In the yamen of Yangzhou Mansion, Huang Shiyi and more than a dozen businessmen in bright clothes were drinking with the prefect Yang Jiazuo. Everyone, you have a sentence, I have a sycophant Yang Jiazuo is comfortable, not only cleaned up the disobedient small businessman, but also obtained something of great value.

"Daming Royal Trading Company, bullshit, they dare to use the word 'royal', that is a capital crime, and when they turn around, they will divide their goods, everyone, you don't need me to say it! Hehe. Yang Jiazuo borrowed the strength of wine, and forgot whether he had already found out the details of this shop, but he just wanted to make a fortune and fainted when he thought about it.

"That's, that's! If you have wealth, everyone will send it together, and it is all the blessing of the adult, how can you forget the adult. The crowd made another round of promises.

Just when the wine had passed three rounds and the food had passed five flavors, I heard someone shouting outside: "Lord Qincha has arrived." Hurry up and greet you. ”

Yang Jiazuo was so frightened that he hurriedly packed his clothes, and even ran away with a lot of alcohol.

"Fengtian carrier, the emperor's edict said: After Jinyiwei verified, Yangzhou prefect Yang Jiazuo's officials and businessmen colluded, corrupted and bent the law, and now Jinyiwei escorted back to Beijing, confiscated family property, Yangzhou prefect was taken over by Yang Lian in the matter, and this is admired." Chincha preached.

It turned out that it was Jinyiwei who beat people in the business house that day, and these three people were secretly sent by Luo Sigong to protect, Luo Sigong This guy is still very smart, because he knows that although Zhu Youxiao is not very old, but a few things are dealt with quite the legacy of Taizu back then, and he is definitely not a small carpenter who does not know a few words, which strengthens Luo Sigong's determination to be loyal, he saw that Zhu Youxiao was struggling with his brain for the lack of money in the household, and he also set up the Daming Royal Trading Company, so he sent someone to protect it secretly. Jinyiwei has spies all over the country, and it is a son who inherits his father's business, and some have been Jinyiwei for several lifetimes, and the neighbors don't know, so Jinyiwei immediately contacted the secret agent as soon as he arrived, and Yang Jiazuo checked Yang Jiazuo in a few days, and Yang Jiazuo didn't know at all, and then sent someone to send it to the capital urgently.

Zhu Youxiao was overjoyed when he saw this, and even praised Luo Sigong for doing things, and rewarded him with five hundred taels of silver to drink.

Later, Zhu Youxiao summoned Sun Chengzong, a scholar of the cabinet, Zhu Guozuo, a scholar of the household department, Zhou Jiamo, a secretary of the ministry, Zuo Guangdou, director of the tax department, and Yang Lian, who was in the matter, to come over to discuss together. Zhu Youxiao took out the history of salt tax revenue in the Song Dynasty and discussed with these five people, why the salt tax in the Song Dynasty is equivalent to nearly 10 million taels of silver now, and the population is now more than the population in the Song Dynasty, and the current salt tax is less than one-tenth of the Song Dynasty, and now the people buy salt for 300 wen a catty, and the Song Dynasty is only 50 wen a catty, so where does the money in the middle go, and who takes the minimum 9 million salt tax? These five people were stunned when they saw this number, the Ming Dynasty earned five or six million silver, but lost nine million silver, which made anyone feel incredible.

Zhu Youxiao said: "This shows that there is a problem with our salt tax system, and we must put the well-being of the people first, not only to increase taxes, but also to reduce the price of salt to less than 150 wen a catty." I'm now thinking of a way to see what you have to add. First of all, the abolition of the salt introduction system and the implementation of the salt ticket system, that is, no matter who you want, as long as you want, you can go to the institutions under the salt tax department to buy salt, as for where the salt is sold, it does not matter where the salt is sold, so that competition will be formed, and the state can control the maximum salt price not to exceed 150 wen a catty. Secondly, strictly control the salt farm, the salt tax is collected on the spot, it is forbidden to boil salt without permission, and the salt tax will no longer be levied after the appearance, so that there is no need to set up cards everywhere to check the private salt, and reduce the waste of manpower and material resources. Salt used by the army can be specially transported, or salt merchants can be selected for transportation by bidding.

The other five people also had a bright eye when they heard Zhu Youxiao's method, controlling the salt farm, simple and convenient, canceling the card, saving people and effort, controlling the maximum retail price, and benefiting the people. Good, good moves, but in this way, those salt merchants will not have a good life from now on. The only thing to keep an eye on now is the salt farm, as long as the salt farm does not evade taxes, the country's salt tax will never be lost again.

Who will do this, Yang Lian, Zhu Youxiao's first candidate is Yang Lian. Historically speaking, Yang Lian is a relatively honest and honest official, except for a little Donglin Party color, there is no stain, not to mention that now Yang Lian is still in the middle of the six-grade thing, and now he is awarded the prefect of the fourth grade to exercise, and then get him to the capital three or two years later, at that time it was only a little more than fifty, whether it is in the cabinet, Ren Shangshu or even have qualifications.

So, Sun Chengzong and Zhou Jiamo agreed to Zhu Youxiao's arrangement. At the same time, in order to prevent the salt merchants in Yangzhou from making trouble, and also to control the salt works in the future, Zhu Youxiao asked the military department to draw 5,000 people from the Praetorian Guard and send a staff general to lead the rapid march to Yangzhou, and Yang Lian took the lead in rushing to Yangzhou.

After Yang Lian took Yang Jiazuo, the prefect of Yangzhou, he copied Yang Jiazuo's home in accordance with the holy decree, and he didn't know if he didn't copy it, and he was shocked when he copied it, and he copied nearly three million taels of silver in Yang Jiazuo's home, almost half of the Ming Dynasty's annual income, which was too shocking. In fact, not all the prefects of the Ming Dynasty can be greedy so much, Yangzhou is an edible salt distribution center, almost two-thirds of the salt of the Ming Dynasty is produced here, and there are not 10,000 salt merchants here.

After Yang Jiazuo was taken, the whole Yangzhou was shocked, especially the salt merchants who hid a large amount of salt, and the dozen or so people who drank at Yang Jiazuo's house that day were even more afraid. So they took a desperate step and hired the most famous salt lord in the Lianghuai Valley to prepare a night attack on the yamen of the Yangzhou prefect in an attempt to kill Yang Lian. In their opinion, Yang Lian is the initiator, and killing Yang Lian will change things, but unfortunately they never dreamed that even the salt lord has an undercover agent of Jinyiwei.

This Yang Lian was also a very courageous person, and he used his example as bait and ordered 5,000 Janissaries to disperse into the city, and then hide around the yamen of Yangzhou Mansion. He himself sat firmly in the yamen, when more than 300 salt lords shouted and rushed to the yamen in the middle of the night, the ambush soldiers rushed to the yamen together, and the salt lords were all outlaws, as soon as they saw that Yang Lian was prepared, they immediately scattered and desperately escaped, and the Praetorian Guards did not do everything to kill, but stared at the back, Yangzhou City was closed at this time, and the salt lords had to hide in the big salt merchants who contacted them.

This is exactly the original plan, the next day, Yang Lian's four gates closed the whole city to search for the salt baron, all the salt merchants who hid in the salt barons were confiscated, and they actually got nearly 30 million taels of silver, which is almost equivalent to the tax of the Ming Dynasty for five years. Since then, Yang Lian has become famous in one fell swoop, completely controlling the salt tax in the Lianghuai River Basin, and making great contributions to the economic stability of the Ming Dynasty.