Chapter 273: Salt goes to sea? !
The lobby was silent.
Everyone was silent.
Xia Zhibai stood up, looked down calmly, with a hint of contempt at the corner of his mouth, and continued: "The salt administration in the Ming Dynasty was full of chaos, and it was inconsistent between the north and the south. This phenomenon should have been thoroughly controlled. , and"
"Your salt factory?"
"How much money did you invest in the salt factory?"
"How much equipment did you buy? How many machines did you buy? In the end, didn't the court pay the bill?"
"You are the ones who paid for it? Those who finally cut off their beards are now embarrassed to say how much they have paid. If it is true, the stove households who sweat profusely in the salt factory are the ones who have paid the most. They spend almost all day by the stove. Aren't they harder than you? ”
“Your reply is complete nonsense!”
“Besides.”
"Salt administration must be formalized and institutionalized."
"This is the main purpose of my trip. The salt merchant just said it is right. There are two words in the official word, and sometimes it is inevitable that there will be some ulterior motives. officials, and many businessmen would choose to spend money to eliminate disasters, or even take the initiative to pay bribes. The atmosphere in Ming Dynasty's officialdom is so corrupt."
"This phenomenon must be corrected."
“Therefore, there must be strong supervision between government and businessmen.”
“The Salt Association must also be established.”
"Firstly, it is to ensure the production and sales of salt, prevent the salt produced by salt factories from having no place to sell, and avoid causing dissatisfaction with other salt factories. It can also take the opportunity to pursue and intercept illegal salt. Secondly, the emergence of the association gives salt dealers a direct If there is an opportunity to contact the court, if there is a local official asking for bribes, you can report it directly to the court. "
"The court should make the decision for you."
"This is also to protect your legitimate rights and interests. "
"It is true."
"The big factory system and institutionalization will cause you a lot of inconvenience and make you feel that you are being watched all the time, but this is inevitable. , if you are not watched by the court, you will be watched by the local brats. At least the court is far away and will not blackmail you. You also have a certain ability to protect yourself. "
"This is a win-win situation!"
"Why wouldn't you do it?"
"In the past, we spent money to keep you safe, but now the court is taking the initiative to protect you."
"This is a great favor."
"You won't obey? Is there something dirty behind the scenes, doing illegal things behind the back of the court? Is that why you are so unwilling to supervise for the court?"
Xia Zhibai's eyes suddenly turned cold.
Fang Rengang and Wang Chongde's expressions changed slightly, and they looked at Zhang Tong as if asking for help.
Zhang Tong's face was also not very good. He did not expect that Xia Zhibai was so sharp-tongued. In just a few words, he said that these salt merchants were "discarding their armor". He even lost the courage to open his mouth. In fact, It's embarrassing.
He took the initiative and said: "Mr.
"At least we have to give them a certain amount of buffering time."
"In addition."
"If I remember correctly some of the views your Excellency said, I'm afraid the court has not yet given its opinion. , Is your lord's decision too arbitrary? If the court knew about it, it might be a crime of tyranny."
"Sir, be careful"
Zhang Tong's good intentions. This gave Xia Zhibai a wake-up call.
Xia Zhibai nodded and said with a smile: "Thank you for the reminder, but this reminder does not mean much. Since I am here on behalf of the imperial court, I want to help the imperial court solve its problems. If this matter can be settled locally, I believe that the imperial court The other side will agree.”
“At the same time.”
“I have something to say to His Highness.”
“That’s it. It’s about opening up trade routes!”
“Opening up trade routes?” Zhang Tong’s brows jumped, and an ominous premonition suddenly appeared in his heart. He squeezed out a dry smile and said, “I dare to ask, sir. Expanding trade routes, what kind of trade routes are they opening? ”
"It is naturally the trade route in coastal areas."
"If the salt policy reform is completed, with the power of Ming Dynasty's integration."
"The local salt production capacity will be greatly improved, and The operation of the steam engine itself is costly. "
"As a machine made of iron, it cannot be shut down easily."
"So the salt produced must have a way out. ”
"I heard that the Japanese country has a population of millions, as well as Luzon and beyond. These areas are all places where the Ming Dynasty's salt can be dumped. Then the salt can be transported to other areas by sea and exchanged for food. , gold, silver, jewelry, etc., to replenish the treasury.”
“The world has decided that it needs to rest.”
“Therefore, the closed state in the past will gradually be eased, and the court may send a minister of rites. Officials go to sea and establish diplomatic relations with other southern sea areas. Then, based on the population of these areas, sufficient salt supply will be achieved, so that their salt supply can only rely on the Ming Dynasty!"
"Then in the Ming Dynasty! Control the southern countries on salt."
Hearing this. Zhang Tong's face changed drastically.
He felt a chill on his back.
The eyes looking at Xia Zhibai were even more filled with fear.
Xia Zhibai’s words are too scary. If Xia Zhibai does what he does, then all nearby countries, including North Korea, Japan, and Luzon, will be forcibly included in the salt supply chain of the Ming Dynasty. Wouldn't it be that selling salt would then become unprofitable?
This is absolutely impossible.
Zhang Tong took a deep breath, forced himself to calm down, and said solemnly: "Sir, don't say it's a joke."
"The sea ban imposed by the imperial court."
"How can we easily decide to reopen the sea? "Sea?"
"Furthermore, Luzon and Japan can also produce salt. Even if the salt of the Ming Dynasty can be shipped, the price will be extremely high. I do not deny that the salt of the Ming Dynasty is of high quality. It will be liked by many people, but for most Japanese people, they can't afford this salt."
"The adults' ideas are a bit too taken for granted."
Xia Zhibai shook his head and said: "I don't think so."
"Since it is difficult to transport salt, then transport technology. As long as the salt factory is controlled by Daming, wouldn't it be able to significantly reduce the cost? Expenditure can also gradually control the production and sales of salt in Japan, Korea and other places. To a certain extent, it can also be regarded as controlling the lifeblood of these areas."
"It will play a great role in ensuring the stability of the Ming Dynasty coastal areas in the future. "
"Besides, there are resources in Japan, Korea, Luzon and other places that are not available in the Ming Dynasty. When the time comes, you can return home with gold and silver. Isn't this a fortune?"
"As long as it's a fortune? If there is no slippage in thinking, there are always more methods than difficulties. ”
"As long as the benefits are big enough, I'm not afraid of input technology."
Hearing Xia Zhibai's increasingly bold words, Zhang Tong's face turned completely dark.
He could tell that Xia Zhibai was not joking.
But I really had this idea.
This horrified him.
If this suggestion really comes to the court, with Xia Zhibai's eloquent tongue, I'm afraid he can really convince His Majesty. Once the court opens the sea and sends officials from the Ministry of Rites to establish diplomacy with coastal countries, then many of the things they plan will be It’s completely over.
Zhang Tong smiled awkwardly and said: "My lord, I really admire your unconstrained ideas."
"But the most urgent thing is to solve the immediate matter first."
"And After all, the salt work that your Excellency said about going to sea gives people an unreal feeling, and I can’t agree with it. Moreover, the Japanese pirates invaded the border, and I have a blood feud with the Ming Dynasty. How can I, the Ming Dynasty, give such excellent technology to the Japanese? ? How can we send the best salt from the Ming Dynasty? "
"These Japanese pirates are not worthy!"
"Not only are the Japanese pirates unworthy, North Korea is unworthy, and Luzon is even less worthy!"
"In my opinion, just take care of the Ming Dynasty itself."
"With the coordination of the court, the salt factory is stable and daily Sales volume is enough. How can we let the beauty of our great country fall into the hands of barbarians from all over the world? "
"This is absolutely impossible."
Zhang Tong's denial was very firm.
Originally, he did not agree with any other ideas that Xia Zhibai said, and it was even more impossible to agree to the salt business going to sea. Too many people's interests were involved, and it would kill people. If Xia Zhibai continued to insist on his own way, He didn't even dare to think that someone would be tempted to attack Xia Zhibai.
Destroying people's financial opportunities is tantamount to killing their parents!
Fang Rengang and other salt merchants have been silent, not daring to say a word.
They didn't take Xia Zhibai seriously at all before, thinking that he was only in his early twenties, no matter how powerful he could be, but in the end, they actually faced Xia Zhibai, and then they realized Xia Zhibai's strength He was difficult to deal with and never gave anyone a chance to talk back, and his tone became louder and louder, becoming more and more scary.
Nowadays, this topic is even more untouchable for them.
It will kill people!
Xia Zhibai glanced at it imperceptibly, with a faint sneer at the corner of his mouth, and said: "I just said it casually, but after all, it is a direction. The salt industry in Ming Dynasty has become more and more formalized. , institutionalization, the output will also increase significantly in the future, and if there are major technological innovations in the future, I am afraid that the output will also increase significantly.”
“There will never be another wave of layoffs. Right? "
"In the end, we have to find a final destination for the extra salt."
"The border area is the best choice."
“Food is the most important thing for the people, and people are in need of salt. As long as the price of salt in the Ming Dynasty is low enough, it can be regarded as a strategic resource to control neighboring countries, so that the neighboring countries do not dare to easily take advantage of the Ming Dynasty. "
"There is a saying in the art of war: It is the best strategy to subjugate the enemy without fighting."
"China has been the kingdom of heaven since ancient times, and it will definitely recover in the future, so it should have The magnanimity of the Heavenly Kingdom.”
Zhang Tong’s face twitched.
He no longer wanted to talk any more about this topic.
He even made up his mind to report what Xia Zhibai said to other officials immediately after the meeting to wake them up. At the same time, he would target Xia Zhibai and never let Xia Zhibai affect them. The great cause of making a fortune!
Xia Zhibai looked around and saw that not many people spoke, and shook his head in disappointment.
He said solemnly: "Everyone, your performance makes me very disappointed. Compared with the salt merchants who did not come, I thought you would be different, but as businessmen, you are not mercenary and desperate. He is so bold and courageous, but as an official, he does not have the courage to face the impact. Such a meeting is really boring.”
(End of this chapter)