Chapter 991 - 830: Central Bank

When Wang Dequan arrived at Sanshan Street, it was already so crowded with people scrambling for the Jia Ticket that not even a drop could squeeze through.

The Wang Family Store Manager was awe-struck: "Why are there so many people?"

Wang Dequan said expressionlessly: "Because this Jia Ticket is anchored in salt profits, and because us Eight Great Merchants single-handedly pushed the Huguang Salt Token to this price."

He tiptoed to look inside, but no matter what, he couldn’t see the Salt Exchange, only hearing someone loudly shouting: "Don’t rush, don’t rush, everyone will be able to buy!"

Wang Dequan paced back and forth outside the crowd anxiously, calculating strategies in his mind, while the Wang Family Store Manager asked curiously: "Shopkeeper, isn’t this just a place to sell salt tokens? They’re doing their business, we’re doing ours; shouldn’t it pose no conflict?"

Wang Dequan glared at him fiercely: "How did a fool like you become the Store Manager?"

The Wang Family Store Manager was taken aback: "What?"

Wang Dequan leaned closer and whispered: "Do you know what the foundation of us Eight Great Merchants standing firm in Jiangnan is?"

The Wang Family Store Manager hesitated: "Salt?"

Wang Dequan laughed in anger: "Salt your mother’s leg! The Eight Great Merchants stand firm because the court needs us Eight Great Merchants! Years ago, when the court needed silver but couldn’t gather it, the Grand Secretary came up with an idea, selling salt tokens in advance to exchange for silver. Though the idea was good, there was no salt merchant among the hundreds in Jiangnan who could come up with so much silver at once. Only us eight families, pieced it together like those idle men in the teahouse sharing silver, gathered the silver the court lacked."

Wang Dequan continued: "Later, the court issued the Gang Register to us eight families to monopolize the salt industry—both as a reward and to ensure we could come up with such a large amount of silver annually. As long as the court needs to use us Eight Great Merchants to gather silver, we will always be the Eight Great Merchants, without having to care for the faces of Prince Fu or the Crown Prince."

The Wang Family Store Manager hesitated: "What does this have to do with the Salt Exchange?"

Wang Dequan angrily rebuked: "Pack your bags and get back to your hometown in Changzhou tomorrow! Do you think the court couldn’t cancel the Gang Register over the years because every year the gap of several million taels could only be filled by us Eight Great Merchants? But can’t you see how crowded Sanshan Street is? The court can gather silver using this lousy Jia Ticket in the future, not needing us Eight Great Merchants! If the court doesn’t need us anymore, will we still be the Eight Great Merchants? Staying alive would be the best outcome!"

Upon saying this, Wang Dequan’s expression was indeterminate, "Who in the Zhang family is presiding over this matter? Such a sinister move, aiming first to uproot the lifeblood of us Eight Great Merchants?"

The Store Manager stammered in fear: "But the Zhang Family only has ninety thousand tokens, even if all sold, how much silver can it exchange for?"

Wang Dequan casually grabbed a commoner who had just squeezed out of Sanshan Street and snatched the Jia Ticket from his hand. The ticket bore the words "Commissioned by Inner Court Treasure Paper Department to deliver tickets for salt, levy the dues as per regulations."

The ticket stated: "Use this ticket to complete dues for the silver at the market, obtain the ticket to purchase salt, weighing twenty pounds, transported for sale in Changsha Prefecture. Upon obtaining the ticket, the vendor must retain custody of it, accompanying the salt. Checkpoints shall inspect along the way; ticket and salt must not part; having salt without a ticket will be judged as illegal salt, seized and handed over to officials..."

Wang Dequan waved the salt ticket, slapping the Wang Family Store Manager’s face vigorously: "This is why they didn’t directly sell the salt tokens, but issued this lousy Jia Ticket! They claim to divide the salt token into ten parts, but nowhere on the Jia Ticket does it say which salt token was divided into this Jia Ticket. Isn’t it just them issuing as many Jia Tickets as they desire? Do you know how many Jia Tickets they’ve sold? Only they know! Even if issuing nine hundred thousand tickets, it’s their decision!"

Wang Dequan tore the salt ticket into pieces: "With the five hundred taels from the Sea Trade Tariff, combined with this Huguang Jia Ticket, if they sell for three million taels a year, the court doesn’t need us anymore. We can all wait for our demise together!"

The man whose salt ticket was seized became anxious: "I worked hard to acquire that salt ticket; why did you tear it?"

The Wang Family Store Manager hurriedly threw a piece of broken silver: "Get out!"

He turned back to Wang Dequan: "Landlord, I feel their scheme might not last long."

Wang Dequan suddenly turned his head to look: "How so?"

The Wang Family Store Manager leaned closer: "Look, the court earned three million taels from selling Jia Tickets this year, but next year they have to return three million taels to the people. By then, the court would’ve spent the silver and won’t be able to return it to the people, wouldn’t that cause the business to fail... it’s just a one-time deal."

Wang Dequan pushed the Store Manager’s face away in frustration: "How did your pig brain grow? They’ve left an opening for illegal salt; didn’t you see the Jia Ticket stated, without a Jia Ticket the salt is illegal... what does this mean? It means whoever possesses the Jia Ticket, the salt they have is official salt! By then, all the illegal salt Huang Que possesses will become official salt. The court sells three million Jia Tickets this year, at least two million are consumed in Huguang, once salt merchants use the tickets, how will they sell them back?"

The Wang Family Store Manager frowned: "Salt tokens are selling for eight silver taels; how much salt profit will remain?"

At this point, Wang Dequan murmured to himself: "The world believes that us Eight Great Merchants earn silver easily, but official salt transported to Hu-Guang requires greasing all the wheels. We salt merchants visit salt works to receive salt, if we don’t pay ’common practice,’ salt works might withhold good salt, mix with sand, delay release, shortchange weights; or during the birthdays of Lianghuai Director of Salt Transport, Prefect, Judge, Salt Inspection Imperial Censor, we have to send lavish gifts... At least half the profit per pound of salt is taken by those officials!"

Wang Dequan lamented: "The profit from official salt is only eight silver taels, but illegal salt yields sixteen silver taels; official salt loses its way, while illegal salt merchants no longer have to worry about losing their heads, they are quite pleased. As for the five percent silver profit, it’s negligible. These years the silver from foreign vassals flows continuously from overseas to our dynasty, money becomes increasingly worthless, what’s the value of a five percent silver profit per year?"

The Wang Family Store Manager nodded: "So the court reclaimed the silver that should’ve been earned by officials and us."

Wang Dequan looked at the bustling crowd and muttered to himself, "Such a big matter cannot proceed without the Emperor’s consent. The Poison Minister of Jiefan Building wouldn’t have such guts either... That Jin Zhu has been missing for over half a month, probably because he quickly returned to the Imperial Capital to meet the Emperor, received His Majesty’s approval, and then returned to Jiangnan! Now it’s just a test in Huguang. If this tactic works, the court will completely abolish the gang register of Wo Ben!"

...

...

At this time, more people were continuously flocking to Sanshan Street.

Wang Dequan was about to leave, but suddenly stopped: "Wait a moment..."

The Store Manager cautiously asked, "What’s wrong, Landlord?"

Wang Dequan muttered to himself, "This move not only hits us, the Eight Great Merchants, but also the Ministry of Revenue of the Chen family... Now, with the salt permit dismantled, even the Ministry of Revenue doesn’t know how many Jia Tickets the Inner Court has issued, and the silver won’t reach the Ministry of Revenue’s hands. Previously, the Ministry of Revenue managed both salt tax and grain tax, now there’s only the right hand left."

In the past, salt permits had to be withdrawn from the Ministry of Revenue, and the court decided how many salt permits to issue, how much silver to collect, and how to use the silver, all controlled by the Ministry of Revenue.

The silver was transported back to the Imperial Capital. Before Emperor Ning could decide how to use it, the Ministry of Revenue had already set the budget for next year. Now with these Jia Tickets and the silver they collect, they don’t need to go through the Ministry of Revenue, the Inner Court can decide for itself.

No sooner had he said it than another man squeezed out of the crowd, holding a ticket in his hand and saying to his companion, "I got it, B Ticket!"

Wang Dequan’s vision darkened: "Of course, if there’s a Jia Ticket, there should be a B Ticket, but what is this B Ticket about?"

The Store Manager pulled the man over and asked, "What’s the B Ticket about?"

The man replied excitedly, "The Jia Ticket splits one permit into ten tickets, but the B Ticket bundles ten permits into one ticket, priced at eighty taels of silver. The high officials at the Treasure Paper Bureau said that salt permit exchanges will open north and south of the Yangtze River, and at that time, a B Ticket from Jiangnan can be cashed for eighty taels of silver in the Imperial Capital at any moment, with a monthly interest rate of four per mille."

The Wang Family Store Manager exclaimed, "Isn’t this the Buddhist Treasure?"

The man glanced at him, "The Buddhist Treasure doesn’t give monthly interest."

Laughter erupted nearby, and the Wang Family Store Manager turned to look at Wang Dequan, "Why is the Landlord laughing?"

"This isn’t a B Ticket? It’s a silver note!" Wang Dequan shook his head with a bitter smile, "This Zhang family first used the Jia Tickets to cut off the Eight Great Merchants’ salt trade profits and undermined the Ministry of Revenue’s salt tax authority. Then they used B Tickets to disrupt the Buddhist Sect’s business. In the future, people won’t need the Buddhist Treasure to do business, nor will they need to withdraw silver, they can just trade B Tickets. This isn’t just about a few million taels of silver, it’s likely tens of millions of taels are circulating through this Treasure Paper Bureau, making His Majesty the richest Emperor in Ning Dynasty."

Wang Dequan looked at the lively crowd before him and suddenly sighed, "I’m now in the same boat with the Xu Family. You think people are waiting to consult and decide the winner with you, but in fact, they’re targeting the Sea Trade Tariff. We thought they were here to take the Huguang salt industry’s share, but in reality, they don’t even care about us. Compared to this business, Huguang’s salt tax is nothing."

At this moment, a man brushed past him in a hurry, accidentally bumping Wang Dequan and causing him to stagger.

The Store Manager quickly helped Wang Dequan to his feet, "Are you alright, Landlord?"

Wang Dequan stood upright and looked at the bustling scene before him, speaking in a deep voice, "Everyone loves to join the excitement, fine, I’ll throw all my salt permits and lower the price to two taels, one tael, let’s see if you still want to join the excitement!"

Having said that, Wang Dequan started walking away, "Let’s go, back to the government office!"

Upon reaching the carriage, Wang Dequan stepped up and got inside, but the Store Manager stood outside, hesitant to move.

He lifted the curtain again, stuck his head out, and stared at the Store Manager impatiently, "Why aren’t you getting in the carriage?"

The Store Manager hesitated, "Didn’t you tell me..."

Wang Dequan, filled with anger, laughed bitterly, "I told you to pack your bags tomorrow, not today!"

The carriage rocked and swayed over the cobblestone road, Wang Dequan sat inside with his chest heaving, eyes closed in thought for a strategy. But before they reached the government office, a whiff of smoke suddenly drifted into the carriage.

The Store Manager lifted the curtain and exclaimed in shock, "Landlord, the government office is on fire!"