Chapter 17 Industrial Reform: Casting Coins, Salt and Iron, and Brewing

As far as industrial reform is concerned, the first thing to do is, of course, cut off from the most lucrative places. Therefore, several manufacturing industries related to resource monopoly-casting money, boiling salt, iron smelting and wine making have been nationalized one after another. Nearly a hundred years in the early Han Dynasty, the folks had the right to cast copper coins. The largest money suppliers in Wenjingshi were Wu Wang Liu Bi in the east and Deng Tong in the west. rich.Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty started the reform of the currency system from the first year of his ascension to the throne, and changed it six times during his reign. By 119 BC, he thought the time was ripe, so he promulgated the "Decree on the Death of Those Who Steal Coins" to put an end to it. The old custom of casting money among the people was broken.In 118 BC, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty abolished all old coins and recast five baht coins. This kind of small copper coin is round on the outside and square on the inside, symbolizing the heaven and earth. hole square form.The five baht coin has been used for 740 years and was not abolished until the Tang Dynasty. It is the copper coin with the largest number and the longest time in Chinese history.Copper and silver were used together for a long time in Chinese history. Until the late Qing Dynasty, most of the silver ingots or silver dollars used to pay taxes or complete large-scale trans-provincial transactions were supplied by private individuals. Government casting.

In the monopoly of the salt industry, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty implemented the method Guan Zhong used in the past: recruiting the people to cook salt, and the government monopolized it.People apply to the government to register as salt households, and the salt households will bear all the expenses for cooking salt. The government provides iron pots for boiling salt - "lao pots", and the boiled salt is completely purchased by the government.There are 35 national salt industry management agencies.The contribution of the salt industry monopoly to the country's fiscal revenue is huge. According to calculations, the average salt per person per month at that time was about three liters (ancient system), which was a huge and stable demand market with a population of 50 million. During the Song and Yuan Dynasties The famous historian Hu Sanxing believed in the note that the benefits obtained by Emperor Wu through the salt industry monopoly accounted for about half of the fiscal revenue.Since then, the scene of "Yong Rao Zu" has appeared in the court again.

The iron industry is completely monopolized by the government. According to regulations, iron officials are set up in all counties that produce iron, and even small iron officials are set up at the county level in counties that do not produce iron. Sales are all in the charge of iron officials.There are 48 national iron industry management agencies.After the promulgation of this decree, folks are no longer allowed to smelt iron without authorization, let alone sell it privately. Those who violate the decree must wear a six-jin iron lock on their left foot and confiscate their utensils.This policy is different from Guan Zhong's. The government not only monopolizes sales and pricing power, but also directly enters the manufacturing process.In the history of the country, from the Qin and Han Dynasties to the Ming and Qing Dynasties, there were many ways for the state to obtain franchise income through resource monopoly. Most of them adopted policies such as resource license authorization and control of sales channels, directly entered the manufacturing process, and implemented a comprehensive control of "production, production and sales". Not many, this is a typical one, and today's so-called "central enterprises" should be born out of this.

Another industry that has been controlled by franchises is the wine industry.China's winemaking industry has a long history, and its profits are very rich. According to records in "Historical Records Huozhi Biography", if one thousand urns of wine are brewed a year, the investment income is equivalent to the income of the "Thousand Houses" in the Warring States Period or the "Thousand Households" in the Han Dynasty. .Around 98 BC, the government implemented a monopoly on wine.Its method is similar to the salt monopoly. The government provides raw materials such as grain and distiller's yeast for private brewing workshops, and stipulates the brewing varieties and specifications. After production, the government will purchase and sell them uniformly. I won't get any more glutinous rice."According to the calculation of the historian Wu Hui, the franchise income of Jiuqian is very high. For every thousand urns of wine produced, at least 252,000 yuan can be earned. Through unified purchase and sales, another 20% can be obtained. profit.Since then, wine, salt and iron have been called "three questions" side by side, and have become the main industries that the state implements monopoly management.