Why did the emperor rebel?

Chapter 253 Shen Yi's Reason

Shen Shangshu is a smart person, so he basically doesn't know how to confront the emperor, at most he complains a few words.

But even complaining is showing the emperor his credit in a disguised form.

However, this time, Shen Shangshu really felt that he could not agree to the emperor's request.

"Your Majesty, it's not that I don't believe in Your Majesty. It's just that salt and tea are one of the lifeblood of the country. If it is distributed in the imperial store today, the nobles, ministers, and clans of the court will flock to it in the future."

"Your Majesty is wise and wise, and can restrain the eunuchs and pay taxes on schedule. But once this example is opened, the system will inevitably be abolished, and the law of salt will be disrupted, which will definitely cause turmoil in the court."

"What's more, the salt law in my court, the open-China law, merchants transport grain to the border, in exchange for salt, and use the power of the people to maintain the daily consumption of grain and grass on the border, which greatly saves the court's extravagant expenses."

"If the salt law is in chaos, border expenditures will inevitably increase. This is a major matter involving the national economy and the people's livelihood. I should guard against the passing of time, and dare not promise Your Majesty without authorization."

Shen Shangshu's words were rather tactful, he was giving the emperor enough face, he didn't say that the imperial store would affect the salt tax, he only said that other ministers would follow suit.

The implication is, Your Majesty, you can manage the eunuchs, but you may not be able to manage the greedy relatives and clan families.

It should be said that Shen Yi is indeed worthy of being the big Situ who is in charge of the household department, and he immediately noticed the risks involved.

The salt introduction system of Ming Dynasty is closely related to the method of opening China.

The so-called Kaizhong method is the method by which merchants obtain salt.

If private merchants want to obtain salt, they need to transport grain to the granary on the border.

Depending on the amount of grain delivered, you can exchange salt from the imperial court for salt, and then use the salt to send salt to the corresponding salt field to make a profit.

The implementation of the Open China Law, as Shen Yi said, is to reduce the imperial court's expenditure on border military expenses through the power of the people.

In fact, the reason why a large amount of silver was spent on military expenditures in the late Ming Dynasty was because of the abolition of the Kaizhong Law.

Without the support of China and France, the border troops could only rely entirely on blood transfusions from the imperial court, which naturally cost a lot of military expenditure every year.

However, the core basic requirement for Kaizhongfa to be able to play a role is the strict control of Yanyin by the imperial court.

Businessmen are profit-seeking, and will always use the smallest cost to obtain the largest profit.

The reason why they are willing to transport grain to the border is because there is no other way to obtain salt.

Without salt quotations, the business of selling salt, which is a guaranteed profit without losing money, becomes a business of beheading.

Shen Yi's meaning was very clear.

The [-] salt quotations are nothing in themselves (crossed out), although it is a sum of money that can make Shen Shangshu feel distressed, but it is not enough for him to stand up to the emperor.

But once the opening is released.

Then the relatives, the clan, and even other ministers of the court will follow suit, not by opening the Chinese law, but by taking the emperor's way to obtain salt.

Even if the Son of Heaven can bear it for a while, it is impossible to carry it all the time.

After all, as long as it is profitable, it is very easy for the people below to find a legitimate reason.

For example, the imperial court has recently implemented a policy of discounting salaries from pepper sumac. Since pepper sumac can offset salaries, is it possible to use salt and tea as well?
Shen Shangshu didn't need to think too much about it, there must be such a famous censor.

Once these people get the salt quotations legitimately and reasonably, the impact on the salt tax is second to none. The most important thing is that the opening of the Chinese law will be destroyed, which will directly affect the stability of the border.

The best way is to stick to the method of opening the middle, and not open the slightest bit.

Shen Shangshu looked at the emperor sincerely, and hoped that this ancestor would stop making trouble for him.

Wouldn't it be nice for An An to stay for two years and recuperate?
Zhu Qiyu tapped lightly on the table with his fingers, and frowned slightly.

He asked Shen Yi for Yan Yin and Cha Yin, not for the simple profit, he had his own considerations.

But it has to be said that Shen Yi's concerns are also justified.

Zhu Qiyu has future vision, so he is naturally aware of the dangers of indiscriminate use of salt.

In the early years of Hongzhi, in order to increase the income of the national treasury, Ye Qi, Minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs, abolished the method of opening China, so that private merchants changed from needing to transport grain to the border to directly paying money and grain to the Ministry of Households to obtain salt.

This move quickly enriched the national treasury at that time, but it planted the seeds of disaster for the chaos of the Salt Law, and at the same time accelerated the erosion of the border.

Because there is no support from the law of opening up Chinese law, the distribution model has become more flexible, and the distribution model has become more flexible. It is often used as a reward, or even a minister's salary, by the emperor and the Ministry of Household Affairs.

The result is the large-scale over-distribution of Yanyin.

There is a limit to the annual salt production of the imperial court, and the amount of salt cited should correspond to the amount of salt produced.

However, due to the abolishment of the Chinese Opening Law, the excessive salt quotations that originally did not comply with the regulations have gradually become compliant, leading to further flooding of salt quotations. As a result, a backlog will be formed.

After the backlog, it will cause the salt merchants to go bankrupt.

This is an easy reason to understand, if the clan, relatives, ministers and ordinary businessmen have salt in their hands.

Then it must be the first three who can get the salt first, as for ordinary salt merchants, they can only wait in line, and it is common for them to wait for three to five years and not get the salt.

This has two serious consequences.

If private merchants cannot afford salt, they are naturally unwilling to send grain to the court in exchange for salt, and the court's salt tax will naturally be greatly affected.

The official channels for merchants to obtain table salt through salt introduction were completely blocked, and the proliferation of private salt can be imagined.

Ye Qi's reform of the salt law was, of course, a compromise based on the fact that the open-China law had been gradually undermined at that time, but it turned the excessive use of salt from non-compliance to compliance, which in turn led to the flood of private salt and the sacrifice of people's lives. is a long-term benefit.

Not to mention, after the law of opening China was abolished, the border lost an important food supply route.

When China and France were implemented, the exchanges between the border and the mainland were extremely frequent.

Although the imperial court has repeatedly prohibited the sale and purchase of Yanyin, merchants gradually divided into border merchants and domestic merchants in order to obtain Yanyin.

Frontier merchants stationed at the border for a long time, reclaimed a large amount of farmland, planted food, and formed commercial settlements.

After the harvest, they sent them to the local granary in exchange for salt, and then traded with domestic merchants for other materials, and then sold these materials to the local people.

This allows the border to form a stable trading system.

However, after the opening of the Chinese law was abolished, domestic merchants were no longer willing to go to the border. Merchants on the border gradually moved inward, the business settlements were slack, and the border economy was depressed.

Therefore, the method of opening Chinese must be maintained.

Zhu Qiyu himself recognized this point, after pondering for a moment, he opened his mouth and said.

"Shen Qing, don't worry, I understand what you are worried about. Opening the Chinese law is the cornerstone of the salt law, and it is also the foundation of the stability of the border."

"I have never used salt or tea to the emperor's private property, and I have never wanted to distribute it wantonly. Otherwise, I would not discuss this matter with Shen Qing here."

In fact, the spam of Yanyin began in the Chenghua Dynasty. Before that, the only way to get Yanyin was through the Chinese law. However, during the Chenghua period, Yanyin was regarded as private property by the emperor. , often as a reward to the clan of honor and relatives, so that the original strict method of opening Chinese medicine gradually became a mere formality.

So much so that in the early years of Hongzhi, Ye Qi simply abolished the Chinese Opening Law, and in a disguised form, let the household department also join the one who snatched profits from the spam, and then became even more out of control.

Theoretically speaking, Zhu Qiyu could directly give Yanyin as a reward to Huangdian just like one of his elder nephews.

But he didn't, because he knew that doing so would harm the salt law.

He was willing to sit down and discuss with Shen Yi today instead of directly ordering, which already showed his attitude.

Shen Shangshu settled down in his heart, gritted his teeth, and continued.

"I thank your majesty for your compassion. I know that this year's festival is approaching, and a large number of clans will come to Beijing. There will be a lot of ceremonies and banquets in the palace, and a lot of money will be spent. If your majesty does not give up, please hand over the banquet of foreign ministers to Honglu Temple Responsible."

(End of this chapter)