New Shun 1730

One disadvantage of salt production: the method of extracting brine is to spread ash and sprinkle brine. The method of obtaining salt is to boil grass and wood.

This method requires 100 dan of ash for each side of the field to extract brine. And to boil a pot of salt, several dan of firewood is also needed.

For salt production, this is a disadvantage because the cost is too high.

But on the other hand.

The grass ash used to extract brine and the firewood used to boil salt both require a large amount of grassland and forestry to maintain, which also proves that Huainan has a large amount of land that can be reclaimed.

And each side of the field requires 100 dan of grass ash, which means that a salt field needs at least 600 mu of firewood and grass to maintain operation.

There are patrol halls in Funing and other places, and officers and soldiers need to patrol every year to ensure that these salt-boiling grasslands are not reclaimed. This also makes these grasslands no longer saline-alkali land after years of grass and wood growth.

This is exactly where reclamation is beneficial.

The second disadvantage of salt production: salt households suffer, salt merchants squeeze, and many escapees.

Your Majesty is very sharp-eyed and must know the suffering of salt households.

Take a salt field 130 miles south of Funing as an example. 750 salt households were recruited two years ago. After the flood and the oppression of salt merchants, only 80 households have fled. Recruitment will be re-enlisted this year.

The suffering of salt households is really telling. However, as salt households, they cannot go to Southeast Asia, and they are under the supervision of the Patrol Office and cannot reclaim the land. Salt merchants are treacherous and deduct a lot. How can they not suffer?

These are all disadvantages, and the people are tired and resentful.

But look at it the other way around.

These disadvantages have become good things.

For example, the most difficult thing to change in the grain transport is the food and clothing of millions of grain transport workers.

There are also tens of thousands of people in Huainan who make a living by boiling salt, but they are different from grain transport workers.

The grain transport workers have been replaced, and they can only rely on the court to provide them with food and clothing and live a stable life.

In addition to the lower-level canal workers, there are also some canal workers who have the benefits of smuggling and carrying, which makes them unwilling to abandon the canal and cut off their livelihood.

That is: the canal workers are unwilling to abandon the canal, but the court forcibly abolishes it.

But for the salt households, their attitude towards salting and reclaiming wasteland is not opposed to salting and reclaiming wasteland because of the oppression of salt merchants, natural disasters, and the inability to reclaim wasteland.

On the contrary, they are very supportive of salting and reclaiming wasteland.

That is: the salt households want to abandon salt and reclaim wasteland, but the court forcibly refuses.

Because they lived too hard before, these disadvantages are now the benefits of reform.

And because the old way of taking brine and boiling brine requires a lot of grassland, in fact, each salt household has the right to use a lot of land.

A salt field requires at least 600 acres of grassland to provide them with brine and salt boiling.

If these grasslands are converted into shares for reclamation, even if they are forcibly converted at one tael per acre, each person will get hundreds of taels.

How can they not be willing to go to salt and reclaim wasteland?

It benefits both the people and the country.

Three disadvantages of salt industry: Huainan has heavy rains and rain and heat occur at the same time.

According to the measurements of the Academy of Sciences for three consecutive years, the average annual precipitation in Funing is 2 feet and 9 inches; in Nantong Prefecture, the annual precipitation is 3 feet and 3 inches... and more than 60% of the annual rainfall is concentrated in May, June and July every year.

May, June and July are the hottest months in Huainan.

The concentrated rain and the simultaneous rain and heat make the brine content in the ground lower day by day.

If the rain is not concentrated and the rain and heat are not in the same period, it will cause salt to rise in hot days, which will increase the brine content in the ground.

Because Huainan has heavy rains, the brine becomes thinner day by day, and the rain and heat occur at the same time, it is very unfavorable for the development of salt industry.

However, on the contrary.

Because Huainan has heavy rains, the brine becomes thinner day by day, and the rain and heat occur at the same time, it is very beneficial for the development of reclamation in Huainan.

For reclamation, it is best to have rain and heat at the same time. Your Majesty is wise and wise, and there is no need for me to say the reason.

The fourth disadvantage of salt production: the impact of the Yellow River and the Huai River, the extension of the coast, the accumulation of soil, and the dilution of the brine.

In the Song Dynasty, the place where the Huai River entered the sea was at Yunti Pass. Today's Yunti Pass is 120 miles away from the sea.

Because the Yellow River and the Huai River entered the sea, the seawater was dilute and not suitable for direct extraction of brine and salt boiling. Therefore, there was the method of spreading ash and soaking brine.

It is necessary to find special saline-alkali land and rely on the salt in the land to extract brine.

In recent years, the impact has increased and the extension has become farther and farther, making it more difficult for seawater to penetrate, and the brine has become more and more dilution.

However, the salt boiling method has to use a lot of firewood. Although the sea water is receding, it is impossible to follow the sea water every year. It is also necessary to consider whether the firewood and grass can keep up.

Salt officials are also very rigid. Even though the brine has become dilute, they are not allowed to change their jobs. The rigidity of the salt administration officials is helpless, because once they are caught, they will die, and once they are released, there will be chaos. Once the court relaxes its grip but does not specifically control them, there will soon be gentry who will occupy grasslands and reclaim wasteland.

It is not necessary for the court to make up its mind to completely abandon the Huainan salt industry. The overall planning of reclamation is also conducive to the implementation of a one-size-fits-all policy. This dynasty can only implement a one-size-fits-all policy, and more flexible means cannot be expected from officials.

From the perspective of salt development, the sea water is receding, the silt is rising, and the brine is becoming less and less. These are all disadvantages of the salt industry.

But look at it the other way around.

The sea water is receding, the silt is rising, and the brine is becoming less and less. These are all great benefits of reclamation.

The sea water is receding, and there is no need to worry about the backflow of sea water on the cultivated land in the future.

The silt is rising, and there is no need to worry about the sea water infiltrating the land underground in the future, causing the land in northern Jiangsu to turn salty.

... I am sorry that I cannot list all the two-sided theories of these things one by one. In addition to the memorials, there are also books to state them.

If Your Majesty wants to abolish salt and develop land, is it feasible?

The brine in the ground is getting thinner and thinner. How thin should it be before it is suitable for land reclamation?

These cannot be determined with a general statement, I also have data.

According to calculations by the Academy of Sciences.

The salt content of ground brine is below 0.385%, which is not only harmless to cotton growth, but also greatly beneficial.

At 0.385% to 1.09%, cotton does not grow well, but reeds, thatches and solid-fertilizer golden lilies can grow luxuriantly.

At 1.09% to 2.62%, salt wormwood can also grow.

The Yellow River is the northern boundary, Nantong Prefecture is the southern boundary, Fanggongdi is the western boundary, and the sea is the eastern boundary.

Based on a salt content of 2.62%, there are approximately 6.5 million acres of reclaimable wasteland.

With the construction of the Huaihe River and the improvement of water conservancy, there are still about 2 million acres of wasteland that can be reclaimed.

What method of reclaiming the 8 million acres of wasteland south of the Yellow River is most beneficial to the country and the people?

Please imitate the story of Ezo, enter the market with capital, and enclose land to reclaim wasteland.

Capital entry has four benefits.

One benefit:

Abundant capital is beyond the reach of small farmers.

If small farmers reclaim wasteland, they can only cultivate land with a salinity content of 0.385%. Once it is higher than this, the land cannot be cultivated due to salinity.

Not so with capital.

After the capital enclosed the land, the land was divided into three parts according to the example of 1:1:2.

Cotton is grown in one land, fodder grass is grown in the second land, and saltwormwood is grown in the third land.

Covering the ground with salt wormwood can avoid salt backlash; fertilizing fields with wormwood can improve soil quality; raising cattle and sheep with forage can produce manure.

In this way, we will not be able to farm all the land for three years and end up going bankrupt and running away.

The second benefit:

Small farmers are cultivating wasteland and cannot build water conservancy projects, build seawalls, or improve soil.

Not so with capital.

After capital enclosed the land, in order to benefit from the land, it had to build water conservancy projects to irrigate the fields and remove salt, and build seawalls to protect the fields and soil.

The small farmers are not unwilling, but they are really unable to do so.

The third benefit:

Small farmers reclaim wasteland and grow food to first fill their bellies. However, the price of food is getting lower day by day, and rice whales and sea wheat are pouring in from the South Sea. The price of rice is getting lower and lower in coastal areas, but there is no shortage of rice.

If capital is used to reclaim land, other crops can be grown according to market needs.

Nowadays, with the development of maritime trade, Songjiang cotton is selling well and there is a shortage of cotton.

However, cotton prices are volatile, sometimes high and sometimes low, and are beyond the reach of small farmers. Regardless of cotton planting, soil conservation, or cotton picking, these are all beyond the reach of small farmers.

Not so with capital.

If you have strong capital, you don't have to worry about bankruptcy. If you lose money on cotton planting this year, you will make money next year. On average, you will still make money after all.

Affordable.

And if a small farmer loses money this year, even if he makes money next year, he can only sell his land to survive. How can he wait until next year?

If the capital is strong, the average annual return can be calculated.

However, small farmers have insufficient capital and are not eligible to calculate average annual returns.

Even if small farmers understand the simple truth, if something becomes cheap, everyone will plant less. As long as they persist in planting, there will be a day when it becomes valuable, and then they will make back all they have lost before.

The problem is that even if the small farmers of this dynasty understand this principle, they do not have the ability to participate in it.

All they can think about is whether they will go hungry this year. Even if cotton is cheap this year, they are not qualified to consider it. If it is cheap this year, will it be expensive next year? They can only consider that if they lose money on cotton planting this year and owe a lot of debt, they should quickly sell the land to repay the money or borrow loan sharks.

The fourth benefit:

If Your Majesty decides to use waste salt to cultivate land, the capital of the two Huaihe salt merchants will no longer be able to enter the salt industry.

There is a lot of capital and there is no salt industry to invest in. These capitals need to find a way out.

Either lending money at usury, buying land, or pawning, such mergers will inevitably be heavy.

If the land is developed with capital, the capital of the two Huai salt merchants can also enter the field. If one enters the field for reclamation, fewer people will invest in buying land, and mergers and acquisitions will be easier.

It seems to be promoting capital, but in fact it is protecting small farmers.

When the two Huaihe Rivers are successfully reclaimed, the profits from land reclamation capital can also be invested in textiles, cotton cloth, cashmere, etc.

When industry and commerce prosper, the landless people will have jobs to survive and will not become refugees. This will ensure the longevity of the country.

... I have already stated the above disadvantages of salt and the advantages of cultivation.

If Your Majesty decides on the strategy of using up waste salt to develop land reclamation, it will be a five-year plan.

In May of the first year of Weixin: Reform the salt policy and abolish the Yinxing vote.

In June of the first year of Weixin: the right to reclaim wasteland was granted, the enclosed land was surveyed, and the salt field was not moved at first. Attract capital and undertake the Huaibei Sun Salt Corporation.

October of the first year of Weixin: absorb capital, build Xuzhou's Haizhou transportation, open water and land routes, and prepare for coal transportation.

In the second year of Weixin: the Xiangchu Salt District was changed to the ownership of Sichuan Salt, Kuizhou Salt, and Huaibei Salt. The second phase of the Huaihe River repair project. The Huaibei Salt Farm developed the salt-drying method, used steam engines to extract brine, etc., and built Haizhou Port.

In the third year of Weixin: Xingchuan Nanjing Salt was built and the Three Gorges Waterway was completed. Build new seawalls.

In the fourth year of Weixin: the Xiangchu salt area was taken over and owned by Sichuan Salt. The salt from Huaibei entered Huainan, and Huainan abandoned the salt and started farming.

In the fifth year of Weixin: Huainan's wasteland was surveyed, land enclosure licenses were issued, reclamation companies were established, Huainan was reclaimed, and pastures and forest farms were opened up.

In this way, five years later, the shortcomings of the two Huaihe Rivers will be solved. The new tax levy will be no less than one million. The number of refugees admitted is no less than 300,000.

The minister's term of five years will restore the prosperity of the two Huaihe rivers for Your Majesty.