Chapter 32: The Banner is moved (4)

"I am so powerful today. I won a prince and a minister for three months in power. The world is shocked by it!"

"What, what? Is the matter of King Zhou a result?"

"Old Zheng, your news is too closed. The palace had issued an imperial edict the day before yesterday to cut off the King of Zhou and move to Yunnan."

"My mother, today I have such a great method. That's my dear uncle."

"So what about my uncle? As long as I have the intention of rebellion, I will take it without hesitation. Today's emperor is even more powerful than the emperor. Back then, the emperor only took down a few heroes, but now he is attacking his uncle."

"Old Tian, ​​shh! You have to be careful..."

Lao Tian looked around in fear. When he saw what the people around him should do, he whispered: "Today, he is both kind and powerful. On the one hand, he has sent the King of Zhou, and on the other hand, he has sent the King of Liao back to the vassal.

The Liao King was enclosed in the capital at that time when the late emperor was released. Now he was letting him go back, which was a big deal.”

Lao Zheng said, "Don't talk about the country, don't talk about the country. Oh, by the way, a few days ago, another batch of new goods was purchased by Liaodong Lianqi. Did you see it? They are all dark silver cups. According to them, they are from Nanyang, so what is the name? Oh, by the way, it's called tin.

One set costs fifty taels of silver, and only twenty sets in total. I gritted my teeth and bought one. This thing is great, look at how gorgeous the patterns are, and it’s so interesting. Why, when I go to my house to have two cups?"

Lao Tian said: "Well, you know how to show off, I don't know. One day I went out of the city with me, and I just bought two Shenyang horses from Lianjia."

Lao Zheng said: "Okay, haha, let's show each other!"

I don’t know why Zhu Zhi’s edict to return to the vassal state was delayed until mid-November. What’s the point of replying? It’s more than ten days to celebrate the New Year, and it’s cold and cold. What will you do when you run back to Liaodong? It’s obvious that you want to keep Zhu Zhi for the New Year. Zhu Zhi and Yang Rong smiled bitterly.

This boring Huang Zicheng insisted on keeping himself for a few more days when the wood was already in sight. But it was okay, Zhu Zhi didn't want to bump on the road. He wanted to take the water route, but when he asked when he went to Lianhao in Liaodong, he found that it was too cold and the New Year was about to be celebrated, and he had just left a fleet of replenishing New Year goods.

Zhu Zhi had no choice but to release three carrier pigeons and ask the navy to transfer two warships to pick them up.

The Chinese New Year is coming soon.

Atractylodes arranged to buy some New Year's goods from the Liaodong Union and sent them to the palace to the concubines. On this day, Lian Zining came to invite him. It turned out that Huang Kui and Jing Qing, the two confidant ministers of the princes, were also pardoned by Jianwen. He had just returned to the capital and heard that the Liao King had not left yet, so he quickly set up a banquet and invited Zhu Zhi to come.

It can also be regarded as repaying the favor of seeing off the showdown back then. Anyway, it was fine, so Zhu Zhi agreed and took Yang Rong and Zhu Zhi with him.

Huang Kui and Jing Qingyi saw Zhu Zhi walking into the elegant room and quickly fell to the ground. Zhu Zhi quickly helped them up and looked carefully after several years of training, the two of them seemed much more refined.

The kind of scholarly spirit that was full of pride is gone, and it is more of the wind and frost accumulated by the passing of time.

Zhu Zhi helped the two of them to the table and sat down. Huang Kui said, "It has been more than six years since we parted in the ten-mile long pavilion. I didn't expect that I would have the chance to see Your Highness in the capital today."

Zhu Zhi smiled and said, "Where has never met in life? I have not seen each other for six years. I miss you two. When I returned to Beijing last year, I only met Lord Lian and asked about where they were.

I didn’t expect that I would wait another year before I met. If the Chinese New Year is not coming, I’m afraid I will be despair again.”

Jing Qing said: "In fact, in April of the 29th year of Hongwu, Bei Zhi had already gone to Huang County, Shandong to become the magistrate. He looked across the sea with His Highness, but he never had any contact with each other."

Zhu Zhi laughed and said, "Oh. It turns out that the parents and officials in Huang County are Lord Jing. Do you know what is the most famous thing in Huang County?"

Jing Qing said: "Of course it is sea salt. The quality of the sea salt produced is the best in the world."

Zhu Zhi said: "That's right, I wonder how many salt merchants and tycoons in Huang County are there? They are all from the Shuifa family in Liaodong."

Jing Qing said: "Your Highness is right, our Huang County has indeed made a fortune in Liaodong over the years and boiled sea salt. Now there are no less than ten wealthy people with a net worth of over 100,000."

Zhu Zhi said: "Don't say that, it's not certain who can make a fortune by relying on whom. Liaodong has not received agricultural taxes in the past two years. If Shandong's salt merchants did not come to Liaodong to sell salt, where would there be food in the Liaodong Military Palace?"

Everyone laughed again. Zhu Zhi picked up the cup and said, "Come on, let me respect the people who deliver food to Liaodong at the forefront." As he said that, he clinked glasses with everyone and drank them all.

Jing Qing put down his cup and said, "Your Highness, all the goods in the world win by quality. Why is the quality of Dihai salt in Huangxian County far better than that in Liaodong?"

Zhu Zhi thought about it and said, "Ziyu, your opinion is only half right. Yes, all things in the world win by quality. However, merchants focus on circulation, merchants borrow or lend, money barter, goods are bartered, goods are bartered, and goods are bartered. Only by fast out and fast in, can wealth be circulated.

Because the existence of land A is the same as the absence of land B, we can make profits from it.

But I just arrived in Liaodong and found that the salt in Liaodong has accumulated for three months. Why? It is because there are too many intermediate barriers and the goods are blocked and cannot be circulated at all.

Look, why does the salt produced in Jinzhou require Guangning’s Salt Inspection Department to be inspected? Isn’t this a man-made circulation barrier? So I put the Salt Inspection Department and the Salt Field together, and stipulated that after three days of inspection, the salt bag must leave the government’s control within five days.

Doing this only accelerates the circulation link and does not violate the system of the late emperor's establishment.

But in reality, the operation is much better. Liaodong now issues at least 150,000 entries every year. According to the tax rate of one or two taels per entries, it is 150,000 entries of salt tax. This number is enough to support the Liaodong military government."

Jing Qing listened carefully to Zhu Zhi's words and nodded frequently. As soon as he finished speaking, he answered: "The late emperor separated all links of the salt industry, mainly to reduce the collusion between officials from various departments and harm the people. So how does Your Highness solve this problem?"

Jing Qing was indeed a capable official, and he hit Zhu Yuanzhang's wishes in one word. Zhu Zhi also found that Jing Qing was not full of human nature and morality, but saw the possibility of corruption among officials in the salt industry, which was taught by children.

Zhu Zhi smiled slightly and said, "What Master Jing said is that Liaodong has three strategies for this. The first official rotation system. All salt industry officials are rotated every three years. During the rotation, they will be subject to strict checks. If corruption is found.

Immediately investigate and deal with the law, and those with innocent wealth will be released immediately, at least one level will be promoted;

The second is the system of high salary maintenance, which is to withdraw 20% of the clean bank in the salt tax, as a subsidy for the entire salt industry officials. For example, the clean bank in the Salt Class Office for one year is 1,000 taels of cash bank, and so on.

After two years of doing it, it will not be a problem to accumulate thousands of two houses. Who would like to ask who would like to give up the honest money and take risks to embezzle and solicit bribes;

The third is to strictly supervise the system. Every six months, the Chief Secretary of the Prince's Mansion and the Liaodong Metropolitan Department will send a joint inspection team to investigate and inspect the inspection. All salt merchants and salt workers in the meantime can file a secret complaint and will not be punished once they are verified.

Moreover, these inspectors are not sure every time, which also increases the cost of bribing Shangguan by the following officials. You can't bribe all the officials in the two major yamen in Liaodong, right?

With these three basic strategies, coupled with the strict screening of scattered nominations during the selection of salt industry officials, the possibility of officials being embezzled can be reduced. This is just a reduction and will never be eliminated. In the first year of salt certificate reform.

Three Mo officials were arrested, and almost every year from now on, there will be people who will test the law, but the number has dropped a lot compared to before.

Everyone here listened with relish. The people here are all the backbone of imperial bureaucrats, between the ages of thirty-five and forty. It is the time to have great potential.

Before coming, everyone also had some exchanges on Liaodong's new policy and wanted to ask Zhu Zhi for advice in person. Now it sounds like I suddenly feel that the system can be set up like this.

Zhu Zhi continued: "In fact, these systems are a few basic theories.

First of all, assuming that people are greedy, they must conduct strict inspections; then checks and balances are carried out in government affairs, and the salt industry inspections are carried out by other departments, and the promotion of salt industry officials is not up to the superior officials to decide.

Finally, assume that people have a sense of shame and awe, and under the cool Dharma, they will give you the right means to gain benefits and limit greed.

I think these measures will be effective in the short term. But I have no idea whether they will work in the future. Therefore, it is necessary to further improve and reform the Liaodong official system."

Jing Qing nodded frequently and said, "It is difficult for those who are in the upper class to think about the following things so clearly. Today, Qing has benefited a lot from listening to your highness."

Everyone drank a few more drinks, and Huang Kui said here: "I have read the Fair Trade Order issued by Liaodong. How many things are unknown? Please ask Your Highness for advice?"

Zhu Zhi joked: "I'll treat me to drink today. I'm going to have a banquet at Hongmen. Haha. OK, since I'm short-speaking. Just ask questions."

Huang Kui smiled and said, "How dare you? It's just that we have discussed before and found that the foundation of the Liaodong New Deal lies in this law. It seems to restrict the behavior between merchants, but in fact it also restricts the government in turn.

Please see Article 15: Without proper legal procedures, the property of the people is sacred and inviolable. Private property shall not be used as public use without proper compensation.

But since I was a child, I only knew that 'all the kings are the kings'. Isn't the property and land of the people in the world all belong to the court? Since this is the case, why does the court have no right to deprive it?"

Zhu Zhi put away his smile and said with a serious expression: "In Liaodong, I have seen the people from the mainland sent to Liaodong with their own eyes. The government sent them a few pieces of paper and confiscated all their property, including the houses and land.

This made me deeply uneasy. I began to wonder, whose world is? In the past, the world was in the hands of the Tartars, and if it was taken over by my Zhu family today, it would become the Zhu family.

Can anyone who takes it over can use the "Is the king's land under the world the world the king' to explain the legitimacy of seizing the world?

I have never been able to figure this out. There are so many businessmen in China, and there are dozens of dynasties. Whoever robs the world of the world belongs to whom? But who can sit down for generations?

I finally understood the truth. The world is not just a family, but the people of the world. The late emperor came out of his destiny and responsibility to the Han people, and called out to drive out the Tartars.

If my Zhu family really regards the world as itself, taking and taking, then one day, the people of the world will overthrow my Zhu family for the sake of not being taken away.

Not only Huang Kui, but also Jing Qing and Lian Zining were stunned by Zhu Zhi's words.

Such a novel idea was something they had never heard of in their lifetime. Perhaps only Zhu Zhi dared to say this kind of rebellious reason, it was as if the sky was thunder and was deafening.
Chapter completed!