Exactly!
Zhao Hanzhang wanted to win with popular support.
Born in New China, raised under the red flag, growing up receiving socialist values from childhood—could Zhao Hanzhang possibly take the route of exploiting the masses to satisfy private desires?
Of course not.
She was a good person!
Yes, that’s right, she was a good person.
So for the future, she already had a basic blueprint.
Zhao Ming and the other two listened to her vision for the future, which was essentially how she would be emperor after conquering the entire world, what kind of country she would build.
Looking carefully at each major power, each had its own flaws. Their side had only two visible flaws: first, Zhao Hanzhang was a woman; second, they were poor.
The first flaw, in Ji Yuan and the others’ view, was no longer significant enough to be called a flaw. In the current world, who among those capable of being her enemy still dared to look down on her because she was a woman?
And among those with ambitions to end the chaos, who would still give up choosing her because she was a woman?
The only flaw was being poor.
But if they looked at things long-term, as Zhao Hanzhang said, seeing ahead several decades, being poor now was very worthwhile.
Ming Yu glanced at Zhao Hanzhang. Since their lord was willing to be poor and live frugally, as an upright advisor with great ambitions, he could only be happy about it.
This barbecue continued until late at night. Only when the third watch drum sounded outside did they disperse.
Fu Tinghan was so tired his eyes were nearly closing, but the other four were still excited.
After leaving the pavilion, when the early winter cold wind blew, Fu Tinghan barely managed to open his eyes.
Zhao Ming turned to Zhao Hanzhang and said, “Tomorrow people can see me. Make it quick.”
Zhao Hanzhang agreed. After he left, she immediately turned and called to Ting He and Fu’an, who were dozing against the wall: “Tomorrow wake up early and have people replace all the cups, porcelain, and anything convenient to smash in the house with cheap goods.”
Ting He said, “Ah?”
Fu’an had already responded, “Yes.”
Ting He turned to look at him, only to see his eyes were half-closed. She knew he was just responding without taking it in.
Zhao Hanzhang had already continued, “If there aren’t enough cheap porcelain pieces, temporarily replace them with earthenware.”
Fu Tinghan, somewhat refreshed by the cold wind, said softly, “Won’t that be too shabby? Uncle Ming will be even unhappier if he has to smash those, won’t he?”
Ming Yu looked at him in surprise: “Young Master Fu was listening all along? I thought you had fallen asleep.”
Fu Tinghan said, “I didn’t fall asleep, just very drowsy.”
Although he hadn’t participated in the conversation, he had heard and remembered everything they said.
Zhao Hanzhang said, “It’s just to make noise. Who’s going to show them the fragments?”
Ji Yuan felt she was being too stingy and said, “Young lady, even if we’re poor, we should be poor with dignity. Ting He, tomorrow replace the porcelain that Governor Zhao and the young lady might come into contact with with items one grade lower.”
Ji Yuan passed on his experience to her: “You don’t have to smash only porcelain. You can also smash tables. Just make enough noise for people in front to hear. Tables can still be used after being scraped—they’re not easily damaged.”
Zhao Hanzhang thought what he said made sense and had Ting He follow Ji Yuan’s instructions. Then everyone returned to their rooms to sleep.
It was already “tomorrow.”
Zhao Song and Zhao Hu were completely unaware. When they woke up, the two brothers went to the flower hall to drink tea and chat with Zhao Ming. As soon as the cup touched his hand, something felt wrong.
Zhao Song hadn’t reacted yet, but Zhao Hu frowned first. He looked down at the teacup in his hand, examined it for a moment, then said, “Why have the flower hall’s tea cups been changed? This color…”
Zhao Hu’s face showed disgust: “The color isn’t good, and the cup wall isn’t fine enough either. What’s going on? Where are the previous tea cups?”
Zhao Ming drank a sip of tea expressionlessly, then looked up at the two and said, “Father, didn’t you say you wanted to see the Imperial Academy? Why not have Seventh Uncle accompany you there?”
Zhao Hu instinctively wanted to refuse, but Zhao Ming had already looked at him: “Seventh Uncle, how long has it been since you’ve seen Zhenger?”
Zhao Hu swallowed his words back. He indeed hadn’t seen Zhenger for a long time. Taking this opportunity to see the child wasn’t bad either.
Normally Zhao Hu wouldn’t go to the Imperial Academy. Even if he went, he would mostly just annoy Zhao Cheng. But this time with Zhao Song there, Zhao Cheng definitely wouldn’t dare disobey him.
Zhao Hu changed his response and agreed.
Once Zhao Hu and Zhao Song left, Zhao Ming began his performance.
The officials who came to work at the Zhao residence today first discovered Zhao Ming with surprise, then overheard Zhao Ming’s angry remonstrance.
They didn’t want to eavesdrop, but the governor’s office was in the adjacent courtyard. Zhao Ming was too angry and his voice was very loud—it was hard for them to pretend not to hear.
Although they couldn’t hear every sentence clearly, piecing it together they could still know the general situation. Zhao Ming must have learned about the recent flight of noble families from Luoyang due to unbearable taxes, and that scholars in Yuzhou also had opinions about Zhao Hanzhang’s harsh taxes.
For commoners, Zhao Hanzhang’s taxes weren’t heavy at all—they could be considered light corvée and thin taxes. But for the noble families who had always been favored, her taxes were very unfriendly.
Especially since the county offices everywhere investigated taxes particularly strictly.
Before, even if they didn’t have high officials at home to get tax exemptions, they could still hide some farmland and population through other connections to avoid taxes.
But since Zhao Hanzhang became the master of Yuzhou, this convenience no longer existed.
Even Seventh Great-Grandfather Zhao Hu’s secretly hidden farmland and population had been discovered and taxed according to law. Could their influence possibly be greater than Zhao Hu’s?
Everyone was enduring Zhao Hanzhang.
But from Zhao Ming’s tone, some scholars in Yuzhou weren’t planning to endure anymore.
And Zhao Ming also believed they should change the tax system somewhat. Otherwise, paying taxes based on registered farmland put too heavy a burden on some families.
Someone pricked up their ears to listen, and heard the sound of cups smashing on the ground. They couldn’t help saying quietly, “The governor seems to have gotten angry.”
“It’s Governor Zhao who’s angry, isn’t it?”
“Didn’t the governor say before in the county office that she wanted to change the taxes? Why has there been no news about it lately?”
“I heard it’s because we’re too poor. If she changes it, we’ll be even poorer. By then even our salaries might not be paid.”
This voice sounded somewhat familiar. Everyone turned to look and saw it was Zhao Kuan. They were startled and immediately stood up straight.
Seeing their worried, fearful faces, Zhao Kuan sighed and also leaned against the wall to listen, asking, “Where has the argument reached?”
Seeing that Zhao Kuan wasn’t scolding them, the two also leaned back and discussed in low voices: “Governor Zhao has already brought up how Duke Zhao took care of Yuzhou’s noble families when he was alive. County Magistrate Zhao, do you think Governor Zhao can persuade Governor Zhao?”
Of course he could. Uncle Ming didn’t even need to persuade—Governor Zhao would persuade herself. Otherwise, why would he come to the Zhao residence so early in the morning?
Wasn’t it because he received Zhao Hanzhang’s letter early in the morning?
He sighed inwardly, but his face showed a troubled expression. He shook his head and sighed: “I don’t know. The governor in her heart is willing to change the taxes somewhat, but everyone’s having a hard time. Especially not knowing whether there will be war next year—supporting so many people requires quite a bit of money and grain. If we reduce taxes further on this end, life will be even harder.”
“That’s true too.”