Since the introduction of policies and regulations to limit land rent, the emperor's concerns about land annexation have almost disappeared.
The Mengjiang region was opened up for reclamation, the Liao region was reclaimed, and even the restrictions on the sale of farmland in the south of the Yangtze River were relaxed.
The landlords and gentry, who had been under great pressure and were trembling with fear, could finally breathe a sigh of relief because of policies such as clearing the military base to pay military fees, severely punishing concealment and arrears, and abolishing tax exemption for gentry.
Although the land rent had a fixed lower limit, preventing the landlord from exploiting the tenant too much, the landlord could still live comfortably by relying on the remaining land rent and taxes.
While protecting the lower-level tenants, the emperor also gave the landlords a chance to survive, but they earned less than before.
Contentment brings happiness. Everyone knows this truth, and they also know the emperor's methods. If you dare to disobey the emperor's orders, you will be severely punished, with your entire family exiled and everything you own being lost.
The liberalization of land sales gave landlords the opportunity to increase their income by using total land holdings. If you owned 18,000 mu (approximately 10% of the land) and only collected 10% of the rent and taxes from your tenants, it would be enough to live comfortably and become a wealthy tycoon.
Moreover, with both the North and the South recruiting large numbers of immigrants, how many people were willing to give up their dream of owning land and become tenants?
Therefore, if a landlord wanted to purchase a large amount of land, he had to find enough people to cultivate it. How to attract people to become tenants? First, they were reluctant to leave their hometown, and second, they could lower rent and taxes.
It is not only the landlords who compete with them for manpower, but also the state-owned land reclamation.
The imperial court stipulated that at least half of the reclaimed wasteland must be owned by the state. In addition to providing accommodation for disabled retired officers and soldiers and their families, another purpose was to lower rents and taxes.
Landlords could not possibly challenge the imperial court. The conditions for leasing state-owned land naturally affected the landlords.
This is a kind of adjustment: in good years, the tax is higher; in disasters, the tax is lower. This gives tenants the right to choose, and also gives landlords the choice of whether to be a kind and wealthy person.
Under normal circumstances, the emperor would not do something like killing all the people. This was especially true after the Liao Dynasty was pacified.
Anyone with an eye can see that as long as they don't break the law and are not excessively greedy, the emperor is willing to give everyone the opportunity to choose.
This was true for landlords, merchants, and even the once powerful and wealthy salt merchants.
Xia Zhongshi, who was already the director of salt affairs, was sitting in the conference hall of the Lianghuai Salt Administration at this time, observing the many salt merchants below with different expressions with cold eyes.
The salt administration reform in the north had yielded results, solidified the reform achievements, and improved the rules and procedures. Now, it was finally the turn of the Lianghuai salt administration.
Originally, the "Kaizhong Law" introduced during the reign of Taizu was beneficial to the development of the national economy, especially the development and construction of the northern border areas.
You should know that merchants not only transported grain in exchange for salt, but also actively recruited labor to go to border towns to develop and cultivate land and build merchant settlements in order to obtain higher profits from salt vouchers.
However, after Taizu, the Kaizhong Law became a target for rent-seeking by the Ming Dynasty's powerful and various interest groups, making its implementation difficult and difficult to operate properly.
In order to ensure the income from the salt industry, the Ming Dynasty did not solve the problems caused by the Kaizhong method from the root, but instead chose the Zhese method, which put the cart before the horse.
This short-sighted approach only sees the immediate financial benefits but fails to see the impact on the national strategic level.
The border merchants who had originally benefited from the Sino-French trade directly built commercial settlements in border towns in order to obtain higher profits, which promoted the adequate supply of military supplies in the border areas.
However, the introduction of the Zhese Law directly removed the foundation for the economic development of border towns, and border merchants gradually withdrew, leaving commercial settlements abandoned.
As a result, military supplies in border towns became tight again, military expenditures increased significantly, and the Ming Dynasty fell into an increasingly serious financial crisis.
Therefore, the emperor could have chosen to implement the "Kai Zhong Fa" again and use severe punishments to ensure the implementation of this good law.
But after much deliberation and repeated consultations with his ministers, the emperor finally adopted a salt policy that was closer to that of later generations, simplifying the circulation of salt.
Whether in ancient times or in modern times, the more intermediate links there are, the more likely mistakes will occur, just like a machine: the more parts it has, the more likely it is to malfunction.
The whole process of the Xiangzhong method is completed through the steps of reporting the middle, holding the support, and then trading. Fraud is easy to occur in these three steps.
It is impossible to eliminate this practice, as money can only motivate people. Strengthening supervision and management, and investing in administrative measures, will only increase the financial burden on the court.
Therefore, it would be better to control the salt factories, add the salt tax to the price of salt, set a minimum purchase amount, and anyone can sell it.
This is very close to the practice of later generations, where all taxes and fees are included in the selling price of goods.
Of course, this salt policy was equivalent to breaking the salt merchants' monopoly. Although they could enjoy lower prices by purchasing more salt, it was still far worse than before.
Salt merchants also used various channels, even purchasing bonds to curry favor with the imperial court. At the same time, they also wanted to emulate the major chambers of commerce and establish a Salt Merchants' General Association. However, the imperial court did not approve of this name.
Although they were unwilling to accept the situation, the imperial court's intention was clear and could not be changed. The salt merchants also knew that this meeting was just an attempt to obtain better conditions.
"The Kaizhong Law has long since collapsed, and the Zhese Law and Gang Law are also deeply flawed. Today's salt law has fewer intermediaries, which is beneficial to both the trade and the people. You must all understand this."
Xia Zhongshi took a sip from his teacup and said slowly, "The abolition of the salt permit monopoly and the lifting of the pilotage restrictions appear to have affected your exclusive monopoly. But think about it, without the Emperor suppressing the powerful, how could your exclusive trade last? Isn't the collapse of the Kaizhong Law a good lesson?"
If merchants were simply doing business, that would be fine. But when powerful people and various interest groups get involved, how could ordinary merchants resist?
This is the reason for the relationship between officials and businessmen. Businessmen depend on officials, and officials provide convenience for businessmen, making it so that officials are neither officials nor businessmen, which ultimately harms the interests of the country and the people.
The same was true of monopolies, which the emperor disliked. He disliked both the salt merchants' extravagance and their control over salt prices.
Money would be easy, and there are many investment options. Why focus on salt? The emperor did not have a good impression of the short-sighted and greedy salt merchants.
The Maritime Chamber of Commerce, the Jiangnan Chamber of Commerce, the Chinese Chamber of Commerce, and the Yangtze River Chamber of Commerce all responded to the court's call and made contributions to the country and the people.
What about salt merchants? Buying bonds earns interest, but this flattery can't impress the emperor at all. Even if it's a donation, the emperor doesn't care.
You have to know that the money earned by salt merchants was originally intended to go into the national treasury and was taken from the mouths of the common people.
The new salt policy could be strictly enforced, eliminating the need for salt merchants to donate, and the imperial court's finances benefited more. Moreover, the people no longer had to endure the high price of salt.
Another point is that private salt will automatically disappear without the need for the court to spend manpower and money to crack down on it. The reason why private salt continues to exist despite repeated bans is that the price of official salt is too high for ordinary people to afford!
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