Chapter 11 Walking Salt
Chapter 11 Walking Salt
Because of the mining supervision system, the person who has truly made the decisions at Jiezhou Salt Mine has always been the mining supervisor.
The mine supervisor was a person close to the emperor and was there to do things for him. But the mine supervisor was also a human being, and since he was a human being, he had desires, not to mention that these eunuchs without balls always had a greater desire for money than ordinary people.
The main reason why Zhu Shenzui and Wangjiacun were able to get salt from Jiezhou was that they bribed people around the mine supervisor, who was a manager under him.
As a mine supervisor, isn't it normal to make some money privately while doing things for the master? So the managers below are naturally the same. This is no different from the original nature of officials. The only difference is that no matter how much money the mine supervisor makes, the bulk of it is still presented to the emperor. After all, without the emperor's support, he can't be a mine supervisor.
Zhu Shenzhui was very familiar with the situation in Jiezhou, so after listening to Xia Dong's words, he had made a judgment in his mind. The so-called increased demand in the army was probably an excuse. You must know that the northern part of Shanxi has been very peaceful in the past two years. Since Lin Danhan reached an agreement with the court, the border market has been opened, and everyone has not fought for a long time. Since there is no fighting, there is no question of any demand in the army.
The only place in Ming Dynasty where there is war is Liaodong. The situation in Liaodong changed drastically after the Battle of Sarhu. Now the Ming army switched from offense to defense because of the defeat. If it is Liaodong, it is true, but what does the problem of Liaodong have to do with Shanxi?
Even if they used salt, the salt used in Liaodong was from Changlu, and the two places were far away from each other.
Changlu is one of the three major salt fields, and the salt produced there far exceeds that of a small place like Jiezhou. If even the Changlu Salt Field cannot meet the needs of the Liaodong war, then the people of the entire Ming Dynasty may not even have salt to eat.
The salt production in Jiezhou has always had a fixed amount, which is called "regular salt", and the amount outside the fixed amount is called "remaining salt".
To put it simply, it is the difference between planned and unplanned. The regular salt is the salt that is recorded in the account, and the surplus salt is the unplanned salt. Zhu Shenzhui and his team were engaged in private salt trading, and the salt they took was actually the unplanned surplus salt.
The mine supervisor and his subordinates can decide on the surplus salt, which is much cheaper than regular salt, also known as "cost salt". But at this time, Xia Dong told Zhu Shenzhu that the salt from Jiezhou might change next year, and found a reason that sounded unreliable, which was the demand from the army. What is the real reason behind this is a bit intriguing.
After thinking for a while, Zhu Shenzhui said to Xia Dong, "Well, you don't have to go this time. You can take a few people with you to Jiezhou and bring back a batch of salt before it changes. It just so happens that the warehouse is freed up now. The salt you bring back can be directly stored in the warehouse and we will decide next spring based on the situation."
Xia Dong also thought so. After hearing Zhu Shenzhui's arrangement, he naturally agreed and nodded in agreement.
After explaining this, Zhu Shenzhui adjusted the number of people who would set out tomorrow and assigned some to Xia Dong to take to Jiezhou. After he finished explaining this, Wang Jinwu couldn't help it.
"Sixth brother, take me with you this time!"
Zhu Shenzhui was stunned and subconsciously looked at his uncle Wang Rong.
Wang Rong nodded to Zhu Shenzhui and said, "Jin Wu is not young anymore. We have assigned people to go to Jiezhou this time, so let him go with them. Fathers and sons fight together in battle, and brothers fight together against tigers. It's time for him to go with them and gain some experience."
Hearing what Wang Rong said, Zhu Shenzhui understood what his uncle meant. Moreover, Wang Jinwu was his cousin. Although he was a bit reckless, he was an expert in martial arts. The route they were taking this time was a familiar one and there was no risk. So it was no problem to take him with them.
So Zhu Shenzhui did not refuse, but made three rules with Wang Jinwu in front of everyone. At home, they were brothers, but outside, it was different. What they were doing was not an ordinary business. On the road, Zhu Shenzhui said east and west, and all actions must be under his command and must not act on his own. If Wang Jinwu could not do it, it would be better not to go. If he had to go, these ugly words would be said in advance. If Wang Jinwu made a mistake, Zhu Shenzhui would not easily forgive this kid for the sake of his cousin.
"Sixth brother, I can swear! I promise to listen to you on the way!" Seeing that Zhu Shenzhu was willing to take him on the road, Wang Jinwu's face immediately turned red with excitement, and he patted his chest and swore.
"Remember, kid, go out and learn from your Sixth Brother. Do whatever your Sixth Brother tells you to do. If you get into trouble outside, don't say that your Sixth Brother will punish you. When I come back, I will tear your head off and use it as a urinal!" Wang Rong reminded with his eyes wide open.
"Uncle, that's not necessary. What do you want my cousin's head for? Wouldn't you feel scared if you put such a big thing next to your bed at night?"
"Hahaha!"
Everyone burst into laughter, even Wang Rong laughed and shook his head.
The main thing we talk about at the dinner table is business, and after that everyone starts eating.
Because they were leaving tomorrow, no one drank much wine. They only took two sips of the prepared pot of wine as a token of their appreciation. After dinner, everyone got up and went back, agreeing to set out early tomorrow morning.
After a good night's rest, Zhu Shenzhu woke up the next day and had breakfast with Wang Rong and his son. Then he packed his bags and went to the village entrance.
When we arrived at the village entrance, everyone was already there. In addition to Zhu Shenzhui, Wang Jinwu, and Wang Chuer, Wang Gui, and Wang Yinsheng whom we had met yesterday, there were still sixteen young men. Among these sixteen young men, one was surnamed Xia, another was surnamed Zhao, and the rest were all descendants of the Wang family.
The young man surnamed Xia was from Xia Dong’s second uncle’s family, that is, his cousin. The young man surnamed Zhao was the nephew of the blacksmith Zhao Da, and they were also from Wangjia Village.
Everyone was ready, and when they saw Zhu Shenzhu coming, they hurried forward to salute.
Zhu Shenzhui waved his hand, first looked at their preparations, and after a round he was quite satisfied. After all, this was not the first time they had done this kind of work. After two years, they had become experts and veterans, and everything was fine.
"Uncle, please keep an eye on the family."
"Don't worry at home, just be careful on your journey." Wang Rong nodded seriously.
After bowing to Wang Rong, Zhu Shenzhui turned around and said to everyone, "Let's go!"
Everyone responded, then drove their donkeys and mules, carrying their loads, and walked away silently along the path at the entrance of the village.
Smuggling salt is very risky. Zhu Shenzui and his team's destination this time is Zhao Village in the east.
There is a reason why we chose this place.
Zhaocun is located in the eastern part of Shanxi. After Zhaocun, going east is Yuxiaguan. After passing Yuxiaguan and crossing Taihang Mountains, it is Lin County, and Lin County belongs to the territory of northern Zhili.
There are many people smuggling salt in Shanxi, and most of them are big merchants.
Ever since Zhu Yuanzhang implemented the policy of opening up China to the rest of the world in Shanxi, it had become common practice for Shanxi merchants to privately sell salt with the help of salt permits. Moreover, due to the monopoly of these Shanxi merchants, many trade routes had already been divided up.
It was simply impossible for small private salt dealers like Zhu Shenzhui and Wangjiacun to compete with these Shanxi merchants for the market. They were wealthy and powerful, half official and half private, and had the support of big figures such as the commander of the thousand households, the commander, and even the lieutenant general, deputy general, and general of the border army. It was simply a fantasy to snatch food from the tiger's mouth.
Precisely because of this, for the sake of safety, Zhu Shenzui has put a lot of thought into it over the past two years and finally selected two private salt trade routes, one of which is the route from Wangjia Village to Zhao Village that they are taking this time.
This private salt trade route was not easy to travel, and Zhao Village, like Wangjia Village, was just a small military settlement with a hundred households, with limited demand, far less than other trade routes. But this was only relative, for those Shanxi merchants, the gains were not worth the losses, but it was different for Zhu Shenzhui.
Zhu Shenzui and his men only transported 40 to 50 dan of salt each time. This amount was considerable for ordinary people, but it was child's play for the big Shanxi merchants who transported hundreds or even thousands of dan each time.
Even a small amount is profitable, and the profit from private salt is huge.
The cheapest salt in the Ming Dynasty was during the Jingtai period, when each catty of salt cost only 1.79 wen. During the Jiajing period, the price of salt was around 4-5 wen, and reached as high as 10 wen.
During the Wanli period, the price of salt often fluctuated, and the price of salt was not equal in the north and the south. From the beginning of the Wanli period to the present, the price of salt in various places has been on the rise. Taking northern Zhili as an example, the current price of salt is around 43 wen per catty.
The cost for Zhu Shenzhui and his team to get salt from Jiezhou was only 2 wen per pound, which means that the profit from transporting the salt to Zhaocun was more than times. Even if Zhaocun took % of the profit, Zhu Shenzhui and his team would still have more than times the profit.
The profit from this trip was about 200 taels of silver.
This profit was indeed considerable. The purchasing power of silver in the Ming Dynasty was extremely strong, and more than two hundred taels was considered a huge sum of money.
You should know that as a member of the royal family, Zhu Shencui's full salary was 45 dan. According to the later discount rate of %, that is, dan. According to Wanli's permanent quota system, the total amount he received was about taels of silver. In other words, Zhu Shencui could earn nearly five years' salary in just one month by making this trip.
(End of this chapter)