Great Song Dynasty Writer

Chapter 162 What should be done?

"It seems that starting from here, we can finally widen the gap significantly."

After finishing his historical essay, "On the Currency of Yelang," Lu Beigu took a proper rest for a while.

He now finally understood why the upper-class students said they felt half-dead after each state exam.

That's a bit of an exaggeration, but to be honest, taking exams for three days in such a cramped and confined environment is extremely physically and mentally taxing.

Even a young man like Lu Beigu, who is only seventeen years old, is still aching all over and has a headache after taking the exam. I really don't know how an old man like Su Xun has managed to persevere.

However, the final five essay questions on current affairs were the true core of the provincial examination, serving as a touchstone to test whether candidates possessed the talent to "understand worldly affairs and be adept at governance."

The weight of these five questions is enough to ultimately determine whether he can stand out from nearly two hundred students and obtain one of the few available spots.

After resting for a while, Lu Beigu began to answer questions about current affairs.

His gaze fell on the unfolded scroll.

Unlike historical essays that are deliberately difficult and obscure, these five questions are all based on practical experience. Although they are narrow in scope, they all exude a pragmatic atmosphere.

"Tea gardens in Sichuan are mostly located in remote mountain areas. Tea farmers work hard all year round to pick and process the tea. However, merchants often undercut prices and weigh the tea, resulting in tea farmers not earning enough to cover their labor. What measures should be taken to improve the livelihoods of tea farmers without reducing the amount of tea they supply to the government or increasing the expenses of merchants?"

This question may seem like it's just asking candidates to come up with ideas to solve the tea farmers' predicament, but the most crucial sentence, "merchants buy up tea, suppress prices and weigh it," actually has a very profound historical context.

When the Song Dynasty was founded, it initially adopted the traditional tea monopoly system.

However, tea is not the same as salt or iron. Therefore, in the first year of the Tiansheng era, on the advice of Li Zi, the then Minister of the Three Departments, the "Tie She Method" was adopted. The "Tie She Method" refers to the practice where tea merchants pay "interest" to the government and then use the vouchers issued by the government to purchase tea directly from tea merchants at the tea price set by the government. The aim was to reduce the operating costs of the government's tea monopoly and to ensure tax revenue.

If tea merchants did not participate sufficiently, the government would still purchase all tea. This method seemed to preserve the government's profits, give merchants the autonomy to purchase, and relieve tea farmers of the pressure of pre-selling tea. However, due to the resistance from large tea merchants, inferior tea was left unsold, and the method was quickly abolished.

Tea reform did not stop. The faction of promoting trade and the faction of prohibiting monopolies fought fiercely. Five years ago, in the second year of the Huangyou reign, with the support of Han Qi, the "cash-only law" was partially restored, allowing the government to directly purchase some tea from tea farmers with cash. At the same time, tea merchants were allowed to buy and sell freely under certain conditions. Starting last year, Xue Xiang went a step further and promoted the government to purchase grain and fodder with cash, gradually decoupling grain and tea.

On the surface, this question asks how to protect the interests of tea farmers, but in reality, it is a test of the core problem of how to balance government taxation, merchant profits, and the livelihoods of tea farmers under the current direction of tea law reform!
If candidates only focus on the facts and put forward empty slogans such as "strictly prohibit price gouging" or "fair weighing," or ignore the direction of the court's policies and rashly suggest returning to the strict tea monopoly, they are destined to fail the requirements and have no hope of getting a high score.

Lu Beigu's thoughts raced, and combining what he had seen and heard during his trip to Chengdu with Li Pan, a clear solution formed in his mind.

The core problem now is that tea farmers are scattered, weak, and have limited access to information. As a result, they have very little bargaining power when facing large merchants, and the phenomenon of "price suppression by weight" is almost inevitable.

The imperial court is currently implementing the "cash-only law" to encourage trade, and it is impossible to go back to the old ways and completely monopolize purchases. If it increases the costs for merchants, it will violate the requirement of "not increasing the expenses of merchants". Direct government intervention in pricing may distort the market and may not be accurate.

Therefore, the breakthrough lies in improving the organization and bargaining power of tea farmers themselves, while utilizing the power of the government to create institutional guarantees for fair trade, rather than replacing the market.

Having grasped this point, Lu Beigu's spirits lifted. He picked up his brush, dipped it in ink, and steadily began to write on the draft paper, putting down his insights on the current situation regarding this "tea law." "The plight of tea merchants lies in their isolation and the fact that merchants hold the reins of power. To resolve their predicament, we should support the weak to resist the strong, guide their power to facilitate trade, and have the government balance their power and ensure the smooth flow of their resources."

"A document should be sent to each tea-producing village to form tea societies based on the distance of the tea plantation, with the original household head or elder serving as the 'society leader'."

"The responsibilities of the tea society are threefold: first, to jointly discuss and guarantee prices. Before the new tea trade, the head of the society gathers the tea farmers of the society to discuss prices in accordance with the rainfall, tea bud growth, and market conditions in neighboring areas, so as to advance and retreat together; second, to jointly produce sample teas. Three grades of standard 'sample teas' are roasted to serve as the benchmark for checking the quality of tea during the trade; and third, to jointly resist fraud. If merchants deliberately lower prices, make things difficult, or use different scales for different purposes, the tea farmers can complain to the head of the society, who will lead the group to reason with them or appeal on their behalf to the township or county government."

"The key to this method lies in 'joint households' to increase the power of tea farmers without increasing commercial taxes or harming government revenue. It relies solely on government guidance and the people's own efforts. Tea farmers can catch their breath and their livelihoods will gradually improve; merchants will have a basis for buying and selling, thus avoiding the trouble of litigation; and the quota for tea to be supplied to the government can be guaranteed without worry because of smooth circulation and stable production. This is the way to guide the situation and ensure that everyone gets what they deserve."

After writing it down, Lu Beigu carefully examined it and confirmed that he had not missed the key pain point of "price suppression and weighing" in the question, and that the entire proposal of "tea houses discussing price protection" closely followed the court's current direction of tea law reform to "facilitate trade and benefit the people".

Overall, this answer fully demonstrates his profound understanding of current affairs and his pragmatic attitude; he would score highly by any judge.

The other current affairs questions at the end of the exam paper for this state exam were also quite practical, for example...

"Years vary in abundance and scarcity, and the flow of the river differs in speed. The grain transport ships from the southeast need to deliver taxes to Bianjing in a timely manner, while merchant ships trade goods in all directions. If the water is low and the river is shallow, making navigation difficult, which should be prioritized? How can we balance the benefits and losses so that government revenue is not lost and merchants do not complain?"

"Salt profits are the foundation of our dynasty, but the rise and fall of wells and stoves is unpredictable. New wells are being dug and waste is being consumed, while old wells are becoming less brine and are gradually being abandoned. Some say we should eliminate the weak and preserve the strong, and concentrate stoves in fertile lands to save on transportation costs; others say we should widely establish wells and stoves to distribute profits to the people and solidify the foundation of tax revenue. Which of the two is more appropriate? Let us present our advantages and disadvantages."

In his five policy proposals, he addressed each issue with practical and feasible measures, from the livelihoods of tea farmers, the priority of canal transport, the distribution of salt wells, the production and sale of Shu brocade, to the long-standing problems in the military system. Between the lines, he demonstrated both his understanding of the hardships of the people and his insight into the major policies of the dynasty.

It can be said that although he was in a cramped examination room, his profound thoughts and ideas were already displayed in the small space of his pen.

When the gong sounded to signal the end of the exam, he calmly arranged a stack of answer sheets on the table and watched the clerk collect them.

All the hard work and studying during this period has been poured into this exam paper.

At this moment, Lu Beigu felt as if a heavy burden had been lifted off his shoulders.

Although the candidates could not leave the examination hall at this moment, the post-exam scene was already a diverse mix of emotions. Some students slumped on the ground, their faces ashen; others were still writing furiously at their desks, whimpering when the yamen runners forcibly took away their papers; still others, though pale, forced themselves to keep their backs straight.

Another gong sounded, signaling the end of the provincial examination.

Lu Beigu silently straightened his clothes and then returned his number plate to the clerk.

As he stepped out of the examination hall, the autumn wind, carrying the foul smell of excrement, rushed towards him. He tightly covered his mouth and nose, and only took a deep breath after he had completely left the examination hall.

The provincial examination is over, and his talent has already been revealed.

Whether it's a dragon or a snake, we'll find out when the results are released.

(End of this chapter)