Xinshun 1730

Chapter 970
Liu Yu basically didn't take these salt merchants seriously.

At least in Liu Yu's evaluation, these people are far worse than those sea merchants and pirates who went to Kokura Tsushima to smuggle.

On weekdays, Liu Yu's only positive comment on them is nothing more than:

Their existence, objectively, enabled the continuation of the abnormal cultural prosperity under the economy of the Jiangnan manor owners that was destroyed during the fall of the Ming Dynasty and the prosperity of Yangzhou.

The high profits and wealth supported a large number of elegant literati, enabling the inheritance of music, poetry, painting and other cultures that relied on the economy of large manor landlords in the past.They replaced the big landlords in the south of the Yangtze River in the late Ming Dynasty as the gold masters, and shaped various aesthetics that were deformed or positive.

But they also quickly degenerated. The basis of the aesthetics of the nobles is glory for nothing; the aesthetics of businessmen is the pride of starting from scratch;

At least for now, Yangzhou Prefecture's literary works, dramas, songs and dances, etc., have gradually lost the core of the story of a skill and self-made, and turned to the aristocratic elegance of getting something for nothing.

The aristocratic aesthetics of businessmen means that they have been solidified for a hundred years, and it also means that this kind of depravity makes them lose the last bit of value of existence.Aristocrats can be mass-produced, just blood, and even canonized, if you have to rely on this, isn't that reactionary?

Time to destroy the economic foundation of it all.

The kind that has recently become popular in Songjiang Prefecture [adventures at sea and mistakenly entered the Golden Island to get rich overnight]; [the stream of living and farming with the original accumulation of thrift and housekeeping]; [the genius speculative stream of capital earning interest and speculation]; [working hard today The steady development flow of buying looms, selling cloth tomorrow to earn interest, and making money the day after tomorrow to become a big factory owner]; The class leap on the face of the prospective father-in-law]; [In the new world, money is the most important thing.In the business world, there is no order of the old and the young, and the society is chaotic flow based on the amount of its property]; [Those who go to prison by mistake, learn technology, technology revenge, those who cater to the mentality of the middle class must have a skill as the foundation of their lives, and A skill has great utility] This cultural aesthetic replaces the "decaying" and "reactionary" aesthetics of nobles, gentry, and landlords created by the salt merchants and financial owners of Yangzhou Prefecture.

This bourgeois cultural revolution should start with the destruction of the economic base of the salt merchant group.

The big salt merchants in Yangzhou Prefecture never imagined that they had such a low evaluation in Liu Yu's heart, let alone that Liu Yu wanted to directly destroy their economic foundation.

It is even impossible to imagine what Liu Yu, who is wandering in Huaibei now, wants to do.

At least they would not have thought that Liu Yu was planning to uproot them, rather than just making trouble.

As the convener of this time, the main branch of the Zheng family in Yangzhou can only speak first.

"Now Duke Xingguo is in Huaibei. The Huaibei salt field has more industrial capital on our side. It stands to reason that our Zheng family should say this first."

"But before you say it, you need to understand."

"Huaibei and Huainan are like fur, lips and teeth, and nest eggs. The affairs of Huaibei are the affairs of our Zheng family, but they are not just the affairs of our Zheng family."

"What does Xing Guogong mean? What does the court mean? What does Your Majesty mean? You might as well talk about it today."

The Zheng family set the tone, and the major salt merchants present also agreed.Although they fight to the death on weekdays, if they really want to reform the salt administration, those who are general contractors will be the first to be targeted.

If the salt reform in Huaibei is successful, it will inevitably affect Huainan, and everyone will suffer.

But what does the imperial court mean?
The emperor had just toured the south not long ago, and the salt merchants contributed money, labor and people to receive them.

The emperor said that he wanted to build the Huaihe River, and the salt merchants immediately gave money, several million taels.

Even if it's the little gangsters on the street, there must be a rule, right?I gave you money today, it gave you enough face, and it also gave you enough pride, at least it is impossible to be ruthless, and then you will turn your face?

The merchants all thought that in all dynasties, except for the tyrannical and cruel Han Wu, they have never been so cruel to merchants, right?There is no such shameless emperor, right?

Once the general contractor system is abolished, no matter whether they are from Shaanxi, Shanxi, or Huizhou, everyone will be a grasshopper on the same rope, and it will all be over.

However, it is hard to say whether it will develop to that point.

The salt merchants have also seen a lot. Since the Ming Dynasty, people have been proposing to reform the salt policy, but which one has been changed?
Therefore, salt merchants uphold a principle: say, say whatever you want.

In fact, this is not only the principle of salt merchants, but also the principle of scholar-bureaucrats, gentry, and even the court at this time.

Because Confucianism has its own political correctness after the Confucian small-scale peasant economy has adapted to its specialization.Under this unique political correctness, all kinds of weird remarks are never lacking.

What is lacking has always been done, and what can be disgusting is still done.

It’s like the Great Confucianism of the Northern School, clamoring for radical land reform all day long. If you can get well, you can get well, but if you can’t, you can get even. They even want to implement a 30-year redemption system...

But that doesn't stop this person from being famous all over the world and becoming a guest of honor in various academies.

However, if someone really did this, they would die without a burial place, and they might all be crushed after death.

The political correctness of characteristic Confucianism forces everyone to accept discourse that they do not want to accept. However, this kind of political correctness goes against the foundation of society and is even reactionary.So they can only shout politically correct slogans while doing things that are completely opposite.

The same is true for the issue of salt administration.

Say?Too much to say.

From the Salt Ticket Law, the Sun Salt Law, the Salt Outline Law, the Salt Citation Law, the Contract Law, and the Official Management Law... these are all frequent visitors in the court. They say it today and tomorrow, but the key is whether to do it or not?

Salt merchants will not hate everyone who proposes reform of the salt administration unless the person actually does it.

The calls for reform and reform in the court are not limited to the reform of the salt administration. In fact, there are many opinions, but how many of them have actually been reformed?
Therefore, Liu Yu was sent by the emperor to Huaibei to "check by the way on the way back to Songjiang", what exactly does it mean?
Is it for real?

Or did the emperor actually want more money anyway?Feel that what you gave before is not enough, and you are embarrassed to ask for it again?

These salt merchants had a bad impression of Liu Yu, but Liu Yu did not get involved in the salt administration before.

They all have connections in the court. It is said that since Duke Xingguo entered the court a few years ago, he has changed his previous attitude of a proud young man, pretending to be dead every day in the court hall, basically not talking much, and not even participating in discussions.

But this does not mean that Liu Yu does not do things, on the contrary, Liu Yu's style of doing things makes these salt merchants feel very uncertain.

At that time, the Jiedu envoy of Jiangsu suggested to engage in sea transportation, but Liu Yu didn't say anything in the court.But this year, the water transportation was abandoned. Thinking about it now, is it because Jiangsu Jiedu envoy Shangshu Lichen is the most important factor?Or is Liu Yu's construction of the navy a major factor in winning Nanyang?
With such a incident as a basis, these salt merchants became a little more afraid of Liu Yu.According to some Confucian scholars, this means that a good fighter has no great achievements, and a good planner has no great name. Whether it is fighting a war or reforming, they are all striving for a natural result. This person rarely pursues the kind of victory with less Most of them use the weak to defeat the powerful to seek victory.

But they thought about it for a long time, and they didn't think that what Liu Yu had done so far had anything to do with the Yanzheng?
The relationship between water transportation and the navy, even if it is not a lice on the bald head, there are always some clues, and the connection can be seen.

How can these things Liu Yu do and what he has done so far be related to Yanzheng?
If you can't figure it out, if you don't understand it, you don't even understand what the emperor means.

Is it really necessary to change?Or is it to scare people by changing it, thinking that there are too many stories about the wolf coming, and this time they overwhelm the Xingguo Gong who is easier to scare people, so that the salt merchants will pay?

Seeing that everyone in the Zheng family didn't speak, they could only say: "I heard that Duke Xingguo visited the salt field in Huaibei. But he didn't check there for a long time, but went to the embankment of the Yellow River to see Ten days of the Yellow River."

"Duke Xingguo joked at the reception banquet before that we would have to eat 50 taels of silver for a bowl of fried rice, which made him, the son of Zhongming Dingshi, feel dumbfounded, and said that it was a story of imitating Lu Buwei when we made friends with officials..."

With these words, these salt merchants gradually tasted something.

The middle sentence that made the son of Zhongming Dingshi House click his tongue is all nonsense and no one believes it.Now the only merchant forces that can compete with the salt merchants, in the eyes of the salt merchants, are the maritime merchants in Songjiang Prefecture.Can the people who manage them be frightened by this extravagant meal?Besides, it's not like everyone doesn't know what life is like in the Duke's Mansion, how could it be possible.

But these words are connected together, no matter how you listen, it feels like they are asking for money.

In fact, the salt merchants were not angry.

Why did the emperor only ask the salt merchants for money when he wanted to build the Huaihe River during his southern tour?
How come those who are engaged in foreign trade business in Songjiang Prefecture can go to Nanyang to inspect plantations when the emperor is lucky in southern Jiangsu?
Why don't those sea merchants pay?

If it is said that whoever has the influence will pay the money, then it is considered that the Gaojiayan embankment of Hongze Lake has broken, and it can drown us salt merchants?

I have already given several million taels, is the emperor still not satisfied?

The judgment of the Zheng family is that Liu Yu is going to ask for money, and the judgment of the rest is roughly the same.

Someone asked: "Brother Zheng, is there any news over there? Or, everyone, what news do you have here? Now everyone, don't hide it, it's a grasshopper on a rope, you have to figure it out a charter."

The Zheng family shook their heads and said, "I don't have any news from here."

Another person said: "There is no news from the DPRK and China. Your Majesty has not asked about the reform of the salt administration since then. He just said something about going to Nanyang some time ago. Your Majesty still trusts Xing Guogong and believes that Xing Guogong's policy It is beneficial to the country. Others, it seems to be nothing."

"Oh, by the way, Sunan donated a sum of money before, saying that they hoped that a row of trees would be planted along the path along the path of immigrants from the Western Regions, and they donated some silver taels. But even if the Northwest uses troops, they have no chance to intervene. I don’t know why Xing Guogong encouraged them to donate the money to do these meaningless things.”

A group of salt merchants chattered away some things related to Yan Zheng and Liu Yu, and couldn't figure it out for a while.

"What about Songjiang Mansion?"

Someone asked the key point.

"Songjiang Mansion... is everything normal? They are busy with this year's sea trade goods, busy everywhere. I haven't heard what they are planning to do. We and those sea merchants do not interfere with each other, and do not affect each other. "

"They don't meddle with our salt, and we don't meddle with their Western or Eastern trade."

Someone also thought of something they had just heard.

"I heard that the imperial court is going to recruit a group of new students, saying that they will be assessed and selected. But they don't take up the vacancies in the imperial examinations, and they are only minor officials. I guess they will go to Nanyang or Jinghai? This is not a courtesy The government is in charge, but the selection of people from His Majesty's side. Every place where new schools are established has quotas. But it seems that it has nothing to do with us."

"The imperial court...the proposal of the salt reform was very noisy before, but it seems to be quiet these days. Except that the imperial court sent Xing Guogong to Huaibei, there seems to be nothing else."

Judging from the above situations, it seems that the emperor is more likely to ask for more money.

However, the situation is such a situation, things are not simple.

Today's key point, tomorrow's key point, endless, so it's okay?I gave it too happily, the emperor saw it, I'll go, okay, I just wanted to finish a few million taels, and I gave so much so happily, it seems that there is no bottom, can I continue to ask for it?

You can't give it too happily, but you can't give it away either.

If you don't give it, you won't give the emperor face.

It doesn't work if you give less.

If this is given two or three hundred thousand taels, the emperor may feel a little bit of a lump in his heart, thinking that this is a beggar.

How to give, how much to give, can be done just right, this requires careful study.

The big deal is that each family will exchange one exchange according to the number of salt quotations contracted by each family.

(End of this chapter)