Chapter 456 - 350, Salt Merchant General Office_2
Chen Ji stared at the stone table, "Since no one is losing out, where do the entrenched problems come from?"
Chen Yu chuckled, "Later, with constant silver mining domestically and an endless influx from overseas, silver became less valuable. At that time, a salt permit was worth four maces of silver. So many years have passed, and the salt permit is still the same price... Do you understand my point?"
Chen Ji understood. Back then, four maces of silver could buy five dan of grain, but now four maces only buy half a dan. The court should have raised the price of a salt permit to four taels long ago, but it’s still priced at four maces.
He frowned and asked, "The court doesn’t care?"
Chen Yu laughed, "The court wants to manage, but disputes arose between the emperor’s family and ministers, causing much trouble. Eventually, both sides compromised, with big salt merchants paying 500,000 taels of silver to cover the court’s deficit. The court got the silver, and salt merchants and officials had hereditary profits. That’s how the ’Gang Register’ of forty-six hereditary big salt merchants came about."
Chen Ji knocked on the table, "But over time, the court still loses."
Chen Yu spread his hands, "If it wasn’t a loss, would it be called ’entrenched problems’?"
Chen Ji pondered in silence. So the first problem the court faces with the salt tax is how to bring the salt permit back to true market value, allowing its price to fluctuate with the market.
At its root, it’s because silver, this ’currency,’ has gradually slipped from the court’s control, and even the court might not know how much silver is circulating among the populace.
Chen Yu shifted the conversation, "The second entrenched salt tax issue is private salt. The official salt production is insufficient for daily use, and salt prices have been rising yearly. Salt merchants initially mixed in ten percent private salt but now dare to mix in sixty percent. The collusion makes it hard to differentiate between private and official salt, making inspections difficult."