Tao Zhu
When the Daoguang Emperor came to the throne in 1820, he was alarmed at the outflow of silver to pay for opium. In the years leading up to the Opium Wars fiscal reform became an emotional as well as fiscal issue. In 1832, the emperor appointed the reform-minded official Tao Zhu to head the Lianghuai Salt Administration. Tao immediately ended the Ming franchise system in favor of a relatively open market. He ordered that merchants of good standing could buy salt certificates for a large or small amount of salt which could be retailed wherever the merchant wished. The certificates themselves could be bought and sold. In the short term, however, Tao could not make good on his promises for delivery of salt and revenue, and was forced to retire. Nevertheless, the system had been changed and the bureaucracy of the dynasty showed a greater ability to adapt than later critics gave it credit for.