(This chapter starts out a little boring, because it's about the history of Shioki and setting the stage for the rest of the story.) Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 info But it will soon enter the climax, but then again, the history of salt can be clearly explained within a few thousand words, and then the brothers can see clearly the story of the history of the past and present life of the monopoly salt system that has continued to this day, so why not be patient and take a look, anyway, it doesn't hurt to do it)

Just when the abolitionist movement was in full swing, another piece of news shocked the government and the opposition, and the father-in-law of Yang Ke, the former chief executive of the Central Council and the current first minister, made a break from prison, and asked the imperial court to restore the official salt system, and designed a complete and detailed set of specific operating methods.

The Central Council did not make any annotations in the recital, and directly sent it to Yang Ke's hands, and Yang Ke only added two words to it: "Court Council". As a result, this cannon battle was thrown into the fire, and without communication and blowing, a sensitive topic went directly to the enlarged meeting, and Tang Zhong couldn't figure out what kind of medicine was sold in Yang Ke's gourd. If he holds a supportive position, he should find some people to unify his thinking in advance, and at least talk to the Central Council, otherwise he will be very passive if he rashly conducts a court discussion, in case everyone opposes it? If he is against the position, then why should such a sensitive issue be put in the enlarged meeting, you must know that the great court meeting often cannot solve any problems, and the real big decisions are always made by a small group of people. After thinking about it, Tang Zhong felt that there was only one possibility, that is, Yang Ke didn't think about what to do, so let the courtiers quarrel about it first, and then he could wait to see the situation on the side. Therefore, Tang Zhong put this topic on the first agenda of the Great Pilgrimage. Sure enough, as Tang Zhong expected, the debate among the ministers reached a white-hot level in an instant, and their positions were clear, and the demarcation and opposition of attitudes were very sharp. Some people praised Zhang Hua's memo as a famous reform that can be recorded in history, while opponents sent Zhang Hua to the eighteenth layer of hell, saying that he was a disciple of a pseudo-saint.

Yang Ke silently watched coldly from the sidelines and said nothing. If you want to talk about the past and present life of the official salt system, as well as the advantages and disadvantages of this system in the long history, it can be said that no one can compare with his understanding and understanding.

One of the most influential salt reforms in Chinese history occurred in the pre-Qin state of Qi. Guan Zhong, a famous economist in ancient China, proposed a package of "reform plans" to the monarch Qi Huangong, including the reform of salt administration.

For this salt reform, there is a detailed record in "Guanzi Sea King". Guan Zi first proposed to Qi Huan Gong the idea of "Guanshan Hai", the so-called "Guanshan Hai", which is the government's monopoly on mountain and sea resources. Qi is a coastal vassal state with abundant marine resources, and Guan Zi believes that it can use marine resources to become a hegemonic power.

The core point of view of Guan Zi is only eight words: "The country of the sea king, be careful about the salt." "It probably means that if you want to become a strong country with marine resources, you must be good at using the salt industry policy. Qi Huan Gong didn't know why, so Guan Zhong elaborated on his salt monopoly proposition, saying that people always want salt, and adding taxes to the price of salt, the fiscal revenue is stable, and it is more profitable than Ming's poll tax. More importantly, if the king called the orders to tax the whole people, it would be opposed, and if it was added to the price of salt, no one could escape, and this was the way to manage the country's finances. Guan Zhong's original words were like this: "The envoy gave an order and said: I will be from the kings and my sons, and I will be shouting." The salt policy given by the husband today will be attributed to the top a hundredfold, and no one can avoid this, and the number is also. ”

Regarding Guan Zhong's opinion on salt reform, Qi Huan Gong asked rhetorically: "But the country has no mountains and seas, and it is not kingly?" Guan Zhong said that he could make use of the mountain and sea resources of other countries, "the country with the name of the sea is salt in my country, and the cauldron is fifteen, and I have received hundreds of officials." This means that countries with seas can sell salt to their own countries and buy it at a price of 15 yuan per kettle, while the official franchise can sell it for 100 yuan. Guan Zhong's "Sea King" said that this trade method of "collecting at a low price and selling at a high price" for salt is the earliest theory of salt reform in China, and the essence is that salt is purchased, transported, and sold in a unified manner, and the people can produce it but not buy and sell it. Guan Zhong's salt policy has been influencing the direction of China's salt industry policy since then, so he was regarded as the "salt sect" by later generations.

Guan Zhong's "Guanshanhai" salt reform plan is indeed a way to enrich the country, but it is not beneficial to the people. Ming Qiu Jun once criticized Guan Zhong's salt reform in his "Examination of the Salt Law": "Self-management of Zhongxing salt reeds, in order to seize the interests of the people, began to open the salt ban." ”

Therefore, after Liu Bang (Han Gaozu) established the Han Dynasty, he abolished the official salt policy and encouraged trade circulation. According to "Historical Records: The Biography of the Goods and Colonies": "Switch the beam, relax the ban of the mountains and ze". However, the "salt reform" policy of the imperial court to benefit the people was exploited by the local princes, and the central government liberalized the salt industry, while some feudal states "obstructed the mountains". For example, in the state of Wu, one of the main producing areas of sea salt, Liu Bi, the king of Wu, ordered the control of salt and other resources. "Historical Records: The Biography of Wu Wangbi" recorded: "Bi caused the world's outlaws to mint money, boil seawater for salt, so that there is no endowment, and the country is rich." ”

Due to the control of the salt industry by local interest groups, the central government's fiscal revenue was greatly reduced, and by the time Liu Che (Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty) was in power, military expenditures were huge and the treasury was empty.

In the fourth year of Yuanzhan (119 B.C.), Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty sent officials such as Kong Zhi and Dongguo Xianyang to tour the local counties, set up salt and iron bureaus in various places, and selected "the rich people of the old salt and iron family" as salt officials and were responsible for specific salt affairs. According to the Book of Han, the "Salt Reform" policy of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was extremely strict: "Those who dare to cast iron and boil salt privately will have their left toe and confiscate their utensils." ”

At the same time, policies to support the production of salt industry were introduced. "Historical Records and Pingzhun Book" recorded: "The original recruits were self-sufficient, because the official utensils were used to boil salt, and the officials and the prison basins. "The government provides salt boiling utensils and hires workers to subsidize the cost of boiling salt.

However, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty's salt reform was a failure at first, due to the incomplete supporting system and poor inspection, which led to a sharp rise in salt prices, unsalable official salt, and reduced fiscal revenue. Later, the Minister of Finance, Sang Hongyang, sent officials to parachute into the local area, and the situation was changed, and the price of salt fell.

Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty's "salt reform" increased the burden on the people, and in his later years, he issued an edict to blame himself and adjust the salt administration. After Liu Fuling succeeded to the throne, the call for salt reform soared. In the sixth year of the first century (81 B.C.), the imperial court held a "salt and iron conference" in the capital Chang'an, attended by representatives from all over the country, and held a great debate on the monopoly system of salt and iron.

This incident is recorded in the "Hanshu Zhao Emperor Ji": "In February (the sixth year of the first century), the edict asked the county and the country to raise virtues and literature, and asked the people about their suffering. Salt, iron, and drunkenness. "This is an unprecedented discussion on salt and iron management in the history of China's salt industry. The final meeting minutes "Salt and Iron Theory" have become an important material in the history of the development of China's salt industry. However, because it was related to the country's finances, the imperial court did not cancel the salt monopoly in the end, but only made minor adjustments.

Historically, at the beginning of the founding of each dynasty, the salt administration was mostly open, free in production and marketing, and beneficial to the people. For example, Emperor Wen of Sui once advocated the policy of "sharing with the people", recognizing that the common people and the imperial court "shared" salt profits, and relaxed the control of salt mining rights and management rights.