What is the most profitable trading in the world? Many people's first reaction is to trade by sea, or to resell overseas treasures, but in fact, the problem is very simple, that is, to buy and sell salt. Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

There are concentrated sources of salt, well salt, pond salt, sea salt, and according to the distance from the salt producing area and the convenience of transportation, the price of salt is also different, but no matter what kind of salt it is, the profit of selling salt must be a lot.

Therefore, after the rectification of the salt works in Guangzhou, the salt drying method began to be promoted on a large scale, and it is conceivable that with the increase in the production of sea salt, it will bring a steady stream of salt profits, but the question is who is the biggest beneficiary of this salt profit.

Pan Yu, Yu Wenwen in the official office is talking in detail with the marching marshal Shi Cui Da, today he is not here to quarrel with the other party, but to sincerely ask questions, not for anything else, but to predict the future direction of the salt policy.

Salt and iron monopoly, also known as salt and iron official camp, is a well-known term, but in fact, the ancient span is so long, not every dynasty has adopted the salt and iron monopoly policy, and a normal dynasty time span of tens or hundreds of years, and the salt administration in different periods is also different.

Yu Wenwen started the idea of the salt industry, and he also knew what kind of salt policy was currently implemented in the Zhou State, but he was not very sure about the future development of the salt administration, so he was ashamed to ask Cui Da for advice.

The context of this idiom is limited, that is to say, the identity of the person asking the question is higher than that of the person being asked, so in daily life, if a student dares to say that his behavior of asking Mr. for a question is "not ashamed to ask", it will cause everyone to laugh.

Yuwen Wengui is the king of the county and a superior, and it is reasonable to ask Cui Da a question, and it is reasonable to use "shameless to ask", but after all, there is a condescending meaning, so he will not say so in person.

"The king, after the imperial court pacified the Eastern Xia, the salt administration was roughly the official supervision and private administration, which the king knew, the imperial court had a decree to palm the salt and the four salts, so the king knew what the four salts were?"

"The widow knows that one is sea salt, and the sea is boiled to make it; the second is to supervise the salt, and the water in the pond is used to dissolve it; the third is the form of salt, and the material and the land are out of it; The fourth is the salt, which is taken in Xirong. ”

"The king is right, and the salt administration of the imperial court at that time, all the prisons of salt-shaped salt, every place forbade it, and the people took it, and they all collected salt taxes."

Cui Da was a Qi minister back then, so when it came to the Zhou State of Pingqi, he replaced the "Qi State" with the geographical term "Dongxia", and he mentioned that the salt administration of the Zhou State after the Ping Qi was the official camp of the supervised salt (pool salt) produced by Hedong Jiechi and the shape salt (well salt) produced in Shudi, and the private forces were not allowed to participate.

As for the salt (rock salt) that needs to be purchased from the Western Regions, as well as the loose salt (sea salt) in the coastal areas, private enterprises are allowed, especially sea salt, which has the nature of official supervision and private management, in addition to the salt farms of the government, people are also allowed to boil salt to make salt, and then collect taxes in an appropriate amount.

But Yuwenwen wants to know more than this, so Cui Da introduced the salt politics of Qi back then, firstly, as a minister of Qi, he naturally knew the salt politics of Qi, and secondly, because his father Cui Xian had participated in the decision-making of the salt politics of Qi State.

At that time, Wei divided the east and west, and after a big war, the Western Wei controlled the Hedong Jiechi, that is, controlled the source of the pond salt, but for the Eastern Wei, because there was a long coastline in the east of the country, there was a sufficient source of sea salt, so it didn't matter.

Salt is a necessity, and the salt and iron official camp has existed since ancient times, if the state controls the production, sale and sale of salt throughout the whole process, that is, the monopoly, the profits can supplement the treasury expenditure, so the Eastern Wei Dynasty and the later Qi State, in general, are official (monopoly) of salt.

However, in the early days of the Eastern Wei Dynasty, there was also a private sector in the salt industry, and in the Wuding period, Cui Xian asked for the salt industry in Hai and Yi to be run by the government, and another minister, Cui Ang, expressed his opposition.

Cui Ang believes that a large number of salt stoves are used to cook salt in salt farms, and although the government can requisition manpower to cook salt, it is not as extensive as the manpower of the people to cook salt spontaneously, so it is better to continue to allow the salt industry to be private.

First, it can ensure the production of sea salt, and secondly, the government only needs to calculate the stove and collect taxes, and it can also get a lot of income, which is a great joy for everyone.

At that time, the imperial court adopted Cui Ang's opinion and only taxed the private salt industry instead of prohibiting it, so the salt industry in the Eastern Wei Dynasty (Qi State) was a coexistence of government and private enterprises, but the salt industry did provide abundant financial resources for the state treasury at that time.

In stark contrast to this, the Western Wei (Zhou) implemented a government-run monopoly on Hedong salt and Shudijing salt, the reason is very simple, the national strength of the Western Wei (Zhou) is not as good as that of the Eastern Wei (Qi), and the treasury revenue is tight, so it can only find ways to expand financial resources.

Not only is the salt industry officially monopolized, but even the taxes are almost twice as heavy as those of the Eastern Wei (Qi State), which is the helpless choice of the Western Wei (Zhou State), which is obviously at a disadvantage in terms of national strength.

As for why the national strength of the Zhou State was at a disadvantage, it was a political and military issue, not an economic issue.

The ban on opening the pond allows private enterprises, but it is necessary to operate the salt industry under the supervision of the government, which is for the government to supervise the private sector, and to adopt a more relaxed policy for the sea salt fields in the territory of the old Qi.

Later, the confrontation between the two countries of Zhou and Sui, in order to make up for the huge expenses, although the Yecheng court allowed private enterprises to Haiyan, it increased taxes as a source of revenue.

The salt administration of the Southern Dynasties, since the Song Dynasty, has followed the old system of the Wei and Jin dynasties, and the salt industry is mainly government-run, but the salt industry is also allowed to be privately owned, and taxes are levied to supplement the state.

The official camp of the salt industry, that is, originated from the famous "salt and iron official camp" or "salt and iron monopoly", this system is said to have originated in the Spring and Autumn Period, and the famous minister of Qi put forward the "official mountain and sea" to monopolize the production and sales of salt and iron, creating a huge financial resource for the rich country and strong army of Qi.

By the time of the Warring States Period, the Qin Shang Dynasty changed the law and implemented a similar policy to increase the revenue of the treasury; During the Han Dynasty, the invasion of the Xiongnu led to a large increase in expenditure, and in order to raise military salaries, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty implemented the salt and iron official camp.

However, by the time of Emperor Zhao of the Han Dynasty, the policy of cultivation and recuperation was implemented, and the ministers formally discussed how to adjust the policy of "salt and iron official camps", which was the famous "salt and iron conference", and since then, the imperial court's control over salt and iron has gradually relaxed.

Since the Wei and Jin dynasties, the imperial court has made many adjustments to the business policy of salt and iron, and in the case of the salt industry, when the imperial court has a huge expenditure and needs money urgently, it will tighten the salt ban, and if there is a fiscal surplus, the policy will be relaxed.

At that time, Cui Dajiao's father, Cui Xian, supported the strengthening of the salt industry in order to increase fiscal revenue, and the most important view of the opponents was that the salt industry was full of ills, and the imperial court "could not compete with the people for profit".

"Competing with the people? From the opinion of the widow, this 'people' is not qualified to be done by anyone, right? ”

In the face of Yu Wenwen's question, Cui Dali did not answer, he felt that there was no need to argue about such an obvious matter, in fact, the big families and the powerful would not let go of the salt business, without him, it was very profitable.

"The king just asked, what will be the future salt policy of the imperial court, and the lower officials think that when the world is unified, the imperial court may completely lift the salt ban, and even the salt tax will not be collected, in order to benefit the people."

The world is unified, the tax source is sufficient, and there is no need for those in power to make a notoriety of "competing with the people for profit" for the sake of a mere salt tax, after all, the powerful and powerful people in various places also want to "share interests".

Therefore, Yu Wenwen's previous judgment is like this: after Zhou Guoping Chen, the salt industry will be liberalized sooner or later, and the salt tax will be reduced or even abolished.

However, he was still quite excited to hear the same opinion from Cui Dayan, a close confidant of the prime minister, who was well-informed and had an advantage in predicting some policies, so there was no need to lie to him for this kind of thing.

Therefore, Yu Wenwen's "shameless questioning" today is finally a successful end.

Looking at the back of Yuwenwen leaving, Cui Da shook his head, the other party wanted to make a fortune from the Guangzhou salt farm, he had already seen it, it was nothing, but...

I'm afraid that the Yuwen family will not be able to jump in a few years, what are you still tossing?