Chapter 160 Old Rules: The laws passed down by our ancestors cannot be changed! (1500 monthly tickets plus more)

As the palace door closed.

The light in the Wanshou Palace Hall dimmed.

Behind the curtain is still the Jiajing Emperor of the Ming Dynasty.

In front of the curtain.

The only ones left were Yan Song, the chief minister of the Ming cabinet, Xu Jie, the second chief minister, and Gao Gong and Yuan Wei, the cabinet ministers.

And Yan Shaoting, who proposed the reform of the Lianghuai Salt Administration.

Without waiting for Jiajing to speak, or for Yan Shaoting to continue explaining.

Xu Jie, who was the first to point out that Yan Shaoting wanted to reform the salt administration, had already stepped forward.

"Your Majesty, our dynasty has established the national salt policy since the time of Emperor Taizu Hongwu, and in order to solve the problem of food and material supply for the border troops, it was opened up. The salt policy of our dynasty has been in effect for nearly two hundred years. All the predecessors of the dynasty have added new policies to the salt policy of Emperor Taizu, but there is no talk of changing the system."

"Today, the capital received an urgent report from Lianghuai. Because of Yan Maoqing, tens of thousands of salt households and salt workers in Lianghuai rushed to Yangzhou City to denounce Yan Maoqing."

"Let's not talk about the reason, just talking about the salt business. A slight change will lead to the current changes in Huaibei and Huainan. If the salt policy is changed without regard for the laws of our ancestors, once the court promulgates the new system, I'm afraid it won't just be Huaibei and Huainan that will be in turmoil."

"If we start the reform lightly, the whole court will be criticized and the people will be in turmoil. At that time, I am afraid that it will not be the salt households and salt workers in Lianghuai who are bewitched, but the whole salt administration will be in chaos!"

"I am an old minister, serving in the cabinet, with little achievements, but I am paid by the emperor, and I dare not sit idly by and watch the Ming Dynasty change and the people of the world fall into chaos."

"Now, Yan Shaoting, the Imperial Academy Reader, the Right Junior of the Right Spring Office of the Chancellery, and the Doctor of the Zhejiang Qingli Division of the Ministry of Revenue, has been talking nonsense about changing the laws of our ancestors and perhaps changing the government of our Ming Dynasty. However, he is young and ignorant, and does not know the importance of the country."

"I ask Your Majesty to issue an edict to the court and the people, to make it clear to the world and to denounce Yan Shaoting's frivolous remarks on reform, so as to stabilize the people's hearts!"

Inside the hall, Xu Jie changed his previous style and spoke in a loud and clear voice, which could be said to be the result of his painstaking efforts.

Why has the Ming Dynasty collected less and less tax on salt from the early years of Hongwu to the present?

Xu Jie did not mention it.

The core of the summary can be summed up in one sentence.

The laws established by our ancestors cannot be changed.

There was a hint of coldness lurking in Yan Shaoting's eyes.

This Xu Jie not only directly brought out the so-called ancestral laws that had remained unchanged for thousands of years, but he also brought up this matter before anyone else.

He just wanted to completely block all the words that came after him.

Behind the curtain, Jiajing was silent.

However, Xu Jie always maintained the posture of bowing and clasping his fists without changing it.

Gao Gong took a look, bowed silently and walked out.

"Your Majesty, the court is in deficit and the treasury is empty. This year, we have started to increase silk production in the southeast and sell it overseas. Yan Shaoting has also agreed with foreign merchants to pay 3 million taels of silver as a deposit. Next year, when the mulberry leaves in the southeast grow and the silkworms grow fat, they will produce more silk and produce more silk. The profit of tens of millions per year is enough to make up for the deficit and even have a surplus.

"The salt tax in Huaibei and Huainan is decreasing every year. It may be due to the salt administration. If we want to correct the long-standing malpractices, the court can issue an order to strictly investigate the salt administration officials and investigate the salt merchants to increase the annual salt tax revenue.

“Reform should never be spoken of lightly.

"Once the debate on reform is allowed, there will be widespread debate in the court, which will lead to fighting. At that time, impeachment will be launched day by day, and there will be endless fighting in the court and the local areas. The government will come to a standstill and the country will be in turmoil.

I ask Your Majesty to think twice."

Gao Gong also spoke out against the reform.

But his perspective is different from Xu Jie's.

Xu Jie's memorials were always closely linked to the established laws of his ancestors.

The core meaning is that if our ancestors have been doing this for two hundred years and there have been no major problems, then there is no problem.

Can't be changed!
Gao Gong said that the reason why the court was now inspecting the salt supply in Lianghuai was to make up for the deficit of the court.

As for the increased silk production in the southeast, we will have income next year, and every year thereafter, so there is no need to rush into the salt administration.

Moreover, even if the salt administration is to be changed, it does not necessarily mean that the system must be reformed.

It could be about the salt administration and bureaucracy.

This is in line with Gao Gong's consistent political philosophy.

The problem with the court is not in other areas but in the administration of officials.

So when he later became the Prime Minister of the Cabinet, the first thing he did was to rectify the administration of officials.

Gao Gong believed that as long as the problem of official administration was solved, corruption could be eradicated, the court's money and grain could be increased, and peace could be restored to the world.

A deputy assistant and an assistant minister spoke one after another.

Yuan Wei, who was standing at the scene, was in trouble.

His official career began in the Hanlin Academy, and then he was promoted from the Ministry of Rites to the Cabinet.

Think about it for a moment.

Yuan Wei then looked at Yan Shaoting with an apologetic look on his face.

Then he said in a low voice: "Your Majesty, the laws established by our ancestors cannot be easily changed."

After saying this, Yuan Wei buried his head deep into his chest.

This is not something I can participate in.

The emperor might as well have just said that the cabinet and Yan Runwu should stay, and Yuan Wei should go out.

If you stay here alone, you will suffer!

But Jiajing behind the curtain still remained silent.

Yan Song frowned.

My eldest grandson didn't tell me about the salt administration.

This kid usually has some ideas, it would be fine if he just gave a holy prelude to them.

This matter, which concerns the laws passed down by our ancestors, was not even told to me.

Yan Song was confused and could only speak: "Your Majesty, Lord Xu said that Yan Shaoting wanted to reform the system, but Yan Shaoting just mentioned the issue of the surplus salt in the salt administration and has not yet said what to do. Why not let him finish his speech before discussing it?
If there is really a reform, then it should not be said lightly. If there is only a new policy on the surplus salt of the salt administration to make up for the accumulated problems of the salt administration and boost the annual salt tax revenue, Your Majesty and the cabinet can implement it if they think it is feasible, and abolish it if it is not feasible. "Old Yan's mind was in a mess now.

But after all, he was a man who had served as the prime minister of the cabinet for decades. Although he seemed to be agreeing with Jiajing, he was actually reminding his eldest grandson.

Don’t mention reform!
Just talk about new policies!

Jiajing is also top class now.

He had personally experienced the power of the ancestral laws.

But what if the surplus salt mentioned by Yan Shaoting could really bring more annual salt tax revenue to the court?

As soon as he had this thought, Jiajing shook his head repeatedly in his heart.

This is not a question of money and food.

But he also thought of the millions of taels of silver that Yan Shaoting had brought to the court this year, and the good strategy that would bring tens of millions of taels of income to the court every year in the future.

At this moment, Jiajing felt like there was a cat in his heart, scratching him constantly.

"What Lord Yan said is absolutely right."

It was this sentence again, a statement that everyone was very familiar with.

Jiajing put the blame on Yan Song, but he also agreed to let Yan Shaoting continue speaking.

Yan Shaoting frowned.

He knew what the so-called ancestral laws that the civil officials of the Ming Dynasty used to say could not be changed. But he did not expect that he would immediately cause such a big reaction just by mentioning the matter of surplus salt.

These people are really very sensitive about preventing changes to the so-called ancestral laws!

Yan Shaoting lowered his head.

"Your Majesty, I have never said that I want to change the laws of our ancestors, nor have I ever said that I want to change the system."

He said this very slowly.

To make it clear, I am not reforming the system.

At the same time, I am also reorganizing the questions in my mind.

really.

After hearing Yan Shaoting's answer, Yan Song breathed a sigh of relief.

Jiajing behind the curtain also felt relieved.

Xu Jie was still nervous, fearing that Yan Shaoting would find a loophole in his next words to set a trap for him.

After taking a look at everyone's reactions.

Yan Shaoting then continued to speak.

"I have reviewed the salt policy of the present dynasty. At the beginning of the present dynasty, the imperial court appointed officials to conduct an inspection and found that 400 jin was a rice bill. The government gave salt households one dan of rice, and could also set the lowest rice price as the basis. In addition, the government gave salt households money to cover their labor costs."

"Afterwards, the imperial court gradually stopped giving rice and gave all the money to salt households as the cost of their work. By the 17th year of Hongwu, the cost of salt households in Lianghuai and Liangzhe was 2,500 coins per ounce, which was not a small amount. However, the value of the imperial currency has depreciated countless times, but the amount of money paid has not increased, and the income of salt households has dropped sharply."

"Afterwards, in order to increase their household income, salt households produced more salt, which exceeded the salt tax quota and salt permits set by the court. As a result, surplus salt appeared. In addition to the regular salt of the court, there were also surplus salt, residual salt, small salt, and salt."

"In the early years of Hongwu, the imperial court stipulated that the surplus salt of diligent salt stoves should be sent to the salt market, with 200 jin as a small note and one dan of rice as a reward. The salt merchants were invited to open the market, and the payment was made regardless of their wealth. At that time, the regular salt was paid one dan of rice, and the surplus salt was twice the regular salt. Salt households competed to pay the surplus salt to the salt market."

"In the second year of the Zhengtong reign, the price of surplus salt was set at two dou of rice and wheat for each small salt voucher, which was only one-fifth of the price during the Hongwu reign. Salt farmers could no longer pay their surplus salt to the salt market. The illegal salt trade, which had been banned repeatedly until now, suddenly increased and never returned."

"At that time, the imperial court noticed that the surplus salt had turned into private salt, and in the 13th year of the Zhengtong reign, it issued an order that for every small amount of surplus salt from the Lianghuai Transport Bureau, one stone of rice or wheat should be added to the surplus salt in order to prevent the surplus salt from being used as private salt."

"However, no matter how the imperial court implemented new policies afterwards, it was no longer possible to reverse the situation where the imperial salt was difficult to sell, the surplus salt flooded into private salt, the official salt was high in price and poor in quality, and the private salt was low in price and high in quality."

It describes the changes in the court's salt policy and the reasons for the sharp decline in salt taxes.

Yan Shaoting also did not forget to look at Xu Jie, who was pressuring him with the words that the ancestral laws could not be changed.

He said, "Lord Xu just said that you are blaming me for the ancestral law that cannot be changed. But I don't understand why the ancestral law of the Taizu Dynasty was to give one stone of salt for the surplus of rice and wheat, but in the Zhengtong Dynasty it was only two bushels. Is this a violation of the ancestral law?"

The salt tax of the Ming Dynasty collapsed.

There are many reasons: the abandonment of regular salt, the prosperity of surplus salt and the rampant smuggling of salt. All these factors have led to the current situation where the annual salt tax, which should have brought in tens of millions, is only worth a million.

Yan Shaoting's eyes became unpleasant, and he no longer made personal attacks as he did in the past, even when arguing in front of the saint.

But now, he was really dissatisfied with Xu Jie's remarks that were based on the laws passed down by our ancestors.

Extremely disgusting!

When faced with questions, Xu Jie remained silent and treated himself as a statue.

Seeing Xu Jie didn't say anything.

Yan Shaoting's eyes fixed, "Lord Xu, please correct me!"

Another familiar sentence.

Xu Jie's face turned pale.

He totally didn't understand how this guy knew so much about the salt administration.

He even knew the salt policies of the Hongwu Dynasty and subsequent dynasties by heart.

And facing Xu Jie who did not answer.

Yan Shaoting turned his head and looked at Jiajing behind the curtain.

"Lord Xu said that I am destroying the laws established by our ancestors of the Ming Dynasty."

"I want to ask Lord Xu, the salt policy of Taizu has been changed in successive dynasties, and even since your Majesty took on the responsibility of the country, there have been many new salt policy regulations. Are they all destroying the laws established by our ancestors?"

"Your Majesty, I ask Your Majesty to give me an oral instruction, and Lord Xu to answer my questions!"

…………

Monthly ticket recommendation ticket

　Look how much I keep my promises, I will update more as soon as I say I will! It's the last day of this month, please give me your monthly tickets. I still need more than 2000 tickets to add more chapters, let's go for it!
　
(End of this chapter)