People in the Song Dynasty were lawless

Chapter 44 Tea Merchants

The business environment of the Song Dynasty was unique among ancient feudal societies, and Bianliang was the most unique among them.

There are four rivers in Bianliang, all of which are canals.From west to southeast is the Bian River, known as Tongji Canal in ancient times. It is an important section of the Grand Canal dug in the Sui Dynasty. It connects to the Wuzhi Yellow River in the upper reaches, and connects with the Huai River in the lower reaches and then leads to the south of the Yangtze River.

The Cai River flows into Bianjing from the southwest, and along the waterway it can lead to what is now southern Henan.The Wuzhang River enters from the northwest and leaves from the northeast of Kaifeng. Most northern material transactions are conducted through the Wuzhang River.There is also a river called Jinshui River, which connects the other three rivers.

Among the four rivers, the Bianhe River is undoubtedly the busiest for water transportation and is known as the lifeline of the Song Dynasty.Jiangnan is the richest region in the world. The amount of rice transported to Bianjing through the Bianhe River every year reaches 500 million shi, accounting for more than [-]% of the total.

In addition to basic rations, the ships plying on the Bian River also carried cloth, tea, salt, metal, feathers, glue, paint and other materials. In addition to the government, the traders who dealt with these goods were merchants.

At this moment, hundreds of boats are competing on the water of Tongji Canal, and the ships are sailing into Hongqiao Wharf. Countless cargo ships are coming and going, workers on the wharf are coming in and out, and the carriages going to and from the warehouse seem to have never stopped. The boatmen's shouts, The shouts of trackers and the shouts of merchants came and went.

There is another scene on the shore. There are many teahouses and restaurants, rows of shops, signboards swaying gently in the wind, and countless stalls of various kinds on the streets.Some people were resting in teahouses, some were reading fortunes, and some were eating in restaurants.There are many boats in the water and dense people on the shore, which together create this bustling scene.

When the Tian family's merchant ship arrived at Hongqiao Pier, several wealthy middle-aged people who had been drinking tea in the teahouse stood up and watched from a distance.

There is a large-scale wooden arch bridge on the Bianhe River. It is featured in "Along the River During the Qingming Festival". It has an exquisite structure and graceful form, just like a flying rainbow, so it is named Hongqiao.The Tian family's merchant ship was parked beside Hongqiao and was pulled into the parking position by trackers.

Then a few businessmen wearing silk and satin slowly came down from the boat. The leader was probably in his fifties or sixties, with a thin build. He only wore ordinary black silk clothes, but no one dared to look down on him.

Because he was Tian Chang, the largest tea boss in the Jianghuai region. During a tea business during the Tianxi period, he transported 20 kilograms of tea from Yangzhou to Bianliang, which shocked the whole of Tokyo.

Although he was mistreated by Prime Minister Li Di that time, he became famous because of it. After paying money to save his life, Tian Chang established a tea shop with [-] large tea merchants in Bianliang, Jianghuai and other places. Tianjia Tea Shop plays an important role in Liang's tea trading market.

Now is the season when tea is on the market.

Spring tea is best one month after the Waking of Insects, especially before the Qingming Festival. At this time, Tian Chang will buy tea leaves in Yangzhou, Jianghuai and other places, and then start steaming them immediately. After the tea is ready, it will be packed and put on the ship. Transported to Bianliang.

Therefore, the tea leaves are picked from mid-March to early-April, transported to Tuancha, and then transported for another month. By mid-May, the fresh tea leaves will arrive at the Bianliang Tea Trading Market.

At this moment, Tian Chang Shiran got off the boat, while the housekeeper stayed on the boat to start docking with the dock workers off the boat. Most of the guards also stayed on the boat to maintain order. He only took seven or eight guards to climb the steps of the dock, preparing to go ahead. Go to Fanlou for a meal.

As a result, before I even hit the street, several people came over.

"Brother Tian!"

"Oh?"

Tian Chang looked at them and wondered: "Brother Zhou, Brother Wang, Brother Li, and Brother Zheng, why do you have time to come see me today?"

These wealthy middle-aged people are also the owners of major tea merchants, and they have established a tea shop with Tian Chang.

However, after all, there are competing interests among colleagues. Although they established a tea shop together to maintain the chaotic order of the tea market, this does not mean that their relationship is very good.

So Tian Chang was still quite puzzled when he saw them approaching.

Everyone looked at each other, and then Zhou Yunsheng from the Zhou family tea shop said: "Something did happen, Brother Tian doesn't know about it yet. I'll be the host today, and we'll go to Fanlou to eat and talk."

"Ok."

Seeing their serious expressions, Tian Chang realized that something big might have happened, so he followed them.

Tian Chang was wondering what happened along the way.

Tea is a market subject to great fluctuations. Sometimes a new policy from the court, an increase in the prices of daily necessities such as oil, rice, and salt, or a natural disaster in a tea-producing area may affect the price of tea.

When Zhou Yunsheng and others came here, it was most likely that something big happened this year that affected the price of tea, so they came to discuss market pricing with him.

What Tian Chang didn't expect was that the matter involved had nothing to do with the price of tea.

The group soon arrived at Fanlou. There are 72 top restaurants in Bianliang, and Fanlou is the most popular. It is said that there are shadows of the Song Dynasty royal family behind it, so it has become the most prosperous restaurant in Bianliang.

Fan Tower is very large and consists of five buildings in the east, west, south, north and middle.There are three floors facing each other, five floors facing each other, bead curtains embroidered on the forehead, lights and candles shining, flying bridge railings, and light and dark.The overall building has undulating heights, staggered eaves and corners, and corridors connecting each floor, making it magnificent.

The tea merchants had already reserved seats in Fan Lou. After entering the box, various delicacies were quickly served. Zhou Yunsheng helped Tian Chang pour a glass of wine. Tian Chang was very puzzled to see his attitude being so low. Said: "What happened?"

"This"

Everyone looked at each other, and then Zhou Yunsheng slowly said: "Brother Tian doesn't know yet, but the court is going to implement the money-seeking law again. Mr. Li summoned us to Taifu Temple for talks. He said that if we want to get tea invitations in the future, we must Transport more grain and grass to the border."

His words suddenly opened up everyone's conversation. Wang Min, another head of the Wang family, said with a sad face: "Brother Tian, ​​you also know that we can't compare with your family's big business. Only by relying more on borders and overestimating goods can we support our family. And from now on. Not only are there no false estimates, the tea will also be more rewarding with more work." "Yeah, isn't this going to cost us our lives? Transporting grain and grass to the border is already time-consuming and labor-intensive, and the cost is extremely high. If you are not careful, It may result in losses. It doesn’t matter if you lose a little, and it doesn’t matter if you can get tea leaves, but who can say for sure about tea leaves?”

"The price of tea does not seem to fluctuate much this year, but if we want to get tea, we have to transport grain to the border this year and get the best spring tea next year. If the price fluctuates next year, we may be It will go bankrupt.”

"Brother Tian, ​​you have to help us this time. I know a lot of high-ranking officials and can speak to them. If you can help, we will definitely remember this kindness, don't you think so?"

"Yes, yes, brother Tian, ​​please say something."

The crowd was chattering.

Tian Chang frowned and remained silent.

The world only knows that tea merchants are colluding with border officials and sucking the blood of the Song Dynasty court, but they don’t know that tea merchants are not easy to do either.

Because the tea market fluctuates greatly, for example, if a natural disaster occurs in a certain place this year and the court sends relief rice, the price of rice in Bianliang may rise, causing the price of tea to fall.

There is also a blockage in the Jianghuai water transport canal, the capsizing of salt and rice transport ships, or a delay in arriving in Bianliang for a few days, which may bring the tea market to the verge of collapse and no one will buy it.

No matter how good the tea is, it cannot be compared with food. Compared with the necessities of life, tea can only be ranked below rice, salt, and oil, and is far less important than the first few.

Therefore, tea merchants seem to be making a lot of money. However, due to the continuous natural disasters in recent years, rising rice prices, difficulty in selling tea, etc., the life of tea merchants has also been deteriorating. Many of them rely on attracting money from the imperial court. blood to maintain a luxurious life.

Now that the imperial court does not allow blood sucking, income has dropped sharply. If the market fluctuates again next year, many tea merchants may go bankrupt.

Therefore, these people united one after another, hoping to oppose the implementation of the New Deal.

However, Tian Chang didn't want to get involved in this matter.

Because he is the largest tea merchant in Bianliang and even the country, in order to increase customer loyalty, Tianjia Tea Shop even has a trademark.

There is an icon drawn on the packaging of tea wholesaled by Tianjia Tea Shop. It is a green tea leaf in a square frame. The shape of the tea leaves is like a "ten". The combination is the "Tian" of Tianjia Tea Shop.

With such a great reputation, it would be impossible for him to go bankrupt unless no one in the entire Song Dynasty drank tea.

So others need to make more money by sucking the blood of the imperial court, but he doesn't. In the past, Tian Chang transported grain to the border, always transported the most grain, took the most tea, overestimated the extra money, and made whatever he could. , it doesn’t matter if he can’t make money, he is not short of these three melons and two dates.

And the most important thing is that Tian Chang understands one truth very well, that is, the people do not fight with the officials.

He is from Jianghuai. Some time ago, he heard that Guo Chengyou, the magistrate of Bozhou, was arrogant and domineering and had his eye on the famous Tang Dynasty paintings of the Zhang family, a wealthy businessman in Bozhou, so he planned to destroy the Zhang family.There is also Sun Miao, the magistrate of Hangzhou, who directly raped civilian girls, fabricated charges to frame wealthy businessman Xu Ming, and raped his wife.

Tian Chang was punished by Li Di in his early years. Although Tian Chang has made friends with many high-ranking officials over the years, and also bought a false position in Taifu Temple to donate to the official position, he is nothing compared with the real high-ranking officials.

Therefore, Tian Chang was actually reluctant to stand up for the people in the commercial bank and oppose the implementation of the New Deal despite the pressure from the government.

But if he refuses now, it may cause all the tea merchants in Bianliang to be squeezed out. Even if he is the largest tea merchant, he will not be able to stand up and attack.

So in the face of everyone's inquiries, he hesitated for a moment and could only say tactfully: "I don't know the specific situation of this matter yet. Let me go to the King Judge of Taifu Temple to ask first."

Taifu Temple is in charge of government-run tea, and it has Jiaoyinku and Tea Warehouse. It can be said to be the lifeline department of tea merchants and the department with the most contacts.

The tea merchants all heard that Tian Chang had a good relationship with the officials of Taifu Temple, and they were overjoyed and thanked them one after another.

"There is Brother Laotian."

"If Brother Tian comes forward, everything will go smoothly."

"From now on, as long as Brother Tian is driven, we will not hesitate even if we go through fire and water."

Everyone complimented.

Faced with their compliments, Tian Chang just smiled bitterly, picked up a piece of meat with chopsticks and put it into his mouth. The delicious food in the past was like chewing wax at this moment.

He doesn't know any top officials. I'm afraid there's nothing he can do this time.

　Please, please let me stay on the new book list for a few more days.In the past few days, we will resume double updates first, and then single updates on the 10th and [-]th, because the new book list will be released on the [-]th, and the new book list will be updated immediately.Please pursue reading, keep pursuing, and never give up.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)