Chapter 137 The benefits of salt drying

"Some people are easy to check, while others are not very easy to check." Tengxiang said: "It depends on the situation."

"Okay, I'm waiting for your news." Zhou Mengchen paused and said, "But, in my opinion, have you said less of a group of people who commit personal salt?"

Tengxiang said, "Who is talking about?"

Zhou Mengchen said: "Private salt dealer."

After hearing this, Tengxiang smiled and said, "It's just some small shrimps. They dare to fight for a stone of salt. What's the point?"

The people mentioned by Teng Xiang all started to embezzle from the upper class. These are the people behind the salt merchants in Yangzhou who are rich and powerful. As long as the salt merchants do not provide for themselves in the backstage, they will lose in the fierce competition and even have no bones left.

At the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, most salt merchants were family-type small salt merchants, and it was good to have three or five people in charge. But now, salt merchants are getting bigger and bigger, and the number is getting smaller and smaller. It is precisely because in the current situation, if you don’t have a backend, you should not participate in salt profit.

The shelter they provide to the salt merchants is not only political, but it can even be said that they use their power to get salt from the stove owners almost for free and then hand it over to the salt merchants.

The salt merchant goes out to sell again.

Then it will help monopolize power, increase investment layer by layer, use inferior products as good as good products, and other means to make money. Some of them are left in the hands of salt merchants, and others are in their own backstage.

The salt dealers Zhou Mengchen said were not on the same level as these people. Strictly speaking, the salt in these people's hands was not considered private salt. They just didn't enter the court's accounts. They were still sold in the name of official salt.

But salt dealers are different.

The salt dealers are the real private salt.

Originally, at the beginning of the country, the system was perfect. Although the Ming Dynasty stove households had a hard time, they could still live. It was just that the world was getting worse and worse. All the original welfare was gone.

The stove owners provide salt to the court almost free of charge. They don’t say anything, and if they can’t get it out within the specified time, they will still be punished.

The stove owners were forced to eat, so they naturally had to think about their own ways, and private salt was born leisurely. Some of them sold private salt to salt dealers, while others simply became salt dealers themselves. Therefore, for them, there were not many salt dealers, after all, they had to escape the checkpoints and soldiers. The number was too large, and they were inconvenient to transfer. That was only a few stones and dozens of stones. Although there was not much money, their family had hope of survival. So they were extremely fierce and dared to fight for private salt.

Zhou Mengchen said: "Are they really some small shrimps? Do you know that the Japanese pirates came to Yangzhou City several times and were defeated by the soldiers of Yangzhou City. Do you know who defeated them?"

"I know, it's the salt merchant's guardhouse." Teng Xiang said.

"Is it just a guard?" Zhou Mengchen asked.

"Isn't it?" Tengxiang asked in surprise.

Zhou Mengchen said: "How generous is the salt merchants in Yangzhou? They need thousands of guards? And these guards are all young and strong, and they are good at fighting."

"This-----" Tengxiang was surprised again and said intimately: "Does the salt merchant want to rebel? It shouldn't be."

Zhou Mengchen said: "These people are anti-smuggling teams of salt merchants, and they are specially used to fight against private salt. How much does it cost to maintain thousands of people fighting and guarding each year? I have a debt, at least tens of thousands of taels, or even more. What do you think the salt merchants are taking out so much money every year?"

Tengxiang already had the answer in his mind, that is, the flood of private salt is large in scale, and it has even threatened the status of official salt.

Zhou Mengchen's next words verified Tengxiang's thoughts. Zhou Mengchen said: "You have been in the prosperous place of Suzhou and Shanghai for a long time. You don't understand the practice. You may not know that the price of salt officials is high. And there are often sand and soil, even leaves and other debris. It's just that there are laws in the city, so you dare not exaggerate it. However, it's not once or twice that the official salt outside the city has been unsalable."

Tengxiang immediately said: "It seems that the situation of the Salt Administration has to move. But what do you want to move? It's better for me to go back and discuss with you father-in-law."

This is how people are.

The salt in the palace is more among the official salt, and his private salt is under the official salt brand. If there is a problem with the official salt, their income will naturally be affected.

Once you encounter this kind of thing that affects your wallet, you will immediately get motivation.

Zhou Mengchen said: "When I was in Fujian, I discovered a magical method of making salt, which is the salt drying method."

"Salt drying method?" Tengxiang said.

Zhou Mengchen said, "That's right," so he told Teng Xiang a lot about the inside story of the salt-stinging method.

Teng Xiang was skeptical, but he still believed Zhou Mengchen's words. Because Zhou Mengchen had created new things many times, but this method of salt drying was not copied by Zhou Mengchen. Instead, there was a method of salt drying in the Ming Dynasty and was discovered in Fujian.

Zhou Mengchen sent his disciples to improve these salt drying successes. In this way, they can adapt to most salt fields.

This is a very simple thing.

The principle of salt drying method is never difficult, but it is always a promotion.

Zhou Mengchen had experimented before and selected some places at Zhejiang Salt Transportation Bureau. It was easy to succeed, but even if it was not successful, it would be successful as long as it was adjusted.

But it is difficult to promote.

A large number of vested interests have been derived from the original salt administration system. In the salt administration system, they are not willing to make more changes. They make more salt from mud legs, which is something they don’t need to care about.

Anyway, it is serious to get more money.

Zhou Mengchen finally said: "This time, I want to change the boiled salt to dry salt. Not only does it provide more salt for the Ming Dynasty, but it also saves fuel. Large areas of reed marshes in Jiangbei can be reclaimed into cultivated land, and at least it can add cultivated land to several palaces to the Ming Dynasty."

Tengxiang said: "How is it possible? The land in Jiangbei is all saline-alkali land. You cannot grow crops," he said.

Zhou Mengchen said: "Although saline-alkali land is a little difficult, but it's so important. For   , there is no need to worry about this."

Tengxiang sighed, "Brother Zhou has a good intention. Why did you lose everyone's jobs like this? It will be difficult to deal with in the future."

Zhou Mengchen said: "Brother Teng, am I such a short-sighted person? Unlike cooking salt, you can only use an iron pot for cooking salt. A family can do it. But it is different for drying salt. The salt drying field cannot be organized by ordinary people."

Zhou Mengchen added accent to the four words "ordinary people".

Tengxiang asked the string sound and knew the meaning of elegance, and said, "How can we build a salt field?"

Zhou Mengchen said: "It is necessary to have a smooth beach with better Rizhao, and cement is also needed. However, once it is repaired, it only needs maintenance every year. I originally intended to release all the stove households, incorporate them into the homeland, and distribute them to the land to set an example for everyone. Those who need salt drying fields can be recruited."

"In the future, salt production in each salt farm can only be sold to the government. After the government acquires it, it will be sold uniformly. With a tariff of ten cents per 100 kilograms, these salt drying fields will definitely have a lot of money. I wonder if you are interested."

Tengxiang said, "I probably am interested. But I can't make the decision on this matter, so I have to go back and ask my ancestors."

Zhou Mengchen said: "Tengxiang only needs the sincerity I remember. Of course, the imperial court takes the big part and the Majesty takes the big part, which is also the sincere heart of serving Your Majesty. Do you think so?"

Tengxiang looked at Zhou Mengchen and smiled slightly, saying, "I know what you mean. Please wait for me to discuss with the capital. I will try to say what you mean. I think my ancestors are very wise and don't care about Adu. My lord gives me a step to the ancestors, and my ancestors will not ignore them."

Zhou Mengchen almost laughed when he heard Teng Xiang's words.

How can eunuchs not care about money? On the contrary, eunuchs care too much about money.

The eunuch's greed is famous all over the country. How could Zhou Mengchen not know? But Huang Jin is also a little bit inside and outside.

It’s not that Huang Jin doesn’t love money. He really makes money and establishes quality. Huang Jin has served Jiajing for so many years. It can be said that he wants to be breeze and rain. He has never seen any kind of glory and wealth. For him, money is no longer a pursuit. Money still needs to be made, but he cares more about the things behind the money.
Chapter completed!