Chapter 130: Huai Salt

Huai'an Prefecture was a major prefecture in the Southern Direct Administration region, its territory far larger than the neighboring Xuzhou and Yangzhou.

The Liang-Huai Salt Transport Commissioner's Office had established a Salt Tax Bureau in Huai'an Prefecture, which managed over a dozen salt fields in northern Huai'an as well as the transport and sale of Huai salt throughout Huai'an Prefecture, Fengyang Prefecture, Henan Prefecture, Runing Prefecture, Nanyang Prefecture, and other areas. The bureau was staffed by one Salt Tax Intendant of the fifth rank, one Assistant Intendant of the sixth rank, and one Clerk of the ninth rank. Each salt field under the bureau's jurisdiction had a Salt Tax Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner, both of whom were unranked officials.

In the Salt Tax Bureau office, the current Intendant Yang Rui was chatting idly with Assistant Intendant Huang Can. Both had passed the metropolitan examination in the fourth year of Chongzhen; Yang Rui had placed in the second tier, while Huang Can had only managed the very bottom of the list, and so his rank was two grades lower than Yang Rui's. With nothing to do today, the two were appraising which of the Liang-Huai salt merchants lived most extravagantly when Clerk Chen Jixing hurried in.

After exchanging greetings, Chen Jixing spoke: "Your Honors, since last month, aside from Huai'an Prefecture, salt merchants from Fengyang Prefecture and elsewhere holding salt certificates to purchase salt in northern Huai'an have sharply declined in number. Those who came this month to buy salt can be counted on two hands. The salt in the warehouses has now piled up like a mountain, and the salt tax for the past two months amounts to only around ten thousand taels. If this continues, I fear we won't be able to account for ourselves before the Transport Commissioner!"

Yang and Huang were both startled at once. Yang Rui sat up straight and said urgently: "What is the situation with the salt households? Surely the salt merchants haven't all bought private salt?"

Chen Jixing clasped his hands and said: "This subordinate sent people to inquire. The salt households at every salt field are also complaining bitterly—no salt merchants have come to the fields to buy salt!"

Huang Can spoke up: "Do you know what the actual reason is?" He knew that Chen Jixing was an upright and generous man with wide connections, enjoying close relations with the major salt merchants under his jurisdiction, and even maintaining ties with some figures in the martial world.

Chen Jixing replied: "To be honest with Your Honors, this subordinate has heard a faint rumor that a large batch of new salt has come over from Shandong, being dumped at low prices on the salt merchants under our jurisdiction. But as to what is actually going on, this subordinate does not know the details."

Yang Rui flew into a rage and slammed the table as he rose: "Shandong salt?! Where does Shandong get salt?! What is the Shandong Commissioner's Office trying to do? The sale of salt has its designated regions assigned by the court! What authority does the Shandong Commissioner's Office have to sell salt outside its territory? No! I will go to Yangzhou myself to see the Transport Commissioner! I must ask Lord Hu to submit a memorial impeaching the Shandong Commissioner's Office! Utterly shameless and despicable!"

Huang Can said doubtfully: "The Shandong Commissioner's Office surely wouldn't be so unreasonable, would it? For such a blatant violation of the court's prohibitions, Transport Commissioner Lord Lu would hardly issue such a foolish order. Could it be that subordinates have colluded with salt merchants to carry out this illicit business behind their superiors' backs? With such a massive quantity of private salt, who gave them the courage? Aren't they afraid of losing their heads once it's investigated and banned?"

Chen Jixing seemed to want to speak but hesitated, and finally said: "What Your Honors have said is true. This large influx of private salt into our territory was not instigated by anyone from the Shandong Commissioner's Office behind the scenes. According to what this subordinate has heard, the source of this private salt is some place in Qingzhou Prefecture. The salt it produces is fine and white, far superior to our Huai salt. Though the purchase cost is comparable to Huai salt, its quality is better. Moreover, it seems to have extremely deep backing behind it. Many salt merchants, compelled by circumstances, have no choice but to abandon Huai salt and switch to buying Shandong salt!"

"Backing? What backing?" Yang Rui and Huang Can asked almost simultaneously. The two had no interest in where in Shandong the salt came from, but they were most concerned about the power behind this batch of private salt.

Having served in the Transport Commissioner's Office for many years, they knew that behind many salt merchants lurked the shadows of officials, princes, and nobles. If they rashly sent people to seize this batch of private salt without knowing who was behind it, it would bring unnecessary trouble upon the Transport Commissioner and themselves. But even in the past, no matter how deep the backing, no one dared to encroach across boundaries so brazenly. At most, they would fight for more territory within the regions the court permitted them to sell, seizing control of larger prefectures and counties.

First, find out who was behind it, then seek out an intermediary to pass word along, asking the other side to pull back at an appropriate time. If they still refused to listen, then dispatch the Patrol and Inspection Office to investigate and seize, so that when the matter eventually went to court, they would have a clear target.

Even if the case went all the way before the emperor, they would not lose, for they stood on the moral high ground of the court's authority. Although in recent years the Liang-Huai salt fields had been paying less and less salt tax to the court, it still represented a considerable source of revenue. The Shandong Transport Commissioner's Office had in fact long been in decline, existing in the court's eyes like a chicken rib—of little value but a pity to discard. Shandong's salt supply basically relied on private salt passing through from the Liang-Huai salt fields, merely sold under the name of the Shandong Transport Commissioner's Office.

And not just Shandong—with the decline of the Changlu salt fields, the vast majority of salt for the capital region also came from Liang-Huai, ultimately sold under the name of the Changlu Transport Commissioner's Office.

This time, after the court issued an order abolishing the Changlu Transport Commissioner's Office, the salt merchants coming to the Liang-Huai salt fields to pick up goods suddenly decreased as well. However, the people at the Liang-Huai Salt Transport Office all assumed it was because the other side had stocked up too much previously and hadn't yet finished selling, so they didn't take it too seriously.

This time it was no longer merely a matter of reduced purchases—the situation had completely reversed. The Shandong salt fields, in decline for many years, had suddenly begun selling salt at low prices to Liang-Huai, the foremost among the eight great salt transport offices. It all felt rather baffling.

Thinking of this, Yang Rui's expression suddenly changed. He turned to look at Huang Can, his eyes filled with surprise, fear, and anger all at once.

When Huang Can saw Yang Rui's expression, he was initially somewhat puzzled, but suddenly a flash of lightning seemed to strike through his mind, and in an instant he understood the meaning in Yang Rui's gaze.

Salt merchants from the northern lands purchasing Liang-Huai salt had nearly ceased entirely! Shandong salt was being dumped at low prices into the Southern Direct Administration!

Connecting the two, the conclusion was already obvious—the salt produced in that place in Qingzhou that Chen Jixing had just mentioned, after monopolizing the northern market, had now begun its assault on Liang-Huai!

When had Qingzhou started producing salt? How much salt could it actually produce? Why had the Shandong Commissioner's Office not leaked a single word of information? The court had issued no order establishing new salt fields—so who had opened the Qingzhou salt fields?

Chen Jixing had not yet thought this far. Seeing the grim expressions on his two superiors, he assumed they were afraid of the mastermind behind the Shandong private salt, and that was why they appeared so flustered.

So he spoke up to reassure them: "Your Honors need not be overly concerned. The court will certainly not sit idly by while Shandong private salt crosses the border and is dumped on the market. This subordinate believes the matter should be reported to the Transport Commissioner, and Lord Hu should be asked to memorialize the court for a decision."

Yang Rui said impatiently: "You just said the backing behind this private salt crossing our borders is very deep. What backing is it exactly? Speak up quickly!"

Yang Rui decided to report the matter to Transport Commissioner Hu Weicheng immediately. This affair absolutely could not be allowed to rest. No matter who stood behind the other side, they must be resolutely countered. This naked act of stealing money had already crossed the bottom line of the Transport Commissioner's Office and all those associated with it.

Since the implementation of the open-border salt law in the Hongzhi era, the Liang-Huai salt fields had risen rapidly, expanding from a few original fields to the more than thirty of today. Countless officials and merchants had reaped enormous profits from this, and even numerous salt workers and stove households had enjoyed no small share of the benefits.

These profits came from the private sale of official salt. Apart from the northern frontier, the interior of the Great Ming had enjoyed two hundred years of peace, and the population had grown explosively. The original quota of salt certificates was simply unable to provide sufficient salt for such a vast population.

Someone had discerned the key to this. Knowing full well that the salt certificates were insufficient to supply the salt, they did not memorialize the court requesting an increase in certificates—yet the people of the Great Ming never suffered any shortage of salt. The purpose of this was simple: the Transport Commissioner's Office, from top to bottom, colluded with the salt merchants, purchasing salt in bulk directly from the stove households, then selling it throughout the Great Ming under the banner of official salt.

For over a hundred years, Huai salt had given rise to countless wealthy officials and merchants. Everyone in the Transport Commissioner's Office, from the chief officer down to the salt guards of the Patrol and Inspection Office, had scooped up overflowing riches, and the officials of the prefectures and counties where the Liang-Huai salt fields were located also profited from it. A massive interest group had formed around Huai salt. Anyone who dared to touch their interests—whether you were a prince or the Chief Grand Secretary—would suffer their backlash.

Now someone actually dared to forcibly seize the market—how could that be tolerated?

Chen Jixing hastily replied: "According to what this subordinate knows, the force behind this private salt is said to be a noble from the palace! As for who exactly, this subordinate does not know!"