Spring and Autumn I Am King

Dali Temple is the legal institution of Zhao State. It is named after Gao Tao, an ancestor with the surname of Ying who once served as a "governor". He is the traditional basis for Zhao State to vigorously advocate the "rule of law" while maintaining the ritual system. The person in charge of Dali is Deng Xi from the State of Zheng, also known as "Dali Temple Minister". He handles dozens of cases every day, and his subordinate district magistrates are also responsible for countless small lawsuits. If he is not responsible for the law, how can he know which case Zhao Hou is talking about?

However, he heard Zhao Wuxi say: "The plan should remember that because of natural and man-made disasters and the shortage of food in the country, the widow issued a law last year, imitating Xia Yu and Zhou Gongdan, except for official banquets, domestic winemaking and selling are strictly prohibited. liquor……"

The legend of Chinese wine has a long history. It is said that it was brewed by Dukang during the Yellow Emperor period. This is too long to be verified. In the Xia Dynasty, according to legend, during the day of Yu Dayu, a craftsman Yidi made wine and presented it as a tribute. After tasting it, Xia Yu felt that the taste of the wine was very good, so he drank it like water one by one, and he got drunk unknowingly. When he sobered up, his color suddenly changed, and he asked people to throw away all the wine, and prophesied: "There will be people who will destroy the country with wine in the future!"

Sure enough, the subjugation of the country and the state of the later Xia Jie and Shang Zhou was inseparable from alcohol. Maybe they were too intoxicated and fainted, or maybe the green wine soaked in the bronze wine vessel for a long time contained a lot of heavy metals, causing their bodies to collapse and their spirits to fall into madness.

In short, drinking less wine can make people happy, but once the cravings in the heart are opened, it is difficult to fill up. The ancients began to realize that this kind of thing must be curbed.

So at the time of the revolution of Yin and Zhou Dynasties, Zhou Gongdan left the first prohibition of alcohol in Chinese history in "Shangshu·Jiu Gao". Duke Zhou was disgusted with the decadent social atmosphere of the period of King Zhou of Shang, where "the common people drank their own wine, and the smell of fishy smell was on top". In view of the lesson of his country's subjugation, he stipulated that people should not "group drinking" without any reason, and those who violated the law would be "detained as much as possible". It is only allowed to drink freely on certain ceremonial occasions and when the virtue of drinking is observed.

Although this decree was abandoned soon after, its spirit was constantly reaffirmed. After entering the Spring and Autumn Period, the feudal lords often banned alcohol, but in addition to avoiding mass drinking and drunkenness, it was more for a practical purpose: to save food.

In the pre-Qin period, Chinese fruit wine was not very developed. Generally speaking, wine was brewed from five grains, which required a large amount of food to be consumed. Frequent wars and natural disasters would result in a significant failure of the food harvest. This often resulted in the people being unable to eat food, but the nobles still In the case of drinking wine and drinking heavily.

The wine and meat of Zhumen stinks, and the road has frozen bones. This is undoubtedly what Zhao Wuxi doesn't want to see. So last year, he ordered that domestic winemakers were not allowed to make alcohol, and asked Deng Yi to issue a decree: "Three or more people who drink in groups for no reason will be fined. three hundred"!

Before the state of Zhao was established, it seemed that it had entered a "prohibition era".

In this regard, Zhao Wuxi felt good about himself at first, not only because his contemporaries Yan Ying and others stood up many times to advocate drinking moderation, it is best to prohibit the brewing and sale of alcohol, but also because of Zhao Xiangzi in history, Also a famous alcoholic.

Wu Xie remembered that he had seen a small fable, saying that after defeating Zhi Bo, Zhao Xiangzi was so complacent that he drank and revelled all night, and did not stop for five days and five nights. Same as ordinary people! I drank wine for five days and five nights, but I didn't feel drunk at all!" In the end, his valet, Youmo, said to him, "Master, just work harder, and you will be able to catch up with the Shang Zhou who drank for seven days and seven nights. ." Only then did Zhao Xiangzi wake up.

Now Zhao Wuxi has banned alcohol among the people, and the government has also reduced the demand for alcohol. On the one hand, it can save food for war, and on the other hand, it can be different from the "he" in history, which is a kind of self-affirmation.

However, after almost a year of implementation, Zhao Wuxi found out that this ban is useless at all...

Although the wine shops on the street market have disappeared, as long as you take a look around the market, you can find that in the townships and Liju around Yecheng alone, hundreds of private wineries have sprung up like mushrooms after a rain. There is not much wine in the small workshop hidden at home, but together it is a torrent.

Thinking of this, Zhao Wuxi reluctantly said to Ji Ran: "Since the prohibition of alcohol was issued, the wine in the market has never been cut off. Just a few years ago, the Yecheng Order sent people to visit the surrounding villages unannounced, and they found it. There are several big wineries, all of which are funded by the surrounding dignitaries, and even officials are involved, and private drinkers are also emerging one after another." Not to mention many soldiers who made military achievements during the war had served during the prohibition period. Yu Yecheng was drunk at home and went out to play, and was arrested by Zhi Jinwu.

"Although the Dali Temple has already heard the case, the brewing utensils have been confiscated, the group drinkers were fined, and the officials who knew the law and violated the law and colluded with the bootleggers were all deposed and no longer employed. But this is the case at the foot of the capital, not to mention the county."

Ji Ran nodded in approval. Now this ban is completely out of the question. The starting point of this decree was to "save food", but the result of its implementation backfired.

After the prohibition of alcohol, because of the high profits of selling bootleg alcohol, local tycoons and wealthy businessmen competed to make wine. Instead of saving food, it cost more, and even gave birth to organized crime in counties. Among them, the prosperous areas such as Dongyang and Hanoi are even worse. They rely on border gates and do not levy. There is also an influx of bootleg wine in Luwei.

After suffering this loss, Wu Xie also understands that in a society like Huaxia that pursues the well-being of the world, no matter how strict the prohibition of alcohol is, it cannot last for reasons of morality, politics, or even human life. Later generations of prohibitionists such as Shang Yang, Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty, Cao Cao, Liu Bei, etc. all ended in failure and had to make concessions to reality.

Because the people's demand for drinking can't be suppressed, the trend of drinking in Spring and Autumn has become an important part of people's daily life. During the festivals, as long as the family is not too difficult, people who have worked hard for a year all want to drink a little wine and dance with their hands. As for whether the food for brewing this wine will be the food for the hungry people hundreds of miles away, the drinkers are not I don't care. In troubled times, drinking is especially soothing. The drunkard's intention is not to drink alcohol, but to be afraid of disasters. He can only use alcohol to forget the reality...

In this case, alcohol is naturally banned.

So Zhao Wuxi said to Ji Ran: "Therefore, the widow thinks that since it is difficult to ban alcohol, there is actually a different way, which can not only curb the trend of private brewing, but also allow the treasury to increase its income."

Ji Ran was an expert in finance and economics, he immediately understood and smiled: "Could it be that your Majesty wants to implement half-ban and half-run in Zhao State, and private brewing is prohibited, and only the government will implement alcohol monopoly?"

...

In January of the first year of Zhao Hou Wuxi, in order to conform to the atmosphere of national celebration, Zhao Wuxi announced through Dali Temple: Lift the prohibition order issued last year!

For a time, wealthy and middle-aged families from all over the country raised their glasses to celebrate. The doctors, bureaucrats, and military officials also applauded the move, and generously carried them out of their cellars and hid them. A long drink, ready to drink.

However, they rejoiced too early, and the decree still has the second half: "From now on, Zhao State will implement wine drinking!" The civil ban on drinking is lifted, but the ban on brewing is still there, and the guilt of brewing privately is even higher. , and the government will implement a monopoly on alcohol to monopolize the profits from winemaking and sales.

In this regard, Zuo Shiqiu Ming’s record is particularly eloquent: “Since then, the name has been banned but it has been promised, and it is intended to be money, not wine.” The purpose of business is to extract taxes from it, not to prohibit alcohol itself.

Under the strict orders from the top, the local authorities no longer turn a blind eye, but resolutely find out the smugglers that have been targeted for a long time, or collect or destroy them. For a time, the large breweries in Yecheng and the surrounding counties were swept away, followed by the reopening of wine shops.

In this regard, the nobles, dignitaries, officials, and speculators who participated in the brewing and sales of bootleg wine and now have their homes raided naturally complained bitterly, but the consumers of wine still welcomed it. Although the wines exclusively sold by the government are a bit more expensive than private brews, they are superior in quality, especially those spirits and sake whose production methods are unknown to the outside world, which can sell for sky-high prices.

The income from these wines was like a boost to Zhao Guo's finances, who could not make ends meet. After the implementation of the liquor policy, Taifu can obtain 20% of the profit just through the sales of wine. If coupled with the high brewing profits—the official workshop can earn at least 200,000 yuan for every 1,000 hours of brewing, its income is undoubtedly a large amount, and it can indeed solve the financial shortage.

In February and March, Zhao Guotai Mansion, which had tasted the sweetness in "Confinement in Confinement", successively issued several monopoly policies.

The first is to reiterate the currency system of the state of Zhao, with gold and five baht coins as the only two designated currencies for circulation, discarding knives, cloth coins and other currencies, and strictly prohibiting counties and civilians from casting coins. This currency reform basically solved the problems of privately minted copper coins and currency confusion, and stabilized the market and circulation. More importantly, since then, not only the nine counties of the Zhao state, but also Lu and Wei have been deprived of the power to mint coins, and they have been transferred to the "Three Officials of Yecheng" (Zhongguan, Skills, and Bronze Discrimination) under the jurisdiction of Taifu. Responsible for drum casting, engraving and raw materials respectively. Zhao Wuxi is determined to eat a seigniorage tax!

At the same time, it is a more domineering reform: the salt and iron franchise.

"Salt franchise", that is, the government of Zhao State clearly stipulated that whether it is Daluze in Taiyuan, Anyi Pool in Hedong, or even the soil salt boiled in various places, all belong to the state, and selling private salt is a death penalty! In terms of production, officials supervise private property, stipulate that people cook salt at a specific time and in a specific area, and deliver it to the county and county leveling officials and levelling officials for unified purchase, unified transportation, and unified sales.

In fact, salt is monopolized by the state, not something unique to Qin and Han Dynasties, but an innovation of Guan Zhong.

According to Guan Zhong's theory of "Guan Shanhai", Ji Ran made a calculation for Zhao Wuxi: "In a big country with a thousand chariots and a total population of 1 million, each person collects 3 money per month, and a month is only 3 million money. However, as long as the price of each liter of salt is increased by 1 yuan, and the salt is sold by mouth according to the household registration, you can get 3 million more yuan per month, which is equal to the income brought by the high tax of 3 yuan per month, even if it is converted into grain at a discount , is also an incredible amount..."

The "iron franchise" is similar to this. As a new industry, the government monopolizes the large and small iron ore in the territory, and excludes private traders from participating in mining, transportation, casting, and sales. This makes Zhao Guo's weapon not easily flowed abroad, and it can ensure the monopoly of the market, so that the price of iron can be maintained at a price similar to that of bronze.

Simple extortion and tyranny can easily arouse people's revolt, but "Salt and Iron Franchise" does not directly levy taxes on the surface, and it will not cause any complaints from the people. It achieves "seeing the form, but not taking the principle", which is a very clever state finance. Way.

These are all summed up by Zhao Wuxi and Ji Ran together. Although Ji Ran's economic thinking emphasizes agriculture, it does not exclude other industries. He once clearly pointed out to Zhao Wuxi that "a rich country is not one, and if there is no final industry, where will the original industry come from? "

In Ji Ran's view, agriculture is not the only source of wealth. Industry and commerce, especially commerce, are also the source of a rich country and a strong army. Now, when agriculture is temporarily unavailable~www.readwn.com~ Zhao Guo found it from the industry and commerce. A way out was achieved, and the goal of increasing government treasury money and grain without increasing agricultural taxes and import taxes was achieved.

Although Zhao Wuxi has a consistent understanding of the "official business" in history and state-owned enterprises in later generations, he naturally also knows that under the circumstance that market monopoly and supervision are difficult to implement at the grassroots level, these three kinds of franchises will inevitably lead to various drawbacks. . But now that the depletion of the treasury is imminent, even if it is to drink poison to quench his thirst, he can only continue to execute it. The drawbacks and the like can only be expected to be gradually refined and changed in the process of practice.

With this three-pronged income from the salt, iron and wine franchise, Ji Ran's "living within one's means" can finally go on smoothly this year, but although the source is opened, the expenditure still has to be summed up, which is to blame. The solution is to reward the meritorious generals, officials, officials and officials in the process of establishing Zhao State... In this regard, Ji Ran can't speak.

Fortunately, long before the founding of the People's Republic of China, Zhao Wuxi had already discussed measures with Dong Anyu and You Wuzheng.

In February and March, with the expectation of meritorious soldiers, the Zhao Kingdom's "Military Jue Law", which is very different from the current system, began to be promulgated and implemented...

ps: There is one more chapter before 12 o'clock

(To be continued.)