Keyboard Immortal - 294
Chu Zhongtian was not reconciled to this, and hurriedly asked: “Brother Wang, can you find a way to get another batch of salt?”
Wang Fu smiled bitterly and shook his head: “If it was in previous years, it should be no problem, but this year Brother Chu also knows that our frontier Shangtun was looted by foreigners and suffered heavy losses. This time, this batch of salt is the surplus grain we mobilized from warehouses across the country. It’s hard to get it together, and there is absolutely nothing to do with another batch.”
“Then what do you do with the salt business in the next year?” Chu Zhongtian sat back heavily on the chair, and his whole person seemed to be suddenly old for many years.
In fact, it was clear that most of them were out of play, and just asked in a just-in-case mentality.
Wang Fu gritted his teeth and said, “Brother Chu, I have an idea.”
“What?” Chu Zhongtian asked hurriedly.
Wang Fu said: “I have controlled all the insiders who were robbed of Yanyin this time. I will not admit it to anyone who asks about it in the future. Just as Yanyin was not robbed. It should be an emergency, and it will rain and sunny after passing this test.”
The scale of salt merchant transactions is huge, and sometimes one year’s salt import is not enough, so the government reserves the next three years of salt for emergencies.
It’s just that the use of these salts is not without cost, the most intuitive thing is that the cost is much higher.
A normal salt lead cost 1.5 taels of silver, but the salt lead in the next few years needs to be called 2.1 taels of silver in advance, which is equivalent to loan interest. Because of the huge profits of the salt industry, they will unscrupulously throw a large amount of salt into the market.
“But in that case, the cost of Yanyin would be too expensive.” Chu Zhongtian frowned. With various management, the cost is equivalent to three or four times the current cost, which is too expensive.
Wang Fu shook his head: “Brother Chu didn’t understand what I meant. I meant to advance the salt and pretend to be next year’s salt. When we get over next year, we will collect enough salt and return it to the warehouse. That way, God doesn’t know. If you don’t know it, you can also solve your and my urgent needs.”
Chu Zhongtian’s expression changed: “Never, this is digging the corner of the imperial court. Once an incident occurs, it will be a big crime!”
Wang Fu said: “With Brother Chu’s contacts in Mingyue City, coupled with our Wang family’s years of management, how could it be so easy to happen. Moreover, the advancement of salt citation has been done by various families in previous years. There are a few genuine Taxes paid in full?”
Chu Zhongtian said solemnly: “But in previous years, it was only a small amount of advances. Everyone opened one eye and closed one eye and passed. This time it is the annual salt advances. The movement is really too big. .”
Wang Fu sighed, “Brother Chu, don’t blame me for speaking straight. Otherwise, what else can we do?”
“As far as I know, private salt has become more and more rampant since this year. You can’t sell a lot of salt from the Chu family, right?”
“You couldn’t sell the cost of 1.5 taels of salt before, but now you can’t sell it at a cost close to 4 taels of silver, and even if it is sold, how much can the Chu family make? Every aspect is a huge amount of money consumption. If there is no income from the salt industry, I am afraid that there will be a fiscal deficit soon, right?” Wang Fu analyzed.
Chu Zhongtian’s expression changed, and Huo Ran stood up and said, “Our Chu family has inherited it for hundreds of years, and this loss is still affordable.”
Although it will hurt your muscles and bones, the big deal is to sell some ancestral fields.
When he was about to get angry, who knew that Wang Fu plopped and knelt down in front of him, hugging his thigh and said, “Brother Chu, your Chu family can afford the great cause, but our Wang family can’t afford it. Because. Before the frontier gate Shangtun was looted, our Wang family had been stricken with wind and rain. If the news of the robbing of Yanyin was spread, our Wang family would be all over. Brother Chu, we have been together for so many years, and I have never asked for it. After you, I beg you this time!”
“Brother Wang please get up quickly, what are you doing!” Chu Zhongtian hurriedly helped him up, knowing that among the several big families, the Chu family and the Wang family are the closest, and they have regarded each other as friends after decades of association.
“The Wang family is going to collapse completely. What’s the use of my old face.” Wang Fu simply slumped directly on the ground, unable to survive.
Chu Zhongtian’s expression changed, “You let me think about it, this fact is of great importance.”
Hearing his loose tone, Wang Fu couldn’t help being overjoyed: “Thank you Brother Chu, I can’t be thankful enough for Brother Chu’s heart. As for whether he can succeed in the future, I’ll resign.”
When Chu Zhongtian went back and talked to Qin Wanru about this matter, Qin Wan was eclipsed: “Of course not, husband, why are you so confused, agree to such a thing!”
Chu Zhongtian sighed: “I don’t know that this is dangerous, but Wang Fu’s words are not unreasonable. If you pay the advance of silver for every salt, then the cost of official salt will be too high. No ordinary people will buy it at all.”
Qin Wanru anxiously said: “Even if we don’t buy it, our Chu family can afford to lose a year’s income. Now the court has sent Sanghong to watch. We really need to do something. Once he notices it, it will be troublesome. Big.”
“The situation of the Chu family is not as good as you think,” Chu Zhongtian said solemnly, “We have lost money every year in the past few years, and only after we started out at the beginning of these years, our situation has improved slightly, but we can’t stand up to such a freshman year. Pen loss.”
Qin Wanru couldn’t help saying: “Actually, I have always wanted to ask. Although it is because of our mismanagement, the Chu family holds two extremely lucrative businesses with salt and iron. Where did the money go? Why did it go? Loss every year?”
“I didn’t want to hide this matter from you, but you were too worried and never asked,” Chu Zhongtian explained, “You should know that you are all transferred to the salt transport ambassador, right?”
“Naturally knows.” Qin Wanru replied.
Only then did Chu Zhongtian talk about the matter as it was.
Because of the huge profits of salt, such a department has been established in all dynasties to supervise the production, distribution, and anti-smuggling of salt.
Supervising Mingyue City is the transfer of the Linchuan County to the Salt Transport Envoy.
One of the leading salt transporters is the fat in the fat, a position that countless officials are fascinated by.
However, because the Chu family has been in charge of the salt industry in Mingyue City for thousands of years, it usually requires the approval of the Chu family to become the salt transport envoy.
To some extent, these salt transport envoys are all members of the Chu family, or people close to the Chu family.
But in the officialdom, there are few officials who are not greedy.
Every salt transport envoy, as well as the group of deputy and lower-level officials under his hand, will more or less make a fortune among them.
The patriarchs of the Chu family can only turn one eye on this. First they are officials close to the Chu family. Secondly, this is also the unspoken rule of the officialdom. This is true of the Department of Salt Transport, as well as other departments.
In addition, after these officials at all levels of the Salt Transport Department left their posts or were promoted to the central court, or transferred to local officials, they have formed a giant net in the court, affecting the whole body.
If the Chu Family dared to say anything, it would be an extremely terrifying force that would offend.
In this way, over the past few hundred years, the actual deficit in the treasury room has reached an astronomical number due to salt transportation.
In the past, it was possible to conceal the past with various accounts, but by the generation of Chu Zhongtian, this number was already so large that it was impossible to conceal the accounts at all.
“So the money earned by the Chu family over the years is filling the shortfalls accumulated in the salt transport treasury for hundreds of years?” The blood faded from Qin Wanru’s charming cheeks.
Chu Zhongtian smiled bitterly: “Not bad.”
“Why!” Qin Wanru’s face was full of anger, “Why should the Chu family make up for the deficit with the money corrupted by the previous salt officials!”
Chu Zhongtian said solemnly: “Just because our Chu family has been able to occupy the rich salt and iron fief of Mingyue City, do you think such a fat piece of meat can sit securely by relying on the merits of the ancestors? That’s not it. Relying on the protection of those officials in the first year of the year, our Chu family can always have such a place.”
“It didn’t have to be so troublesome before, but in recent years, I have felt that the emperor seems to be ready to attack our Chu family. Can survive the investigation of the court.”
Chu Zhongtian paused and continued: “This is why I have the confidence to stand up to the pressure of the emperor and the Qi king to remain neutral, because we have countless court officials behind us! If they don’t, don’t even want to run!”
Qin Wanru suddenly moved in his heart: “The account book that you solemnly handed to Chuyan for safekeeping last time. At that time, what was the account with business partners? Looking at it now, I am afraid that it is evidence of corruption by the officials of the salt transport ambassadors of the past. Bar.”
Chu Zhongtian nodded: “Yes, as long as the account book is not lost, whether the emperor or Qi Wang, no matter how much we want to deal with our Chu family, our Chu family will have nothing to do!”
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