Cultivation of chastity

Chapter 421 The Benefits of Tea
"Ahem, this is how it happened!" Li Shimin coughed and said,

"Next, is there any government affairs that Zhu Qing needs to continue to explain?"

"Aye, since this matter has been settled, then Qingque will leave first!" Li Tai looked at the crowd and said.

"Please wait, King Wei!" Fang Xuanling called Li Tai to stop at this moment, and then respectfully said to Li Shimin,

"Now that King Wei is in court, I have something to discuss with King Wei in detail."

Hearing this, Li Shimin didn't expect Fang Xuanling to have business with Li Tai, so he calmly said, "Fang Qing, please speak!"

"I want to transfer Chu Suiliang to Beijing to specialize in tea trade, and at the same time, I hope that the imperial court will come forward to specialize in tea trade, and collect tea fields from Yuhang, Guangzhou and other places for the exclusive use of the imperial court, so that the imperial court can control the tea trade!" Fang Xuanling said seriously.

Wei Zheng and Du Ruhui couldn't help being stunned at this moment.

Because they never expected that Fang Xuanling would say such a thing.

Wei Zheng and Du Ruhui didn't know what this was for, and how profitable tea was.

For example, when Gao Jifu came to power, Honglu Temple kicked them out of the north of the Yellow River because Li Shimin expelled the Turks.

"Report to the saint." Fang Xuanling said respectfully to Li Shimin when he heard Li Shimin's words,
"Last year, I discovered that Yuhang's tax revenue had started to increase a lot. Later, after investigation, I discovered that the Jiangnan Agricultural Institute established a tea garden in Yuhang area, and the proceeds from the sales would be handed over to the imperial court as taxes."

Everyone at the scene continued to listen, and Fang Xuanling also continued: "Next, I investigated the matters related to tea.

"Tea tea does have the problem of solving indigestion!" Li Tai looked at Fang Xuanling and looked at himself, nodded and said,

Just like this, Fang Xuanling acquiesced in the interest chain between Honglu Temple, Li Tai, and these small countries.

The relationship between Honglu Temple and Li Tai is naturally unbreakable.

Li Shimin's leading role in this point is that he has done really well. Facing Li Shimin, the generals of different races wished to serve Li Shimin to their death.

Honglu Temple makes money in this economic chain, and at the same time, when these small countries come to the Tang Dynasty to give gifts, if they have a close relationship with Honglu Temple in this industrial chain, Honglu Temple will pay for it to maintain customer relations. Do not add any burden to the court.

I think King Wei is also clear about this! "

At least until now, nothing has happened to Li Tai, Honglu Temple has made money, and the country's operating costs have dropped.

The first thing Gao Jifu did when he took office was to find suitable alien coolies for Li Tai.

This is also normal. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is basically the functional department that has the closest relationship with the strength of the country.

Li Tai didn't want to hide anything about this point. After all, Datang's military ration allocation increased year by year, which was more or less due to Li Tai.

To be honest, King Wei has a good relationship with Honglu Temple and the Ministry of Civil Affairs, which is not a secret in the court.

Even if the crown prince sheltered some Turkic people and let them live in Chang'an, it has nothing to do with Honglu Temple.

The Tang Dynasty, at least during the Zhenguan period, did not impose taxes on merchants. In addition, after merchants became bigger and stronger, they naturally became white gloves for their respective families. It would also become very difficult for the court to collect taxes from them. .

It's just that Honglu Temple is extraordinarily rich because of the trade between Honglu Temple and Li Tai.

Fang Xuanling also knew that Li Tai would never accept his opinion, but it didn't matter, just talk slowly.

Regardless of how many people Honglu Temple brought to Li Tai, Li Tai accepted them as they ordered. Under such circumstances, Honglu Temple and Li Tai had a close and pure money relationship.

After all, it is impossible for this thing to be directly returned to the imperial court. This is not the era when the emperor can get whatever he wants. If the imperial court does this, let alone whether those big and small aristocratic families will be in danger.

Therefore, apart from having a lower status, the merchants in the Tang Dynasty actually lived a very good life.

At first, I just felt that this thing was too lucrative, so Fang Xuanling went to investigate a little bit.

It is found that tea has a very important role in calming the mind and overcoming plateau miasma in Xihai County and other plateau areas.

Generally speaking, if you want to wait for tea to become popular, you have to wait for Lu Yu to write the "Tea Classic" to establish the tea ceremony, and then spread it among special people such as monks and laymen. A drink comparable to alcoholic beverages.

But it will take time to spread it. Li Tai really doesn't know why Fang Xuanling's sense of smell is so sensitive.

After all, for the monarch who killed you in the Han Dynasty, I will give you back a monarch.The target I hit escaped, and I was idle even if I was idle. If the army could not leave empty space, it would wipe out the small country next door to eat melons.

So don't look at Li Tai's layout and establishment of a tea garden first, and then make a name for himself through the game of Luoshui, let people watch the top chess players, drink tea and play chess at the same time, feel the unparalleled elegance, and promote the tea project.

During this process, Datang obtained the political suzerain status and the right to detain the local area, but it would suffer a bit economically, and even some businessmen would come to cheat and make profits.

This is why Fang Xuanling was very upset when he saw Li Tai, and felt that Li Tai was too extravagant.

How should I put it, the six ministries, nine temples and five supervisors of the Tang Dynasty court all had their own small coffers.

After all, all kinds of miscellaneous things are added to the tea, so it is not so much regarded as a drink, but as a health product.

But if it is a big man, it will be different. The debate between Hua and Yi almost runs through the whole big man.

To be honest, things like tea were far less acceptable than alcohol in the early Tang Dynasty.

"En!" Fang Xuanling nodded when he heard Li Tai's words, "What King Wei said is the same as what I found out."

After all, how could the country not make money in a business like the slave trade.

For the Xuefu army, Li Tai tried to improve the logistics of the Xuefu army as much as possible, and this kind of Xuefu army could not be dispatched from the bitter cold of Xihai County to Chang'an, and the salary has dropped instead!

As for how to use Honglu Temple, I don't know! "

This has also made Honglu Temple's voice louder in the past few years, not to mention becoming the head of the Nine Temples, but at least the people inside speak and act harder.

Of course, Li Tai also knew that when Fang Xuanling proposed this thing, he must be asking the sky for a price.

When Fang Xuanling came here, he looked at Li Tai and said, "The king of Wei should know this too!"

This relatively insignificant small project can actually attract Fang Xuanling's attention.

After all, many things in the court were slowly discussed time and time again, but Li Tai didn't know Fang Xuanling's real bottom line.

The relationship with the Ministry of Civil Affairs is good because Li Tai can provide taxes, and the Ministry of Civil Affairs will never offend the God of Wealth who accounts for almost two or three tenths of his tax revenue.

In other words, as long as it is under Li Tai's system, basically all the money earned will be handed over to the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the inner government.

Li Shimin added here, "What's the matter with this tea?"

If it is the top troops of the Tang Dynasty, troops like the Xuanjia Army or the Yuan Cong Forbidden Army will be fine.

Li Tai said seriously: "I know.

Because tea can overcome various living diseases caused by long-term consumption of meat by local aliens.

It’s okay for Honglu Temple to take care of things like Wanbang coming to court. What’s more, under Li Tai’s guidance, they found themselves in the position of Honglu Temple, which was originally the most profitable position in the entire Tang Dynasty. They all began to collect money reasonably and legally.

After all, as long as there is water and fire in the military camp, it is not difficult to cook it. "

But is it really necessary for ordinary soldiers to improve their food?Fang Xuanling complained more or less.

After all, Datang pays attention to inclusiveness. Whether it is a foreign race or a Han, as long as he is willing to serve Datang, he is a courtier of Datang.

In the past, when Xiaoguo came to see him, Honglu Temple was responsible for matchmaking, taking the rags from Xiaoguo, and then rewarding the other party with several times the value.

Because this is to show the courage of one's own country, and it is not just a simple project of face.

When Fang Xuanling said this, he couldn't help but glanced at King Wei and was very relieved. This kind of atmosphere was brought out by Li Tai.

Whether it was Xue Yantuo people, Qiang people in Xihai County, or even Mohe people in the north of Youzhou, or even people from Goguryeo, Gao Jifu never refused to come, which made Honglu Temple's economy take off again.

It can only be said that every age has its own social atmosphere, at least under such a social atmosphere, the work of Honglu Temple is somewhat more tactful than the diplomacy in the Han Dynasty.

"Usually the compressed chicken jerky that the soldiers bring, I like to let the soldiers bring one or two tea cakes.

As for those small countries, you don’t even send labor from your own country to Datang to work and contribute to the creation of Chinese civilization. How dare you say that you are a tribute country under the Tang Dynasty’s jimi system? Are you shameless!
All in all, as long as Li Tai's demand for aliens remains unchanged, the Honglu Temple will gradually become more and more rigid.

Therefore, when the country is strong, the functions of the Great Tang Honglu Temple will be significantly strengthened.

Li Tai couldn't help being stunned when he heard Fang Xuanling's words, Li Tai naturally didn't know that Fang Xuanling had his eye on this tea last year.

Li Shimin felt that if he did this, how could he face the heavy filial piety Li Tai gave him.

The treatment here in Chang'an must have certain rules and regulations. Basically, if one family is promoted, then every family must be promoted.

It's not that you try your best to prove that your family doesn't have it, and as a result, others are not prepared to listen to the evidence you have worked so hard to find.

Therefore, when Li Tai was in the Tang Dynasty, he was able to change the living habits and cultural language of the aliens through labor reform, and help them integrate into the Tang Dynasty. This will not be rejected by the people in the Tang Dynasty.

The only thing that Li Tai is lucky about is that fortunately, Huaxia pays attention to the inheritance of culture, not the inheritance of blood, and what is more important is that this is the Great Tang and not the Great Han.

But Li Tai didn't say anything yet, Li Shimin said: "Xuanling, if this is what the court looks like!"

But they knew that they could make Fang Xuanling shamelessly attack Li Tai, and the huge profits of this thing could not be described in words!

So, in fact, even if Li Tai established tea gardens in Guangzhou and Yuhang successively for such things as tea, in terms of the total scale, there might not even be one-twentieth of it compared to drinks.

After all, Li Shimin wanted face. He just took over the house from Li Tai, but turned around and sold his son...

At the same time, the local tribes are also very keen to trade tea with the soldiers of Xihai County.

Because the country is weak, even if you have the talents of the world and the world, you can use external relations to leverage your strength, but as long as the strong country really wants to beat you, then you will find that without the backing of a strong motherland, the personal efforts of diplomats will completely change. No power.

As for Honglu Temple, Li Tai's demand for alien coolies is almost endless.

Gao Jifu sent someone over to say, Honglu Temple needs some tea leaves, you know me, I can't refuse such a small request.

Therefore, comparing the two, no matter who is in power at Honglu Temple, they are all closer to King Wei from top to bottom.

In this matter, the prince relied on his own prestige, and he didn't need to give money to Honglu Temple.

As long as you don't give birth to a banished immortal like Li Bai, who is unrecognizable because of his status as a businessman, in fact, some top businessmen may not be worse than some princes and generals in terms of life enjoyment. You can't keep your wealth.

Fang Xuanling was very satisfied with King Wei's self-awareness, otherwise he would not have known about tea.

"That's right!" Fang Xuanling nodded, "Then I also inquired about Honglu Temple, and found that the Qiang people in Xihai County sent people to the court to pay tribute every year. The main reason is that after the tribute is over, we hope that our Tang Dynasty can return the gift of tea. !"

So, this is just Fang Xuanling's offer.

Therefore, part of the annual tea leaves will be allocated to Honglu Temple, which will be counted as the cost of trading alien coolies with him.

The reason is to use tea to solve chicken jerky and other dry foods that are easy to get angry if eaten too dry, so bring tea for digestion.

But now, as Li Tai continued to accept foreign races through Honglu Temple, after Honglu Temple discovered this way of playing, it suddenly discovered that it had also established a set of economic chains with these small countries.

It's just that Li Tai didn't expect that tea has only just developed, and it can only be regarded as a beginning, but Fang Xuanling has followed him.

When someone takes out a bottle of washing powder and says that your family has some kind of chemical weapon, it is best that your family really has it.

Even a high-ranking person like Ma Teng still feels a bit of contempt for his barbarian blood.

Although the Tang Dynasty was ashamed to call himself a famous general after not destroying several countries as a general of the Tang Dynasty, at least his superficial skills were acceptable.

Every time I hit someone, I found a good reason, and then went to destroy the country.

Fang Xuanling said at this moment: "What I value is not the benefits brought by the tea itself, but the fact that the tea can be favored by foreign races. Then, can our Tang Dynasty influence the tea to a certain extent through the control of the tea? Aliens!"

"Huh?!" Li Shimin's expression immediately became interested when he heard this.

(End of this chapter)