Chapter 73

The 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month is basically the coldest time.

Snowflakes drifted across the sky from time to time.

Zhu Yijun called a stop to the eunuchs who were chiseling ice and driving fish on the other side.

He handed the fishing rod to Jiang Keqian, stood up, and stretched.

He walked to Chen Jingbang's side, took the fish he was grilling, saw it was a bit burnt, and had to reward it considerately to Deng Yizan, the Secretariat Drafter following behind, then took the one Zhang Hong had grilled well.

Zhu Yijun waved his hand, summoning the several ministers to sit around the stove.

With a grill in the middle and wind-blocking cloth supported all around, it wasn't too cold.

"The weather is cold, so I will get straight to the point." Zhu Yijun stretched his legs toward the stove. "Regarding the salt administration in the two Huai regions, what are your opinions, ministers?"

Originally, they were supposed to go to the Wan Shou Palace to discuss business, but Zhang Juzheng was allergic to the copper chime on his desk and insisted on going to the Wenhua Hall.

In the end, neither side wanted to walk, so they simply sat around the stove by the Taiye Pool.

When it came to business, the several ministers showed serious expressions.

Zhang Juzheng spoke first, reminding: "Since we are talking about the two Huai regions, we might as well call Vice Minister Shen and the Ministry of Revenue over."

Zhu Yijun followed his advice.

He looked at the Secretariat Drafter Deng Yizan: "Minister Deng, go and call the Minister of Revenue, Minister Wang, and the Vice Minister of Personnel, Minister Shen, over together."

Just as the latter was about to move, Zhu Yijun added: "Also call Minister Yu, the Groom of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, over as well."

Deng Yizan bowed and retreated, heading straight for the offices of the Six Ministries.

Zhang Juzheng asked straight to the point: "What aspect of the opinion is Your Majesty referring to?"

As he spoke, he took off the cloak he was wearing, folded it on his lap, and tucked his hands into the fur lining of the cloak.

Zhu Yijun said frankly: "According to the memorial sent back by Hai Yushi Hai, there are quite a few tricks in the salt administration of the two Huai regions."

"I trust that Hai Yushi Hai can clean it up."

"However, an imperial envoy inspecting salt is, after all, just a gust of wind, and I fear there will be no trace left after the wind passes."

It is impossible for the central government to send an imperial envoy to inspect salt every year, and besides, the imperial envoy might not always be Hai Rui in the future; it could be Yan Maoqing.

An imperial envoy inspecting salt is just to open a gap in the impenetrable salt administration of the two Huai regions.

If we want to hold the tax amount in our hands every year in the future, we still have to rely on top-level design.

According to the memorial sent back from Nanzhili half a month ago, Hai Rui has already started acting, and the central government must also prepare to enter the field as soon as possible.

Gao Yi politely declined the meat skewers Li Jin was grilling and continued: "Is Your Majesty thinking of making the salt inspection a fixed system?"

Zhu Yijun turned his head, looked at Gao Yi, and shook his head: "That's not what I mean, sir."

"An imperial envoy inspecting salt is just an expedient measure; I want to take advantage of this wind to reform the salt administration."

"However, my virtue is thin and my talent is shallow; this is just the thought of a fool, and the specifics still need to be asked of the opinions of all the cabinet ministers."

Zhang Juzheng automatically skipped the Emperor's polite words and began to ponder.

He pointed to the core and spoke slowly: "Reforming the salt administration of the two Huai regions..."

"The Grand Secretariat has also read Hai Rui's memorial; it is estimated that the two Huai regions can produce another 500,000 permits of salt."

"It already accounts for fifty percent of the salt produced in the world."

"It is indeed a bit too big to manage."

There are six Salt Transport Commissions; the two Huai regions produce 700,000 permits, the two Zhejiang regions 400,000, and the other four combined only total 700,000.

If the two Huai regions increase by another 500,000, it can be said to be half of the world's salt production.

Lu Diaoyang's eyelids jumped, and he couldn't help but remind: "Your Majesty, Chief Minister, the historical origins of Nanzhili are relatively long-standing, and the tax types are relatively complex; it is not just the salt administration alone."

Back then, Yan Maoqing also moved the salt administration of the two Huai regions for Emperor Shizong, but it was blocked by Xu Jie—it was precisely because of that sentence, "Yan Maoqing suddenly increased the salt tax by 400,000 gold, (Xu) Jie asked the censor to restore the old quota," that Xu Jie became a thorn in the Emperor's side.

Salt administration is just salt administration; cutting flesh and letting blood only hurts the people above, it doesn't count as scraping poison from the bones of the entire Nanzhili.

The difference is that no matter how deep-rooted the nobles and high officials are, as long as you know their names, they cannot stir up trouble.

Conversely, if it leads to hostility from the entire Nanzhili, the central government will not be able to handle it.

Lu Diaoyang is afraid that the Emperor and the Chief Minister will be too radical, leading to the entire Nanzhili acting as one and launching a comprehensive counterattack.

Zhu Yijun stretched out his hands to warm them by the stove.

After hearing Lu Diaoyang's words, Zhu Yijun nodded in agreement: "I understand Minister Lu's meaning; today we will only discuss the salt administration."

Nanzhili is not just a problem of salt administration; there are also tea taxes, grain taxes, official systems, zoning, and cultural issues.

As Lu Diaoyang said, if it really provokes a counterattack from top to bottom, it will not be easy to pacify.

Now the central government is powerless; it would be good to just move the salt administration.

Yang Bo couldn't help but say: "Now we are just tapping the salt tax, and the autumn grain in Nanzhili has been delayed for two months. Your Majesty, we must be cautious."

Compared to tax money, Yang Bo cares more about grain.

After all, places like Shanxi, Xuan-Da, and others rely on grain from the south.

If they really fall out, these places will bear the brunt.

Zhu Yijun was stunned; he really didn't know about this, after all, he had thrown the affairs of the Ministry of Revenue to the Grand Secretariat to handle.

He asked: "Delayed for two months? What is the reason?"

Yang Bo smiled bitterly: "There is no reason. At first, they said that every link was handled according to the rules, which took a long time, and it just happened to miss the point of the autumn grain entering the capital."

"Now it is midwinter, and the Grand Canal is frozen everywhere, so the boats are much slower."

Zhu Yijun sighed.

This is using the big picture to threaten the central government.

The most uncomfortable thing is that such things often cannot find a culprit.

The backlash lurking inside the system, whether in terms of concealment or destructive power, is much stronger than the so-called pillar of Nanzhili like the Duke of Wei.

At present, the two capitals of the Ming Dynasty are the political center and the economic center, respectively, and the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal in the middle is the bloodline connecting them.

If Nanzhili always uses the big picture to threaten, it is really not easy to handle.

This matter still has to fall on maritime transport.

Anyway, since everyone hasn't arrived, it's not easy to start the discussion, so Zhu Yijun just happened to ask about maritime transport.

He asked Gao Yi: "Sir, what about the shipbuilding in the Ministry of Works?"

Gao Yi was exhaling into his hands with his mouth; when called by the Emperor, he hurriedly replied: "The dynasty has not practiced maritime transport for 160 years, and many documents and case files have already been lost."

"The Ministry of Works has offered a reward for the blueprints in the hands of craftsmen, and there is a slight clue."

"At present, Zhu Heng is taking the lead, first working with the Canal Transport Yamen to improve the ships tested previously, and after spring, we will try to test maritime transport according to the original route."

Ships for maritime transport are different from those for canal transport.

Now that maritime transport has not been practiced for over a hundred years, the glory of Zheng He's voyages to the Western Oceans is long gone.

Now that we have to build large ships for maritime transport, we have to conduct some archaeological-style scientific research.

As they were talking, the Minister of Revenue Wang Guoguang, the Vice Minister of Personnel Shen Shixing, and the Groom of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices Yu Yuding arrived together.

Seeing this, the eunuchs took out three sets of chairs, cloaks, and stoves to warm their bodies.

Zhu Yijun signaled them not to bow and to sit down directly to discuss business, and then finished the topic with Gao Yi: "Sir, I will say a few words, please pass them on to Minister Zhu for me."

"The matter of maritime transport, one end is in the Ministry of War, and the other is in the Ministry of Works."

"I will solve the matter of the Japanese pirates sooner or later, and I hope the Ministry of Works can build the large ships before then."

"This is the long-cherished wish of my late father and the Earl of Ding'an, and it is also the heart disease of me and the Grand Secretariat, so please spend more effort."

Gao Yi nodded in agreement.

By this time, everyone had arrived, and Zhang Juzheng explained to Shen Shixing and the others the matter the Emperor had called them to discuss.

After Zhang Juzheng finished speaking, he summarized: "So, Your Majesty wants to reform the salt administration of the two Huai regions."

After speaking.

He looked at the Emperor again: "How does Your Majesty plan to reform it?"

Everyone looked at the Emperor one after another.

Wang Guoguang was thoughtful.

Yu Yuding didn't understand why he, someone from the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, was called over.

Seeing that everyone had arrived, Zhu Yijun was about to speak.

He subconsciously reached for the microphone in front of him, grabbed nothing, and instead rubbed his chin somewhat awkwardly, speaking slowly: "I heard Hai Rui say."

"The current salt tax of the two Huai regions is packaged and sold by the Transport Commission to the Salt Merchants Association,"

"And the Salt Merchants Association then negotiates the price and sells it to small salt merchants."

"This point is not good; I think it must be changed."

This is the standard way to embezzle public funds.

A first-level subcontractor, relying on the right to set prices twice, is almost blatantly engaging in corruption.

Whose hands the silver ends up in goes without saying.

Not to mention that after the association replaces the Transport Commission as a legal subcontracting channel, private salt can also be sold as official salt.

The accounts of the Transport Commission are clean; anyway, the salt workers don't know how much salt they produced.

Small salt merchants are also happy to see it happen; after all, although the purchase price is a bit higher, they can get more goods.

Certain people behind the association are even able to suck blood from the tax source.

A win-win—except for the central government, which has less tax revenue.

So this model must be destroyed!

The four cabinet ministers and the three who had just arrived were listening carefully.

The Secretariat Drafter behind them was recording quickly.

Zhu Yijun continued: "Just now was the first point."

"And what the Chief Minister said just now also hit the nail on the head."

"The two Huai regions produce too much salt."

"Moreover, there is no salt inspection censor in Shandong, so the two Huai regions have to concurrently manage Shandong."

"Such a huge system is indeed too big to manage; I think this is the second unreasonable point."

He didn't stop and continued: "In addition, there is a third point."

"Six Salt Transport Commissions, seven Salt Tax Commissions, each doing its own thing, without overall planning."

"For example, the salt from different Transport Commissions has a fixed number of prefectures where it can be sold; salt from the Shandong Transport Commission can only be sold in ten prefectures, including Jinan Prefecture."

"While Huai salt is sold to forty-two prefectures, such as Wuchang Prefecture in Huguang and Runing Prefecture in Henan."

"Even so, salt merchants dealing in Huai salt will still sneakily sell it to Shandong and other places."

"Several Transport Commissions often make a fuss to the central government over this matter."

"Or like several salt inspection censors, often arguing endlessly over border permits, delaying business."

"Regarding these three points, ministers, how do you instruct me?"

After Zhu Yijun finished speaking, he looked around at the several ministers.

The three points he mentioned were the sales model of Huai salt, the volume of Huai salt, and the central government's overall planning power.

In short, everything must be changed.

Seeing that everyone was lost in thought, there was no speech for a while.

He looked directly at Shen Shixing and named him: "Minister Shen, you are from Nanzhili; you speak first."

Shen Shixing hurriedly stood up: "Your Majesty, I have never considered myself a member of a local faction; this matter has nothing to do with my place of origin!"

Zhu Yijun waved his hand, signaling him not to be nervous: "Perhaps there is no local faction in terms of ideas, but in fact, there is always a place of origin, Minister Shen, don't be nervous."

Shen Shixing was helpless.

He pondered quickly in his mind.

These three points must not be groundless; the Emperor spoke eloquently, mostly because he had a draft in his heart.

This is breaking the question in the imperial examination.

Shen Shixing seemed to have returned to the day of the palace examination, his mind turning a thousand times.

What exactly does the Emperor mean?

The three points mentioned in improving the salt administration, salt permit issuance... central planning... volume...

Shen Shixing vaguely grasped some context, but felt it wasn't clear enough.

His eyes swept over the Minister of Revenue Wang Guoguang, who was called over together, and Yu Yuding.

A flash of inspiration suddenly appeared in Shen Shixing's mind!

A term, or rather a policy, appeared in his mind.

Shen Shixing hesitated for a moment, met the Emperor's encouraging gaze, and spat out a word: "The Open-Middle Method!?"

Zhu Yijun slapped his thigh and let out a long breath, the heat visible to the naked eye.

He praised: "Restarting the Open-Middle Method!? Minister Shen's idea is very worth discussing!"

"What do you ministers think?"

The Open-Middle Method has already been corrupted, so restarting it now naturally counts.

Seeing the Emperor's reaction, the several ministers immediately understood his intention.

While speechless, they all began to ponder.

The so-called Open-Middle Method is to issue certificates for salt, whether it is called a salt permit or a salt voucher; in short, with the certificate, salt merchants can buy salt from the Transport Commission.

So how to get the certificate? That is opening the middle.

As everyone knows, the south is rich and the north is poor.

To put it bluntly, the north is, to a certain extent, even a burden on the central government.

What did the Song Dynasty do back then? That was to abandon all ruling burdens, just like the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun, etc.

It even led to the spectacle where the central government would beg for peace and cede territory back after the border army had conquered it.

It was out of this guiding ideology and mentality.

The southerners of today may not necessarily lack this idea.

But the Ming central government is different; after the founding of the dynasty by the Taizu, the north was enfeoffed, and after the capital was moved by the Chengzu, the Son of Heaven guarded the border.

Not an inch of the north can be voluntarily abandoned, otherwise, it would shake the foundation of the founding of the country.

Not being able to lose it is one thing, but how to govern it became a problem. Under the constraints of economic conditions, a certain degree of separation between the north and the south is inevitable; grain production alone is a natural contradiction.

In order to transfuse blood to the north, the Open-Middle Method came into being.

The so-called Open-Middle is for merchants to complete the tasks given by the imperial court—for example, transporting grain, cloth, and silk to the north—in exchange for salt permits.

That is, using merchants to transfuse blood to the north.

The cost is naturally very high, but if you don't want to strategically abandon the north like the former Song, this is an inevitable operating cost.

Yang Bo jumped up on the spot: "Your Majesty! I agree with Vice Minister Shen's proposal!"

"The corruption of the Open-Middle Method is a great pity for the military and civilians in the border areas. I have long heard that the commoners in Shaanxi, Shanxi, Xuan-Da, Ningxia, and other places miss the Open-Middle Method."

"If the Open-Middle Method can be restored, it would be a good policy and virtuous sound!"

Yang Bo's position is beyond doubt.

On this matter, Zhu Yijun can unconditionally trust Yang Bo, who represents the interests of the north.

After the corruption of the Open-Middle Method, ministers requested its restoration several times, all of whom were border people.

The most recent attempt was made in the second year of Longqing by Wang Chonggu, then Viceroy of the Shaanxi Three Borders.

Some people are indeed selfish, but in pushing national policies, one might not be able to utilize the selfishness of these people.

Zhu Yijun looked at Yang Bo with relief and praised: "Cabinet Minister Yang has served in various places and has extensive knowledge; it is right to check for omissions."

At this time, Zhang Juzheng said solemnly: "Your Majesty, the corruption of the Open-Middle Method is not without reason."

Zhu Yijun turned his head and met Zhang Juzheng's gaze.

He nodded frankly: "The Chief Minister is right; I have also learned a thing or two."

The corruption of the Open-Middle Method is not to say that this policy is not good.

But... it was a bit ahead of its time.

Because under this system, the certificate for purchasing salt, that is, the salt permit, could to a certain extent act as financial currency—at that time, the salt permit was hard currency among merchants.

Under backward production relations, the imperial family held the right to issue currency, and the result can be imagined.

Credit currency in the hands of the central government in this era is no different from holding a sword by the blade; the fate of the so-called Jiaozi and Baocao was the same—endless excessive issuance.

Eunuchs, nobles, and bureaucrats all requested salt permits to resell to salt merchants.

Well, the imperial family itself was no exception.

Salt permits are anchored to salt, and the result of excessive issuance of salt permits can be imagined; it even caused the spectacle of salt merchants running to the Transport Commission only to find they couldn't buy salt, queuing for years.

Doing this, the salt permits naturally became waste paper.

During the Xiaozong period, Ye Qi from Huai'an, as Minister of Revenue, dealt a fatal blow to the Open-Middle Method.

That is, paying silver in exchange for salt permits.

This move directly erased the original intention of mobilizing merchants to transfuse blood to the north, turning it into a farce of the central government grabbing silver.

The Open-Middle Method was also completely corrupted.

In other words, as long as the excessive issuance of salt permits cannot be curbed, the Open-Middle Method can never become a national policy.

Zhang Juzheng is reminding the little Emperor not to use this as a means of gathering wealth; that is drinking poison to quench thirst.

Zhu Yijun first gave Zhang Juzheng a reassurance: "Learning from past stories and drawing lessons is also what I have been doing."

"If we are to follow Minister Shen's initiative and restart the Open-Middle Method, we must not excessively issue salt permits."

"Specifically, we still need you all to discuss a charter in the court; we will only set the general outline here."

Zhang Juzheng received the Emperor's promise not to issue excessively and bowed, which was considered an acknowledgment.

Wang Guoguang took over the conversation and said: "Your Majesty, this method is very expensive, and there are often voices inside and outside criticizing the exploitation of merchants."

"At that time, the memorials from the censors in Nanzhili requesting the abolition of the Open-Middle Method almost drowned the Ministry of Revenue."

To put it bluntly, every policy has a price; there is no pure gold.

Since the north was transfused with blood and the central government only paid salt permits without increasing corvee labor, someone was silently being exploited.

The first is the merchants.

It is equivalent to adding a layer of corvee labor to the salt permits that could have been bought directly.

Even because the journey was long, the merchants later simply reclaimed land in the north and then transported grain to the warehouses of the northern authorities, which is the so-called merchant-state-run farming.

Whether it is transporting grain or merchant-state-run farming, it has increased the burden on merchants.

The second is the south.

Because merchants added a layer of corvee labor, the price of salt naturally had to be higher.

The price in the salt-producing area itself should be the cheapest relatively speaking.

Just to transfuse blood to the north, they spent more money to eat salt, so naturally, they would be dissatisfied.

Back then, Ye Qi from Huai'an might not have been catering to the public opinion of the southerners.

Zhu Yijun looked at Wang Guoguang.

He naturally understood that this Minister of Revenue was not singing the opposite tune, but simply considering this issue from an economic perspective.

This Minister of Revenue, who wrote the "Wanli Accounting Record," is a rare financial talent today.

Of course, his thoughts and considerations are inevitably limited to accounting costs.

Zhu Yijun pondered for a long time.

He thought of a lot of modern financial knowledge to sophistry and deceive this Minister of Revenue.

When the words reached his lips, his heart moved, and he swallowed them back.

Under the gaze of everyone, Zhu Yijun fell into deep thought again, seemingly weighing his words.

After a long while.

Zhu Yijun finally figured it out and understood where the inappropriateness he felt just now was.

He was used to discussing things in his previous life and hadn't changed from that mindset; now that he is the master of people, he cannot act like that.

Sometimes you have to be scheming and deceitful, but as a master of people, you cannot lose your grandeur and atmosphere.

Since it is a national policy, the pros, cons, and reasons must be explained clearly.

He slowly stood up, his eyes scanning the several ministers back and forth.

His expression was solemn, and his tone was earnest: "Chief Minister, Sir, two cabinet ministers."

"Minister Wang's words are steady and prudent, and I have to acknowledge them."

He looked at Shen Shixing again: "Minister Shen, I will not lie to you; this move will indeed increase the burden on the southerners."

Shen Shixing hurriedly stood up to apologize.

Zhu Yijun held him down and continued: "I also have a word that I must say to you ministers in private; I only acknowledge this here, and I will not acknowledge it when it goes to the court discussion."

He paused, slowed his tone, but it became more serious: "The contradiction between the north and the south has existed for a long time."

"Far away there is the North-South Ranking Case, and recently there is the current Huai Salt Case, and so on."

"Suzhou, Yangzhou, and other places are rich and have always been transfusing blood for the central government, and I am also grateful for it."

"The Open-Middle Method increases the burden on southerners, and there must be dissatisfaction..."

"But, bearing the filth of the country is called the master of the state."

"This matter must be done!"

"As a master of people, maneuvering the world and mixing the north and south, I have no way to avoid it and will not yield."

"Even if the southerners have grievances and the merchants are resentful, I think this Open-Middle Method is imperative!"

"Do you ministers agree?"

I had something to do this morning and didn't have time to write, so I'm 1 hour and 16 minutes late. Sorry about that.