.An, this city that has been through war has been renovated for more than a year and has been renovated. The walled city, which was scarred in the past, has been renovated. People come and go on the streets, and all kinds of goods are dazzling. Walking around the streets, all kinds of shouts are endless.

Xia Wanchun and Du Dengchun saw this scene when they stepped onto the streets of Huai'an. There were almost no traces of the two wars here, as if it was a city that had been peaceful for decades.

The reason why Huai'an can recover so quickly is because there are salt, Huai salt, and Huai salt are named after the Huai River runs through the entire salt field. It starts from the Xiuzhen River estuary at the junction of Sulu and Lu in the north, and ends at the narrow and narrow coastal zone of the Yangtze River estuary in the south. It has the vast coastal tidal flats in the country, and the climate is distinct in all seasons, which is suitable for sea salt production.

As early as the time of King Helu of Wu, this coast began to boil sea for salt. Emperor Wu of Han recruited people to decoct salt, and could produce a thousand kilograms day and night.

In the Tang Dynasty, digging ditches led to tides, paving pavilions, dripping ash and stewing, and simmering frying pans, and setting up special salt production. By the Song Dynasty, the process of boiling sea to salt was very mature.

As a feudal dynasty of the small peasant economy, salt was the only commodity that everyone used every day. Since salt courses often accounted for one-third to one-half of the national fiscal revenue, and Lianghuai Salt Course accounts for the national salt course income. The importance of Lianghuai Salt Course to the court can be imagined.

By the Ming Dynasty, the income from salt classes fell to one-tenth of the tax. This was because in the early Ming Dynasty, the salt law and border plots were closely linked. The purpose of the salt administration legislation was to ensure the state's control over the salt industry. By receiving salt, rice or grain-producing rice and other military supplies, the method of bringing salt to the salt field to support and distribute salt, it can solve the food of the border troops and consolidate border defense.

This policy of combining salt and border government is called the Kaizhong system. This Kaizhong system allowed millions of frontier troops to support themselves without the support of the court in the early Ming Dynasty. For this reason, Zhu Yuanzhang proudly said: "I don't need a tael of money to support a million troops, but it has not been done before."

It can be seen that the Ming Dynasty's finance reliance on the salt industry was not lessened than that in the Tang and Song dynasties, but it was aggravated. However, this Kaizhong system that made Zhu Yuanzhang extremely proud was completely destroyed in the middle of the Ming Dynasty. Due to the huge interests of the salt industry, officials, nobles and eunuchs colluded with each other to resell salt and entrapped them and privately carried them, the value of the salt industry obtained by merchants who worked hard to transport grain to the border was greatly reduced. With less than enough income, no one was willing to transport grain to the border again.

During the Chenghua period, the Kaizhong system could no longer be implemented, and it reached a point where it was necessary to change. In the tenth year of Chenghua (the governor of the AD, Liu Fushu, the right censor of the Lianghuai River Town, asked the Lianghuai River township to pay silver, and each invoked three cents and five cents, and the trial of Kaizhong silver was started. In the fourth year of Hongzhi, Ye Qi was the Minister of Revenue and began to promote the Kaizhong silver color nationwide. The court officially ordered the merchants to summon the silver transportation department, which was similar to Taicang and distributed to each side, and each invoked three or four cents of silver. At this point, the Kaizhong color color system was officially established. Merchants no longer needed to transport grain to the border for salt, but directly exchanged for salt.

After the opening and closing color, the court's income in the salt administration increased significantly. During Zhang Juzheng's administration, the court's salt tax revenue was once as high as 50,000 taels per year, of which the Lianghuai Salt Tax contributed more than 2 million taels per year. Excluding various expenses to the border, the salt tax could save 1 million taels per year. After Zhang Juzheng's death, the amount of silver deposits in Taicang was as high as 10 million taels. During the Wanli period, it was actually due to the 10 million taels of deposits left by Zhang Juzheng.

Now the Southern Ming Dynasty court still inherited the original local tax system in salt administration. However, the income from salt tax and land was pitifully small. Take the first year of Hongguang as an example. The court's income from salt tax and land was only more than 300,000 taels. Among them, two Huai salt tax still accounted for most of them. More than 200,000 taels were paid. However, compared with its peak, it was only about one-tenth.

Of course it is not normal for such a small amount of land income. Although the Ming Dynasty lost several northern provinces, Lianghuai Salt Industry had no impact on production or sales. Several northern provinces originally ate land in the eastern part of Changlu River. Moreover, Lianghuai Salt Industry also won the sales area of ​​Lingzhou salt in Shandong in one fell swoop. The salt production only increased and did not decrease.

The government of a court almost determines the success or failure of a dynasty. In the early stages of the country, all the officials are honest and officials work diligently, and the national strength can flourish. If the government gradually grows in the middle stages, the government will begin to decline. In the late stages, when the government is in great difficulty, the dynasty will be not far from collapse.

At present, the Southern Ming Dynasty completely inherited the officials of the Ming Dynasty. This was a dynasty. Naturally, the administration of officials was not honest. Wang Fu knew it very well. However, if the previous concerns were moved, it would cause the officials and gentry to become disinterested. Before defeating the Qing Dynasty, he had no intention of rectifying the officials. For the land, it was just that when he personally led the Manchus to the Manchus, officials at all levels would not pull their backs. It was said that they had good intentions.

Nowadays, the literary inquisition of the people in the world almost offends all the bureaucrats and gentry in the north and south. In addition, there was a record of winning the people in the last victory. Wang Fu did not have to worry about the bureaucrats and gentry in the world.

Damn. In this case, Wang Fu could no longer tolerate the official territory.

In the first half of this year, the Ming Dynasty's finance ushered in a bumper year, with customs revenue of more than 5.3 million taels and bank coin revenue of more than 7.5 million taels. The combined income of the two items alone is nearly 13 million taels. The land tax is only 3.5 million taels, and the tea is sold in half a year. It is only 400,000 taels.

The land tax of 3.5 million taels was distributed among the hundreds of millions of people in the Ming Dynasty. Each person only paid three or five cents of silver, and only seven cents of silver twice a year, and could only buy seven liters of rice. In this way, the taxes of the Ming Dynasty were really light and could not be lighter. In fact, the people were deeply suffering from heavy taxes. In order to complete the taxes of the government, even in the wealthy places in the south, there were people who rarely had enough food a few times a year. Although they did not have the worries of starvation to death, they were still poor.

Even if an adult is a family of five, the annual tax is only three cents and five cents. Of course, it will not be impossible to complete. It is just that local officials have increased their investments from layer to layer. At the bottom, they have increased their investments a lot, and among these 100 million people, less than half of them are paying food.

Without clarifying the administration of the government, even if the tax cuts are reduced, the court will not fall to the people. Wang Fu tried every means to expand the tax revenue of the court. Now, with the support of banks and customs, even if he has no income from land tax, he can support the operation of the court. Of course, Wang Fu could no longer tolerate officials at all levels still relying on the body of the Ming Dynasty like vampires to suck blood. Since there is no worries at present, it is necessary to clarify the administration of the government.

However, Wang Fu has not yet made so many people to make a comprehensive rectification of the national administration, so he can only choose a breakthrough. Salt administration is undoubtedly the best breakthrough. If the salt administration is clarified, it will not only alert officials at all levels, but also increase the income of the court immediately, killing two birds with one stone. Although the court is not short of money at present, it will never complain that it is too much.

Lianghuai Salt Industry is the top priority of the salt administration, so Wang Fu naturally chose to take Lianghuai Salt Industry first without hesitation. Xia Wanchun and Du Dengchun came to Huai'an and were ordered to investigate the operation of Lianghuai Salt Industry.

The loopholes in the salt industry in Lianghuai would involve many officials in the court. The reason why they chose them was of course because they had nothing to do with the ministers in the court. No one would have thought that the emperor would send the new recruits of the Yulin Wei to investigate the case.

Lianghuai Salt Industry involves 22 prefectures and counties in two prefectures. Huai'an is one of the two prefectures, and the other is naturally Yangzhou Prefecture. The emperors of each prefecture and county sent someone to secretly, and there were more than one group. Except for themselves, no one knew who was investigating before they met. This ensures that the most likely investigating person will not be bribed by the salt merchant after learning the news.

Walking on the streets of Huai'an, Xia Wanchun and Du Dengchun felt like they were walking in Nanjing. Of course, Huai'an was not as big as Nanjing, nor did there be so many nobles. Most ordinary people on the street were dressed in short-spoken clothes, and they were people who were doing strength at first glance. Kong Wu was powerful and his face was rosy. Xia Wanchun couldn't help but sigh, no wonder Huai'an could block the fierce attack of tens of thousands of Tartars by relying on just 5,000 troops and recruiting young and strong men more than a year ago.

"Doway, dodge." A shout came, and there was a sound of slapping the air from the whip. The crowd, which was slightly crowded just now, immediately made way for a wide passage. A team of mule carts arrived, each car filled with bulging sacks, pulled by two mules side by side. Judging from the difficulty of the mules, it was just one~

The sack was tied tightly, and I couldn't see what goods were inside, but I could vaguely see a layer of white frost-like things outside. Xia Wanchun and Du Dengchun immediately guessed that there must be salt in it.

This team of mules and horses is very long, with more than 60 vehicles. Each vehicle is worth 2,000 kilograms, and the salt he pulls is more than 120,000 kilograms, which is indeed a big deal.

The pedestrians on the street were obviously used to such a convoy. As soon as the mule team passed, the passage that had just been vacant was immediately crowded with people. Du Dengchun couldn't help but hold someone and asked, "I'll invite this guy, please."

”

The man was dressed in a short-padded style. Seeing Du Dengchun and Xia Wanchun and the other two dressed in a literati, he immediately felt awe-inspiring and imitated Du Dengchun's words, "This guy has invited me too."

"I wonder if my brother, which mule team was from the past just now?"

When he heard Du Dengchun’s question, the man’s kind face changed suddenly: “Young man is from another place, so it’s better not to inquire randomly.”

Du Dengchun asked in confusion: "I'm just curious. How can so much food be transported from the city to outside the city? What? Is there any taboo? "
Chapter completed!