Chapter 4: The tea and horse market!

"Haha! Father-in-law, there are many grasslands in Tubo, and there are many cattle and sheep, so there is nothing to say, but I really have a profitable business here."

“Tea business.”

"I dare say that if this tea is on the market, it will be in short supply in a short period of time. If the emperor can make good use of tea, he can also turn the hot potato of Tubo into fat on the table of the Tang Dynasty and nourish my millions of soldiers of the Tang Dynasty."

Xu Tian said casually.

kindness!

Li Shimin was stunned. Can this tea turn Tubo from a hot potato to a fat meat on the dining table?

"Ahem! Son-in-law, you just said that Tubo is a hot potato. What does this mean?

He also said that if the emperor can make good use of tea, he can turn the hot potato of Tubo into fat on the dining table. What does it mean?”

Li Shimin coughed twice and asked hurriedly.

Xu Tian looked at Li Shimin, shook his head helplessly and smiled bitterly, saying, "Father-in-law, I have to say a few words to you. As a merchant family, why do you like to care about national affairs so much?"

"The Tubo language and language are different from that of our Tang Dynasty, but they actively depend on our Tang Dynasty. Although precious things such as pearls and agate are presented every year, can these things fill the people's stomachs?"

"Tubo seems to have given precious treasures, but he has exchanged them for food that can fill his stomach!"

"This is like a maggot in the tarsal bones, constantly sucking the flesh and blood of my Tang Dynasty and strengthening themselves. Now they seem well-behaved, and when they become stronger in the future, they will inevitably become a disaster for my Tang Dynasty! Isn't this a hot potato?"

Xu Tian said with a sneer.

Li Shimin couldn't help but fall into deep thought. When Tubo asked for food from the Tang Dynasty, he always refused, but the ministers in the court advised him to give food to Tubo, demonstrating the demeanor of the Tang Dynasty!

This is also a helpless move. Those small foreign countries are all people who eat raw meat and drink blood. If they do not fill their stomachs, they will constantly bite the Tang Dynasty like flies!

Not only are border wars frequent, but the people will also suffer from misery.

"What you said is light. If the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty did not give food to those small foreign countries, they would not be stable. In this way, wars would occur frequently on the border and the people would be in trouble. Do you want Your Majesty to see such a situation happening?"

Fang Xuanling asked in a deep voice.

"Haha! You don't really think that those small foreign countries take the initiative to rely on our Tang Dynasty because our Tang Dynasty will give them food, right?"

"You are all wrong, that's because our Tang Dynasty is powerful!"

"If our Tang Dynasty is weak, why should they ask His Majesty for the gift? Just come and rob it directly?

On the other hand, those small foreign countries depended on our Tang Dynasty and should pay tribute every year and come to the court every year. As for giving them food, why?”

"Are my people in the Tang Dynasty full?

If a country doesn’t even care about its own people, how can it be passed on for a long time?”

Xu Tian said with a sneer.

kindness!

Xu Tian's words directly reminded Li Shimin that disasters occur every year in the Tang Dynasty, and every time there is a disaster, many victims will starve to death.

The reason is that the court’s rescue was not timely, so why was the rescue not timely?

Of course, the imperial court did not have the reserved food, and it took time to raise the food.

If the food given to these small foreign countries could be kept every year, this would not have happened.

"Son-in-law, tell me quickly, what should the emperor do today to use tea to turn Tubo into fat meat on the dining table?"

Li Shimin asked hurriedly.

"It's very simple, tea and horse market!"

Xu Tian said in a deep voice.

"Tea and horse market?"

Li Shimin looked puzzled.

"I just said that as long as tea is promoted, there will be a shortage of supply in a short period of time, and Tubo's demand for tea will be very large. At that time, our Tang Dynasty can completely treat tea as a currency and purchase materials from tea in Tubo! Moreover, if Tubo wants to purchase a large amount of tea, it must be exchanged with horses!"

"Tea leaves are optional to the people of our Tang Dynasty, but war horses can enhance the combat effectiveness of our Tang Dynasty army. One rises and the other falls, and the national strength of Tubo cannot increase, but the Tang Dynasty has been becoming stronger!"

"The Tang Dynasty is becoming more powerful. Do those small foreign countries still dare to covet our Tang Dynasty?

If they want food, they can only buy it. In this way, the wealth of our Tang Dynasty will increase and the people will become richer and richer!"

Xu Tian said in a deep voice.

hehe!

Hearing Xu Tian said, Fang Xuanling laughed. He pointed at Xu Tian and said, "Boy, I thought you were going to say something shocking, but I didn't expect that you would say such a mess!"

"Do you know that Tubo only bought a batch of tea cakes from my Tang Dynasty at first, but never bought them again. It is said that it is because Tubo hates the taste of tea cakes."

"Unless all the Tubo people are fools, they will never trade horses for tea cakes."

When Xu Tian heard what Fang Xuanling said, he smiled and said, "Haha! It seems that you really don't understand Tubo, let alone Tubo!"

"I said before that the high terrain of Tubo is and the air pressure is low. If the air pressure is low, it means that the boiling water there is not as high as the boiling water of our Tang Dynasty!"

"Think about it, if we want to drink tea, we have to cook tea cakes. The water temperature is not as hot as that of Tubo here. Can the tea cakes be boiled?"

"It's complicated and cannot be cooked. This is why the Tubo people don't like tea cakes."

"Tea leaves are different. They are made by picking fresh tea leaves, and they are made through processes such as greening, finishing greening, heat dissipation, rolling, drying and shaping, lifting hair, and foot fire."

"The tea leaves made in this way are not a complete piece, but each leaf is scattered and can be soaked at half the temperature of boiling water. Moreover, because the tea leaves have a fragrant smell, it also has the effect of detoxifying greasy and clearing intestinal oil."

"Tubo people often eat beef and mutton. There is a lot of oil in their intestines. Over time, it will also be a burden on their bodies. Tea can help them clean the intestine oil and make their bodies healthier!"

"My father-in-law only needs to find a few Tubo merchants to taste the tea, which will definitely make them love it and buy in large quantities!"

The Tang Dynasty tea cake is made by picking fresh tea leaves, mashing them, ginseng, ginger, pepper, and large ingredients!

This kind of tea cake is not pure, the original aroma of tea will be covered by ginger, pepper, etc. Moreover, the tea cake must be cooked before it can be drunk.

Because it is too troublesome to drink, it is difficult for people to develop the habit of drinking tea, not to mention that the boiling water in Tubo is insufficient, so it is difficult to boil the tea cakes.

But tea leaves are different, perfectly avoiding all the shortcomings of tea cakes.

It is precisely because Tubo had a huge demand for tea that during the Tang Dynasty, the court would purchase tea with the official purchase of tea and exchange horses with the Tubo people. This is the famous tea-horse market!
Chapter completed!