The state monopoly on salt industry keeps the price of salt high. The existence of salt tax is originally a kind of exploitation of civilians, which seems really strange to us today, but for the civilians at that time, the price of salt was extremely high when they were born, so naturally it would not be unfair. So salt tax has always been invisible exploitation. In order to completely monopolize the salt industry, the government's sentencing for buying and selling illicit salt is becoming more and more severe. How expensive is salt? According to "Heavenly Creations", the price of ancient official salt was about ten times the cost price. The historical records of salt prices in past dynasties vary greatly. When it is high, one kilogram of salt can be exchanged for 100 kilogram of grain, and when it is low, it can also be exchanged for 20 kilograms of grain. Salt tax revenue accounts for more than half of the national total income, and even when it is small, it can reach more than one fifth.
Salt is not expensive, but once it is monopolized by the state, buying this necessity will increase the burden on civilians. For us modern people, salt is a condiment, but in ancient times, salt was an antiseptic material, a supplement to physical fitness and a necessity for commodity trade. Whether it is salted fish by the sea, cheese on the grassland or dried meat in the hinterland of the Central Plains, it must be processed before it can be transported to other places. This process must be without salt. Without salt, not only is the diet not delicious enough, but it will also affect health and trade in goods everywhere. Poor working people can't eat salt, so they have to find another way.
Although it was illegal to sell illicit salt in past dynasties, the government monopoly forced private salt organizations to take risks and sell them to the people. Private salt is generally rougher than official salt, but the price is much cheaper.
Before the Qing Dynasty, China's salt-making technology was still relatively backward. Boiling salt and frying salt are commonly used. In terms of cost, cooking salt requires fuel and labor costs, and there is a huge iron pot. The loss of edible salt on the iron pot is also great. In short, the consumption of salt production was still very large at that time. During the Qianlong period of Qing Dynasty, the population of China had exceeded 300 million, and the demand for salt suddenly rose. However, the government still follows the salt tax system of past dynasties and controls the production and trade of salt. At this time, the salt-making technology has made a qualitative leap, and people have developed from boiling salt in a pot to drying salt. Therefore, because of the reduction of labor costs, the rapid increase of output, the improvement of quality and the decline of the price of private salt, the sales of private salt have a great market. According to the statistics of salt industry experts, in the Qing Dynasty, the illegal salt in China occupied almost half of the country, and the more it was banned, the more active it became.
The higher the price of official salt, the more serious the blow to private salt, which also means that the more benefits those vendors who sell private salt against the wind earn. This month, millions of transactions were completed at the tip of the knife. Once caught, they will be beheaded or exiled. In the Five Dynasties, selling illicit salt was immediately executed; In the Song Dynasty, as long as it sold for more than 10 Jin, it was beheaded directly. Selling illicit salt is against the gray industry of the imperial court. These people not only have the courage but also have a plan. When they grow bigger, they can develop into big enterprises. For example, before the uprisings in Huang Chao and Wang Xianzhi in the Tang Dynasty, they actually got rich by selling illicit salt. Only after accumulating certain wealth and personnel can we have the courage to oppose the Tang Dynasty.