White tea legend

Chapter 237 The old law of taxing tea
The chill of night dew still remained on Yao Ziyi's forehead. He opened the door shivering, his face as pale as paper. Mrs. Zhang and Mrs. Yao couldn't help being frightened when they saw him like this, and hurriedly gathered around him to ask what happened.

"Prime Minister Wang Guangjin, he...he was assassinated by a swordsman named Pei Min!" Yao Ziyi's voice was trembling, as if the sword blade was still scratching his heart.

Zhang and Mrs. Yao looked at each other and saw the shock in each other's eyes. Wang Guangjin was a powerful official in the court, and his death will definitely cause shock in the court and may even trigger a political storm.

The next day, the morning sun rose, and the golden light filled Chang'an City, but Yao Ziyi's heart seemed to be shrouded in dark clouds, feeling uneasy. He said he was ill and did not dare to go to court, so he hid at home and waited for news. However, after waiting for a long time, there was no news of Prime Minister Wang's death. Instead, Prime Minister Wang went to court in a good manner, and even news spread that he proposed to the emperor to overthrow the tea system.

Yao Ziyi couldn't sit still, and decided to go out to find his colleagues to find out the truth. He first visited several colleagues who had witnessed the murder last night, but found that they all seemed to have made an agreement. They all denied going to the Prime Minister's Mansion for a banquet the night before, and some even laughed at him as dreaming.

Yao Ziyi was puzzled and went to the Prime Minister's Mansion to see for himself.

This was so unbelievable that the Prime Minister actually hanged himself in the Prime Minister's Mansion.

……

In the next few days, rumors spread throughout the Li Dynasty that the Prime Minister was beheaded in half under a lone willow tree in the southwest corner of Chang'an City because of the unfavorable implementation of the tea tea system. No one tried to find out whether the rumor was true or not. Those tea merchants and tea farmers in Yazhou who had suffered injustice because Wang Xiangye proposed and promoted the Qie tea system were happy to amplify the rumor and then amplify it.

Linghu Chu, the tea envoy of Yazhou, was already struggling because of the difficulty in implementing the tea system in Yazhou. As soon as Wang Xiangye died, he immediately wrote to the court, requesting that the old tea taxation law should be restored instead of pushing tea.

With the development of tea production and the popularization of tea drinking, the Li Dynasty began to tax tea to increase national fiscal revenue.

The Tea Tax Law is called the “Old Tea Tax Law” and mainly includes:
Tea farmer registration system: Tea farmers need to register the number and location of tea trees planted so that the government can manage and collect taxes.

Tea introduction system: When merchants sell tea, they must obtain tea introduction from the government. The tea guide is a purchase voucher and tax voucher, which stipulates the purchase location, quantity, sales location and period of tea, as well as the tax payable. This is equivalent to a tax source control certificate, and it also has the nature of a monopoly voucher.

Tea tax collection: Tea tax is one of the official taxes of the imperial court. Although it is not as large as the land tax and salt tax, it occupies a place in the financial revenue of the Li Dynasty.

Punishment for illegal tea: In order to severely crack down on illegal tea trafficking, the Li Dynasty ordered severe penalties for those who smuggled illegal tea, including confiscating tea leaves and transportation tools, and criminalizing people.

The implementation of the old tea taxation law not only reflected the court's emphasis on tea trade, but also reflected the complexity and advancement of the Li Dynasty's taxation system. Through the old tea tax law, the imperial court was able to effectively control the tea trade and ensure the stability and growth of tax revenue.

The tea tax system is more stringent than the old tea tax system. appears in:

Government monopoly: Under the tea system, the production and trade of tea were completely controlled by the government, and private operations were not allowed. This is more relaxed than the old tea tax law, which allowed private operations but required payment of taxes.

High taxes: When the tea tea system was implemented, additional taxes were added, such as "adding tea tea (tea monopoly tax), the old amount is one hundred cash, and the additional tax is fifty cash." The imperial court imposed higher taxes on tea, which increased the burden on the people.

Compulsory tea purchase: Under the tea tea system, tea farmers were forced to sell tea to official agencies, and the price was set by the official. This practice restricted the free selling rights of tea farmers, and compared with the free trade under the old tea tax law, the economic interests of tea farmers were more damaged.

The tea system imposed a heavier burden on the people in terms of government monopoly, high taxes, and compulsory tea purchase, and these measures also aroused public dissatisfaction and resistance.

After the people of Yazhou experienced the harshness of the tea tax system, they felt like seeing relatives after the restoration of the old tea tax law. No one complains anymore about the heavy taxes imposed by the old tea tax law.

No comparison, no harm.

The tea tea system was abolished, Wang Xiangye died, and the court had a new prime minister.

The new prime minister's surname was Yang, with the single character Zhao. He was born in the Hongnong Yang family, a descendant of Yang Zhen, the Taiwei of the Eastern Han Dynasty, and the nephew of Zhang Yizhi.

Prime Minister Yang also has another identity, that is, he is the clan brother of the noble concubine Yang.

Yang Xiangye lived in poverty in his early years. Because his clan sister Yang Yunu was favored by a saint, his fate changed dramatically. He was promoted to the position of prime minister and was named Wei Guogong.

There is no better way for a person to achieve enlightenment than for a chicken or a dog to ascend to heaven.

When Mr. Yang took over his new post, Mrs. Yao Si's teahouse was about to open in Chang'an City.

……

Beads of sweat oozed out again on Mrs. Yao's forehead. Although the autumn breeze was refreshing, she was too busy preparing the tea house to take care of it. Her tea house is about to open.

There were not many female businessmen in the Li Dynasty, but the status of women has improved compared to the previous dynasty, and some women have participated in politics, such as Empress Wu Zetian and female official Shangguan Wan'er. This openness of social atmosphere also provides a more relaxed environment for women to do business.

The catering industry is one of the industries where female businessmen in the Li Dynasty are concentrated, because it is a small business with low skill requirements and is suitable for women to run. The most famous one is Orchid Restaurant, which is a dining establishment opened by women. They use exotic customs to attract customers.

In addition, the textile industry was another option for female businessmen of the Li Dynasty. Although most of them did not form a large-scale business system, some leading female businessmen emerged. For example, Gao Wuniang of Luoyang started her career in the smelting industry and became a well-known local businesswoman. businesswoman.

Although female businessmen do not have a numerical advantage, their business activities still have a certain impact on society and the economy.

Yao Siniang aspired to become a female businessman in the Li Dynasty. After all, with the death of the queen and the ascension of the saint to the throne, the path for women to become officials was blocked again. She could not become a female official, but it was Yao Siniang who could strive to be a businesswoman. The goal.

Since she is a female businesswoman, she faces more challenges and difficulties than ordinary people.

In a prosperous place like Chang'an City, it is not easy to open a tea house. From site selection to decoration, from purchasing tea to recruiting employees, everything requires careful planning. Fortunately, with the help of Zhuo Laosan, Momo, Lily and others, Mrs. Yao Si's pressure was slightly relieved.

The teahouse was about to open, and the name of the teahouse had not yet been decided, so Mrs. Yao Si was in trouble for a while.

What kind of resounding name should you give your tea house?