Chapter 139: Daiyu: Baojie isn't reading the women's teachings, she's taken up military strategy

Baichai knew that Jia Jing and Yuan Yang had come together to see Lin Daiyu.

She had also planned to come over then, but Tan Chun and the others were busy going to hand over the household accounts and tallies with Wang Xifeng, so she didn't dare to speak up alone.

After they finished there, she then hurried over to Lin Daiyu's small cottage.

I had thought Jia Jing should have already left, but who knew he was still here.

What she didn't know was that Jia Jing had been delayed by Qin Keqing's matter, and then he and Wu Qian discussed Daiyu's condition, wasting a bit of time, so he hadn't left yet.

Seeing Baichai enter, Lin Daiyu furrowed her brow, composed her mixed feelings, and for a moment didn't respond.

Jia Jing lifted his eyes and glanced at Baichai.

All I saw was her wearing a cloak of honey‑colored figured silk with over‑embroidered floral foreign‑thread tassel silk, her skin lustrous, and behind her followed the maid Ying Er.

Jia Jing replied in a low voice:

"Speaking of Lin Auntie's brother in Jiangnan, Lin Auntie's brother is stationed in Yangzhou overseeing the salt works, which is no easy task, and Lin Daiyu worries about his safety."

"Baichai, you've come over now—have the Third Sister and her party finished handing things over?"

Hearing the two words "salt inspection", a fleeting hint of joy flickered in Baichai's moist, almond‑shaped eyes, hardly noticeable.

"Are we talking about Jiangnan salt administration again?"

I happen to have read quite a few current‑affairs articles on this topic these past few days.

Because the last time Jia Jing talked with Baichai about current affairs, he showed considerable interest.

So these past few days Baichai has devoted a lot of time and thought at home to studying the current court New Policies and military‑strategy affairs, so that when Jia Jing brings them up again she can speak knowledgeably and display her talent.

I never expected the opportunity to come so quickly; speaking of Jiangnan salt administration, I've come well prepared.

Baichai smiled lightly:

"Just finished handing over, Tan Chun is busy returning to her own courtyard to sort the accounts and establish new household rules."

"Yun and Xichun are also coming to see Lin Daiyu; I went ahead, they're behind, they should be here shortly."

After saying that, Baichai then added, as if offhand:

"Salt administration—this is a major undertaking of the court."

"In recent years, much of the court's revenue has come from the salt tax of the Two Huai; I read that in the previous dynasty, the salt tax at its peak could reach sixty percent of court income, the mainstay of tax revenue."

"When our dynasty was first founded, the annual salt tax exceeded three million taels, but now it's fallen— the Two Huai salt tax is only a little over one million taels."

Baichai's remarks were sound and well‑evidenced; she clearly had studied this matter, and what she said was factual.

But she was intent on displaying her grasp of state affairs before Jia Jing, a high court official, and didn't realize her words would inadvertently touch Lin Daiyu's sensitive nerve.

Lin Daiyu's knotted‑smoke brows furrowed tighter, and she silently wondered:

"What does she mean by that?"

"Are salt taxes lower now than before? Is she saying my father, as salt‑transport inspector, has neglected his duty or failed to act?"

Although Daiyu doesn't pay much attention to court affairs, she is, after all, the daughter of Lin Ruhai, the salt‑transport inspector, and having once stayed in Yangzhou, she naturally knows something about salt administration.

She frowned and said:

"When the dynasty was first founded, the salt tax really was over three million taels, but after that it has gradually decreased."

"During the Retired Emperor's reign, the Two Huai salt tax was already under one million taels; many salt merchants secretly sold illicit salt, avoiding salt permits, making illicit salt rampant throughout Jiangnan and throwing the salt system into chaos."

"Since my father took office, after repeated reforms the tax has risen to just over one million taels, and these years it has steadily improved."

"Baichai, do you really think there's anything wrong with that?"

Hearing Daiyu say that, Baichai only then realized she had misspoken.

She is usually meticulous; such a slip shouldn't happen to her, but in her haste to perform she hadn't thought it through.

Baichai first glanced at Jia Jing sitting opposite her; his expression was unchanged, and even his eyes held a faint smile.

Then she turned to Lin Daiyu, smiling as she apologized:

"Don't take it to heart, sister! I didn't mean to speak ill of your father."

"As salt‑transport inspector, your father has earned a good reputation in Jiangnan these past years; everyone says he is a capable minister and diligent official, having repeatedly reformed the salt service, removed abuses, and achieved notable results."

"But the ills of the salt service are deep‑rooted and hard to reverse; the salt merchants and officials of the Salt Administration Office in Jiangnan often collude, so for your father to have made steady progress and increased tax revenue must have involved great hardship."

Hearing that, Lin Daiyu snorted coldly in her heart— who's being oversensitive?

"Could this be a veiled accusation that I'm narrow‑minded?"

She didn't know what had come over her today; watching Baichai talk fluently about current affairs before Jia Jing, who seemed to approve, she felt uneasy.

"It's not like understanding a bit of administration is anything special; tomorrow I'll……"

At this point Jia Jing frowned, looked at Baichai, and asked:

"Baichai, you said the ills of the salt service are deep‑rooted and hard to reverse— you seem to have some insight; is there more you haven't said?"

Baichai's cheeks flushed slightly under his gaze, though she felt pleased inside.

In her view, being consulted by the young man opposite her was a great honor.

This wasn't just idle chatter among sisters at home; it resembled senior officials in the court discussing major policy.

She affected calm, brushed a stray lock of hair from her forehead, thought a moment, and spoke softly:

"Based on the Han Empire's population of roughly one hundred million, each person yearly needs about five or six catties of salt for curing and livestock."

"Using a standard of four hundred catties per large salt certificate and two hundred catties per small one, averaged, with the court's official price at four candareens per catty plus the poll tax, the theoretical annual tax revenue should be no less than eight million taels."

"Yet the court's actual salt‑tax revenue falls far short of that figure."

"The population hasn't decreased, so where is the missing tax? Obviously it's being siphoned off by tax evasion and corruption."

Baichai launched into her exposition, and Jia Jing's encouraging expression and gaze reassured her greatly.

Moreover, she really had studied this lately, so her embarrassment outweighed her nervousness.

"Much of what I know comes from palace bulletins, capital gazettes, and books; I'm just repeating it, so if I'm wrong, Third Brother, please excuse me."

"The reason today's salt administration fails to collect tax, roughly speaking, lies in four points."

The first is the legalization and extra levy of surplus salt: households that have completed the regular quota have excess salt called "surplus salt". At first the government bought it; later, lacking funds, they allowed merchants to purchase surplus salt directly, but required additional silver payment. This was originally a temporary measure, but later became a compulsory extra levy; for example, a few years ago in Lianghuai they created "Gongben Salt", forcibly requiring merchants to bring in surplus salt, which in effect added a fixed quota of 350,000 yin to the regular quota, causing a "one‑third increase" that could not be absorbed.

The second is the aristocrats' monopoly and "occupying the niche": powerful nobles use their privileges to seize salt quotas without paying grain taxes, then resell to merchants for huge profit. They undermine the fairness of imperial law, leaving the border merchants who truly transport grain with no profit, and leaving border defenses empty.

The third is the Salt Administration Office officials' frantic expropriation. In recent years, the court sent officials as tax supervisors to directly intervene in salt affairs; for example, officials in Lianghuai plundered unregistered surplus salt, arbitrarily increasing quotas and weight, causing "great disturbance among merchants and civilians". They even fabricated dozens of taxes such as "warehouse replenishment discount", "accumulated quota food salt", "additional tribute levy", using every possible means.

Finally, corruption runs rampant; corrupt officials and salt merchants' guilds act arbitrarily, inflating salt prices, monopolizing the salt market, and the salt tax is heavily evaded.

I read that a former court official, the Chief of Ceremonies, once summarized the faults of the salt law into six difficulties: irregular opening, aristocratic monopoly, punitive official examinations, long‑term holding of quotas, excessively high pricing, and rampant private salt. Each difficulty is accompanied by clerks' extortion and officials' corruption, leading to extremely high transaction costs.

Baichai's words left Daiyu beside her greatly surprised.

As the daughter of a Salt Inspection Commissioner, I have never understood salt administration this deeply.

How does she know so much, speaking so coherently, and it sounds rather reasonable.

Sister Baichai, you really put a lot of effort behind the scenes!

She, a young lady, doesn't read "Women's Conduct" or poetry and songs, but has taken an interest in current affairs and military strategy!

A hint of curiosity and caution rose in Daiyu's heart.