What kind of trading is the most profitable in the world? Many people's first reaction is to trade overseas or resell overseas rare treasures. However, in fact, this problem is very simple, that is, to trade salt.

Salt has concentrated sources, such as well salt, pond salt, and sea salt. Depending on the distance from the salt production area and the convenience of transportation, the price of salt is also different. However, no matter which type of salt it is, the profits of selling salt must be quite large.

Therefore, after the salt farm in Guangzhou was rectified, it began to promote the salt drying method on a large scale. It is conceivable that with the increase in sea salt production, it will bring about a steady stream of salt profits. However, the question is who is the biggest beneficiary of this salt profit.

Fan Yu, Yuwen Wen, in the official office, was talking in detail with the marshal Shi Choi Dana. Today he was not here to quarrel with the other party, but to ask questions sincerely, not for anything else, but to predict the future direction of salt administration.

The salt and iron franchise, also known as the salt and iron official franchise, is a well-known noun. However, in fact, the span of ancient times was so long that not every dynasty adopted the salt and iron franchise policy. A normal dynasty spans tens of hundreds of years, and the salt administration in different periods was also different.

Yuwen Wen had the idea of ​​the salt industry and knew what kind of salt administration Zhou State was currently implementing, but he was not very confident about the future development of the salt administration, so he asked Cui Da for advice.

The idiom is not ashamed to ask questions. The context of this idiom is limited, which means that the person who asked questions is higher than the person who was asked questions. Therefore, in daily life, if a student dares to say that his behavior of asking questions from his husband is "not ashamed to ask questions", it will cause everyone to laugh at.

Yuwen Wengui was a prince and a superior. He asked Cui Dana questions, and it was reasonable to use "not ashamed to ask", but after all, it means being condescending, so he would not say that in person.

"King, after the imperial court pacified the Eastern Xia Dynasty, the salt administration was roughly run by the government and the private government. The king knew about this. The imperial court had a government order to control the salt and handle the four salts. So, can the king know what the four salts are?"

"I know that one is sea salt, boil the sea to make it; the other is salt, and the pond is to transform it; the third is salt, and the earth is to produce it; the fourth is salt, and salt is salt, and it is salt, and it is taken from the Western Rong."

"The king said that in the salt administration of the court at that time, every place was banned by salt-shaped salt, and the people took it, and they all collected salt taxes."

Cui Dana was a minister of Qi back then, so when Zhou State was pacified, he used the geographical term "Dongxia" to replace "Qi State". He mentioned that the salt administration after Zhou State was pacified the salt (chip salt) produced in Jiechi in Hedong and the shape salt (well salt) produced in Shu, and civil forces were not allowed to participate.

For the syrup salt (rock salt) that needs to be purchased from the Western Regions and the loose salt (sea salt) in coastal areas, privately operated, especially sea salt, which has the nature of being privately run by the government. In addition to the salt farms of the government, people are also allowed to boil salt and make salt, and then collect taxes in moderation.

But Yuwen Wen wanted to know not only this, so Cui Dana introduced the salt administration of Qi back then. First, as a minister of Qi, he naturally knew the salt administration of Qi, and secondly, because his father Cui Xian had participated in the decision on the salt administration of Qi.

When Wei divided the east and west, after a great war, the Western Wei controlled the Jiechi in Hedong, which means the source of the salt of the pond. However, for the Eastern Wei, there was a long coastline to the east of the land and sufficient sources of sea salt, it didn't matter.

Salt is a necessity, and the official business of salt and iron has existed since ancient times. If the state controls the production, sales and sales of salt throughout the process, it is a specialty business, and the profits can supplement the treasury expenditure. Therefore, the Eastern Wei and later Qi State were generally the official business of salt (specialty business).

However, in the early Eastern Wei Dynasty, there were also private enterprises in the salt industry. During the Wuding period, Cui Xian requested to go to the sea, and Yi Yan Industry was also run by the government, and another minister, Cui Ang, expressed his opposition.

Cui Ang believes that a large amount of salt stove is required to cook salt in the salt field. Although the government can recruit manpower to cook salt, it is not as wide as the people who spontaneously cook salt, so it is better to continue to allow the salt industry to operate privately.

First, it can ensure the production of sea salt, and second, the government only needs to calculate the stove and collect taxes, and can also obtain a considerable income, which is considered a happy event.

The court at that time adopted Cui Ang's opinion and only taxed the private salt industry rather than banned it. Therefore, the salt industry in the Eastern Wei (Qi State) was official and private enterprises coexisted, but the official salt industry did provide abundant resources for the treasury at that time.

In sharp contrast, the Western Wei (Zhou State) implemented an official monopoly on salt removal in Hedong and well salt in Shu. The reason is very simple. The Western Wei (Zhou State) national strength is not as strong as the Eastern Wei (Qi State), and the national treasury income is tight, so we can only find ways to expand our financial resources.

Not only is the official business of the salt industry, but the taxes are almost twice as heavy as those of the Eastern Wei (Qi State). This is the helpless choice of the Western Wei (Zhou State), which is obviously at a disadvantage in national strength.

As for why the Zhou State, whose national strength was at a disadvantage, it was a political, military issue, not an economic issue. After the Zhou State unified the north, its national strength increased greatly, so naturally the salt administration was relaxed.

Opening the pool prohibits private enterprises, but operating the salt industry under the supervision of the government is to supervise the private enterprises. However, more relaxed policies are adopted for the sea salt and salt farms in the territory of Yuqi.

Later, the Zhou and Sui Dynasty confronted each other. In order to fill the huge expenses, the Yecheng imperial court allowed private investment to sea salt, but increased taxation as a source of financial resources.

The salt administration in the Southern Dynasties has followed the old system of Wei and Jin Dynasties since the Song Dynasty, mainly implementing official business for the salt industry, but it also allows private business for salt industry to be taxed to supplement the national use. In short, since the Wei and Jin Dynasties, most of the salt industry in the world have been mainly the official business, and policies have been repeatedly adjusted during this period.

The official business of the salt industry originated from the famous "salt and iron official business" or "salt and iron monopoly". This system was said to originate from the Spring and Autumn Period. Guan Zhong, the famous prime minister of Qi, proposed "official mountains and seas", monopolized the production and sales of salt and iron, creating a huge source of wealth for Qi to enrich the country and strengthen the army.

During the Warring States Period, Shang Yang of Qin implemented a reform and implemented similar policies to increase the treasury income; during the Han Dynasty, the attack on the Huns led to a significant increase in expenditures. In order to raise military funds, Emperor Wu of Han implemented a salt and iron official camp.

However, during the reign of Emperor Zhao of Han, the policy of cultivation and rest and rest was implemented, and the ministers formally discussed how to adjust the policy of "Salt and Iron Official Camp" for the famous "Salt and Iron Conference". Since then, the imperial court's control over salt and iron gradually relaxed.

Since the Wei and Jin Dynasties, the courts of all dynasties have adjusted their salt and iron business policies. For the salt industry, when the court spends huge amounts and urgently needs money, the salt ban will be tightened. If the fiscal surplus is surplus, the policy will be relaxed.

Cui Dasheng's father Cui Xian supported strengthening the official business of the salt industry in order to increase fiscal revenue. The most important view among opponents is that the official business of the salt industry is full of disadvantages, and the court "cannot compete with the people for profit."

"Fight for profit with the people? In my opinion, this 'people' is not qualified to do by everyone, right?"

Facing Yuwen Wen's question, Cui Da-shou did not answer. He felt that there was no need to argue about such obvious things. In fact, the aristocratic families and powerful people would not let the salt industry go. It was nothing more than that, and the profit was abundant.

"The king just asked what the future salt administration of the court will be. The officials thought that when the world is unified, the court would probably completely lift the salt ban and would not even collect the salt tax. It is to benefit the people."

The world is unified and the tax sources are sufficient. There is no need for those in power to gain the reputation of "competing for profit with the people" for the sake of a mere salt tax. After all, the powerful and powerful people from all over the country must also "dividend equally with interests."

So Yuwen Wen's previous judgment was like this: after Zhou Guoping Chen, the salt industry will be liberalized sooner or later, and the salt tax will be lowered or even cancelled.

However, he was still quite excited to hear the same view from his confidant Cui Dana, who was well-informed and had an advantage in predicting some policies. There was no need to deceive him for such a thing.

Therefore, Yuwen Wen's "not ashamed to ask" today finally ended successfully.

Looking at Yuwen Wen's departure back, Cui Dana shook his head. The other party wanted to make a fortune by relying on Guangzhou salt farm. He had already seen that it was nothing, but...
Chapter completed!