Eighth year of Chongzhen

Chapter 156 Building a Shrine
A few days later, in the busy market of Yangzhou, hundreds of officials of the Huaihe River and Huaihe Salt Envoys, including the Xunyan Yushi, were beheaded and abandoned the market. Unsurprisingly, he will be resettled back to his hometown after paying a huge amount of ransom.

All the family members of the officials who committed the crime were supposed to be exiled to Yizhou, but they were secretly redeemed by the salt merchants from the escorting officials on the way, which can be regarded as the end of a sweet relationship between them and the salt merchants.As for the Yangzhou Mansion reporting to the imperial court, there are many reasons that can be prevaricated. For example, on the way to escort, the ship suddenly sank in a storm. Except for the officials, all the family members of the offenders drowned.

As for the new identities of these people, if a salt merchant comes forward, the Yangzhou government will automatically apply for another household registration for them, and just change their names.Salt merchants will place these family members in their own property, which is not a big deal for salt merchants with big families and big businesses.

It can also be seen from this incident that although the salt merchants are selfish and greedy, they have not lost their humanity, and their benevolence and righteousness are still there.

The expected civil uprising did not happen. After learning of the imperial court's policy, the salt merchants quickly sent people to intercept the coming kitchen households and explained them clearly.

The kitchen households, who thought they would have no food in the future, agreed with the imperial court's strategy, and returned to their respective saltworks happily.

After being abolished, the transfer made Siyamen the new resident of the Salt Bureau, and Jinyiwei Yangzhou Thousand Households Station was also stationed together, and Liang Qi became the first thousand households.

According to the regulations formulated by the imperial court, all the salt farms under the jurisdiction of the Lianghuai Transshipment Salt Envoy were under the jurisdiction of the Salt Bureau.The Bureau of Salt Affairs has one salt envoy, the fourth rank; one deputy envoy for the fifth rank; two promotions for the sixth rank; four officials for the eighth rank salt warehouse; official.

The new Yanyan censor was appointed by the Inspectorate, and he also handled official duties in the same yamen.

Each salt farm stationed ten Jinyi school lieutenants, led by a small flag, in order to prevent kitchen households from selling illegal salt to salt merchants.

In this way, the three departments of the Inspectorate, the Ministry of Household Affairs, and Jinyiwei played a role in mutual supervision, effectively preventing possible ink corruption in the Salt Bureau.

The Procuratorate itself supervises all the officials, and the patrolling salt censors only pick on the faults of the Salt Bureau; and Jin Yiwei is the natural enemy of civil officials, one represents the imperial court and the other represents the emperor, and it is impossible for the two parties to negotiate peace. It is very difficult to connect with each other.

The Salt Bureau collects salt from kitchen households at a price of ten cents per catty, all settled in cash, and no arrears are allowed.

The cost of boiling salt for the stove households is about four to five yuan per catty. This purchase price is the same as that they sold to the salt merchants privately, but it saves the burden of transportation and loading and unloading by themselves. This measure has been warmly welcomed by the majority of stove households. This is equivalent to someone sending money to the door at the door.

The Salt Bureau transported the purchased salt to four salt warehouses, and sold it to salt merchants at a price of [-] yuan per catty.Salt merchants can freely set prices and sell freely, no longer stick to the original provincial boundaries, you can sell to the capital if you have the ability.

In order to prevent salt merchants from driving up the price of salt, under the instruction of Chongzhen, the Four Seas Commercial Bank began to set up shops in various prefectures and counties to sell salt at a price of [-] yuan per catty. This actually set an official price for salt.

In this way, if other salt merchants want to raise the price, it will be useless, and the common people will automatically choose to buy salt from the Four Seas Commercial Bank, where it is impossible to run out of stock.

If someone wants to use the government or other means to suppress the Four Seas Trading Company, then ask if your neck is harder than Jin Yiwei's steel knife.

After learning about the background of Sihai Trading Company, I believe that no one dares to touch the tiger's butt.

The Bureau of Salt Affairs was under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Households, and the profits from the price increase of [-] cents per catty were shared equally between the emperor's internal funds and the Ministry of Households.

This is also the result of the courtiers, especially the Hubu Shangshu Hou Xun's hard work.If this is not the case, all the profits from the salt will go into the internal coffers, and the household department will have to ask the emperor for money, so it depends on the emperor's face.

Chongzhen's goal was to take all the salt benefits from individuals, and now this goal has been basically achieved.From now on, the salt profits will be divided among the emperor, the imperial court and the salt merchants, eliminating the need for intermediary links such as transshipment envoys to profit from it, and the Chongzhen and Ming courts no longer have to worry about money.

Based on the population of about 2000 million in the country during this period, if the amount of salt is calculated at [-] catties per person per year, the profit of [-] Wen per catty would be an astronomical figure.

Liu Zuo's visit to Shi Bangyao at the inn was a gesture of goodwill taken by the salt merchants who were afraid that the imperial envoy would take advantage of the situation to liquidate them.Shi Bangyao had been instructed by Chongzhen long ago that he would not take the opportunity to get involved, but in order to put pressure on the salt merchants, Shi Bangyao still severely condemned their actions.He also said that Chen Qiyu came with the Xuzhou camp. If there is a civil uprising, the imperial court will take iron and blood measures to resolutely suppress it, and will ransack the family and exterminate the family of the mastermind behind the scenes, and even some officials will not escape the blame.

In the end, Liu Zuo expressed his position on behalf of the salt merchants that the civil uprising was purely nonsense, and the salt merchants were all good people who were loyal to the emperor and patriotic; the current imperial court is using troops everywhere, and the finances are stretched, and the salt merchants are willing to donate to show their sincerity. Ten thousand taels of silver.

Shi Bangyao pretended to think about it again and again, and then reluctantly accepted the salt merchants' kindness, saying that all the salt merchants' donations should be turned into food, and then handed over to the Water Transport Yamen, and the government will give him a receipt.Chongzhen had instructed Shi Bangyao to buy part of the stolen money from the house raids and turn it into grain and hand it over to Chen Qiyu. Shi Bangyao saw the extra money, so he simply turned it into grain on his own initiative.

As for the instigation of civil uprising against the imperial court behind the salt merchants, Shi Bangyao said that he will not be held accountable, but if there is another such action, they will be severely punished by the imperial court.

After all the arrangements were made, the imperial envoy left Yangzhou and returned to Beijing. Most of the hundreds of captains in Jinyi who followed him stayed in Yangzhou, and only dozens of captains followed the fleet full of stolen silver and stolen goods.

Chen Qiyu didn't benefit from the trip to Yangzhou this time, and he was very depressed, but after hearing the order of the Holy Majesty to set up a number of granaries along the canal, he felt better.As long as the Holy Majesty arranges for him things other than his job, it means that he still recognizes his abilities.

Linqing and Yangzhou, two of the most important banknote gates on the canal, are handled by the Ministry of Households and the Inspector's Office.According to Chongzhen's will, the rectification of the banknotes only asks officials, and does not involve official officials, because in the future, this group of experts will be counted on to work; in the future, as long as the supervision is in place and the details of official affairs are made public, there will be opportunities to effectively prevent black hands in the dark.

Its supervision mechanism is the same as that of the Salt Bureau, and all parties have sent personnel to settle in. The specific effect will only be known after a period of operation.

Chongzhen was overjoyed when he saw the search list handed over by Shi Bangyao.

The transshipment envoy was really a big sheep pen, and the sheep in it were all big and fat.

This time, a total of more than 270 million taels of cash was copied, tens of thousands of acres of land, more than ten shops, and a number of antique calligraphy and paintings, the price of which cannot be estimated for the time being.

Got rich again! ,Ha ha!

And this kind of foreign money is simple, direct and labor-saving, and it is very addictive.

But this method should be used with caution in the future, otherwise it will make people feel centrifugal.There are already many ways to get money, so there is no need to ransack your home and distribute it. If you are not at ease when you are an official, the lower class people will not be at ease.No one wants people to sit at home, disaster comes from heaven, and private rights must be strongly protected, unless it is a violation of the criminal law.

Chongzhen highly appreciated Shi Bangyao's decision to turn the salt merchant's atonement silver into grain.Lao Shi, an old man who looks serious and orthodox, is still quite flexible in his mind. This kind of upright official who knows how to compromise will be of great use in the future.

Chongzhen subconsciously looked at the entrance of the hall, but there was no sign of Hou Xun.

Every time after ransacking the house, Hou Xun didn't know where he got the news, he would immediately go to the palace to ask for the spoils, Chongzhen was really afraid of this old man.

"Shi Qing went to Jianghuai, and the matter was handled very well! Not only did the abolition matter be completed, but also a civil uprising was eliminated invisible. I am very relieved! This trip to the south of the Yangtze River has been very fruitful, and I will give you a silver tattoo 3000 taels as a reward! Hurry up and go home and rest!"

Chongzhen is very generous, so much money is free, and it doesn't hurt to use it to buy people's hearts;

Shi Bangyao saluted and said: "This is the duty of the minister, and should not be praised by the sage! I have something important to report!"

Chongzhen said softly: "Shi Qing just play it!"

So Shi Bangyao linked Yangzhou government officials with salt merchants, only knowing that self-interest was in vain for the court in detail.

Chongzhen knew what Shi Bangyao had said, but now the focus is on suppressing thieves, and the rectification of officials can only be carried out later.So he comforted Shi Bangyao gently, and warned him not to tell Hou Xun the amount of stolen silver, and then watched him leave.

Regarding Hu Ting Road's first appearance, after thinking for a long time, Chongzhen decreed to give Luo Yangxing, and ordered Hu Ting Road in prison to donate 30 taels of silver to atone for his crime.Doing this can be regarded as giving Zhou Yanru a little sympathy. He also served as the chief assistant for his predecessor for two years, so there is still a sympathy between the monarch and his ministers; Knowing that you will die will cause trouble in vain.

Of course, he is extremely satisfied with the treatment of Huting Road.He has already heard the results of Song Sizhang and others beheading and abandoning the market. This time, his hard work not only saved his life, but also spared his family members; There is a lot left, and it is not a problem to live a prosperous life for several generations.

Shi Bangyao, as the No. [-] figure in the Inspectorate, is usually clean and prudent, and his family members have never acted out of line. This time he was rewarded with a large amount of silver, and he was very happy.

Now the silver money in the internal storage has been piled up like a hill, and it can't be put there for appreciation like those local rich people, it has to be spent.

The first thing Chongzhen thought of was the Hall of Martyrs he had promised.

The construction of the Hall of Martyrs met with fierce opposition from civil servants at the beginning, and even Wen Tiren, who had always been on his side, expressed his firm opposition this time, so construction has not started yet.

There is no way, literati have always despised generals in their bones.In their eyes, these rude and savage warriors are the chief culprits in the chaos of the world. They are stronger than those in the Han and Tang Dynasties. Didn't they die because of the chaos of the warriors in the end?

As for the soldiers who bleed and fight for the imperial court, they selectively ignored them. These vulgar people are not worth talking about.The fresh lives that died for the country are just a bunch of cold numbers to them.

Civil servants think that since you are receiving military pay, eating military rations, and burning and burying money after you die, isn't it justified for you to be killed in battle or disabled?Why set up a shrine to pay homage?Wouldn't it be better to bury it in the ancestral grave of my hometown?
And every major festival requires civil servants to go to sacrifice and sweep. Isn't this a gentle and sweeping act?How could a group of dead rough men deserve such courtesy.

Chongzhen didn't want to completely turn against the courtiers because of this matter, but Jinkou had already opened his mouth. If he broke his promise, it would chill the hearts of the soldiers.How to do this?
Just when he was at a loss, what Wang Chengen said made him suddenly enlightened.

"My lord, this old slave feels that these civil servants, good or bad, loyal or treacherous, all want to be famous in history in the future! But in the end, how many people get what they want? It seems that it is famous in history! How can others take the courtesy that these high-ranking officials and gentlemen have not received?"

Wang Chengen bent his waist and spoke eloquently.

"Hahaha! Companion! You are still smart! If it weren't for your incomplete body, you would have entered the cabinet with your vision and mind!"

Chongzhen laughed and boasted.Wang Cheng'en's words woke him up, and this matter can be carried out under the circumstances that everyone is happy.

Seeing Chongzhen so happy, Wang Chengen was even happier than being praised by the emperor.

The emperor looks so pretty when he smiles!Wang Chengen raised his head and looked at the emperor in front of him with loving eyes.

　Thanks to the book friends for the reward of "Natural Wind 6", and thank you for the friends who subscribed and recommended.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)