hotmtlnovel Chapter 836 The world is as black as crows
Chapter 836 The world is as black as crows
Chapter 836 All crows are black
Everyone immediately started to guess that Jiang Youzhen suspected them, but did not call them to court, but instead invited them to a banquet. Could it be that he had other purposes?
Some people brought the tea bowls to their mouths to hide the sarcasm on their faces. All crows are black. I'm afraid that Lord Jiang wants them to pay tribute.
I don’t know how much money it will cost to avoid disaster this time, but this guy has a big appetite and actually asked them to gather together.
"Hey~ When did I ever say that you were smuggling salt? Isn't it because the Salt Gang has just been eradicated, and I have gathered you all together to discuss countermeasures in order to prevent such things from happening?" Jiang Youzhen smiled and shook his head.
"Don't be nervous, I'm just gathering ideas."
Everyone was relieved, but also confused. Why did they need to be called together to discuss the issue of stopping the illegal sale of salt? Wasn't this a matter for the imperial court? Did they need to write a contract guaranteeing that they would not sell illegal salt?
"Sir Jiang, now that the Salt Gang has been eliminated, the smuggling of salt will surely never happen again. We are all law-abiding businessmen, and have been doing business for generations and have never dared to violate the laws of the dynasty. We have all done our duty, so please don't worry," said Mr. Yang hurriedly.
Jiang Youzhen nodded, "Of course I believe you, but the court may not believe you! In order to make the court believe you, I have a way."
Everyone's faces suddenly tensed. After going through so much trouble, could the purpose be to ask them for money?
"I wonder what good idea Lord Jiang has?" Wan Niansong stood up and asked.
"I have proposed a new policy to the court. Although it is safer to control salt in the hands of the government, there are always people who will take risks. Why not release a part of it and distribute it to the merchants, so that everyone can make money together. Merchants only need to pay the salt tax to sell salt."
Everyone immediately started whispering to each other, and everyone had something in mind.
"This? Isn't this no different from selling official salt in several merchants before?" someone raised questions.
Jiang Youzhen smiled slightly, "Of course there is a big difference! In fact, the salt voucher and the previous tea voucher are similar in nature. I believe that Chief Qu should know the details. The Qu family has been growing tea for generations, so they should be familiar with tea vouchers, right? Why don't you explain tea vouchers to everyone?"
Upon hearing this, Chief Qu's eyes suddenly lit up. If it was the same as the tea permit, then there would be huge profits to be made from the salt permit.
Everyone's eyes were on the head of the Qu clan. The head of the Qu clan did not refuse. He stood up and said to everyone: "I believe you all know a thing or two about the tea ticket, because the tea ticket policy was also proposed by Lord Jiang, and the Qu family has benefited greatly from it."
"We, the Qu family, need to purchase tea permits from the government to sell our tea to various places. With this certificate, it is equivalent to obtaining the right to sell to various places. We need road permits to go to various places, and tea and salt need tea permits and salt permits to be sold to various places."
Chief Qu pointed at Zhou Jinghe and said, "For example, Mr. Zhou is from Jiangling. If he wants to sell medicinal herbs to the border, he will need a salt permit to go to the border after exchanging them for salt. Others cannot sell salt to the border."
Speaking of tea, everyone knew a thing or two, and their eyes lit up when they heard it.
That is to say, if they spent money to buy a salt permit, for example, to go to the capital, they could sell the salt in the capital. Others who did not buy a salt permit to go to the capital could not sell the salt. And in a prefecture, only one or two merchants could sell the salt with salt permits, which was considered a monopoly.
Although the imperial court still sells official salt and does not allow private price adjustments, if you charge a few cents per pound more, the imperial court will turn a blind eye.
Especially in places like the border, as long as you have a salt permit, you have the documents to travel. Even if you sell it secretly at a price three or four times higher than usual, as long as you are not caught by the court, it is a huge profit.
Of course, these are all shady businesses.
I noticed that everyone looked thoughtful. I guess they were making some calculations in their minds and starting to weigh the pros and cons.
Jiang Youzhen added: "Don't worry, you don't have to use silver to buy salt permits."
Everyone was immediately confused. If they didn’t use money to buy it, what could they use?
"Master Jiang, if you don't want to pay with money, are you going to use the goods we have as collateral?"
Yang Xinwei smiled. The Yang family was a weaving family. Could they use cloth to pay for the debt? He was willing to do so, but he felt that it was not such a good thing.
"At present, the court only accepts grain and horses. If you want to buy salt permits, you can send these to the border military camps. The court does not care how much goods you bring along the way, but you need to pay taxes on all items except salt."
Everyone's eyes lit up again. If they could send it to the border and sell the goods at the same time, who wouldn't want to? That would definitely make money!
Everyone's face was filled with joy. If they could buy salt permits to go to the border and bring in goods along the way, wouldn't that be a huge profit?
Seeing everyone discussing excitedly, Jiang Youzhen picked up the tea bowl and took a sip of tea with a smile on his face.
However, there are also many people who were not overwhelmed by this good news, such as Yang Xingwei and Qu Wentian.
"I wonder when this new policy will be announced? Has the court made a decision yet?"
They discussed it heatedly for a long time, but they had never heard of this salt policy before.
"I have already reported the matter to the imperial court, and it has reached the ears of the emperor. There should be news in the next few days."
Everyone looked at each other, and then Qu Wentian stood up.
"Sir, it's not that I doubt you, but the court has not yet issued a new policy. Even if we are tempted, it will be useless."
Jiang Youzhen raised his eyebrows, "How can it be useless? You were carefully selected by me, and you got the news much earlier than others. Isn't this the advantage of being selected earlier?"
Everyone was silent. The court had not yet issued a new policy, so it was unknown whether this matter could be accomplished. Jiang Youzhen must have other plans for calling them here now, otherwise how could he have such a good plan for them in advance?
"If...if the salt policy is not passed by the cabinet, then it will naturally be meaningless." Someone said boldly.
"That depends on what you think. If you believe me, there is no need to say more. If you don't, then after the court announces the new policy, you can solve the salt permit issue if you are willing."
Jiang Youzhen spread her hands. She wanted to develop her own power in Jiangnan, and relying solely on the Wan family and the Yun family was far from enough.
Now is the time to test these people, and whether they choose to join my camp depends on their courage, insight and strategy.
When she chooses a partner, she must make sure he or she likes it.
"Then I wonder what that means? Please tell me clearly, sir." Yang Xingwei asked.
Jiang Youzhen just smiled when he heard this, "That depends on your sincerity!"
Everyone immediately understood. Isn't it still about money? How much is enough? Isn't this really a disguised way of making money?