Chapter 391: One-size-fits-all?

"This tea is indeed not bad."

With a heart as clear as a mirror, Zhang Jie, who saw through Li Dequan's thoughts but didn't care much, took another sip of tea.

Describing himself now as "the advantage is with me" would be shallow; describing it as "I am the advantage" would be about right.

Since that is the case, he can naturally tolerate the various little thoughts of his subordinates.

Moreover, given Li Dequan's loyalty, even if he had some little thoughts, they wouldn't be detrimental to him.

This is not only because Li Dequan, this Grand Eunuch of the Inner Court who can be called the Inner Chancellor,

and the Eunuch in Charge of the Ceremonial Secretariat, was promoted entirely by him; if it weren't for him,

Li Dequan would still be a worthless little eunuch at the bottom of the imperial palace today, without even a rank;

it is even more because Li Dequan's current power, status, and wealth are all pinned on him.

If he were to compare himself to a big tree, then Li Dequan is a vine growing around the big tree.

No matter how lush the vine is, it must depend on the big tree.

Without him, Zhang Jie, there would naturally be no Li Dequan, the Grand Eunuch.

And a vine can never grow taller or bigger than the big tree.

With such a shared fate of glory and ruin, as long as Li Dequan is not brain-damaged,

he would not have any thoughts detrimental to him.

"However, speaking of tea, I am just like a cow chewing a peony. To talk about the understanding of tea,

one still has to look at that frivolous Prince Duan, who couldn't rule the world, but could do everything except be a good emperor."

Speaking of loving tea, Song Huizong Zhao Ji can be called a model. He was not only a top-tier tea-whisking expert,

but also left behind a "Seven-Bowl Tea Whisking Method," which is enough to show his unique insights into tea.

In the second year of Xuanhe (1120), he feasted with a group of meritorious officials in the Yanfu Palace,

personally boiling water and whisking tea, only to see the milky white surface of the cup transform into the image of "sparse stars and a bright moon." After brewing it,

he was very satisfied and distributed it to the officials, saying: "This is tea personally bestowed by me."

Tea was not only loved by the emperor, but the literati and scholar-officials also liked this thing that could refresh the mind and sharpen the brain very much.

The most typical of these was "Dongpo Jushi" Su Shi.

Su Shi was a foodie, and his self-created Dongpo pork is famous in later generations,

but he was even more of a tea fanatic, and his habit of drinking tea was impressive.

He not only personally made tea, whisked tea, and tasted tea, but even after being demoted,

and having spare time, he reclaimed barren mountains and personally planted tea gardens.

What he loved to drink most was the imperial-bestowed "Dragon-Phoenix Cake Tea," and he also received imperial-bestowed cake tea twice in his life.

Many years later, when youth had passed and the dust had settled, he wrote in "Wang Jiangnan":

"Let the new fire test the new tea, poetry and wine should seize the time of youth."

Tea not only circulated among the upper social strata but was also accepted by the vast masses of the people.

The saying "firewood, rice, oil, salt, sauce, vinegar, tea" appeared starting from the Song Dynasty.

It can be seen that tea leaves became more common in the homes of ordinary people in the Song Dynasty.

According to records in classics, Bianliang at that time was the center of tea culture in the world,

and the tea economy accounted for about 5% of the fiscal revenue at that time. Bianliang had the most tea shops and tea houses.

Meng Yuanlao of the Song Dynasty recorded in *Dongjing Meng Hua Lu*: "Outside the Zhuque Gate, except for the eastern and western teaching workshops,

the rest are all residents or tea houses, and the streets and markets are even more so at night."

"However, tea..."

Thinking of the universality and efficacy of tea leaves, Zhang Jie thought again that this thing seems, it seems, to be a kind of weapon.

Although tea is not like salt, the monopoly system originated very early,

and can be traced back to the "Official Mountains and Seas" policy of Guan Zhong of the Qi State during the Spring and Autumn Period.

Also during the reign of Emperor Wu of Han, to solve the fiscal crisis,

he officially implemented the state monopoly of salt and iron nationwide, establishing specialized agencies to manage production and sales.

Salt tax was an important source of fiscal revenue for ancient states, sometimes even accounting for more than half,

known as "half of the state's granary" (half of the state's grain reserves), and was the key to maintaining military and political expenditures.

The monopoly system for tea leaves began to rise in the Tang Dynasty and reached its peak in the Song Dynasty.

The Song Dynasty not only implemented a strict "Tea Monopoly Law" for tea leaves,

but also closely combined it with frontier trade (such as the "Tea-Horse Market"),

using tea leaves to exchange for war horses, which had important strategic significance.

Tea leaves were a daily necessity for ethnic minorities in the southwest, and the Song Dynasty, through the policy of "controlling barbarians with tea,"

used tea trade as an economic and political bond to strengthen control over frontier regions.

"This thing must be utilized properly."

Zhang Jie, who was in his position and sought his government, and fulfilled his duties in his job, began

to think about how to use salt and tea to strengthen control over frontier regions.

"Learn from the Song Dynasty and use a one-size-fits-all approach?"

Similar to salt, the Song Dynasty prohibited private trading of tea leaves by the people,

and violators would be punished with flogging, penal servitude, or even death.

The imperial court also issued "tea permits" as licenses for tea leaf operation,

and merchants had to hold official certificates to carry out the acquisition, transportation, and sale of tea leaves.

"Will this trigger a conflict between the imperial court and the local government?"

Zhang Jie was a bit uncertain.

Why was organized crime rampant in 20th-century America,

and even had a gangster tycoon like Al Capone who dared to shout, "During the day, New York is decided by the Mayor of New York,

but at night, it is decided by me, Al Capone!"?

Wasn't it because the American leadership, which was still dominated by Puritans at the time, came up with a one-size-fits-all Prohibition?

Why did the Japanese pirates, who had gradually disappeared during the reigns of the Ming Emperors Xiaozong and Wu Sect, suddenly become rampant during the Jiajing reign?

Among the 787 records of Japanese pirate troubles in the Ming Dynasty, 628 occurred during the Jiajing reign, accounting for 80% of the total.

The scope of Japanese pirate activities covered the coasts of Zhejiang, Fujian, and Guangdong, and even penetrated deep into the interior,

such as the famous "fifty-three Japanese pirates" who once fled all the way from Zhejiang to the gates of Nanjing?

A secondary reason is that Japan in the 16th century was in the Warring States period, with frequent wars,

and a large number of defeated samurai, ronin, and landless peasants became an important component of the Japanese pirates.

They colluded with armed maritime merchant groups in China, greatly enhancing the combat effectiveness and organization of the Japanese pirates.

And during the Jiajing period, the Ming Dynasty was politically corrupt, militarily emphasizing civil over military, and coastal defense was lax.

Facing the mobile and flexible Japanese pirates, the Ming army, with relatively backward equipment and tactics, could not effectively respond,

leading to the Japanese pirates being repeatedly suppressed but repeatedly rising, causing the historically famous "Great Jiajing Japanese Pirate Trouble."

But in reality, the fundamental reason for the Japanese pirate trouble was that after Jiajing took power, he suddenly picked up the policy of Emperor Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang,

which had been gradually abolished during the reigns of Emperors Xuanzong, Xiaozong, and Wu Sect, that "not a single plank is allowed to go to sea," and even carried out severe crackdowns.

This cut off the way for coastal people to make a living through legal overseas trade, leading a large number of merchants and

fishermen to turn to smuggling and even piracy, providing the main source of troops and insiders for the Japanese pirates.

Famous Japanese pirate leaders, who could be called the Pirate Kings of the Great Ming, Wang Zhi and Zheng Zhilong, were authentic Ming Dynasty people,

not down-and-out samurai or ronin fleeing from Japan.

In general, the monopoly system of salt and tea was an important pillar of the ancient state economy,

but at the same time, it also limited the development of private commerce, gave birth to private salt and

private tea trade, and to a certain extent intensified social contradictions. ===== CHAPTER 392 =====