allendalepharm Chapter 828: Salt Voucher Policy: Exchange Grain and Grass for Salt Vouchers
Chapter 828: Salt Voucher Policy: Exchange Grain and Grass for Salt Vouchers
It’s a pity that Tao Chendong’s family doesn’t have a son of the right age, but if his family doesn’t have one, isn’t there a ready-made one in front of him?
Putting aside his family background, the young man in front of him was definitely a rare talent. Perhaps after a few rounds, this marriage could be accomplished. And the relationship between him and Jiang Youzhen would be deepened.
Jiang Youzhen had no idea what Tao Chendong was planning. For her, taking care of Liao Shuyun was just an ordinary thing.
Capital
It is now early February, the weather is nice and the weather is sunny, it is a good time for an outing.
The temperature has warmed up a lot in the past few days after the late spring cold snap, and people have changed from thick coats to padded jackets.
The ministers in the court were drowsy every day, but today they were awakened by a piece of important news.
"Minister Jiang has sent a memorial to the capital, and I have read it." The emperor looked at everyone, his tone filled with uncontrollable surprise.
"This time we have dismantled the salt gang, eradicated the rebel forces, and stopped the illegal salt trafficking. It can be said to be a great victory."
Everyone was shocked. In just less than a month, Jiang Youzhen had taken over the Salt Gang.
"The Salt Gang that has been giving me headaches has been eliminated so quickly. Lord Jiang is truly an extraordinary person!"
In particular, the memorials described the involvement of many officials, the confiscation of many mansions, and the huge amount of money obtained was enough to fill the national treasury.
"Your Majesty, has the Salt Gang's power really been eradicated? Is it possible that they have only touched the surface and will revive again after he leaves?" Left Censor-in-Chief Chen Zhixin was skeptical.
"The leader of the Salt Gang, Chen Xiaotian, has been killed. Other officials involved have been either killed or arrested. At this moment, Jiang Aiqing is already finishing up. I will prepare a detailed memorial and dossier after he returns to Beijing."
The emperor was looking down from above, taking in everyone's expressions.
Most of the officials were shocked, but a small number of officials had different expressions on their faces, some fearful, some incredulous, and some jealous.
The emperor ordered the prime minister to read Jiang Youzhen's memorial. When everyone heard about some officials who were in collusion, they were shocked.
"So many salt inspectors I sent died in a foreign land, sacrificing their lives on the job, causing everyone in the court to feel insecure and panic. I didn't expect that Lord Jiang would solve the problem in just one month."
The emperor patted the armrest of the dragon throne once again, and he couldn't stop smiling.
Everyone couldn't help but start whispering, all of them were a little bit incredulous and suspicious.
"This Chen Xiaotian is so audacious. He has 20,000 soldiers. Isn't this a sign of rebellion? Fortunately, I arranged for Jiang Youzhen to go and suppress the bandits. Otherwise, once the other party's power grows, it will inevitably threaten the court."
"He actually dared to raise private soldiers. He is just a bandit, but he still dreams of treason. Father, is it too easy for him to be killed?"
The third prince was very angry that such a rat in the gutter could actually have such thoughts.
"This time, we seized the residences of criminal officials and bandit merchants, and obtained a total of 2.7 to 8 million taels of silver. After they are all escorted back to the capital, they will be handed over to the Ministry of Revenue to fill the national treasury."
The emperor was refreshed at the moment. It seemed that it was the right decision to send Jiang Youzhen there this time.
"Your Majesty, it is ridiculous that the Salt Transport History Office has been infiltrated by the Salt Gang and the local officials of the prefecture dare not take any action." Right Censor-in-Chief Zhao Wujing was very angry.
Xu Zhanrong was the salt inspector of their Inspectorate, but he was killed while on the job. This caused great damage to the reputation of their Inspectorate.
"Yes, as local officials who are responsible for governing an area with peace, they allowed the salt gang to run rampant in the local area. The officials of these prefectures must be punished." The Minister of Personnel Zuo Mingyang agreed. This was a challenge to the authority of the court.
"Your Majesty, we must severely punish those officials who committed the crime this time. And those officials who neglected their duties and were cowardly and incompetent should also be punished and charged with conspiracy to serve as a warning to others and to rectify the government." Prime Minister Lin Juhui also said indignantly.
Every official in the Metropolitan Censorate was filled with righteous indignation. How many salt inspectors had their Metropolitan Censorate lost over the years? What else could these court officials do besides talking and pulling the strings behind the scenes? And their Metropolitan Censorate suffered greatly from this.
"Your Majesty, the contraband salt trade continues despite repeated bans. Even though Chen Xiaotian is gone today, there will be Zhang Xiaotian and Li Xiaotian in the future. It is still very difficult to stop it.
Besides, Chen Xiaotian, a mere bandit, is capable of controlling the Jiangnan Salt Road? In addition to the officials protecting each other, there must be some other force that is colluding with them." said Du Yikun, the Minister of Revenue.
"Oh? What kind of force do you think it is?" asked the emperor.
Du Yikun was speechless for a moment. How could he know what kind of power it was? He was not the one investigating the case, so how could he know?
"Your Majesty, I want Jiang Youzhen to thoroughly investigate this case and leave no remnants behind. Otherwise, if there are any remnants in the future, it will be another disaster."
"Minister Jiang did mention in his memorial that there was a mysterious organization behind the scenes, but all the people involved were silenced at the time. The clues have been interrupted, and it will take some time to track them down," the emperor pondered.
"Your Majesty, let Jiang Youzhen conduct a thorough investigation before returning to the capital, otherwise wouldn't it be like letting a tiger return to the mountain?" The Minister of War Sui Yuanchao also suggested.
The second prince who was listening nearby couldn't help but raise his eyelids. He saw that these people were hoping that Jiang Youzhen would not return to Beijing!
"This case is not urgent. It is not something that can be solved overnight. What I want to talk about today is a new policy to improve the trafficking of illegal salt."
Everyone was surprised, and Minister of Rites Luo Chengyi asked, "Does the emperor have a good plan?"
"There was a tea policy before, so why can't there be a salt policy? Minister Jiang has already written a rough outline of the new policy."
The emperor pointed at Lin Juhui and took out another memorial. "Minister Lin, read this memorial again."
Lin Juhui took it in surprise, and everyone stared at the memorial eagerly.
As Lin Juhui finished reading the memorial, everyone's brows furrowed more and more as they listened.
"Your Majesty, Jiang Youzhen wants to allocate a portion of the salt to merchants for sale. Every merchant needs a salt permit wherever they want to sell the salt.
This salt voucher is the salt tax of the imperial court. I think this plan is feasible!" The fourth prince immediately expressed his opinion.
"I object! Salt is the basis of survival. I think salt must be controlled by the court. Once it falls into the hands of those merchants, who knows whether they will use the salt to do something detrimental to the court?" Sui Yuanchao immediately jumped out to object.
According to him, all of these must be controlled by the court. Once the power is divided, there will be endless troubles.
"Sir Sui, merchants selling salt is only a small part, just like tea permits. Jiang Shidu proposed that local merchants with strength should buy food and send it to the border, so as to obtain the qualification to sell salt in the local area.
This will not only save the government money in transporting grain and fodder, saving the treasury, but also allow merchants to make a profit, isn't it the best of both worlds?"
The second prince, however, admired in his heart, saying that he was worthy of being Jiang Youzhen.