Xinshun 1730

Chapter 977 Suspicion Chain
Hearing the words, the lobbyist pretended to be surprised and said: "What kind of man is the Duke of the country, does he also believe such words?"

"The former dynasty still had five years to flatten the Liao Dynasty, but what is the reality? How can they ensure that the Yan government will be as they thought, and that as long as they reform, they can benefit hundreds of thousands?"

Liu Yu glanced at the lobbyist with a half-smile, stared at the lobbyist for a moment, and said slowly, "You mean, definitely not?"

The lobbyist hurriedly said: "The words of Mr. Hui are still the same as what he said just now. If you can do it, you can't do it. The villain dares to try to speak for Mr. Xing. If there is no reason, the villain will leave here and stop talking about it."

Seeing this, Liu Yu thought that it was his own attitude that made these people suspicious and misunderstood. Otherwise, they should understand the most basic truth: reasoning about many things is useless.

But now that the other party has fallen into the trap, Liu Yu still pretended to take the money, knowing that these remarks were all nonsense such as "increasing salary and firewood tax for Sichuan salt" and "banning the law of drying salt in Fujian and Guangdong". It needs to be given a chance.

"Guogong Mingjian, whether this is OK or not, we have to look at it separately."

"Huaibei, okay."

"Huainan, no."

"But I'm afraid that people in the world will think that if we go to Huaibei, we will definitely transfer this government to Huainan."

"However, the ancients said: oranges grown in Huainan are tangerines, and oranges grown in Huaibei are oranges. The same is true for oranges, and the same is true for salt administration. How can it be concluded that Huainan will definitely work if the method is feasible in Huaibei? "

"Secondly, there are a lot of fools in the world. Most of them think that Huaibei can do it, so Huainan must do it. However, the salt in Huaibei is only 35 yuan; Chaos."

"In the past, Wang Jinggong thought that Yanshan and other places had practiced the green seedling method, and the effect was remarkable, so he used this as a theory, thinking that the whole country could do it. But what is the result?"

"Furthermore, at the beginning of the founding of this dynasty, Emperor Taizong instructed him to immigrate to Liaodong, where he lived in a bitterly cold place to eat a variety of corn and other crops. He thought that the crops were not harsh on the land, and the straw could be used as firewood to feed cattle, which was excellent. However, , the ear sticks produced are only three inches long; the ears are immature, and the frost will come. Even many people on the frontier boil the seeds to make the frost that will never yield, and seek to return home.”

"It's all the same reason. If you can do it here, how can you know you will do it there? However, such a reason, even if people like Emperor Taizong and Wang Jinggong are not free from misjudgments, how can ordinary people do it?" Do you understand this truth?"

"My words and deeds mean that if Huaibei implements the New Deal, it will definitely work."

"However, Huaibei and Huainan are different, with different jurisdictions and different road traffic. Huaibei can do it, but Huainan may not."

"Once Huaibei goes, the people of the world will think that Huainan must be done. This is what we need to beware of. That's why I say, it's okay or not."

"There are too many fools in the world, and it's hard to guard against Youyou's mouth. When Huaibei is really done, how can those people understand the difference between Huaibei and Huainan?"

"Simply, going to Huaibei will not work, this is the best choice."

According to a normal lobbyist discussion, at this time Liu Yu should ask, "Why can't Huainan work?"

But Liu Yu didn't ask why Huainan couldn't do it, but instead asked, "As you said, you also think Huaibei is feasible?"

This lobbyist knew before he came that this matter is something that a fool can see and must do. If he insists on this matter and insists on talking about it, then there is really no need to talk about it.

He immediately nodded solemnly, indicating that it was true. He also felt that Huaibei's reform must be successful, and then gave his own reasons.

And this reason is very interesting.

Since the purpose of the Dashun Salt Reform is to crack down on private salt, everything must revolve around this issue.

The Salt Reform Party believes that the reason why the official salt cannot be sold is that these general contractors eat too much, so the official salt is too expensive.Therefore, the focus of the reform should be on these general contractors.

Lobbyists believe that the reason why official salt cannot be sold is because there is too much private salt.Because official salt is taxed, private salt is cheaper than official salt no matter what.

The main reason why the official salt in the Huaibei area cannot be sold is not because the general contractor eats too much.

But because of water transport.

The salt from the Changlu Salt Field entered the both sides of the canal continuously through the channel of water transportation, seriously invading the Huaibei Salt Area.That's why Huaibei's official salt is not easy to sell, and the data looks very ugly.

To sum it up.

That is to say, the Salt Reform School believes that the main cause is the general contractor, and smuggling is the secondary cause; while the Salt Merchant School believes that smuggling is the main cause, and the general contractor is the secondary cause.

If the primary and secondary cause and effect are not clarified, then it is impossible to make targeted reforms.

After listening to the speaker's words, Liu Yu also secretly praised it, thinking that Jiangnan Wenhua is really true.These salt merchants have been in the south of the Yangtze River for a long time. Although they are abolished, the diners and staff they support are some masters.

"The 24th Year of Duke Xi" says: The sky is not over, and there will be a master.Whoever is the Lord Jin worshiper is not the king.Put it in a naive way, but the second and third sons think that they are their own strength, so they are also false?Stealing other people's wealth is still called robbery, how much more greedy for the merits of heaven and thinking of one's own strength?
Liu Yu wanted to change quickly, and the old wisdom he wanted to use was exactly this trick.

Water transport was abolished. It should be said that the short-term increase in the sales of official salt in Huaibei was indeed due to the abolition of water transport and the inability to smuggle Changlu salt.

It can even be said that this will be the basis for the "immediate effect" of the salt administration reform, "shocking the world", "one gain for two", and "why not make changes in Huainan under the miraculous effect".

However, in the long run, it is ultimately the general contractor's problem.

However, the greater the contrast, the easier it is to cause a contrast effect.

Therefore, Liu Yu's plan is to complete the reform of the salt administration with thunderous force before the new smuggling route appears.

Then, taking the huge increase in official salt sales, he attributed all the reasons to the reform of the salt administration, and minimized the role of waste water transport as much as possible.

Relying on the strong contrast effect, anyone in the DPRK who supports the old system will be forced to shut up.

Thus quickly completing the reform of Huainan salt administration.

However, what I didn't expect was that although these salt merchants were all rubbish, the staff under them really didn't all eat dry food, and someone actually saw the problem.

Don't even think about it, the salt merchants have a lot of public opinion advocates, and many literati, especially well-known literati, are supported by salt merchants.

They themselves have ties in the DPRK and China. Once this matter is made clear and creates a storm of public opinion, I am afraid that the reform of Huainan will also be delayed.

At that time, the relationship between North Korea and China among the salt merchants will make a big public opinion on this, demanding to wait a few years and wait for the impact of the abolished water transportation to dissipate before reforming the Huainan salt administration.

In that case, it is extremely bad.Huainan is the real place to move, and Huaibei is just an introduction.If Huainan can't move, the salt merchant will only have a broken finger, but it won't hurt the root.

After listening to these remarks, Liu Yu remained calm, thinking about what the salt merchants were going to do, and asked: "As you said, there seems to be some reason. Then, the trip to Huaibei is considered to be right. So, Huainan can’t do it, what’s the reason?”

The lobbyist thought that this was the highlight, so his tongue was like a lotus flower, and he carried out all the words summed up by the staff of the salt merchants.

The angle of relocation is exactly what Wu Jingzi proposed: recovering private salt areas, small capital and small merchants will be powerless, which will intensify the proliferation of private salt areas and other problems.

Only, the problem is the same problem, the angle is the same angle.

The method given by Wu Jingzi is to act in the name of ticket salt and conduct gang salt.

And the method given by these people is obviously a... step.

Wu Jingzi admitted that the feudal monopoly privilege of the general contractor is the main and internal cause of the poor official status.And its starting point is not to solve this problem, but to repay the favor and let these salt merchants "keep up with the times"-Yinyin is a feudal privilege, and power is inherited from father to son, which is criticized under the imperial examination system.It is hoped that the salt merchants will keep pace with the times and turn power into property.

The lobbyist knew in his heart that the reason was the privilege of the general contractor, but the main reason he said was smuggling, and the purpose was to send money to the emperor, find a way to go, and then the two parties compromised.

The purpose is different, the reasons for opposing the reform are the same, and the methods given are completely different.

On behalf of the salt merchants, lobbyists proposed three directions for "reform".

One: The imperial court set up a special patrol salt department, and the funds were reimbursed by the salt merchants, 30 taels per year, and "repaid" on time.

Turn the original, informal, and private "anti-smuggling bonus rewards" into regular ones, and make them fair and fair to be shared by contractors at all levels.

Because the main and internal cause they identified was too much smuggling.

Therefore, the direction of solution, or the direction of giving steps, is to pay for anti-smuggling.

Second, 25 taels of internal funds are given to the emperor every year to prepare for emergencies, as a reward for "forming a system".

Third, the canal was abandoned, and the old salt transport route had to be changed.The money for the salt transportation route, inspections along the way, and checkpoint setting are paid by the salt merchants.This year, the contribution is 200 million taels, but the first two items of this year will not be given.

In other words, I felt that the last time the emperor came to ask for money, I felt that it was not enough, and I wanted to ask for more.

Then the salt merchants will take the initiative and spend 200 million taels. In fact, it doesn't cost much to do these things.The rest should be given to the emperor as a gift.

And they guarantee that the repayment this time will definitely be paid by these big salt merchants, and they will not deduct sub-contractors, nor will they pass it on to the salt people.

It should be said that the method given by Wu Jingzi is the best method.

However, the rise of the Songjiang Prefecture Maritime Capital Group made this method really easy to become a wedding dress for others.

Moreover, the person inspecting the salt affairs in Huaibei is precisely the general backstage of the chaebol in Songjiang Prefecture. The salt merchants are very right to be suspicious. If they are not suspicious, their brains will be completely eaten by dogs.

So the only solution they could think of was to tell themselves like self-hypnosis that the emperor really didn't ask for money last time, and this time he came to ask for money again--must believe, must believe, have to believe.

It's not that their brains are rusty.

But with the rise of Songjiangfu Capital Group, in fact, once they reform, they really have nothing to do.

And everything they have can only be pinned on the fact that the imperial court doesn't really want to reform. Reform is in the name of asking for money.There is no courage to reform, but the courage to spend money in the name of reform is not only there, but also very large.

Otherwise, as long as you change it, you will be doomed, and you can only be a dead horse as a living horse doctor. You have to believe it, you have to believe it.

But... These words just touched the most vigilant part of Liu Yu's heart.

Especially when the lobbyist talked about the areas where the transportation of salt is inconvenient and the distance is far away, Liu Yu's heart suddenly became excited.

It can be said that this is where Liu Yu is most vigilant, and it is also the reason why Liu Yu wrote the first memorial to the emperor.

If there really was a salt war, transporting food from one side to the other, making the reform of the salt administration look like a mess, the most likely place to happen would be in these salt sales areas a little farther away.

Because, no matter how bad the brains of these salt merchants are, it is impossible to guard the Huaibei Salt Field and play the routine of "come as much as you want, eat as much as you want".

That is no different from guarding the yellow sand in the Western Regions and harvesting unlimited sand in Turpan.

Only under the traffic conditions at this time, as long as you play in a place farther away, you can directly make the reform extremely ugly.

The problem here is indeed that those who formulate the reform policy of the salt administration in the DPRK and China are really naive like girls.

They really haven't learned "The Wealth of Nations" and the invisible hand, but they, including the reforms in history, really started from this perspective.

From this point of view, the first step is to cancel the court's price control and reduce the court's control.

Because, let go of the salt quotation system, if the court controls the price, it will definitely not work.

If the setting is too high, private salt will flood.

If it is set too low, no one will go there.

Then, only by allowing the market to fully compete and allowing merchants to set their own prices will there be no shortage of salt and prices will not be too high.

In theory, it is enough to let the Yamen issue an announcement: all parties are not allowed to control prices.

To make official salt cheaper, it is necessary to abolish the general contractor, reduce the control of intermediate links, and withdraw the power of checking salt everywhere. Only in this way can the reform be successful.

This gave salt merchants a huge loophole.Moreover, there is another problem. Those in the DPRK and China who proposed the reform plan for the salt administration have never responded positively: how to prevent wealthy businessmen from buying tickets?

There are two problems here.

First: Are salt tickets sold indefinitely?
If it is sold indefinitely, it will inevitably collapse.This is not just a problem of price confusion, but also a price war. Small retail merchants have a chance to win. How many salt merchants with total assets of tens of millions of miles can win?
If it is not unlimited sales, but the sales quota of the sales area is controlled, how to solve the problem of different profits between far and near?How to ensure that the big salt merchants do not take the place with the highest profit and the most convenient transportation first?

Second: Is it legal to resell salt tickets?
If I have a lot of money and I bought 200 million salt tickets, can I resell them to others?
If so, what is the difference from before?
If not, what is the way to sell tickets to ensure fairness?How to sell tickets in remote areas to big businessmen who are capable of handling them?
Another one, I have the money to buy 200 million citations. I don’t care whether I resell it or not. I just say that I buy it like this. Is it okay?
Liu Yu supported Dashun's reform this time, but he did not support the actions of those people in the court, which was an overkill of the standard.

There are many problems that can’t be dealt with quickly. In the salt reform in history, such a situation did not happen, because before that, the big salt merchants had experienced the White Lotus Sect, the flood of private salt, etc., and they had actually collapsed.

But now, those big salt merchants in Yangzhou Prefecture are well-capitalized and have enjoyed sufficient capital against the background of a large amount of silver inflow from the East and the West in the previous 20 years.

When dealing with a half-dead person, there is no need to think about what to do if the person resists.

But if you deal with lively middle-aged people, although you may be getting old soon, you have to guard against the resistance of middle-aged and elderly people in their 50s and [-]s.

However, Liu Yu really overestimated these salt merchants.

He already had the idea that these salt merchants must fight before they die, not afraid of [-], just in case, in case the salt merchants counterattacked, and the trouble was very ugly.

And he didn't know that Wu Jingzi went to analyze the situation for these salt merchants and came up with an idea that was actually the most feasible.

These salt merchants considered the rise of the maritime merchant group, but did not consider another question: Could the emperor have given the two most profitable transactions in the entire Dashun—no less than the land tax earned by the Dashun court—to the same group of people? ?
So if Liu Yu knew about Wu Jingzi's idea, he would definitely feel that it might really be possible to succeed.

But he didn't know, and it was even more impossible to know that the salt merchant rejected this idea, but adopted the most conservative strategy.

That is to say, he pinned his hopes on the court and did not change it.As long as the money is given, it will not be changed.

If Liu Yu knew, he would definitely laugh and scold him as a waste, thinking that he was really a waste, what the hell is the difference between this and waiting to die?
But he didn't know.

And I'm not afraid of ten thousand, just in case.

And from the perspective of his inner considerations, he understood from the very beginning that the power of maritime merchants was strong enough, and they were a new class. The emperor would instinctively worry that it would be impossible to give more benefits.

In addition, he knows that Dashun's next strategy is to go south to print, so this itself is a process of strengthening the maritime power, and under the premise that the power will inevitably expand, it is even more impossible for the emperor to hand over the salt to the group power. The bigger the group, the better.

Thinking on the basis of this information, he never considered the possibility of "making wedding clothes for others" that the salt merchant considered.

Therefore, when the lobbyist talked about the problems in remote areas that the reform of the salt administration might encounter, under the suspicion of different information, Liu Yu immediately felt that the salt merchants might enter this place to resist the reform.

From the beginning of this reform, Liu Yu did not think that private salt dealers were the main problem.

Moreover, it is obvious that if this reform is to be successful, then the key point of its policy must be "turning a tycoon into a business."

In other words, the main factors considered by the big salt merchants are actually directly eliminated under the reform of this thinking.

However, this only eliminates most of the existing smugglers. Even if they can provide market information and sales channels, if they want to fight against the big salt merchants, they can only be a strong force backed by the imperial court.

Otherwise, it is impossible to win.

But Liu Yu also had to admit that those who supported the reform of the salt administration in the DPRK thought too simple, and did not improve many follow-up systems, which caused too many loopholes.

This is also in this era, and in later generations, people are killed out of capitalism. So many loopholes can directly pierce the sky.

Originally, he didn't get involved too deeply in the reform of the salt administration, but after inspecting the Huainan salt farm and writing the second memorial to the emperor, Liu Yu could only twist the reform to a level he hoped for. mode is on.

It is different from the reformist model in the imperial court, and also different from the old general contractor model.

Since these salt merchants are talking about what he thinks may be a problem, Liu Yu thought that this is just scratching the itch, so I'm afraid you won't play.

But since you want to play, let's take advantage of the opportunity to fill in some loopholes.

Now that the salt merchants have made a move, Liu Yu thought that this is good, and said with a smile: "As you said, the biggest problem is marketing in a long distance. Small merchants can't afford the capital, which leads to the flood of private salt instead?"

"Then if there is no such problem if you carry out reforms? Then what else can you say?"

The lobbyist and the salt merchant behind him are actually not as kind, passionate, energetic, and fighting spirit as Liu Yu thought.

Lobbyists know that they are just here to send money and steps.

Seeing what Liu Yu said at this time, he also smiled and said, "Guogong Mingjian, how can there be no problems?"

"The Duke needs to know that this matter of salt is nothing compared to war."

"For example, during the time of Emperor Taizu, he swept through Nanjing in one year."

"However, if the private salt advances and the official salt shrinks day by day, and the official salt wants to regain the 'lost ground', it will not be a matter of a day or two, a year or two."

"Jiangxi has been lost, and it has not been 'recovered' as an official salt area for four or fifty years. If the reform is really so useful, it would be miraculous that the official salt could regain Jiangxi overnight."

Liu Yu followed with a smile, knocked his finger on the "snack box" a few times inadvertently, shook his head and said, "It's true, every other line is like a mountain. If you ask me about naval battles, calculations, and even marketing Europa goods, I'm familiar with it." .”

"But if you ask me about the sale of salt, I really don't necessarily understand better than you."

"Your Majesty sent me here to investigate and listen to the people's sentiments. As the saying goes, if you listen to it, you will be bright, and if you believe it, you will be dark."

The lobbyist's eyes lingered on Liu Yu's tapping finger for a moment, and he immediately understood in his heart, and said repeatedly: "What the Duke said is very true, very true! If you listen to it, you will be clear, and if you believe it, you will be dark."

Liu Yu said again: "There is a specialization in surgery, and I didn't speak out on the reform of the salt administration. You must all know this. But since I have received the holy order, I have to do my best."

"But I don't understand. Now that you have a solution, why don't you go directly to the imperial court?"

The lobbyist understood better, and thought, isn't this nonsense?Going directly to the official, wouldn't it appear that we are "bribing and giving gifts" to the emperor again, which doesn't sound good.

"Guogong, there are many things involved in the reform of the salt administration. Once discussed, everyone has their own reasons, and it will inevitably cause trouble."

"Since your Majesty trusts the Duke, and the Duke is only conveying our intentions, we might as well leave it to the Duke to report back to the Holy Majesty, and let the Holy Majesty decide. Your Majesty is extremely intelligent, and will distinguish the pros and cons."

"Our intentions are all contained in this memorial, and the Duke of the State is requested to present it on his behalf."

"This kind of thing, the villain thinks it's better not to say anything, otherwise there may be some people who should cut their tongues, chew their tongues, and slander the holy name... It's terrible to judge the wisdom of His Majesty's holy judgment based on the opinions of the market. It was our fault."

Liu Yu chuckled, and said slowly: "So, there seems to be some truth. Then, I will report this matter to His Majesty first. But I have to say something more."

"My lord, please speak."

Liu Yu said seriously: "Since this matter, you also know that the bigger the trouble, the worse it will end, so you'd better not make trouble during this time."

"Since you have chosen not to take the right path, but let me present it to His Majesty, there are some things that you all know in your own minds."

"Although it is said that if you listen to it, you will be clear, and if you believe it, you will be dark. However, whether to change or not to change, ultimately depends on your majesty and the court, not on public opinion in the market and the direction of the south of the Yangtze River."

"I don't really want to see whether to change or not to change will become a trend of discussion in the world, and it will be difficult to accept it at that time."

This is obviously a warning not to mobilize public opinion. It is best to stop now and wait for news from the emperor.

Why did the lobbyist not understand, he hurriedly said: "What the Duke of the country teaches, the villain has written it down. This matter is ultimately up to Your Majesty and the ministers in the court. Its advantages and disadvantages, can it be that your Majesty's sage and the ministers' wisdom Still can't tell the difference?"

(End of this chapter)