A Good Landlord in the Tang Dynasty: Emperor Yuan Cong

Chapter 988 Do I need to worry about the teacher?
East Palace.

In the Xiande Hall, Crown Prince Li Chengqian made a pot of tea.
"This is dragon bud produced from Shengtang Mountain outside Zuyu City, Shouzhou, Huainan. This year's new tea before the rain."

The prince respectfully handed the tea cup to the teacher with both hands.

Wu Huaiyu looked at the prince who was now getting taller and taller. He looked more and more like Li Shimin. At the age of nineteen, he was in the prime of his life, and his eyes were full of confidence.

He had long gone astray from the misguided path he had taken because of his own satisfaction, and his father no longer favored the King of Wei excessively, which also made the relationship between father and son better and better.

"Teacher, I really hope you can stay. The weather is getting hotter and your Majesty will soon accompany your mother to Jiucheng Palace to escape the summer heat."

In the past few years, the emperor spent most of the time in Jiucheng Palace in Qizhou every year. Chengqian was responsible for staying and supervising the country. The authority given to him by the emperor was getting larger and larger, and he gradually took over the military affairs.

Cheng Qian really hopes that there is a teacher Wu Huaiyu around him who can help.

Wu Huaiyu took a sip of dragon bud,

This tea tastes good, Shouzhou Zuoyu, which later became Lu'an. Lu'an tea was still produced together with Huoshan at this time, and was called Huoshan tea. Its production areas roughly include Lu'an, Huoshan, Jinzhai, Gu'an in Henan, Yingshan in Hubei and other places, which are also included in Huoshan tea.

Of course, Huoshan tea production area is very large, and the tea output is not limited to this.

The Wu Jian Tea District focuses on black tea, the Shu Tea District focuses on brick tea, and Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Huainan focus on green tea. This industry is still expanding every year, bringing huge profits.

"Your Highness, this tea is Huoshan Gongjian. It is said that only twenty kilograms of tribute are paid a year. It is also called Huangjian, and only one flag and one shot are taken. This is Huoshan's best tea since Zhenguan, and it tastes better than Huoshan Xiaoxianchun before. "

But it’s not all bad. For example, after the imperial court coordinated the planning, Changping salt warehouses were set up in various places. In the past, some remote inland places that were short of salt could not sell it exclusively, but the price of salt was also extremely high, and many people could only eat light food. But now wherever there is a shortage of salt, the imperial court builds Changping salt warehouses and allocates salt transportation to ensure the supply. The situation is much better than before.

"I've been too busy lately, so I can only write occasionally."

At this time, there was no Lu'an Guapian.
The highest quality Huoshan tea is called Silver Needle, which is only one shot from the top of the branch, and the second highest quality is called Bird's Tongue, which is the one with two slightly spread leaves from the top of the branch. Then there are plum blossom slices and pine baskets, both of which are hand-picked and valued before the rain.

The original price of salt was ten cents per dou, but after the monopoly, the market guide price was one hundred and ten cents per dou.

This tea book was serialized in chapters in the Beijing News. It was actually Wu Huaiyu’s soft-text advertisement for his own tea.

In fact, after the imperial court abolished the tax adjustment system and abolished the capitation tax, it used the salt monopoly to use salt, a special commodity that everyone needed, to re-collect the head tax on the people.

"Teacher is truly worthy of being the sage of tea revered by people all over the world. I read the tea classics written by him and the serials in the Beijing News carefully in every issue."

The Huoshan dragon bud that the prince chose today is actually produced by the Wu family tea house. It is paid as tribute to the palace at 20 kilograms a year and is called the dragon bud Huangjian.

The salt profit of six million pounds a year will continue to rise as the population increases.

Now the Wu family has dozens of tea farms in Huoshan, and there are also many tea farms of other families.

Not only is the supply abundant, but the price is cheaper than before.

In the Wu family alone this spring, there were more than a thousand tea makers in Huoshan and more than 20,000 people were employed to pick tea. The output of each of the Wu family's five most important tea farms in Huoshan exceeded 100,000 kilograms. The Wu family has 13 major tea farms in Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Huainan, with an annual output of more than 1.6 million kilograms of tea, of which Huoshan farm accounts for one-third.

They are made of natural branches. The top one is called Maojian, which has names such as Gongjian, Ruijian, and Yuqianjian. The second one is called Lianzhi, which has several types such as white chain, green chain, and black chain, all of which are called old and tender branches. Graded times.

The Wu family also has two major tea farms, Shu Tea and Jian Tea. The output of the tea farms in the middle areas of Shannan, central and southern Guizhou is relatively small.

Huoshan tea can be said to be an important part of the Wu family tea industry, a golden rooster that continuously lays golden eggs.

This year alone, the Shengtang Mountain Tea Farm in Zoyu County and the Wu family's tea house received 1,000 kilograms of top-grade bud tea and 6,000 kilograms of top-grade fine tea. The output of other teas is astonishing.

"Last year, the tea tax collected by the imperial court across the country seemed to have exceeded two million yuan." Huaiyu said with a smile.

Cheng Qian nodded. Last year, the largest tax revenue other than the official tax of the imperial court came from the salt tax, with an income of 6 million yuan. The imperial court implemented a democratic system for collecting salt from merchants, traders, and merchants, and implemented a salt introduction system to control salt. are becoming more and more strict, and the crackdown on illegal salt trading is also very severe.
The introduction of on-site monopoly, Changping salt, Kaizhong salt, etc. has made the salt industry management system more mature. After deducting the cost of salt production, as well as the transportation costs and profits of salt merchants, the imperial court got a very high share, and the implicit tax rate was even It can be said to be extremely high.

The tea tax can now reach two million guan a year, which is indeed astonishing. Firstly, the Tang Dynasty has been invincible to the outside world in recent years, which has led to a surge in tea exports. Secondly, due to the smooth sea trade, through Guangzhou After Hong Kong exports a lot, and then there is the tea-drinking craze that has arisen within Datang in recent years, both external and domestic demand have increased.

Of course, another reason is that the imperial court had implemented a tea monopoly for a period of time, but later found that the tea monopoly system had great restrictions on the tea industry. Under the suggestions of Wu Huaiyu and others, the imperial court abolished the tea monopoly and allowed free trade. ,

However, a special tea tax was levied on tea, and local tax collectors were appointed to set the third-class price of tea and tax it according to the 11th rate. The imperial court encouraged private people to grow tea and also allowed traders to buy and sell freely.

Of course, the imperial court would also purchase large quantities of tea every year, either transporting it to the frontiers to exchange for cattle and horses with Tibetan tribes, or selling it to Hu merchants, etc. The imperial court could also make millions in profit from the tea business every year. There are also palaces that specially purchase tea to supply the palace, or to reward officials and soldiers.

"Recently, there have been many voices in the imperial court proposing to monopolize tea sales and implement the tea introduction system just like salt.

It is necessary to increase the tea rent levied on tea gardens. They believe that the current physical tea tax paid once a year is too low and demand that the tax be levied on every eleventh day.

In order to sell this area, the law of prohibition was implemented. The imperial court set up warehouses and mountain farms in the tea-producing areas. In addition to collecting one-tenth of the tea rent from the tenants, it also purchased everything left after the tenants paid the rent according to the court price. The remaining tea was sold to merchants at official prices set by the imperial court, and gardeners were prohibited from selling tea directly to merchants, thus increasing revenue for the imperial court. "

When Wu Huaiyu heard this, he just smiled.

He sipped the dragon bud tea and said to the prince casually, "Your Highness, those who make such suggestions are either stupid or bad."

"Tea is not salt. Although salt includes sea salt, well salt pond salt, etc., it can only be divided into thick and fine. Moreover, salt is a necessity, and it is not difficult for the court to control it.

But tea is different. The planting, production, processing and sales of tea are very complicated, and there are many types of quality. If the court is interested in the little monopoly and monopoly profit in front of it, it is actually competing for profits with the people.

It will not only dampen the enthusiasm of farmers for planting, but also take away the interests of tea merchants.

The current tea policy implemented by the imperial court is the Commercial Law, which levies tea rents from gardeners, levies tea taxes from merchants, and allows gardeners and tea merchants to trade freely. This can not only streamline tea research institutions, reduce state expenditures, but also expand the tea business of gardeners. With the enthusiasm of merchants, as long as the rents and taxes set by the court are not too high, then the entire tea industry will prosper and the court will naturally receive more taxes.

"Those who are clamoring for prohibition now want to kill the goose that lays the goose to lay the eggs. They are either stupid or bad." Wu Huaiyu said very bluntly, because he is now the largest tea farm owner in the Tang Dynasty, as well as the largest tea processor and seller. , especially in the export sector, he occupies a large share.

The imperial court can now get 2 million in tea tax and 1 million in buying interest from tea each year. Wu Huaiyu makes a lot of money from it. What's more, the rapid development of the entire tea industry has led many people to grow tea and increase their income. , how many vendors make money by collecting tea and selling tea.

We can’t just let the court earn all the money.
That would only bring harm but no benefit to the development of the entire industry.

However, this also reminded Wu Huaiyu that the Wu family's tea industry seemed to have made too many people jealous. Although he had continued to recruit people to join him over the years, Wu Huaiyu also brought many wealthy relatives to cooperate with him.

But it seems it's still not enough.

He doesn't mind bringing more people with him. Anyway, if you make the cake bigger, you will get more cake.

He planned in his heart that from now on, 10% more of the tea produced by the Wu family every year would be sold to the court so that they could resell it and make a fortune.

Selling to anyone is the same. At most, the price to the court will be lower and the profit will be less, but at least it can silence some officials. Furthermore, we still need to bring more people in. Whether it is planting, processing or sales, we can all make money together.

"Your Highness, do you like to drink this Dragon Bud Emperor's Tip?"

"This tea is good. The soup is green and bright, the aroma is pure, the taste is sweet and mellow, and it is quite durable." Cheng Qian held the teacup and said,

"It seems that His Highness is already a tea lover." Huaiyu looked at the green tea leaves in the cup, which only had one leaf. "Since Your Highness likes this tea, why don't I take the tea farm in Shengtang Mountain outside Zoyu City?" To His Highness,

The tea farm is not small, and there is also a tea house and workshop for making tea, which produces a lot of tea every year. "

Cheng Qian was stunned for a moment and said quickly, "Teacher misunderstood. I didn't want to ask the teacher for a tea farm."

"It's just a tea farm and tea house. Since we are master and apprentice, why should we be so polite."

There are countless materials in the Prince's East Palace. The imperial court gives 40,000 yuan a year, which can be sold on the market and can be worth 11,000 yuan. The money was actually not much. When Li Tai was favored, the king of Wei gave him a special title and a gift, which was worth sixteen thousand guan a year.

In the past few years, Huaiyu has actually often helped this prince's student, and many of his properties have been brought to the East Palace, including salt, sugar, tea, wine, border markets, and sea trade.

Even when Wu Huaiyu first served in the East Palace, he built a printing shop, a raw and cooked paper shop, a pen shop, an ink shop, a bookstore, etc. for the East Palace. Although he later left the East Palace, he continued to help expand the business. Today, not only the new business of the East Palace The Beijing News has high sales and great influence, and has become a cow. This newspaper is quite profitable.

The cultural industries of the East Palace, including book editing, printing and selling, paper making, ink making, pen making and inkstone, are now very large, with semicolons in many places. The scale is not small, and the profits are also high.

Even the Wu family’s pig-raising industry was brought to the East Palace.

At first, the emperor gave King Li Tai of Wei 300 acres of land to raise pigs in the suburbs of Chang'an and Luoyang. Wu Huaiyu was even more generous. Now in Chang'an and Luoyang, the Wu family has the largest scale of pig farming, followed by the Wei family, and then Although the King of Wei had several pig marshes, they were nothing compared to the East Palace.

Although pork is a cheap meat that the nobles look down upon, for the middle and lower class people, pork is actually a very good meat, so the demand is still very huge.

Of course, Wu Huaiyu not only brought Donggong to raise pigs and herd sheep in Shuofang Longyou and other places, but also brought Donggong with him. He even brought Donggong with him every year to sell sheep from Turkic Xi ​​Khitan and other places.

On the bright side of the East Palace, the court still gave him 40,000 yuan a year in exchange for money.

But the prince's small treasury accumulated by following Huaiyu in various industries over the years is still amazing.

Although it is not comparable to his father's inner treasury, and is not involved in the weaving of high-grade silk fabrics and other hugely profitable industries, the prince still holds a staggering amount of wealth in his hands.
The prince had money in his hands, so he would go to the frontiers every year to open villages and build villages, recruit people, and farm and shepherd sheep.

In addition to these, the Prince's East Palace also has some very expensive projects, such as spending a lot of money every year to help orphans, widows and disabled people, adopting orphans and abandoned babies, free clinics for poor people, selling medicines at low prices, and setting up many programs to provide relief to the poor. Some social studies for common people’s children to study,
These projects still need to fill a lot of money every year. Whenever there is a serious flood or drought in a certain place, or a serious epidemic occurs, Donggong will also allocate money to deliver medicine.

These expensive projects have also won the East Palace a lot of fame.

Perhaps it was precisely because the East Palace could make more money and spend more money that the emperor did not interfere much with the properties of the East Palace.

As long as they do not compete with the people for profit and pay taxes and gifts, the emperor will not interfere.

The most important point is that the prince made so much money and did not secretly raise dead soldiers or secretly raise private soldiers. It would be better not to touch these.

Most of the estates purchased by the prince in the past few years are in the border areas. In fact, he also had this consideration. If a large number of lands were annexed to build estates in the capital, this kind of behavior would easily arouse the dissatisfaction of the nobles and powerful people, who would think that they were taking away from their bowls. to eat, and secondly to buy many manors in Gyeonggi.
This would make the emperor sensitive. After all, there are not only farmers and tenants in the manor, but if you are ambitious, dead soldiers and private soldiers can also disguise themselves as tenants.
The land of Gyeonggi,

If the prince gives an order, thousands of people can gather in those villages in an instant, and even go straight to Chang'an.

Remember that when Li Yuan cut off all Li Shimin's military power, he only had 800 guards left. Didn't he still rush into the Xuanwu Gate and invite the Supreme Emperor to go boating in the sea pool?

When Jiancheng was built, two thousand elite troops were mobilized from General Luo Yi and others to garrison Changlin Gate. If Zhang Gongjin hadn't been the stronger one to close the Xuanwu Gate that day, and Xue Wanche and the others would have led the palace soldiers to rush into the Xuanwu Gate, Li Shimin would have been killed. Prince, I'm afraid I'm gone too, and there's no one in the world who wants to take advantage of me.

As the prince grew older, the emperor became more cautious when it came to soldiers and horses, and the prince himself knew this.

"Teacher, His Majesty has separated the seven prefectures of Fujian and the thirteen prefectures of Annan from Lingnan Road, and transferred 40,000 garrison troops from Lingnan. Do I need to worry about this?" Cheng Qian lowered his voice and finally said the key to inviting Huaiyu to drink tea today.

He said it was to say goodbye to his teacher, but in fact Cheng Qian was still very worried about it.

Although his position has been stable in the past two years, Wu Huaiyu is his most powerful supporter, and he must be wary of any disturbance.

"Your Highness, there is no need to worry, everything is normal."

"Your Majesty, does he not trust the teacher?"

"No, if your Majesty really doesn't trust me, why would you let me go back to Lingnan? Just let me stay in Chang'an." Wu Huaiyu said with a smile. He believed that Li Shimin was just doing normal things to him.

It can be said that it is just a bit defensive.

(End of this chapter)