After the news of the incident in Yizhou spread, prices in Chang'an also began to be affected. First, food prices began to rise.
Why does the incident in Yizhou have anything to do with Changan Food?
Because Dizhou and several nearby states were the largest source of sugar supply in the Tang Dynasty, and here was the largest sugar cane producing area in the Tang Dynasty, some people may wonder why southern Sichuan is rich in sugar cane.
This is a climate problem. The climate in the Tang Dynasty was much warmer than it is now. Southern Sichuan not only produced sugar cane, it was also rich in lychees, which were shipped to Chang'an and became Yang Guifei's favorite.
Elephants also flock in groups, and elephants are trained in major sugar cane plantations for transportation.
In addition, another reason is that Tianzhu’s sugar-cooking technique was introduced to the Tang Dynasty from Yunnan and Myanmar, and first took root in the southwest region.
In addition to rising sugar prices, tax reform has been a hot topic of concern for both the government and the opposition since November last year.
In November last year, the salt and iron monopoly was officially launched in various parts of Datang.
At present, the tax reform has begun to be fully implemented. First, salt, iron and wine have begun to be monopolized. The salt and iron taxes belong to the court, and the wine tax belongs to the local governments. Each locality is particularly active in the control of wine. First, the koji cakes for brewing are controlled by the government, and then the wine is controlled by the government.
You need to apply for a license from the government. Not everyone can make wine, and private winemaking by farmers is not allowed. The minimum penalty is a fine, and the worst case is imprisonment.
Immediately afterwards, the deed tax also returned to the local government, so the local government was also very active in the deed tax. It stipulated that any transaction and lease of houses and land must be done through a local person, using a contract printed by the government. If there is no official tax stamp, then the tax will be paid and the deed tax will be paid.
A fine will be imposed, and the government will not recognize the legality of the transaction.
The fact that the government does not recognize the transaction is very damaging.
For example, Zhang San is a tenant farmer who leases twenty acres of land from Li Si for farming without signing a contract. It is a private lease. This has two consequences. Once caught by the government, not only Li Si will have to pay taxes, but also be fined.
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The second consequence is that at the end of the year, Zhang San will not rent to Li Si, or there is a dispute. Once the lawsuit is filed, the government will rule that Zhang San wins. Why? Because the lease is illegal, the lease does not exist, and Li Si not only rents
If you can't get it, you will be fined by the government.
The same applies not only to leasing land, but also to leasing houses. If the landlord fails to pay the deed tax, once the tenant files a lawsuit, not only will the landlord have to refund the entire rent, but the tenant will also be rewarded with half of the fine.
Now, all lessors will sign the contract and pay the deed tax honestly. Anyway, it will be included in the house rent or ground rent in the end. It is not their responsibility and they can protect their own rights and interests. Why not?
As for buying and selling houses and land, you must pay deed tax, otherwise the land deed will not be passed through the household.
Although there were inevitably some complaints after the liquor tax and deed tax were promoted, and the sharp increase in salt prices made many large salt consumers angry, mainly shops selling pickled foods.
But another benefit is immediate. Land taxes have dropped significantly, and household taxes are even more surprising. Eighty percent of households no longer have to pay household taxes.
During Li Heng's reign, in order to raise military salary, the land tax increased to an astonishing 3 out of 10 taxes. The household tax started at 5 guan per household per year. If the population was large and the household was designated as a large household, the household tax would be 10 guan per year.
Tax.
Not only did it make the people miserable, but it also made local officials miserable. The household tax also caused countless families to be ruined, and even their children were secretly buried after they were born.
Now it's the other way around. If you only have one child, you will have to pay household tax, which is still 5 guan per year. If you have two children, it will be reduced by half, and if you have three children, it will be waived.
This has fundamentally removed the shackles of people's reluctance to have children. There is no need to pay a poll tax to have children, and every household has begun to prepare for pregnancy. After all, the concept of having more children means happiness has always been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people.
The land tax was also reduced to thirty-one, a tenfold reduction, and the household tax that worried every household at the end of the year was also waived. The people all over the world burst into joy, and everyone raised their arms and shouted, "Long live His Majesty the Emperor."
But many officials and scholars are also worried that how can the court maintain such reductions and exemptions?
The answer soon came out: salt prices skyrocketed.
Since November last year, the price of salt has increased to 500 cents per dou, which is fifty times higher than before. In the past, during the Tianbao period, a dou of salt could only cost ten cents.
Moreover, the price of Douyan 500 yuan is still the price of coarse salt. Coarse salt is sold directly after crystallizing seawater or brine. It has large particles, dark color and bitter taste.
The imperial court also introduced fine salt at the same time. Fine salt was diluted with fresh water, then recrystallized, and then ground into powder. It was white in color, had a much saltier taste, and had no bitter taste. However, the price of fine salt was eighty cents per catty, which was quite a lot.
It's a lot of money per bucket, and the price is twice that of coarse salt.
Although the price of salt has skyrocketed, ordinary families who are accustomed to spending a lot of money on salt cannot accept it. But if you calculate carefully, as long as you don't make pickles, your family won't actually use much salt in a month.
Many housewives even find that although fine salt is twice as expensive as coarse salt, it is actually more economical. Coarse salt requires at least five or six pounds a month, while one pound of fine salt is enough.
After several months of practice, the sales of coarse salt began to plummet, while the sales of fine salt soared. A year later, coarse salt disappeared from the market.
People all over the world complained about the skyrocketing price of salt from the very beginning. After a few months, the complaints gradually disappeared. On the one hand, the complaints were useless, and on the other hand, everyone enjoyed a large reduction or even reduction of land tax and household tax, which was convenient.
I understand the difficulties faced by the court, but more importantly, it actually doesn’t cost much to buy salt every month. For a small population, one pound of fine salt is enough. For a large population, two pounds at most would only cost one hundred and sixty cents.
In fact, if you calculate it, if you eat two kilograms of fine salt a month, it will cost you two guan of money a year. But ordinary people don't calculate the accounts like this. It doesn't matter if you spend more than 100 yuan a month, but if you collect two guan of money in a year, it will cost you a lot.
their lives.
After the price of salt began to rise sharply, a high-quality vegetable produced in Guanzhong, tripe cabbage, began to sell well all over the world, and then the imperial court forced officials to promote its cultivation in various parts of the north.
Emperor Li Ye gave tripe a new name to Chinese cabbage.
Promoting Chinese cabbage is also one of the important measures to cooperate with the salt tax reform. In the past, every household had to pickle vegetables and consumed a lot of salt. At that time, it was only ten cents for a pound of salt, and no one felt bad about it. Now, fine salt costs eighty cents per catty, and vegetables are pickled.
Sorry, what can we eat in winter without pickles?
So Chinese cabbage came out. Chinese cabbage has a large yield and grows even in winter. It is simply a life-saving vegetable in the north. Every household has begun to grow Chinese cabbage in their vegetable plots, and of course radishes.
So where does the saying "radish and cabbage" come from? Every household in the north relies on eating radish and cabbage in winter.
The Yizhou incident triggered a rise in sugar prices. At this time, sugar was not a monopoly of the imperial court. Although Changpingcang quickly invested in affordable sugar to suppress the rise in sugar prices, the Nanzhao issue appeared in the public eye because of the sugar price incident.
For a time, the entire government and the public were talking about Nanzhao. In early February, Emperor Li Ye made a decision. He would send 50,000 elite troops to attack Nanzhao, led by Li Sheng, the governor of Longyou, and Qu Huan, the governor of Jiannan, as his deputy general.
, led 50,000 Guanlong troops to Bashu to prepare for war.
Li Sheng was appointed deputy marshal of Zhengnan, and Hun Jian, the governor of Hezhou, served concurrently as the governor of Longyou.
In the Imperial Study Room, Li Sheng pointed to the sand table and said: "After entering Bashu, the Bizhonghui led 50,000 troops to Longyou County, Jiazhou for training. The Ordnance Supervisor promised the Bizhong that all training mines would be in place by the end of February, and March at the latest.
In the middle of the month, firearms and equipment for 10,000 people will be provided."
Training mines are arrow mines without explosives. Hand-thrown mines and thunder mines are made of ceramics and equipped with match ropes. They actually train soldiers to control the match ropes.
There are two scales on the match ropes of all firearms of the Tang Army. One is a green line, indicating preparation for ejection, and the other is a red line. When the fire reaches this point, it must be shot immediately. This ensures that the fire mine explodes when it hits the ground or before it hits the ground.
This is the basis for becoming a firearms soldier. You must undergo basic training before you can use firearms.
"How to distribute firearms and equipment for 10,000 people?" Li Ye asked.
"Reporting to your majesty, two thousand people are equipped with thunderbolts, equipped with three types of thunderbolts, a total of five hundred thunderbolts, five thousand arrows and thunder troops, each equipped with five arrows and thunders, and then three thousand troops are equipped with explosive arrows, each equipped with ten.
, which is mainly against buildings and ships."
Li Ye nodded and asked again: "Has General Li ever understood the reasons for the tragic defeat of the Tang army in the tenth year of Tianbao and the thirteenth year of Tianbao?"
"Reporting to Your Majesty, I have carefully inquired and read the records. In the tenth year of Tianbao, the Tang army was not adapted to the hot and humid climate. Another main reason was that the opponent used elephant soldiers. In the key battle, the opponent drove thousands of elephants.
The elephants attacked the Tang army's formation, and the Tang army was defeated, with tens of thousands of people lost. This was the key point in the final defeat of the Tang army.
As for the battle in the thirteenth year of Tianbao, it was because Tubo sent troops to attack the Tang army from behind, causing the Tang army to be attacked from both sides and defeated."
"Are you confident about dealing with the elephant soldiers?"
Li Sheng nodded lightly, "Fifty thousand Tang troops are equipped with gunpowder arrows. They use gunpowder arrows to shoot the elephants from a long distance. If it doesn't work, they use arrows and thunder to intimidate. If it still doesn't work in the end, they will use kerosene to burn them. This way
It constitutes nearly 30% of the defense from far to medium, I believe it will be effective!"
Li Ye pointed at Yizhou Road with a wooden pole: "Once the firearms and equipment are completed, the army will march to Yizhou immediately. You must remember four points. First, eliminate the effective strength of Nanzhao and Tubo armies and do not accept surrender. Second, restore Tianbao."
Nine years of border, third, return of all the captive Han people, fourth, accept the surrender of Nanzhao, occupy Taihe City at the same time, and transport all wealth back to the Tang Dynasty to make up for the war expenses!"
Li Sheng bowed and said: "Your Majesty's order, I will bear this humiliation in mind!"