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Chapter 497 Letter to Xu Guangqi
Bi Ziyan suddenly proposed in the court hall that in addition to the necessary punishment for these salt merchants, education and correcting their mistakes should be given top priority. When this remark came out, all the officials were shocked!Some guys with good noses have already smelled such a trace of things, but they don't know what the specific emperor is going to do, so they can only roughly guess that the emperor's plan is not small.

"Your Majesty, I agree. I think that just punishing these people is a lesson to these people, but it is not enough to teach them. Your Majesty Bi is right. In addition to the necessary punishment, learning from the past and avoiding the future , it is even more necessary to cure diseases and save lives, and it is even more important to let this group of people know their mistakes and do what they should, so that these people not only know their mistakes, but also know where they are wrong, and they must correct them. The sky is harmonious and life is open..." Shi Feng came to see the emperor smiling, and knew that the emperor was very satisfied with this sentence, although he didn't quite understand what the emperor was doing, but he also knew that the emperor liked it very much, so he immediately came out to follow suit, Standing up for the emperor, as for the emperor's purpose, he is in the fog...

"I report to Your Majesty, I also agree with 'Knowing your mistakes, you should be right, there is nothing good about it'. Since there are mistakes, they should be corrected. Now these salt merchants have obviously done something wrong, so they should be educated and corrected. Now they have to be forgiven by Your Majesty." If you don't educate and don't think about repenting, wouldn't it be a waste of your majesty's painstaking efforts? Otherwise, wouldn't you have to repeat the same mistakes in the future? The sage said, "There is no distinction between education", the minister thought, and the court also These people should be treated according to the teachings of the sages. Although these people have made serious mistakes, they should be given a chance to correct themselves, and they should not be discriminated against or despised..." Minister of the Ministry of War also stood up.

"Reporting to Your Majesty, the minister agrees..." More imperial parties immediately mobilized to re-educate the salt merchants as a foregone conclusion.Although the imperial party didn't know what the emperor's specific intentions were, but judging by the emperor's attitude towards this matter, they were smiling. They obviously liked this suggestion, so this suggestion should be passed.

When the imperial party exerted their strength, the Wenhua Palace immediately expressed their approval, and the matter was settled. Some people who were not from the imperial party saw that the emperor and the imperial party were working together, and it was not easy to confront each other, so they had no choice but to dismiss this disagreement. If you know whether it is a good thing or a bad thing, you agree to it. This matter depends on what the emperor is thinking. Why did he suddenly do this? Whether the consequences of this matter are good or bad is still unclear.

Besides, regarding the matter of salt merchants, the emperor has already opened the door of convenience. If he confronts the emperor on this small issue, I am afraid that the door of convenience opened by the emperor with great difficulty will be closed a lot. The consequence is that many people in the south will be "eaten".

"Hehehe..., that's right, what you all said is reasonable. Since there are mistakes, they should be corrected and let them know how serious they are. They really should educate these salt merchants so that they don't make such mistakes again in the future. So don't blame me for not teaching and punishing, so how about it, everyone, who is more suitable to send to the south to educate these salt merchants?" Yang Reform asked with a smile.

Who to send?When many people were still puzzled and didn't understand what the emperor was going to do, Han Yu wiped his forehead and immediately stood up and said, "Your Majesty, I agree. I think that this matter is not handled by a highly respected and important minister of the country." No."

Everyone looked at Han Yu in surprise, why is this Han Yu so active today?More imperial party than imperial party?This is stealing Shi Fenglai's job!
Han Yu is an old fox. When people get old, they will become smart. They see problems much more thoroughly than others. How can they manage the surprised eyes of everyone? They only hope that the emperor will send someone to "educate" this group of people soon. Those salt merchants who donated their family wealth followed suit. They donated their family wealth and lived in temples or Taoist temples to show their innocence, but now it has become a big problem. The temple Taoist temple is a place where anyone can go If there is no capable person to protect them, they will not last long. I am afraid that they will be "eaten" by others. The emperor is doing this to educate them to correct their mistakes. I am afraid that they are sincere in order to fulfill their promises and try to protect these salt merchants Well, to educate these salt merchants who have made mistakes, it is necessary to gather these salt merchants together and ensure the safety of these salt merchants. You must know that if something happens to a student, the teacher is responsible. After thinking about it, the emperor probably meant to let Xu Guangqi is responsible for educating this group of people. In the south, only Xu Guangqi can protect this group of people. After figuring out what he thinks, he broke into a cold sweat immediately, ignoring the surprised eyes of everyone, and hurriedly jumped out to agree.

Yang Reform also looked at Han Yu with a little surprise. This old fox, what happened today? He was so positive about himself?There is no villain's style at all!Yang Reform began to worry again. Didn't this old fox see through his plan and make trouble for himself?Han Yu's hurried look made Yang Reform nervous.

"Oh, hehe, who is the important minister of the country who is highly respected?" Yang Reform asked with a smile, winking at Shi Fenglai while talking, hoping that Shi Fenglai would continue this sentence, or delay it, Han Yu was in such a hurry Busy, don't ruin your own business, Yang Gang began to get nervous when Han Yu made a mess.

"Reporting to Your Majesty, it must be Xu Zixian." Han Yu jumped out immediately without waiting for others to speak, and hurriedly said, if the emperor sends a guy from the capital to Jiangnan, when this guy arrives in Jiangnan, those salt merchants will all be there. I don't know how many are left, so I didn't care about anything at the moment, so I said immediately.

As soon as these words came out, everyone looked at Han Yu in surprise, what happened?This old fox, he can't be such a dog's leg, right? Some people started to scold Han Yu secretly.

Shi Fenglai even glanced at Han Yu with a resentful look, this job grabber is really shameless.

"Hehehehe..." Yang Reform was also inexplicable for a while. He was worried that the old fox Han Yu would see through his plan and ruin his own business, but he didn't expect that the old fox didn't know where he was going, so he was in a hurry Asking Xu Guangqi to be the person who educates this group of people, this matter can be regarded as the same goal by different routes, which is exactly in line with his own purpose, and he immediately burst out laughing.

The important ministers looked at the emperor, and then at Han Yu. Today's discussion in the Wenhua Palace is really weird. Everyone has their own ghosts, and everyone is kept in the dark. They don't know what's going on.

After this strange scene, some ministers carefully recalled the meaning of Han Yu's words, and suddenly understood why Han Yu was in such a hurry. He didn't send someone to gather those salt merchants and let them live in temples. Before the day to close the case, there were not many of these people left, and they all admired Han Yu's quick mind and deep insight into problems.

However, everyone's doubts arise again, what is the emperor thinking?The emperor's original intention was obviously not the same as that of Han Yu. Han Yu wanted to use Xu Zixian's hand to protect those salt merchants, so what did the emperor want to use Xu Zixian for?I'm afraid it's not just to protect those salt merchants, looking at the emperor's expression, he seems to be very surprised by Han Yu's actions.

Wenhua Palace was weird for a while, and the scene gradually recovered.

"Hehehe, let this matter be settled like this. Master Xu will act on behalf of me and the court to educate these salt merchants, let them know their mistakes and correct them, let them understand their mistakes, understand their own problems, and dare not make mistakes in the future. , and warn others not to flout the laws of the country..." Yang Reform said with a smile, putting an end to this weird scene.

"Your Majesty is wise!" All the ministers agreed.

"Okay! Since everyone thinks there is no problem, that's all for this one. For major aspects, we will follow the agreement of the court. Some minor issues and specific details will be left to Master Xu's discretion." Yang Reform said again This one is settled.

"Your Majesty is holy." The ministers shouted again. This is almost a better ending. Most of the salt merchants who are related and need protection are on the list of preferential treatment. As for those who are not good-looking and hesitant Yes, that can only be said to be damned.

"Then let's talk about the next one. Salt merchants eat the country's money and eat the blood of the people. They must be severely punished to make others like others. Therefore, Master Xu has stipulated that all registered salt merchants will not be allowed to operate the salt industry for the next three generations. Do you have any opinions on this article?" Yang Reform began to discuss the next article.

This rule completely separates the current salt merchants from the salt industry, and lays the foundation for the emperor to take over the salt industry and salt education. Some ministers can only feel sad after hearing this rule drawn up by the emperor. Even if there is no such rule, If the former salt merchants wanted to start the salt industry again, it might not be very possible. Liulizhai took over the world's salt production, how could these salt merchants be allowed to interfere?Salt is not produced in his own hands, if he wants to compete with Liulizhai, if he wants to make waves, he will undoubtedly seek his own death.

This article was passed without much controversy.

A few more articles were discussed, either had to be passed, or must be passed, depending on the situation.

"Let's talk about this again..." Yang Reform was also a little dry-mouthed. Xu Guangqi made a big list of suggestions for punishment for the salt merchant's crime, and it was troublesome to finalize them one by one.

"...Master Xu said that when investigating the case of salt merchants and captives, there were salt merchants who donated their family property to help me wipe out the eastern captives and determined to break up with the salt merchants. Apart from the above-mentioned things, these salt merchants also did A good thing is to help Master Xu to stabilize the salt market and prevent the common people in the world from having major problems eating salt. Unexpectedly, there are also salt merchants in the salt merchants who know the righteousness and solve the worries of the court. It can be seen that the salt merchants are not all bad people. Master Xu said that the salt merchants should be severely punished, but for the meritorious salt merchants However, it should be treated differently. I also agree with this article. Those salt merchants who donate their property to stabilize the salt market should be given preferential treatment. The punishment should not be too severe, and they should be distinguished from ordinary salt merchants... Among them, Wang , Liang, Guo, etc. have done a good job..." Yang Reform threw out the most important one, and the punishment is finished, so it should be said that it is time to wait, and it is time to fulfill the promise.

Some ministers were overjoyed when they heard the emperor's words. It seems that the first group of people who donated their family wealth really got through the door. According to the emperor's intention, this group of people may be "born after death" up.

"Your Majesty is merciful..."

"Your Majesty Shengming..."

No one objected to this article. The emperor opened the door of convenience and fulfilled the promise in full, and fulfilled it in a clear way, which showed the emperor's credibility.

……

After negotiating the punishment plan for the salt merchants, Yang Reform didn't have anything easy. He went straight back to the Qianqing Palace. Once he returned to the Qianqing Palace, he locked himself in the Nuan Pavilion and wrote a letter to Xu Guangqi.

The things discussed today are just on the surface. In fact, there are more important matters that cannot be said on the surface and have to be done quietly.

"...I have discussed Master Xu's memorabilia with all the ministers in the Wenhua Palace today. Master Xu will know the specific results in a few days, so I won't repeat it. Besides, Master Xu needs to keep in mind There are a few things, there are a few things, Master Xu must grasp well..."

"The first thing, what I want to tell Master Xu is that this time, although the salt merchant seems to be a good one on the surface, he won a lot of money and won a lot of money. What people in the country say, 'Salt merchants fall, I eat I'm full, I just laughed it off for these things, the people of the country don't know my difficulties, they don't know the difficulties of the state affairs..."

"... If you think about the 4000 million yuan you got this year, let's count it as 4000 million yuan. In fact, it will take less than two years for the money to be gone. The 500 million yuan needs to make up for last year's immigration funds, so I went to 500 million taels , This year is another year of catastrophe, the scale may be even worse than this year, involving more provinces, the scale of immigration may only be higher than this year, that is to say, the new immigration funds this year are also more than 2000 million taels In this way, tens of millions have gone. If you count the new army and the frontier army's salary, I need to spend several million taels every year. This year, the war in the north has started, and the extra expenses will definitely be indispensable. There must be some A few million taels is not enough, plus some cotton-padded clothes for the frontier army, more money, more equipment, etc., I am afraid that it will cost tens of millions of taels. If other expenses and expenses are included, the cost this year must be 2000. More than ten thousand, and in the next few years, I am afraid that the expenses will only be more than this, so I am very worried... I can receive the current tax, and I can control it, but it is only more than a million, alas ..., the difficulty of the country's affairs is beyond the imagination of outsiders. Although the salt class is a foregone conclusion, it is only in the tens of millions, excluding some necessary expenses, such as the school fund promised to Lin Qiang, and some money transferred to the Ministry of Households , I really don’t have much left, and I can’t afford to support the annual expenses of more than 4000 million taels. I don’t know how long I can support the [-] million taels..."

"...Every time I think of this, I feel restless day and night. I mentioned to Master Xu before that to solve such a big hole, we must have additional financial resources. Just relying on the salt merchant's wealth, that is There is absolutely nothing wrong, this year there are salt merchants to copy, so what about next year? The year after? Who will they copy? This time, they have obtained the salt merchant’s 200-year fortune, so they have such a scale. Could it be possible to copy Liulizhai in the future..."

"... After thinking about it, the land tax must never be increased. Now that the land tax of more than four million taels has been added, I am always restless day and night, for fear of stirring up civil uprisings. After much deliberation, I can only make up my mind. It is possible to fill such a big hole by hitting commercial taxes and tariffs..."

"...Master Xu also knows that the national policy set by my great ancestor is to hide wealth from the people. The commercial tax has always been paid very little, and it has become a habit not to pay the commercial tax. It is impossible for me to collect commercial tax on a large scale. Dare to think, in order to start a salt merchant now, I will not hesitate to abdicate and bet the reputation I have accumulated so hard. I am a full-fledged gambler... I think I have to be a gambler for this matter, Gambling with the fate of the country, if the spirit of the ancestors in the sky knows, they will definitely scold me... Alas, there is really no way if I want to do this. , close at hand..., alas..., fortunately, with the help of loyal ministers like Master Xu and Master Sun, I did not lose the destiny of the country..."

"...Thinking of my impulsiveness and recklessness when I started the salt business this time, I still feel ashamed. If Master Sun hadn't persuaded me, I would have committed unforgivable mistakes, far from being as kind as I am today. In the end, now it seems that I am still too young and energetic, and I have far underestimated the harm brought about by the turmoil in the salt industry. Just imagine that if it really comes to the point where the fish are dead and the net is broken, the people in the world will have no salt to eat. I really don't know how to face it... Now that I think about it, I feel scared, and I feel that Master Sun's persuasion was right... Fortunately, there was no deployment of troops, no use of force, and there was room for it, otherwise, The consequences are unimaginable, although some salt merchants have been forgiven, compromises have been reached with some salt merchants, and some concessions have been made, it seems like a loss and a bit useless, but it is really worth it, alas, this is a long way..."

"...We need to work hard on commercial taxes and tariffs. However, tariffs and commercial taxes are not easy to collect. The power behind this is far from comparable to that of salt merchants. If I want to forcibly collect commercial taxes and tariffs, I am afraid that I will be punished. Numerous objections, and now it is hard to divide the court into several forces through the matter of salt merchants. If the matter of collecting merchant taxes and tariffs comes out, I am afraid that these forces will merge into one again and target me everywhere. If that is the case, state affairs It will be even more difficult..."

"...Therefore, I will do as I planned before, not to raise taxes directly, not to repeat the old things, to force him to abdicate, and to bet on the fate of the country in this way. Now that I think about it, I am really ashamed..., instead Cultivate businessmen who pay taxes voluntarily... I have tried some in Jiangnan before, and the effect seems to be ok. Er Xizi came to believe that those businessmen who have reached an agreement with him to pay taxes voluntarily in exchange for my support really appreciate this model. Interest is developing very rapidly. If in the future, the group of voluntary tax-paying merchants supported by me can dominate the business of our dynasty, then my collection of business taxes and customs duties from all over the world will be regarded as achieving my goal , In this way, even if those people want to object, they have no way to talk about it. Otherwise, without the support of commercial taxes and tariffs, I really don’t know how many years I can last. My head is on..."

"...Now these salt merchants have cut off the possibility of them re-entering the salt industry, and they have stepped on the mud. Now, it is time to pull them up. Among the salt merchants, there are many knowledgeable people. Scholars, there are many business geniuses, and it is a pity that they are all abolished. Now, they should be fostered and become one of the businessmen who voluntarily pay taxes..."

(End of this chapter)