Fang Yuan consulted a longitudinal comparison of the Huai Salt tax on the Internet.

In the Southern Song Dynasty and Northern Song Dynasty, the annual salt tax could reach 12 million yuan, and the money was always equivalent to about five yuan to one tael of silver, and the annual salt tax was also 6 million taels to 12 million taels; Later, during the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, the salt tax reached five or six million taels.

However, only the Ming Dynasty's Huai salt tax was only 1.5 million taels, even though the Ming Dynasty's commercial tax was slightly lower, but the loss of salt tax in the middle was too huge, only about one-third of the receivable.

The three or four million taels of silver lost from the salt tax must be given an acceptable explanation by the two major salt merchants.

Fang Yuan and the prefect Qu Congzhi met with Wu Dashan, the leader of the Shanxi Merchant Gang, and Cheng Yuan, the leader of the Hui Merchant Gang, in the Yongwang Mansion.

The contradictions between the Shanshan Gang and the Hui Merchants have been going on for a long time, and the representatives of the two Merchant Gangs, Wu Dashan and Cheng Yuan, were even more cold-eyed, and they didn't even bother to say hello when they sat face-to-face.

Fang Yuan ordered the maid of the Yongwang Mansion to serve tea to the two, and asked with a smile, "The two big bosses are not busy with the business of the Salt Gang, what is the important matter of coming to the door?" ”

The Shanshan Merchant Gang started as an agricultural businessman, and Wu Dashan didn't have much politeness, so he said loudly, "When the Shanshang Gang heard that Fang Junmen was going to train cavalry in Jiangnan, they wanted to talk to Fang Junmen about the sale of war horses and feed for salt. ”

Fang Yuan drank the tea noncommittally, and before he could speak, Cheng Yuan of the Hui Merchants Gang had already said, "The folding color method has been implemented for one or two hundred years, where is there a reason to change it?" ”

Wu Dashan saw that the Hui merchants and merchants came to obstruct again, and he was angry, "You Hui merchants buy salt with silver, and my Shanxi merchants use war horses to exchange salt for salt, you and I don't interfere with the well water, so you Hui merchants also have to interfere, is it too lenient, do you really think that Yangzhou Mansion is the back garden of Huizhou merchants?" ”

Cheng Yuan's Hui merchant gang is a representative of Confucian merchants, and immediately fought back mercilessly, "Doing business is nothing more than paying attention to a fair competition and being profitable. ”

He scolded Wu Dashan, and then said to Fang Yuan, "Fang Junmen, you have destroyed the Eight Great Jin Merchants of Shanxi, and this Shanxi Merchant Gang is inextricably linked with the Eight Great Jin Merchants, and he has long held a grudge. The matter of military horses is related to military and political affairs, and it must not be handed over to the Shanxi merchant gang to operate! ”

Wu Dashan saw that he began to dismantle the stage, and even more cleverly said that he would dissociate the relationship between Fang Yuan and the Shanshan Merchant Gang, and his face was flushed with anger, and he scolded when he opened his mouth, "Let your mother's bullshit!" My Shanxi Merchant Gang moved the ancestral business from Shaanxi and Shanxi to Jiangnan two hundred years ago, and has a fart relationship with the Eight Great Jin Merchants, you are simply spitting blood! Fang Junmen, these Hui merchants and merchants are famous for drilling gophers, treacherous and unscrupulous, where to drill if there is any benefit, the previous Yangzhou rebellion, there are Hui merchants and merchants involved in it! ”

Cheng Yuan was stunned, he didn't expect Wu Dashan to dare to expose the Huizhou merchant gang for participating in the Yangzhou rebellion, this is ironclad evidence, there is no way to refute it, so he can only hit a nail rake and drag the Shanxi merchant gang into the water, "Yangzhou rebellion, our Hui merchants were forced out of some silver, please Fang Junmen Mingjian!" Besides, Ma Minglu, the traitor, also informed you of the Shanshan Merchant Gang, why didn't you report it to Fang Junmen? The so-called failure to report the knowledge is punished with the same crime! ”

Fang Yuan listened to the quarrel between the two, silently sipping the tea, but he had his own thoughts.

In the previous Yangzhou rebellion, Fang Yuan believed that both the Hui Merchants and the Shanxi Merchants would inevitably participate, but it was estimated that no one was the mastermind. These businessmen must be pursuing profits, and it is absolutely impossible for them to take the lead in rebellion.

The two sides of the Hui Merchants Gang and the Shanxi Merchants Gang want to fight in full swing, which is completely conducive to market competition and a good thing to curb monopoly, and he is happy to watch the battle. The Shanshan Merchant Gang is now in a contrarian trend, so they are in a hurry to find Fang Yuan to open up a new way out, and the price code must be very generous.

His emotional balance is still inclined to the Shanshan Merchant Gang.

Fang Yuan put down the teacup, interrupted the quarrel between the two, and said lightly, "Yangzhou rebellion, this army has already said that the past is not to blame, there is no need to entangle. There is something I don't understand in this military gate, and I ask the two big bosses to solve their doubts for a while. ”

Wu Dashan and Cheng Yuan glanced at each other, and said in unison, "Please let Fang Junmen make it clear." ”

A smile rose at the corner of Fang Yuan's mouth, and his eyes looked back and forth between the two, "I checked the ancient books, during the Song Dynasty, the salt tax of Huaiyan could be collected 12 million taels a year, why did it come to the Ming Dynasty, regardless of the amount of salt produced, or the population was larger than that of the Song Dynasty, but the salt tax was only two million taels?" ”

Wu Dashan and Cheng Yuan looked at each other, and only then did they know that Fang Yuan's goal was the bribe, but to rectify the salt tax of Huaiyan.

At this time, Mo said that the two of them were dumbfounded, and even the prefect Qu Congzhi was stunned on the spot, only to feel that this time he had moved a stone and hit his own foot, and he hit Fang Yuan's muzzle.

Fang Yuan asked leisurely, "Could it be that the people of the Song Dynasty have a strong taste and eat more salt than my Ming people?" ”

Wu Dashan echoed and said, "Fang Junmen's words are reasonable, and of course my people in the Ming Dynasty pay more attention to the way of health preservation. In fact, eating too much salt is not good, the reason why the Song Dynasty was taken into the Central Plains by Meng Yuan is related to eating too much salt and having a weak physique. ”

The loss of salt tax is nothing more than the collusion between officials and businessmen to privately distribute salt, which belongs to official smuggling; There is also the rampant smuggling of the people, which has a Mao relationship with how much the people eat salt. Wu Dashan Laxi's nonsense was simply a big 'two' directly engraved on Fang Yuan's forehead.

Fang Yuan laughed angrily, gave him a ladder, and he really dared to lie down, slammed the table hard, and slapped the teacup on the table to the ground, scolding him sharply, "It's just nonsense!" ”

Wu Dashan was furious when he saw him, and he was so frightened that he hurriedly stopped talking.

Cheng Yuan coughed and said, "Fang Junmen has asked the point, even if Fang Junmen doesn't ask, I have to report to Fang Junmen." Alas! Huai Salt smuggling smuggled salt is really like a carp crossing the river, and it is forbidden endlessly. These non-governmental salt smuggling gangs do not need to buy salt from the government, and the cost is much lower. Those of us who do serious business are doing business at a loss, and we also have hardships and headaches! ”

Cheng Yuan stood up and bowed his hand respectfully to Fang Yuan and said, "I also ask Fang Junmen to uphold justice for us serious businessmen and eliminate the salt gang that smuggles smuggled salt." ”

Concerning the overall interests of the Huaiyan and salt merchants, Wu Dashan immediately gave up his old grudge with the Hui Merchants Gang, chose the same position as Cheng Yuan, and also gave up his hand and said, "Fang Junmen must make the decision for us, our Shanxi Merchant Gang lost 500,000 taels last year, and this business cannot be done." ”

Cheng Yuan is worthy of being an old fox, he put all the responsibility on the smuggling of private salt, and did not mention a word about the collusion between officials and businessmen, and the greasy nature of official smuggling, and also made a tried and tested trick, that is, crying poor.

The so-called loss-making operation is a big joke, if it is really a loss-making operation, the two businessmen have been fighting for so many years, and they are fighting for territory all the time, that is, there is no place to spend more money, and they are specially to lose money?

However, it is true that the smuggling of smuggled salt in all dynasties can encounter great problems, and the loss of salt tax in the Ming Dynasty is due to the collusion of officials and businessmen to smuggle the majority, or because of private smuggling, which is simply a confused account, and it is not clear who will change it.

However, since the two of them mentioned private smuggling, Fang Yuan had to solve this problem, and asked lightly, "In this way, if this army sends troops to exterminate the salt gang that smuggles smuggled salt, the Shanxi merchant gang, and the Hui merchant gang can pay the salt tax of five million silver to this military gate?" ”

There are simply as many interest groups involved in the collusion and smuggling of officials and businessmen, and there are by no means a small number of powerful and high-ranking officials involved in Beijing and Nanjing. These powerful and high-ranking officials usually do not come forward in person at all, and all the responsibilities are borne by the Shanshan Merchant Gang and the Hui Merchant Gang.

Once the collusion is exposed, both the Shanxi Merchant Gang and the Hui Merchant Gang will be wiped out immediately.

What can Cheng Yuan and Wu Dashan say, and what do they dare to say? I could only resignedly, "Yes, yes." ”

Fang Yuan asked coldly, "Who is the biggest salt smuggling gang?" ”

Wu Dashan and Cheng Yuan said in unison, "It's the Haisha Gang!" ”

Fang Yuan's gaze fell on Qu Congzhi, the prefect of Yangzhou who had not spoken for a long time, and asked leisurely, "Qu prefect, what is the origin of the Haisha Gang?" ”

Qu Congzhi said, "This Haisha Gang, together with all the halls, has as many as 3,000 people, and the leader is Xu Bao, who is known as the 'salt lord'. ”

"Salt baron?"

Fang Yuan smiled coldly, a smuggler of smuggled salt also deserves to be called Xiaoxiong, "Qu Zhifu, such a huge smuggling group, you don't care?" ”

Qu Congzhi hurriedly explained, "Fang Junmen, this Haisha Gang's old nest is in Zhenjiang Mansion, and it has nothing to do with Yangzhou Mansion. ”

Zhenjiang Mansion?

Fang Yuan smiled secretly, his next goal was to take over Zhenjiang Mansion, but he didn't expect the business to be sent directly to the door, it was the best.