Do you know: I, a commoner prime minister

Chapter 74 Discourses on Salt and Iron

"It's not that I'm pessimistic, it's just that the salt administration is very complex, and Master Lu has only been back in Beijing for less than six months, so it seems a bit too hasty!"

Zhou An couldn't bring up the future, so he could only make up an excuse.

"Haha, you're overthinking it. Han Da Xiang Gong served in many places in Jiangnan in previous years, and the worst-hit areas of the salt administration corruption were in Jiangnan. He has a certain understanding of this matter, and he has been preparing for so long, so it's not too hasty!" Hu Yuan laughed.

He felt that Zhou An was still young, and it was normal for him to have concerns.

"Scholar Hu is right."

Zhou An did not continue to argue. Hu Yuan told him directly that this must mean that Han Zhang and others had already submitted a memorial.

Not to mention whether I could persuade him or not, there wasn't enough time.

"My lord, the time is almost here!"

Just then, the voice of Hu Yuan's attendant rang out from outside the door.

Let's go!

Hu Yuan got up and led Zhou An out of the government office to the school where classes were being held.

When Du You invited Hu Yuan to teach, it was naturally not for all the students at Tongzhou Academy.

Instead, they selected dozens of young scholars from Tongzhou, somewhat similar to a top high school class in later generations.

The Jiangnan region has always accounted for a large portion of the quotas in the imperial examinations, although this is related to the fact that the north lost a large area of ​​land and had a much smaller population than the Jiangnan region.

However, the educational atmosphere and educational resources are also important factors.

Many officials are invited to give lectures in their localities after retiring from office.

In addition to the officially run academies, there are many other academies in Jiangnan that are no less excellent than the official ones.

Of the four great academies, two were located in the Central Plains and two in the Jiangnan region, which speaks volumes.

However, among all the prefectures in Jiangnan, Tongzhou ranked in the middle to lower range in terms of the number of people who passed the imperial examinations.

Du You invited his teacher Hu Yuan to give lessons, hoping that more people would pass the imperial examination next year.

When Hu Yuan brought Zhou An to the school, the school was quiet.

Dozens of scholars sat upright, the oldest being only twenty-four or twenty-five years old, and the youngest only sixteen or seventeen.

"Greetings, Scholar Hu! I hope you are well!"

Everyone stood up, bowed, and shouted in unison.

"well!"

Hu Yuan smiled and waved her hand, saying, "Please sit down!"

"Thank you, Scholar!"

After everyone thanked him, they took their seats. Zhou An spotted Guan Yan in the crowd, and Guan Yan saw Zhou An as well, his face lighting up with joy.

"Huai De, there's an empty seat over there, you can sit there!"

Hu Yuan pointed to the last position in the left row.

"yes!"

Zhou An bowed and took the book box from Shi Tou's hands before heading to his seat.

Shi Tou, along with Hu Yuan's entourage, went to the next room to wait.

Tongzhou Academy did not prohibit bringing pageboys, but it did not allow pageboys to serve students in the classroom.

Class had already started, so Stone naturally couldn't follow along.

Zhou An sat down, placed his book box aside, opened it, and took out the books.

"Today I will explain to you the Discourses on Salt and Iron!"

Seeing that Zhou An was ready, Hu Yuan began the formal lesson.

Perhaps because he knew that the salt administration was about to be investigated, Hu Yuan began to teach the "Discourses on Salt and Iron" in this class.

The state monopoly on salt and iron was established during the reign of Emperor Wu of Han, but the "Discourses on Salt and Iron" was not written during that time.

Instead, it is a record of a meeting held after decades of government control over the salt and iron monopolies, concerning whether or not to abolish them.

That conference brought together virtuous scholars, learned men, and court officials from all over the country, and lasted for about five months.

Although the main topic was the "salt and iron monopoly," the meeting extended to various aspects such as politics, military affairs, economy, and diplomacy.

It was less of a meeting and more of a debate.

Because of its wide range of content, the "Discourses on Salt and Iron" is a must-read for scholars, even though it is not a Confucian classic.

"I believe everyone has read the Discourses on Salt and Iron. I have summarized it into three debates on salt and iron: the debate on righteousness versus profit, the debate on fundamentals versus secondarys, and the debate on poverty versus wealth."

After Hu Yuan finished speaking, she didn't rush to continue. Instead, she gave them time to think before saying, "Today, based on these three debaters, we will have a first debate! Who would like to go first?"

"The students are willing to be the ones to start the discussion!"

A handsome young man in his early twenties stood up and bowed confidently.

Hu Yuan smiled and nodded, indicating that he should express his opinion.

"Student Hu's three arguments were thought-provoking. He believed that the imperial court should not make anything a state monopoly. Take salt, for example. Since the Han Dynasty, not all dynasties have made salt a state monopoly."

The government's monopoly on salt was abolished during the reign of Emperor Gaozong of Tang, which paved the way for the later prosperous Kaiyuan era.

In the early Tang Dynasty, everything was in disarray and the court was short of money, so the government-run salt monopoly was not wrong. Later, when the country was at peace and the court became wealthy, the government-run salt monopoly was abolished, returning the benefits to the people.

However, the salt industry has remained state-run until now, yet the price of salt has continued to rise, causing immense suffering to the people.

If the government monopoly on salt could be abolished, the price of salt would surely fall, and the people would be grateful to the court and the officials!

After he finished speaking, he bowed and said, "These are just some of my humble opinions!"

"Please sit down!"

Hu Yuan did not make any comments. After letting him sit down, she let others speak.

Once someone took the lead, the crowd's emotions were stirred up, and people one after another stood up to express their opinions.

Some people support it, some oppose it, but the majority support abolishing the monopoly.

"The students believed that salt, iron, tea, and horse trade must be state-run!"

Guan Yan stood up and said, "The taxes of this dynasty are not high. It is precisely because of the income brought to the court by tea, horses, salt and iron that the court has enough money and grain to support the soldiers and the people, without having to increase taxes on the people!"

If government-run businesses are abolished, the court's revenue will be insufficient to cover normal expenses, and taxes will have to be increased. What benefit will this bring to the people?

"Okay, sit down."

Hu Yuan nodded noncommittally, and seeing that no one else spoke, she looked at Zhou An and said, "Huai De, why are you not saying anything?"

"Sir, I haven't thought it through yet," Zhou An said, bowing.

"It's alright!"

Hu Yuan waved her hand and said, "Just say whatever you want."

Zhou An knew he couldn't avoid it, so he could only say, "I've heard from my classmates that some people say the court shouldn't compete with the people for profit, while others say that since ancient times, agriculture has been valued and commerce suppressed, and that government-run businesses are essentially engaging in commerce, which violates the national policy of valuing agriculture and suppressing commerce since ancient times."

The students were full of questions. If the policy was to prioritize agriculture and suppress commerce, why was it to abolish government-run businesses?

Does abolishing the government monopoly mean that ordinary people can harvest and sell salt?

If so, would the people who harvest and sell salt still be considered commoners?

"That's not what we meant!"

The young man who spoke first stood up and retorted: "The government runs the salt monopoly, and the price of salt is fixed. If merchants operate the salt business, there will be competition, which will naturally lower the price, and the people will benefit from it."

The policy of prioritizing agriculture and suppressing commerce did not mean prohibiting commerce altogether. Merchants selling salt were required to pay taxes to the imperial court, and this did not affect the court's revenue!

"I don't know anything about business, but I do understand the most basic principles."

Zhou An shook his head and said, "Let's say the imperial court earns five coins per pound of salt. After the government monopoly is abolished, salt merchants lower the price and only earn two coins."

One coin was used to pay taxes, the salt merchants made a profit of one coin, and the price of salt for ordinary people decreased by three coins.

The imperial court originally earned five coins per pound of salt, but now it's only one coin. How can this not affect the court's revenue?