New Shun 1730

This kind of nonsense in Europe was allowed in Dashun, and no one opposed it.

Because, since the "Salt and Iron Conference".

Private coinage, private salt industry, exemption from mercantilism, avoidance of government-run, abolition of consumption tax, etc., are themselves the political correctness in the mainstream books of Dashun.

It's just that most of the imperial examination graduates who entered the cabinet said so, but they didn't do it in practice.

It's one thing to say what people say but don't do what people do, and it's another thing not to say what people say and don't do what people do.

Moreover, Sang Hongyang was generally criticized, and the new school of Dashun naturally had no psychological barriers to talk about it. Moreover, regardless of whether it was "incapable" or not, the national tax of Dashun was really not much. As for incapability or unwillingness, how can these Europeans know?

In fact, this matter is very normal.

It has nothing to do with race, tradition, etc.

Historically, in the late Ming Dynasty, and of course in the early and middle Qing Dynasty, private salt dealers have always been tacitly allowed by the local authorities.

Many officials sympathized with private salt dealers, believing that private salt dealers benefited the country and the people, and were politically correct practitioners who opposed salt monopoly in the salt and iron theory.

From before Yuan Shizhen reformed the Gangyan Law until the complete collapse of the Qing Dynasty's salt administration, the idea that "private salt is not a crime" has been circulating among the people and has also been protected by some gentry officials in the local area. In addition to taking money and sharing money, this part of people who really "do it for their ideals" really can't be killed with one stick. There are really people who practice their cognition and ideals.

This is consistent with the current trend of thought in North America, Ireland, Scotland, England, etc. at this time that "smuggling is a crime without victims, and smuggling benefits the country and the people."

The difference is that the East can only manage salt, and has no ability to manage other things. Nearly one million students all agree with the political correctness of anti-Sang Hongyangism. Even if there are laws, they will not manage them out of their own justice and values.

In the west, everything from cloth to apples, wine, tobacco, and tea can be controlled. After all, even the shroud worn by the dead must be checked to see if it is made of domestic woolen cloth, and an invoice must be produced, otherwise a fine of 15 taels will be imposed and the burial will not be allowed.

To a certain extent, the Age of Exploration is the practice of the Salt and Iron Conference two thousand years later. Countries that can control what clothes the dead wear have left behind those countries that can't control anything except salt.

However, these macro-level problems may require Dashun to truly break the Navigation Act, and a large amount of goods will pour into Britain and North America before the unemployment frenzy in the textile industry in 1720 can be reproduced.

Now, William Pitt and the British government are facing more practical, realistic, and already in front of them.

William Pitt, who was suffering from gout, waited in pain for a visitor he didn't want to see at all.

His former political ally, a core member of the Patriot Party, his eldest brother-in-law, and George Grenville, whom he regarded as a traitor.

Although the rift between the two had already appeared on the issue of resignation, it was not easy to drive George Grenville away when he came.

George Grenville, one of the British prime ministers who went down in history for the Cider Act and the North American Stamp Act, did not directly appeal to his painful relative Pitt that he was not a betrayer, but talked about the two people's youth.

"Pitt, do you remember the first big victory we won when we followed my uncle and started to become the opposition?"

"At that time, you and I were still young. We opposed Walpole's Excise Bill. We also opposed Walpole's notorious taxation theory."

"He said: [Landed gentry are like pigs. Whenever someone lays hands on them, pigs will scream loudly. In contrast, merchants are like sheep, giving up their wool without complaint]. In fact, this is not true, because merchants are not sheep, and wool is not grown by merchants, but by every consumer. So, we hope that if we don't pluck the hair from anyone, the world will benefit."

"Do you remember why we opposed Walpole's Excise Bill when we were young?"

A few simple words brought Pitt back to the time when he was young and just entered politics. At that time, he was still young, and Grenville beside him was also young.

They gathered around Grenville's uncle, Field Marshal, Viscount Temple, the leader of the Whig opposition, and formed a rudimentary opposition group.

Because the participants were very young, people began to call them "patriotic dolls" and "little patriots."

More than 20 years have passed since this incident. Pitt took a deep breath, calmed his body tortured by gout, and answered Grenville's question.

"Yes, I remember."

"Exodus, 22, says: If a man meets a thief who breaks into his house, and he beats the thief so that he dies, he will not be guilty of bloodshed. But if the sun has risen, he will be guilty of bloodshed. If a thief is caught, he must make restitution. If he has nothing, he must be sold for what he has stolen."

"God's covenant has established our laws."

"For a man's house is his castle, and domus sua cuique est tutissimum refugium. Every man's house is his castle."

"We all believe that the most perfect era was the feudal era, when royal power was firmly bound."

"Everyone becomes a noble. A noble who owns his own castle. The king cannot enter his castle or fief without permission. When the king enters the castle or fief of the noble, or tries to strengthen the royal power, the nobles rebel against the king and kill him. Expel and welcome the new king."

"And Walpole's "Excise Act" allows the search warrant of smugglers' warehouses. I think the wind can enter, the rain can enter, but the king cannot enter. It is okay to collect taxes, but you cannot go to the smugglers' warehouses to check ”

"That time, we won a great victory, and our group of patriotic children gained great prestige for the first time."

This conception of freedom was the same as that which the French aristocracy opposed to the inventory of their fields. It is a kind of freedom derived from the freedom of the nobles in the feudal era. It is not the same thing as freedom in the philosophical sense of the Enlightenment.

Although they are similar, the core is different.

To put it simply, could Emperor Zhou go to the capital of Qi to inspect various problems in Qi? Can the King of Qi go to Lord Mengchang's fiefdom to inspect Lord Mengchang's land? Shang Yang relied on his fiefdom's private soldiers to resist.

This set of things under the feudal system is the same in the East and the West.

Derived from this, in the UK, it manifests itself in the problem of seizing smugglers, inspecting warehouses, and inspecting smuggling ships; in France, it manifests itself in the problem of inspecting fields and other issues.

After talking about this past incident, Grenville added: "Not long after, because of the Jenkins ear incident, we once again won a great victory."

"Accused of Walpole's cowardice and incompetence, for compromising with Spain, for not going into full-scale war, and for trying to quell the matter."

"And you gave the most famous speech: total war."

"You asked those cowardly cabinet members, why didn't they go to full-scale war? Why did Britain suffer such humiliation? Why did Britain, which had a fleet far superior to Spain, choose to give in?"

"But, have you ever thought that... war costs money?"

"A person who opposes the consumption tax, shouldn't he also oppose the war? You oppose the consumption tax, agricultural taxes, and the government's strengthening of power, but you fanatically support the war."

"You know what? Many people say that you represent the interests of smugglers, moonshiners, and lawbreakers."

"We were young and passionate at that time. But now, you and I understand why Walpole increased the excise tax and why the excise tax necessitated raids on warehouses."

"Because at that time, the land tax had been increased to 4 shillings per pound, a heavy tax of one-fifth, and agriculture could no longer support it."

"Because, you and I both know, it is impossible to detect smuggling at the port. Many ships can easily avoid inspection and unload cargo at night. But no one dares to touch their warehouses, because the warehouses are also their 'castles' part of it.”

"Pete, I didn't betray you. On the contrary, I think you betrayed Britain."

"It was you who supported the war the most enthusiastically. From the time of Jenkins' ears to this war against France and Spain, you were the most hardline war faction."

"You have earned a good reputation as a patriot, as a 'great commoner' and as a 'guardian of the common people'. However, you must know that the war against Spain was won by taxation; and more importantly, you should know that the current government A total of 150 million pounds of national debt is owed, and the annual interest is already higher than the existing taxes. And you have chosen to resign at this time. The bad reputation of raising taxes to pay off the debt in the future will all fall on the next government. ”

"You are still you. You are still the most ardent patriot, the true and only patriotic person who wants to fight the enemy to the end."

"You are still you. You are still the great commoner who stands on the standpoint of 'commoners' and opposes consumption tax, land tax, personal tax and anti-smuggling."

"But what should we do with the government's debt of 150 million pounds?"

"It's your policy of total war that has led to so much debt!"

"It was you who led the annual subsidy of 800,000 pounds to support Prussia!"

"Pete, tell me, you have gained immortal fame, but who will solve the actual problems of government operation?"

"In this current mess, no one who cares about feathers will try to dominate the cabinet. Because whoever is on stage will sign a treaty that is bound to fail miserably; and will be spurned by the British because he must repay The government's debt is £150 million and we don't have the Potosi silver mines, so we have to raise taxes."

"Now you say that I betrayed you by not resigning with you. So, tell me, who did you betray when you chose to resign at this time?"

"If you just threaten to resign, what is your policy? Keep fighting? Of course you have to keep fighting, but where does the money come from?"

“Everyone will have a hand in defending the Established Church and in defending the restoration of the Scots, whom the British people hate.”

"But go on and defend German-speaking Hanover? To defend the sugar plantations of the Leeward Islands, where the landowners have no chance of profiting?"

"It was you who fanatically demanded a total war during the Jenkins incident, which ultimately led to the East India Company's monopoly for another 20 years, because at that time the East India Company needed to buy national debt in exchange for its monopoly."

"You opposed the consumption tax, but supported the East India Company's monopoly for another 20 years. You opposed tax increases, but supported total war."

"I'm sorry, old friend, I have begun to question your leadership and judgment. Just like we questioned Walpole at the beginning."

"But now thinking about the result of the war with Spain, I think... Walpole's policy of peace, reducing national debt, cutting land taxes, and avoiding war as much as possible is correct."