My father, Li Shimin, please call me Crown Prince

Chapter 436 The Ship of the New Era, the People of the Old Era

In the early winter of the twenty-second year of the Zhenguan era, the morning mist in Mingzhou Port carried the crisp sound of copper coins clashing.

Ten sand barges bearing the "fishing and hunting" flag were quietly leaving the shore, their holds crammed with undeclared Shu brocade and porcelain.

According to the new tariff policy, this batch of goods would have to pay 30,000 strings of cash, while smuggling would only require bribing the inspector with 3,000 strings of cash, and the remaining profit would be enough for the ship owner to buy a three-courtyard house in Chang'an.

Such scenes were playing out in every port of the Tang Dynasty, as maritime trade experienced explosive growth.

Since the implementation of the new naval escort and cargo insurance, customs duties in Lingnan have surged by 70% in six months, and Arabian carpets and spices from the West Market of Chang'an have piled up like mountains.

But the enormous profits acted like a magnet, attracting countless people who wanted to take shortcuts.

The remnants of powerful clans used their soldiers to disguise themselves as merchant ships, smuggling salt and iron to Japan in exchange for gold dust.

The Li people of Lingnan were familiar with the reefs and waterways, helping merchants transport goods ashore from "undetectable bays".

Even the minor officials of the Ministry of Revenue were secretly altering customs declarations, writing "ten strings of cash" as "five strings of cash" to share the profit difference with the merchants.

The most rampant was "fake tribute."

Envoys from various countries, under the guise of "tribute," brought far more private goods than tribute into Chang'an, and were exempt from customs duties as per custom.

One Khotan envoy went even further, offering three jade discs as tribute, but his accompanying caravan carried three hundred carts of silk, making a fortune entirely by taking advantage of the "tax exemption for tribute".

When these events reached the Eastern Palace, Li Chengqian was reviewing the "smuggling black ledger" sent from Guangzhou.

It was found by the navy on a smuggling ship, which recorded nearly a year's worth of transactions in Arabic: "In cooperation with the Wang family, we smuggled ten ships of ironware to Silla, making a profit of one million strings of cash" and "We helped the Li people sell stolen Shu brocade, taking a 30% cut."

“Profit can drive people to take risks, even if it means facing mountains of knives and seas of fire.” Li Chengqian slammed the black ledger on the table and said to Dai Zhou, the Minister of Revenue, “Customs duties are the foundation of the new policies, and smuggling is digging up that foundation. Tell me, what should we do?”

Dai Zhou bowed and said, "We can follow the example of land checkpoints and add tax collectors at ports, but merchants are familiar with the waterways, so it may be impossible to guard against them."

Li Chengqian circled the three ports of Guangzhou, Mingzhou, and Yangzhou on the map with his finger: "If it's impossible to defend against, then we must use severe punishment."

“Establish an ‘Inspection Bureau’ which is directly under the Crown Prince’s jurisdiction and is not subject to the jurisdiction of local officials.”

Seven days later, the Inspectorate was established next to the Guangzhou Port wharf.

The first director was Cai Yu, a naval captain.

The people he led were all "tough guys" handpicked from the new navy – they could dive, knew nautical charts, were good at fighting tough battles, and could even speak a few words of Arabic and Persian.

The Investigation Department's methods were more ruthless than expected, continuing His Highness the Crown Prince's consistent style.

Before entering the port, all merchant ships must stay in the "pre-inspection area" for half a day, where divers will dive to inspect the bottom of the ship.

When declaring customs, a "three-dimensional form" must be filled out, with one copy each for the ship owner, cargo, and route. These forms are kept on file by the Inspection Department, the Maritime Affairs Department, and the Navy, respectively. If the three forms do not match, the ship will be detained.

In response to the "fake tribute," they set up a "tribute verification office" at the Zhuque Gate in Chang'an. Any goods brought by envoys that exceeded three times the value of the tribute were subject to additional taxes. They also sent interpreters to verify the identities of the envoys, and if any merchants were found to be impersonating envoys, they were thrown directly into the Ministry of Justice's prison.

The most ingenious one is "reverse fishing".

This is in accordance with the instructions given by His Highness the Crown Prince.

The Inspection Department had its informants pose as smugglers and contact the Li tribes that helped transport smuggled goods, arranging a transaction in a certain bay.

When the other party appeared with their goods, the ambushing navy suddenly surrounded them and wiped out both the men and the ship.

The first to be caught was the largest smuggling gang in Lingnan, whose leader was the son of the former governor of Guangzhou during the Sui Dynasty. When he was arrested, he shouted, "My grandfather did the same thing back then, why are you arresting me now!"

According to the Crown Prince's order, all the property of this group was confiscated, the leader was beheaded immediately, and the rest were exiled to repair the sea falcon warship.

On the day of the execution, merchants from Guangzhou Port were all ordered to watch, and a copy of the smuggling black account was hung next to the execution ground.

This was deliberately shown to those established families who were still observing.

The Arab merchant community was also shocked. An Arab nobleman named Abdullah, relying on his connections with powerful figures in Chang'an, secretly used "ship cargo insurance" to insure a ship of "ordinary goods," which were actually embargoed sulfur.

Gunpowder was prevalent in the Tang Dynasty. Although the formula was not yet clear, neighboring countries all wanted to have cannons like the one the prince had.

The raw materials for gunpowder could not be kept secret from those who were interested.

The inspectors didn't expose him on the spot, but stopped the ship as he was leaving port: "According to regulations, the cargo must be opened for inspection." Abdullah retorted angrily, "I am an Arab nobleman, do you dare to inspect me?"

Cai Yu smiled.

The Arab Empire was essentially the Abbasid Caliphate.

Small-scale wars occasionally break out in the Western Regions.

The title of Arab noble was still 'useful' in the Tang Dynasty.

That being said, the Tang Dynasty was the Celestial Empire, so what were the nobles of other countries compared to it?

According to the new policy, those who smuggle prohibited goods will be executed and their goods confiscated.

Abdullah was so frightened that he collapsed on the deck, but he could not escape his fate of being beheaded.

After this incident spread, foreign businessmen dared not try anything funny anymore, and even filled out their customs declarations in more detail than required by the government.

The audit department's iron-fisted approach quickly yielded results.

Within three months, smuggling cases at Guangzhou Port decreased by 70%, while tariffs increased by 20% compared to the previous month. Those Li tribes who relied on smuggling for a living, seeing that business had stopped, instead turned to the Inspection Department as "guides," helping them find smuggling dens hidden in the reefs.

Because the Crown Prince said, "Those who report smugglers will receive 10% of the proceeds of their crimes."

Deeper undercurrents were still surging, with powerful clans using more covert methods to have their merchant ships secretly trade in more distant waters, unloading their goods directly onto the other ship.

Li Chengqian directly ordered the navy to patrol the surrounding waters and inspect any ships without customs declarations!
Now, the Tang Dynasty is the master of this vast ocean.

Smuggling cannot be completely avoided, but after various crackdowns, it has been greatly reduced.
-
The twenty-third year of the Zhenguan era.

Lantern Festival.

The lights on Zhuque Avenue in Chang'an are 30% brighter than in previous years.

A vendor selling flatbread pushed his new cart through the crowd, a red sticker on the cart reading "Insured by Huitong Company" affixed to it.

Merchants from the Western Regions used Tang Dynasty banknotes to buy an entire ship of porcelain; the vermilion bird pattern on the banknotes gleamed under the lanterns.

Even the old soldiers sweeping the streets can utter new terms like "county six departments" and "performance evaluation law".

This is the Lantern Festival night scene in the Tang Dynasty, two years after the implementation of the Crown Prince's new policies.

Looking down from the top of Chang'an, the changes have already been etched into the entire era.

New vitality flows through the veins of the economy.

The number of shops in Chang'an's West Market has doubled compared to three years ago, with Persian carpets displayed alongside Shu brocade, and Arabian spices and Jiangnan tea placed side by side.

The drafts from the Huitong Company rustled on the counter, and merchants could exchange ivory brought from Guangzhou for copper coins in Luoyang with just a piece of paper.

The abacus at Datang Money Shop hummed all night long, and the Yangzhou salt merchants earned back the interest on their "business loans" in just six months.

The most astonishing thing was the Lingnan customs duty, which jumped from one million strings of cash before the new policy to three and a half million strings of cash, enough to support ten new naval armies.

Those officials who once criticized the government for "competing with the people for profit" now dare not utter the words "emphasizing agriculture and suppressing commerce" again, looking at the surplus in the Ministry of Revenue's accounts.

New rules are emerging among the paths and lanes of the countryside.

An old farmer from Henan Province held a "New Register of Equal Land Distribution," on which was marked in red ink "Three-Year Tax Exemption for Land Reclamation."

The military households in Longyou no longer surrounded the commandant's territory, but instead registered with the county military department as "farm escort teams," where they could both protect grain carts and earn wages. In the county rites department's school for promoting education, the local children recited "The people are the foundation of the state" with their teacher, and a picture of a new waterwheel was drawn on the blackboard.

That was an improvement made by a scholar who had passed the imperial examination in practical matters, along with craftsmen; it was 30% faster than the old waterwheel.

During his inspection tour, Fang Xuanling discovered that even the most remote counties had "performance evaluation lists" with scores such as "Encouraging Agriculture and Sericulture: Superior" and "Irrigation and Water Conservancy: Average." People would point and whisper among themselves as they passed by, making it clear at a glance which official was good and which was bad.

New sails are hoisted on the waves of the sea.

There are fifty more sea hawks in Guangzhou Port than three years ago, with their cannons pointed at the pirates in the Strait of Malacca.

The shipyards in Mingzhou operated day and night, and the craftsmen built "watertight cabin ships" according to the "New Techniques for Ship Construction".

The navy's report stated: "Only seven merchant ships were robbed this year, which is 30% of the number in previous years."

Meanwhile, the black flag of the Inspection Department flies in the port, and those once wealthy families who made their fortunes through smuggling now dare not even let their merchant ships approach the high seas.

A fresh atmosphere permeated the beams and pillars of the imperial court.

Half of the officials in the Six Ministries were from humble backgrounds, and they brought with them the mathematical skills of the "Practical Studies" department, making them more accurate in their calculations than the sons of aristocratic families.

The county magistrate, who came from a humble background, spoke eloquently about local affairs in the Zichen Hall, making the old ministers who could only quote classics blush with shame.

Even Fang Xuanling praised the "system of transferring clerks to officials" in his memorial, saying that "it gave veteran clerks something to look forward to."

As the prime minister of the current dynasty, he was in charge of managing state affairs.

After the new policy was implemented, Fang Xuanling was the one who understood the changes best.

He used to work overtime every night, but now he has a lot of free time, and many trivial matters don't even need to be put on his desk.

Correspondingly, his power was reduced, but Fang Xuanling's health improved considerably; he had previously been worn out by overwork.

Having reached his position, there's nothing more to go up, and he has no particular attachment to power.

Only the seats of powerful clans became increasingly vacant, their manors were broken into small pieces by the "separate tax system," and their sons either went to study mathematics or guarded their empty fortified villages and cursed the new policies.

No matter how loud the criticism, it couldn't stop poor students from carrying the "Performance Evaluation Law" into the Ministry of Personnel.

In a side courtyard of Ganlu Palace, Li Shimin looked at the "Illustrations of People's Livelihood in the Twenty-Fourth Year of Zhenguan" handed to him by Zhang Anan.

The map shows that the number of reclaimed fields has increased by 20% compared to two years ago, the number of displaced people has decreased by 70%, 300 new irrigation canals have been opened, and 15 ocean shipping routes have been established.

The most striking change was in Chang'an's population, which increased from one million to 1.4 million. Among them, 30% were foreign merchants who came to do business, poor families seeking fame and fortune, and artisans learning crafts.

"Chengqian used three years to completely change the appearance of my Zhenguan era."

Li Shimin touched the map of the new naval route and suddenly laughed: "Back then, I conquered the world with swords and spears; he governed the world with laws and regulations."

Zhang Anan said in a low voice, "The people all say that His Highness the Crown Prince has made money work, made officials clean, and made the sea peaceful, but he has killed too many people."

Li Shimin gazed at the lights outside the wall: "We are killing those who block our way."

"The new policy is like plowing the land. How can you plant new crops if you don't turn the soil? It's just that the plow is too sharp and turns the soil too deep, which inevitably hurts some innocent people."

The implementation of the new policy will naturally harm innocent people, but how can reforms be done without death?

Today, the Tang Dynasty is brimming with real vitality.

The disaster victims in Henan Province are now planting mulberry trees on the newly built river embankment, the Li people of Lingnan are bringing spices to the county treasury to pay taxes, and even small kingdoms in the Western Regions are sending their children to Chang'an to learn the "Tang Ticket Techniques".

These are all things he wanted to do but couldn't accomplish back then.

Furthermore, Li Shimin was quite satisfied with the current situation.

Li Chengqian made many moves, but his actions towards his father, the emperor, were very small. Since the first year of the new policies, power had been almost entirely concentrated in the Eastern Palace.

The officials in the court no longer had any thoughts of restoration, and the powerful clans were even more in dire need of protection.

The national treasury can no longer be described as full. The burden of increasing the number of officials seems heavy, but the new policies have brought even greater benefits. The Tang Dynasty Bank alone has turned what once seemed like a burden that would overthrow the dynasty into a joke.

Because of the increase in officials and the separation of military and political affairs, the power structure was restructured, and the imperial decrees could now reach the county level directly.

Under such circumstances, in just two years, it seemed that everyone had forgotten about him as emperor.

That is why Li Shimin is now much more relaxed.

Last winter, Li Shimin also went on a winter hunt.

The Crown Prince's side did not object.

Even if Li Shimin left the Taiji Palace, there would be no longer any ground for his restoration.

Two years is both short and long.

For a dynasty, it's just a blink of an eye.

But for the Tang Dynasty, it was a completely different era.

Before he knew it, Li Shimin had become a person of the old era.

However, Li Shimin himself didn't feel any regret, since he was living a pretty good life now.

The dietary regulations are no longer what they used to be.

Three new chefs from Lingnan have arrived at the imperial kitchen, specializing in roasting suckling pig over lychee wood. The golden, crispy skin is drizzled with a sauce made from honey and plum juice; when you cut into it, oil splatters onto the white porcelain plate, mingling with the aroma of the meat and wafting outside the palace.

When Li Shimin tasted it for the first time, he was frowning at the "People's Livelihood Picture" when the sweet and sour aroma of smoky food entered his nose and made him forget his previous thoughts.

"Is this sauce made with dried tangerine peel from Xinhui?"

He smacked his lips, and seeing the cook nod, he smiled and waved his hand: "People used to say that Lingnan was full of miasma, but it turns out that all the good things are hidden in that miasma."

On the imperial table today, Persian grape wine is served in crystal glasses, placed alongside Chang'an rice wine.

Ostrich meat, a tribute from Arab merchants, was sliced ​​thinly and cooked in a bone broth pot along with mutton.

Even the cold dishes are sprinkled with peppercorns from the Western Regions, making people sweat with spiciness, yet they can't help but take another bite.

The eunuch in charge of the meals said that half of the ingredients were newly ordered from merchant ships by the Ministry of Finance, and the other half were "local tributes" sent monthly by the prefectures and counties of Lingnan.

According to the new policy, prefectures and counties no longer need to offer rare delicacies, but instead send the most common local foods, which allows the imperial kitchen to have fresh and exciting dishes every day.

The palace was filled with new and exciting gadgets every day.

The craftsmen of the Bureau of Circulation made a "self-ringing clock" with the twenty-eight constellations engraved on its brass casing. When the time came, the pendulum would strike with a "dong," and it was far more accurate than the water clock in the palace. At first, Li Shimin was always startled by the sound of the clock, but later he developed a habit of knowing that it was time to go to the side courtyard to bask in the sun when he heard the clock ring.

The Crown Prince's Palace also sent a "glass mirror," which was ten times brighter than a bronze mirror, and could even clearly see the newly sprouted white hairs at his temples.

Li Shimin stroked his beard in front of the mirror and saw that his complexion was rosy and he looked even younger than he had two years ago. He turned to Zhang Anan and said, "You see, minding your own business is really good for your health."

What he enjoyed most was the "sand table map" sent by Li Chengqian.

The sand table was half the size of a room, with mountains and rivers of the Tang Dynasty made of glutinous rice mixed with fine sand. Small wooden boats were placed at the location of Guangzhou Port, and Zhuque Avenue in Chang'an was painted in red. Even camel models stood in the desert of the Western Regions.

Li Shimin often squatted beside the sand table, gesturing along the new navy's route with his finger: "How much faster is it from here to the Abbasid Caliphate than by land?"

The historian guarding the sand table replied, "Your Majesty, the navy reports that sailing with the ocean currents will only take two months, which is half a year faster than the merchant fleet."

(End of this chapter)