Tea monopoly
I waved to Wei Ji and leaped onto my horse: "Lord Wei, we'll go ahead first."
Huai Xu, carrying me, asked with considerable confusion, "Godmother, why don't you ride with Lord Wei and let him walk slowly to the market?"
Ah, the prefect's reputation is of utmost importance.
I laughed and said, "People in the Central Plains are very polite and pay great attention to the separation of men and women. They say, 'You can't eat from the same utensils or sit on the same mat.' If he were to ride with me, I'm afraid he would lose his job as prefect."
Huai Xu clicked his tongue: "The Central Plains is terrifying. No wonder Feng Qiao doesn't want to go back."
I ruffled Huai Xu's hair: Silly girl, Feng Qiao doesn't want to go back because of you...
When I arrived at the market, I found that the official in charge of inspecting the tea today was still Chief Yang.
This old official with gray hair and beard is truly unfortunate. Last time, Shi Yu held a knife to his neck, and this time, a group of Ma Hu people drew their knives on him.
When Manager Yang saw me, he was very excited: "Qing Niangzi, come and judge this matter!"
The people of Mahu also crowded forward, saying, "This is our first time coming to Yuezhou Salt Exchange Market to exchange salt, and this old man is bullying us!"
"Where did I bully a newcomer?" Manager Yang spread his hands anxiously. "Everything was done according to the official price set by the Tea and Horse Bureau, and the scales are fine. What's there to be so upset about?"
A man from Mahu brandished a gleaming knife and angrily shouted, "You're wrong! You're bullying newcomers!"
Manager Yang was so frightened that he hid behind Guo Cheng.
I grabbed the man's wrist: "Put the knife away and talk! I'll recalculate your bill."
The man reluctantly holstered his knife and said to the tall man beside him, "I can't explain it to you. Abe, you talk to her!"
Abe counted on his fingers and said, "Last year at the Nanxi market, we exchanged 300 catties of tea for 800 catties of salt. This year, the same 300 catties of tea only yielded 757 catties of salt, a full 43 catties less than last year. Isn't that a rip-off?"
"Master Yang, what were the official prices for salt this year and last year?"
"This year, it costs 46 coins per catty, while last year it cost 45 coins per catty."
I said "Oh," and emphasized, "The official price of salt this year is one wen higher than last year. That means that with the same amount of money, you could buy 800 jin of salt last year, but only 782 jin this year. It's the same no matter which market you trade in in the southwest."
Abe thought for a moment and then asked, "Even if there's a difference of eighteen pounds, there's still twenty-five pounds left. Where did that difference go?"
"Manager Yang, what grade of tea did you bring them, and what was the purchase price?"
"Grade 28, 116 coins per catty."
I glanced at the crowd and pulled over two tea merchants who were watching the commotion: "Gentlemen, you've been traveling around selling tea for years. Take a look at this batch of tea. Is the grade twenty-eight fair?"
The two stewards each picked up a piece of tea cake, examined it from front to back, and then brought it close to their noses to smell it: "This year's rainfall was good, and the tea mountains in Sichuan and Yunnan have had a bumper harvest. To be fair, the government is still buying tea at last year's purchase price, so setting this grade is not low."
"Yes, the sooner the better. Loose tea will be available in large quantities after autumn, and it's hard to say whether it will still be this price then."
Manager Yang wiped the fine sweat from his forehead and breathed a long sigh of relief.
"Thank you both." I continued, "Three hundred catties of tea, one hundred and sixteen coins per catty; last year in Nanxi, the tea you brought was grade twenty-seven, one hundred and twenty coins per catty, and there are still twenty-five catties left, which is where we are short."
The man from Mahu who had previously brandished the knife asked Abe, "Was the tea really graded twenty-seven last year?"
Abe nodded.
The man from Mahu first looked dejected, then shouted indignantly, "We've worked so hard all year! We finally managed to harvest a few extra pounds of tea, and the Bating Road is open now, so we don't need to hire a boat to exchange salt in Nanxi anymore. You weren't wrong in your calculations, so who's at fault? Why? Why is life not getting better?!"
This question seemed to resonate with many.
The onlookers whispered among themselves: "Yeah, we've been busy from the beginning to the end of the year, but we're still broke."
"If we stay this poor, we won't even be able to afford a wife."
An older man chimed in: "This young lad, he looks like he's never been through anything. The southwest has only been peaceful for a few years, there's no good life here yet, it's good enough that he can just get by."
Among the crowd, I saw Wei Ji, his brows furrowed, with Huai Xu beside him, speaking and gesturing, presumably recounting the events to him.
I said to the people of Mahu, "You're not wrong, I'm not wrong. Life goes on, good or bad. Are you still selling this tea today? Manager Yang is waiting for your word!"
The men from Mahu exchanged glances, and Abe stamped his foot and said, "Sell!"
Manager Yang hurriedly instructed his men to weigh and collect the tea, converting it into salt certificates by weight, and then give the certificates to the people of Mahu, who could then take them to the nearest Yujing Salt Bureau to exchange for salt.
After we finished, Wei Ji and I walked back slowly. Seeing that he was silent, I smiled and said, "What's wrong? Is something on your mind, Lord Wei?"
"When Wei thought about the three questions the tea merchant had just asked, he felt ashamed."
"What does Lord Wei feel ashamed of?"
“The Mahu and Nanguang areas are very close to the salt-producing areas of Nanjing and Yujing, but the price of salt there is almost the same as in the Central Plains. Forty-odd wen per jin of salt is not a heavy burden for the people of the Central Plains, but for the people of the southwestern border, it is a real burden.”
"Back when Yujing was still in the hands of Yan Yi, the price of salt here was indeed much lower than it is now. However, Yan Yi has submitted to us and is now Yanzhou, and Yujing has been upgraded to a supervisory authority."
"Luzhou has two major salt fields, Nanjiang and Yujiang, which produce more than one million catties of salt annually. This white salt is like white silver. To prevent people from coveting it, troops must be sent to guard it. It is only natural for the imperial court to station troops between the two salt fields."
I stopped abruptly at this point in my speech.
Wei Ji asked, "Qing Niangzi, why did you stop talking?"
I sized him up and said, "Lord Wei and that Xiong Tu seem to have a good relationship?"
Wei Jichao took my hand and replied with a smile, "Our personal relationship is alright, but it doesn't compare to the life-saving grace that Qing Niangzi gave me."
“Alright.” I laughed too. “The newly established Changning Army’s military pay comes from the local government. Luzhou Prefecture’s biggest source of income is salt tax, so it’s not surprising that the price of official salt has increased.”
"What's strange is that since this Lord Xiong arrived, the price of salt has increased by one coin every year. He's been here for many years now, and the price of salt on the southwestern border has been pushed to a high level. It's probably only one step away from a major upheaval."
Wei Ji looked worried: "The price of official salt is high, and poor people will inevitably have to buy smuggled salt in order to survive. The price difference between official and smuggled salt is so large that smugglers will be tempted by huge profits and will inevitably take risks. Once the two sides collide, it will definitely cause great chaos."
“My lord, there’s no need to worry so much.” I said with a hint of sarcasm, “How chaotic can things get?”
"Xiong Tu commanded the Changning Army. He was skilled in both warfare and annihilation, and his military tactics were divine. At that time, how could a rabble be a match for him?"
"It's just a waste of military funds to push up salt prices again next year. Over the years, the border residents have become accustomed to it."
Wei Ji bowed his head: "What have the common people done to deserve this?"
“Yes, what have the common people done wrong?” I said, crossing my hands. “Sometimes I’m quite curious about this Xiong Tu. What kind of person is he?”
"Strictly speaking, he and Lord Wei were both Jinshi graduates, and they studied the books of sages and followed the ways of sages. However, judging from his actions in the southwest over the years, it seems that he has never treated the border people as human beings."
"But to say he's inhuman. He once let Feng Qiao go and helped Wang Niangzi. Zhou Hong often praised him for his loyalty."
After a moment of contemplation, Wei Ji said, "The Xiong Tumin I know is quick-witted, studious, and exceptionally talented in literature. He is always ready to help his friends."
I paused for a moment and said, "He's quite the actor."
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