I support the army through farming and business.

Chapter 375 Ban on Tea Frying
"Master Hongru, is this really true?" the young scholar asked loudly, his face flushed.

"To be honest, one of the managers of the manor under my Yang family's name did this without permission. His tenants and farmers reported it to the government. My father was furious when he heard about it. He immediately summoned the manager to the manor and scolded him, ordering him to replant the rice. But the planting season has passed, and this year's rice harvest will definitely be poor."

"Even if things are bad, the tenant farmers under the Yang family still have rice to eat. It's pitiful that the tenant farmers under those big landlords can't even fill their stomachs after a year of hard work."

The young scholar retorted, "Tenant farmers can exchange tea for silver, and then use the silver to buy grain!"

Master Yang shook his head slightly, while Mr. Ming'an snorted coldly, "What if we can't buy grain?"

"How could we not be able to buy it?" the young scholar declared confidently. "Jiangnan may not have much else, but it has plenty of grain!"

Mr. Ming'an said, "The rice paddies have all been converted to tea plantations, so where will the grain come from?"

The scholar was taken aback, then his expression changed drastically.

His family owned hundreds of acres of land, which they used to grow rice in previous years. This year, his father came back excitedly and said that tea was expensive and that they wanted to switch the rice paddies to tea cultivation. His grandfather beat him up and said that unless he died, his family's land could only be used to grow rice.

His mother complained to him privately for a long time about this, saying that it was because his grandfather was old-fashioned and conservative that the family's life had not improved over the years, and they could not buy him better writing brushes, ink, paper and inkstones.

He even resented his grandfather for this.

But after Mr. Ming'an pointed it out today, he realized that grain can be exchanged for money and tea, but tea and money can not necessarily be exchanged for grain.

The young scholar looked at Tang Zhao, who was in the top left seat. If what Mr. Ming'an and Mr. Hongru said was true, then Princess Zhaoshan was the sinner of the entire Jiangnan region!

Tang Zhao glanced at Mr. Ming'an, then at Master Yang, and said, "Do you two mean to blame the trend of changing rice paddies to tea plantations in Jiangnan on me?"

Mr. Ming'an countered, "Isn't that right?"

Tang Zhao stared at him for a long time before saying, "Yes."

Mr. Ming'an was momentarily stunned, but then Tang Zhao continued, "I did not kill Bo Ren, but Bo Ren died because of me. The current trend of changing rice to tea in Jiangnan ultimately originated from the tea-making method, and I have no choice but to take responsibility."

Before Mr. Ming'an could speak, Tang Zhao suddenly stood up and preemptively said, "I have decided that from today onwards, the method of tea frying will be discontinued, the Thousand Tea and Hundred Families will be closed, and a ban on tea frying will be issued throughout Jiangnan to uphold the court's emphasis on agriculture."

Master Yang clenched his fingers, "Your Highness, this..."

Tang Zhao didn't give him a chance to speak and continued, "As for the farmers and tenants who have no food to eat because of the conversion from rice to tea, I will take full responsibility! I ask everyone here to be my witnesses. As long as they have no land to cultivate because of the conversion from rice to tea, they can come to me for help. I will give them land, seeds, and tools so that they can have food to eat and a place to live, and get through this crisis safely and smoothly!"

"If I cannot do this, I will resign and return to the capital, and never set foot in Jiangnan again!"

"Excellent!" The young scholar exclaimed excitedly, his face flushed. "With Her Highness's words, Jiangnan will surely weather this storm."

The other Confucian scholars echoed, "Her Highness the Princess is wise and righteous. It is a great blessing for the people of Jiangnan to have her in charge!"

"In this way, we will not have to worry about the people of Jiangnan suffering from hunger and cold, or being displaced."

Master Yang took a deep breath. Things had spiraled out of his control. He had gone to such great lengths, but instead of ruining Tang Zhao's reputation, he had helped her rise to even greater heights.

Most importantly, from now on, the four major families will no longer be allowed to dabble in the art of tea frying.

But it's alright, Master Yang comforted himself, letting the Jiangnan tea administration return to normal. This time the reform failed, and next time Tang Zhao wants to touch the Jiangnan tea administration, he'll have to think twice about whether he has the ability!
Having said what he wanted to say, Tang Zhao, no longer wanting to face this group of pedantic and utterly rotten scholars, turned and left.

Watching Tang Zhao's departing figure, Master Yang said in a relaxed tone, "Gentlemen, how can a discussion gathering be limited to mundane matters and national politics? Let's continue composing poetry and reciting verses, pursuing the truths of life!" "Miss, that Mr. Ming'an is truly despicable!" Chunfeng, usually adept at suppressing her anger, was still furious. "Relying on his reputation, he dares to be so disrespectful to you!"

Wu Yi'er, who was standing outside the carriage, suggested, "Miss, I'll go and put a sack over his head tonight, beat him up, and then throw him into the river!"

Tang Zhao pointed at him with her delicate fingers, saying, "Rude."

"He cursed me this morning, and tonight he was beaten up and thrown into the river. Even a fool would know that I'm involved. How could I do something so stupid as to walk right into a trap?"

Wu Yier refined his suggestion, "Then I will take action in a few days."

Tang Zhao shook her head. "A few days later? What if he chokes to death while eating tonight, chokes to death while drinking water, or dies of agitation on his horse? Wouldn't I be unable to avenge myself today?"

"What do you mean, girl?"

“Yi Er, remember this: revenge should not be delayed overnight,” Tang Zhao said, taking a sip of tea. “But if revenge is such an unseemly thing, then you should avoid doing it yourself if possible.”

Using someone else to do the dirty work? Wu Yi'er's eyes lit up. "I'll go investigate that old pedantic scholar right away."

“No need, there are people who know better than us,” Tang Zhao squinted. “They’ve been holding back a lot of anger, there needs to be a place to vent it.”

The Jin family ancestral home.

Jin Ge's voice was so loud it cracked, "What did you say?"

The shopkeeper knelt on the ground, cowering, letting cold sweat slide down his face. "Young Master, our goods have been seized by the Jiangsu and Zhejiang naval forces."

"On what grounds are they seizing my Jin family's goods?"

"The naval officers and soldiers of Jiangsu and Zhejiang say that Princess Zhaoshan has issued a decree banning the frying of tea, forbidding any frying of tea from being transported out of Jiangnan!"

"What ban on tea frying? I've never heard of that before?"

The shopkeeper took out the imperial proclamation from his pocket and held it above his head.

Jin Ge snatched it away, read it quickly, his expression twisted and ferocious. "Why was this damned ban suddenly issued?"

The shopkeeper mumbled something, as he had been busy frying and transporting tea and had no idea what was going on.

Jin Ge got angry at his appearance and kicked him, "What are you standing there for? Hurry up and go find out for me!"

The shopkeeper rolled three times on the ground before stopping. Not daring to delay, he scrambled to his feet and ran out, only returning to report in the evening.

"Young master, it's Master Yang and Mr. Ming'an!" The shopkeeper recounted everything that had happened at the discussion meeting.

"Yang An, Ming Jing!" Jin Ge gritted his teeth, "How dare you block my path to wealth! I'll make you pay!"

Jin Ge beckoned to his guards, "Tonight, Yang An will definitely invite Ming Jing and the others for a boat trip and some fun. You guys find the right opportunity."

The shopkeeper couldn't quite hear the rest of what was said, but thinking of the young master's consistently ruthless methods, he couldn't help but shudder.