I support the army through farming and business.

Chapter 328: Holding a grudge
Tang Zhao felt a mix of emotions; these words sounded so awkward.

Only after meeting the uninvited guests who had come to his door in the middle of the night did Tang Zhao compose himself. "What brings the three of you to see me so late at night?"

The three salt depot officials had rags stuffed in their mouths and could only make muffled noises.

Tang Zhao casually pointed, and Gu Ci stepped forward to take the rag.

"My lord, I have important matters to report to you!"

Tang Zhao leaned back in his chair. "Speak."

Seeing that Tang Zhao had no intention of untying him, Fu An dared not speak rashly, and only said, "If I inform you of this matter, can you guarantee our safety?"

Tang Zhao said lazily, "If it is a minor offense, I will allow you to atone for your crimes with good deeds, but if it is murder or harm, I am powerless to help you."

"With your words, sir, I am relieved."

Fu An was overjoyed. Although they had colluded with the officials in charge of the Salt Transport Office, their official positions were too low to get involved in important matters. They could only occasionally embezzle small amounts of money, and at most they would be dismissed from their posts, but their lives would not be in danger.

"Your Excellency, apart from the wartime military salt depot under my supervision, which Yang and others dare not touch, nearly 80% of the salt in the remaining twelve salt depots in Suzhou Prefecture has been secretly transported out by Yang and others, who have colluded with merchants from Jiangnan to sell it to the Turks and Tibetans for huge profits."

Tang Zhao sat up straight and said, "Tell me in detail."

"Half of the salt produced in the Jiangnan salt mines was transported by the Grand Canal to the twelve salt warehouses in the east and west of Suzhou Prefecture for storage, and then transported from Suzhou Prefecture to various prefectures in the north."

“Salt mining is not easy, and after decades of mining, the salt production has decreased year by year. The cost of salt mining has risen to 60 wen per catty, and the price of official salt has also climbed to 220 wen per catty. People cannot afford official salt, so they can only buy private salt, which has led to the rampant spread of private salt.”

"Last year, a kind of fine salt was produced in the Northwest. It was as white as snow and as fine as sand, without any bitter taste. Most importantly, the price was as low as ten coins per catty. When people in the north heard about it, they flocked to the Northwest to buy salt."

"Although the salt production in the Northwest is limited and insufficient to supply the prefectures in the north, once people have seen such high-quality and inexpensive fine salt, how can the salt produced by the imperial court still be favored by the people? In order to increase sales, the price of private salt has been lowered again and again, from the original 150 wen per catty to 100 wen per catty."

"With the profits from smuggled salt greatly reduced, the powerful families and officials in Jiangnan were no longer willing to engage in such activities, so they turned their attention to the salt warehouses."

Fu An licked his dry lips and continued, "This spring, with war raging in the north, powerful families in the south colluded with Manager Yang to secretly open the salt warehouses and smuggle out the salt stored there years ago. They then transported it northwards to the Turks and Tibetans through caravans to make money."

Tang Zhao asked curiously, "If the salt depot runs out of salt, what will happen if the people want to buy some?"

“It’s made by drying seawater,” Fu An said. “I’ve heard that some people in Guangdong have made salt by drying seawater. Although it tastes bitter and astringent, it is indeed salty.”

"Upon hearing this, the officials sent people to Yuezhou to learn how to produce salt. They also opened up a large area of ​​land in Yuezhou specifically for salt production. The produced salt was then transported back to the salt warehouse and falsely presented as official salt produced from the salt mine. Today, 80% of the salt in the salt warehouse is produced by seawater."

Tang Zhao raised an eyebrow. "That's not a bad idea."

Seeing that Tang Zhao not only didn't get angry, but instead looked appreciative, Fu An hurriedly said, "My lord, you can't eat that sea salt, it will kill people!"

Tang Zhao:?
Gu Ci turned to look at Tang Zhao, and seeing Tang Zhao's surprised expression, he listened patiently.

"I am originally from Guangdong. My family has lived by the sea for generations. I heard about the method of salt production from seawater when I was young, but the elders also said that the salt produced from seawater is not edible."

"The old folks in the village say that there was once a village where the villagers couldn't afford salt and could only eat salt made from seawater. After a few months, the entire village started experiencing dizziness, nausea, and indigestion. Some died from diarrhea, some went insane, and some even gave birth to deformed babies!"

"People from several nearby villages said they were cursed by evil spirits until a wise man passed by and told them that it was because they had eaten unclean salt. After that, the villagers stopped eating salt made from seawater, and sure enough, their illnesses disappeared."

Tang Zhao sighed, "This is because the heavy metals and pathogenic bacteria in the sea salt were not eliminated."

Although Gu Ci didn't quite understand, he knew there was something wrong with the salt, and asked in a low voice, "Then do we still need to dry the salt?"

"Of course I'll sun-dry it!" Tang Zhao said without hesitation. "I naturally have ways to remove any impurities that shouldn't be in the sea salt."

Gu Ci felt relieved and continued to stand behind Tang Zhao, diligently playing the role of his subordinate.

Although Fu An dared not look directly at Tang Zhao, he kept secretly observing Tang Zhao's expression. When he saw Tang Zhao talking intimately with the handsome male guard behind him without any hesitation, he was almost shocked.

Goodness, this is truly a woman from the Northwest; her behavior is indeed wild and unrestrained.

That guard was ruthless; he was even willing to sell his body to climb the ranks. Tsk tsk.

Tang Zhao: "Hey, hey!"

Fu An snapped out of his reverie, "My lord."

"I know everything you've said. I'll credit you for this. If you hear any other useful information, just tell this guard quietly," Tang Zhao said, pointing behind him.

Fu An nodded repeatedly, "This humble official understands."

After the three left, Tang Zhao lost his sleepiness, walked to the window, opened it, and looked up to admire the moon.

Gu Ci draped the cloak over Tang Zhao's shoulders and carefully tied the straps.

Tang Zhao: "He declined."

Gu Ci: "Mm."

Do you know why the moon shines?

Gu Ci was taken aback. "Isn't the moon always bright?"

"No, the moon shines because it reflects the sun's light."

Gu Ci looked up at the dark night sky. "The sun has already set."

"No, the sun is always there. It's just that the ground we're standing on rotates and turns away from the sun, so the sunlight doesn't reach us."

Gu Ci pondered, "In other words, on the other side, it's daytime."

"Correct."

Gu Ci lowered his eyes, "How did you know?"

Tang Zhao looked up at Gu Ci, "Would you believe me if I said I dreamed about it?"

Gu Ci remained silent.

Tang Zhao didn't seem to mind. He pointed to the stars in the sky and told Gu Ci that this one was Altair and that one was Vega, while also sharing many astronomical facts with him.

Gu Ci suddenly asked, "Are you homesick?"

Tang Zhao's incessant chatter stopped abruptly.

Family?
She has no home for a long time.

Tang Zhao shook his head, "I don't want to."

He just couldn't let go of the empire she had built brick by brick.

And there was that rival who stabbed her to death!

Tang Zhao's eyes flashed with malice. Once she got back, he would definitely find a chance to retaliate fiercely!
That's right, she really holds grudges!

Gu Ci silently took a step back. Why did he suddenly become so murderous?
Tang Zhao turned and glared at Gu Ci, "It's all your fault!"

Gu Ci:?
Why?

Tang Zhao tilted his chin up and said, "For no reason other than I want to!"

Gu Ci: 。 。 。 。 。 。