I support the army through farming and business.

Chapter 309 Tea Merchant
Tang Zhao chuckled, "That depends on whether they have the guts."

Gao Xing pondered Tang Zhao's words two or three times in his mind, and cold sweat gradually appeared on his forehead.

If that's the case, what use would the Gao family have?
Gao Xing banged his forehead heavily on the ground, pleading, "Please, Your Highness, grant the Gao family a way out."

“Young Master Gao is a businessman, and he knows best that the way of business lies in flexibility,” Tang Zhao said, sitting steadily in his chair. “If the path of salt merchants is not viable, then we will try another path.”

I listened attentively with great pleasure.

Tang Zhao lowered his eyes to look at the green tea leaves unfurling in the teacup. "Jiangnan is famous for its tea production. It has all six major tea categories: green tea, white tea, black tea, dark tea, yellow tea, and oolong tea. It not only supplies the imperial family and noble families, but also sells to Turks and Tibetans."

"One-third of the land in Jiangnan is planted with tea trees, nearly half of the people are engaged in the tea industry, and one-tenth of the national treasury's tax revenue comes from it. The profits are considerable."

Gao Xing was in a dilemma: "The tea trade is firmly controlled by the powerful families of Jiangnan. As a commoner, I have no one to rely on. How can I fight against the powerful families of Jiangnan?"

Even the emperor couldn't get involved, let alone a nobody like the Gao family.

“How could I not know?” Tang Zhao sighed, “It’s just that the aristocratic families of Jiangnan have gone too far.”

Coveting the huge profits from the tea trade, powerful families in Jiangnan either relied on their power or resorted to all sorts of despicable means to forcibly buy and sell land from ordinary people to transform it into tea gardens.

In order to avoid starvation, people who had no land to cultivate and produce food had no choice but to sell themselves and their families to powerful families as slaves, becoming serfs in tea plantations. Generation after generation, they toiled for these powerful families, were exploited by them, and suffered unspeakable misery.

Gao Xing remained silent, clearly having heard about the methods used by the powerful families of Jiangnan to persecute ordinary people.

"Emperor Pingyuan was both immoral and incompetent. In order to gain the support of the powerful families in Jiangnan, he turned a blind eye to the plight of the people and allowed them to run rampant. But Prince Xuan was not like that."

Overjoyed and shocked, he even forgot the rule that merchants should not look directly at members of the imperial family, and looked up at Tang Zhao in a daze.

"King Xuan was already dissatisfied with the actions of the powerful families in Jiangnan and was determined to eliminate the ills of Jiangnan. The salt merchants were only the first step, and the second step was the tea merchants."

Tang Zhao put down his teacup and met Gao Xiaoping's excited gaze, asking, "Young Master Gao, do you have the courage to relieve Prince Xuan's worries?"

I swallowed hard, my heart pounding.

Princess Zhaoshan's words were so straightforward, how could he not understand?

King Xuan was bound to rebel. With his 300,000-strong Northwest Army, it was only a matter of time before he captured Luoyang.

King Xuan had long been dissatisfied with the powerful families of Jiangnan. After he ascended the throne and settled the north, he would definitely begin to reform Jiangnan.

Unlike the North, Jiangnan has not experienced war since the establishment of Dayu. If King Xuan were to suppress Jiangnan by force, the people of Jiangnan would surely be filled with resentment.

In this way, the only way to dismantle the power of the Jiangnan aristocratic families is through politics and business.

The affairs of state are not something that a small merchant like the Gao family can interfere with, but similarly, the court should not rashly interfere in matters of commerce.

Therefore, if the imperial court wanted to intervene in the Jiangnan trade routes, it would definitely choose to pit the imperial merchants against the merchants supported by the Jiangnan aristocratic families.

As the most favored daughter-in-law of King Xuan, Princess Zhaoshan would certainly be entrusted with this matter by King Xuan.

In other words, whoever Princess Zhaoshan chooses can rise rapidly in rank, transforming from an ordinary merchant into a royal merchant, or even escaping the status of a merchant and becoming a member of the gentry!
Gao Xing's eyes grew brighter and brighter. "This humble subject is willing to swear allegiance to Her Highness the Princess and His Highness Prince Xuan!"

"Excellent!" Tang Zhao clapped his hands. "Then please ask Young Master Gao to settle the Gao family's affairs as soon as possible and set off for Jiangnan."

Gao Xing lowered his stance and asked, "What does this humble servant wish to do?"

"Buy tea gardens, plant tea trees, and do exactly what other tea merchants do."

Gao Xing's eyes lit up. "I understand." Gao Xing returned to the Gao family full of confidence and, together with Master Gao, sold off all the shops and land owned by the Gao family in preparation for the family's relocation.

In the Turkic royal palace, Ashina Mu, after hearing Ashide Muyang's account, slammed his fist on the table and roared, "The Great Yu is going too far!"

Ashide Muyang sighed inwardly. Who told the Turks to lose? He just didn't expect the Great Yu to have such a big appetite, not only demanding compensation in kind but also the entire Jiuquan Prefecture.

That was conquered by the former Khan from the previous dynasty, and it has been a hundred years since then.

Ashinamu asked, "What does the Great Yabghu think?"

"Khan, the Turks are weak now, and we have no confidence to refuse King Xuan," Ashidemuyang said realistically. "Ceding Jiuquan Prefecture is inevitable!"

Ashina slammed his fist on the imperial desk. "Since the establishment of the Turkic Khaganate, we have never suffered such a humiliating disgrace. It's all because Geshu Yong is useless!"

Ashide Muyang remained silent.

Is the eccentric Shu Yong useless? Faced with Da Yu's weapons that explode like landmines, who can win?
Seeing Ashinamu's furious appearance, Ashidemuyang dared not speak up for Geshuyong, so he secretly went to see the Turkic Queen Dowager to ask if Geshuyong should be saved.

"If we can save them, how could I not? But what do the Turks have to exchange with Dayu?" The Turkic Empress Dowager seemed to have aged seven or eight years. "We can't keep ceding the land that the Khans of past generations have worked so hard to build."

Ashidemuyang breathed a sigh of relief. He had been worried that the Turkic Queen Mother would do anything to save Geshuyong, but now it seemed that he had overestimated Geshuyong's position in the Turkic Queen Mother's heart.

In the Northwest Army dungeon, Ge Shuyong looked down at the poisoned wine brought by the guards. "Who ordered it?"

Although they were enemies, the guard still admired him as a fierce general, saying, "It was sent at the behest of the General of the Cavalry."

"The General of the Flying Cavalry said that you are the Grand Marshal of the Turks and should die with dignity."

"Please convey my thanks to your general," Geshu Yong said, before picking up the poisoned wine and drinking it all in one gulp.

After Ge Shuyong was poisoned, the guards went up to check his breathing and, confirming that he was dead, reported to Gu Ci.

Gu Ci said calmly, "Prepare a coffin and return General Geshu's remains to the Turks."

Half a month later, Ashidemuyang encountered a funeral procession of Turkic soldiers on the road and learned that Dayu had returned Geshuyong's body, which brought him great comfort.

Ashide Muyang met with Prince Xuan again and presented the Turkic peace treaty letter and correspondence with both hands. "Our Khan agrees to all of Prince Xuan's demands. The garrison soldiers in Jiuquan Prefecture will leave in a month. Please send troops to meet them in time."

After reading the letter, King Xuan confirmed that it was written in Emperor Pingyuan's own handwriting. He then signed his name on the letter and affixed his golden seal.

From this point on, peace talks between the two countries were formally established.

Ashidemuyang accepted the letter of state and immediately took his leave to return to the Turkic Khaganate.

Jiang Yiming took the letter from King Xuan's hand. "With the movable type printing available from the Wu family bookstore, I will make sure that the contents of this letter are known to the world within a month."

King Xuan nodded, "Thank you for your help, Military Advisor."

A month later, major bookstores in Chongqing printed a new batch of books that clearly explained how Emperor Pingyuan had allied with the Turks in order to eliminate the Northwest Army.

It also included a handwritten letter from Emperor Pingyuan.

The whole world was shocked.

Thank you Yu Qiu for the donation! Love you ()
Today is another day of begging for votes!