Tan Guihuang said: "If the world is peaceful, you can have no worries about food and clothing just by drying salt." He said that in fact, this salt farm can produce more than 1,000 taels of salt every year, and the salt merchants in Guanglei Prefecture have to collect hundreds of taels every year.

"What about Weishenme?" Wang Luobin felt strange that for salt merchants, it was not a problem who bought salt in anyone's hands, and Weishenme Gou big households occupied the salt works but did not allow old customers to buy salt.

"His family has a salt store in Qiongshan, and all the salt is transported to Qiongshan." Tan Guihuang sighed, "He has his own way to sell salt to the mainland, where does he care about the merchants from Leizhou." ”

It seems that there is also an element of collusion between officials and businessmen. However, everyone doesn't understand what the salt law of the Ming Dynasty was, and they can't figure out where the key is.

"As long as there is salt, are you afraid that you will have no food and clothes?" Xi Yaya waved his hand, "The salt merchants on the mainland are all very rich, is it difficult for us to have a worry-free relationship with salt and food?" ”

Tan Chengqing suddenly turned silent in joy, and sighed softly, "I'm just afraid that the salt won't be able to keep it if it comes out." ”

"I'm not afraid!" Xi Yaya said with confidence, "With us here, do you know this firearm?" He weighed the SKS rifle beside him, the blue gun steel was faintly glowing in the kerosene lamp, "The hundreds of villagers in Huangjiazhai are still finished, and they are still afraid of a few bastards who bully the soft and are afraid of the hard?" ”

"But what about you? It's even worse. Tan Chengqing was obviously worried about the future, "The government said that you are pirates, and you say that you are a maritime merchant." Whether it's a pirate or a maritime merchant, you can't stay in Lingao for a lifetime, you have an iron ship and a fast gun, just leave. Gou Dahu can be connected with the government-" Then he recounted in detail the past when Gou Dahu occupied the salt works, and his expression increased his disappointment. He emphatically recounted that the clerks and officials in the yamen had all benefited from it, and they helped the big families to oppress them, and they couldn't find a place to reason.

Xi Yaya nodded and asked, "How many people are in the Gou family?" ”

"There are two big families in his family." Tan Guihuang is obviously more familiar with the local situation than his son. This Gou family originally had two brothers. In the countryside is the Gou family, who has more than 100 evil servants at home, and some of them are outlaws who fled from the mainland, and they are very fierce. Gou Er moved to the county seat because of his son's birth, specializing in transportation to the government and taking care of the lawsuit. These two families collude with each other and act like local tyrants.

"How many people were there in your village at that time?"

"At that time, there were still many people in the village, more than 300 families."

"Three or four hundred households, Ding Zhuang must have three or four hundred people, right?" Xi Yaya said, "You three or four hundred Ding Zhuang, just watching people dominate your industry? ”

The two men present blushed and lowered their heads. At this time, I suddenly heard a crisp female voice: "It's not everyone's fault!" It's all made up by the government. ”

Everyone saw that it was the girl dressed as a man, and when they saw that everyone was paying attention to her, they realized that they had forgotten the identity of a woman dressed as a man, and they were so anxious that they got up and wanted to flee outside.

Du Wen was busy beside her to comfort her, unable to speak, just smiling and holding her hand. With the same sex on her side, the girl quieted down, and her face was flushed without being stained black by the pot ash.

"You're Qin, aren't you? The daughter of the village chief. Xi Ya said, taking a fruit candy and giving it to her, "Don't be afraid, we already knew you were a girl." ”

Tan Guihuang accompanied the smiling face: "She is indeed my brother's child, although she is a girl, she is a lone seedling." Her father is a baby, and the boss won't tell her about people-"

In fact, this girl is only seventeen or eighteen years old, but in the era of early marriage and early childbearing, it is indeed too late. The girl refused to accept the fruit candy, but ran over to Xi Yaya and knelt down, prostrated repeatedly, and begged him to help save her father and fathers.

Du Wen hurriedly came over and pulled her up, regardless of whether people understood it or not, she muttered something about the equality of men and women, making Zhang Xingjiao's face flush with anger, and he simply didn't turn a word.

"Xiaoqin, don't worry, the villagers who were taken away, we will definitely help you get them back." Where was Xi Yaya willing to give up the occasion of showing his heroism in front of the girls, and patted his chest with an extremely reliable expression, "Just talk about the affairs of this official mansion." ”

It turned out that in the forty-fifth year of Wanli, after the Lingao earthquake, the salt field of Mayuan suffered a lot of losses. The salters sent a special letter to the county government at that time, requesting that the salt tax be exempted or deferred for several years -- although the salt pans were destroyed a lot, the actual production capacity of the salt farms still had a certain surplus. The main reason is that the damage to people and property caused by the earthquake is huge, and it can be recovered in three or four years of respite. But the Gou family had long coveted the salt farm, so they took advantage of this opportunity to let Gou Er discuss with the clerk in the county government who was familiar with him, and bribed the master to detain the submission. Gou Da took the opportunity to take over the salt class, and used many errand thugs to collect the salt class in the salt village every day, and the village was forced to ask him to pay it on his behalf, and since then he has fallen into his grasp step by step. Although the county magistrate later discovered this matter, it was the golden rule that the magistrate should not offend the local wealthy family. Every year, the salt class can be stored normally, and the Gou family continues to have filial piety, so they ignore it.

"In the final analysis, it is the government that supports him." Xi Yaya said, "Right? ”

"Well, with the government backing him, who can do anything to him?" Xiaoqin looked helpless, "Even if he comes alone, we don't dare to do anything." Otherwise, as for those people under him, Brother Cheng Qing can fight three of them. ”

Xi Yaya knew that things were beginning to get to the core - the Gou family's routine was not uncommon, it was nothing more than "collusion between officials and gangsters". Even in the 21st century, a successful person, no matter which road he takes to succeed, there is always the shadow of an official behind him: businessmen want to earn excess profits, and the boss of the underworld wants a safe backer, all of which have to rely on the official figures. Even the more high-ranking intellectuals know that the liliang of the official hat is much stronger than the academic. The Gou family in Lingao County, Daming Dynasty, is nothing more than the same model.

Confronting the government is rebellion. In fact, the common people do not like the government of the past dynasties that ride on their heads -- but the government has strict laws and armies -- in modern terms, it is to master the "machine of violence", whether you like it or not, you have to listen to it. Even if he is a hero in the green forest, he also regards "not fighting officials" as a golden rule.

Asking the common people to confront the government, no matter what form it takes, is tantamount to "rebellion" -- the common people will never embark on this road unless they are cornered. Of course, Xi Yaya was not naïve enough to think that his agitation would make the common people throw their heads and spill their blood to fight the people who crossed the country - his policy was roundabout, perhaps it could be called a curve revolution.

"In the final analysis, the Gou family is so rampant because it relies on two things: raising thugs and colluding with the government." Xi Yaya smiled slightly, "The first one is insignificant, as long as everyone can unite, his little people are not enough to stuff their teeth." The key is the second point, since he can collude with the government, so can we. ”

Several people in Yancun looked at this short-haired "maritime leader" in amazement, probably feeling a little incredible. After a while, Tan Guihuang said cautiously: "The master is also familiar with the characters on the official face? ”

"Not familiar to be honest."

"Then how do you settle the government?"

"You said that the government weishenme wants to hand over a local tyrant like the Gou family?"

"It's not for a few bucks." Tan Chengqing looked disdainful.

"Yes, even if the official covets yellow and white things, he has it, and we have it." As he spoke, he shared his thoughts with the salt farmers.

In fact, Jihua is not complicated: the first is to take back the monopoly of the salt class. The Gou family has this equivalent to an official identity, and if this brand is not smashed, the salt farmers are still terrified. As for how to recapture it, there is no need for the salt people to worry about it, they will handle it.

Once the right to salt is regained, the Gou family will have no legitimate excuse to interfere in the production of the salt farm, and what he has left is nothing more than a bad debt that has been delayed for more than ten years. This kind of usury of the Hades is also understood by Xi Yaya in later generations: as long as the debtor still has a little financial ability, the creditor will never say that you have paid it off. So instead of continuing to repay the unexplained money, simply write it off one by one and completely repay the debt.

Losing the gold-lettered signboard of the salt class, the debt problem is purely a civil dispute, and it is not possible to get involved in the imperial grain and national tax.

After taking back the right to operate the salt farm, he will no longer be exploited by him, the income from the sale of salt is guaranteed, and the "regular money" of the salt department and the county will be paid off as usual, and the government will not lose anything in both public and private aspects, and the use value of the Gou family will be gone, and the government will still take care of them?

"It's not that simple." As soon as Xi Yaya's words fell, Tan Chengqing smiled bitterly, "The Gou family is extremely familiar with the secretary of the third class and six rooms in the county government, and they have been in contact for generations, and they are intertwined. ”

In ancient times, county government was not so much "official rule" as "official rule". Since the Song Dynasty, most of the prefecture and county magistrates have been selected from the imperial examination. The administrative affairs of the prefectures, counties and localities are very cumbersome, and in addition to the cumbersome procedures and basic laws and regulations for all kinds of affairs, there are many precedents that should be cited or can be inferred by analogy. In case something goes wrong or is found by the boss, it will be dismissed at least and reprimanded at worst. At this point, we have to try to find out what has been set in the past to make sure that nothing goes wrong. But what kind of precedents to look for is a science. This is called "the way of officials".

Those who came from the imperial examination can talk about the Tao through the history and strategy, and the poems and Yunzi can memorize them well, but few can touch the doorway of these local administrations -- not to mention the others, just a fish scale booklet, which to outsiders looks like a ghost drawing, but those who can see clearly know that there is the area, location, form, output, tax amount, and the situation of the landlord. Therefore, in order not to make mistakes, or to be troublesome, the officials can only entrust these matters to the secretary office of the third class and six rooms. In ancient times, lowly officials actually held the power of local administration.

Because the officials are often hereditary, they are deeply involved in the local big families, and they are far from being cut off by simple economic means, so Xi Ya's Jihua sounds really idealistic to them.