Late Tang Dynasty Floating Life

By the Dongting Lake, palace people shuttled back and forth, setting up banquets.

The saint did not escape the heat of the summer, but personally hosted a banquet to entertain the envoys who had returned from a long voyage. No one dared to ignore it.

Well, it’s not really a banquet, because it’s already past lunch time, and there’s still some time before dinner.To be precise, the sage invited the two of them to sit down, drink tea and eat some fruit snacks, and the dinner will be prepared separately.

Tea is a local specialty of Yuezhou. It has been famous since the Tang Dynasty. It was once presented to the palace as a tribute, and was named "牉(yōng) Lake Containing Paste"-扉湖, which is now Yueyang South Lake.

This tea is still better.

Shao Shude got it from the palace when he first came into contact with it.At that time, the prestige of the Tang court dropped greatly, and the control power also dropped very badly. Du Hong, the envoy of Eyue Jiedu, sent a batch of ointment from the lake into the palace, which was very popular with the saint.

After Emperor Tang's luck east to Luoyang, Shao Shude stayed in the dragon bed overnight, so of course he could drink this kind of tea.However, he prefers Yixing Yangxian tea, and the people below figured out what he wanted, coupled with the fierce competition for the quota of tributes, before he knew it, the ointment in the lake was removed and disappeared from the palace-in the past, paying tributes was Hard work, but tea really isn't, because the sage will praise his favorite tea in public, so there is more motivation locally.

When he came to Yuezhou today, Shao Shude recalled the old days, and at the same time he didn't mind to speak for Yuezhou's local tea, so he asked the palace people to put away all other teas and only drink Zanghu Hanao.

It is said that he walked around the south of the Yangtze River, and the tea he drank was different in every place, and he agreed that it was good, and then he accepted the offer from the tea merchants after he finished the contract, it was absolutely impossible.

After he left, the tea merchants immediately made a big announcement: The saint drank it and said it was good.The implication is that you should come and buy it quickly. The problem is that teas that are slightly famous are advertised in this way, which makes people feel at a loss.Anyone with a clear mind can guess how much the saint received?

Of course Shao Shude could also think of this level, but so what?Hunan tea merchants jointly donated 15 coins and 20 bolts of silk, and he didn't mind helping them, so that the number of teas he sold in the north increased by more than [-] catties.Anyway, the tea industry in the north is declining day by day, and the output and quality are both declining. It is an irresistible trend to sell tea from the south to the north.

"Tea with ointment—" After taking a sip, Shao Shude closed his eyes, as if he was savoring it, opened his eyes after a long while, and gave a comment: "The sweet fragrance does not diminish Gu Zhu."

Han Zhaoyin is conceiving a draft again, how to draw an article around this sentence.

He knew that Gu Zhu's Purple Bamboo Shoot Tea was a famous product that was presented to the palace all year round.Although the saint did not go to Huzhou this time, the Huzhou tea merchants also contributed money, which was tens of thousands more than the Hunan tea merchants.

The sage obviously has an account in his heart, so this comment is very interesting. It not only praises the ointment tea, but also faintly promotes the purple bamboo shoot tea. When writing the article, it must be consistent with this central idea.

He also felt a little emotional at this time.

The money and silk donated from Huzhou reached all the prefectures in Hunan, and the tea in Huzhou was too good, so he dared not imagine how much benefit it would bring.Anyway, as far as Hunan is concerned, the four famous teas of Yuezhou Hangao, Huanglingmao, Hengzhou Hengshan, and Langzhou Bud Tea, as well as more than a dozen small categories of tea, only sell more than 20 catties a year.With such a sales volume, it is worth contributing so much money, so how much does Huzhou sell all kinds of tea represented by Guzhu purple bamboo shoots in a year?
In addition, tea merchants from all over the world are also very interesting.They use the guild as an organization to promote one or two famous local products. After they become famous, they will drive the sales of other inferior teas. This idea is quite good.After all, many tea drinkers do not necessarily know the name of the tea, but only know the name of a certain real estate, and the effect is still very good.

Zhang Yong and Wang Heizi sat opposite to Shao Shude, and under his signal, they also picked up their tea bowls and sipped.

"How?" Shao Shude asked.

"The fragrance is pleasant, the aftertaste is endless, and the tiredness of drinking will be eliminated, and the spirit will be full. It can be called a famous tea." Zhang Yong said.

Shao Shude turned his attention to Wang Heizi again.

"No...not bad, very good." Wang Heizi said with a blushing face.

Shao Shude laughed out loud, and the others also smiled.

"Does the cannibal drink tea?" Shao Shude asked again.

"I have been in Dashi for several years, but I haven't seen a tea shop. Most of the tea bought by Dashi and Persia is sold in pharmacies, and the sales are extremely expensive." Zhang Yong said: "I sent people to ask, and each has its own theory. Finally The common usage is to drink it for those who are about to die, and it is said that it can relieve pain."

"That's nonsense." Shao Shude laughed.

Zhang Yong nodded in agreement.

"Your Majesty, before I left Basra by boat, a local nobleman in Izmir opened a teahouse, which may be the first teahouse in Dashi." Wang Heizi said suddenly.

"Oh?" Shao Shude looked at Zhang Yong with a questioning look.

"This... I don't know. Izmir indeed exchanged ten slaves for a batch of tea back, and I thought he was drinking it himself." Zhang Yong said with shame.

"Zhang Qing doesn't have as many friends as Wang Qing." Shao Shude commented.

When Wang Heizi heard this, his face beamed with joy.

Zhang Yong glanced at him indiscriminately, feeling displeased.

"If the big cannibal can buy more tea, the middle school will have a lot of income, and the farmers' life will be much easier." Shao Shude said after finishing speaking.

"Your Majesty is wise." Without waiting for Wang Heizi to speak, Zhang Yong said first: "I have traveled to the cities of Dashi, and I heard that they are home all over the world and sell goods everywhere. Words are worthless.”

"Their tea drinkers..." Wang Heizi couldn't help but say.

Zhang Yong quietly glared at him.

Shao Shude didn't take it seriously, and said: "What Wang Qing said is the truth. How much tea can be sold in drugstores? Even if it is expensive, the quantity is too small. Not to mention, the high price is only for Dashi As far as people are concerned, the tea they bought in Daxia is not expensive, just pick the cheapest one."

"Your Majesty's words are very true." Zhang Yong responded immediately.

"Your Majesty...you are truly wise." Wang Heizi followed suit after his EQ recovered slightly.

Shao Shude glanced at him and couldn't help laughing.

I remember the last time we met, Wang Heizi spoke respectfully.At that time, he was still a little emotional. A ruthless man who had made a great reputation in the sea and most of them would kill without batting an eye. Make a little mistake.

After returning from this five-year voyage, my mind has changed again.It seems that the previous memorials are not exaggerated. There are too many difficulties and obstacles along the way and even life's desperation.After experiencing so much, Wang Heizi's heart has become very tough—of course, it may also be because he is not in the palace at this time, and there is no such ubiquitous coercion.

"Eat some fruit." Shao Shude finished the topic of tea, waved his hand and ordered.

The palace attendant immediately brought over the cut oranges and sugar cane.

"Thank you for the reward, Your Majesty." Zhang Yong and Wang Heizi said in unison.

Zhang Yong is from Ezhou and has some knowledge of Hunan.

In fact, whether in Hubei or Hunan, oranges are special products.Back then, one of the local tributes offered by Jingnan Jiedu envoys was oranges.At this time, the reputation of Jingzhou oranges is far greater than that of Hunan provinces.When people in Luoyang mention the oranges in Huguangdao, the first thing they think of is "Jiangling oranges", which shows how famous they are.

Hunan is still catching up, and the speed is very fast. In the Tang Dynasty, there was a township named after oranges.

Zhang mentioned it in "The Joy of Entering Central Hunan for the First Time": "The journey to An'an is poor and the Ying Road is poor, and the road back to Chao flows into the Xiang River... The maples on both sides are the banks, and the orange trees are islands in several places."

In Du Fu's "Remuneration to Guo Shiwu for the Judge", there is also a sentence "Qiaokou Orange Island is stormy".

At this time, in the Xiangshui and Dongting Lake basins, there were more and more orchards like "Orange Island" and their development was very rapid. Many orchard farmers relied on this to make a fortune, and their income was higher than that of growing grain. Of course, limited by Hunan's The population, the size of the economy, there are not enough of these people.

Compared with oranges with a long history, sugarcane planting is the credit of the Great Xia Dynasty.

Sinong Temple set up a branch in Hengzhou to cultivate new varieties, and local governments introduced varieties from other places to expand planting.

Historically, the great development of sugarcane in Hunan should have been in the middle and late stages of Machu.According to historical records, a certain soldier of Machu Jigoufang grew up "good at seeding mother sugarcane, irrigated labor in a lawful way, reproduced and spread, so he became the crown of the gardener."

Since it is the champion of planting, there must be a large-scale sugarcane garden at that time, there is no doubt about it.

The so-called "child-mother sugarcane" is actually the "cane stem cutting method" popular in the Song and Yuan dynasties, and the planting level is quite high.

It was only in the past two years that Shao Shude paid attention to the booming sugarcane planting industry in Hunan.

To be honest, he was a little surprised.But after a trip to Changsha, he had an intuitive experience of the hot and humid climate here, and he completely believed it—it was too hot, comparable to that of Guangdong and Guangxi in later generations. Is this Nima still a small glacier climate?It's much hotter than Hunan in the 21st century.

Hunan currently mainly grows three varieties: wax cane, grass cane, and red Kunlun cane.In the fifth year of Tongguang, Hunan white sugar has become a tribute.And this may be a big boost to the sugarcane planting and sugar extraction industry in Hunan, and it is also a big blow to the beet sugar industry in the north.

There is no other reason. The threat of sugarcane in Hunan is greater than that in Lingnan, because Hunan white sugar can pass through the Xiangshui-Dongting Lake-Yangtze River-Han River-Tangbai River system, and then pass through the Cao Canal of Xiangcheng, after passing through the canal on the top of the mountain, and then It was transported to Luoyang through the Ruzhou water system.

The overall transportation cost is only slightly higher than that of Guanbei beet sugar—the latter is transported through the Yellow River, the distance is shorter and the cost is lower—but it cannot support the large production of sucrose.The larger the output, the lower the production cost and the stronger the competitiveness.

At present, the sugar market in Luoyang has already seen some signs. When the development of Hunan deepens in the future, the impact will be further increased, and the North will lose another source of income.

The southward shift of the economic center of gravity is actually constructed by such large or small commodities, and it seems that manpower is completely irreversible.

Shao Shude took a sip of the sugarcane juice he had specially squeezed.

Compared with the sugarcane juice of later generations, it is not sweet enough, and the gap is a bit far.He knew that it was the variety, which was too low in sugar.

He would not be so naive as to think that the sugar content of ancient sugarcane could be the same as that of modern times, but the difference was so much that he was a little disappointed.It's a pity that Tahiti is in the South Pacific, and it is impossible to send people there in this life to retrieve the Tahitian sugarcane with the highest sugar content that has become popular all over the world.

After silently sighing in his heart, he put down his cup, glanced at Zhang Yong and Wang Heizi, and said, "Tell me about what you have seen and heard about Baghdad."