang had thought everything through at this time, and without waiting for the emperor's reply, he replied: "The old silver can be converted into silver at the market price and included in the issuance of the salt farm license. In this way, the court can digest the old silver without spending a penny."
Zhu Yijun nodded and added: "Salt merchants pay taxes every year according to the certificate. This tax rate can be adjusted by the court - if the salt field suffers an unexpected disaster, the tax can be reduced or even exempted; if there is a bumper harvest year after year, the tax can be increased. It is used to regulate the national salt industry production. "
He continued: "After the salt farm license is issued, trading is allowed. If a salt merchant dies or changes business, his trading license is allowed. He can go to the Salt Department to transfer the account, and the government is not allowed to interfere."
Finally, he said: "I'm not worried about the sales license. The management of salt field licenses must be done by powerful people who occupy tidal flats indiscriminately, produce without licenses or exceed production quotas. In this way, the salt tax is lost again. The establishment of the Salt Department is for this purpose."
Zhang Juzheng said with a smile: "In this way, the court does not need to maintain many salt administration officers and soldiers. I estimate that most of them will be laid off, and the rest will be more than enough to take care of this matter! I wonder how much national money can be saved?" After speaking, he laughed again.
Guo Chaobin, the right minister, interrupted: "Your Majesty, can I get permission for this transportation and resale?"
Zhu Yijun said: "The establishment of customs clearance and additional levies are the main reasons for the high price of salt. The stamp tax law can be used. When the salt is produced from the salt field, a stamp is affixed to the package. If there is a stamp, no customs tax will be levied! The imperial court controlled the stamps , on the one hand, we can control the output of each field, on the other hand, the purchase of stamps for transshipment is regarded as a tax in the transportation process." Then he explained what stamps were, and all the ministers listened with admiration.
Zhu Yijun finally said: "The old man just said that the land should be measured from the border town first, and I agreed. But spread the word - if the Xungui family actively cooperates with the Qingzhang, it will have priority when the salt farm license is issued, and the common people can receive it. The effect of differentiation!”
