Chapter 172 Salt leads to the opening

Chapter 172 Salt leads to the opening

Li Tai felt that he had created a king, so Yu Wentai would have to praise him profusely, and Yu Jin and others would also have to look at him with admiration.

So when he finished saying this, he paused deliberately to give everyone time to praise and sigh. However, after he waited for a while, the expected praises did not come out. Only Yuwentai said in a daze: " Keep talking! How can Yanzheng and Tuntian be connected together?"

Seeing that these three people really didn't understand, Li Tai couldn't help but sigh. Sure enough, all prophets are lonely.

However, during this pause, he also had some doubts in his heart, whether the Kaizhong method he was about to propose was suitable for the historical background of the Western Wei Dynasty.

After pondering for a while, he asked again: "I would like to ask, how is the country's salt industry managed now? How is it done by the officials and how is it done by the people?"

"The salt used by the officials and the people mostly comes from the two salt ponds in Hedong and Xi'an Prefecture. A supervisor will be set up to control the salt tax, and the officials and the people will lose it, and everyone will do what they want."

This question was a bit detailed, and Yuwentai did not answer it immediately. Yu Jin thought for a while and then spoke.

That's it? Gone?

Li Tai was a little confused when he heard this answer. He thought for a moment and then said: "The salt industry is related to the national economy and people's livelihood, but the imperial court has no official laws and regulations to monitor it carefully?"

It was Yu Jin who explained again: "In the previous dynasties, there was indeed an old custom of selling salt in the market, but salt officials were often corrupt and full of abuses. The state cared for the people, and did not compete for profits with the people. It allowed the people to produce and collect taxes to compensate. . Occasionally, a salt department is established, but most salt ponds cannot..."

In Li Tai's concept, the salt monopoly seems to be one of the characteristics of the feudal dynasty. But after listening to Yu Jin's explanation, he realized that since the founding of the Northern Wei Dynasty, there had been no exclusive management and monopoly on the salt industry, but only tax profits.

After the restructuring of Taihe, salt officials were set up for a period of time, but they were only to meet the needs of the imperial government and the government. There was little interference in the more general salt production and trading.

After the separation of the East and West in the Northern Wei Dynasty, although the salt ponds in Hedong and Xi'an Prefecture were owned by the Western Wei Dynasty, the imperial court did not have much control over them.

The production and sales of salt ponds in Hedong are mainly controlled by wealthy Hedong families such as Pei, Liu, and Xue.

The reason why these wealthy families turned to the Western Wei Dynasty was mainly based on the interests of the salt industry, in addition to the legal system brought by Xiaowu's westward migration.

The Western Wei Dynasty was weak and needed to rely on the large tribes in Hedong to resist the attack of the Eastern Wei. In addition, the main markets for Hedong salt such as Guanzhong and Western Henan were all under the control of the Western Wei. Based on the dual needs of political stance and local interests, most of the large tribes in Hedong relied on the Western Wei.

Yanchi in Xi'an Prefecture is an area where miscellaneous Hu people gather. Production must be guaranteed by force. Since the Western Wei Dynasty did not have many troops stationed in Beizhou, the interests of Yanchi were not completely controlled. There were still many Di Qiang and other Hu people involved. in.

In short, although the salt ponds in the two places were located under the rule of the Western Wei Dynasty, due to various reasons, the Bafu could not completely control the production and sales of the salt industry. The profits of the salt industry were mainly controlled by local powerful people and border Hu chiefs. in their hands.

After learning this, Li Tai was a little dumbfounded. The fundamental reason for the implementation of the Kaizhong Law was based on the country's systematic control of the salt industry. The government used salt as a bargaining chip in exchange for private power to deliver supplies and grain to the border villages.

But now we don’t even have this foundation, so what’s the point of talking about salt leading to Kaizhong!

What Yu Jin said about not competing with the people for profit is bullshit. Since the founding of the Western Wei Dynasty, there have been frequent wars. Households in Guanzhong who share their land have almost been squeezed out of their possessions. When there is a famine, it is a crime to even store food at home. Does this count as competing for the interests of the people?

In the final analysis, the regime still lacks prestige and governance. The profits of the salt industry are withheld by local powerful people, and it is unable to control and regulate across regions.

It should be noted that the salt and iron franchise is not just as simple as directly collecting profits, but the overall regulation of national resources formed by this is the most important.

However, the government of the Western Wei Dynasty is currently only integrating resources based on methods such as household registration, rent transfer, and war expropriation. The savings of people in Guanzhong can only be concentrated in Guanzhong, but it is not easy to dispatch them to other places. Droughts will die, and floods will die. At least in terms of economics, it is severely isolated and does not look like a unified regime at all.

Faced with such a situation, Li Tai felt helpless and a little blind. Many of his subsequent ideas were based on the implementation of the Kaizhong method. If this was not done, many things would become very difficult to do.

Yu Wentai saw that Li Tai was full of confidence just now, but now he was a little depressed, and he was also curious in his heart, so he said: "If you have any questions about the strategy, there is no harm in speaking up. If it can really benefit the national economy, why be afraid?" difficult!"

Hearing Yu Wentai's encouragement, Li Taicai cheered up and continued: "The basis of my plan is to end the official production of salt. The Taifu government determines how much salt to produce, and the number of households in Liangzhou County determines how much salt to sell. The production of salt is 100,000 Shi then used salt to attract 100,000 pieces of salt and sell it to the people, so that the market could not be abused, so that all the people could enjoy the taste. The salt was provided in a fixed supply and the people had regular food..."

When Yuwentai heard this, his eyes lit up, but he did not speak immediately, he just lowered his head to think and weigh.

From the ruler's perspective, he certainly hopes to strengthen control and management of the people. If this salt introduction system could be established, regardless of the benefits involved, it would at least add a new method of controlling the prefectures and counties to the Bafu, and it would also promote the growth of household registration.

But not to mention Xi'an Prefecture, the ownership of the salt ponds in Hedong alone is more troublesome. Hedong is the front line against the Eastern Dynasty. If the foundation of rule is shaken due to salt profit, the loss cannot be compensated by money and interests.

Now that he has spoken, Li Tai no longer worries about whether this policy is feasible. He only expresses his ideas and leaves it to Yu Wentai to worry about whether it can be done and how far it can be achieved.

Yuwentai's understanding and control of the political power is much more comprehensive and in-depth than his own. He is only responsible for making suggestions and has no power to worry about anything else.

Then he continued: "After the salt guide is established, we can base it on this, let the people transport grain to the border, calculate the transportation distance and quantity, and issue salt guide, and take the salt for distribution. When the grain is transferred, the greatest consumption will be in the border area. On the way, if we can reclaim wasteland on the border and collect food on the spot, the officials and the people will have enough food, and the army will have enough food!

The southern border of Dongxia Prefecture has abundant water and grass, which is suitable for cultivation. People moved to the border and joint defense areas. The traces of barbarians disappeared and grain and silk were constantly coming out. I am aware that the Siluo River often overflows in the territory of Diaoyin. The Kuli River in Hexi Province lacks weirs and dams, and floods and droughts are not regulated. If canals can be opened to connect them, it will greatly benefit the area..."

When Li Tai was still breaking out of the wave in Shaanbei, he had already had the idea of ​​​​taking a foothold in Nanniwan, opening up fields, and preparing for border defense. Unlike Guanzhong, where there are many powerful people, there is a large area of ​​wasteland that can be occupied at will. Although the farming conditions are not as good as Guanzhong, it can still win with quantity.

The key point in this is to connect Luoshui with the Kuli River and even the clear water above through artificial canals, so that the regional water network can form a whole. While creating a foundation for farming, defenses can also be set up along the various water networks. , and gradually managed northern Shaanxi from a state of desolation.

The lower reaches of Luoshui River is the well-developed Guanzhong Plain, which can be used as a rear area, not only a supply base, but also a broad market. In the upper reaches of the Luoshui River, there are both grazing, farming, and farming, and the resources in the region can be exchanged and reasonably allocated with those in the lower reaches, thus forming a complementary ecosystem.

Not to mention anything else, when Li Tai attacked those Hu tribes before, many prisoners, cattle, sheep and other trophies had to be thrown away because there was no system to digest them. Li Tai now feels distressed just thinking about it.

But if you want to establish a large-scale reclamation in northern Shaanxi, the scheduling of personnel and materials involved is obviously not something Li Tai can do. Even Yuwentai couldn't do it, otherwise he wouldn't have strategically given up on northern Shaanxi.

However, the Kaizhong method can perfectly solve this problem. Using the profits of the salt industry, the surplus human resources in Guanzhong can be transferred to northern Shaanxi. It can also alleviate the situation of Guanzhong's narrow countryside and insufficient cultivated land.

After listening to Li Tai's plan as a whole, Yu Wentai finally changed his expression and stood up, pointing at him and laughing: "Boshan's plan is a great good. Without the great ambition of the country, how can it be astonishing to the world?" Conspiracy! Since I got involved, all the plans I have made have been deeply rooted in my heart. It is really, really true that we can meet each other like this..."

In his excitement, he couldn't even find the right words to express it. He walked around the table a little excitedly for a moment, and his eyes looking at Li Tai were full of heat. It took him a while to realize that Yu Jin and others were still there. Only then did he sit back in embarrassment, his expression calmed down a little, and he turned to Li Tai and said: "What was captured in the previous battle does not need to be entered into the mansion, it is all for your use. Luoshui will set up three defenses and choose a place to increase the number of troops as soon as possible. Dongxia Prefecture... …Do you have any recommendations for a harmonious person in Dongxia Prefecture?”

As soon as these words came out, not only Yu Jin and Yifeng who were present at the table were shocked, but Li Tai was also shocked. Look at what this means, if it wasn't for his age and qualifications that he was not strong enough to control the big states, Yu Wentai might have even arranged for him to be the governor of Dongxia Prefecture.

Although Li Tai was not directly appointed as the governor of Dongxia Prefecture, Yu Wentai also made it clear that he wanted to choose a candidate who could get along well with him. This also means that Li Tai should be given priority in the subsequent distribution of power.

Li Tai has made many suggestions before and has been praised by Yu Wentai, but this is the first time that he has been as powerful as this one.

Since Yuwentai has said this, Li Tai will certainly not be polite. Regardless of whether Yuwentai listens to him or not, just saying his name is a favor.

After thinking for a moment, he clasped his fists and said, "Mr. Wu'an Li Xianqing is very loyal and brave. I have always admired him. It would be an honor to work with him!"

When Yu Wentai heard that he actually named Li Mu, he was a little surprised at first, but then he laughed again and said: "Then Li Mu, haha, this person never thought that one day he would need to be promoted by Shao Jin of the Yitai Prefecture."

At the table, when Yu Jin and Yifeng saw that Daxingtai was so obedient to the young man Li Tai, they were filled with emotion and even a little envious.