I support the army through farming and business.

Chapter 358 Take action
As soon as the prefectural government issued its recruitment notice, the entire population of Minzhou sprang into action.

The village next to Wuqixianshan Farm was the first to respond. The village chief led all the able-bodied men in the village to set off overnight and arrived at the farm gate before dawn.

The village chief peered through the wooden fence, tiptoeing into the manor. Seeing that the manor was quiet, he could only reassure the villagers while patiently waiting.

The guards of the Protectorate General's Mansion, who were stationed at the farm, stood behind a tree, silently watching their every move.

As dawn broke and smoke began to rise from the chimneys, the men who had been working ate breakfast at home and hurried off to the foot of the mountain to build thatched houses.

"Brother Ge!" the village chief called out.

"Village Chief Tian? What brings you to the estate?" Manager Ge looked at the young men behind Village Chief Tian and suddenly realized, "You're here to apply for work, aren't you!"

"Yes, yes!" Village Chief Tian rubbed his hands together. "Yesterday, my eldest son went to town and saw the government's recruitment notice. Hearing that the Yang family's estate was hiring, I brought the able-bodied men from the village here."

"It's not the Yang family recruiting workers, it's Her Highness the Princess recruiting workers," Steward Ge corrected.

"Look at my mouth!" Village Chief Tian pretended to slap himself. "The Yang family's estate now belongs entirely to Princess Zhaoshan, so naturally it is Her Highness who is hiring."

Steward Ge nodded in satisfaction. The Yang family is the Yang family, and Her Highness the Princess is Her Highness the Princess; they cannot be confused.

"I wonder if we are qualified to work?" Village Chief Tian asked nervously.

They were all young and strong, so it was certainly possible, Steward Ge knew this in his heart, but he still said, "We need to inform Her Highness the Princess and ask for her instructions."

"Of course, of course," Village Chief Tian said repeatedly. "Please say a few good words for us, Brother Ge. On behalf of everyone in Tianjia Village, I thank you, Brother Ge." As he spoke, Village Chief Tian bowed deeply.

Steward Ge waved his hand, "You all wait patiently." He reminded them, "The manor is not what it used to be. There are strict rules now. You must not barge in or say anything out of line. If you disturb Her Highness the Princess, you will be in big trouble."

"Don't worry, Brother Ge, we understand."

Steward Ge turned and went to the manor to explain his purpose. A moment later, Chunfeng came out and said, "Her Highness the Princess said that as long as we work honestly, we can accept anyone."

"I wonder what tasks they will be assigned to?"

"To build thatched houses with you."

Having received the instructions, Steward Ge immediately returned to the farm gate, opened it, and said, "Come in, everyone."

This was the first time that Village Chief Tian had stepped into the farm. In the past, when the Yang family was in charge, even a casual glance would result in him being scolded by the Yang family's thugs.

Now that they've entered the farm, Village Chief Tian and the villagers are practically following in Steward Ge's footsteps. Seeing how restrained they are, Steward Ge comforts them, "Don't be afraid. Although Her Highness the Princess has strict rules, she is very kind to the people. As long as you are honest and hardworking and don't cheat or shirk your duties, Her Highness the Princess will not be harsh on you."

Village Chief Tian felt uncomfortably unsettled. He watched as a black-clad guard with a long sword at his waist patrolled the farm every few hundred meters, and he felt as if he couldn't breathe properly.

Steward Ge stopped trying to persuade him. If he hadn't seen how the princess dealt with Yang Quan's family so decisively yesterday, and how kindly she spoke to him, he wouldn't have dared to make a single wrong move.

At the foot of Wuqishan Mountain, the men of the farm were building thatched houses. When they saw Manager Ge leading a group of young men, they greeted them warmly, and then the team leaders quickly divided the group up.

The squad leader in charge of transporting the timber was a step too late and didn't even manage to get a single able-bodied man. He angrily went to Manager Ge to reason with him.

Village Chief Tian pricked up his ears. He was too old to do the work of building thatched houses, but he was good at seizing opportunities!
"Brother Ge, how many more people do you need?"

"The more the better!" "Then I'll go to the nearby villages to find people," Village Chief Tian's eyes lit up, "The villagers are worried about not being able to find work!"

"Then I'll have to trouble Village Chief Tian," Steward Ge said, taking out a handful of copper coins and giving them to him. "Take this money; it's just a small token of my appreciation."

With a quick glance from his cloudy old eyes, Village Chief Tian knew how many copper coins were involved. Unable to refuse, he shamelessly accepted them.

"Don't worry, I'll visit all the surrounding villages today!"

Manager Ge summoned his youngest son to escort Village Chief Tian out of the farm, while he himself continued to supervise the work with a smile.

In the Minzhou Prefectural Government Office, Ma En had just finished hearing the case of Yang Quan's family at Wuqixianshan Farm for mistreating farmers and tenants. Before he could even have a sip of hot tea, more guards and personal soldiers from the Protectorate General's Mansion came to the door, binding and sending the Yang family's—no, now Princess Zhaoshan's—managers and thugs from the farm to the government office, along with evidence of their crimes.

While lamenting how utterly wicked the Yang family was, Ma En, in accordance with the laws of Da Yu, gleefully sentenced the Yang family steward and his henchmen to severe punishment.

Zhao Hui reminded him, "Sir, the servants of the Yang family are so audacious that it is clear they have someone backing them up. I urge you to hold the person behind this accountable."

Ma En probed, "Is this what Her Highness the Princess means?"

Chaohui nodded.

“Since Her Highness has given the order, how dare this humble subject disobey?” Ma En took the official document, quickly wrote it down, and summoned a yamen runner. “Send it to Suzhou and order the Suzhou prefect to assist in the trial of the Yang family!”

The yamen runner obeyed the order and, riding at breakneck speed, delivered the official document to the Suzhou prefectural government office in less than three days.

After reading the official document, Min Zhuang was so angry that his beard flew wildly. "This is simply outrageous! Which household doesn't have one or two disloyal servants? If a servant's mistake is implicated, then every master in the world should be arrested and imprisoned!"

The yamen runners of the Minzhou prefecture kept their heads down and remained silent.

Tang Wei, the magistrate of Suzhou, smoothed things over, saying, "Please go back and tell the prefect that my father has received the official document he sent and will take immediate action."

The constable breathed a sigh of relief and took his leave.

"What do you mean by that?" Min Zhuang frowned.

"My lord, think about it carefully. The Yang family's servants have been bullying and oppressing people in Minzhou for quite some time now. Why is Ma En only now taking action against them?"

"Ultimately, Ma En is just a knife, and the hilt of that knife is in Princess Zhaoshan's hands!"

Where would they go after the Yang family? It's not Ma En.

Min Zhuang gritted his teeth, "Why doesn't she just die already!"

He was so happy to hear that Tang Zhao had died that he got drunk. But when he heard that Tang Zhao had come back to life, he was so angry that he couldn't eat for three days.

"In my humble opinion, Princess Zhaoshan is somewhat possessed by spirits. Now that His Majesty has granted her the power to manage the affairs of Jiangnan, the entire Jiangnan region is under her control. We'd better not confront her head-on."

It wasn't that he wanted to confront Tang Zhao head-on; it was clearly that Tang Zhao wouldn't let him go!
Tang Wei narrowed his eyes. "The Yang family is the head of the four great families in Jiangnan. It's not so easy to mess with the Yang family. Don't forget, sir, the Yang family also has a learned scholar!"

Min Zhuang's eyes lit up. Yes, Master Yang Er is in charge of Hongshan Academy and has always been a benchmark for scholars in Jiangnan. If Tang Zhao angers the Yang family, would Master Yang Er just stand by and do nothing?
Why not let the Yang family and Tang Zhao fight to the death!