The Ming Dynasty did not revolutionize

Chapter 54 Tea and Public Opinion

Li Anbang took Hancock and Samuel to meet the officer in charge of managing Ming Dynasty commodities.

Let both parties know and cooperate in handling the goods carried by the fleet.

Hancock was very interested in silk. Looking at the silk in the warehouse, he couldn't help but touch it and sighed:

"This is genuine Ming silk, not inferior goods from Britain, the Ottoman Empire, or Japan. It can be sold at a very good price..."

Samuel was more curious about the tea leaves, but after looking at the tea leaves in a small metal box, he was obviously very surprised:

“This tea…is green tea, no black tea?

“And why is it different from what we have seen before?
"What we usually see are basically powders, are these short stems?"

The officer who was watching the goods smiled and shook his head, then took out another jar:
“Black tea is fermented green tea, so it is more suitable for long-term storage and is suitable for storage on humid ocean voyages.

“However, even for black tea, what the British drink is still different from what the Ming people drink.

“Because if the packaging is not good, the black tea will get damp again during transportation.

“Not to mention green tea, which has no special preservation method and tastes even stranger when it arrives in Europe.

“The cabins of European merchant ships are usually a complete space inside, so that more cargo and personnel can be loaded.

"But as long as there is water in one place and it gets damp, the cargo in the entire hold may also get damp.

“The Ming Dynasty’s military and civilian ships all had multiple watertight compartments, with the internal spaces isolated from each other.

“If one or two or even more compartments get damp, it will not affect all the compartments.

“The middle compartments of large ships are the safest and dry most of the time, and can store moisture-sensitive cargoes.

"For example, the green tea we brought this time."

Samuel's eyes widened immediately:

"This... black tea is fermented green tea? It turns out there aren't separate black tea trees and green tea trees?
"So the Ming Dynasty's ship cabins are different from ours. So this is how the Ming Dynasty transports tea?"

In Europe, especially in the UK, because of the cold climate, most people prefer warm black tea.

In the original history, the British believed that there were two kinds of tea trees, black tea trees and green tea trees until the late 19th century.

Black tea and green tea are made from two different trees.

The Ming officer took another empty box, took out the tea from the full tea can, and showed Samuel the bottom of the can:
“After taking out the normal tea leaves, there will be some crumbs left at the bottom of the container.

“That is the powder that falls off from the dried tea leaves, which is the tea that the British merchants sell to you.

"The tea leaves of Daming should look like tiny leaves after being brewed, and the best part is the tip of the leaves."

Samuel was completely confused and felt that his cognition was challenged:
“It turns out that the tea leaves we sold before were actually the leftover dregs of normal tea leaves!

“It turns out that tea leaves are not all powder, and they are not crushed before being sold!
"We only saw the powder because the British only sold us the crumbs and scraps, those damn British merchants!"

Hancock next to him was also very surprised. As the richest businessman in the United States, he seemed to have never seen normal Ming Dynasty tea before.

In fact, let alone the British and Americans of this era, even in the 21st century, ordinary people in Europe and the United States still drink tea foam.

However, it has become an industrial product that comes in small packages and can be brewed directly.

Compared with Chinese tea lovers, the knowledge of European tea lovers is mostly very naive and crude.

In the cultural circle of tea art, they are really too marginal.

Seeing the reactions of Samuel and the other man, the Ming officer couldn't help but stab them twice more:

"Of course tea leaves are not specially crushed. Now you have all learned the elegant language of the Daming Dynasty. Why do you think we Daming people call them tea leaves?
"In our Ming Dynasty, those powdered tea foams are not easy to sell and may end up being used to feed livestock.

"However, intact fried tea is not easy to carry, as it is very easy to get damp and ferment." Even if our Ming Dynasty craftsmen have good sealing skills, even if our ships have a large number of independent watertight compartments.

"We can't guarantee that all the cargo will be intact after drifting at sea for half a year.

“So when we transport tea over long distances, especially when we need to sell a large amount of tea, we mainly make it into tea bricks.

"Tea bricks may not be as good as loose green tea, but they are much better than fermented and damp black tea or tea foam.

“In fact, even black tea and green tea themselves have formed many different varieties according to their origins and production methods.

"From now on, you can trade directly with Ming and buy all kinds of tea."

Samuel was speechless and just felt that he was too vulgar and ignorant.

It's not just me. Most Americans, even the British and Europeans, really look like barbarians compared to the Ming people.

The Ming Dynasty is the true symbol and model of human civilization.

Hancock, who was standing nearby, was also very surprised when he heard the conversation here, and he immediately had a new business idea.

The difference between the authenticity of silk and that of other silk is not obvious at first glance and requires careful observation.

But now the differences between these teas are really huge.

This kind of differentiated product, especially one that is indeed of better quality and better quality than what ordinary people usually see.

It should be able to sell for an unusually high price.

This is the extremely terrifying business potential that can be obtained by directly trading with the Ming Dynasty, and even if resale is possible!

We must obtain the right to trade directly with the Ming Dynasty!
While Hancock was conceiving a new business plan, Samuel also had new insights and plans.

Samuel suddenly yelled:
"Damn the British, if we hadn't dealt directly with the Ming Dynasty, we wouldn't have known how they deceived us.

“We are not allowed to trade directly with foreign countries, and the lowest scraps are sold to us as normal goods.

“Not only are we not allowed access to the British Parliament and government, we are not even allowed to buy normal goods.

“Dear General Daming, could you please just give us some normal tea leaves?

"I hope to use this most authentic evidence to further strengthen the Sons of Liberty's determination to fight against the British government!"

Hancock listened to Samuel and realized a similar perspective again:
“We can use these differences to mobilize merchants to do publicity and advocacy together.

"Propaganda the selfishness and evil of the British royal family and government, and the nobility and fairness of the Ming Dynasty court.

“On this basis, we can also promote the authenticity and high-end nature of Daming products to achieve better benefits.

"Remind merchants that in order to avoid being deceived by the British, they must stand with the Ming Dynasty in the future."

After listening to what the two said, the several Ming Dynasty officers around them felt that there was basically no suspense in this war.

This is public opinion.

As the saying goes, the right time is not as important as the right location, and the right location is not as important as the right people.

As long as you have the support of the people, there is a great chance of winning even if the time and place are not favorable.

If the Ming Dynasty came to America to fight alone, it would not have the advantage of time and place.

However, with the support of these American immigrants, the Ming Dynasty had the right time, place, and people.

In the end, the officer asked Li Anbang whether to give samples to Samuel and Hancock, and Li Anbang agreed directly.

Not only were Hancock and Samuel given samples of several different kinds of tea, but they were also given samples of most other different goods.

(End of this chapter)