I support the army through farming and business.

Chapter 380 Too Many People, Too Little Land
Jin Ge arrived at the main courtyard with a pounding heart. As soon as he entered, something flew towards him. Jin Ge instinctively dodged, but the object hit the door and shattered on the ground.

Looking around, Jin Ge saw only shards of glass scattered all over the ground, and a wave of fear washed over him.

"You beast, kneel down now!"

Jin Ge's legs went weak, and she knelt on the ground with a thud, shrinking there like a quail.

Seeing his appearance, Old Master Jin's anger intensified. However, he had already smashed everything he could, so he slammed his hand on the table and shouted, "Are you blinded by lard or have you lost your mind? Why did you have to attack Yang An for no reason?"

Mentioning this, Jin Ge felt wronged. "Grandfather doesn't know that Yang An colluded with Ming Jing to make things difficult for Tang Zhao, forcing Tang Zhao to issue a ban on tea frying. Not only did our estate produce hundreds of thousands of kilograms of tea that couldn't be sold, but even the tea that had already been shipped out of Suzhou was seized by the Jiangsu and Zhejiang naval forces!"

Old Master Jin suddenly stood up. "Is that so?"

"If that weren't the case, why would my grandson have targeted the Yang family?"

"No, Tang Zhao just announced the ban on tea frying yesterday. It would take at least two or three days for the decree to be passed on. Could the Jiangsu and Zhejiang naval forces have known this beforehand?"

"Grandfather means that Tang Zhao had long harbored the idea of ​​banning tea frying, and that the discussion meeting was merely a convenient excuse?" Jin Ge asked, looking bewildered. "But why would Tang Zhao do that?"

Anyone with even a little business sense knows how well tea sells and how much profit it generates. And this is only in Jiangnan. If tea were sold to the north or even to Tibet and the Turkic Khaganate, the profits would be unimaginable.

Now that the ban on tea speculation has been issued, this source of income has been completely blocked. Doesn't Tang Zhao feel any heartache?
The thought of the money the Jin family spent on buying tea made Jin Ge's heart bleed.

Old Master Jin sneered, "Why? Wouldn't this create enmity between the Jin and Yang families?"

Jin Ge is unbelievable.

"Now that Yang An is forced by public opinion to step down as the headmaster of Hongshan Academy, the successor will definitely come from the four major families. Your second uncle's status, prestige, and knowledge are obvious to all, and he is the only candidate to succeed him."

Will the Yang family believe that the Jin family targeted Yang An for the position of Dean of Hongshan Academy?
However, even if the Jin family were to give up the position of dean, Old Master Jin would not do it.

Who wants to spit out meat that's already in their mouth?
So even though the Yang family would resent and suspect him, Old Master Jin accepted it.

This is a naked conspiracy!

Tang Zhao is only so young, yet he already possesses such cunning and skill. What will he become in the future?

Old Master Jin forced himself not to think about these things. The Jin family couldn't be used as tools in Tang Zhao's hands for nothing. "Once the tea-frying ban is issued, the big landowners who switched from rice to tea will definitely have grievances. Go and tell them that every grievance has its source and every debt its debtor. Don't go looking for the wrong person!"

Jin Ge's eyes lit up, and he immediately understood what Old Master Jin meant. He hurriedly went down to make the arrangements.

Upon receiving the news, the large landowners and merchants who had close ties with the Jin family felt more confident and immediately instructed their stewards to go to their estates to inform them that the rent would be increased by 20% this year.

Upon hearing the news, the farmers and tenants cried out in despair. The original 40% rent was already suffocating them, and now an additional 20% was forcing them to their deaths!

"Don't blame the master. The master had no choice. With the ban on tea frying, all the money the master invested went down the drain. What else could they do but cut back on food and clothing?"

“There is a way out. Go and beg Princess Zhaoshan to either lift the ban on tea frying or to take you in. Otherwise, you'd better pray for yourselves!”

After finishing his sentence, the manager flicked his sleeves and left with a flourish.

The tenant farmers looked at each other, gritted their teeth, and said, "Let's go, we'll go and beg Princess Zhaoshan!"

For a time, tenant farmers from the four prefectures of Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Hunan, and Hubei flocked to Minzhou.

"Young lady, a large crowd has gathered outside the farm!" Wu Yi'er reported as he entered. "And more people are continuously arriving at the farm."

Tang Zhao put down the tea manual in his hand. "They've finally arrived. Let's go see them."

Outside the farm, the already narrow dirt road was crowded with people, shouting for an audience with Princess Zhaoshan. Wu Bingsan and Zhaohui, along with their guards, blocked the way in front of the farm. "Behave yourselves, don't push! Her Highness will be here soon, just wait patiently!"

But the people couldn't wait and craned their necks and stood on tiptoe to look into the manor.

"Princess Zhaoshan has arrived!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the crowd erupted in a frenzy, jostling and pushing their way forward.

Wu Bingsan led his men to form a human wall to block them, shouting, "You've seen Her Highness the Princess, why aren't you kneeling!"

The people at the front of the crowd shrank back when they were yelled at, instinctively hugged themselves, and knelt down on the ground. When the people behind them saw this, they all knelt down in unison.

Tang Zhao walked up to the crowd and said with a smile, "Get up, everyone."

The people stood up, trembling.

"I wonder what brings you all here to see me?"

The common people looked at each other, none of them daring to speak first. After a long while, an old man with a cane stepped forward and said, "This humble subject begs Your Highness to lift the ban on tea frying."

"Why?"

“After the ban on tea frying was issued, landlords raised the rent to 60% in order to make up for the losses,” the old man said, his eyes red. “Originally, 40% rent was already barely enough to feed us. If it were increased to 60%, we tenants would starve to death.”

The old man knelt on the ground, pleading, "Your Highness, please have mercy and lift the ban on tea frying! Save us!"

Tang Zhao shook his head. "The decrees have been issued, yet they are changed from morning to evening. Where is the court's authority?"

The old man was anxious and wanted to continue pleading, but he didn't know what to say.

"But now that I know of your predicament, I will not stand idly by. I have a solution that satisfies both sides. Would you like to hear it?"

The old man's eyes lit up. "Please enlighten me, Your Highness."

Tang Zhao said, "Leave Jiangnan and move to the Northwest."

The old man was shocked.

Do you know why rents in Jiangnan are 10% to 20% higher than in other places?

The old man shook his head. It's always been this way; they're used to it and wouldn't think about the reasons behind it.

"Because there are too many people and too little land in Jiangnan!" Tang Zhao said. "The landlord originally wanted to pay 40% rent to tenants, but some people were willing to pay 50% rent to increase their competitiveness. Landlords and merchants were naturally willing to do so, and over time, the rent naturally became higher than in other places!"

The old man suddenly realized what was going on.

"But is this right?" Tang Zhao said. "No! Why should everyone work hard all year round, only to have half of their grain handed over, leaving themselves and their families struggling to even fill their stomachs?"

Some people in the crowd were secretly wiping away tears.

“But there are too many people in Jiangnan. If you don’t do it, there are plenty of others who will. In order to survive, you have no choice but to be exploited by your masters.”

"Therefore, if we want to change this situation, we must change it from the root."

“There are too many people and too little land in Jiangnan, so why not move to a place with fewer people and more land, where everyone can cultivate the land and build up their own wealth to pass on to their descendants? Wouldn’t that be better?”