Chongzhen: I am the king of prosperous times

Chapter 620 Salt Tax Reform
Xiyuan, Diaoyutai.

"The court is still short of money."

Emperor Chongzhen stopped, looked at the emerald green Taiye Pond, and said emotionally: "Even if the Military Aircraft Department wants to do a good job in the affairs of Shanshan and Shanxi, I am afraid that the imperial court will allocate a lot of money and food.

If the governor responsibility system is to be effectively implemented, the new salary system must be effective, otherwise it is unrealistic to properly solve the problems in Shanshan and Shaanxi.

In the past, the imperial court was too passive in the suppression of thieves, which led to the current situation, which is quite difficult. "

Bi Ziyan, who was accompanying him, frowned when he heard the words.

"Your Majesty is right, the court is indeed short of money."

Bi Ziyan pondered for a moment, then leaned slightly and said, "Except for Shanshan and Shanxi, like the food and salaries allocated by the Nine Borders, the number of naval divisions appointed by Liaodong, and the construction of river administration and so on.

Although part of the allocated food and salaries will be spent from the internal funds, most of them still need to be covered by the treasury. Seeing that July has passed, a batch of war bonds sold by the Ministry of Households are about to expire.

I said these things to His Majesty, not to shirk any responsibility, but in fact, the current imperial court needs to further reduce unnecessary expenditures and increase corresponding financial resources at the same time. "

The debts owed by the Ming Dynasty in terms of finances are really too many. Although Emperor Chongzhen has relied on the great wealth minister Bi Ziyan in the past few years to actively clear the accounts, reduce unnecessary expenses, and open up new sources of income, the problems facing the court , many of which must be resolved.

"Easier said than done."

Emperor Chongzhen raised his robe sleeves, frowned and said: "Since the second year of Chongzhen, I have been sorting out the government affairs, through reopening the customs, rectifying the tax customs, abolishing the guards, adjusting the military system, abolishing craftsmen, encouraging Industrial and commercial development and other aspects were used to reduce the burden on the court and open up corresponding financial resources, and achieved remarkable results.

But Bi Qing also knows that, like many things mentioned above, if you want to see greater results, you need time to promote the implementation smoothly.

Just like the abolition of the guard post, the prefectures and counties under the jurisdiction of Northern Zhili are currently being implemented in an orderly manner under the coordination of the Military Aircraft Department and the cooperation of the Zhili governor's office.

Anyone can see the abolition of the guards, which can help the country to relieve a lot of pressure, but the resettlement of military households under the jurisdiction of the abolished guards, the abolition of the garrison in the area of ​​​​the abolished guards, etc. must be followed up simultaneously.

Once there are any mistakes, the Northern Zhili will be ruled, and the situation that was formed in Shanxi and Shaanxi in the past will appear. This is what no one wants to see. "

Bi Ziyan nodded in approval.

In fact, since the end of the second year of Chongzhen, the imperial court has been gradually changing. People like Bi Ziyan can clearly see that the Emperor Chongzhen is using his own method to ensure that the general situation is stable. Step by step to solve various problems encountered by Daming.

In ruling the vast Ming Dynasty, the most taboo thing is not to do things, but to do things in a hurry, because once the pace is too fast, too many interests will be touched, and chaos will easily occur. , It will affect the general trend of stability, and then make the court fall into a passive state.

"The things His Majesty said, whether it is now or in the future, can't be rushed. They need to maintain the current state and gradually adjust and change."

Bi Ziyan restrained his mind and said with a serious expression: "If these things are rushed, there will be many mistakes, and it will cause turmoil in the local area.

These days, I have been thinking about how to let the court increase taxes. After much deliberation, there are two possible ways, one is to increase the proportion of land tax, and the other is to rectify the salt tax.

Compared with the former, the minister is more inclined to the latter. After all, the court has been too lax in the past regarding the salt tax, which has given many people an opportunity. "

The finance minister of Ming Dynasty finally showed his sword against the salt tax maladministration.

Listening to what Bi Ziyan said, Emperor Chongzhen's eyes flashed brightly, and the corners of his mouth couldn't stop rising. He had been waiting for Bi Ziyan to take the initiative to mention the reform of the tax and labor system to himself.

In Daming's financial revenue, salt tax revenue accounts for a very large proportion. However, with the corruption of the salt government system, the tax revenue of this part has dropped sharply. No matter how many methods are used to effectively solve the malpractice of salt tax Did not achieve expected results.

The corruption of officials in the officialdom of the Ming Dynasty cannot be effectively rectified, and it is unrealistic to want to change it at other levels.

Emperor Chongzhen calmed down, looked at Bi Ziyan and said, "What do the Qing family think about the rectification of the salt tax?"

Increasing the proportion of land tax involves a wider level and involves more groups. If he really dares to start in this area, then Daming will not want to stop.

If they dare to touch some core interests, then the civil servants of the Ming Dynasty will take the lead in jumping up, holding up the banner of ancestral system and etiquette, and after gaining a firm foothold, they will launch a swift counterattack. If the situation is maintained, they will be besieged on all sides.

Using one contradiction to cover up other contradictions is a trick commonly used by civil servants. Emperor Chongzhen did not want his many clear deployments to suffer any form of impact and influence.

If you really want to be forced to be involved in endless internal friction, then don’t even think about talking about development and change in the struggle. The general environment has changed. Who will tell you to do what you want to do with peace of mind?
Bi Ziyan pondered for a moment, and said with firm eyes: "As for the rectification of the salt tax, I now have some preliminary ideas. If the imperial court wants to effectively rectify the salt tax, it will take a longer period of time to gradually eliminate the malpractice of the salt tax. .

After all, there are many things that cannot be done overnight.

In particular, the relevant government orders issued by the imperial court will definitely have evasion and delay in the process of actually issuing them to the localities. "

It's because I'm worried that I'm in too much haste.

Emperor Chongzhen narrowed his eyes slightly, and did not show any impatience with what Bi Ziyan said. It seemed that he was talking a bunch of useless nonsense, which had nothing to do with the rectification of the salt tax, but he made a decision for the future. For a period of time, the tone involved the rectification of the salt tax.

Regarding the maladministration and bad debts of the Ming Dynasty's salt administration system, Bi Ziyan, the Minister of Finance of the Ming Dynasty, is very clear. The reason why he did not dare to mention this matter too much before is because there are too many levels involved.

The situation faced by the imperial court in the past was unstable.

In such a turbulent situation, if the imperial court takes action to rectify the salt tax, who knows if there will be more uprisings by kitchen households and private salt dealers under the rule of Ming Dynasty?

"The Qing family just speak with confidence and boldness."

Facing Bi Ziyan's gaze, Emperor Chongzhen smiled and said: "This is in Xiyuan, not in Wenhua Palace, so don't worry that if you talk too much, someone who cares will hear you.

I was not at the beginning of Yuji, and I didn't have a detailed and sufficient understanding of the situation in the country, so I said whatever the Qing family had.

I know that if the court wants to rectify the salt tax and then increase the tax revenue of the country, it will inevitably encounter many problems. What we, the monarchs and ministers, should do now is to reduce the problems as much as possible, so that the situation faced by the country and the court can be solved as much as possible. Chances are it won't get that bad. "

"Your Majesty is wise!"

Bi Ziyan was a little agitated, and hurriedly bowed and saluted.

The words of Emperor Chongzhen gave Bi Ziyan great confidence.

If the emperor can listen to his advice in rectifying the salt tax, then Bi Ziyan has the determination and confidence to gradually change the maladministration and problems in the salt administration through gradual adjustment and rectification.

In fact, what Bi Ziyan was most worried and afraid of was that the emperor wanted to see a change in the salt tax in a short period of time, and then increase the country's revenue.

If we really use this mentality to rectify the salt tax, the final result will definitely not be an increase in the country's salt tax revenue, but in exchange for chaos in the salt administration, destruction of local stability, and even Unimaginable riots will also break out in places with heavy salt taxes such as the Lianghuai and Huaihe Rivers.

"In fact, if the imperial court wants to effectively rectify the salt tax, it must be divided into several periods to gradually solve the maladministration and problems that need to be solved in different periods."

Bi Ziyan said with a serious expression: "Just like the period when the salt tax was rectified at the beginning, the focus of the imperial court's rectification should be on cracking down on illegal salt sales in various places, checking the salt farms in various places, checking the kitchen households under its jurisdiction, and targeting Shandong, Lianghuai, etc. Corresponding inspections and supervision should be carried out in places with heavy salt taxes.

To a large extent, the maladministration and problems of the Daming Salt Administration are rooted in problems, especially the illegal sale of salt, which has been banned repeatedly in various places.

If the court fails to achieve corresponding results in these matters, it is obviously unrealistic to rely on rectifying the salt tax and let the court increase the corresponding tax revenue. "

Emperor Chongzhen nodded his approval.

In the 45th year of Wanli, the Ming Dynasty abolished the "Kaizhong Law" and clarified the "Guidelines Law" in order to reduce sales. From then on, the government no longer collected salt, and instead traded directly between merchants and kitchen households. The right to purchase, transport and sell all belonged to merchants, and be hereditary.

The program of the established "Guangfa" is the commercial monopoly system of civil system, commercial revenue, commercial transportation, and commercial sales, which is called the government-supervised commercial sales system.

Regardless of whether the salt government system is good or bad, but under the environment of corrupt officials in the Ming Dynasty, the core interests of the bottom kitchen households were undoubtedly greatly violated and exploited. Said to be destroyed.

After all, with the collusion of local officials and businessmen, it is too easy to bully the superior and the inferior.

Bi Ziyan went on to say: "In this period of salt tax rectification, what the imperial court has to do should focus on the northern provinces. Along with the trial implementation of the governor's responsibility system, Zhili, Shandong, Henan, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Liaodong, etc. The local governors and supervisors gradually implemented the decrees issued by the imperial court.

As for the rectification of Jiangnan and Southwest provinces, the imperial court can relax a little bit more appropriately, first base on the actual rectification of the northern provinces, and lay the foundation for the rectification of salt tax in the next period.

After all, there are too many problems and maladministration in the Ming Dynasty's salt administration, and it is simply unrealistic for the court to try to solve them all in one go.

Instead of dispersing limited energy, it is better to focus on solving some areas first. After the salt government maladministration in these areas is initially resolved, the court can take more initiative.

The minister has calculated that if the salt tax rectification during this period can achieve the expected results, the court can at least increase the salt tax by more than 200 million taels. "

This kind of conscious avoidance of the important and the minor is indeed a positive trend in actively solving the Ming Dynasty's salt administration.

Emperor Chongzhen approved of Bi Ziyan's idea of ​​rectifying the salt tax in the early stage, but if the Ming Dynasty had not owed so much debt in the past in terms of salt administration, there was no need to adopt this kind of differential treatment.

In a sense, Bi Ziyan's method is an alternative appeasement strategy, using time for space to solve the problem step by step.

If the salt tax rectification in the early stage encountered various problems, resulting in a significant delay in the progress of the reform, then the rectification of the salt tax in the middle and late stages, no matter how well planned, is ultimately empty talk.

Emperor Chongzhen narrowed his eyes slightly and said: "The initial salt tax rectification proposed by the Qing family is based on the governors of various places. As long as they are willing to respect the imperial government's decree and assist the imperial court to rectify the local salt administration, many cumbersome matters can be effectively implemented.

In this case, the participation of the local disaster relief agency is still needed.

After all, if so many cumbersome matters are simply done by local governments at all levels, many things will inevitably be involved, and it is inevitable that there will be prevarication and constraints. "

Bi Ziyan nodded and said: "Indeed, at the beginning, His Majesty set up a special disaster relief office in the court and a special disaster relief office in the local area. I didn't understand it in my heart, after all, this is not part of the official system of Ming Dynasty.

However, as far as the results are concerned, the establishment of the local disaster relief agency has indeed helped the court solve many things, especially the batches of scholars who share the worries of the king and the community, and are willing to participate in the disaster relief agency and do their part. However, it has changed a lot. "

Emperor Chongzhen smiled, didn't say much else, and continued to ask Bi Ziyan: "If the initial salt tax rectification can be effectively implemented, what will the court do next?"

The Emperor Chongzhen knew whether the Disaster Relief Administration was good or bad. Compared with a corrupt official team, this newly established administrative system was not affected by bad trends.

Of course, relying on feelings and ideals to maintain the system of the disaster relief agency will not become decadent, and it is also unrealistic. Emperor Chongzhen had other ideas about this.

However, what needs to be considered at this stage is the rectification of the salt tax.

Bi Ziyan thought for a while, and said: "After the initial salt tax rectification was implemented, the imperial court took the initiative to promote the governor's responsibility system first, and implement it in Jiangnan and Southwest provinces.

With the new salary system to cover the bottom line, the corresponding opposition can be reduced, and the initial rectification of officials through the governor's responsibility system can effectively solve some corruption.

After clarifying these deployments, the imperial court is also consolidating the results of the salt tax rectification in the northern provinces, and then orderly promotes the initial salt tax rectification and implementation in the southern and southwestern provinces. "

Boiling frogs in warm water?
Emperor Chongzhen smiled.

He is now very clear that Bi Zi’s idea of ​​strictly rectifying the salt tax is to adopt a step-by-step approach to solve the known maladministration and problems step by step by layering and sub-regional, and by changing some established policies of the court. problems and maladministration.

In the process of rectifying the Ming Dynasty's salt administration, many problems will inevitably be exposed. What the court will have to do then is to solve these problems in a targeted manner.

Even if the so-called rebellion really broke out during this period, the imperial court still has a lot of initiative, and can mobilize the corresponding counter-rebellion army to go to the rebellion zone to suppress it with iron blood!

Bi Ziyan did not mention vested interest groups in a sentence, but aimed at vested interest groups in every sentence.

"Interesting, really funny."

Emperor Chongzhen clapped his hands and laughed loudly: "The rectification of the salt tax proposed by the Qing family is also a test for me, it depends on whether I can accurately implement some policies.

Regarding the initial and mid-term rectification of the salt tax proposed by the Qing family, the imperial court wants to gradually implement it. There is no five years, and I am afraid it is not enough. "

"The expectation in my heart is five to eight years."

Bi Ziyan said with firm eyes: "Through the effective rectification within this period, if the imperial court can gradually implement it, then within this period, the increase in the salt tax alone will be a considerable sum.

With this considerable increase in salt tax revenue, the court can solve many problems. When the salt tax rectification in the early and mid-term can be implemented in a real sense, the court can start the final rectification.

Repeal the law!

Clarify the new law!

The maladministration and problems of the Ming Dynasty's salt administration were the establishment of the so-called outline law, which undermined the imperial court's control. If the imperial court wanted to avoid problems in the salt administration, it had to clarify the new law.

However, I haven't figured it out yet. The new law involving salt administration, after all, involves too many levels and too many regions. Without more precise control, it cannot be clarified. "

Emperor Chongzhen said arrogantly: "If you haven't thought about it now, then think about it slowly, I have enough patience and time to wait for the Qing family to conceive the new law on salt administration.

The Qing family's method of rectifying the salt tax is of course not able to see results immediately, but it is better than stability, and what the current court needs is stability.

So the Qing family can do it with confidence.

What the Qing family needs to do, what the cabinet needs to do, and what the secretary needs to do, the Qing family can just speak up at that time. What the Qing family has to do now is how to get started and submit the corresponding memorial.

When these things are done, I will submit the memorial to the emperor, and I will let the Qing family want to rectify the salt tax law, and gradually implement it. "

"The minister obeys the order!"

Bi Ziyan couldn't hide his excitement.

Policies, things like this, can’t see the corresponding results without ten or eight years, not to mention the fields that involve many levels, so you need to be more patient. What the Emperor Chongzhen does not lack now is patience, because he also has a lot of ideas in his heart. Clearly, impatience will not solve any practical problems.

(End of this chapter)