Tanhualang

It is not an exaggeration to say that the grain waterways in the north and south are the lifeblood of the country.

Since the establishment of this dynasty, the chaos in the northern border has not subsided.The Tatars were driven to the barbaric and bitterly cold land in the northwest, coveting the heart of the Central Plains, and came to harass the border every now and then, and the riots continued in March and April every year when there was a slack.There are hundreds of thousands of soldiers in nine important towns in the north, and they fight year after year.Especially Xuanfu Datong, heading straight for Beijing.

In addition to raising soldiers, the imperial court also used the name of "reward" from time to time to feed some tribes in the north with some food and cloth in March and April every year, in case they were too hungry and turned into man-eating wolves.

Therefore, once the food in the north runs out, it is equivalent to opening the door for the Tatars and Mongols.

Although Shen Jing didn't take the imperial examination to enter the court, but he has studied and learned for many years, and knows all these things well.His father was a merchant when he was young, and he sold and bought grain in the north in his early years. He traveled all over the country, especially the northwest, where he set foot many times and almost lost his life. Therefore, since Shen Jing was young, he often Listen to his father talking about this to him.

In addition, after he knew about the rebellion of the King of Han, in order to prevent Zhao Heng from asking, he privately searched a lot of geographical and maritime books and albums about Shandong, and often thought about things about Shandong and the coast.

At this time, Shen Jing was brave enough to express her thoughts to Zhao Heng: "As long as we transport grain to the north and the capital by land, won't we bypass Shandong? In this way—"

Before he could finish speaking, Sun Ping interrupted him: "I thought you said something, but it turned out to be this. But Mr. Shen, do you know how much the cost of land transportation is? The land transportation cost of transporting a thousand loads of grain , almost all of them can be bought from the capital for a thousand dan—”

Zhao Heng raised his hand and stopped him: "Let Miao An finish."

Shen Jing looked at Zhao Heng, then looked at Sun Ping and said, "Sun Shangshu, be safe and don't be impatient. I will settle another account for you."

"The reason why the imperial court transports grain and cloth by sea is nothing more than that land transport is time-consuming and laborious, and there are too many losses. However, even so, not all the grain of the imperial court is transported by sea, and some are transported by land every year. I sort out the Nanjing household department and submit it to When His Highness gave the report, he paid special attention to the cost of land transportation, which is indeed much higher than that of sea transportation, almost twice as much, and some even as much as three times."

He paused, and then said: "However, what is the higher cost than sea transportation is worth considering. My father was a merchant in the past and sold grain to the north. Because the sea lanes are controlled by the imperial court, it is difficult for merchants to He used it, so he mostly used land transportation. He didn’t mention the specific cost of this piece to me in detail; but I clearly remember that according to him, the cost of land transportation is not much more than sea transportation, and at most it is more It's only two or three percent."

He looked up at Zhao Heng, and said in a low voice: "It's also land transportation, and the transportation is all grain. The cost of imperial court transportation is two or three times that of sea transportation, which is almost higher than the cost of food; while the cost of merchant transportation is only It’s [-] to [-] percent higher than shipping by sea. The difference here is really a world of difference. Everyone should be able to figure out where the difference is, right?”

Everyone was silent for a while.

Officials are corrupted, exploited layer upon layer, and some even use public services for private purposes, and sell public grain privately. These are all obvious things, who doesn't know?

Sun Ping muttered in a low voice: "...then there is no way, the court has not ruled before, but unfortunately it doesn't work."

Zhao Heng understood Shen Jing's meaning, stared at him with dark eyes, and said to the point: "Do you mean to let the merchants deliver the military rations?"

Shen Jing nodded: "That's exactly what it means. Since the merchants spend less than the imperial court, consume less, and the delivery time is shorter, why don't private merchants replace the imperial officials to deliver grain?"

Sun Ping said: "Of course it's because businessmen value profits! Mr. Shen, I still think your thinking is too simple. As the saying goes, it's too early to get nothing. The reason why businessmen spend less is because they spend their own money. Naturally, I feel distressed. But if you want to recruit them to help the court transport food, it may not be so hard work."

"It's enough to ask them to do things. Why do we have to recruit them?" Shen Jing asked, "The merchants value profits, so give them profits. The court issued an order, just wait for them to send food in the north. How much food to send, give them How much profit, isn't that all right?"

"Alas," Sun Ping sighed, "You have never been in the north. If the imperial court transfers so much money, why are they still waiting for the grain to be delivered?"

He interrupted Shen Jing's words again and again, so that Zhao Heng stared at him directly: "You don't say a few words. Listen to Miao An first."

Sun Ping fell silent for a moment.

"'Profit' is not necessarily silver." Shen Jing continued, "Businessmen value profit, and they have a lot of ways to make profit. The court is short of silver, so they don't have to give them money. Even without the court, Nanjing six departments have the 'profit' that businessmen want .”

Zhao Heng asked aloud, "For example?"

Shen Jing smiled and said, "For example, Yanyin."

"Nowadays, the imperial court distributes salt coins to merchants, asking them to buy them with silver. Therefore, most of the salt coins are taken by rich and powerful merchants. If instead of sending grain to the north, then depending on the amount of grain delivered, the court In exchange for Yanyin, rich merchants may find it troublesome and may not be able to do it; but there must be many small merchants, in order to obtain Yanyin, they will flock to them and try their best to transport grain to the north. In this way, the imperial court only needs to control the two ends, and then let him How to transport the law, after all, you can come back to exchange for Yanyin."

"Sounds good." Xiao You asked from the side, "How much grain is exchanged for how much salt, this needs to be carefully considered."

"That's right." Shen Jing nodded and said, "There are several kinds of calculations. For example, if you take the sea route, the cost of transporting grain must be calculated, and then compared with the price of buying salt. If you go by land, how much is the cost of transporting grain? It will cost a few years. But no matter how the price is set, it will be cost-effective if it is lower than the cost of the imperial court’s own transportation. If it is really implemented, this must be carefully calculated.”

After Shen Jing finished speaking, she looked at Zhao Heng's face with some anxiety, and said: "I just thought of it casually... If there is anything wrong, Your Highness, forgive me."

Zhao Heng frowned and pondered for a moment, then raised his head and said, "Miao An doesn't have to be too modest, I just think this idea is good. Wei Zheng, you go invite Ding Baolai now. Miao An, you will talk about this matter with Ding Bao in detail later. , let him fill in the gaps and come up with a practical plan."

"Yes."

"Sun Ping," Zhao Heng got up and strode out, "You go to the camp in the suburbs of Beijing to recruit troops now."

On July [-]th, the day of Zhao Heng's birthday, at noon, there were banquets everywhere in the garden of the Weaving Department, and the chiefs of the six departments of Nanjing and even several nearby prefectures gathered together to celebrate the birthday of Prince Yu Zhao Heng.As the banquet was approaching, a few travel-stained eunuchs from the capital city were escorted by Jin Yiwei, and they brought the imperial decree that came eight hundred miles away, and read out the emperor's birthday speech written by Yu Wang in public.

Zhao Heng's birthday was not a bad one.

At the same time, Sun Ping personally led 5 horses and quietly headed north to prepare for the battle against the rebels of the King of Han.

As for Shen Jing, he was discussing with Ding Bao in the study how to implement "salt exchange for food".

After hearing what he said, Ding Bao squinted his eyes and twirled his fingers for a long time: "Xiao Shen, your idea is indeed a good idea. The imperial court can transport grain to the north without spending a penny. But..."

"But what?"

"However," Ding Bao sighed, "it's not easy to actually do it. This matter is difficult to say, and there are two difficulties. It lies in what you said, the 'two ends' that the court controls."

Shen Jing said: "I know. It's just that the distance is too far. How much food has been received in the north cannot be verified by the household department."

"This is the first one. In fact, this is easy to say." Ding Baodao, "The most difficult thing is the second. Do you know where Yanyin is controlled now?"

"Naturally, it's the household department."

"Then if the 'salt introduction for grain' starts to be used in the future, who will have the final say on Yanyin?"

Shen Jing paused: "...Of course it's still the Ministry of Household Affairs."

"No, it's the Ministry of War and the North." Ding Bao shook his head with a smile, "The Ministry of Households used to sell salt and silver, and made untold profits every year. Now they are asked to cut off such a large piece of fat and distribute it to the North and the Ministry of War. Tell me, can Hubu Shangshu be happy?"

After listening to Shen Jing, she couldn't help but paused again: "But...now the court is in trouble, the Ministry of Household Affairs, after all, is the Ministry of Household Affairs of the court."

"When the imperial court is in trouble, the Household Department should put the overall situation first and donate generously. This principle is also correct. However, it may not be so simple to do it." Ding Baoyu said earnestly, "You are still young after all, so you must remember this principle in the future : The household department is the household department of the imperial court, the emperor's household department, the secretary of the household department, the servant of the household department, but not necessarily. Your idea is indeed good for the court and the people. But once it is implemented, who will implement it? Whoever completely offended the Ministry of Household Affairs, the Minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs, and those wealthy businessmen who used to rely on wealth to attract salt."

"..."

Shen Jing was stunned.

Who will implement it?In the current situation, it is natural that King Yu Zhao Heng will implement it.

He had a well-thought-out idea at first, and he thought that coming up with this idea could be regarded as a solution to Zhao Heng's urgent need, and it also provided a way for the soldiers who countered the rebellion to slow down their troops.Unexpectedly, Ding Bao's three or two sentences were like a basin of cold water pouring over his head and face, pouring a chill into his heart.He thought about it for a while, and if Ding Bao really meant the truth, then he would have caused Zhao Heng a lot of trouble, and he couldn't help but muttered in a low voice: "...how could this be?"

Ding Bao saw that his face had turned sharply down, and quickly comforted him: "Hey, you don't have to be like this. I'm just telling you the truth to let you know, and there may be no way to resolve it."

Shen Jing asked: "How to resolve it?"

Ding Bao smiled and said: "You and I can't do it, that's what His Highness has to worry about. With his courage, as long as he makes up his mind, he can always do it."