Chapter 509: The Salt Business Goes to Zhu Youxiao

As a member of the Imperial Household Department, Huang Changzong held no low position—he was in charge of channel construction throughout the entire department, making him a man of real power within it. Moreover, he performed well and had earned Zhu Youxiao's trust.

When Huang Changzong picked himself up off the ground, Zhu Youxiao looked him up and down and said, "You could stand to lose some weight."

In truth, in this era, in everyone's way of thinking, being fat was hardly a bad thing. Fat proved that a person enjoyed good living conditions, ate well, and had money—so fat was called "prosperous plumpness."

But this fat had already affected his health, and Zhu Youxiao was quite concerned about the health of his subordinates—after all, these were the people who would do things for him in the future; they shouldn't collapse halfway down the road.

Zhu Youxiao said, "Once this matter is finished, go back to the capital and train with the Guard Corps for a while. When you've slimmed down, then you can return."

On hearing these words, Huang Changzong's face instantly turned very ugly—and embarrassed, of course.

He dared not argue, and he dared not refuse.

This was what the Emperor had given you; you had to accept it. Not accepting it would be showing ingratitude.

Huang Changzong hurriedly said, "Your servant thanks Your Majesty."

In his heart, he had already made up his mind: once he got back, he'd starve himself for a few days and slim down first.

Once he was slim, there'd be no suffering to endure at the Guard Corps office. And once he truly slimmed down, perhaps he'd only need to go through the motions over there—otherwise, it wouldn't be easy to get through.

Zhu Youxiao did not keep dwelling on this issue but turned the conversation to business.

Looking at Huang Changzong, Zhu Youxiao said directly, "Are the things I asked you to prepare ready?"

"To answer Your Majesty, they are ready." Huang Changzong nodded and said, "In every province we've found general agents, in every prefecture we've found sub-agents, and the direct-sale stores are all prepared. The moment action begins here, we can take over immediately. Personnel have already arrived in Yangzhou, standing by at all times."

Zhu Youxiao looked at Huang Changzong and nodded with satisfaction.

Such a large-scale transfer of personnel, such a large-scale operation—for Huang Changzong, this was no problem at all. This was the man's strength: being able to handle such matters well made him a capable man.

What Zhu Youxiao intended to do was, naturally, to prepare for taking over the salt business entirely.

As for these great salt merchants, Zhu Youxiao planned to eliminate them. Beyond that, Zhu Youxiao planned to completely abolish the current salt system—this kind of garbage system had no reason to exist at all.

The reason previous emperors dared not act was simple: if you killed them all off, then who would sell salt for you?

If no one sold salt, the realm would fall into chaos.

Zhu Youxiao had no such misgivings whatsoever—he had the Imperial Household Department.

When the Imperial Household Department took over the salt business, it was certain to shock everyone.

Ever since the Imperial Household Department was established, Zhu Youxiao had kept pushing them to expand, expand, and expand again, while also reaching cooperation with merchants in various provinces and establishing all kinds of direct-sale stores.

The Imperial Household Department had grown on a grand scale and at great speed. Once Zhu Youxiao eliminated these salt merchants, they would take over this industry completely and then reorganize it.

The original salt-producing households would also be abolished, directly converted into workers of the Imperial Household Department. The problem wasn't whether their hereditary status changed from generation to generation, but whether they could gain benefits from it.

Zhu Youxiao still remembered when his father's generation had been workers—that was a position that could be passed down. If the younger generation at home didn't amount to anything, they could still go back to the factory and take over their father's post.

Under such circumstances, Zhu Youxiao knew very well how high a worker's status was. When his father mentioned it, he still reminisced fondly about that era.

In the Great Ming, the salt-producing households simply had it bad. Converting them into Imperial Household Department workers would be like state-owned enterprise employees in later generations—countless people would break their heads trying to squeeze in.

With the bottom tier pacified, the middle tier taken over by the Imperial Household Department, and the top tier decided by Zhu Youxiao, the transition could proceed smoothly and stably without any problems.

Zhu Youxiao had laid out his plans for so many years, and finally the time of harvest had come. Only by laying a solid foundation and completing the preliminary work could he now enjoy such a satisfying conclusion.

Zhu Youxiao was in a very good mood.

"Then do a good job. Once action begins here, it'll be your turn." Zhu Youxiao nodded and said.

"Your Majesty may rest assured—your servant has already made a complete plan." Huang Changzong said, "Besides taking over, I've already prepared a plan for reform: comprehensively reforming the salt fields, changing from boiling seawater for salt to sun-drying it; reforming the welfare system of the salt works; and increasing the output of the salt fields."

"All of these have already been set into a five-year plan. I believe that five years from now, there will definitely be a leap-forward development."

Zhu Youxiao nodded, set down the teacup in his hand, and said, "I trust you. Do a good job. When you've accomplished this matter, I will promote you. I am not the kind of person who is cold and ungrateful."

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Huang Changzong hurriedly said—though in his heart, he felt somewhat disappointed.

He hadn't wanted to boast of his merits to His Majesty; he'd only wanted to say one thing to him.

I'm already this busy—can I please not go to the Imperial Guard Corps to lose weight?

I can definitely lose it on my own.

Unfortunately, His Majesty hadn't picked up on his subtext.

After the matters were arranged, Zhu Youxiao let Huang Changzong leave.

Once Huang Changzong had gone, Zhu Youxiao also finished his meal. Standing up and stretching his limbs, he said to Wei Chao beside him, "Come, let's go out for a stroll—let's go see the Imperial Academy in Yangzhou."

The Imperial Academy in Yangzhou had been established for four years now.

Originally, Yangzhou naturally had its own academies as well, but after the court's reforms, aside from the Imperial Academy, there were no other academies left here.

Having arrived in Yangzhou, Zhu Youxiao naturally wanted to go see the Imperial Academy.

He had also wanted to visit the Imperial Academy in Nanjing, but time was tight and tasks were heavy, so he hadn't been able to go.

However, Zhu Youxiao had made up his mind that when he passed through Nanjing on the return trip, he would definitely go see the Nanjing Imperial Academy.

For now, the Yangzhou Imperial Academy was something he could take a good look at.

In fact, Zhu Youxiao had already heard people say that those salt merchants had already stuck their hands in. The system was there, but things depended on people—in the end, how far it could go still depended on the individuals.

Zhu Youxiao very much wanted to see just how far the Yangzhou Imperial Academy had gone—and just how deeply those merchants had infiltrated the place.

He imagined it would be a very interesting matter.

Having changed his clothes, with a jade pendant hanging at his waist and a folding fan in his hand, Zhu Youxiao looked every bit the elegant young gentleman of the mundane world.

Behind Zhu Youxiao followed more than a dozen guards; at his side was the old servant Wei Chao, and he was also accompanied by a beauty like Chen Yu'er.

Such an entourage—ordinary people truly didn't have it.

Out the door, onto the carriage, the party slowly made their way to the Imperial Academy of Yangzhou.

The place Zhu Youxiao was going to today was the former Ganquan Academy.

Ganquan Academy was one of Yangzhou's ancient academies. It was first built on Dongguan Street, then later relocated to Guangling Road.

Built during the Jiajing reign, it was originally named Ganquan Academy, also known as Chongya Academy; in the twelfth year of Yongzheng it was renamed Plum Blossom Academy.

An old saying goes: "Of the flourishing academies in the southeast, Yangzhou claims three of them."

The "three" here referred to Yangzhou's three very famous academies: Anding, Plum Blossom, and Guangling.

The salt merchants of the two Huai regions profited more than anyone else in the realm, and the number and quality of academies they funded made them the greatest cultivators of talent in Yangzhou since ancient times.

According to the *Register of Ming and Qing Jinshi*, across just the Ming and Qing dynasties, 650 people from Yangzhou passed the imperial examinations to earn the jinshi degree—245 in the Ming and 405 in the Qing.

So this Imperial Academy in Yangzhou was something Zhu Youxiao definitely had to go see.

This was a textbook example of Great Ming—the finest model of collusion between officials and merchants.

From the moment you began your studies, someone funded you and cultivated you in every way. With the slightest bit of progress, these people would give you houses, farmland, money, women—everything you could want.

And once you became an official, what then? How would you repay them?

What's more, before you even became an official, they'd already pulled you into their own ranks. Surely no one turns against their own people, right?

Zhu Youxiao had never seen the old academies, and thinking about it now, he felt a bit of regret. But it was fine to take a look at the current Imperial Academy—to see how they were infiltrating it.

In truth, the logic was the same. The land belonged to the Crown, the academy belonged to the Crown—but the students didn't, did they?

Buying off students worked just the same; if the old method didn't work, you simply switched to a new one.

When Zhu Youxiao arrived at the Yangzhou Imperial Academy, the place was already buzzing with noise, and he could tell that many scholars had just arrived. Clearly, this was a return-to-school day.

Zhu Youxiao furrowed his brow, because according to the Imperial Academy's regulations, scholars were supposed to arrive at the academy with nothing but themselves—completely alone.

But the scene before him was nothing of the sort—carriages streamed by like a river, and crowds surged like waves.

Those scholars all drove horse-drawn carriages and brought servants along, with at least two women attending each of them. One look told you these were carefully selected maidservants—he understood now: Yangzhou slender horses.

The moment these people got into the Imperial Academy, they instantly became honored guests of the salt merchants. The court's system for selecting talent had now become a system for selecting talent on behalf of the salt merchants.

The reason was even simpler: previously, salt merchants had to rely on their own judgment, but now they didn't need to. Anyone who could pass into the Imperial Academy was a man of excellence—just invest directly.

Throw down plenty of money, and results would eventually come.

Zhu Youxiao also stepped down from his carriage, accompanied by a maidservant, Chen Yu'er.

Chen Yu'er's beauty was naturally outstanding—here, she could be said to outshine the entire crowd. Even if there were stunning beauties among the Yangzhou slender horses, they wouldn't be available to these scholars.

Quite a few people were immediately drawn by the display Zhu Youxiao put on.

The carriage, the fan, the clothes he wore, the jade pendant at his waist—one look told you his status was anything but ordinary.

Of course, the most important thing was the guards behind him—this was clearly not an ordinary household.

And then there was the woman accompanying him—her features were pure and ethereal, a face that could sink fish and drop geese; her figure was graceful and elegant, and her skills in the arts of the bedchamber were surely exquisite!