Chapter 96

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(Thank you to the brothers Wàn Wù Chǐ Dù, Yǔ Tōng Rén, and Èr Liàng 1 for your support, thank you!)

Andong Wang and his group transported salt from the Lianghuai Salt Fields to Eastern Hubei. The official price for each pound of salt was one fen of silver, but that was just the lowest price. Salt prices often rose, sometimes reaching as high as six fen of silver per pound.

But what was the cost they paid to the court for the salt?

The price was eight qian per yin (unit of salt) and a tax rate of five qian and five fen, with one yin being three hundred pounds. Three hundred pounds of salt cost only eight qian for the salt and five qian and five fen for the tax. Even if sold at one fen of silver per pound, it could fetch three liang of silver. The difference was one liang and six qian and five fen. Even with transportation and distribution costs, the profit was still astonishing.

Moreover, these salt merchants often smuggled private salt, buying directly from the salt producers, which lowered their costs and allowed them to evade taxes. After the implementation of the salt quota system, countless people became wealthy, especially the nobles and salt merchants. The rise of merchants from Wenzhou and Yangzhou created many large salt merchants, some of whom were as rich as nations.

A pound of high-quality pork cost only two fen of silver, while a pound of official salt could sell for one fen of silver, sometimes even six fen of silver, equivalent to the price of three pounds of pork. The profit margin was enormous.

In reality, there was no real distinction between official and private salt. Official salt and private salt simply referred to whether the salt had been taxed.

With such high profits from selling salt, everyone was envious. However, due to the monopolistic nature of the salt trade, ordinary merchants could not obtain the right to transport and sell salt. As a result, many people took risks and sold private salt.

Private salt was rampant at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, and the same was true at the end of the Ming Dynasty.

In Qihuang, a pound of official salt cost at least one fen of silver, while private salt cost only one li of silver. One pound of official salt could buy forty pounds of private salt.

Naturally, the people preferred to buy private salt. However, this made those with monopolistic rights unhappy.

Hu Guang invited Liu Jun to dinner today because he had heard about a very capable young man who had emerged in Macheng County. This young man was currently stationed at Tiger Head Pass, guarding the important route of Guanghuang Avenue. He was not only a militia leader but also a patrol inspector, whose duties included cracking down on the sale of private salt and tea.

Many people sold private salt, from small vendors carrying salt on their shoulders to large salt traders transporting it by cart or boat. Some of these traders were even salt merchants with quotas who secretly sold salt in other merchants' territories.

Huguang belonged to the Lianghuai Salt Fields, but salt merchants from the Fujian Salt Fields also sold salt here, as did those from Zhejiang, Hedong, and even Sichuan. The official price for Zhejiang salt in Huguang was only five li of silver per pound, while private salt was one li of silver per pound. Private salt from Fujian could be bought for eight li of silver for ten pounds.

Selling private salt was extremely profitable. It could be said that everyone was selling salt: salt merchants with quotas, salt merchants with quotas but not in their own territories, salt merchants from other salt fields, and various private salt traders. They were all vying for a share of the market.

These people were essentially robbing the legitimate salt merchants of their profits. A popular rumor said that the profit from selling salt was five times the cost and required no effort.

Who wouldn't be tempted by a fivefold profit with no effort? Marx once said, "If there is a 10% profit, capital will ensure its use everywhere; with a 20% profit, capital becomes active; with a 50% profit, capital will take risks; for a 100% profit, capital will dare to trample all human laws; with a 300% profit, capital will dare to commit any crime."

A threefold profit would make anyone commit any crime, let alone a fivefold profit from selling salt.

In the end, the high cost of official salt and the low cost of private salt were mainly due to the rigid management of official salt and the flexible management of private salt. The artificial division of the market by the court also disrupted the normal official salt distribution system, allowing private salt to take over and become widespread. The relaxation of salt prohibitions encouraged many to join the ranks of private salt traders, and the corruption of salt officials further exacerbated the problem, making it impossible for the court to control private salt.

To protect their interests, salt merchants either smuggled large amounts of private salt, thereby evading taxes, or sold private salt themselves in other merchants' territories. Some even established their own private armies to combat private salt traders.

The business of selling official salt by Andong Prince and his group was mainly managed by Andong Prince, who in turn entrusted it to Hu Guang.

Hu Guang became very interested in Liu Jun and his Nine-Headed Bird force after hearing about their rise in Macheng. He collected a lot of useful information about Liu Jun and the Nine-Headed Bird.

Although Hu Guang was a scholar, he admired Liu Jun's ruthless style and hated private salt traders, who not only harmed the interests of the princes but also his own. He had long planned to crack down on these private salt traders, but despite his efforts to build a team, he had not achieved much.

If he could not curb the proliferation of private salt in Qihuang, Hu Guang feared he would lose his good position. He urgently needed to show some results to the princes to prove his value.

Liu Jun gave Hu Guang a glimmer of hope. This young man was ruthless, and his Nine-Headed Bird force was formidable, always winning in battle. If he could help Hu Guang crack down on private salt traders, their cooperation would definitely be effective.

Although Hu Guang was a steward of the prince's household, he did not act arrogantly. He knew that young and ambitious people like Liu Jun valued their reputation. Therefore, he personally came to Tiger Head Pass. He had initially planned to invite Liu Jun to Wuchang, but upon discovering the Red Sleeve Brothel, he decided to book a private room there.

It was already dark, and the Red Sleeve Brothel was lit with red lanterns outside and bright palace lamps inside.

Hu Guang and Shen Man stood at the entrance, chatting idly. Hu Guang wore a Taoist robe and held a folding fan, looking like a scholar. However, he still exuded a different aura.

Shen Man, in her mid-twenties, had eyebrows like a new moon and skin like congealed fat. She wore a green silk dress, a light shawl over her shoulders, and a high bun adorned with a bright red rose.

She stood at the entrance, her every gesture and smile captivating.

Hu Guang was quite moved, thinking that he never expected to find such a beautiful woman in such a rural place. And she was so young and beautiful, yet she was already...

Shen Man was very good at reading people and speaking well. Soon, Hu Guang was completely charmed and began to speak freely.

"Mr. Hu, you don't seem to be from around here. Where are you from?" Shen Man asked in a sweet voice.

"My hometown is in Jiangxi, but I've been in Qizhou for many years," Hu Guang replied with a smile.

"Mr. Hu, you must not have known Lord Liu before coming from Qizhou. Why are you inviting him to dinner?"

"Nothing major, just heard that Lord Liu is a young hero and I admire him greatly, so I came to meet him."

Shen Man rolled her eyes, "Oh, Mr. Hu, you're trying to fool me."

"Then what do you think I'm inviting Lord Liu for?"

"Do I need to ask?" Shen Man raised her eyebrows and giggled, "You must want something from Lord Liu. You came to the Red Sleeve Brothel, didn't look at the girls or listen to the music, but stood here waiting for someone. You must want something from Lord Liu."

Shen Man laughed, and Hu Guang chuckled, "You little vixen, you're quite clever. Guess again, who am I, and what do I want from Lord Liu? If you guess right, I'll be truly impressed and give you ten taels of silver as a reward."

"Only ten taels? I won't bother then."

Hu Guang was quite taken with Shen Man and blurted out, "One hundred taels, if you can guess right."

"That's what you said, Mr. Hu." Shen Man smiled.

"From your speech and demeanor, you must be a scholar, and you must have some official rank, at least a juren."

"Good, guess again."

"But you're not an official."

"Why not?"

"You don't have the cautiousness of an official. I think you must be a trusted aide to a powerful person, either a steward or a secretary. You're not an official, but you have power and influence."

Hu Guang was truly impressed.

"Then what do you think I want from Lord Liu?"

"Definitely to ask him to send troops, right?"

Hu Guang smiled at Shen Man, "Impressive."

"One hundred taels of silver, don't go back on your word."

"Miss Shen, I have a request. If you agree, I won't just give you the one hundred taels, but another one hundred as a reward." Hu Guang looked Shen Man up and down.

"Oh, what is it? Tell me."

"It's quite simple. When Lord Liu arrives, you must entertain him well and make him happy. Even if he asks you to sleep with him, you can't refuse. You must make him happy."

Shen Man's smile didn't change.

"Mr. Hu, you're not considerate. How can you give me to someone else?"

"I wish I could be your guest, but I'm an old man. I should know my limits." Hu Guang laughed.

Shen Man also laughed, "Even if I were willing to sleep with Lord Liu, he might think I'm a faded flower, a woman of the night."

Seeing Shen Man's coy expression, Hu Guang felt a twinge of jealousy. Indeed, pimps love money, and women love handsome men. Just mentioning a handsome young man, she was probably already wet.

"If you can get Liu Jun to sleep with you, I won't let you down. Of course, you must also speak well of me to him."

"I've been retired for years, but since Mr. Hu is so earnest, I'll make an exception. If I fail, I won't ask for a single coin, but if I succeed, you can't go back on your word."

"No problem!" Hu Guang agreed.

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