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Chapter 703 Salt Company
In fact, this phenomenon is not unique to the Ming Dynasty. From the Qin Dynasty to later generations, all materials monopolized by power were basically in the same situation.

It is not something that can be completely changed by just becoming an emperor, because this is a systemic defect that is brought from the mother's womb and cannot be removed later; only the degree of it can be controlled.

Then someone said that the price of salt in the Ming Dynasty had always been very low, and the tax rate was also very low. Even though there were many private salt dealers, the common people did not suffer any loss, but benefited instead.

That’s right, the salt tax in the Ming Dynasty was not high, and the price of salt has always been stable in a relatively low range. Taking the 4.9nd year of Wanli as an example, the output of 245 million catties was equivalent to the issuance of 200 million salt permits, each with catties.

The salt tax collected that year was 130 million taels, and the salt tax for each ounce was 0.53 taels, or 2.65 wen per catty. The price of salt from the salt field that year was about 11 wen per catty, which was indeed very low compared with the Tang, Song and Yuan dynasties.

But the question is, does low commodity prices necessarily benefit people's income and national economic development? The answer is still no, or even the opposite.

Since the Han Dynasty, the ancients have summed up an economic law: cheap rice hurts farmers! Rice is a necessity of life, and so is salt. Therefore, if the price of salt is too low, it will not only hurt farmers, but also affect national taxation and economic development, which will do more harm than good.

"I heard that there is a method of drying salt in Xinghua Prefecture, Fujian. Salt fields are built on the beach and flooded with seawater, and then dried in the sun. If it is sunny, salt can be produced in five or six days. Is this true?"

Hong Tao had been listening until Wang An finished introducing the current situation of the Ming Dynasty's salt industry. He did not make any comments, but instead asked questions to the court officials and staff officers present.

"..." No one knew where the emperor had heard this from, nor did they know whether Fujian had such technology. They were all stunned.

"Your Majesty, Huang Daozhou, the director of the Ministry of Personnel's Examination and Reward Department, is from Xinghua Prefecture. I heard that someone in his family makes a living by selling salt. You can call him over to ask him." In the end, Yuan Keli had to step in to resolve the embarrassment. He didn't know whether there was a way to dry salt in Fujian, but he knew a local who was related to the salt industry.

Hong Tao had some impression of who Huang Daozhou was. He was a Jinshi in the Jiayin year and one of the main culprits in the Jieyunlou Candidate Case. In addition, he also had another identity: a disciple of Yuan Keli.

This chief of staff is really different. He pushed his protégé out without even knowing whether it would be good or bad, and he was not afraid of getting into trouble. No wonder he couldn't get along in the old officialdom. It was too easy for others to find a handle to attack him, which was a taboo for officials.

But this is what he wants. The more officials who want to do practical things and don't care too much about personal gains and losses, the better. Since he is not playing tricks, he will give Huang Daozhou a great fortune. At the same time, he is also using his actions to tell the whole court what kind of people the emperor likes and dislikes.

"I intend to try out a new method of drying salt in Shandong and Shanxi. Since it is a new method, its merits are unknown, so it does not need to be included in the Salt Transport Commissioner's Office. For the time being, a salt company will be set up under the General Staff Department, with Huang Daozhou as the chief executive, a fifth-rank official, so that he can make independent reports."

In fact, whether Huang Daozhou existed or not, the new salt drying method would still be promoted. Moreover, Hong Tao knew how to dry salt without asking anyone, and he dried salt better than anyone else in this era.

But good production technology alone cannot solve the salt industry problems of the Ming Dynasty. Management is the key. The system of the Salt Inspector and the Salt Transport Commissioner is obviously rotten. Unless it is torn down and rebuilt, it will be a drop in the bucket. But to tear it down and rebuild it will make too much noise, and there are not so many suitable people at hand, so we have to walk on two legs. On the one hand, we focus on attacking the old system, and on the other hand, we create a new system. Just like the maritime bandit suppression office back then, we first drilled a small hole in the salt industry. It seems to be painless, but in fact it is to dig up the root.

People always have a lucky mentality. As long as they are not pushed too hard, most private salt practitioners will definitely not be willing to abandon their belongings and go into battle bare-handed. By the time they react, the salt company has established a firm foothold and the required talents have been trained. The cost of large-scale replacement will be much lower.

As for why new salt fields were set up in Shandong and Shanxi instead of Fujian and Guangdong where the new policy was more popular, this is common sense. Shandong has much more sunshine hours than Guangdong and Fujian. Salt drying, like farming, is a job that depends on God's will. We must obey God's will and cannot conquer nature.

There is a large salt lake in Sixan City, Pingyang Prefecture, Shanxi Province. Although it is pond salt, its output is very high, second only to the Lianghuai Salt Field. In addition to drying salt, there are also many salt boiling processes, which require a lot of coal and wood, and cause serious damage to vegetation.

The arrival of the Salt Company not only replaced the traditional salt-boiling process, but also expanded the salt fields and added machinery and equipment, thus bringing in part of the new policy system in disguise, paving the way for the implementation of the new policy in Shanxi, killing two birds with one stone.

In terms of layout, the two main salt producing areas in the east and the west are more reasonably distributed, which can basically meet the salt demand of the northern provinces, reduce transportation links, and further reduce costs.

"That's great. I'll obey your order!" Yuan Ke felt relieved when he heard that the salt industry reform would only be carried out in Shandong and Shanxi, and that Lianghuai and Zhejiang would not be touched. These two regions were not only the largest salt-producing areas, but also home to more than half of the salt merchants. They were also the strongholds of the diehards, and the power of officials and gentry was intertwined.

If you strike lightly, it will be useless. If you strike hard, you will kill like Wang Sheng and make a river of blood. But Wang Sheng has the support of the emperor and the navy, while Huang Daozhou is a newcomer and certainly does not have such courage.

"Don't rush to agree. The Salt Company will no longer have any salt-stokers. The existing salt-stokers can decide for themselves whether to stay or leave. If there is a shortage of manpower, recruit on their own like the factories. In the future, the price of Shandong and Shanxi salt will be re-priced, leaving enough profit to be distributed to the salt workers. The specific amount will be carefully calculated and reported by the General Staff."

But Hong Tao hadn't finished speaking. Simply putting the former salt fields under the Salt Company and changing the name would not solve the fundamental problem. The price of salt must be raised and private salt must be severely cracked down on before the entire salt industry could be changed.

"… If the price of the salt company is too high, the salt merchants will not patronize it. The lack of share will make private salt trafficking more rampant. Your Majesty, please think twice!"

Yuan Keli did not find it difficult to imitate the factories and hire workers to make salt. With so many soldiers being dismissed from the garrisons and the unemployed due to the abolition of the grain transport system, it can be said that there was labor everywhere.

But it is a bit presumptuous to artificially raise the sales price of Shandong and Shanxi salt fields. Salt merchants are not stupid. If your salt is too expensive, people may not buy it. Doing so will not only fail to crack down on private salt, but will also give up market share.

(End of this chapter)