Rebirth of the Ming Dynasty: Sixth Generation of Glory, I don't want it

"Look below, it's even more daring."

Zhu Di wanted to laugh even more than Zhu Gaochi.

He usually behaves so fiercely, just thinking that the people below him will know how to behave themselves.

But it turned out that the people below were even more vicious than him, and were extremely cruel and vicious.

"Well, okay, I'll keep watching."

Zhu Gaochi simply responded and continued to read the Dali Temple's analysis of the matter.

The country cannot lack salt for a day, and the people cannot live without salt for a day.

Therefore, the salt industry has always been an industry controlled by the imperial court.

This is fundamentally correct.

Even the most ignorant person knows the importance of salt. It must be government-run and private operation is absolutely not allowed.

During the Hongwu Dynasty, in order to ensure control over salt, salt was exchanged on a household basis. Every registered household had to bring their household registration and exchange a certain amount of grain for a certain amount of salt according to the number of people in the household.

During the Yongle reign, due to frequent famines and bad harvests, many places had difficulty harvesting grain.

The imperial court then introduced a more flexible salt exchange method.

For example, using treasure notes and silver.

Salt producers were also given more protection than during the Hongwu period.

For example, the tools and capital for boiling salt were provided, and the cooks were exempted from most of the taxes and duties and could focus only on salt production.

Because of the adequate support provided in the early stages, the stove owners can usually produce more salt than the quota.

So there are two kinds of salt in the hands of the cook.

The part of salt that is handed over to the government monopoly is called "regular salt".

The extra salt that does not need to be handed in is called "surplus salt".

The "regular salt" was definitely taken away by the imperial court, and the salt merchants had no right to sell the "surplus salt" at will. They could only follow the imperial court's regulations and provide it to salt merchants under specific circumstances.

The ancestors of Wang Sheng in the case made their fortune by delivering grain and fodder thousands of miles to the border in exchange for salt permits, which were the qualifications to buy and sell this "surplus salt".

In other words, the Wang family was originally a salt merchant, and they could buy and sell official salt openly.

But why are such families forced to engage in smuggling salt?

In addition to the Wang family, are there other salt merchants who are also engaged in reselling private salt?

After Wang Sheng was arrested.

The Dali Temple Minister went to the prison and conducted a very serious interrogation.

The answer given by Wang Sheng made the Dali Temple Minister have to report to the emperor.

Apart from the unsolvable problem of insufficient salt production, the biggest external factor was that there were too many people competing with the salt merchants for profits.

Originally it was stipulated that officials of the fourth rank and above, as well as the families of nobles such as kings, dukes, and earls, were not allowed to receive salt permits.

But in fact, the officials and nobles in the inland areas have hundreds of ways to obtain salt permits.

Even after obtaining the salt permits, they did not run the business properly, but just sold them at high prices.

As a result, the number of people who could buy salt permits increased day by day. For them, if they added a little profit, they could make money for every pound of salt they sold.

The serious salt merchants who went to the border areas worked hard to trade grain, plus the transportation, labor, and disposal costs. Once the price of salt dropped, it was almost like their trip was in vain.

By the middle and late Hongwu period, the so-called salt merchants in the interior were becoming increasingly rich, while those in the periphery were becoming increasingly poor.

They will accept it if they can maintain it, no matter how much they get.

But in reality, the few salt permits they had were useless.

They bought food from their surrounding areas and transported it to the border in exchange for salt permits. Then they would go to designated salt-producing areas, collect the actual salt according to their years of experience and the order of the salt permit numbers, and then sell it back to the places where they were allowed to sell it.

There are several places to go here.

Therefore, each salt merchant either worked alone, or it was a family business, or a group of people worked together in partnership.

Only then can there be enough people guarding every place.

Everyone depended on the money from selling the salt to live and to buy grain in exchange for salt.

But the reality is that they have sold all the salt they had, bought grain to transport to the border, and then got salt permits to the salt producing areas again, but it is not yet their turn to use the previous salt permits to exchange salt.

People had to queue up for the so-called years of seniority and salt permit numbers, but were cut in line countless times by rich people or people with connections.

You can't compare in terms of relationships, and you can't compare in terms of money.

All you can do is wait patiently until the end of time.

Originally, Wang Sheng was one of those people who could only wait until the end of time.

So Wang Sheng went to visit the cook who had been running the Wang family for so many years and was quite familiar with him.

In the early years of the Hongwu reign, officials used rice and wheat to purchase "surplus salt", and then resold it to salt merchants who held salt permits - few salt merchants dared to take the risk of providing private salt.

By the middle and late Hongwu period, the court's finances were tight, rice and wheat stores were insufficient, the paper money had depreciated, and the tax exemption enjoyed by the stove households was in name only. In order to fill the national treasury, the officials allowed the stove households to pay silver in lieu of salt, that is, they only collected silver and did not require the actual salt to be stored in the warehouse.

The "regular salt" and "surplus salt" in the hands of the stove owners need someone to buy them with cash before they can pay silver in lieu of salt.

People like Wang Sheng are simply saviors sent from the sky for the kitchen owners.

Both the "regular salt" and the "surplus salt" were privately bought with silver by Wang Sheng and his ilk.

Those salt merchants on the market who had no background like Wang Sheng had no chance of getting the salt that could be exchanged for salt permits.

Over time.

Most of the salt merchants could only go along with the corrupt officials.

Everyone was dealing in private salt under the name of official salt.

From the end of the Hongwu period to the present time, even the officials who are supposed to arrest illegal salt dealers have become thoroughly corrupt.

This has formed a very strong network of mutually protective relationships.

This is why Wang Sheng’s case of smuggling salt turned into Meng Bin’s murder case.

Even the salt-makers who specialized in making salt would occasionally leak the information they received to the salt merchants in order to ensure the long-term business.

For example, when Wang Sheng was carrying salt back this time, an old lady from a stove household reminded him to be careful on his way back.

It is said that someone was transporting salt back home. He was caught by the chief inspector of salt in a certain place. The imperial court may be strict in recent days.

It is also said that this person, who brought back salt permits when transporting grain to the border in the early years of the Yongle reign, has not yet exchanged them for a single grain of salt, twelve years later.

Wang Sheng listened carefully and made arrangements.

For example, Zhang Wang, who knocked someone into the water, also had an official identity as a salt patrol soldier.

"My uncle is a thief and my nephew is a soldier. How ironic! The salt permits from the early years of Yongle have not been received yet. Our imperial court is really great!"

Zhu Gaochi couldn't help but sneer.

"Are you scolding yourself, Prince?"

Zhu Di also sneered.

"No, the prince is not the emperor. No one in the world would ever think of scolding the prince."

Zhu Gaochi raised his eyebrows and looked at Zhu Di.

"You little bastard, are you blaming your father?"

Zhu Di picked up the teacup and wanted to smash it.

"Oh wow! I was wrong, Dad! The teapot and teacup are a complete set. If you break one, you'll have to put the whole set away. Be careful or Mom will say you're a spendthrift!"

Zhu Gaochi took a quick step forward and supported Zhu Di's arm.

"You're so tired!"

Zhu Di looked at his fat son, who was breathing heavily when he moved, with displeasure, and put down the teacup again in hatred.

"Just deal with problems if they arise. If you don't have any worries every day, being an emperor would be a great pleasure."

Zhu Gaochi gave a conscientious explanation.

"They did say the solution is to expand the salt fields and increase salt production. But how do we expand and increase it?"

Zhu Di curled his lips.

Now the court officials submit memorials just as Zhang Xin said, indeed, they raise questions and give answers.

The problem is that this answer does not provide any solution to the problem.

"Let me think about it."

Zhu Gaochi sat down and wiped his face before he began to think seriously.