Late Yuan Dynasty: I am the true emperor

Chapter 548 Marquis of Bowang

"What is this tobacco? What is it used for?"

"It looks like pickled dried vegetables. Could it be some kind of vegetable?"

"In my opinion, this item might be some kind of medicinal herb."

The people present looked at the bundle of tobacco that Chen Youliang had brought and immediately began to discuss it in hushed tones. Li Shanchang was also completely puzzled. Logically speaking, anything that Lu Jin had asked him to find must be of great use, but this thing called tobacco didn't look like grain at all. What could it be?

"Your Majesty, this tobacco...?"

“Oh, this is something people consume for entertainment, just like wine, tea, and sugar. These kinds of things don’t really affect you if you don’t eat or drink them, just like tea leaves. You can live without drinking them, but they are an important source of tax revenue for the imperial court. Tobacco, alcohol, sugar, and tea are indispensable,” Lu Jin explained immediately.

Upon hearing this, everyone suddenly understood. Although they still didn't understand how tobacco was used for entertainment, His Majesty grouped it with things like wine, sugar, and tea, and said it was a source of tax revenue, so they immediately understood its purpose.

Xia Yu then asked curiously, "How is this eaten?"

Before Lu Jin could speak, Chen Youliang smiled and introduced, "This stuff isn't eaten, but burned as tobacco, hence the name. I'll burn a dou (a unit of volume) for you gentlemen to see."

Everyone was stunned upon hearing this. Did they mean to eat smoke and incense? To exhale clouds and smoke? Wouldn't that make one an immortal?
As they spoke, Chen Youliang took out a pipe from his waist, then took out some shredded tobacco from a pouch and put it in the pipe. He then took out a tinderbox, lit the tobacco, and took a satisfying puff. A thick cloud of white smoke swirled in Chen Youliang's mouth, constantly rolling and condensing without dissipating. He then swallowed it in one gulp. A moment later, he exhaled two puffs of smoke from his nostrils, and a look of ecstasy appeared on his face.

Looking at his expression, Lu Jin couldn't help but think to himself, "Damn, he's obviously been inhaling for quite a while now. Otherwise, someone who's just started wouldn't be inhaling so deeply."
The others were also stunned, especially Chen Youliang's intoxicated expression, which was quite intimidating. Feng Guoyong immediately asked curiously, "Just like that? What does it feel like? Normally, the smoke just feels pungent. Is this tobacco different from sandalwood?"

Chen Youliang immediately explained, “This substance can calm the nerves, dispel cold and dampness, relieve worries and fatigue, and even relieve headaches. It can relax the mind and body, and can make people feel slightly tipsy, just like drinking alcohol, but it will not make them as drunk as being completely unconscious. Instead, it can make their minds clearer.”

"It has so many ingenious uses?!"

"Then isn't tobacco almost the same as medicinal herbs?" Everyone was very surprised.

Looking at his expression, Lu Jin asked, "Where did you learn all this from?"

Chen Youliang quickly replied, "Your Majesty, I learned it from the Aztec Grand Master. Before each sacrifice, he would burn tobacco. When Mr. Wang and I visited him, he would always serve us this. So I learned it from him."

Lu Jin nodded, then asked, "Did you learn how to grow and process tobacco from them?"

"Your Majesty is truly a man of extraordinary wisdom and foresight. I have indeed learned some things from them." Chen Youliang said, taking out a small booklet from his robes and handing it over. "Your Majesty, all the techniques I have learned for growing and processing tobacco are recorded in this booklet."

Lu Jin immediately took it and looked through it, while Chen Youliang continued to explain.

"Actually, this kind of tobacco is no different from growing crops. The methods of making tobacco are nothing more than a few. As far as I know, the natives of the Aztecs have three ways of eating tobacco: either they smoke it with such a pipe, or they roll the tobacco in corn leaves and smoke it, or they put it directly into their mouths and chew it raw, which is called chewing tobacco."

"The methods of tobacco making are mainly three: sun-drying, charcoal roasting, and fermentation. Among them, sun-dried tobacco is the most common in Lizhou. Merchants, gentry, and commoners all consume sun-dried tobacco because it does not require much processing and is simple to make. It can be directly hung up to dry and mature."

“Powerful figures like the Imperial Advisor and the City Lord are more particular. They use charcoal to roast tobacco leaves to speed up the ripening process. The most troublesome is fermented tobacco, which requires adding alcohol, spices, and other substances to the tobacco leaves before it can be smoked. It is rare and the most expensive.”

Hearing the man speak so logically, Lu Jin asked again, "Have you tried all of these?"

“I have.”

"What's the difference in taste?"

Chen Youliang immediately explained again, "This seems to be related to the variety. Some tobacco leaves are thicker, so the tobacco produced is spicier and stronger, while some leaves are thinner, so the flavor is milder, but it is more suitable for beginners who are just learning to smoke."

"In terms of preparation, sun-dried tobacco has a slightly astringent taste and a raw tobacco flavor. Beginners may find it spicy and pungent. Charcoal-roasted tobacco has a milder, more mellow flavor with a well-ripened taste. If fruitwood charcoal is used for roasting, it will also have some fruit or wood aroma."

"Fermented tobacco has a cloyingly sweet taste. It's too sweet. I tried it once and felt nauseous. It's so sweet and cloying. I still prefer roasted tobacco."

Lu Jin nodded upon hearing this, which matched his general impression. When he was a child, he had seen some elderly people roll their own cigarettes or buy tobacco leaves grown by farmers at the market in the town. That kind of tobacco was probably sun-dried, which had only undergone simple drying and had a particularly pungent taste and produced a lot of smoke.

Industrialized cigarettes are mostly made from flue-cured tobacco, though some may add sun-cured tobacco, mainly to adjust the flavor. In contrast, South America is the home of fermented tobacco. Cuban cigars are a type of fermented tobacco, but this type of tobacco is usually just held in the mouth to savor the flavor and not inhaled. Chen Youliang inhaled fermented tobacco like flue-cured tobacco, so of course he would find it disgusting.

However, he spoke in such detail that it seems he had indeed done a lot of research. Of course, Chen Youliang also had his own selfish motives. He had become addicted to opium in Lizhou, and if he didn't go to Lizhou again, he would have to find a way to grow it in China. Of course, he had to learn the method of making opium, otherwise he wouldn't even be able to meet his own needs.

Lu Jin then asked one last question, "How many kinds of tobacco seeds did you bring back? How many kilograms does this yield per mu?"

"There's only one kind. Because this tobacco has red flowers, it's also called red flower tobacco. The yield is about 200 jin per mu," Chen Youliang replied immediately.

Lu Jin nodded upon hearing this. As an addictive substance, this production volume was not small. Lu Jin remembered hearing somewhere that in the late Ming Dynasty of the original history, those Mongolian smokers outside the Great Wall could exchange a horse for a pound of tobacco just for a puff of tobacco!
In other words, if managed well, this acre of tobacco leaves can be exchanged for 200 horses!

Of course, this price is abnormal. If it were to be rolled out on a large scale, the price of tobacco wouldn't be so outrageous. After all, it's a consumer product for ordinary people, and the consumption of tobacco is no less than that of tea.

Listening to Lu Jin and Chen Youliang's question and answer, Li Shanchang quickly understood the use of this thing, so he immediately asked, "Does Your Majesty intend to promote the cultivation of this thing like tea?"

“Indeed, once this product is rolled out, it will surely bring more tax revenue to the court, and it will also make it easier for the court to control the surrounding foreign and enemy countries.” Lu Jin nodded immediately.

Upon hearing this, Li Shanchang's heart stirred, and he immediately asked again, "Then, does Your Majesty intend to implement a monopoly on this product like the tea law of the Song Dynasty, or use salt permits like the salt law of the past? Compared to tea, how much tax can be collected on tobacco?"

Lu Jin thought for a moment before saying, "Does Prime Minister Li know how much tea tax was collected annually during the former Song Dynasty?"

Li Shanchang had indeed looked into this matter and immediately said, "It was about 130 million strings of cash per year during the Northern Song Dynasty."

Lu Jin immediately said, "If tobacco were subject to a government monopoly, the profits would be at least ten times that of tea tax!"

"So much?!" Everyone was shocked. At one string of cash and one tael of silver, ten times that would be 1300 million taels, which was not a small amount even for the imperial court.

Seeing that some people didn't believe him, Lu Jin immediately explained, "This is different from tea. It's a fast-moving consumer good with a very high consumption rate. If you don't believe me, ask Vice Envoy Chen how much he smokes a day." "Uh," seeing that everyone was looking at him, Chen Youliang thought for a moment. He was usually bored on the ship and would smoke when he had nothing to do. How could he smoke at least ten or twenty dou a day?

He glanced at the purse in his hand and said, "I'll probably use this purse for a day."

Lu Jin glanced at him. This guy would smoke himself to death sooner or later, and he was smoking an unfiltered pipe. But he didn't advise Chen Youliang to quit smoking. It was better for these non-direct subordinate generals to die sooner rather than later.

Seeing this, everyone seemed to be thinking about it. Xia Yu immediately said, "That is indeed more than tea leaves. Who would drink a whole packet of tea leaves in a day?" The others nodded in agreement.

Feng Guoyong then asked, "What does Your Majesty mean by using tobacco to control foreign enemy states?"

Lu Jin immediately pointed at Chen Youliang again and said, "Actually, tobacco and tea are different in one way. Once you get hooked on tobacco, you will become addicted. Once you are addicted, you will become restless and anxious if you stop smoking. If you don't believe me, ask him if he can quit smoking now."

Seeing everyone looking at him, and hearing Lu Jin's words, Chen Youliang's eyes widened immediately, revealing a somewhat surprised and doubtful expression.

Since he became addicted to this stuff, he has never tried to quit smoking. But thinking back carefully, it seems that he has never stopped smoking since he became addicted. Whenever he has nothing to do, he wants to smoke a whole pipeful. Now that he thinks about it, it is really a bit terrifying. Why didn't His Majesty say anything before? Why didn't he remind them? Could it be that His Majesty wanted to harm him?
Lu Jin then said, “Once this stuff spreads to foreign lands, it can not only earn a lot of gold and silver, such as in Goryeo, but also in the Mongols and Jurchens in the northern deserts. If they get addicted to opium, and they don’t know how to grow it themselves, then who we sell to and who we don’t sell to will be entirely at the mercy of the court. This stuff is much more controllable than ironware or tea.”

"I see!" Everyone suddenly realized.

Chen Youliang then asked, "Your Majesty, are there any harmful effects from prolonged consumption of tobacco?"

He was still a little worried, so he had to ask.

Lu Jin said, "Of course there are harms. First of all, long-term consumption will definitely damage the lungs, but it will not be fatal. Just like drinking alcohol damages the liver. Those who are addicted to alcohol know that strong liquor damages the stomach and liver, but they still drink it anyway. It's just a habit, not as serious as you think."

"Besides, haven't you seen those smokers among the natives of Lizhou? Is there anything wrong with them?"

Chen Youliang thought about it and realized that the smokers in Lizhou were indeed alright, so he breathed a sigh of relief and felt at ease.

Tobacco is certainly harmful, but given the average lifespan in ancient times, people would probably die long before smoking became a fatal habit. So why worry so much? Just smoke!

Besides, this stuff can't be prevented. As long as there is communication with overseas countries, even if the Ming Dynasty doesn't go looking for it, those Western devils will eventually send tobacco to China. Since it can't be prevented, it's better to bring it under the control of the imperial court from the beginning, and we can also collect more taxes.

At this point, Li Shanchang said again, "Your Majesty, although this product can generate tax revenue, it cannot be eaten as food. If it is promoted on a large scale, it may encroach on farmland. It is best to control it. After all, tea is grown on mountains and will not have a significant impact on farmland."

Lu Jin nodded and said, "Of course I have thought about this as well. To promote tobacco planting, we should first focus on mountainous areas, and secondly on sparsely populated areas."

"Therefore, the most suitable places to grow tobacco are actually Yunnan and Guizhou, as well as the mountainous areas of southern Jiangxi, and Sichuan. We can also add Henan. Although Henan has little mountainous land and is a major grain-producing area, it has a small population now, so it can grow some tobacco in the short term. It is not too late to ban tobacco growing in Henan when the population increases in the future."

Everyone nodded in agreement, and Li Shanchang immediately said, "Your Majesty is wise."

Feng Guoyong then said, "So His Majesty intends to use this to control Yunnan and Guizhou?"

"That's right. After Yunnan is recovered, I plan to establish provinces in Yunnan and Guizhou respectively. However, Guizhou has many mountains and little land, and most of its people are unregistered Miao and Yao people. If we want to collect grain and taxes in Guizhou, let alone support the garrison in Guizhou, it probably won't even be enough to pay the salaries of the officials in the province."

"Potatoes, corn, sweet potatoes, and tobacco are best suited for planting in mountainous areas. Potatoes and corn can be used to support the people and the army, while tobacco can generate tax revenue. With these three things, Yunnan and Guizhou can enjoy long-term peace and stability and be completely incorporated into China's territory."

Everyone suddenly realized that His Majesty had such thoughts and plans.

After unloading the tobacco, Wang Dayuan brought over a jar of rubber seeds and explained to Lu Jin that he had actually brought back quite a few rubber seeds, about sixty sacks, and a dozen rubber tree seedlings. However, since Lu Jin had previously said that rubber could not be grown in the north, he left them with the governor of Nanyang and Guangzhou on the return voyage, instructing Li Bin and the Guangdong Provincial Governor to send people to try planting them.

Lu Jin praised him repeatedly after hearing this and did not blame him.

When the last 60,000 jin of finished rubber was unloaded, Lu Jin was overjoyed. He immediately had Tao Guangyi carry a bag of it back to the laboratory later, while the rest of the rubber was stored in the imperial warehouse.

Tao Guangyi immediately took out a lump of smoked rubber, squeezed it in his hand, and found that it was indeed very elastic. He immediately asked...

"Your Majesty, how should this substance be processed to make it into a gas pipe?"

Lu Jin thought for a moment before saying, "I don't know the specific method, but I read about it in a family book. It says that you can dissolve rubber with methanol, then physically plasticize it, and then add sulfur for vulcanization. This will make it retain its elasticity and make it more durable. We'll have to experiment with this in the laboratory and workshop."

"When you take it back later, you need to arrange for someone to try it immediately and make the air tube as soon as possible."

"Yes, Your Majesty, I will arrange for someone to do it shortly."

After the nearly 60,000 jin of rubber was unloaded, only the more than 200 tons of gold and silver were left to be used as ballast. As the gold and silver ingots, each weighing over 100 jin, were unloaded from the ship and piled up into a small mountain on the dock, the civil and military officials present were in an uproar.

Good heavens, gold and silver worth tens of millions of taels of silver is one thing to hear about, but to see it in person is a completely different kind of shock!
The crowd murmured in admiration, and some even whispered among themselves about how His Majesty would reward Wang Dayuan for his great achievement, whether he would be granted a title, and so on.

Li Shanchang and Feng Guoyong dared not delay and hurriedly had a large scale brought over. They set up a frame next to the dock, hung a thick steelyard on it, and weighed the gold and silver piece by piece.

Seeing this, Lu Jin wondered when he could build a platform scale. Otherwise, it was too inconvenient to weigh heavy objects with a scale beam. It was okay for inanimate objects, but it was definitely not as convenient as a platform scale for weighing live animals like pigs or cows. He could just put a cage on it and weigh it while it stood up.

Only after the last piece of gold and silver was unloaded from the ship and people were sent aboard to inspect it did Lu Jin lead his officials back to the city. He also had Wang Dayuan and Chen Youliang ride with him in a four-wheeled carriage back to the city as a sign of his appreciation for them.

That evening, Lu Jin hosted a banquet in the palace, inviting all the officials to attend in order to welcome Wang Dayuan and his entourage. Even the more than three hundred crew members and sailors were allowed to attend.

Wang Dayuan also leaned close to Lu Jin, reporting to him on his observations along the way and his insights into the route.

The following day at the grand court assembly, Lu Jin publicly commended Wang Dayuan, bestowing upon him the title of Marquis of Bowang!

(End of this chapter)