"Selling charcoal, cutting and burning charcoal in the southern mountains", I believe that many people have learned the poem "Selling Charcoal". An old man who burned charcoal went to Chang'an City to sell charcoal, but was forcibly bought by the eunuchs in the palace at a low price. Although Bai Juyi did not explain the aftermath in the poem, in fact, the story of the charcoal seller has a historical prototype. The charcoal seller spared his life and won his due benefits for himself. So, what is the archetypal story of the charcoal seller in history?
1. The Miyashi system
The prototype of the story of the charcoal seller took place in the Zhenyuan period of the Tang Dynasty, and the emperor at that time was Li Shi of Tang Dezong. It turned out that the Tang Dynasty at this time had gone into decline, and after several wars, there were also big financial problems. In order to save expenses in the palace, Tang Dezong introduced the so-called "palace market" system. In the beginning, the Tang Dezong sent eunuchs as envoys to the market to buy the items needed in the palace at low prices. Later, hundreds of people were sent to guard the "two cities and make trouble".
As long as it is the goods they fancy, "but it is called the palace market, that is, it is paid by hand, the authenticity is no longer distinguishable, and they dare not ask where they came from." These people often bought thousands of dollars for a hundred dollars, and they also demanded that the owners of the goods be sent to the palace, and extorted "portal money" and "foot price", as a result, the owners of the goods returned empty-handed. Therefore, Han Yu commented that "it is called 'Miyashi', and it is actually taken". The prototype story of the charcoal seller took place in this background, and the whole process was recorded by Han Yu.
Second, the farmer sells charcoal
During the first year of the Tang Dynasty, there was a farmer who burned a lot of charcoal in the mountains, so he carried it to Chang'an City on a donkey to sell it. However, he met the eunuchs in the palace, who were known as the palace market, and forcibly bought the farmers' charcoal at a low price, "only a few feet of silk". The eunuchs also extorted "gateway money" from the farmer and asked him to use a donkey to deliver charcoal to the palace. The farmer was indignant and pleaded with tears in his eyes, "pay with the silk you get."
However, these eunuchs disagreed, and said, "You must send firewood to the donkey." The farmer was so enraged that he said to the eunuchs, "I have my parents and my wife, and I will eat them here." Now with firewood and you, if you don't take it straight and go back, you still don't want to, I just die. When he had said this, the peasant stepped forward and beat the eunuch severely. Don't look at these eunuchs arrogant, but they are no match for the peasants at all, and they were beaten as a result. It wasn't until the street historian in charge of policing arrived that the farmer was arrested.
III. The Emperor's Verdict
Street Shi didn't dare to hide it, and hurriedly told the emperor about it. In fact, Tang Dezong also knew the disadvantages of the palace market, but in order to solve the financial problems, he had been deaf, and now that something happened, he could no longer ignore it. So Tang Dezong issued an order to depose the eunuchs who robbed the farmer of charcoal. Tang Dezong did not punish the farmer who beat the eunuch, but rewarded him with ten silks. But for the palace market system that people hate, Tang Dezong did not abolish it.
At this time, Xuzhou Jiedu made Zhang Jianfeng enter the court, and he introduced the disadvantages of the palace system to the emperor in detail, "Shangjianazhi". Then, Tang Dezong asked Su Ben, the head of the household. Su Ben greeted the eunuchs' wishes, and said: "The Beijing master has thousands of families, and there is no indigenous livelihood, so Yanggong City will give it." Tang Dezong believed Su Ben's words, "Therefore, everyone who speaks of the palace city will not listen." It was not until after the death of Tang Dezong that the palace market system was abolished.
References: 1. "Information Governance Tongjian"; 2. "Shunzong Record"