Chapter 139: The World raise the Zhu…

Zhu Zhi arranged for the removal of the feast and presented Huqiu tea, leaving Zhu Gui, Zhu Yang, and Zhu Quan shaking their heads in admiration.

“I heard that Huqiu tea is extremely rare. I never expected to taste it here, Fifteenth Brother.”

Zhu Gui tapped the tea cup with the lid, looked at the slightly white tea, and sniffed the subtle fragrance, with a faint elegance.

“The purity cannot be defiled, for drinking to cleanse worldly troubles. This beverage is believed to originate from a divine source,” Zhu Quan, well-versed in the art of tea, examined the tea and explained, “This is the Tiger Hill tea mentioned in the work ‘Joyful Tea Growth in the Wuqiu Garden’ written by Wei Yingwu, the governor of Suzhou during the Tang Dynasty.”

“Well said,” Zhu Zhi chuckled, “Historically, people from Suzhou were only familiar with Biluochun^[1]Biluochun or Bi Luo Chun (Chinese: 碧螺春; pinyin: Bì luó chūn; pronounced [pî.lwǒ.ʈʂʰwə́n]) is a famous green tea originally grown in the … Continue reading, seldom knowing about Huqiu tea. Little did they know, Huqiu tea is also exquisite and beyond description.”

“I’ve heard from a certain book that says: Huqiu tea, the most refined, crowns the world. Hehe, although it’s just one opinion, it seems reasonable given after tasting it today.”

Zhu Quan, enjoying the deep-colored tea leaves expanding in the water, appreciated it with satisfaction.

Famous teas, born from nature but perfected by humans.

During the Tang Dynasty, most famous teas were tribute teas, and the main tea-producing region was the Shu region. This continued until the Song Dynasty when the tea-producing regions in Jiangnan, Zhejiang, and Fujian surpassed the status of the Ba and Shu tea regions.

During the Tang and Song dynasties, most teas were in the form of cakes.

If you read ancient texts, you will find that they didn’t measure tea in “cups” but rather in “bowls,” “ou^[2]bowl,” and “zhan^[3]bowl.” Before drinking tea, they needed to go through processes like “baking” and “grinding.”

To put it bluntly, most teas at that time were made into cakes.

If you wanted to “brew tea” or “pan-fry tea” today, you would take out the tea cake, roast it over a fire, let it cool, grind some of the cake into powder, then put it in a tea pot to boil.

Oh, don’t forget to add salt; that’s indispensable. Also, green onions, ginger—remember to include…

If you wanted to add a personal touch, you could throw in some jujubes, orange peel, hawthorn, mint, etc.

In the Tang and Song dynasties, either you expressed your individuality or you followed the literati trend. Do whatever you liked for a custom-made experience. Never mind if others felt nauseated; as long as you enjoyed it.

Loose tea gradually gained popularity during the Song dynasty and was called “grass tea,” not fit for grand occasions.

Thinking about it, if you can drink loose tea today, you should thank Zhu Yuanzhang.

Zhu Yuanzhang didn’t like tea cakes. They were too much trouble. Making tea and drinking it were both bothersome processes, roasting and grilling, adding this and that, and grinding it into fine powder—all for a sip, and your mouth would be full of tea froth.

The taste was unsatisfactory, and the process was complicated, which was detrimental to the people and the stomach.

So, Old Zhu issued a decree in the twenty-fourth year of Hongwu, “Cease making Longtuan, only deliver bud tea,” making loose tea the mainstream.

Most teas in later generations are loose teas, with only a few teas maintaining the cake form, such as Yunnan Pu’er.

These princes usually couldn’t do without tea. After all, eating lamb every day wasn’t a solution, and they needed tea to refresh their palate.

Zhu Quan loved tea. After tasting it, he couldn’t help but ask, “Fifteenth Brother, give me a few catties of Huqiu tea.”

Zhu Zhi almost passed out. Are you asking for tea by the catties?

“Cough, the tea is excellent. Each of us gets three catties. We’ve decided. First, clarify the Emperor’s intentions. What does it mean to the world raise zhu, and who raise the world? There are only a few dozen of us. Where does such alarmist talk come from?”

Zhu Gui placed tea bowl on the table and asked seriously.

The decision King of Liao Zhu Zhi and King of Min Zhu Geng to engage in business is not just a matter for these two kings; it involves all the kings. Without clarifying this matter, who knows when the Emperor will decide to send others into business?

This concerns their fate, they can’t be careless

Zhu Zhi also put away his smile, looking a bit worried, and said, “We are family, so I will speak frankly. Taizu highly valued family ties. Apart from the crown prince, all others are granted the title of prince. The eldest son of the prince can inherit the title of kings, while the other sons of the kings are given the title of county prince.”

“The eldest son of the county prince inherits the title of county prince, and other sons inherit the title of General of Zhen Guo. The sons of General of Zhen Guo are all Generals of Fu Guo. The sons of General of Fu Guo are all Generals of Feng Guo. The sons of General of Feng Guo are Generals of Zhen Guo Zhong Wei. The sons of General of Zhen Guo Zhong Wei are Generals of Fu Guo Zhong Wei. The sons of General of Fu Guo Zhong Wei are Generals of Feng Guo Zhong Wei. The hereditary system remains unbroken.”

“In addition, there are the Emperor’s sisters, who are called Grand Princesses, and the Emperor’s daughters, who are called Princesses. Their selected sons-in-law are appointed as Commanders of the Imperial Guard. The daughters of kings are titled as County Princesses, the daughters of county princes are titled as State Princesses, granddaughters are titled as Commandery Princesses, great-granddaughters are titled as County Ladies, and great-great-granddaughters are titled as Village Ladies. The husbands of County Princesses, State Princesses, Commandery Princesses, County Ladies, and Village Ladies are all titled as Attendants of Honor.”

“These palace regulations, I believe, Thirteenth Brother, Fourteenth Brother, and Seventeenth Brother are all very clear about.”

Zhu Gui, Zhu Yang, and Zhu Quan nodded repeatedly. As members of the royal family, they naturally understood these basic situations.

Zhu Zhi took a deep breath and, with a solemn expression, continued, “According to the court regulations, a king receives 10,000 shi of grain annually, a county prince receives 2,000 shi, a General of Zhen Guo receives 1,000 shi, and Generals of Fu Guo and Feng Guo and Generals of Zhen Guo Zhong Wei, Generals of Fu Guo Zhong Wei, and Generals of Feng Guo Zhong Wei decrease by 200 shi each level. Generals of Fu Guo Zhong Wei and Generals of Feng Guo Zhong Wei decrease by 100 shi each level.”

“Princesses and their Commanders of the Imperial Guard receive 2,000 shi annually, County Princesses and their Attendants of Honor decrease by 200 shi each level, and County Ladies, State Princesses, Commandery Princesses, County Ladies, and Village Ladies decrease by 100 shi each level.”

Zhu Gui was somewhat impatient, knocked on the table, and asked, “As members of the royal family, how could we not be clear about these things? What does this have to do with the world raising Zhu?”

Zhu Zhi looked at Zhu Gui with a bitter smile and said, “Thirteenth Brother, we enjoy wealth and glory, living in peace and prosperity, and we also want our descendants to thrive for thousands of years. Our generation has few offspring, but how many children and grandchildren will there be? By the time of our great-grandchildren, great-great-grandchildren, how many will there be?”

“this…”

Zhu Gui furrowed his brow.

Zhu Yang and Zhu Quan took a deep breath, none of them had thought so far ahead.

Zhu Zhi looked solemnly at the three, saying, “The Emperor has calculated for me and King of Min. After a hundred years, the number of imperial family members in our dynasty will exceed eight thousand. After a hundred and fifty years, it will be close to twenty thousand, and after two hundred years, it will reach an astonishing one hundred and fifty thousand!”

“One hundred and fifty thousand people, assuming the lowest estimation of two hundred dan per person, that’s thirty million dan! The annual tax revenue of our dynasty has only been a little over thirty million dan. With such expenditure, all the grains in the entire nation will be used to support the imperial family. How can this not be considered as the world raising the Zhu?”

“By that time, even with reductions, we would still need at least eight or nine million dan annually to support the imperial family. Even with all the production from Shanxi and Henan combined, it would still be insufficient! Thirteenth Brother, Fourteenth Brother, Seventeenth Brother, what do you say? Isn’t this considered the world raising the Zhu?”

Zhu Gui, Zhu Yang and Zhu Quan were shocked. Who could have thought that from the current few dozen imperial family members, it would multiply to over one hundred and fifty thousand in two hundred years?

But upon closer consideration, even with their father Zhu Yuanzhang, who had twenty-six sons, sixteen daughters, and added sons-in-law, it amounted to fifty-eight.

From one to fifty-eight, it was so simple.

From generation to generation, how many fifty-eights would there be?

Even if these people weren’t as prolific as Zhu Yuanzhang, with each person having three sons and two daughters, there would still be a significant increase.

By then, the number of imperial family members would multiply fivefold…

Iterate further, and the descendants will reach hundreds of thousands; just thinking about it feels terrifying!

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