Rule the Ming Dynasty Alone

During marches and battles, the number of logistics personnel is often more than five times the number of combat personnel. Only in this way can the supply of military food be guaranteed. Therefore, ensuring military supplies has always been a laborious matter.

In the third year of Hongwu, because Shanxi and other frontier areas were in urgent need of military rations, and the imperial government was financially stretched, they decided to let merchants go to the Datong warehouse to pay rice per stone or Taiyuan warehouse to pay three buckets of rice, one stone, and then give Huai a small amount of salt, and then use the salt to exchange for salt transportation and sales. Profit.

Due to the remarkable results this time, the Ming Dynasty fully implemented the Kaizhong method to solve the military food problem in the nine sides.

Due to the long distance to transport grain, the imperial court had to continuously reduce the proportion of grain payment to attract merchants to buy salt. In the 18th year of Yongle, the Ministry of Household Affairs decided: Hedong salt imported three buckets of five liters of rice, and Huai salt imported four buckets of rice.

But now, it is becoming more and more difficult for border merchants to go to the salt fields to extract salt. They have to spend money to establish relationships to get the salt. Therefore, the court has reduced the salt payment ratio to two buckets and five liters.

Since the development of Kaizhongfa, some problems have indeed arisen.

The first is the issue of payment. If a salt merchant with a background like Ye Fugui can pick up the salt, it will naturally be smooth. However, in the past, 90% of the ordinary salt merchants could not pick up the salt, and it has become a consensus that they need to spend extra money to manage it.

Secondly, there is the problem of indiscriminate introduction. Since the Pan kings in various places asked for rewards, and the imperial court chose to reduce the proportion of salt and grain payment to attract merchants to buy salt, this method of drinking poison to quench thirst was easy to cause excessive introduction.

Finally, there is the problem of the continuous depreciation of Yanyin. In the past, people flocked to buy one stone, three dou and one liter, but now they can only buy two dou, five liters and one yin. This reflects the credibility crisis of Yanyin.

If it is a healthy way to open the country, it is undoubtedly that border merchants transport one stone of grain in exchange for one lead, go to the salt-producing area to successfully extract the salt, and then sell the salt to the designated swing area to make a profit.

It's just that the Kaizhongfa is now in an unhealthy state, and the biggest problem is that border merchants insist on leading salt-producing areas, but it takes a lot of money to manage salt merchants to bring salt.

Ye Qi's new prescription for this unhealthy approach was: the imperial court abolished the border merchants and allowed the Huai merchants to purchase cheap salt at a higher price, while the salt merchants continued to earn commissions.

How much money will the court make if the new salt method is implemented? Zhu Youtang looked deeply at the fair-skinned old man in front of him, glanced at Xu Pu thoughtfully, and then asked calmly.

Ye Qi was secretly happy and submitted a memorandum: Your Majesty, I have listed it in detail above! If the court changes to the new law, it will be calculated as four cents and two cents of silver. One million taels of Huai salt can get 420,000 taels of silver. But I thought that I could raise the silver price a little more for each quotation, so that I could get more silver!

One million yin is 420,000 taels?

In this way, Taicang will be full and the Aegis Camp can be established!

This year, the Ministry of Accounts has introduced banks to the Huaihe River, and salt merchants are flocking to it. It can indeed raise the price of silver. This strategy is indeed a plan for the ages!

…

When the officials present heard Ye Qi's accounts, they thought that one million salt taels could be exchanged for a mere 420,000 taels, and they couldn't help but secretly dumbfounded.

In this case, the border area needs to be quoted if two buckets of five liters of rice are stored in the warehouse. The price of salt is really too low! Zhu Youtang thought for a moment and nodded lightly.

Ye Qi's eyes lit up slightly, and he asked happily: Your Majesty, are you adopting the new salt method from me?

Officials such as Xu Pu, the left minister of the Ministry of Personnel, knew that this would be a major event that would rewrite the Salt Law of the Ming Dynasty, so they couldn't help but pay attention. Ye Qi's timing was undoubtedly just right.

As long as Hongzhi nods and agrees, Ming Dynasty's salt law will be rewritten, and the toy Aegis Camp he wants to spend huge sums of money to build will also come true.

In fact, everyone doesn't have to oppose the formation of the SHIELD battalion, but you can fool around, so the score will give everyone some benefits.

Ye Qi's servant! Zhu Youtang saw Ye Qi's joy in his eyes and said calmly.

Ye Qi saw that the dawn of victory was approaching, and he resolutely became the hero of the salt merchants in the Huaihe and Huaihe regions. He seemed to be beaming with joy and said: I am here!

Immediately escort 100,000 taels of silver from the Ministry of Household Affairs to Shanxi Chudi to purchase autumn grain and 500,000 taels of silver to tamp the side warehouses. Success will be rewarded, and mistakes will be punished! Zhu Youtang had naturally seen through the other party's little trick and looked shameless. He decreed with an expression on his face.

ah? Buying food?

The officials present at first thought that Hongzhi was going to agree to this new salt law that could generate wealth, but when they heard that Zhu Youtang actually asked Ye Qi to go to Shanxi to buy 500,000 shi of autumn grain, they were stunned.

Ye Qi thought his plan was successful, but when he heard Zhu Youtang asked him to buy grain, he couldn't help but widen his eyes and said: Your Majesty, minister...

The food here is cheap today. It is indeed not suitable to export millet and salt next year. Go back as soon as possible! Zhu Youtang immediately ordered arbitrarily because he did not understand the reason.

Ye Qi actually used two tricks here: one was to exaggerate the low prices of rice in the border areas, and the other was to deliberately ignore the low prices.

The price of rice in Jiubian this year is affected by multiple reasons.

The cost of transporting rice grains from the southeast to the border warehouse is not a small amount. Border merchants realized that it was much more cost-effective to grow their own crops than to transport them, so they opened up land and hired people to plant the crops, which led to the emergence of a large number of commercial villages and ensured the food supply in the border areas.

In addition, since the opening of Zhongfa, Jiubian has had a sufficient supply of rice every year, so the current warehouses can always be full, so they are no longer hungry for food.

The most important reason is that this year has been a good harvest year. Due to the high grain output, the price of rice has dropped to two yuan per stone.

There is also another problem: it is difficult to supply enough cheap border grain in large quantities in border areas.

Just like someone who cannot go to watch a certain star's concert due to special reasons, he may agree to sell you the tickets at a 10% discount, but if you want a thousand tickets, then he can only raise his middle finger to practice international etiquette. .

Just like this, the grain supply in the nine places dropped from a few liang per shi to 2 qian per shi. This was not because the grain merchants opened charity halls, but an important result of the Ming Dynasty's implementation of the Kaizhong method.

Once the Open China Law is abolished, food prices are bound to rise rapidly, and the earlier two cents and one stone food price has no reference value at all.

As for attracting cheapness, this is truly cheap.

It was the salt official who raised the threshold for border merchants to carry salt. Everyone had to spend money to establish relationships when going to carry salt. In the end, the court paid the bill, reducing the original price of one stone, three dou and one liter to two dou, five liters and one liter.

The so-called one lead leads to eight leads to gain is just a deception trick played by Ye Qi. In essence, it still steals the country's salt profits and destroys the cornerstone of the Ming Dynasty's border grain.

Ye Qi saw that Zhu Youtang was completely unprepared and instead picked up a rock to hit his own toes. Suddenly his eyes lit up and he said, Your Majesty, there is no silver in Taicang today. Please wait and discuss the purchase of grain later!

Shilang Ye, the household department has 1.3 million taels of silver, and the Beijing warehouse has more than 22 million shi of grain. We, the household department, can still get this little silver! At this time, Chen Kun, the right servant of the household department, He stood up and expressed his stance with narrowed eyes.

Not to mention that he was personally promoted by His Majesty, how could he still not see through Ye Qi's little trick until now.

Although according to the new salt law, the Ministry of Household Affairs was indeed able to increase a large amount of salt tax revenue, the expense of transporting grain to the side warehouses was borne by the court, and the salt collected was not enough to spend.

The reason why Ye Qi wanted to implement the new salt law was simply that collecting silver would be more beneficial to the Huai merchants, and it would also make it easier for the salt officials below to line their own pockets.

Huai merchants all know that it is not cost-effective to transport grain from the south of the Yangtze River to the border warehouses. If they pay silver instead, these people will easily obtain salt and make huge profits from salt.

If you can't come up with a mere hundred thousand taels, our household department will really be looked down upon by you!

That's right, it's only one hundred thousand taels, and our Zhejiang Division's accounts can be taken out directly!

If it's not enough, our Fujian Division still has 130,000 taels of silver in its books, which can also be transferred!

…

After the officials of the Ministry of Revenue saw Chen Kun's rise to the top, and because they had not forgotten what Zhu Youtang said earlier, several ministers in charge started to add insult to injury.

Not to mention, they have never liked Ye Qi, an outsider. According to what His Majesty said earlier, once the Minister of Household Affairs becomes vacant, His Majesty will select one from among their Thirteen Ministers.

Now, Ye Qi has actually found his own death. He still thinks that the wise and powerful young emperor in front of him is easy to fool, so they don't mind stabbing him in the back in order to seek the coveted position of Minister of Household Affairs.

this……

He Cong, the left minister of the Ministry of War, and other officials couldn't help but look at each other in confusion when they saw that there was chaos in the Ministry of Household Affairs.

Ye Qi didn't hear that these guys were stabbing him in the back. At this moment, he was so angry that he gritted his teeth. This was a completely impossible food purchase task.

Since there is no problem with the money in the Ministry of Finance, Ye Aiqing left immediately. You will be rewarded if you succeed. If you fail, don't blame me and punish you! Zhu Youtang looked at the guys in the Ministry of Finance and realized that his hard work was not in vain. , then the final word was made.

Ye Qi's face was uglier than crying at this time, but facing Zhu Youtang's stern gaze, she had no choice but to break her teeth and swallow: I accept the order!

It’s your own fault!

Xie Qian watched the activities here from a distance, looking very puzzled by Ye Qi's new salt method. At the same time, he looked at his teacher Xu Pu with confusion.

Your Majesty, if Li Shangshu is unable to transfer silver from Taicang in the Ministry of Household Affairs, and the Beijing warehouse under my control stores more than 22 million shi, he can exchange silver with rice merchants for the preparation of the Aegis Camp! Chen Kun responded to Li Si's earlier remarks. An excuse is a direct statement.

this……

Li Si frowned slightly, never expecting to be stabbed in the back by this fat man.

But who can be blamed? The family fortune left behind by Emperor Chenghua was really very rich. There were still more than 2,000 stones and 10,000 grains stored in the capital warehouse, and the autumn grains from various places were about to be transported by water.

In the winter, rice is expensive in the capital. The release of grain today can stabilize the price of grain in the capital. It's accurate! Zhu Youtang discovered that the faint emperor who was hated by the civil servants was actually quite reliable, so he immediately adopted the truth.

As for forming the Aegis Battalion, it was imperative for him to do so, after all, this would be his true ace unit.

Has the matter at Camp SHIELD been resolved?

The officials present couldn't help but look at each other in shock when they saw the development of the situation.

Originally, they wanted to force Zhu Youtang to take back his life, but Wan An stepped forward to help His Majesty in the ring, and the newly appointed Right Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, Li Kun, cleared the obstacle.

If this young emperor continues to mess around like this, who else will be able to check and balance him in the future and agree to rule the world together with the scholar-bureaucrats?

The morning sun has not yet appeared, and a cold wind is blowing from the east.

Xu Pu and other officials stood in the wind, but they found that the morning wind was exceptionally cold.

Song Cheng, the new young minister of Dali Temple, was wearing thin clothes and just stood motionless in the wind. Although he didn't understand His Majesty's intention in forming the SHIELD camp, in his understanding, His Majesty was definitely not a fool.

Should the meeting be held this time? If we find such extravagant things to cause trouble in the future, I will have to follow the example of my father and leave the court to focus on practical matters! Seeing that the matter has been resolved, Zhu Youtang reproached impatiently. road.

Although the quarrel was conducive to scientific decision-making, he already knew the moral character of these civil servants. If he hadn't been stupid, he would have had to abolish the Chinese law and use salt to nourish these moths after he ascended the throne and paid the inheritance tax.

cough!

Xu Pu's throat seemed to feel uncomfortable, and he suddenly coughed lightly.

All the officials hesitated for a moment because of Song Cong, and then he stood up and said, Your Majesty, I still have the original memorial!

Chief Song, what do you want to sing now? Zhu Youtang laughed angrily when he saw that these civil servants were really busy.

Song Cong knew that there was no turning back, so he hurriedly reported: Your Majesty, I think there is something wrong with your order to inspect the former Minister of Household Li Min! Li Shangshu has been an official for decades. He has always been loyal to the public and restrained himself. He has been in charge of the household department and the system, without harming wealth or harming the people. He is a model for civil servants. How can Li Shangshu be found guilty because of an account book of unknown origin and sent to jail to have his family affairs searched? Such practices have never been followed in this dynasty. If it doesn’t happen, your Majesty, please take back your order!”

Your Majesty, please take back your order! He Cong, the left minister of the Ministry of War, and other officials seemed to have already agreed, and they immediately agreed.

Huh?

Wan'an, who was wearing a python robe, had been waiting with his body bowed above. At this time, when he heard that Song Cong was interceding for Li Min's pardon, he looked thoughtfully at the officials below.

Li Min was imprisoned by the Ministry of Punishment that day, and the imperial edicts that had been confiscated had been issued for several days. As a result, these civil servants suddenly stood up to plead for mercy. This situation was obviously unreasonable.

None of the officials present could be idiots. Either Li Min was indeed an innocent person, or these guys had concluded that nothing would be found in this search.

Li Min can be said to be the most greedy water transport governor. How could this person be innocent? So now there is only one last possibility.

Is there really a change?

When Du Ming, the Minister of Punishment, saw He Cong standing up, he quickly noticed the anomaly and looked at Xu Pudao thoughtfully.

All officials kneel down and withdraw from the court!

At this time, Zhu Youtang had turned around and left, while Guo Yong sang loudly.

Zhu Youtang has actually thought of this, but it's not easy to jump to conclusions now. He still has to wait for Liu Zhong's reply, which has already left for Henan.

Although he didn't understand what these officials were singing, and he didn't understand why Li's house was empty, he really didn't believe that Li Min could still get away with it now!

ah?

When Wan An and Liu Ji saw Zhu Youtang leaving angrily, they couldn't help looking at each other, but they hurriedly led the officials to kneel down and send the young emperor away.

This time, we really cannot blame the young emperor for patting his ass and leaving. It is really because these civil servants are looking for trouble, and they did not expect that these people actually wanted to protect Li Min.

Made it up!