I support the army through farming and business.

Chapter 325 The Number One Female Official in the World
"Sir, those river bandits from last night..."

"Oh, look at my brain!" Tang Zhao said to Wu Yi'er, "Take Lord Wang to escort all the river bandits away. Leaving them on the ship slows down the journey."

Wu Yier led the way, saying, "Please follow me, sir."

Wang Rong respectfully clasped his hands in a fist salute to Tang Zhao before turning and leaving.

"Let's go back to the cabin for breakfast!" Tang Zhao said dreamily. "Wu Bingsan got off the ship and bought some pancakes and cold noodles."

Back in the cabin, Gu Ci and Tang Zhao ate while Gu Ci said, "You don't want to deal with the river protection army."

"If you don't have the skills, don't take on the job," Tang Zhao said, taking a sip of sweet and savory porridge and a big bite of a flatbread, feeling extremely satisfied. "Besides, I'm just the Salt Commissioner; I don't have jurisdiction over the Grand Canal."

Gu Ci picked up a piece of braised beef with his chopsticks and handed it to Tang Zhao. "If we don't deal with the river guards, the fine salt from Zhangye Prefecture might be tampered with by them when it travels along the canal in the future."

Tang Zhao smiled slyly, "Who said we were going to transport fine salt from Zhangye Prefecture?"

Gu Ci was taken aback.

If salt is no longer transported from Zhangye Prefecture, how can the salt administration in Jiangnan be reformed?

“Guard Gu, you really don’t know the value of tea, rice, oil and salt when you’re not in charge of the household. That fine salt is only ten coins a pound, and after deducting labor costs, the profit per pound is seven coins.”

Tang Zhao calculated the costs for Gu Ci: "From Zhangye Prefecture to Tianjin Prefecture by land, and then from Tianjin Prefecture to the south along the Grand Canal to Jiangnan, and then to various prefectures and counties, the transportation costs and labor alone would be more than seven coins!"

"The salt administration is one of the pillar industries of the imperial court's tax revenue. Even with officials skimming off layers of revenue, it can still fill one-third of the national treasury. If the salt administration is reformed as you say, not only will the imperial court not make money, but it will also lose so much that it will have to sell its pants!"

At that time, not only will the officials who have been fattened up not be spared, but even Emperor Wu'an will not forgive her!

Seeing Gu Ci's look of sudden realization, Tang Zhao couldn't help but sigh that everyone has their own expertise.

“Therefore, we must obtain salt locally,” Gu Ci pondered the news reported by his scouts. “But the salt mines in Jiangnan are all controlled by powerful families. Getting them to hand over the salt mines is as difficult as climbing to the sky.”

“I can’t force them to hand over their salt mines, but I can turn them into waste mines,” Tang Zhao said, picking up a piece of cold noodles with his chopsticks. “Have you forgotten how salt is made in Zhangye Prefecture?”

It is a salt lake, but where are there salt lakes in the south?
Tang Zhao looked out the window, "If there's no lake, there's still the sea."

Gu Ci's eyes lit up. "Seawater can be used to make salt?"

Tang Zhao nodded, "When I went to the Northeast earlier, I thought about using seawater to make salt when I passed through Tianjin."

Because the Northeast was Prince An's territory at the time, and Emperor Sheng'an and his son were eyeing it covetously, Tang Zhao had to hold back. Now that the troubles have been eliminated, she can naturally unleash her full potential.

Gu Ci understood, "In that case, whether the canal is unobstructed or not is no longer important."

Tang Zhao put down his chopsticks and let out a burp. "If it weren't for Tengjiang Village's unfortunate decision to provoke me, I wouldn't even have time to glance at them!"

The deadline of August 7th is fast approaching, and she still has 123 life points to earn. She can't afford to waste a single second of her time!
Gu Ci glanced at Tang Zhao, a hint of doubt flashing in his eyes.

On the canal bank, Wang Rong watched the large ship depart, his respectful expression suddenly vanishing, and he raised his hand to slap the captain beside him.

"Who gave you the audacity to get involved in something as serious as plotting to murder a newly appointed third-rank official of the imperial court, a matter that would result in the execution of the entire family?"

"If you want to die, then die, but don't drag me into it!"

The captain immediately knelt down. "Sir, we only received the news last night. The higher-ups only told us to pretend we didn't know anything about what happened on the canal, as before. We never expected the people of Tengjiang Village to be so useless, that they were all captured!"

In the past, Tengjiang Village had often robbed and killed government officials, and had never failed. When the government sent people to investigate, they would simply throw out a few lowly soldiers and behead them.

But to their surprise, this salt commissioner was surrounded by a multitude of skilled fighters, even capable of capturing a master like the third leader of Tengjiang Village, catching them completely off guard.

The captain reassured him, "Luckily, they didn't suspect you, sir." Wang Rong kicked him, "Idiot! If the commander hadn't suspected me, he wouldn't have mentioned those two idiots, the Zheng siblings!"

The captain rolled three times on the ground and knelt back at Wang Rong's feet, saying, "Didn't you already sever ties with the Zheng siblings, sir?" He even killed Aunt Zheng to silence her.

"As long as you kill Chief Zheng, even if the commander has any doubts, there will be no way to prove it."

Wang Rong sneered, "That guy surnamed Tang was planning to do just that!"

Tengjiang Village's stronghold was hidden at sea, and even he didn't know it was some remote, desolate island.

The imperial court had sent troops to suppress them several times before, but they always managed to escape to the sea to hide their whereabouts and then come out to cause trouble again after the imperial army withdrew.

Otherwise, why would he have coveted the Zheng siblings' wealth? He would have made Tengjiang Village a stepping stone on his path to advancement in his official career long ago!

But now, he has been caught red-handed by the man surnamed Tang. As long as Tengjiang Village is not eliminated, he will not be able to sleep peacefully for a single day!
"Throw all those river bandits into jail. I don't care what methods you use, you have to find out the location of their hideout!"

The captain accepted the order and left.

Wang Rong stared at the large ship that had disappeared on the horizon and spat angrily onto the ground.

After the incident of the bandits hijacking the boat in Tengjiang Village, Tang Zhao's identity as the Salt Commissioner could no longer be concealed. So he simply went all out and asked the boatmen to hang the official flag on the bow of the boat, turning it into an official vessel.

Upon seeing the official flag, boats coming and going on the canal immediately gave way without a word. There was even a civilian boat that collided with another boat and sank while trying to avoid Tang Zhaocheng's boat.

That is truly a sin.

What made Tang Zhao feel even more guilty was the passengers traveling with her. Ever since they learned that Tang Zhao was the newly appointed Salt Commissioner of the Imperial Court, they all hid in their cabins and dared not come out. Occasionally, when they met her on the road, they would kneel down and kowtow to her from afar.

In the end, Tang Zhao had no choice but to hide in the cabin and avoid everyone.

Fortunately, this period of hardship lasted only three days before the ship docked.

We have arrived in Suzhou.

Tang Zhao changed into his official robes with Gu Ci's help.

The embroidered tiger descending the mountain on the bright red official robe exudes an aura of dominance. This was an official robe specially made for her by the palace embroidery workshop, the number one female official in the land, and there is only one of its kind in the world.

Tang Zhao touched it with great affection, "I never imagined that a businessman like me could one day infiltrate the officialdom."

A third-rank official! In modern times, that would be equivalent to a department-level cadre.

The Tang family's ancestral graves caught fire.

Gu Ci placed the official hat on Tang Zhao's head and patiently adjusted the angle until the hat was properly placed before he was satisfied.

"So lovely."

Tang Zhao touched the tuft of hair on the mole and coughed lightly.

Gu Ci changed his words, "Truly majestic."

Tang Zhao was satisfied.

Dongmei entered the cabin. "Aunt, sir, the officials from the Suzhou Salt Bureau are all waiting at the ferry to welcome you!"

"Let's go!"

Tang Zhao took the lead and walked outside.