Entrepreneurship in the Late Tang Dynasty

Chapter 148 Tea Ceremony
In June, Jeongseong, Gwangju, was plagued by continuous rainy season.

Rain falls on every house inside and outside Dingcheng, and frogs croak everywhere in the green grass ponds.

Standing under the eaves beside the dismounting gate of the prefectural government office, Xie Yuanshang, the magistrate of Gushi County, handed the visiting card to Hong Yanshi, the newly appointed military advisor, and said with a cautious, obsequious smile:
"Mr. Hong, this is troublesome."

Hong Yanshi accepted Xie Yuanshang's visiting card with a smile, then calmly replied:
"Please wait here for a moment, Your Excellency. I will present your visiting card to you shortly."

Then the man stuffed Xie Yuanshang's visiting card into his sleeve, bowed to Xie Yuanshang, and disappeared into the corridor, leaving Xie Yuanshang completely respectful.

After Hong Yanshi disappeared, Xie Yuanshang sighed and got up, looking dejected.

Sigh, he really regrets it, and his subordinates really deserve to die.

He genuinely didn't know the governor's fleet had passed through Gushi; otherwise, why would he do something that would offend his superior? What effort would it take to curry favor?
But no one told him that our governor had arrived until he heard that the arrogant chieftain Zhao Keju of the prefecture had been slaughtered.

Only then did he hurriedly ride the oxcart to get there.

And that was it. The other two county magistrates arrived around the same time as him, but they had already met and returned to their counties. Only he was turned away at the yamen for three days. It was only through the introduction of Xiahou Gong, the prefectural governor, that he was able to find a way to get in touch with Hong Yanshi.

Even so, Hong Yanshi did not see him; he simply sent gifts to his villa in the countryside.

Normally, Xie Yuanshang would completely ignore this person. Who is he? And who is this Hong Yanshi?
He himself came from the Xie family of Kuaiji, a truly superior family. Although they had fallen behind in the current dynasty, they were still a first-class aristocratic clan in Jiangdong.

Although Kuaiji is now generally called Yuezhou, these people never look at the present when referring to their ancestral home; they always go back to the Han Dynasty, or at the very least, the Wei and Jin Dynasties. Otherwise, how can they show the longevity and nobility of their family lineage?
To put it bluntly, how many years has the Tang Dynasty lasted? How many years have our aristocratic families lasted? Think about it!

And what about himself? He was a Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination) in the twelfth year of the Xiantong era. His first official post was as the magistrate of Danyang. Just two years later, he was transferred to the position of magistrate of Gushi in Guang Prefecture. His future was bright.

Hong Yanshi was just a minor military officer in Guang Prefecture, and a local tycoon. He was just a mouthpiece who read out drafts on a daily basis. How dare he ask me for bribes?
But as proud as he was, Xie Yuanshang chose to back down, wanting only to resolve the matter; he truly dared not provoke that governor.

Previously, when he served as a county magistrate in Danyang, he felt that being a local official was just so-so. He would occasionally go boating on the lake, have drinks with monks and Taoists, and then two years would pass by.

Just as Liu Binke said, "without the toil of official documents," there was only a great deal of chaos from the music.

But when he arrived in Gushi as the county magistrate, he realized that something was wrong.

Everything was going wrong for him. The people below him were unruly and difficult to govern, and the powerful officials around him were deceitful. In Gushi, he was nothing more than a nodding signer; he was nothing more than a clay figure.

So no matter how proud and arrogant Xie Yuanshang was, he matured after being tempered in Gwangju for two years.

Sometimes he couldn't help but think, no wonder only officials in the imperial academy could be called "pure stream" (a term referring to those of high moral character and integrity). Otherwise, even if they were Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations), once they returned from their posts, they could only be called "talented individuals."

Yes, no matter how innocent you are, once you get to that quagmire, you can't clear your name anymore.

In the past two years, Xie Yuanshang has learned one thing: when to bow one's head, one should. Not to mention, did he bow his head to Hong Yanshi? He bowed his head to that governor!
How bloodthirsty was this governor? On the very day he arrived, he killed hundreds of people at the drill ground!

In recent years, the most ruthless local military governor in his duties was Wang Shi, but even a military governor like him only killed a thousand or so people. Yet you, a prefect, killed hundreds of people on the very first day you took office. Is it really necessary to be so ruthless?

Oh dear, how did I end up offending someone like that?
So, let's just spend some money. He's already been a county magistrate for two years. If he can endure it for another two years and pull some strings, he can go back to Chang'an to become a clerk. His wife is still in Chang'an; they can't live apart forever.

The rain outside was pattering against the roof tiles, which also made Xie Yuanshang feel confused and sentimental.

He couldn't help but look to the right of the dismounting gate, where there was a large open space, which was the drill ground next to the government office. It was said that the governor had killed someone there that day.

In a daze, Xie Yuanshang seemed to see the training ground covered in crimson, and couldn't help but shudder. He silently approached the guards standing under the corridor, still the soldiers' chakra.

Watching the water tank in the courtyard overflow, Xie Yuanshang thought to himself, "Let's wait a little longer. Once this is resolved, I'll go back to Gushi, no, back to Chang'an!"
He waited all morning, but no one called him in.

……

Hong Yan was a man of principle. Once he received the money, he would actually do the job, not to mention that the person asking him for a favor was a county magistrate.

Don't ask if he's just a figurehead magistrate whose power is hollowed out by his subordinates. No matter what, he's a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations) and one of the three pillars of the state's power structure.

However, when Hong Yanshi arrived at the small hall where the governor was holding a meeting, unfortunately, the governor was already inside discussing matters.

Hong Yanshi was very good at interpersonal relationships, especially showing great respect to those around Zhao Huai'an. So, he approached Sun Tai and Zhao Hu, who were guarding the gate, and asked:

"Is the governor discussing business inside?"

Sun Tai shrugged, glanced at the Gwangju man, and casually said:
"Perhaps, anyway, they talked inside for quite a while."

Hong Yanshi listened intently for a few moments and heard that the person speaking inside was Wu Xuanzhang, the magistrate of Guangshan County who had been the first to greet the emperor. He was filled with envy.

He dared not linger at the entrance. After bowing to Sun Tai and Zhao Hu, he turned and walked back to the front yard, where there was a row of side rooms where the staff and clerks of the government office worked.

Watching Hong Yanshi's departing figure, Zhao Hu said:

"This person is actually quite polite!"

Sun Tai glanced at Zhao Hu and snorted:
"That's because we have knives. If we weren't all going to take up our posts with troops, would these locals be so obedient? So, whatever you lose, don't lose the knife in your hand. With this, everyone will be peaceful with you."

Zhao Hu glared at Sun Tai and muttered:

"I don't know? You're just too talkative."

Then the two fell silent, and from the small hall behind them, the newly appointed magistrate of Guangshan, who had just gained the general's favor, began to speak louder and louder.

……

At this moment, in the small hall, Wu Xuanzhang was surrounded, facing Zhao Huai'an and his group, pointing out the state of affairs and speaking passionately:
"There are many tea-producing areas in this dynasty, which can be roughly divided into two regions: Sichuan and Chongqing, and the Jianghuai region, eastern Zhejiang, western Zhejiang, Lingnan, Fujian, and Jingxiang. Among them, the tea tax from Sichuan and Chongqing is directly escorted to Chang'an and goes into the Ministry of Revenue's treasury. As for the Jianghuai and eastern Zhejiang regions, the tea tax is transported to Yangzhou and then transported to Chang'an via the Grand Canal, going into the Salt and Iron Commissioner's treasury."

"In addition to these tea taxes, there are also top-quality teas from various prefectures as local tribute. Based on the quality of the tea, just speaking of Huainan, Guangshan tea from Guang Prefecture is the first-class tea, followed by Yiyang, Shuzhou, and Shouzhou."

"Therefore, Guangzhou tea is of the highest quality. If you wish to sell our Guangzhou tea to Tibet, it is certainly feasible."

At this moment, among the crowd, Zhang Guinian asked a question:
"Isn't this Guangshan tea a tribute tea? Do we have a surplus to sell?"

As an expert who started dealing in tea in Yangzhou, he could speak fluently about his profession, not only in front of Zhao Huai'an, but also in front of the military governor.

So he said to Zhang Guinian:
“Secretary, tea is completely different from salt and iron. The imperial court can absolutely control salt and iron. As long as the production area is controlled, the entire trade can be controlled. Therefore, the imperial court has controlled salt and iron since ancient times. But tea is different. It is often grown in the mountains, covering the whole area. The imperial court has no way to reach it. If it cannot control the tea production area, it will naturally not be able to control the trade.”

"Therefore, starting from the ninth year of Zhenyuan, Emperor Dezong began to tax tea. He set up checkpoints to collect taxes in tea-producing counties and along important roads outside tea-producing areas. Tea was divided into three grades, with one-tenth taxed per grade. From then on, hundreds of thousands of strings of cash in tea tax were transported to Chang'an every year."

"However, this method of taxation can only be applied to large-scale tea trade along rivers and major roads, because only these large tea merchants, with their large quantities of tea, need to travel along major thoroughfares like the river. Even so, they can still trade and resell tea along the banks and roads, so the amount of tea that is ultimately taxed by the imperial court is very small!"

After laying this groundwork, Wu Xuanzhang waved his hand confidently at Zhao Huai'an and said:

"If Your Excellency trusts me and adopts my tea monopoly method, it will be effective in one year, and can become a solid foundation for state tax revenue in three years. In ten years? Your Excellency will be reluctant to leave Guang Prefecture!"

At this point, Wu Xuanzhang pursed his lips and told Zhao Huai'an about an even bigger pie, which was also his greatest ambition:

"To put it another way, if you, my lord, could control the Dabie Mountains to the south, not just the outer area, but the tea-producing region, you could earn hundreds of thousands of strings of cash a year without lifting a finger! From then on, you will never have to worry about the military and state expenses again."

Wu Xuanzhang spoke with such conviction that Zhao Huai'an was filled with excitement, and he couldn't help but pick up his teacup and take a big gulp.

When Wu Xuanzhang asked him to request troops to suppress the mountain strongholds in Guangshan, he learned that this ambitious magistrate had quietly set up a small tea market. So he quickly summoned his staff and asked Wu Xuanzhang to explain in detail.

Why did he value Wu Xuanzhang so much? It was because after arriving in Guang Prefecture, the tea was what he valued most!
If you want to raise and train elite troops while maintaining discipline, you need to make a lot of money, not the kind of hard-earned money from farming, but huge profits.

Products with high profit margins must meet two criteria: high frequency of use and necessity.

Just like salt, the price of salt wasn't actually that high at that time.

The price of salt was lowest before the Kaiyuan era, when a dou (a unit of dry measure) of salt cost only ten coins, and a dou of salt could feed a family of seven for half a year, so it was almost no burden on ordinary people.

During the reign of Emperor Suzong, Fifth Qi began to oversee the official salt administration, at which time the price of salt increased tenfold, reaching more than one hundred coins per dou (a unit of dry measure).

Although the price of salt fluctuated in later periods, it generally remained between 100 and 200 coins per dou (a unit of dry measure).

The price was ten times higher than before, but it didn't seem as high as expected. After all, one could easily earn ten coins a day by doing odd jobs, and the price of a bushel of salt was equivalent to the time it took a laborer ten days to earn.

But why did the salt tax become the primary source of revenue for the imperial court, contributing over eight million strings of cash annually?
The reason is simple: salt is essential because it is consumed frequently and is a necessity. Everyone needs salt, and it is a consumable that we eat every day.

So, over time, like grains of sand forming a tower, this becomes a tremendous wealth.

Zhao Huai'an viewed tea in the same way.

He discovered this while in Sichuan; almost everyone there drank tea. While this might be attributed to the long history of tea drinking in Sichuan, after traveling eastward along the river and observing the local customs, Zhao Huai'an realized it wasn't just a Sichuan phenomenon, but a widespread tea-drinking craze throughout the land. Furthermore, Zhao Huai'an understood better than his contemporaries that tea contains caffeine, a stimulant for the central nervous system; once you drink it regularly, it becomes difficult to stop.

Moreover, Zhao Huai'an also valued tea because it was suitable for large-scale, long-distance trade.

If he wanted to make a name for himself and establish a brand in the triangular trade between Nanzhao and Tubo, he needed to have a flagship product.

The lychees that were previously unearthed from Rongzhou were excellent, of course!

However, based on his ice-making technology, he could only deliver ice to places like Yangzhou, where the business environment is good, there are many high-spending people who can afford these things.

But if you suggest sending it to Tibet? Wouldn't that cause problems?

Tea leaves are different; they are dried and then compressed into cakes or compacts, making them lightweight and less prone to damage, ideal for long-distance trade.

That triangular trade route was later called the Tea Horse Road, and for good reason—because tea was so suitable for trade.

Therefore, Zhao Huai'an was never clear that tea was a commodity no less valuable than salt, but the imperial court could collect eight million strings of cash in taxes on salt a year, while it could only collect eight hundred thousand strings of cash in taxes on tea.

The difference here is just too big!

Now that Zhao Huai'an heard Wu Xuanzhang say this, he immediately understood.

So the current tea tax is actually a circulation tax. The salt and iron commissioners of the imperial court can only collect taxes during the circulation process, so there are many ways to bypass the imperial checkpoints.

……

At this moment, Zhao Huai'an finished his cup of tea, feeling even more intoxicated. He couldn't help pacing back and forth, and suddenly said to Wu Xuanzhang, who was sitting upright on a stool:
"If, and I mean if, I took over the entire Dabie Mountains and controlled the tea-producing areas of the Jianghuai region, and I asked you to manage the tea monopoly, how would you handle it?"

At this moment, Wu Xuanzhang finally realized how ambitious the governor in front of him was. He stood up excitedly, about to express his opinion, but Zhao Huai'an pressed him down onto the stool.

Zhao Huai'an said solemnly:

"You don't need to stand, just sit down and tell me in detail. I'll listen carefully."

After saying that, Zhao Huai'an took out a stack of papers and a charcoal pencil from a satchel he carried with him, meaning that he would write down what Wu Xuanzhang said.

Looking at Zhao Huai'an's posture at this moment, Wu Xuanzhang understood perfectly well that this was the most crucial moment in his life.
So he took a deep breath and finally recounted everything he had learned in his life.

……

Outside, the rain was pouring down. In the cramped little hall, Zhao Huai'an listened and took notes, his eyes shining brightly.

Wu Xuanzhang had just told Zhao Huai'an his tea monopoly method, which he had been pondering for more than ten years, without reservation.

His main idea was to focus on tea-producing areas, that is, to set up trading posts in major tea distribution centers, and then have these trading posts handle the unified purchase and sale of tea.

For example, the Guangshan tea plantation, which Wu Xuanzhang mainly talked about, was a place that specifically purchased loose tea from the mountains, then graded the tea according to its quality and sold it at the market according to the price.

However, the biggest difference between Wu Xuanzhang's salt and iron products is that they are not sold to the market, but rather like those sold by various tea merchants.

Tea merchants needed to buy tea permits to determine the quantity of tea they wanted to buy. In other words, if you wanted to wholesale 10,000 catties of tea at the market, you first had to pay a sum of money at the market to buy a permit, which would specify when someone would buy 10,000 catties of tea.

Then the tea merchant can take this slip to the market to buy tea, and the market doesn't care how much they sell it for.

While Zhao Huai'an was still pondering, Wang Duo, the most eloquent among them, was the first to clap his hands in delight and exclaim:
"This method is ingenious! Using this method is equivalent to us making money twice: one is the money from buying low and selling high from tea farmers, and the other is the money we earn from tea licenses."

Zhao Liu, standing in the crowd, was the most bewildered. He asked in confusion:
"Are those tea merchants stupid, letting us skim off their profits?"

Pei Desheng then explained to Zhao Liu with a smile that although he was the youngest, he had been honed in the affairs of the common people for a long time and had a keen eye for human relationships. He said:
"Sixth Brother, there's only one principle in business: whether or not you can make money. If you can make money, you can hold a knife to his throat and he still won't leave. If you can't make money, even if we hold a knife to his throat, he still won't come."

"The tea permit that Mr. Wu just mentioned can bring two benefits to merchants. One is that it saves them the hardship of going into the mountains to buy tea. Most tea merchants have to buy a large amount of tea at once in order to make money. However, the tea farmers in the mountains not only grow a small amount of tea, but they are also very scattered. Tea merchants often spend months just to buy enough tea. They don't know how much they have made by selling the tea during that time!"

Zhao Liu suddenly realized:

"So you mean we're just running errands for those tea merchants? That's how much money we make! But what about the second profit?"

Pei Desheng looked at Zhao Huai'an and smiled:

"The second benefit is peace of mind. Who runs this market? It's located in Guangzhou, which means it's run by Guangzhou. Now, if you buy tea in Guangshan, as long as you pay the full tea permit fee, you can sell 10,000 catties if you buy 10,000 catties, or 100,000 catties if you buy 100,000 catties, without worrying about being investigated and confiscated by the government. If you are a merchant, would you be willing to spend this money to buy peace of mind?"

Zhao Liu nodded, acknowledging that what Xiao Pei said made sense.

But he was quick-witted and immediately noticed something was wrong, pointing at Xiao Pei and saying:
"No way, how many people are there in Guangzhou? Even if every household drinks tea, we probably wouldn't need 100,000 catties. What if we buy tea permits but can't sell them?"

At this moment, Pei Desheng just kept smiling and didn't say anything, leaving Zhao Liu completely baffled.

It was Wang Duo who came to Zhao Liu's rescue, explaining:
"How could we not sell them? Isn't it possible to smuggle tea everywhere? We'll just sell; what does it matter to us how the buyers resell them?"

Now Zhao Liu understood completely, clapped his hands happily, and said to Zhao Huai'an:

"Brother, we're going to make a fortune!"

Zhao Huai'an glared at Zhao Liu and shook his head at the others:
"The key to this matter is whether we can monopolize the tea in the Dabie Mountains. You all know that the tea leaves in the mountains are not meant to rot in the ground. Over the years, every tea mountain in the mountains has had fixed buyers. Every year, countless bandits bring gold and silver into the mountains to buy tea. That's a relationship spanning generations. Now that we want to open a market, why should they sell to us?"

Fatty Dou understood what he meant. He slammed his sword down on the table and chuckled.
"Brother, with the knives we have!"

Zhao Huai'an laughed heartily and said to Fatty Dou:

"That's right, with knives, we can definitely beat those people into submission. Let alone making them sell tea, even if they give it to us for free, who can say no? But just having knives isn't enough. They can run away, they can find more people, and they even have more knives in the mountains than all of us brothers combined!"

At this moment, Wu Xuanzhang smiled and pointed to the fourth-rank official robe Zhao Huai'an had set up, saying matter-of-factly:
"So, based on your official robes, do you think these people can stand against the governor of Guang Prefecture?"

Zhao Huai'an was amused by Wu Xuanzhang and said to him:
“Old Wu, you don’t know us mountain people. I, Zhao Da, am from Huoshan. Do you know that we have a folk song that even a three-year-old can sing? Come on, Lao Liu, sing it for Old Wu!”

Zhao Liu showed off his skills, singing the folk songs he had learned from Ding Hui in a very convincing way, especially the line "No matter how many imperial edicts are issued, they cannot change the sky above the mountains." Wu Xuanzhang was shocked to see that the mountain people were so unruly and had no respect for the imperial court.

So Zhao Huai'an stood up and addressed everyone:

"If we set up a tea plantation, we'll rely on the name of the Guang Prefecture government. The mountain people will only think we're worthless! Even if they reluctantly sell us some tea, it'll just be leftovers from the river bandits. Do you think I, Zhao Dan, can eat the scraps left by a bunch of river bandits?"

Zhao Liu looked troubled and said to Zhao Dadao:

"Then what should we do? Big Brother, tell us what to do, and we'll listen to you!"

So everyone looked to Zhao Huai'an, waiting for him to make a decision.

Zhao Huai'an walked directly to the official robe, put it on in front of everyone, and then took the horizontal sword hanging on the sword rack, held it in his hand, and showed it to everyone:

"Why should I? Of course, it's because of the knife in my hand and the robe I'm wearing!"

Wu Xuanzhang stood up abruptly and bowed to Zhao Huai'an, saying:

"My lord, if this tea-making method can be implemented, how can you not achieve your goals?"

Just as Zhao Huai'an was about to speak, a group of guards led two warriors dressed in straw raincoats to the corridor outside the hall.

Upon reaching the door, a warrior wearing a straw raincoat took out a box from his arms, inside which was a letter.

The person who delivered the letter was Ma Di, who came from Yangzhou. He told Sun Tai and Zhao Hu that it was written by the military governor of Huainan to Zhao Huai'an in his own handwriting, and that the two of them must personally deliver it to Governor Zhao.

Sun Tai and Zhao Hu, of course, knew the importance of the matter. Upon seeing that it was a letter from the military governor, they dared not delay. Zhao Hu watched over the person, while Sun Tai took the letter and went inside.

Just then, Zhao Huai'an was about to speak when he saw Sun Tai bring in a letter. Knowing that something urgent had happened, he gestured for Sun Tai to take it.

Sun Tai lowered his head, strode over to Zhao Huai'an, and handed it over.

Zhao Huai'an picked it up, opened the envelope, and looked at it.

After a moment, Zhao Huai'an crumpled the letter written by the military governor Liu Ye into a ball, casually tossed it onto the table, and then, ignoring the matter, calmly addressed the astonished crowd:

"Oh, where were we? Suppressing bandits? Yes, we absolutely must suppress these bandits!"

　I'll go to bed early as usual; I'll finish writing Chapter Two and post it tomorrow morning.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)