Brother Zhu Youxiao

Chapter 115 Showdown
Yanyin, tea, wine, and iron were all monopolized by the imperial court in ancient times, but they were more relaxed in the Ming Dynasty.

In the early Ming Dynasty, because there was no chicken crowing in the north, the combined population of the four huge provinces of Hebei, Shanxi, Shaanxi, and Gansu was less than [-] million, so they were not as rich as the south.

Due to the lack of materials in the region, the troops stationed in northern Xinjiang need to spend a lot of money to buy materials.

In response to this poverty, the Ming Dynasty formulated a rule that Yanyin needs merchants to transport grain to border towns in exchange for it.

This system has greatly alleviated the material problem of the soldiers in northern Xinjiang. However, since the five years of Hongzhi, the opening of the payment of grain was changed to the opening of the silver, and everyone only needs to pay silver to the court to get salt.

The big salt merchants basically have people from the court to the localities, so in many cases, they can get a lot of salt by paying some silver coins.

It can be said that the cost of their salt is almost zero, and more costs are spent on top and bottom management.

Some merchants, in the name of "pen fee", asked honorable officials and officials to write inscriptions, and paid hundreds or even thousands, tens of thousands of taels of silver for a word, which was a disguised bribe.

The salt import system in the Ming Dynasty was the "Gang Salt System", that is, the merchants who held the salt imports were divided into 10 classes according to the region. It is called "woben", and there are three taels of silver for tax and three taels of silver for ministers (transportation).

On paper, the annual output of salt in the Ming Dynasty was 6 million catties. Salt tax revenue was originally based on the output, and the government received 6 taels, 6 cents and 4 cents of silver for each quotation. After all 6 million catties of salt were sold, the government should receive 1328 million taels of silver. But in fact, Daming only had 250 million taels of silver at most.

The reason for this, apart from corrupt officials, is that the price of official salt is too high.

A 300 catty of salt is imported, and the tax is 22 cents and [-] cents, which is equivalent to [-] Wen per catty of salt, while the private salt eaten by the people in the world is only [-] Wen. There is no way to actually collect the salt tax.

However, if the salt tax price of official salt can be lowered, Zhu Youjian can operate in it.

For him, rather than being eaten by those corrupt officials, he might as well eat it himself.

If he eats it, he can give the money he earns to the good emperor, the salt merchants, nobles, and civil servants. That's digging the grave for Daming.

Thinking of this, Zhu Youjian said to Wang Chengen:
"Cheng En, you said that if I want to ask for salt with the emperor, how much will the emperor give me?"

Zhu Youjian couldn't help asking, but Wang Chengen didn't think it was something to be ashamed of when he heard it, and said directly:

"If His Highness wants Yan Yin, judging by Wan Sui's attitude towards His Highness, I'm afraid he can ask for hundreds of thousands of Yin Yin..."

"Hundreds of thousands?!" Hearing this amount, Zhu Youjian's molars almost shattered.

A citation of [-] jins of salt, even the lowest [-] jins, has [-] million jins of salt. According to the current price of five coins per jin of salt in Beizhili, the [-] yin of salt can only be sold for [-] taels.

In this case, the income of one gang is only [-] taels, and the income of ten gangs is at most three million taels.

However, the Ming Dynasty stipulated that six taels, six coins and four cents should be paid for every introduction of salt, and Zhu Youjian would need to hand over six hundred and sixty-four thousand taels for [-] yuan.

From this point of view, the salt tax is really not that the officials don't want to collect it, but that it can't be sold at the official salt price...

However, if Zhu Youjian took a bunch of salt, and then traded it specifically to the Mongols, he sold it for [-] Wen per catty of salt.

So let’s not mention the distant places, just say that the six Mongolian regions of Inner Khalkha, Harqin, Tumed, Ordos, Chahar, and Horqin can digest about two million catties of salt.

Converted to this, the annual income... [-] taels!

After calculating this data, Zhu Youjian wanted to vomit blood.

Emotionally buying and selling salt in Daming is a loss-making business. Those online articles that sell salt reasonably are probably not street stall literature.

Zhu Youjian wanted to vomit blood, but he quickly realized that in his memory, except for the Ming Dynasty, the salt tax of other dynasties was the bulk of their fiscal revenue, so why could other dynasties sell so much silver?
After Zhu Youjian realized it, he immediately gritted his teeth and said a word: "Crack down on piracy..."

Yes, the price of private salt is cheap, don’t the common people go to buy private salt?

If there is no private salt on the market, only official salt, then the price is not up to the court.

Even after the crackdown on private salt, the official salt is priced at ten cents per catty, and you can still receive nearly six million taels of salt tax.

But at present, Ming Dynasty’s salt quotations cost an average of twenty-two renminbi a catty of salt, while private salt is only five or six renminbi, and expensive places cost more than ten renminbi, and only fools buy official salt.

He had a toothache when he thought of this, so he could only keep thinking about how to change the salt system.

He thought about it for a long time, and the most simple and direct way was for him to follow suit in making private salt.

That's right, he followed suit to engage in private salt. As long as he can rectify the guards in Shuntian Mansion and Yongping Mansion, he can directly produce sun-dried salt along the coast.

The cost of sun-dried salt is the lowest, but the cost of a thousand catties of salt is only a dozen yuan. Once the scale is formed, Zhu Youjian can start by selling private salt.

It’s a good price to choose ten yuan along the coast, and enclose tens of thousands of acres of good land to make private salt. Even if it’s only summer and sunny weather can dry salt, he can steadily produce [-] to [-] million catties of salt.

Then he can rely on these tens of thousands of acres of salt fields to realize his dream of earning a million taels of silver a year.

In the end, he directly built the Changlu Salt Field in advance, and built hundreds of thousands of acres of salt fields, with an annual output of more than two billion catties of salt.

At that time, if the private salt dealer sells five renminbi, he will sell four renminbi, and if the private salt dealer sells four renminbi, he will sell three renminbi.

However, such a problem exists, it is easy to kill the official salt first.

It's just that this problem is easy to solve, and he can just hand over the private salt income to the good emperor brother.

He doesn't need to do this kind of thing, he can find Jin Yiwei and get a few ordinary people who have nothing to do with it, and it can be done with a little effort.

It is impossible to say that even the nobles who are despised by civil servants can make private salt, but he, a prince with soldiers, horses and royal guards, can't do it.

"As long as all the people in Ming Dynasty eat my salt, even if it costs five cents a catty, they can earn ten million taels a year."

Zhu Youjian gritted his teeth, his heart ached, and after thinking about the thoughts in his mind, he finally tentatively confirmed to Wang Chengen:

"Are you sure Brother Huang will give me so much?"

"Perhaps there may be more." Wang Chengen said firmly, and explained for Zhu Youjian:
"During the Hongzhi period, Empress Zhang's two younger brothers, Bo Jianchang and Marquis Shou Ning, often asked Emperor Xiaozong Jing for salt quotations, and each time it was either [-] yuan or [-] yuan.

"The two of them can receive such grace, let alone His Highness..."

"The fate of these two people is not good..." Hearing Wang Chengen talk about these two guys, Zhu Youjian felt inexplicably weak.

But after thinking about how the emperor's brother indulged him, Zhu Youjian gritted his teeth, and clapped his hands directly: "It's done!"

"Cheng En, help me write the letter!"

As soon as Zhu Youjian opened his mouth, Wang Chengen brought paper from the table next to him, ground the ink himself, and then waited for Zhu Youjian to speak.

Zhu Youjian scratched his hair, and finally began to vomit bitterness.

He first talked about how difficult it was for the Yumajian, then said that the fields in the South Field hadn't been measured yet, and finally said that if the Seven Guards and the First Battalion were transferred to Ji Town, what would happen to the new recruits.

In short, this guy told himself that he was miserable, very miserable, and even dared to tell the lie that he only slept for two hours a day.

When Wang Chengen wrote the letter for him, he was suffering in his heart.

He knew very well that His Highness wouldn't get up if he didn't sleep for four hours a day, and sometimes he would stay in bed for half an hour.

Anyway, at the end, the whole letter looked like, those who didn't know thought that Zhu Youjian was arrested as a child laborer.

As for who arrested him as a child laborer, he didn't say, but it is estimated that Brother Huang knew that Zhu Youjian was secretly pointing at him as soon as he read the letter.

At the end of the letter, Zhu Youjian said directly without blushing and heartbeat:
【Brother, at the current price of salt, private salt is only four or five renminbi, but official salt needs at least twenty-two renminbi to not lose money, so the common people buy private salt instead of official salt. 】

[Brother is suffering, he is crying every night, it is not me who is crying, it is you, brother. 】

[Thus, the younger brother thought of a way, since he couldn't defeat the private salt, he simply joined them. 】

[I hope that in the spring of next year, my brother can turn a blind eye to my small business by the sea after I clear the guards in Ji Town and Shuntian Mansion. 】

【As long as things can be done, I promise to pay my brother two million taels of silver every year!】

When Zhu Youjian said this, Wang Chengen's hands were shaking.

I heard that Xungui and the vassal princes engaged in salt introduction, but this private salt and told the emperor's practice, His Royal Highness is really the first person in the ages.

At the end, when Wang Chengen finished writing the letter, his forehead was covered with cold sweat, while Zhu Youjian took the letter and looked at it with a smile, as if this was the treasure of making a fortune.

"Hurry up, ask someone to hurry up and send it to the Hall of Mental Cultivation for Brother Huang."

Zhu Youjian waved his hand, and Wang Chengen immediately said with a bitter face: "It's really a gift..."

"Nonsense!" Zhu Youjian frowned and said, "Is there any way to take back what I said, Your Highness?"

"Your servant obeys..." Wang Chengen was about to cry, and Zhu Youjian asked him again:
"and many more!"

Wang Chengen turned around, thinking that His Royal Highness had regretted it, but he didn't want him but smiled and said: "Then Cha Yin, tell me about it."

"Yes..." Wang Chengen cried and could only explain for Zhu Youjian.

Like salt, the Ministry of Households is in charge of tea affairs across the country, determines the number of courses, and sets up inspection censors to punish private tea, sets up a tea department and a tea horse department to handle tax collection and horse purchases, and an inspection office to check the authenticity of references.

Tea in the Ming Dynasty was divided into commercial tea and official tea. The tea Yima was the official tea, and it was Shang tea that gave out tea Yin and collected taxes.

Commercial tea is sold in the south of the Yangtze River, official tea is sold in Hanzhong, Shaanxi and Sichuan, and commercial tea allows merchants to buy tea for sale, while official tea is needed by local governments to buy horses.

Today, Nanchang Yumajian has the tea guide of Shangcha.

Since the Ming Dynasty implemented the uniform quotation method for commercial tea, the Ministry of Households sold the tea to the tea-producing states and counties. Every merchant who bought tea went to the official bureau to sell the weight. Outbound goods are sold.

For every [-] catties of tea imported, the government will set a distance limit according to the distance of the area where the tea is sold. After passing through the place, it needs to be inspected to check the number of tea imported and the weight of the tea before release.

When the merchant transports the tea to the place where the tea is sold, he also needs to pay the sales tax to the tax department at a rate of [-]% out of [-].

As for the price of tea quotations, leaf tea costs 200 yuan and bud tea costs 300 yuan, with a median value of 250 yuan, which is equivalent to a tax of 2.5 yuan per catty of tea.

The annual tax income of commercial tea is only a few hundred thousand taels, but in fact, the rough tea in the south of the Yangtze River can be sold for more than ten yuan per catty, and the high-quality tea can even be sold for two hundred yuan.

Zhu Youjian's [-] teas from the South Field of the Yumajian only need to pay [-] taels of tax to buy [-] catties of bud tea.

This [-] catties of bud tea, if you spend money on connections and directly buy the best kind of tea, you can sell it for [-] taels of silver, a profit of more than [-] times.

Thinking of this, Zhu Youjian's hands were itchy again, but Wang Chengen's scalp was numb and he said in advance:

"Your Highness, private tea is a loss-making business..."

"I know." Zhu Youjian gave him a white look, then stepped forward and said with a smile:

"Cheng En, you said that if I asked Brother Huang for tea, how much would he give?"

"This..." Wang Chengen really didn't dare to say it, but Zhu Youjian said to himself: "I can still give tens of thousands of quotations..."

"Your Highness..." Hearing this outrageous words, Wang Chengen couldn't help but said:

"There are only about [-] tea citations in the whole world..."

"So little? Then I only need [-] quotations." Zhu Youjian said cheekily, and asked Wang Chengen to mention the tea quotations at the end of the letter.

[In addition, I'm so thirsty recently, I hope my brother can send me [-] tea quotes, and my brother will pay taxes honestly...]

"This stinky boy..."

In the Hall of Mental Cultivation in Qianqing Palace, when Zhu Youxiao read the letter that Zhu Youjian asked Wang Chengen to write with a wrinkled face, he was instantly annoyed.

This letter was written yesterday, but Zhu Youxiao could tell at a glance that it was written by Wang Chengen.

He took the letter and waved it at Wang An, Wei Zhongxian, and Keshi, "Look, my brother really dares to ask for anything!"

"He also said that he wanted to engage in private salt, and told me to turn a blind eye to the impeachment of civil servants. Tell me, does this make sense?"

Zhu Youxiao is obviously complaining about Zhu Youjian, but there is a smile on his face.

He wasn't unhappy, he was just complaining, which anyone with a discerning eye could see.

"Long live..." Wang An, as Zhu Youjian's person, spoke first:

"The matter of private salt, if it is really as His Royal Highness said, it is actually not impossible."

yes……

When Wang An spoke, Zhu Youxiao nodded slightly in agreement.

If it is true that according to what Zhu Youjian said in his letter, if he manages the private salt and then can pay millions of taels of silver every year, it is not impossible to do this.

The total salt tax in the whole world is only more than two million taels, and sometimes it is only more than one million.

Zhu Youjian only engages in private salt in Shuntianfu, Yongping, and Tianjin. This is an approach that does not involve the forces in the south of the Yangtze River and the Huaihe River. Although they will also impeach, they must not be strong.

After all, before Zhu Youjian, there were not no vassal kings who messed with Yanyin and messed with private salt, on the contrary, there were many.

Not to mention anything else, only King Fu, King Qin, King Shu, King Chu and other vassal kings are impeached every year for engaging in private salt, but there is not much movement.

As long as the civil servants in Jiangnan and Huaihe Rivers do not jointly impeach Zhu Youjian, then the matter can be controlled, but the problem that needs attention is, what will the nobles in the capital think?
In fact, most of the private salt in the north is related to nobles. This kind of thing has been known to the emperor since Jiajing.

But honor is a card of imperial power, which can be used or not, so the emperor has been compromising.

But now, Zhu Youxiao has a good younger brother, someone who can be used, and Xungui has become a hindrance to him, so he must be removed.

Thinking of this, Zhu Youxiao thought about the investigation of the Beizhili Guards and the Tianxia Guards.

He looked at Wei Zhongxian next to him, changed the topic and said:
"How is Sun Chuanting, who my younger brother sent to Bi Jiewei?"

"Long live back..." Wei Zhongxian said with a flattering smile:
"Then Sun Chuanting is worthy of being recommended by His Highness the Fifth Highness. In less than half a month after arriving in Bijie, he has already cleared up the army at the Qixing Pass in Bijiewei and recruited thousands of soldiers and horses."

"I guess it won't be long before Bijiewei can be completely reorganized into Bijiefu."

"Really..." Zhu Youxiao murmured meaningfully, and after a few seconds, he looked at the letter in his hand.

After a few seconds, he smiled helplessly and said:

"That's all, my brother doesn't ask me for anything on weekdays. Every time he asks for something, it's to help me. Just give him the private salt and tea."

As he said, Zhu Youxiao looked at Wang An and said:
"Tell the household department that another [-] tea coins will be distributed to Yumajian Nanchang. The tax for this tea coin must be paid normally and must not be in arrears."

"In addition, you send someone to write back to my younger brother, just talking about the private salt. When he will replace the soldiers and horses of Ji Town in Shuntian Mansion and Yongping Mansion, and the guards will be abolished, then ask me."

"The maidservant takes orders..." Hearing this, Wang An knew that the matter of private salt was probably done.

But he still got up and said to Zhu Youxiao: "Long live, the British Duke..."

"Well, go and talk about it, including telling him about the abolition of the guards in Shuntian Mansion and Yongping Mansion."

Zhu Youxiao glanced at Wang An meaningfully, and Wang An also understood what he meant, so he saluted slightly and exited the Hall of Mental Cultivation.

Since it was just after noon, Wang An didn't delay, and directly got into the carriage and rushed to the British government.

After seeing Wang An, who was a familiar face, the boy at the door hurriedly asked someone to pass the news, and led Wang An to the garden of the British government.

The British government, which has been in business for two hundred years, covers an area of ​​more than [-] mu. Even if the house price was not high in the Ming Dynasty, it is still worth a thousand dollars in a place where every inch of land is very expensive in the capital.

When Wang An came to the garden, he happened to meet Zhang Weixian who was sitting in the pavilion making tea and reading a book.

Because of the similar age, and Zhang Weixian was also one of the nobles who supported Zhu Changluo at the beginning, Wang An sat opposite him when he arrived.

Without raising his head, Zhang Weixian said, "Looking at you, it's obviously not a good thing..."

"For you, it's really not." Wang An nodded slightly, and then said:
"Old Duke, I will not hide it anymore. Long Live is going to let His Highness the Fifth Highness abolish the guards in Shuntian Mansion and Yongping Mansion, and replace the troops in Jizhen."

"In addition, the imperial court has no money, and His Royal Highness is going to make smuggled salt to subsidize the internal funds."

"Long live let me come to ask you what you mean..."

"What do I mean?" Zhang Weixian said with a helpless smile, "What can I mean?"

"You know the matter of the guards, the private salt, and the soldiers and horses of Ji Town better than anyone else. Even if I say it, it's useless."

"Perhaps in the eyes of outsiders, I, Zhang Weixian, are the head of honor, but you, Wang An, still don't know?"

After hearing Zhang Weixian's words, Wang An fell silent.

In this game of power, no matter how high the position is, it needs to be pulled by one person and lifted by a group of people.

The person who pulled was undoubtedly the supreme emperor, and the group of people who were raised were those who gathered together because of their interests.

Zhang Weixian remained indifferent to Zhu Youxiao's deprivation of Xungui's interests little by little, and now some Xungui are dissatisfied with him.

Wang An also knew it well, so he said to Zhang Weixian:
"I won't hide it from you, His Royal Highness has already trained more than [-] troops in Changping, and there is no room for..."

After saying a word, Zhang Weixian paused when he wanted to take the teacup. He was obviously shocked by the news, but he quickly regained his composure.

As for Wang An, he continued: "Xungui's power is too weak. After the Fifth Highness and Long Live join forces, you should have seen their methods."

"The five parties of Qi, Chu, Zhejiang, Xuan, and Kun who were invincible in the past have all suffered a loss, let alone you?"

"How many people can there be in the Beijing camp? How many cards do you have left to play?"

"Long live knows that you are loyal, old man, so I will tell you these things."

"But this is embarrassing me..." Zhang Weixian put down the teacup in his hand and let out a long sigh.

"Old Duke, I don't know what to say no matter how much I say. Think about it for yourself, whether you want to protect the nobles or protect the great Ming." Wang An wanted Zhang Weixian to make a choice.

Faced with his aggressiveness, Zhang Weixian hesitated.

The nobles are not necessarily royalists, they may also be the group that sucks the most blood.

Shuntian Mansion and Yongping Mansion, or in other words, how many army farms in Beizhili were occupied by nobles?This is an uncountable quantity.

Thirty-six guards, two schools...

Of the tens of millions of acres of military farmland, no matter how small, the nobles in Beijing have embezzled at least three to four million acres of military farmland.

These millions of acres of military farmland can hand over millions of shi of grain to Daming.

Including the people under them, I am afraid that tens of millions of acres of military farmland have been invaded and wiped out.

If Zhu Youjian wants to abolish all the guards in Shuntian Mansion and Yongping Mansion, then more than [-] guards will be involved. These guards will involve millions of mu of cultivated land...

How impossible it is to give up millions of acres of arable land in Jing Xungui.

But in front of the imperial power, a noble without military power is like a lamb waiting to be slaughtered.

The only military power they can use may be the three major battalions of the capital who have been eaten up and don't know how many people are left.

With this amount of people, even the imperial city couldn't get in, and it was estimated that Zhu Youjian's seven guards and one battalion would wipe it out.

Thinking of this, Zhang Weixian gritted his teeth and said after a while: "I advise!"

"Then I'll take my leave." After getting the answer, Wang An got up and left.

Looking at his back, Zhang Weixian could only wave his hands to call the mansion chief, and explained to him:
"Tell all the honorable patriarchs in Beijing to come to the main hall of the mansion to discuss matters..."

"Yes" Hearing the words, the manager stepped back and started to notify the nobles in various prefectures.

Looking at the back of the person in charge, Zhang Weixian sighed and said:
"Long live, do you really think that training soldiers is so easy? They won't believe it, you were also deceived by His Royal Highness..."

　one more chapter

　　
　
(End of this chapter)