Daming: I am the most powerful emperor grandson, please abdicate the throne

Chapter 39 Salt Reform
  Zhu Yuanzhang looked at his little good grandson for a while and then went back to Jinshen Hall.

It was inconvenient for Mu Sheng and the two to stay in the palace for too long, so they said goodbye and left first, and would come back later to take the two little girls home.

"Your Majesty, the eldest grandson of the emperor has been given food. Like the younger grandson, he will take the initiative to share it with other princes and grandsons."

Yun Qi reported the news from the main hall and said, "Do you want to give food to the emperor's eldest grandson again tomorrow?"

"That's it, we don't have that much money."

Zhu Yuanzhang shook his head and just wanted to spend money for his little good grandson.

Ming Dynasty's tax reform has not yet begun, and the national treasury is still very poor.

However, regarding the issue of reform, he prefers to start with salt and then gradually advance.

After leaving the palace and eating a bowl of duck blood vermicelli, he felt a lot. When he came back, he discussed with the ministers around him that the salt reform must be changed.

But how to change it? Yu Xin, the Minister of Household Affairs, took out a Han Dynasty's "Salt and Iron Theory" and said that the Han Dynasty system could be restored. The government would control salt and collect the money from the sale into the national treasury through official sales. .

This method sounds feasible, but Zhu Yuanzhang asked: "The amount of salt produced is not much, how to solve it?"

They checked the records of the Salt Transfer Department and found that the amount of salt produced each year was indeed small. It was difficult to support the market demand in the Ming Dynasty. As a result, the price of salt increased, and ordinary people were reluctant to add salt to their cooking.

"Appropriately increase the number of people making salt."

Yu Xin put forward his own opinion again.

Zhu Yuanzhang pondered for a moment and asked: "What if there are too many people making salt, so there is no one to cultivate the fields, and the grain output cannot keep up?"

The speed of making salt in the Ming Dynasty was not fast, and the technology was not very good.

If we want to maintain a balance between the supply and demand of salt in the market, we can only add a large number of people to dry and mine salt, but other problems will arise.

Yu Xin: "..."

He frowned, not knowing what to say for a moment.

Recalling these discussions with Yu Xin, Zhu Yuanzhang frowned. The Ming Salt Service was a headache.

"My dear grandson once said, Yunxi has a way?"

What Zhu Xuan said accidentally when Zhu Yuanzhang thought of the Qinhuai River.

Maybe we can start with the good grandson, maybe there is a way, but there is nothing we can do now anyway.

After pondering for a moment, Zhu Yuanzhang came up with a plan and said: "Yunqi, please help us spread the news. We want to reform the salt affairs, but the amount of salt production cannot be increased. I want to hear the opinions of the princes and grandsons. Which princes and grandsons can If you put forward reasonable opinions, we will reward you greatly."

With this news, what the prince and grandson valued was not a heavy reward, but the opportunity to show off their abilities and be appreciated.

Any big reward is not the point.

Yun Qi understood, nodded slightly, and went down to make arrangements.

"Next, let's see if my dear grandson can give us a surprise."

"We also want to know if other children will share our worries and if they can give us some strategies that can be used."

Zhu Yuanzhang muttered, his expression relaxed, and his thoughts returned to tax reform.

Ming Dynasty was too poor. Tax reform must be implemented as soon as possible.

The Jin Yiwei sent out were on the move, searching for all kinds of information. He also began to arrange the deployment of troops intentionally or unintentionally, or ordered the Fifth Army Governor's Mansion to train troops, consolidate his military power, etc.

When the salt reform is completed and other things are ready, the tax reform will be officially carried out.

-

The next day.

A big news spread in the palace.

It was Yun Qi who spread the word, hoping that the princes and grandsons could provide suggestions for salt reform. His Majesty wanted to change the Kaizhong Law. There was a feeling that salt tax would be collected and all the proceeds from the sale of salt would be transferred to the national treasury. .

When Zhu Yunwen got the news, his eyes lit up, and he first went to discuss it with his mother and concubine.

Lu said that she didn't understand these things and could go to Huang Zicheng and others to discuss what should be done. "Don't worry, the emperor's eldest grandson, this matter will be taken care of by us."

Huang Zicheng immediately said: "Guo Ren, the minister of household affairs, is one of ours. He has long known from Yu Xin what your majesty is going to do, and he also got some inside information. Now in the reform of salt affairs, the most important issue is the speed of salt production. If we can’t keep up, the salt produced is not enough for the people.”

As long as this problem is solved, the first achievement of reform will be achieved.

Zhu Yunwen didn't understand this at all, and asked: "Is our salt production in the Ming Dynasty very slow? Our technology is all the same as before, so how did the previous dynasties do it?"

"According to what Guo Ren said, it is indeed very slow. Not much salt is produced, there is less salt on the market, and the price of salt is rising. As a large number of people are added to produce salt, Your Majesty is worried that farming will be abandoned and food production will not keep up. "

Qitai said: "The control of salt in the past dynasties was relatively strong at the beginning and would be controlled by the court."

"But over time, the system collapsed, and the production and sale of salt would be handed over to other wealthy families, officials, or merchants, and the court would only collect salt tax."

"But the salt tax is not easy to collect, and the merchants' income is okay."

"Wealthy families or important officials in the court often fail to collect the salt tax."

"In previous dynasties, most of the salt production was not done by the court, but by merchants, wealthy families, etc., who saw that salt was profitable and used their own slaves to produce it in large quantities."

"Our method of opening up China is beneficial to the army, but it will reduce the salt tax or the income from selling salt, which will also lead to an increase in salt prices."

He said slowly.

Zhu Yunwen asked: "Isn't it feasible for us to delegate the power to produce salt to those wealthy families and businessmen?"

"What your Majesty wants is the salt tax and the proceeds from selling salt."

Huang Zicheng analyzed: "If the power is delegated, they may not dare to evade taxes because they are afraid of His Majesty at first, but as time goes by... anything may happen."

Zhu Yunwen thought about it seriously and found that it was indeed a trouble.

It is not easy to solve it.

"I have two directions. The first is to improve the method of making salt, and the second is to change the system of making salt."

Huang Zicheng continued: "The first method is that I have asked Guo Ren to contact the people at the salt farm through the Salt Transfer Department to ask about the current salt production methods and then find ways to see if they can be improved. As for the system, we need to think about this carefully. .”

Zhu Yunwen said: "Students will think hard."

Qi Tai didn't expect Zhu Yunwen to come up with any good methods.

The emperor's grandson has no brains in this area. They just want to use their own abilities to push him to the throne.

In the subsequent governance of the country, Zhu Yunwen relied entirely on them, feeling like he was holding the emperor hostage.

"Our main hall has many books on salt affairs from past dynasties. The emperor's eldest grandson can look for them when he has time."

Qitai said again.

"it is good!"

Zhu Yunwen nodded.

They are real and don't have much hope for Zhu Yunwen.

You still have to work hard, as long as you push Zhu Yunwen up, everything will be worth it.

at the same time.

Zhu Yunxi also got the news, but he did not go to Lan Yu to discuss it.

Lan Yu and others were good at fighting, but they were not good at this at all, so Zhu Yunxi gave up directly.

But as soon as Zhu Yunxi returned to the main hall, he heard Zhu Xuan say: "Second brother, how about we help Grandpa Huang share his worries and give the salt a try?"

At the beginning in that alley, Zhu Xuan suggested that the second brother could do it.

I just want to give this credit to Zhu Yunxi and suppress Zhu Yunwen.

Especially after the hunting incident, he didn't want Zhu Yunwen to succeed, and he could predict that Zhu Yunwen would never let this opportunity go.

(End of this chapter)