North and South groceries

At the end of last year, Tubo invaded Songzhou, and the sage sent several generals with [-] infantry and cavalry to attack it.

As a result, when it came to the real confrontation with the enemy, the main force of the Tang army was useless. Niu Jinda rushed over with a vanguard, and beat the troops on the Tubo side to the ground.

Now this incident has already spread in Chang'an City, and everyone treats it as a joke. It is rumored that the envoy from Tubo will come to Chang'an City to apologize to the saint soon.

The country is rich and the military is strong, the society is stable, and the frontier has won another battle. Recently, the atmosphere in Chang'an City is quite festive.

On the fifteenth day of the ninth month, at the court, the sage and the servants in the palace presented several altars of baijiu transported from Changle County a few days ago, and gave them to all the officials in the court to celebrate.

Many of the officials had already tasted this liquor before.In fact, the baijiu in the palace has also arrived for some time, but this time it was brought out to celebrate because of the victory in the battle. There are also Hu merchants selling it at a very high price. If you don't have any wealth, you must not be able to afford it.

Some of them have never tasted it before, today in this court hall, it is the first time to see white wine, only see a cup of wine, clear to the bottom, the aroma of the wine is quite strong, drinking it...

"Cough, cough, cough..." Someone coughed so much after being choked by this glass of white wine, they would inevitably be laughed at by everyone.

"Haha! I'm afraid it's the first time I've eaten it."

"Slow down, this wine is very strong."

"I'm afraid you scholars won't be able to eat this wine, so come and eat it with me."

"One person only has this glass, and you still have to compete with others, why don't you buy it with your own money, there are also wine shops in the market."

"If I can afford it, I won't tell you here."

"I've heard that in Changle County, it only costs two cents for a drink, and the drink is a little light, which is not far from this liquor.

"

"Hiss...then old man Tang Jian is lucky this time."

"Based on his friendship with Na Luo's assistant teacher, I'm afraid he doesn't need to drink that tail."

"..."

Everyone was drinking and talking, and the hall was buzzing.

The emperor didn't care about them, he drank the glass of white wine in his hand, and sat on the bed leisurely, not knowing what he was thinking.

After everyone finished eating the glass of wine, the servants came over and took away the wine glasses, and the emperor ordered Tang Jian's letter to be taken out.

"This is a document sent by Tang Aiqing from Changle County, Tian Neishi, come and read it with all the Aiqings." The saint said.

"Here." The waiter in the field bowed to take the document, opened it carefully, then stood in the hall, and read it word by word, with a steady voice, not very shrill.

There were some literate and illiterate servants in the palace at this time in the Tang Dynasty. There was no special institution in the palace to teach eunuchs how to read, but the ban was not very tight. If the eunuchs met by chance, If someone is willing to teach you and you are willing to work hard, you will be able to read.

There are also some eunuchs who only entered the palace after they became adults, and some of these people can also read.

To say that the strictest prohibition is probably the Ming Dynasty in later generations. Ming Taizu's decrees were strict and easy to use heavy codes. This is not only for eunuchs.

It was also in the Ming Dynasty. When Emperor Yongle was around, there was an institution in the palace that specialized in teaching eunuchs and servants to read. The Second East and West Factory appeared at that time, and it was also at that time that Zheng He went to the West.

Compared with that in the Ming Dynasty, the eunuchs at this time in the early Tang Dynasty probably lived a little more leisurely and free.

Not only the eunuchs in the palace, but also the overall social atmosphere in the early Tang Dynasty compared with the later dynasties. Relatively speaking, there were not so many rules and regulations.

In terms of freedom and laxity, there are few ministers and ministers in the palace who can compare with Tang Jian.

Ever since he almost lost his head because of a game of chess with the emperor, and later because he took a few lambs from others, he was removed from the post of Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs and became Doctor Guanglu, this guy is a bit broken It seems that he has no intention of official career, and he is not very diligent in government affairs.

This time the emperor sent him to Changle County, and the official documents he wrote back were quite free and unrestrained.

Master Tang first described the majestic mountains and rivers of the Hexi Corridor to His Majesty the Emperor, and then talked about the hard life of the frontier soldiers, what he saw and heard along the way, and then vividly described the fiery scene of those barbarians rushing to buy tea, He also said that the tea leaves are not just the leaves of the tree, they can be exchanged for money after they are picked off, kneaded and pressed into cakes, which saves the trouble of raising silkworms and weaving cloth, and so on.Of course, Mr. Tang is also from a noble family after all, and his family has profound knowledge. He still knows that official documents need to be written in written language.

"Tsk, this doctor Tang is really getting more and more out of tune." Even though written language was used, many officials in the DPRK and China still felt a little uncomfortable after hearing it.

After all, this was still an era when parallel prose was popular, and even Tang poetry hadn't developed much yet.

"Hey, Doctor Tang doesn't stick to trifles, so you don't have to worry about it." His Majesty the emperor didn't care much, but if Tang Jian pushed him again, he would have to rush to Changle County if he gave an order from his side.

"The sage thinks that this tea trade can be done?" At this time, the focus of most people in the court is still on this tea trade.

"I heard that those merchants from Lishi are opening tea farms in the south recently." The emperor replied.

"..." Hearing this, the man was silent for a moment.

"Presumably all of you loves feel the same. Na Luoyong is indeed a good talent, but he is young and vigorous, and his actions are a little reckless. If there is something inappropriate for him, you should be more tolerant. Earlier he The merchants are demoted, and those who should be punished are also punished. Since you are officials in the same dynasty, you should naturally put the most important things in the court, the world and the common people, and don't hurt the friendship of the same dynasty because of those little things..."

His Majesty the emperor sat on the couch, and urged these ministers to be harmonious and friendly, as if Luo Yong was at the front to attract the flames of war and he was hiding in the back to relax. It never happened.

"This time, the tea trade has a lot to do with it. Tang Aiqing's actions have been a little lax recently. If I entrust him completely, I don't feel at ease. If you don't, I will select a few young talents from you Aiqing and let them go to Changle County to see Look, not only for this tea, but also to broaden horizons and increase knowledge."

When the emperor just asked Tian Nei Shi to read the letter, the Tian Nei Shi only had a piece of letter paper in his hand, and there was a second piece of paper. Although there were only a few lines of understatement on it, Li Shimin knew the importance of it. The letter was put away.

Except for a few close ministers around the emperor, no one knew about this matter. The reason for doing this was firstly because he didn't want to argue, and secondly, to guard against those spies from surrounding countries who had been planted in Chang'an City.

After the court was over that day, the city of Chang'an began to buzz again. According to what Tang Jian said, this tea business can almost be compared with silk and silk cloth, which is not bad.

Although Tang Jian has lived a somewhat disorganized life in the past two years, he is a real hero who founded the country. When Emperor Gaozu Li Yuan was planning affairs in Taiyuan, he participated in it.

Over the past 30 to [-] years, dynasties have changed rapidly. Tang Jian has experienced many things and made a lot of contributions. Few people will question his vision and judgment.

Since this tea trade is so important, their family must also participate. Even if they can’t do business in an aboveboard way, it’s always necessary to build a few big tea farms. Arrange for a few people to go over and see the market.

As for who to let go, the top talents in the family, the hope of the family's future, they must not be sent there. If one is not handled well, there will be no return, and the loss will be too great.

Those who are ignorant must not be able to do it, and it is useless to go. Those who are weak are not good, because they are afraid that they will be broken on the road, and there are some who are resolutely unwilling to go, so forget it. Some of them are willing to go, but Yeniang Wengpo refuses to life and death, and that is not easy to deal with.

In the end, each family picked and picked, and they picked out some young people who didn't love their mothers or their mothers, who were still physically strong, and who wanted to go to the west for a walk and seek development.

After going around in circles, the final result was exactly what Luo Yong wanted.

On the side of Changle County, Luo Yong is also preparing for this matter at this time. Although he still doesn't know what the attitude of Chang'an City is, he still decided to take advantage of his time in Changle County to try to Light this fire.

Offense is the best defense. If you don’t seek development and just want to live in comfort, then weakness will eventually become inevitable. Even if there is no Anshi Rebellion, there will be other chaos, and there will be other countries without Dashi Tubo and Goguryeo.

Tang Jian naturally understood this truth.

Living in Chang'an City before, he was also somewhat blinded by the prosperity and wealth in front of him. He always felt that the world was peaceful, and no one could make waves anymore. Li Er became the emperor, and he quarreled with him again. He was not very happy, and he was afraid that he would have nothing to do inside and outside the court, so he called friends and friends to enjoy life all day long.

Unexpectedly, when I went to Changle County this time, Luo Yong played such a big game of chess here. Although the chessboard is still empty and there are not many pieces, it can't stand the big enough game!

Master Tang thinks that he is still young, and he can do another big one!