eldest son of Ming dynasty

For Gu Zuo, he felt that the most amazing thing about the emperor's reform ideas was the combined payment method, and the right to choose whether to choose the true color or the color has returned to the imperial court.

Now that the salt merchants are required to pay all the grain, the salt merchants will take advantage of it and the court will suffer losses due to insufficient grain prices.

Nowadays, the combination of the two methods requires more food in wartime and more silver taels in peacetime, and can be flexibly changed according to actual needs. From this point alone, it is quite good.

However, Mr. Li Ge has been in the court for many years and has rich experience, so what he said is not wrong.

After returning home, Gu Zuo couldn't sleep all the time, and he kept planning all aspects of the salt method in his mind, so much so that he bumped into someone while walking on the road the next day.

In the evening, the housekeeper handed over a post saying that someone paid a visit to the mansion, and upon opening it, it was a familiar name.

It was Mei Kejia who came.

After Kaihai was legalized, his identity was also legalized, so he has also carried out a lot of activities in the capital recently. As the boss of Meiji, there is an important official he has to deal with, that is, the Shaofu Order.

Shaofu is currently in charge of some silk merchants and cloth merchants in Hangzhou, and has also started to carry out grain merchant business.Hemei Kee is an organization with similar approaches but equally satisfactory results.

Moreover, in Hangzhou, some workshops and shops under their respective jurisdictions have business contacts, and they are still servants of the household department, so they cannot be ignored.Whether he can see him or not is up to Gu Shilang, and whether he goes or not is his own business.

In February, the capital has begun to warm up. Several peach trees in the courtyard have sprouted buds, and the breeze is gentle, bringing a little coolness, which feels good.

Gu Zuo received him formally,
A few days ago, the emperor brought this man's two daughters into the palace. Really speaking, this is the head of the country.

Gu Zuo remembered Zhang Mao, the imperial envoy of Zuo Fudu whom he had seen this morning when he went to the court. The old man now has a high prestige in the court, because the emperor listened to his advice and went to the palace to pick up the girl.

After all, because the Holy Majesty is too diligent, it is said that he has not yet summoned anyone to sleep, so the officials are somewhat worried whether there will be a problem here.

Now that this matter has finally come to fruition, Zhang Mao is considered a great achievement no matter what.Faintly, some people feel that his status is also close to that of Jiuqing.

Because Zhang Fuhua, the current censor of Zuodu, is not favored, he will definitely give up his position in the near future.

Anyway, there are probably the most gossips in Beijing, and it's nothing more than who gets promoted and who gets favored again.Personnel appointments are touching.

in the house,
When Gu Zuo really saw Mei Kejia, he was suddenly a little surprised, because Mei Kejia was still wearing linen instead of silk.

In fact, no matter whether it was the title of the sixth grade of meritorious service or the status of the head of the country, it would be no problem for Mei Kejia to wear silk and satin.I don't know what will happen to the relatives in the Zhengde period... If it was in the Hongzhi period, let alone wearing silk and satin, maybe they would be granted the title of marquis or duke.

And Mei Kejia's answer to this was: "I'm used to it. After wearing coarse linen clothes for most of my life, if I suddenly wear silk and satin, I feel awkward."

"Mr. Mei has a rich family, but it's unexpected that he can be so frugal. Compared with it, we are all ashamed."

Mei Kejia felt that the role of the Mei Mansion in the capital had always been subtle, and over the years, everyone knew that his family was very rich.Now he is related to the emperor again.

A businessman also turned into an official.

Any one of these things is easily enviable.

If the small Mei Mansion becomes some kind of focus, it is actually very dangerous in the capital. After all, their foundation is still superficial.

As for the emperor's favor,

Mei Kejia is not a child, so many ups and downs throughout the ages can be seen in his eyes.Today, the son is a wise king for a while, once he crosses the line, his own people like Wei Bin will also be killed.

"Young Situ, after the imperial court opened the sea, Meiji plans to ship a batch of silk and porcelain to the sea in the spring of this year. Right now, the ship is being prepared and the goods are being counted. Young Situ is in charge of the Shaofu Order. If necessary, you can take Meiji's ship to sea. .”

The government's business is not like real business. Mei Kejia is so friendly after all because he is the servant of the household department.

"That's fine. It's just that I don't know how much silk the workshops in various parts of Zhejiang can produce this year. In the past few days, I have ordered them to make statistics, and inform Mei Gong as soon as possible after the results are obtained. By the way, His Majesty also ordered me to set up a shipbuilding department." As for the factory, Mr. Mei seems to follow orders, but he doesn't know how the factory is doing? Are there enough shipbuilders?"

Mei Kejia was a person in the shopping malls in his early years, and had a lot of dealings with officials, so he couldn't understand what he said, "The lower officials are also okay, if Shao Situ needs it, Mei Ji can allocate two hundred craftsmen. "

Gu Zuo was overjoyed, "Really? It's so good! In the past few months, there have been too many people buying ships, but there are not enough shipbuilders!"

Mei Kejia smiled slightly, "Your Majesty should have some talents. Mei Kejia remembered the matter of the shipyard early, and she should have expected this day at the beginning."

"How does Mr. Mei think of His Majesty's talents?" Gu Zuo is now deeply buried in economics.

Because Zhu Houzhao actually reveals some economic concepts of later generations to a greater or lesser extent in his daily life.

For example, the Shaofu decree is taken from the people, used for the people, and let him supervise the construction of the city that never sleeps.

The emperor is not a miser, but instead finds ways to spend money, but it is obvious that the emperor hates spending money for no gain.

Even like Futao, Futao focuses on the fertile land and grassland south of Yinshan Mountain.

Mei Kejia came from a businessman background, Gu Zuo might still be more willing to communicate with him than those officials in the imperial court who consider personnel and politics.

On the one hand, this is an interest, and on the other hand, he also has selfishness in it.

Because he discovered that there are things hidden here that few officials actually notice, and the more proficient he is, the more he will be trusted by the emperor as a minister.

He himself is not a long-sleeved official, and now he has found another way, of course he plunged into it.

Mei Kejia didn't think too much about it, and just used his instinct as a businessman to do things for the emperor, "Your Majesty, it seems to me that His Majesty often has amazing words about gold, silver and money. After a few years now, if you want to say that you understand... ...The lower officials will think that the word 'making a living' is the most important."

Joy welled up in Gu Zuo's heart, which coincided with his feelings, but he didn't say anything immediately, but continued to ask: "Why do you know that?"

Mei Kejia didn't think otherwise, and said: "Wang Butang, governor of Zhejiang and Fujian, issued a letter to the imperial court, saying that after the opening of the sea, the city and shipping departments in the three coastal areas will definitely accumulate personnel, so he applied for the allocation of money to build the city. His Majesty agreed. , Your Majesty said that this way you can hire people who have a hard life; in fact, the same is true for Kaihai. Your Majesty thinks that Zhejiang and Fujian have few fields and many mountains, so you need to open the sea to provide other livelihoods for the people, so that as many people as possible can find a way to survive and farm land. , work, no matter how to earn enough food."

These words reached Gu Zuo's heart, and he couldn't help cupping his hands, "Everyone in the court said that I am good at saving branches, and I can best understand the holy meaning. I never thought that when I met Mei Gong today, I would feel like meeting a confidant. In the past, this official felt this way, but he didn't have it as clearly as Meigong said."

"Young Situ is humble. No one in the world knows that His Majesty advocates practical work. Young Situ is the most admired subject of His Majesty."

"I don't mention that. By the way, Mr. Mei, do you know any salt merchants?"

"Salt merchant?" Mei Kejia was surprised, but still nodded, "I'm not familiar with it, but there are some who can talk to me."

"This official is also thinking about it recently... the salt merchants are struggling to keep their expenditures, and the court's salt law is very bad. So if the salt farms can also be auctioned to the salt merchants, won't there be no problem of keeping their expenditures?"

Of course Gu Zuo would not say that it was the result of his discussion with the emperor.

The matter has not yet been decided, how can it be so easy to speak out with the emperor?

But he also wanted to discuss it with Mei Kejia, so he said it was his own imagination, which is no problem.A person who continues to wear common clothes because he can wear silk and satin will not be so careless as to take out the words of the servant of the household department concerning the salt law.

A detail is enough to understand a person.

After hearing this, Mei Kejia really frowned, and his eyes were full of contemplation. He first asked tentatively: "The salt industry has been monopolized by the government since ancient times. Although I don't know what an auction is, is it a bit strange to sell it?" adventure?"

"I'm just thinking about it. If the solution is feasible, I will go to His Majesty again. If it is impossible, I will just say it, and you will just listen to it."

After hearing these words, Mei Kejia still didn't let go of his guard, and continued to talk to Xi Ni: "Please tell Situ clearly."

So Gu Zuo told him all about the meaning of the auction and the set of property rights and management rights.

After listening to it, Mei Kejia was deeply shocked. He thought in his heart that Gu Liqing was said to be the emperor's next Minister of the Household Department and a candidate for future cabinet ministers, but at first he seemed younger than himself at a young age. Some do not believe it.

Now hearing that this person can creatively come up with the concept of separating property rights from management rights, he suddenly feels that he was wrong in the past.The talent of this person can definitely be the best in the court.

"Mr. Mei, I don't know if you think this change in the salt law is better or worse?"

What the household servant said was very profound, so Mei Kejia could tell whether there was sincerity or not, so he also thought about it seriously, and after thinking for a while, he replied: "Young Situ, can you please let me ask you, why do you want to be honest?" Change like this?"

"The salt law is broken, so change it."

Mei Kejia pursed his lips tightly, "Let's not mention how loud the opposition from the government is. Just this change, the salt merchants will turn into a salt gang."

Gu Zuo was taken aback, "Can you see it?"

"The salt industry has been making huge profits since ancient times, and those who gain such profits can easily accumulate huge wealth. And the setting of the management right period requires the salt merchants to give up the cash cow. Who would want to do that?"

"Mei Gong means that they will interfere with it."

"Not only to obstruct it, but to use all means to prevent other people from robbing their own salt fields. When necessary, they will even resort to force. In this way, one merchant and one gang will fight each other, and it will not be far."

Gu Zuo nodded seriously.

The main point of this is rather simple. To put it bluntly, businessmen will become gangsters.

To put it in extreme terms, even if other people are auctioned to the saltworks, some villains will try to make you unable to make money.Over time, the salt merchants will be gradually reduced to a few in the battle and elimination, and these few must be powerful and rich.

This is a bit like the underworld, and salt is like poison.It's because the interests in this are too great, so big that it's not just a piece of paper saying that you all obey the rules and others will obey the rules.

Gu Zuo silently wrote it down.

Then he asked, "Is there anything else?"

"Also, after the imperial court was no longer in charge of the production of the salt field, but only obtained the income from the auction of the salt field, many officials of the salt government were no longer needed. The Ming Dynasty had six salt transportation departments, seven salt department promotion departments, and There are nearly 1000 salt departments in various salt farms, and there are also a number of inspection and inspection departments. There are more than [-] officials, where are these people going?"

In Mei Kejia's view, this is the biggest resistance to the so-called reform.

These 1000 people are not a thousand ordinary people, they are all court officials, and the salt transport envoys of the Salt Transport Department are senior officials from the third rank.

Zhu Yuanzhang was harsh on civil officials, the second-rank officials were almost the limit of civil officials, and the third-rank officials were not small.

The key point is that the more than 1000 people still have relatives and friends. If this counts, thousands of people may oppose such reforms.

Of course Gu Zuo understands, "But if we don't change it like this, the court will investigate the reason for keeping the branch, and the actual use of the meritorious officials and vassal kings to beg for salt, so things will be more complicated."

"The meaning of the lower official is that if the whereabouts of these people can be arranged, it is not impossible to change like this."

Gu Zuo thought to himself, they are all a bunch of corrupt officials, and the emperor probably wouldn't arrange them.

Even, the emperor was eager to get rid of these people.

Otherwise, this would not be regarded as an important advantage of such a reform.

Thinking about it one more step, if this group of people really want to investigate carefully, according to the character of the emperor, maybe they will handle a few more major corruption cases.

"There is no place to go. Meigong, the imperial court has done such a difficult thing as opening the sea. It's just a few officials. They can't blackmail the current Holy Majesty."

Mei Kejia thought, this is true, but I am afraid that it will not go so smoothly.

He is a businessman, and he knows how these benevolent and moral people will react if they cannot get money.

"...Young Situ, in fact, there are precedents of Meiji and Shaofu Ling, why didn't you think about setting up a royal salt merchant by the imperial court?"

Gu Zuoxin said that I thought so too,
It's just that the emperor was right, that would soon lead to a flood of private salt.Because of the insurmountable inefficiency of 'state-owned enterprises', it will definitely bring official salt with poor quality and high price.

"Only by reducing the involvement of officials as much as possible can we minimize corruption."

Mei Kejia didn't expect an official to say such a thing by himself, and respect rose in his heart, "The country is fortunate to have a loyal minister like Situ."

……

……

"Salt Gang?"

In the Qianqing Palace, Gu Zuo knelt down in front of Zhu Houzhao, and what he described was the flaw Mei Kejia mentioned.

The emperor pondered for a while, he is not a god, of course he would not take all aspects into consideration, so he was actually thinking seriously when he heard this word.

"In this way, the imperial court's auction is ultimately a mere formality, and the ownership of the salt farm ultimately depends on the results of the struggle between the so-called salt gangs."

Gu Zuo nodded, "Yes. Even the Salt Gang will combine with officials in the court. Once the power really grows, the court will take the salt farm to someone else, and this person may not dare to accept it."

"If you are afraid that the salt merchants will grow bigger, you can set an upper limit. For example, the same salt merchant cannot operate more than a certain number of salt farms at the same time. The specific number will be drawn up at that time."

"The minister is only afraid that the government and businessmen will collude, and the terms formulated by the court will be regarded as nothing."

"Isn't that an obvious crime?"

Gu Zuo's heart skipped a beat, this moment was actually called the emperor's mind.

In Zhu Houzhao's view, this is similar to cutting leeks. I draw a height, oh, you have grown, okay, then I will cut you.

Zhu Houzhao paced back and forth in the hall with his hands behind his back, "The problem of the Salt Gang will not exist when I am still alive. I am afraid that the king of future generations will be weak and incompetent, and it will be difficult to control it at that time."

This is the truth.

As long as he is here, he can't wait to come to his five rich salt gangs like Shen Wansan.

You stock up on silver, and I stock up on armies.

Find the facts of the crime casually, and ransack the house if you find it. Once you copy it, you will be punished for three years.

Setting an upper limit is actually for the consideration of future kings.If this is not enough.To be honest, that is, the emperors of later generations are not good, and people are not good. What rules did the ancestors set so that you can guard the country well?
Gu Zuo thought about it carefully. Although the emperor's method was a bit harsh, it should be feasible. If there are really salt merchants who are trying to become bigger, then the imperial court can also recruit people according to this provision.

"Your Majesty, I still want to go to Yangzhou."

The current Yanyin production in the Ming Dynasty is about 300 million salts per year, of which 70 are from Yangzhou. Gu Zuo made this request, and in Zhu Houzhao's view, it is to "go deep into the grassroots" for investigation.

The so-called practical officials are probably like this.

"Precise play."

At present, the Yanyin in Hongzhi and Zhengde years is about 4-5 qian, that is, between 0.4 tael and 0.5 tael.

But this is the price that the salt merchants got from the imperial court. After they received the salt, they sold it to the water merchants at what price, and at what price the water merchants sold it to thousands of people.

This has to be carefully understood to know.

Zhu Houzhao is not a scholar who specializes in Ming history.

He is good at remembering major historical events, how much does the common people spend on salt, how does he know?
So we can also see the significance of Gu Zuo's trip.

Because only when the actual price is mastered, can we set an auction price for Yanyin.Otherwise, it is playing the piano indiscriminately.

However, according to Zhu Houzhao's own estimation, the price space in the middle is definitely not small.Because the merchants in the salt business are very rich, there is always a reason for their wealth.

There are about 10 saltworks in Daming, each of which can be auctioned for an average of 40 taels, so if 400 salt farms are auctioned a year, that is [-] million taels.

Daming’s salt tax income is basically stable between 100 million and 300 million taels, 300 million taels is very little, most of them are more than 200 million, so it’s nearly double the increase and at the same time get rid of a large number of corrupt officials. The basis for doing it.

As for how Gu Zuo said that thousands of officials opposed it, Zhu Houzhao also had such a mental preparation.

But since Gu Zuo is going to Yangzhou, there is no need to rush this matter,
Moreover, Yang Yiqing was about to enter Beijing. The highlight of the imperial court at this time was how to formulate the goals for the first year of Zhengde.

In addition to Yang Yiqing, Zhou Shangwen also went to Beijing by order.

Zhu Houzhao felt that since it was a big discussion in the imperial court, the generals should also have their voices.

In fact, the number of people in Beijing has increased recently, and officials from all over the country have the duty to go to Beijing to discuss politics.

People like Mao Yuwen, Wang Jia, and Wang Shouren all returned to the capital one after another.

Among them, Fengxi, the chief minister of Fujian, reported another unexpected event to Wang Shouren.It made Zhu Houzhao wonder if this person had any magical abilities.

The reason for the incident is not complicated. After the opening of the sea last year and the beginning of the first year of Zhengde, the silent majority who had previously supported the opening of the sea in various places began to exert their strength. For example, there are Meiji in Zhejiang and several big businessmen attached to Meiji are planning to join forces to go to sea.

What about Fujian?
Under the leadership of Wang Shouren, Fujian carried out another wave of show operations.

The so-called saying that there are many mountain bandits in the hilly area is indeed true, but Wang Shouren probably earned his reputation by suppressing the bandits.
His name spread in the mountains of Fujian, so much so that he really announced that wherever he went to suppress bandits, the people in that place would automatically surrender!

Of course, this is also inseparable from his kindness to these bandits. In his opinion, bandits are all from households of common people.

On this basis, Wang Shouren teamed up with the leaders of a group of bandits, and those who were willing to go to sea in this group also worked step by step according to the original customary 'organizational relationship', and they started their old business!
It turns out that bandits are armed forces that rob the road of property.Now they're going to sea!
Wang Shouren then suggested to Fengxi that he felt that after the opening of the sea, the cargo ships of Ming Dynasty must travel everywhere on the sea. Of course, the purpose of sea operations is not to rob goods, but to fight against Japanese pirates and protect Ming's merchant ships!

Of course, this requires funds. Wang Shouren did not ask the court to spend much money. He first suggested that the court exempt these people from the huge fee for the access system that these people have to pay in the Shibo Department, and secondly, he hoped that the court would allow them. It also does sea trade business, and provides a certain degree of preferential treatment for various taxes.

Fengxi felt that the matter was important, so he sent a memorial to the capital without hesitation.

How can Zhu Houzhao not be surprised when he sees it?
What kind of routine is this Wang Shouren? If he participates in politics, he will be armed with a sea weapon, right?This is not a big official yet. If you really want to give power, do you have to dominate Nanyang?

This is not a small matter, Zhu Houzhao has to think it over carefully, logically speaking, there is nothing wrong with sending a bunch of domestic desperadoes to sea to torture Japanese pirates.

Armed forces may be involved, and this must be done with caution.

From the perspective of a local official, Wang Shouren hoped that the court would agree to his proposal as much as possible, so he tried not to let the court spend money.

But Zhu Houzhao, as the emperor, knows that some money cannot be saved, even if he wears his belt.This group of people really went to the sea to play wild, not taking your money, not serving your bowl, and when you want to use it, will he recognize you?
Zhu Houzhao fell into deep thought according to the written imperial decree, which was Wang Shouren's transfer order. He had been entangled for many days and had already thought about it.But after seeing Fengxi's memorial, he thought twice, and he still called the things to Liu Jin, "Put it away first, and take it later when you need it."

"The slaves obey the order."

Zhu Houzhao stepped out of the Qianqing Palace, leaning on the white jade railing, blowing the spring breeze in February, he suddenly figured out a problem.The Northwest does not need Wang Shouren, because of Yang Yiqing, and a certain province of Ming Dynasty does not need Wang Shouren, and they will just let it go.

But Southeast needs it. If this memorial is accurate, then Wang Shouren can't leave, because he has subdued many people.Moreover, the sea is different from the land, and the new situation will inevitably require a flexible head to deal with it.

"Xuan Wang Shouren enters the palace."

"Yes!"