Salt, tea, wine, and iron were all exclusive to the imperial court in ancient times, but they were looser in the Ming Dynasty.

In the early Ming Dynasty, due to the lack of rooster crows in the north, the population of the four huge provinces of Hebei, Shanxi, Shaanxi, and Gansu combined was less than 15 million, so it was not as rich as the south.

Due to the scarcity of supplies in the region, the troops stationed in the north had to pay a lot of money to buy supplies.

In order to cope with this poverty, the Ming Dynasty formulated a rule, that is, salt imports needed merchants to transport grain to the border towns in exchange for it.

This system greatly alleviated the material problem of the soldiers in northern Xinjiang, but since the fifth year of Hongzhi changed the grain to the silver to the silver, everyone only needs to pay the silver to the imperial court to get the salt.

The big salt merchants basically had people from the imperial court to the local area, so in many cases, they could get a large amount of salt by paying a symbolic amount of silver.

It can be said that the cost of their salt is almost zero, and more is spent on the upper and lower dots.

In the name of "pen polishing fees", some businessmen asked nobles and officials to write inscriptions, and speculated a word for hundreds or even thousands or tens of thousands of taels of silver, which was a disguised bribe.

The salt introduction system of the Ming Dynasty was the "Gang Salt System", that is, the merchants who held the salt were divided into 10 classes according to the region, each of which was 200,000 yuan, and each of them was 300 catties of salt, or six coins and four cents of silver, which was called "Woben", and the tax was three taels of silver, and the envoy (transportation) was three taels of silver.

The annual salt production of Daming on paper is 600 million catties, and the salt tax revenue was originally according to the output, and the government got 6 taels of silver and 6 coins and 4 cents per quote, and after all the 600 million catties of salt were sold, the government should have earned 13.28 million taels of silver, but in fact, Daming only had 2.5 million taels of silver at most.

This reason, in addition to corrupt officials and corrupt officials, is that the price of official salt is too high.

A 300 catties of salt, pay a tax of six taels and six dollars and four cents, which is equal to 22 wen per catty of salt, and the private salt eaten by the people in the world is only four or five wen, and more than a dozen wen in Huguang and the area are scolded by the people.

However, if the salt tax price of official salt can be reduced, Zhu Youzhen can operate in it.

For him, it is better for him to eat himself than to be eaten by those corrupt officials.

He can also give the silver he earns to the good imperial brother, the salt merchant, the nobles, and the Wenchen to eat it, which is digging a grave for the Ming Dynasty.

Thinking of this, Zhu Youzhen said to Wang Chengen:

"Cheng'en, you said that if I ask the imperial brother for salt, how much can the imperial brother give me?"

Zhu Youzhen couldn't help but ask, but Wang Chengen didn't think it was anything to be ashamed of when he heard it, and said directly:

"If His Royal Highness wants salt introduction, judging from Banzai's attitude towards His Highness, I'm afraid it can ask for more than 100,000 ......"

"Hundreds of thousands?!" Hearing this amount, Zhu Youzhen's molars were almost crushed.

One cattle of 300 catties of salt, even the lowest 100,000 catties of salt have 30 million catties of salt, according to the current Beizhili catty of salt and five texts, then 100,000 catties of salt can only be sold for 150,000 taels.

In this case, one program will only have an income of 300,000 taels, and ten programs will have a maximum of 3 million taels.

However, the Ming Dynasty stipulated that each salt introduction required to pay 666 yuan and 4 cents, 100,000 yuan, and Zhu Youzhen needed to hand over 664,000 taels.

"King Kong is not bad Dazhai Master"

From this point of view, it's really not that officials don't want to collect the salt tax, but they can't sell it according to the official salt price......

However, if Zhu Youzhen took a gang of salt, and then traded it exclusively with the Mongols, he sold it for 30 yuan per pound of salt.

So let's not mention the far places, let's just say that the nearby Inner Khalkha, Karaqin, Tumut, Ordos, Chahar, Horqin and other six Mongolias can probably digest two million catties of salt.

That translates to a year's worth of income...... Sixty thousand taels!

Calculating this data, Zhu Youzhen almost wanted to vomit blood.

Feelings in the Ming Dynasty to buy salt is a loss-making business, those reasonable salt selling online articles are not to see the stall literature.

Zhu Youzhen wanted to vomit blood, but soon he reacted again, it seems that in his memory, except for the Ming Dynasty, the salt tax of other dynasties is the bulk of the fiscal revenue, so why can other dynasties sell so much silver?

After Zhu Youzhen reacted, he immediately gritted his teeth and said: "Crack down on piracy ......"

Yes, the price of illegal salt is cheap, don't the people just run to buy illegal salt?

If there is no private salt on the market, only official salt, then the price is not up to the imperial court.

Even if the price of official salt is ten yuan per catty after cracking down on illegal salt, it can receive nearly six million taels of salt tax.

But at present, the salt of the Ming Dynasty is 22 wen on average, while the private salt is only 5 or 6 wen, and the expensive place is more than 10 wen, so the fool goes to buy official salt.

Thinking of this, he had a toothache, so he could only keep thinking about how to change the salt system.

He thought about it for a long time, and the simplest and most direct way was to follow him to engage in private salt.

That's right, he followed the smuggling of salt, as long as he could rectify the guards of Shuntian Mansion and Yongping Mansion, he could directly engage in salt drying in the coastal area.

The cost of drying salt is the lowest, but the cost of thousands of catties of salt is only a dozen yuan, once the scale is formed, Zhu Youzhen can start by selling private salt.

Choosing ten yuan along the coast is a good low, and enclosing tens of thousands of acres of beach to get smuggled salt, even if only in summer and sunny weather can dry salt, he can steadily make one or two hundred million catties of salt.

Then he can rely on these tens of thousands of acres of salt fields to realize his dream of an annual income of one million taels of silver.

Later, he directly got out of the Changlu Salt Farm in advance, and made hundreds of thousands of acres of salt fields, with an annual output of more than 2 billion catties of salt.

When the time comes, if the smuggler sells five wen, he will sell four, and if the smuggler sells four, he will sell three wen, in short, he will kill the smuggled salt, and then control the salt farm and raise the price.

However, such a problem exists, and it is easy to kill the official salt first.

It's just that this problem is easy to solve, and he can just hand over the private salt income directly to the good royal brother.

This kind of thing doesn't need him to do, find Jinyiwei to get a few ordinary people who have nothing to do with it, and spend some energy to do it.

It is impossible to say that even the waste nobles who are despised by civil officials can engage in private salt, and he can't do it as a prince with soldiers and horses and brocade guards.

"As long as the people of the whole Ming Dynasty eat my salt, even if it is a pound of five Wen, it will be able to earn ten million taels a year."

Zhu Youzhen gritted his teeth, felt pain in his heart, and after thinking about the thoughts in his head, he finally tentatively confirmed to Wang Chengen:

"Are you sure the Imperial Brother will give me so much?"

"Maybe more." Wang Chengen opened his mouth firmly, and explained to Zhu Youzhen:

"During the Hongzhi period, Empress Zhang's two younger brothers, Jianchangbo and Shou Ninghou, often asked Emperor Xiaozongjing for salt, each time it was either 100,000 or 200,000.

"Both of them can be so favored, let alone His Highness......"

"The fate of these two people is not very good......" Hearing Wang Chengen talk about these two guys, Zhu Youzhen was inexplicably weak.

But after thinking about the imperial brother's connivance with him, Zhu Youzhen gritted his teeth, or clapped his hands directly: "It's done!" ”

"Cheng'en, you help me write a letter!"

As soon as Zhu Youzhen spoke, Wang Chengen brought the paper on the table next to him, and personally studied the ink, and then waited for Zhu Youzhen to speak.

Zhu Youzhen scratched his hair, and finally began to vomit bitterness.

He first said how difficult it was for the Imperial Horse Supervisor, then said that the southern field had not yet measured the fields, and finally said that if the Qiwei 1st Battalion was transferred to Jizhen, what about the newly recruited soldiers and horses.

In short, this guy said that he was miserable, very miserable, and even dared to tell the lie that he only slept two hours a day.

When Wang Chengen helped him write the letter, his heart was tormented.

He knew that his Highness would not get up at all if he did not sleep for four hours a day, and sometimes he would have to stay in bed for half an hour.

Anyway, in the end, the whole letter looks like it, and those who don't know think that Zhu Youzhen was arrested for child labor.

As for who arrested him for child labor, he didn't say, but it is estimated that as soon as the good royal brother saw this letter, he knew that Zhu Youzhen was secretly poking and prodding him.

At the end of the letter, Zhu Youzhen's face was not red and his heart was not beating and he said directly:

[Brother, at the current price of salt, private salt is only four or five wen, but official salt needs at least twenty-two wen to not lose money, so the people buy private salt, not official salt. 】

[My brother is bitter, I cry every night, it's not me who is crying, it's you, brother. 】

[Therefore, the younger brother thought of a way, since he couldn't defeat the private salt, he simply joined them. 】

[I hope that my brother will be able to turn a blind eye to my small business by the sea in the spring of next year, after I have cleared the guards of Jizhen and Shuntianfu. 】

[As long as the thing can be done, I promise to pay two million taels of silver to my brother's internal money every year! 】

When Zhu Youzhen said this, Wang Chengen's hands were shaking.

I have heard that Xungui and the vassal king are engaged in salt, but this practice of engaging in private salt also tells the emperor that His Royal Highness is really the first person in the ages.

In the end, when Wang Chengen finished writing the letter, his forehead was already in a cold sweat, and Zhu Youzhen took the letter and looked at it with a smile, as if this was the treasure of making a fortune.

"Hurry, tell someone to hurry up and send it to the Palace of Heart Cultivation to the good royal brother."

Zhu Youjian waved his hand, and Wang Chengen immediately said with a bitter face: "It's really ......."

"Nonsense!" Zhu Youzhen frowned and said, "Your Highness, what I said, is there any talk of taking it back?" ”

"Slave and maid obey orders......" Wang Chengen was about to cry, and Zhu Youzhen asked him again:

"Wait!"

Wang Chengen turned around, thinking that His Royal Highness regretted it, but he didn't want him to laugh and said, "The tea lead, tell me about it too." ”

"Yes......" Wang Chengen cried with a sad face, and could only explain for Zhu Youzhen.

Like salt, the household department is in charge of the national tea affairs, determines the number of classes, and sets up a patrol of the imperial history to punish private tea, sets up a tea department and a tea and horse department to handle the collection of taxes and buy horses, and sets up an inspection office to check the authenticity.

The tea of the Ming Dynasty was divided into commercial tea and official tea, with tea Yima as the official tea, and it was the commercial tea that released the tea and collected taxes.

The commercial tea shop is in the south of the Yangtze River, and the official tea shop is in Hanzhong and Sichuan in Shaanxi, while the merchant tea allows merchants to buy tea for sale, but the official tea is needed by the local government.

Nowadays, in the hands of the South Field of the Imperial Horse Supervisor is the tea introduction of Shang Tea.

Because the Ming Dynasty implements the law of uniform quotation of commercial tea, so the household department will pay the tea to the tea production county to sell, where the merchant buys tea, goes to the official newspaper to sell the weight, the tea area, pays the money to buy the introduction, and allows the tea household to buy tea and sell it abroad.

Tea leads every 100 catties, the government according to the distance of the area where the tea is flowing, set the distance limit, through the place needs to be approved, check the number of tea leads, and the weight of the tea before it can be released.

Merchants who transport tea to the tea sales area are also required to pay sales tax to the tax collector at the rate of 1 out of 30.

As for the price of tea, 200 wen per citation for leaf tea and 300 wen for bud tea, taking the median value of 250 wen, which is equivalent to a tax of 2.5 wen per catty of tea.

The annual tax income of commercial tea is only a hundred thousand taels, and in fact, the coarse tea in the south of the Yangtze River can also be sold for a price of more than ten wen a catty, and good tea can even be sold for two hundred wen.

Zhu Youzhen has 1,200 tea in the south field of the Imperial Horse Prison, and he only needs to pay a tax of 360 taels to buy 12,000 catties of bud tea.

These 120,000 catties of bud tea, if you spend it and buy the best kind of tea directly, you can sell it for 12,000 taels of silver with a flip, more than 60 times the profit.

Thinking of this, Zhu Youjian's hand itched again, but Wang Chengen's scalp was numb and said in advance:

"Your Highness, private tea is a loss-making business......"

"I know." Zhu You glanced at him, then stepped forward and said with a smile:

"Chengen, you said that if I ask the imperial brother for tea, how much will he give?"

"This ......" Wang Chengen really didn't dare to say, and Zhu Youzhen said to himself: "Tens of thousands of citations can still be given......

"Your Highness......" Hearing these outrageous words, Wang Chengen couldn't help but say:

"The whole world's commercial tea citations are only more than 200,000 citations......

"So little? Then I only need 10,000 leads. Zhu Youzhen opened his mouth cheekily, and asked Wang Chengen to mention the matter of tea introduction at the end of the letter.

[In addition, I've been thirsty lately, I hope my brother can send me 10,000 business tea, and my brother will pay taxes honestly......]

"This stinky boy ......"

In the Qianqing Palace, when Zhu Youxiao frowned and read the letter that Zhu Youzhen asked Wang Chengen to ghostwrite, he was instantly angry.

This letter was already written yesterday, but Zhu Youxiao could see at a glance that it was written by Wang Chengen.

He took the letter and waved it to Wang An, Wei Zhongxian, and Hakka: "Look at it, my younger brother really dares to ask for anything!" ”

"He also said that he wanted to engage in private salt, telling me to turn a blind eye to the impeachment of civil officials, do you have any reason for this?"

Zhu Youxiao was obviously complaining about Zhu Youzhen, but there was a smile on his face.

He wasn't upset, he was just complaining, which anyone with a discerning eye could see.

"Long live ......" Wang An, as Zhu Youzhen's person, spoke first:

"The matter of private salt, if it is really as the Fifth Highness said, it is actually not impossible."

Oh, yes......

As soon as Wang An spoke, Zhu Youxiao bowed slightly.

If it is really according to what Zhu Youzhen said in his letter, he will operate the illegal salt, and then he can pay millions of taels of silver every year, this matter is not impossible.

The total salt tax in the whole world is only more than two million taels, and sometimes it is only more than one million.

Zhu Youzhen only engaged in smuggling salt in Shuntianfu, Yongping, and Tianjin, which was a practice that did not involve the forces of Jiangnan and Lianghuai, and although they would also impeach, they must not have done much so.

After all, before Zhu Youzhen, there were not no vassal kings who messed with salt and private salt, but on the contrary, there were a lot.

Not to mention anything else, just King Fu, King Qin, King Shu, King Chu and other vassal kings, there are people impeached every year for engaging in illegal salt, but there is not much movement.

As long as the civilian forces of Jiangnan and Lianghuai do not jointly impeach Zhu Youzhen, then things can be controlled, but the question that needs to be paid attention to is, what will the nobles in the capital think?

In fact, most of the private salt in the north is related to Xungui, and this kind of thing has been known to the emperor since Jiajing.

But Xungui is a card of imperial power, which can be used and cannot be without, so the emperor has been compromising.

But right now, Zhu Youxiao has a good brother and a person who can be used, and Xungui has become an obstacle to him, so he must move it away.

Thinking of this, Zhu Youxiao thought of the investigation of the Beizhili Guard Office and the Tianxia Guard Office.

He looked at Wei Zhongxian next to him, and changed the topic:

"How did Sun Chuanting, who my brother sent out to Bijiewei, do?"

"Long live it...... Wei Zhongxian said with a flattering smile:

"That Sun Chuanting is worthy of being recommended by His Royal Highness the Fifth Highness, and it has only been more than half a month since he arrived in Bijie, and he has already checked the military tuntian of the Seven Star Pass in Bijie Weizhong, and recruited thousands of soldiers and horses."

"It is estimated that it will not be long before Bijiewei can be completely rectified into Bijiefu."

"Is it......" Zhu Youxiao muttered meaningfully, and after a few seconds, he looked at the letter in his hand.

After a few seconds, he smiled helplessly:

"That's it, my brother doesn't ask me for anything on weekdays, every time I ask for something, it's to help me, just give him private salt and tea."

As he spoke, Zhu Youxiao looked at Wang Andao:

"Tell the household department to send another 20,000 yuan of tea to the south field of the Imperial Horse Prison, and the tax on this tea introduction needs to be paid normally and must not be in arrears."

"In addition, you send someone to reply to your brother, just talk about the private salt, and when he will replace the soldiers and horses of Jizhen in Shuntian Mansion and Yongping Mansion, and the guard office will be abolished, and then ask me."

"The slave and maid receive the order......" Hearing this, Wang An knew that eighty percent of the private salt matter had been completed.

However, he still got up and said to Zhu Youxiao: "Long live, the British duke is ......."

"Well, you go and talk about it, including talking to him about the abolition of the guards of Shuntian Mansion and Yongping Mansion."

Zhu Youxiao glanced at Wang An with deep meaning, Wang An also understood the deep meaning of what he said, so he bowed slightly and withdrew from the Heart Cultivation Palace.

Since it was just past noon, Wang An did not delay, and got into the carriage directly and rushed to the British Mansion.

After seeing Wang An, who was familiar with the face, the little guy at the door hurriedly called someone to pass the word and led Wang An to the garden of the British Mansion.

The British Mansion, which has been in operation for two hundred years, covers an area of more than 30 acres, even if the housing prices in the Ming Dynasty are not high, but in the capital, where every inch of land is valuable, it is still worth thousands of gold.

When Wang An came to the garden, he happened to see Zhang Weixian, who was sitting in the gazebo making tea and reading a book.

Due to the age difference, and Zhang Weixian was also one of the nobles who supported Zhu Changluo at the beginning, Wang An sat opposite him after he came.

Zhang Weixian said without raising his head: "Looking at you like this, it's obviously not a good thing......

"Not really, for you." Wang An bowed slightly, and then said:

"Old Guogong, I won't hide it, long live and prepare to let His Royal Highness the Fifth Highness dismiss the guards of Shuntianfu and Yongping Mansion, and replace the soldiers and horses of Jizhen."

"In addition, the imperial court has no silver, and His Royal Highness is ready to get smuggling salt to subsidize the internal money."

"Banzai asked me to come, to ask what you mean......

"What do I mean?" Zhang Weixian smiled helplessly: "What can I mean?" ”

"The matter of the guard, as well as the matter of private salt, and the matter of the soldiers and horses in Jizhen, you actually know better than anyone else, even if I say it, it is useless."

"Maybe in the eyes of outsiders, I, Zhang Weixian, am the head of the nobles, but you Wang An still don't know?"

Zhang Weixian's words, Wang An was silent after hearing it.

In this Game of Thrones, no matter how high the position is, it needs to be pulled by one person and lifted by a group of people.

There is no doubt that the person who pulls is the supreme emperor, and the group of people who lift it is the one who gathers together because of interests.

Zhang Weixian was indifferent to Zhu Youxiao's two brothers depriving Xungui of their interests several times, and now some Xungui are already dissatisfied with him.

Wang An also knew it, so he said to Zhang Weixian:

"I won't hide it from you, His Royal Highness has trained more than 50,000 troops in Changping, and there is no false ......"

In a word, Zhang Weixian's action of wanting to hold the teacup was obviously shocked by the news, but he quickly regained his composure.

As for Wang An, he continued: "Xungui's strength is too weak, after the Fifth Highness and Banzai join forces, you should have seen their methods. ”

"The five parties of Qichu, Zhejiang, Xuankun, and Kunming, which were invincible in the past, have all suffered a loss, let alone you?"

"How many people can there be in Jingying? How many cards do you have left to play? ”

"Long live knowing that the old prince is loyal, so he will tell you these things."

"But this is embarrassing me......" Zhang Weixian put down the teacup in his hand and sighed.

"Old Guogong, I don't know what to say no matter how much I say, think about it yourself, whether you want to protect Xungui or protect Daming." Wang An wanted Zhang Weixian to make a choice.

In the face of his aggressiveness, Zhang Weixian hesitated.

Xungui is not necessarily a royalist, but may also be the most blood-sucking group.

Shuntian Mansion and Yongping Mansion, or the entire Northern Zhili Army's Tuntian, how many of them were invaded by the nobles? This is an uncountable number.

Thirty-six guards, two ......

Of the tens of millions of acres of military tun fields, even if there are few, the nobles in Beijing have at least embezzled at least three or four million mu of military tun fields.

These millions of acres of military tun fields can hand over millions of stone grain for the Ming Dynasty.

Coupled with the people under them, I am afraid that tens of millions of acres of military tuntian have been encroached upon.

Zhu Youzhen wanted to abolish all the guards in Shuntianfu and Yongping Mansion, which involved more than 20 guards, and these guards involved millions of acres of cultivated land......

How impossible it is to give up millions of acres of arable land in Jingxungui.

But in front of the imperial power, nobles without military power are like lambs to the slaughter.

The only military power they can still use may be the three major battalions of the Beijing Division that have been eaten and they don't know how many people are left.

With this number of people, even the imperial city can't enter it, and it is estimated that it will be wiped out by Zhu Youzhen's seven guards and one battalion.

Thinking of this, Zhang Weixian gritted his teeth, and after a while he spoke: "I advise!" ”

"Then I'll take my leave." After receiving the answer, Wang An got up and left.

Looking at his back, Zhang Weixian could only wave his hand to call the head of the mansion and explain to him:

"Tell all the lords of the noble families in Beijing and ask them to come to the main hall of the palace to discuss ......"

"Yes" Hearing this, the head of the matter retreated, and began to inform the nobles of the provinces.

Looking at the back of the master, Zhang Weixian sighed and said:

"Hooray, do you really think that training is so easy? They won't believe it, you've also been deceived by the Fifth Highness......"