unclear

Chapter 704: Controlling the Fans with Tea
"Oh... the salt merchants don't patronize us, right... this is really a big problem. You all think about it for me, is there any way to force them to patronize us?" Regarding this question, Hong Tao touched his chin as if thinking, as if he couldn't find a solution, and then threw the difficult problem to everyone present.

"Your Majesty, I think we can emulate the customs allocation rate and have the court stipulate that each ton of salt must contain a certain number of kilograms of salt produced in Shandong and Shanxi. If the quota is not enough, a high salt tax will be required." Soon an advisor stood up and gave a suggestion. The method was not new and could not be considered creative at all. It could only be considered a reference at best.

"...hiss...not right, not right. Merchants are subject to port customs inspections and it is difficult for them to escape. Salt permits are distributed all over the country, and it is difficult for the salt company and the court to get the details."

Since it was an idea proposed by the staff, the chief of staff must take it seriously. Yuan Keli stroked his beard and pondered for a moment, then shook his head and rejected it. No matter how good the idea is, if it cannot be implemented, it is the same as not saying anything.

"..." Now everyone in the room fell silent again, racking their brains to think of a solution, or simply thinking of a new way.

"Your Majesty, I have a way to solve Chief of Staff Yuan's worries..." Suddenly a thin voice was heard. Everyone turned around and saw that it came from the eunuch who served tea and water.

"How dare you..." The first one to react was Wang Chengen. He shouted harshly, with the muscles on his face twitching.

"How dare you... What's his name?" The emperor followed and turned around to glare at him.

"When I came here, I was called San Yatou. I was from Daming Prefecture. My family was hit by the plague, so I went to Beijing for refuge. I was sold to the palace by a distant relative. In the eighth year of Jingyang, I was selected for the Cuju team. I became your disciple and was given a new name. I am repaying your majesty's teachings."

"...Wang Chengen, Wang Baoen, I hear you two seem to be of the same generation. Wang Baoen, tell me your plan. Don't panic, you are doing the right thing. If he dares to retaliate, report it to me."

The Cuju team recruits new members every year, sometimes more than a dozen, sometimes less. Although Hong Tao often teaches them, he can't remember who is who except for the first two or three batches of players. But the rules are the same, seek truth from facts, which includes speaking up when you have ideas.

"Your Majesty, I think the salt from the Shandong and Shanxi salt fields does not need to be sold to salt merchants. It can be included in the salt permits and sold to the salt fields according to the amount of salt permits. Then they can sell it. In this way, regardless of whether the salt merchants are willing to buy it or not, the salt tax can be collected in full."

Wang Baoen was different from Wang Chengen. Although he also worked in the Yangxin Palace, he did not learn much about the ways of the world from the eunuchs. Since the emperor had given him support, he immediately spoke out everything in a shrill voice. With his demeanor, figure, and height, he did look a bit like a girl.

“Hehehehe…hahahahaha…this is what it means when a strong general has no weak soldiers! Good, very good, Wang Baoen, you not only made me proud, but also solved a big problem for the court. Since you came up with the idea, then go to the Salt Company and be an inspector. Think of more good ideas and help Huang Daozhou get his job done!”

Hong Tao laughed so happily, and felt as happy as if his own son had scored 700 points in the college entrance examination. This method was really amazing, and it worked better than he thought. What else could he say? It would be a waste of talent to use such a useful brain as a bodyguard and spy in the Cuju team. He must find a bigger stage to show his talent.

"Your servant obeys the command of the emperor. Long live the emperor!"

Unlike traditional eunuchs, Wang Baoen did not pretend to be inseparable from the emperor and was willing to serve him all his life. Instead, he accepted the appointment straightforwardly with pride on his face.

"Well, go down and prepare first. Once the Imperial Household Department appoints you, we'll set off immediately." Hong Tao didn't want to listen to those empty flatteries, so he waved his hand, indicating that Wang Baoen could leave.

"But it's not enough to just sell salt. Now that we have the right way, we can't leave the crooked ways. Li Qing, the General Staff is also responsible for this matter. You discuss with Wang Sheng, and take the opportunity of suppressing the rebellion to clean up the illegal salt in the main salt-producing areas. As long as there are unregistered salt fields, we will destroy them one by one, and all the people will be sent to the mines for hard labor. Those who resist will be killed without mercy. In addition, we must first spread the word in newspapers to all places and explain the truth clearly, as the saying goes, courtesy before force."

Before Wang Baoen's back disappeared, the smile on the emperor's face disappeared. The method of forcibly matching high-priced salt with salt permits is indeed a good idea, but if the rampant private salt is not controlled, it will still be a drop in the bucket.

At this time, the advantage of a big fist should be revealed. No matter how stubborn the civil groups are, they cannot confront the state machinery head-on. However, in order to avoid escalation, the command of the crackdown on illegal salt was handed over to Yuan Keli. With this old official in charge, Wang Sheng should be able to bear less infamy.

"I obey your order!" Yuan Keli did not hesitate. Most of the sea salt production areas are near the sea. With the help of the navy, the search will be easy. The emperor did not ask for long-term peace and stability, so it was even simpler to handle.

"Okay, let's stop here with the salt issue for now, let's talk about tea. Zhang Ran, you should be very familiar with this area, tell me, is there any problem with Daming's tea?"

After taking a sip of tea and smoking half a cigar, Hong Tao led everyone to continue the next discussion. This time, the person who was called to speak was Zhang Ran, the seal holder of the Imperial Stables.

"I'm here..." Zhang Ran didn't refuse, nor was he surprised. He stood up, straightened his robe, cleared his throat, and began to talk without even looking at the file.

Why did they let Zhang Ran talk about the tea law? Could it be that the Imperial Stables also supervised the tea trade? That was not the case. The Imperial Stables did not manage tea, but they had horse farms all over the country, managing the horses used by the royal family and some military horses.

Why did we change the topic to horses when we were talking about tea? Don’t worry, the tea law of the Ming Dynasty was closely related to horses. Any department engaged in horse management not only had to understand horses, but also tea.

At the beginning of the establishment of the Ming Dynasty, the Northern Yuan Mongolian forces had not yet been eliminated, and the combat mission in the north was very heavy. Fighting against the Northern Yuan Mongolian army would be very disadvantageous if only infantry was relied on, but there was a lack of horses in the Han area.

In order to equip the Ming army with more horses, Zhu Yuanzhang borrowed the Song Dynasty's method of using tea to control the barbarians, improved it, and gradually developed a set of methods to control the barbarians with tea.

"When dealing with the barbarians, we should follow their nature. The barbarians are used to the bitter cold where they live. If they are moved to the inland areas, they will be driven southwards away from the cold and cool and then to the hot and humid areas. They will lose their nature and easily become chaotic. It is better to follow their nature and pacify them, let them return to the border areas, choose water and grass to breed and graze, and then they can live a good life and naturally be at peace."

He believed that nomadic people were not suitable for living in the interior, and instead of forcing them to move inland, it would be better to let them continue to live on the border. As long as they were properly appeased, they would be able to live in peace with each other. But how could we follow their nature?

"The barbarians love cheese, and if they can't have tea, they will get sick. Since the Tang and Song dynasties, tea has been exchanged for horses. Therefore, the Tea Market Office was set up in the six vassal states of Tianquan to trade horses. And those who paid tribute were given tea and cloth. The vassal states were attached to the benefits of the tribute market, and they wanted to keep their official positions, so they dared not change it."

He believed that nomadic peoples ate meat and drank milk, and would get sick without tea. Both the Tang and Song dynasties used tea to trade horses, so there was no need to think of any new tricks, just continue to follow the example of the predecessors. Trading tea and cloth with the foreign people, and then promising them official positions, would make them inseparable from the Ming Dynasty, and less likely to rebel.

Note that the "Fan" here specifically refers to the nomadic people living in Qinghai and Tibet. Although plateau horses are not as suitable for combat riding as Mongolian horses, at this time, most of the war horse producing areas were controlled by Mongolia, so they could only settle for the second best, and it was better to have some than not.

(End of this chapter)