New Shun 1730

Hubei's salt policy was a strategic victory if Shang Yang stood tall. If Zhang Yi deceives Chu, it will only be a tactical victory.

In the matter of pure salt policy, the two kinds of victory have the same result.

But for industry and commerce other than salt, it is very different.

Shi Shiyong came to Liu Yu with a dice cup and relayed the emperor's understanding of "sitting in the bank".

Liu Yuze also hoped that Shi Shiyong would convey that the banker made money by drawing reds, not by arranging the killing plate.

Even though it was obvious that the emperor was treating Sunan as a pigsty.

But Liu Yu hopes that the emperor understands that now, it is not yet a time of life and death, and it is not yet a time like the late Ming Dynasty when one has to use a knife to collect money. Even if you are a pigsty in your heart, you must follow the rules of the pigsty.

This is the real deal.

Liu Yu's public identity is Duke Xingguo of Dashun.

He can only be responsible for raising and fattening the pigs.

When killing a pig, if the pig stands up to resist, it still depends on the pig's ability. Do you expect him to save the pig and save the pig?

How to characterize the current salt policy reform in Dashun?

In essence, it was the proliferation of private salt, the general contractor's salt introduction system, and the salt industry legal regulations established in the 45th year of Wanli that seriously affected Dashun's salt tax revenue.

However, Dashun needs to show its "essence" to industry and commerce, pretending to be a market-oriented reform.

Even if the emperor doesn't think so at all, then the starting point of most reformists is the salt tax, but it doesn't matter.

The important thing is to get those in business and industry to think so.

Dashun is a very awkward country.

It is still the same as Liu Yu's "explicit vote and secret quotation" in Huaibei. If the voting system is completely liberalized and no secret quotation is carried out, then the monopoly of salt votes by wealthy merchants will be legal.

Going one step further, is it possible to abolish the salt tax faster than the UK? Is it possible to only collect the tax on the production side without any regulation by the court?

no.

Because the UK is surrounded by the sea on all sides, and the island is only so big, full competition can be guaranteed in production and transportation.

And Dashun... As far as Hubei is concerned, it is as far from the seaside as it is from London to Prague. With full liberalization, given the current transportation capacity, interest rate, and turnover cycle, there will be big businessmen monopolizing the salt industry in a province within five years.

In a word, it was right for a monopoly business organization like the British East India Company to be disbanded after the Industrial Revolution in 1857; but if it had been disbanded in 1657 and a free retail system had been established, anyone could go east of the Cape of Good Hope. The Netherlands and Portugal beat the shit out of them, and Britain was left to eat shit in the Eastern trade.

A similar situation is even more obvious in Dashun.

Under such extreme awkwardness, Liu Yu could only carefully weave a beautiful and illusory lie.

Scammers, don't keep throwing money into the land. In fact, industry and commerce also have rules. Don't be afraid. As long as you play within these rules, these bills of industry and commerce are as safe and reliable as land deeds.

Therefore, if Hubei Salt Reform wants to prevent Zhang Yi from bullying Chu, it must provide clear rules with loopholes. And within this rule, he used businessmen's methods to kill the Huainan salt merchants.

The banker goes directly to the market to gamble, and is willing to admit defeat.

In itself, this is the greatest face and the most effective reassurance for Dashun Industry and Commerce.

He wants Dashun's "Shen Wansan Story" to be defeated by business wars, not by imperial power.

At least, you have to pretend that's the case.

…………

A few days later, the opinions arising from the emperor's dice were secretly communicated to the emperor.

In this secret memorial, Liu Yu used the words "kill people and punish the heart".

I hope that the emperor will collect the bad behavior of those salt merchants during the salt reform process in Hubei. However, as long as it doesn't violate the rules, don't deal with it yet.

Wait for these things to be announced after victory here.

To show your Majesty's clear understanding, I have known for a long time that you are using these dirty tricks.

Secondly, to show His Majesty's tolerance and generosity, you are using these dirty tricks, but I am playing tricks with you.

The third purpose is to reassure Jiangsu merchants that as long as they play within the rules, they will be safe and secure. Stop thinking about investing money in land and try investing more in industry and commerce.

The emperor's instructions to Liu Yu's memorial were simple and clear, with only four words for the theme.

"This matter is up to you."

What the emperor meant was that this matter should be played with Liu Yu.

Because the emperor's goal is not to follow the rules, and in his view rules are not the highest priority.

The highest priorities are the reform of the salt policy in Huaihe and Huaihe and the reclamation of wasteland and salt reduction in Huainan.

If Liu Yu plays well, he can do this.

If Liu Yu messed up, the emperor would not care about those messy rules and would directly use violent machines to unplug the Huainan salt merchants.

Because the Huainan salt merchants no longer have the value of existing.

Whether it is war value or emergency borrowing value, it is gone.

For the emperor, fat pigs that were of no value to his rule could be slaughtered directly.

Liu Yu did this, and if it could be done, it would be considered as giving the emperor enough face, so as to avoid the "Shen Wansan" story, which would be unpleasant to later generations.

It's best to save face. But when face and lizi are at odds, one can only give up face and seek lizi.

After giving Liu Yu his approval, the emperor summoned Lin Min again.

There are some things that he, the emperor, needs to explain clearly so that Lin Min knows how to cooperate with Liu Yu there and be the salt envoy to Huaihe and Jiangsu Province during this transitional period.

After the summons, the emperor first asked Lin Min a question, a very scary question.

"Everyone in the court knows that if you want to control the river, you must first abolish the canal. Now that the canal has been abolished, in your opinion, can the Yellow River really be controlled?"

Lin Min thought that the emperor wanted to talk to him about the reform of the salt policy, or about the reclamation of wasteland and salt in Huainan.

Unexpectedly, the emperor asked such a scary question.

This question is impossible to answer.

Seeing that he had not spoken for a long time, the emperor said: "You are bold to speak, I want to hear the truth."

"Your Majesty... It can't be controlled. The siltation is very high every year, and it has been hundreds of years since the Song Dynasty. The huge amount of silt is really beyond human control. The former Fangong Dike is now a hundred miles away from the sea."

The emperor hummed and said: "Then, in your opinion, if something big happens to the Yellow River now, can this dynasty save it?"

Lin Min did not doubt this.

"Your Majesty, I say that things are different now."

"Nanyang rice, Liaodong wheat, and the grain that the court can control now are far more than in the previous dynasty. The wealth that can be gathered is also incomparable to the past. Even if there is a major disaster, it can be treated without leaving thousands of miles of barren land and millions of refugees."

"As the Duke of Xingguo said, the repair of the Huai River is a general rehearsal for disaster relief. The repair of the Huai River proves that the court can also save major disasters."

"Food dispatch, fiscal dispatch, and military dispatch all prove that this dynasty is stable."

The emperor laughed and said, "Have you noticed that whether it is Nanyang rice or Liaodong wheat, it is a place that cannot be threatened by the Yellow River and Hongze if there is a major disaster?"

"Now Jiangsu's Tian There are only three places that are in danger of disasters. "

"The Yellow River, Hongze, and sea flooding."

"If Jiangsu is hit by a disaster, the court can transfer rice for disaster relief."

"But if Jiangsu is hit by a disaster, where will the salt be transferred from?"

"Once there is a disaster, if it is just a flood affecting one province, with the current financial resources, transportation capacity, and sea transportation of grain-producing areas in our dynasty, as long as it is near the sea, there will be no millions of refugees and no children to eat."

"The salt tax in Lianghuai is more than 3 million, which can be used to purchase grain from Liaodong, Ezo, and Nanyang, which is also enough for disaster relief."

"But don't forget that if Jiangsu is hit by a major disaster, the salt will be gone. At that time, how can there not be chaos everywhere?"

Lin Min was shocked, but he had to admit that if Jiangsu really suffered a major disaster, the first thing to be affected would be the salt industry.

The three major disasters hanging over Jiangsu's head, the Yellow River, Hongze, and sea tidal backflow, as long as the scale is large enough, Huainan salt will inevitably be greatly affected.

The emperor added: "Therefore, Duke Xingguo strongly advocated that all salt fields be moved to the north of Xiangshui County."

"The surveying team said after surveying that even if something happens to the Yellow River in the future, it will not be a big deal if it is north of Xiangshui to Jiaodong."

"Duke Xingguo meant that the food and salt that are related to the stability of the court must be placed in the place with the least threat of disasters."

"The court has spent all its efforts and accumulated funds for several years to build a Huaihe River channel from Hongze to the sea."

"And the court cannot cure the Yellow River anyway. This disaster will happen sooner or later."

"Instead of hiding the disease and avoiding treatment, it is useless to think that This disaster needs to be considered. "

"It is better to plan ahead and carefully plan how to maximize disaster relief once something happens."

"Once a disaster occurs, the key lies in rescue."

"Whether it can be rescued and how well it can be rescued depends on how many resources the court has at its disposal."

"If the salt tax is abolished, the salt industry collapses, and the court has no money at the same time as the disaster, then this disaster will be huge. I am afraid that instead of a hundred thousand people dying, millions will eventually die."

Lin Min was sweating profusely. He might not have been afraid of medical treatment, but he really hadn't considered what to do if a huge natural disaster really happened.

According to this idea, this disaster is sooner or later and cannot be prevented. Dashun's ability has an upper limit, and this upper limit is absolutely impossible to subdue the Yellow River, which is not worth considering.

Therefore, since a disaster is bound to happen, disaster relief must be considered.

The premise of disaster relief must be that the court is still strong and has money.

Now, Liu Yu has transferred Dashun's "commercial grain" base through the two major strategies of going north and south. With the powerful shipping force, the food problem in disaster relief can be solved.

And what about salt after the incident?

Jiangsu is short of food, and the food in the whole country can be used to save it.

But if Jiangsu is short of salt, where can it be saved?

Huainan salt accounts for more than half of Dashun’s current salt production. Once something goes wrong, it will be a world-shaking event.

It’s not just the salt tax, but it will directly cause wars everywhere. The accumulated conflicts in various places will burst out because of the soaring salt prices.

After the emperor finished speaking, he said, "Don't I know that if the salt area is moved north, many people will lose their livelihoods? But as the saying goes, if you don't plan for the future, you can't plan for the present."

"The salt in Huainan is boiled, and the brine is getting thinner. If you want to dry the salt, Huainan is low-lying, and you can't get brine from the brine. You have to go to the sea, and there are many dangers near the sea."

"And the transportation of salt to various places depends on waterways. Once a disaster occurs, even if there is nothing happening on the seashore, what will happen if the salt transportation routes are destroyed?"

"If we start reclamation, Huainan will have no harvest, and we will still And use grain from other places to help. If the salt industry is developed, Huainan will have no harvest, where can we get salt? "

"Therefore, for the long-term benefit of the country, it is a great policy and a great benefit to abandon salt production and develop reclamation in Huainan."

"Haizhou, which is free from the risk of river disasters, produces salt; Songjiang Prefecture, which relies on the Yangtze River waterway, serves as a transit point for storage and distribution; and uses sea transportation as a connection."

"Although this is a great righteousness and a great benefit, it cannot be told to others to avoid panic. Today you know that you can no longer pass it on to others, and you should also do your best to assist and carry out this century-long plan."