I heard that Wang Zhongxiao wanted to restrict the cultivation of tea and restrict the trade of tea. Pen, fun, and www.biquge.info

Zheng Chenggong pondered for a while and asked, "Changru, is the price of grain rising now?" ”

Wang Zhongxiao hesitated for a while and said, "Back to the prince, a large amount of grain has been transported in Nanyang, and the price of grain has dropped slightly in recent years. ”

Zheng Chenggong nodded and said: "Since this is the case, Changru, there is no restriction on the trade of tea for the time being, you should pay more attention to the price changes of grain and tea in the market, and report any abnormalities at any time!" ”

Wang Zhongxiao heard it and said: "Lord Wang, no, I will build a country with agriculture in the Ming Dynasty, and if I don't restrict the tea fields, I will have no food to eat one day!" ”

Zheng Chenggong smiled and shook his head again, these Confucian students are really ......

Zheng Chenggong looked at Wang Zhongxiao and said, "Changru, the landlord's gang saw that tea could make money, so they planted tea instead!" ”

"Yes!" Wang Zhongxiao said.

"Rare things are expensive, less tea, more grain. That's why tea will rise and food will fall! But Changru, have you ever thought that in the future, when there are more tea fields, will the price of tea be as high as it is now? At that time, tea will be cheap and grain will be expensive. The world is bustling for profit, and those landlords see that it is cost-effective to grow food, and they will turn around and plant food! ”

Wang Zhongxiao felt that there was something wrong with this statement, but he just couldn't refute Zheng Chenggong. "Lord Wang, this ...... That ......"

"I know what you want to say, even if that's the case, I'm afraid that the fluctuation of food prices will affect social stability!"

Wang Zhongxiao's eyes lit up, and he hurriedly said: "Yes, that's what Xia Guan thinks." ”

"Grain hurts farmers! The fact that the price of food is now falling indicates that the food supply is now sufficient. If it continues to fall, the income of those peasants will drop sharply, and then it will affect social stability. So it's not a bad thing for farmers to plant some other crops and reduce the amount of food. However, it is necessary to grasp this scale well and maintain a balance between the prosperity of the people and the prosperity of the peasants. This is also the responsibility of the state! ”

"So the prince asked his subordinates to pay close attention to the price of grain and tea!"

"Yes! Whether it is farmers or ordinary people, there is a lag in prices and market news, and it is easy to misjudge. This requires senior state officials to be anticipatory and develop appropriate guidelines. These instructions cannot be one-size-fits-all and should be handled with gentle techniques. If you see tea go up like this, something will go wrong. Publish some policies in newspapers and periodicals, and at the same time slowly increase the tea tax, and at the same time slowly reduce the land tax. Let those farmers have a buffer. ”

Wang Zhongxiao nodded and said, "Changru has been taught!" ”

Zheng Chenggong looked at Wang Zhongxiao and asked, "Changru, how many years have you been here with me?" ”

Wang Zhongxiao thought for a while and said, "It's been seven years!" ”

Zheng Chenggong sighed, "It's been so long. Changru, he has been Zheng Jiajun's financial steward for a few years! In the past few years, do you feel that the Confucian doctrines you have studied in the past have helped you a lot? ”

Wang Zhongxiao was silent and didn't know how to answer.

"Reality is the cruelest! No matter how much you don't want to admit it, it's standing in front of you just like that. Chang Confucian, "half of the Analects rule the world", "familiar with the four books and five classics to know the world" is just a beautiful bubble. If you are unwilling to face and learn, the times will eventually eliminate you. You know what I mean? “

Wang Zhongxiao nodded with difficulty, arched his hand and said, "Xiaguan understands!" ”

Zheng Chenggong waved his hand and said, "You go down and think about it!" ”

"Yes, the lower official retired"

……

Zheng Chenggong and Wang Zhongxiao when discussing the issue of tea in Nanjing.

Far away in London, England, the actual controller of England, Cromwell, the actual controller of England, slowly tasted Chinese black tea at the Royal Opera House in London and enjoyed the song and dance, but he was thinking about the total trade value of England this year.

After some calculations, he sadly found that England had exhausted all the wealth it had been a pirate and had plundered from the colonies all year because of the purchase of tea, porcelain, and other Chinese goods.

At this time, England was not England after the Industrial Revolution in the 19th century, the Industrial Revolution had not yet begun, and European industries were very backward compared to China.

Not to mention England, the Chinese people were not very interested in the goods of the whole of Europe, which led to the purchase of Chinese goods in England, which could only use precious metals such as silver and gold.

In the three years from 1952 to 1955 alone, England paid £2 million in silver for tea alone, not to mention porcelain and silk.

At present, England, and indeed the whole of Europe, has a huge trade deficit with China.

As the trade deficit grew, there were fewer and fewer silver and gold coins circulating in the European market, resulting in the phenomenon of expensive money and cheap goods.

In order to save the financial crisis, England introduced the "Stamp Duty Act" against the colonies on the one hand, and at the same time increased the exploitation of the colonies.

On the one hand, it restricts the circulation and sales of Chinese goods in England and increases the tax rate on Chinese goods.

But the increase in the tax rate did not stop the sales of Chinese goods in England. In order to buy these Chinese goods, many families save money, just so that when relatives and friends visit, they can take out Chinese porcelain with dignity and let guests taste Chinese black tea.

And with the restraining order, the smuggling wave swarmed, and Cromwell was pessimistic to find that the restriction on China not only did not reduce the silver and gold coins, but also the national revenue.

To resolve this dilemma, Cromwell appointed his close confidant Fairfax as Prime Minister Extraordinary of the East India Company.

Cromwell's task for him was to find a way to make money and help England solve its trade deficit.

At the time of his appointment, Fairfax was on the lookout for a commodity that China also desperately needed, a commodity that was as much in demand in England as it was for Chinese porcelain and tea.

Fairfax's first thought was cotton, and cotton was grown wildly in India.

It worked well at first. The Chinese people have a large population, and the output of cotton is far from meeting the demand.

But soon, it turned out that cotton had only made the situation better, but the deficit had not changed.

Fairfax wanted to turn his hair gray and couldn't find any other way, so he set his sights on opium. (To be continued.) )