Ming Dynasty, starting from the empty seal case

Chapter 139 Artificial Salt Field

all the time.

How to deal with official assessment, selecting the best from the best and eliminating the weak has always been Zhu Yuanzhang's concern.

Even the selection of officials, which has the most disputes between the country and the dynasty nowadays, gives him a huge headache.

However, I heard about bonus points and subtractions from Da Sun twice, and I heard from Su Xian about bonus points and subtractions for merchants.

But it also gave him different ideas.

And at this time.

If Su Xian knew Zhu Yuanzhang's thoughts, he might be a little helpless. Come on, he had refined the prototype of Zhang Juzheng's "test method" in advance.

But speaking of it, this "chief assistant" with a public heart for the country has offended too many officials by taking the exam.

Many officials who were originally able to fish, do nothing in their posts, have backstage in the government, just need to be a fool, and get promoted immediately after four or five years, are stuck in the same place because of the torment of passing the examination, or even eliminated.

Su Xian also looked at him, "It just so happens that this person is the reading companion of His Highness the Crown Prince!"

"Ru Liangyu?"

"Actually, if this method is successful, it can also solve some of the private issues." Queen Ma thought for a while and said, "But it can't solve too much."

Su Xian took out the "envelope" sent to Gewuyuan.

But after his death, liquidation soon came!
and so.

"Father, this man is from Hengshan. It is said that he has been a child prodigy since he was a child. He has been immersed in books all year round and has developed a photographic memory. He also has considerable insights into various current political affairs, so..."

The father has a ruler in his heart to measure the officials of this country.

This method alone solves most of the questions in "Salt Introduction".

"Exactly." Su Xian said: "Actually, what I just said, combined with the previous treasure banknotes, there is only one reason why private salt is rampant. People are willing to join private salt... because private salt is cheap!"

At this point, Su Xian blurted out his answer.

Empress Ma had already understood that, after all, the salt merchants eliminated the system, and whoever failed to complete the task would be replaced with a new one.

As he spoke, Zhu Yuanzhang looked aside and said, "Remember this person first."

The opening of the inner pocket is towards the elbow, so it won't fall out when walking.

"Yes!"

Could it be their relatives or friends?

Although Su Xian is currently in a hurry and has the idea of ​​​​cutting off with Hu Weiyong to avoid being involved in the Hu Weiyong case, he really has no intention of going against all the officials.

Thinking of this, Su Xian quickly said:
"Your Majesty, actually, someone else has thought of this method with me, but there is no measure of adding or subtracting points. Maybe your Majesty really wants to gather officials and merchants, use the officials of the Ming Dynasty to control these merchants, and use the points system, but Choose this person.”

Everyone present was an old fox. How could Zhu Yuanzhang not know this?

Su Xian nodded.

Zhu Biao was stunned.

"That's it for the transportation method. Using this method can certainly balance various places. But the most fundamental issue has not been solved - the profit of private salt!"

"Your Majesty, please look, this person's name is Ru Yu!"

"You don't need to tell me, we know better than you." Zhu Yuanzhang said calmly.

"Yes, as long as the integration of these salt merchants ensures that the imperial court's own accounts are correct, it is none of the imperial court's business how the merchants compete with each other. There will be no big salt merchants selling salt out. As a result, the salt merchants below were unprofitable, and in the end no one was able to transport grain and grass, and the border villages were ruined! "

now.

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded.

what?
Before Zhu Biao could react, Su Xian took out something from his sleeve. In fact, he had always been curious in his previous life about how the ancients took things out of their sleeves.

There are many affairs in the country. Although Zhu Yuanzhang weighed many things in his mind, he still had to write down those who paid too much attention.

"Who is this person?" Zhu Biao also looked curiously.

"Is this really what this person mentioned?"

After Zhu Biao read it, Zhu Yuanzhang took it and glanced at it roughly.

As soon as the examination law was announced, the tasks completed by officials every year must be recorded in three ledgers and set deadlines. As soon as the deadline is up, check the box if it is completed and cross the box if it is not completed. Zhang Ju held great power and used this method to select capable ministers, suppress the impetuous trend in the officialdom, and restore the efficient operation of the officialdom.

Zhu Yuanzhang also noticed that Su Xian glanced at the strange "brazier" and "salt pond" in the back from time to time.

Only now did I realize that my mother had sewed an inner pocket inside, which could hold some silver coins and small items.

Then he said: "It is true that there are no points as you mentioned, but... there should be some ideas."

Although he had long known that Su Xian was going to make a fuss about this, what he was most concerned about at the moment was the calculated "deficit!"

These words.

Zhu Biao was surprised. When he saw Zhu Yuanzhang looking towards him, he quickly said:

The most important thing at the moment is to take this opportunity to give Hu Xiang a blow.

But he was curious. While he was surprised by Su Xian's move, he also wanted to know who the other party would recommend to him.

This is a clear seizure of power!

"You mean..." Zhu Biao followed up: "Make official salt cheaper than private salt?"

"It's not just cheaper!" Su Xian said, "To curb illegal salt, it's not just about forcibly attacking sellers, but also considering it from the buyer's perspective, and making official salt better than illegal salt at the same price!"

"Boy, are you dreaming?"

At this moment, Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help but feel a headache when he heard Su Xian's words.

Zhu Biao and Queen Ma looked at each other in shock.

"Cheaper and better? Isn't this a circle again, back to before?"

"The salt produced in every salt field in the Ming Dynasty was divided into three grades: upper, middle and lower. The ratios among them increased exponentially. No matter how bad private salt is, except for those dug directly from salt mines, it is cheaper. The rest is not much different from low-grade salt.”

"Some private salt dealers run their own business and pass it down from family to family. This secret recipe for refining salt is even better than the court's."

Zhu Yuanzhang obviously knew a lot, so Su Xian's words made him sound like he was dreaming. Even though he knew that Su Xian had a way to make good salt, he was even more aware of the losses involved.

"To make salt now, many kitchen households use the method of boiling salt." Empress Ma also said: "The same pile of firewood can be used to make ten kilograms of low-grade salt. But if it is made of high-grade salt, it may only take one kilogram. It’s heavy…”

"Really?" Su Xian nodded, then pointed to the distance.

"The process of making salt is just like the process of textiles. Technical means can be improved. For example, there..."

Seeing Su Xian finally pointing to the area they couldn't understand.

Zhu Biao had long been curious, and now he quickly asked: "This is..." Su Xian continued:
"I said just now that my selfish intention is to deal with Mr. Hu's entanglement and cause trouble for Mr. Hu."

"The public spirit is to allow the people to eat good salt and to recover all the salt tax."

"Reforming salt production is not just about changing the transportation method and improving efficiency. The next step is to improve the technology and speed up the efficiency of salt production."

While talking, Su Xian seemed to have thought of something and asked directly:

"What are the methods of making salt currently used in the Ming Dynasty?"

Upon hearing Su Xian's question, Zhu Yuanzhang and his son were stunned for a moment. Although Empress Ma proposed the decoction method, she had never practiced it.

Moreover, Su Xian was asking about the entire Ming Dynasty. They only knew some general techniques, so how could they really break it down?
"come here!"

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Gao Fu, who had been standing quietly on the other side. He was the supervisor of the internal officials and was responsible for all the maintenance, manufacture, wood, stone, and even the gunpowder and rice and salt stores in the palace. He must have understood this.

Gao Fu knew that this was an opportunity to perform.

He had been dealing with that young master since the "bronze ball" before the establishment of Gewuyuan. After waiting for so long, wasn't he just waiting for this day?
At this moment, he quickly suppressed the excitement in his heart, hurriedly stepped forward and said loudly:
"Your Majesty, the methods used by the imperial court to make salt are divided into several categories according to the different salt mines."

"For example, well salt is discovered unintentionally. There are many such salts in Sichuan and Sichuan, and it requires manual labor to mine. Like mineral salt, it is located between rocks. It is transparent in color and has a bitter and salty taste. It is also mined manually and is later mined with Niangniang. The so-called decoction method is to wait until it melts and then filter it to remove impurities.”

"In addition, some salt wells also have naturally formed brine. You can also boil it directly after pumping it up."

"Also... slaves also know the reason why private salt is banned among the people. Some private salt dealers can sell fish and shrimps and melt the salt directly into the water. When people buy fish, they buy salt. "

“Such methods can also be used on vegetables and various types of aquatic products, making them extremely preventable.”

Gao Fu draws inferences from one instance.

As for these methods, Zhu Yuanzhang and Empress Ma were married couples who came from the private sector, so they naturally felt the same way.

"There are policies above and countermeasures below. This sentence is not a simple statement. The wisdom of the people is infinite, coupled with the interests, hum! Their creativity is not even comparable to that of the best craftsmen in Ming Dynasty. "

Gao Fu smiled apologetically and did not dare to speak.

Su Xian took this opportunity to ask: "What about lake salt and sea salt?"

As far as he knew, these were almost the two types of salt produced most in the Ming Dynasty.

"Most of the sea salt is boiled, and the sea water is almost a natural brine. It just consumes more firewood..."

Gao Fu first looked at Su Xian, then looked at Zhu Yuanzhang and said softly:
"My slave grew up in eastern Zhejiang. In order to make salt, folk stove farmers hollowed out almost all the nearby mountains. The cooking method consumes firewood, so if the salt tax is really calculated, the cost must also be included... …”

"Forgive me for talking too much. If the price of official salt drops, at the very least, a corresponding profit must be left for the kitchen households. Otherwise, if the price drops too harshly, the first level of salt production will not be passed."

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded slightly, attaching great importance to this tall talisman.

Su Xian seemed not to understand this and continued to ask: "What about the lake salt?"

"The decoction method of lake salt should be used sparingly. As for the method used..." Gao Fu said, quickly looked at Su Xian, then pointed to the area on the right and said:
"I was confused just now, but now I understand. In fact, most of the lake salts use this method."

Ok?
Zhu Yuanzhang and others looked at him in confusion.

Gao Fu quickly said: "Salt sun method!"

"Use the clear sky and wind to put the brine into the salt pond. Then let it dry in the sun, and then you can get similar salt... This method is very common in Yancheng, Shanxi, and it doesn't use too much firewood..."

"and many more!"

When Zhu Yuanzhang heard this, he suddenly interrupted: "Since the sun salt method can be used for lake salt, why can't the sun salt method be used for sea salt?"

"That's right!" Zhu Biao also wondered: "Logically speaking, there should be more sea salt than lake salt, but too much firewood is consumed, and the salt obtained in the end is not as good as lake salt. Isn't this too confusing?"

"Why don't those kitchen households among the people and those in the Salt Transportation Department use their talents at this time?" Zhu Yuanzhang was also extremely puzzled. Suddenly he remembered something and was reluctant to believe it: "Is it possible that they are also involved in this matter? Are those people in the southeast deliberately trying to make a fortune out of this?"

Gao Fu said quickly: "Your Majesty! Even the other slaves don't know."

The other party is also a smart man. He never expresses his attitude towards these speculations. Instead, he talks about his own business, "But I know very well that the salt method cannot be used in sea water."

"First, seawater is no better than brine. Brine is water with extremely high salt content. As long as it is boiled or dried, the effect will be seen quickly."

"But sea water is different. Boiling sea water consumes a lot of firewood. If you dry it, you may have to wait until the end of the year. What's more, sea salt is no better than other salts. Some sea salts will cause some... poisoning soon after eating them?"

Gao Fu was not sure about this either, "In short, the sea salt made by the kitchen households using the decoction method and some unique methods is far better than the sea salt made by some people who don't know how to make it. Even if you eat it, your life will not be in danger."

"Secondly, the ebb and flow of sea water is not as good as that of lake water. If you don't choose the right place to dry salt, when the tide rises and the sea water submerges, all your efforts will be wasted!"

After hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly nodded with understanding.

"It turns out there is another reason for this, but we didn't think of it before."

After that, he looked at Su Xian again.

"Listen clearly, the efficiency of salt production in the imperial court is like this. To crack down on illicit salt, all kinds of merchants have to be able to transport the salt in and out, and then plan carefully."

After Su Xian heard this.

But it also makes up for my lack of knowledge about salt production and sea salt being unable to dry.

but!

As far as he knows, it won't be long before the sea salt begins to dry. Maybe in a few decades, the salt-drying method will be completely popular in the southeastern coastal areas.

After all, most of the income from the salt administration in the late Ming Dynasty came from the "salt fields" on the seaside.

Instead of doing this, it’s better to plan ahead yourself.

"Your Majesty, since the salt-drying method is feasible, then all the difficulties that Eunuch Gao mentioned just now are nothing more than difficulties and obstacles on the road."

"Then when you encounter a problem, you should solve it instead of retreating from it."

At this moment, Su Xian pointed to the "small salt pond" just built.

"Here's the solution!"

The thought that he had just put down was now picked up again by Su Xian with the bait.

Zhu Yuanzhang immediately asked: "Is there really a way?"

"Yes!" Su Xian faced Gao Fu's difficulties and simply explained one by one:

"Seawater is not as good as brine because seawater contains less salt, so we just need to find a way to concentrate it."

"It is not easy to make sea salt, and it is easy to get poisoned easily because there are too many impurities. In the meantime, just filter the impurities and purify the sea salt."

"As for the rising tide of the sea, it's easier. Choose the right time, choose a flat terrain, build ridges, and trap the sea water..."

Having said this, Su Xian pointed to the side, and the pronunciation of the words was clear, again corresponding to the way forward.

“Man-made salt fields!”

(End of this chapter)