stubborn thief

Chapter 275 Humiliating Sven
Salt is an interesting thing.

The standard of living of the common people can be high or low. Even herdsmen are likely to be self-sufficient in other aspects, except salt, which cannot be self-sufficient.

Salt is what keeps people alive, and any government needs to control the salt production areas. This is a truth that even chieftains understand.

But on the other hand, everyone does not have much demand for salt, and a few catties a year is enough for daily needs, so the people are not as sensitive to changes in the price of salt as they are in food prices, and huge profits are hidden in it.

With the existence of this characteristic, salt became a very good taxation pillar for the imperial court.

In the Ming Dynasty, salt tax accounted for the second largest income, second only to grain tax.

In the Tang Dynasty, the salt tax reform after the Anshi Rebellion made the salt tax revenue account for half of the total tax revenue.

Liu Chengzong has never been in contact with these things in the past, so he doesn't know about them, but Yang Dingrui is very aware of these things.

From the court's point of view, taxation is necessary, and it needs to be collected more, but how to get the most wool and only listen to the least sheep is progress.

Yang Dingrui does not think that the reforms that Liu Chengzong wants to carry out in the seven counties of Kangning Prefecture are progress. Although he wants to give slaves free people treatment and distribute land, this can only be a good thing for good people at best.

It is a good person and a good deed to feel uncomfortable for oneself and to seek benefits for others.

Yang Dingrui believes that Liu Chengzong's progress is not to be a good person, but to establish a progressive court.

In the past in northern Shaanxi, it was enough to be a good person, whether it was to distribute the looted land or food to others, in exchange for the followers of the hungry army of the poor people, dragging people to fight, and living every day counted. It was correct at the time.

But here, with a stable place, we must consider the issue of long-term stability.

"Salt and iron must be specialized, and I think this is not the time to promote banknotes on a large scale." Yang Dingrui said: "We have too little silver. Promoting banknotes at this time can make a quick buck, but it will not help long-term stability."

Yang Dingrui said with a smile: "When there is more silver, we can try to promote lion tickets. After all, we must promote a currency, and all parties including the government must not reject this currency."

There is no problem with collecting taxes to come up with lion tickets. The problem is that their silver reserves are too small.

This really made Liu Chengzong feel funny. Just a year ago when they first arrived in Juerwan, he was still complacent because he had 30 taels of silver. He didn't expect that 30 taels of silver would be nothing in just one year.

The main reason is that there are too many troops involved in the Western Expedition. If there were only two battalions of the Liu brothers' headquarters, the money should have been enough to pay the army for five years.

Now that Yang Dingrui said it, Liu Chengzong understood where the currency he was talking about was.

Currency reserves and credit are indispensable. Without reserves, this currency cannot resist risks; without credit, people will not be willing to use it.

The lessons learned from Daming’s precious banknotes are there. First, there is no reserve fund, and second, the tax is not collected.

The problem facing Liu Chengzong now is the same. He needs reserves, and he needs to collect notes for tax collection, but if all he collects are notes, and the silver reserves remain unchanged, the notes will be overissued sooner or later.

What he has to face is not just the tens of thousands of troops in Juerwan, but at least 20 people in the area under his rule, and this number will increase with the time he controls this land.

A myriad of tasks must start from here.

Yang Dingrui said: "The establishment of the Salt Law can also solve a problem, the problem of transporting silver from north to south, as long as you master the salt field here, you can turn salt into silver, we make the people rich, and the people can give us more money." Taxes, that's the key to progress."

"This is a good idea. I now have several saltworks around Nangqian in my hands. As long as the regulations are formulated, we can start working immediately."

Liu Chengzong raised his hand and said, "However, we must calculate the salary of the salt-drying craftsman."

The salt fields in Kangning Prefecture are concentrated in Nangchen County. These salts made Nangchen the largest market around, but it did not make Nangchen King rich.

Because the surrounding large salt fields used to be under the name of Genbeng Temple, and the only salt field that did not belong to monks, the headman paid more tribute to King Nangqian every year, so it was difficult to make a qualitative change in wealth.

Anyway, it's quite strange, obviously sitting on the largest salt production area in the surrounding area, neither rich rulers, salt is sold at a high price, and the common people have not benefited from it.

"Salary?"

Yang Dingrui touched his chin and found that things were not simple: "How did they calculate their wages before? Is it a private salt farm that pays salt tax, or a government-run salt farm that sells salt?"

Liu Chengzong shook his head: "There is no salt tax. Those who cook salt are not ordinary people but slaves. The annual salary is 360 five tsampa."

Yang Dingrui grinned and lowered his head to scratch the edge of his hairline, full of doubts: "It shouldn't be, Tubo doesn't do that either."

"There are only 2000 households in Nangqian, and there are more than 1000 slave households in it, and there are more than [-] poor households who have no surplus food to store. They don't need to produce more salt."

Liu Shizi spread his hands and said: "Naturally, there is no need to consider the salt method. Just set a price and sell it out. If you can afford it, you can eat it. If you can't afford it, you can go home and eat lightly. For the local serfs, boiling salt in the salt farm is very happy. Work."

Yang Dingrui was very puzzled by this. When he came, he met many people who came to see him on the road. They were well dressed and the place was well-organized. It was very quiet and peaceful. With the beautiful scenery of snow-capped mountains, along the way, he felt In addition to less people, other things are very good.

Why did Liu Shizi say that a tsampa a day in the salt field is a very happy job, like hell on earth.

When he raised his doubts, Liu Chengzong shook his head with emotion on his face: "The reason why you came here to see peace and tranquility is because on the way into Kangning Mansion, the slaves from various territories were conscripted by me to fight. There are people in this land who enjoy the world. The greatest blessing is that there are people who are enduring the deepest suffering in the world."

"Sir, let me tell you a story about slaves and about salt."

Liu Chengzong sat on the edge of the bed, crossed his legs and leaned on the kang table, and said: "Basang is a serf. One day, a god appeared and gave Basang many things, such as a large piece of fat and thin stewed mutton, a large pile of sheepskin, a bag of White sugar, several bags of barley noodles, and a salt brick the size of a watermelon, guess what?"

Yang Dingrui smiled: "This Basang is really lucky. It's a good thing to eat stewed mutton dipped in sugar, put on sheepskin and carry barley noodles on your back, and put salt bricks on your back."

"He doesn't care about eating meat, so he jumps on the salt brick and licks it. After licking, someone wraps it up for him and sends it to Nangqian for his wife to lick."

Liu Chengzong raised his hand and knocked on the kang table twice, fixed his eyes on Yang Dingrui, and shook his head slowly: "This story is true, there are no gods, this is the reward I gave Basang the second day after I led the army to Danba."

Yang Dingrui didn't speak. This matter exceeded his understanding of the normal world. He wanted to speak a few times, but he was puzzled for a long time before he asked, "Why is he not eating salt?"

"Your cognition is different from his."

Liu Chengzong said something expressionless, then raised his thumb and said to himself: "I know that if I don't eat salt for a few days, I will become a soft-legged shrimp. At this time, I need to eat some salt to return to normal, but Not so for him."

"He thinks that salt is a kind of magic medicine, and eating it will make him stronger... Do you understand, sir, what is the difference?"

Yang Dingrui was silent.

Liu Shizi always eats salt, but the food shortage experience brought by his service in the army let him know that without salt, he would be weak and weak.

Basang doesn't eat salt, only a few experiences of eating salt let him know that eating salt will greatly increase his strength.

But Yang Dingrui has no way of knowing all this. He has never cut off salt in his life, and sometimes he even thinks that the cooks in the Yan'an government government cook too salty.

This made him silent for a long time before he said: "Originally, I wanted to give you the regulations for the servants compiled by my fourth master and I, but now it seems that it is not possible, and there is also the salt method, so you should forget everything I said first. "

Liu Chengzong asked: "What?"

"Give me an interpreter. I learned some Spanish language in Juerwan and the Fanbing of Riyue Mountain, but I still can't understand some of the words. Is there any slaves you mentioned in Nangqian? I still have to go to Makang County?"

Yang Dingrui said: "I plan to eat and live with the slaves for a period of time. In this set of regulations, they are the most common people, and the laws must be adapted to local conditions."

"Eating and living together? There is a salt field in the southeast, and the headman there is quite obedient, and he has not been touched for the time being."

As Liu Chengzong spoke, he couldn't help imagining the scene of Jinshi teacher squatting under the ladder and stuffing tsampa into his mouth, he quickly shook his head and said, "Forget it, let's go to Makang, Basang's barracks are better, although the food is not as good , you can ask them about the days before."

But Yang Dingrui became stubborn, shook his head and said, "No, just go to the salt field, just to see what's going on with them!"

"No, no, no!" Liu Chengzong waved his hand and said, "Sir, you used to say that you were a guest, and let the head serve you as a guest, take a look with your own eyes, ask questions, and eat and live together, you can't stand that." suffering."

Yang Dingrui got up proudly: "The generalissimo's words are too contemptuous of your teacher. I, Yang Xingzhuang Han Chuang, have endured the hardships of studying hard for 20 years. What else can I not bear?"

This is the end of the story, reading is also called suffering?

Perhaps for Yang Dingrui, after 20 years of sharpening his sword, he was admitted to Jinshi and became a fifth-rank Fu Tongzhi, and he became a leader of 10 people in one leap.

Perhaps this sword is not sharp or satisfying to him, and studying hard in the cold window has become the greatest hardship he has suffered in his life.

But the happiest time in his life, Liu Chengzong, was the 12 years of studying and studying.

Compared to being a housekeeper in Yuhebao, studying hard in Han Chuang is nothing!
Although Yang Dingrui wears glasses and has a very literary temperament, Liu Chengzong knew that his teacher was also very strong in heart, and he couldn't stop what he wanted to do, so he sent someone to send a message to the head of the salt field, asking Yang Dingrui to go and do it. A few days of work, go and have a look.

In fact, he had expected in his heart that Yang Dingrui must be unhappy in the end, and the head of the place who was careful to serve him was also uncomfortable.

But he never expected that Yang Dingrui had only been there for three days.

The salt field is called Baizha, ninety miles away from Nangsuoqianmo Palace, surrounded by forests.

Baizha means monkey. It is said that a long time ago, monkeys in the forest often gathered together and left after licking the spring water. Later, people found that the spring water has a salty taste, and it tastes good when mixed with spring water. saltworks.

The salt in all saltworks in Nangqian comes from spring water, so this is different from the lake salt in Chaka and Shanxi. It is spring salt, but it also needs brine to dry, which is similar with minor differences.

It took one day to live next to it for one night, the second day to go shopping all day, and the next night to sleep overnight, and the third day to do a day's work, riding a horse all night to Nangqian at night.

It was early morning at Nangqian, and he rushed into the third floor of the manor in a hurry, scaring Fan Sanlang who was on duty in the hall until his face paled with fright, and he almost pulled the trigger.

Liu Chengzong was woken up in his sleep, and in a daze, he heard Yang Dingrui say that he wanted to mention the king's master two hundred, so that he would be defeated.

All of a sudden, Liu Chengzong became sober, his anger rose from his heart, and he lost all sleepiness. Anyone else dare to bully my teacher?

He asked, "What's the matter?"

Yang Dingrui's recounting gradually calmed down Liu Chengzong's anger, and instead made him and Fan Sanlang sit in the hall, holding back their laughter.

Baizhatou, whom Liu Chengzong met, lost his hand in the war to protect Gama's brother. He is a very honest and honest middle-aged man.

It's too bad because it's too honest and simple.

Putting it on normal people, the teacher of the Generalissimo of Qinghai said that he wanted to take a look at this salt field, eat, live, and do the same work as the slaves. Wouldn't that raise the status of all slaves?Eat well and live well.

That's what Liu Chengzong thought in his heart. Anyway, he had already made mental preparations. Even if Baizhatou took good care of him, Yang Dingrui would definitely complain for the slaves, and Baizhatou's territory would never be kept.

But it doesn't matter, Liu Chengzong can compensate the leader who is loyal to the old master and let him go to Lin Cong as a low-level official. Anyway, it is a general trend to change the land and return to the low-level.

But Baizhatou didn't have this understanding. He was a very loyal and capable leader to the slave owner, not a very loyal and capable official.

A very loyal official will choose to be flexible in matters, but a very loyal leader will not, and will only complete the order of the master to the letter. not hesitate.

Because the slave only needs to complete the order, and cannot arbitrarily guess the reason why the leader gave the order, and the leader also cannot guess the reason why the king gave the order.

In their context, the word Jiabo has no difference between a king or an emperor, it means the most powerful man in a land.

So Liu Chengzong is the king here, and the king asked his teacher to be a slave in Baizha, that is, to be a slave.

Yang Dingrui went there on the first morning, walked around the manor, looked at all kinds of treasures collected by Baizhatou, and hoped that he would take whatever he liked.

At the banquet, they ate beef with sand and gold and silver black silk cake, drank a cup of sweet grain made from oatmeal, slept on a bed covered with camel hair, and prepared two well-washed girls beside them.

That night, he was the most distinguished guest of Baizha Saltworks.

But when he woke up, everything changed. He was roughly stripped of all his clothes, his bare buttocks were put on shackles and chains, and he was staggered to the saltworks together with countless slaves.

They cannot wear clothes, which would take away the salt water from their owners.

To be precise, they are.

All the people working in the saltworks were women, only Yang Dingrui was a man, and all of them were naked. Yang Dingrui was the whitest one in the crowd, so white that he radiated light.

He will never forget that on that day when the sun made his face turn red, he was like a white bamboo shoot, rooted deeply in the salt field and dared not move.

On that day, he endured a long whip lashed by the supervisor for a day, not to bask in the salt, but to cover the wind chimes swinging under his crotch.

　good evening!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)