Flowers on the other side [Comprehensive Red House]

Chapter 760 The Carpenter Emperor 15

Even the shallow breathing sound in the inner study disappeared after the officials kowtowed.

The silence audible as a needle drops.

The British Duke Zhang Weixian was called back from the barracks by the messenger of the Dudu Mansion.He rode the horse and galloped all the way, guessing what it was that told him to come back.What worries me the most is that there is another war in Liaodong.Hurriedly dismounted in front of the palace gate, and rushed to Qianqing Palace after verifying that Zhengzheng was behind.

In the early autumn of the capital, the weather was the most pleasant, and for a short distance, he actually felt feverish when he walked up to it.But when he reached the door of the inner study, the little eunuch who guarded the door winked at him and wiped his neck, which made him stop involuntarily.

Then he heard the frail young emperor's cold rebuke full of air, which came into his ears clearly.

"Nine border towns, Tieling and Fushun have already been lost. Is this going to throw away all the Nuer Gandusi? Saarhu was defeated and lost troops, lost the country and lost the land. Emperor Shenzong has not been in court for 30 years. How dare you want it? Let him be buried in a grand manner like the emperors of all ages!"

Zhu Youxiao patted the table.

"Is he worthy? He is not worthy! There are tens of thousands of dead soldiers in Liaodong who have not been collected in the wilderness. Now we need to reinforce the [-] soldiers in Liaodong, and the imperial court can't even come up with their military pay and armaments. After a grand burial, aren’t you afraid that the grandpa will kick him back from the underworld? How can you give him a grand burial against your conscience when the late emperor fell on a woman? What’s the benefit of him to the country and the people?”

The kneeling man felt his hair tremble in his heart. How can a grandson or son face up to and condemn the faults of his grandfather and father? This is unfilial.

But no one dared to accuse him of being unfilial at this time, what he said was the truth.

Li Ruhua said in a low voice: "The late emperor has long shown virtue. As soon as he took office, he opened the internal treasury and paid 200 million taels of military pay for Jiubian, stopped the mine supervisor, stopped the mine tax, and restored the old ministers. He has made great contributions to the country."

Zhu Youxiao immediately sneered and retorted: "That's just the father's debt. Shouldn't you pay the military salary owed to the soldiers on the nine sides? Or are you civil servants planning to die? Grandfather Chui Gong, your civil servants have governed for 30 years On the one hand, pointing to the soldiers who use their lives to protect the safety of the territory and protect your high honor and glory, but on the other hand, they refuse to pay the money for their lives in time, why?"

Duke Dingguo knelt on the side with the civil servants, buried his head and the corners of his mouth twitched, so he couldn't laugh out loud.

"Is it commendable to strike down the mine supervisor again? If you civil servants can formulate a reasonable tax, why does the emperor use the mine supervisor to attract infamy? Why should the mine tax be stopped? Is it true that only households who farm the land should pay the tax? Can merchants not pay taxes?"

Li Ruhua murmured, "Your Majesty, the Tai/ancestor said, 'I am ashamed of the treacherous ministers who collected money in the past, and taxed them. From now on, military and civilian wedding and funeral offerings, boats, carts, silk cloth, etc., are not taxed.'"

"The corrupt officials and rebels were also skinned and added to the grass. What about the merchants who transported tea, iron, grain and cloth to the slaves?"

The smuggling in Zhangjiakou is an unstoppable secret.Zhu Chunchen raised his head in surprise and took a quick peek at Xinjun, but he happened to meet Xinjun's sharp eyes, which made him feel a kind of fear that he had never experienced before, as if he was being strangled by the throat.

"Mr. Cheng, do you remember how Ouyang Lun died?" Xinjun asked sullenly.

Zhu Chunchen grumbled and couldn't make a sound.

Except for Xinjun who was not educated in name, all the scholars present knew that Ouyang Lun was the son-in-law of Princess Anqing, the biological daughter of Tai/Zu, who was beheaded for smuggling tea out of the country and making huge profits from it.

Zhu Youxiao raised his palms up, "Jiannu mainly eat beef and mutton, and they don't have enough grain, tea, cloth, ironware, etc. Why can they get these supplies continuously? You said they didn't sell them to Jianu Are banned and smuggled merchants involved?

The merchants who smuggled in Zhangjiakou cut off the iron weapons, knives and guns they sent to Jiannu on the soldiers who participated in the battle of Sarhu.Counting all the civil servants and martial arts of the whole dynasty, how many people participated in the use of swords and guns behind the soldiers who worked hard to guard the border.

If I find one, I will kill the other. No hereditary or scholarly title can save the lives of the whole clan.I want to see who else dares to protect those businessmen in Zhangjiakou who violated the imperial ban.

Zhu Chunchen lowered his head.

The British public who listened outside the door was full of enthusiasm, yes, if the soldiers at the border had enough military pay, how would they give convenience to those merchants who smuggled at the border?

If he dared to mention this idea in front of Xinjun now, Xinjun would spit on him.

"It's the low-level soldiers who don't get paid. Those generals who have the convenience of customs clearance have already made a lot of money."

"Therefore, not only must Zhangjiakou be closed, but no matter what the merchants sell, they can no longer be tax-free. Because the merchant enjoys the frontier defense supported by the peasant tax, the peace brought to him by the Ming soldiers, and the land built by the corvee peasants. Roads, enjoying the safe and orderly contributions of state officials and county magistrates in Daming. Merchants have made huge profits without taxation. Compared with farmers who plant land, what is the reason? They don’t pay taxes, why?"

Why?Those who knelt down did not speak.The British public school was outside the door, whispering in its heart: It's good for them to share the benefits.

However, the kneeling civil servants could hear from the words of the new monarch that there was a possibility of re-levying the tax.

"Your Majesty, the mine supervisor has just been abolished to discuss the tax. This can't be reopened immediately."

Li Ruhua's words were exchanged for the support of others.

"I didn't say to raise the tax immediately. You all get up, what's the use of kneeling now. The soldiers on the nine sides are waiting for reinforcements, and the people on the nine sides are waiting for the imperial court to send troops. You all get up and do something useful."

Nobody got up.

If the tax is not immediately opened, then it will still be opened in the future?Several ministers did not need to exchange opinions, but they all wanted to kill the new king's plan to reopen the taxation today.

"Please also ask Your Majesty to promise not to raise taxes again."

Zhu Youxiao was so angry that he went straight to the case, "Do you think that everything can be solved by kneeling? Do you think that if you don't raise taxes, the country will be peaceful and the people will be safe?

Governance and governance, the imperial court has handed everything over to you civil servants to manage, and the governance has not been answered until now.Taicang did not pay the soldiers' salaries and ordnance, and you still have the face to receive the imperial court's salary! "

This time there is a reaction.

The people kneeling down began to kowtow one after another, "I would like to take the blame and resign."

Zhu Youxiao was furious.

"Since you entered school, the imperial court has exempted you from personal taxes and corvees. The common people respect you scholars, and the imperial court treats scholars even more generously. After you are elected, you will be eligible for tax exemption of [-] acres. Li Shangshu Come and tell me how much the tax of these four hundred acres of land can be converted into taels of silver."

Li Ruhua bowed his head and said nothing, he had no face to count.

"The number of acres in the world is fixed, but there are more and more scholars in the world. The increase in tax-free acres means that the court's tax revenue will decrease. Is this the truth?

Not to mention that scholars still have hidden land after tax exemption.

Have you ever wondered why the court's taxes are getting less and less?Did you have any fields in your home before Zhongju?Isn’t the field dedicated to you a clear proof that you and the defectors have stolen the part of the tax that the country deserves?

The officers and men on the nine borders guard the land with their lives, and you stalk the land and steal the country's taxes together with the land donors and the defectors. "

Zhu Youxiao pointed to the three ministers.

"You, you, and you are all exempted from taxes of [-] mu. How much you help the refugees who donate land to save, how much extra Taicang will be reduced, and correspondingly how much taxation for private households will be increased .

Then, you scholars who donated money from the people to provide food and clothing without worrying about food and drink, but when the people need you to take on important responsibilities for the world, if you take the blame and resign, is it an account for the people of the world? "

The boy's voice suddenly became hoarse and out of tune because he talked too much and was too excited.

"Where are your faces? Where are your consciences?"

He was answered by a few heads hanging down.

In all fairness, is Zhu Youxiao scolding harshly?

Li Ruhua felt ashamed. He felt that the number of acres of tax-free land he had received, the number of donated land he had accepted, and the private households he had taken refuge in over the years made him dare not think about resigning. .

It turned out that all the scholars "stealed" Taicang's silver taels in a disguised form under the imperial government's preferential policy.No wonder the Ministry of Officials sends out such forms for officials to fill out.

He prostrated himself on the ground and said ashamedly: "Your Majesty, I know I was wrong and guilty, so I will go back to the household department to summon my subordinates to reconsider the tax."

No one stopped Li Ruhua.They were all stunned by Xinjun's tax-free field harvest, which was part of Taicang.It has to be said that these people in the inner study still have extremely high moral standards and conscience.

Zhu Youxiao slowed down his tone, coughed dryly, and said softly: "Li Qing, Tai/Zu didn't know the tax law, so he made thirty one tax, which is actually three tithe one. Do you understand?"

Xu Xi, Duke of Dingguo, and Zhu Chunchen, Duke of Chengguo, opened their mouths wide. They didn't know what Zhu Youxiao meant, and the British Duke outside the door was also dumbfounded.

Li Ruhua got up and bowed to the young emperor to the ground.

"Your Majesty, I understand that I will clarify the acres of land as soon as possible and remake the tax quota."

"Li Qing, when the imperial court is alive or dead, I can't wait for you to come as soon as possible."

Zhu Youxiao raised three fingers, "Within three days, the officials and nobles in the capital must report the Yintian in their hometown according to the facts. If there is no Yintian or Xiantian, the officials of the seventh rank and above can Come straight to the inner study to have an audience. I will give him the same reputation as Yang Qing.

The late emperor has issued an order to bring back all mine supervisors, and I will send them out again to run errands for the Metropolitan Procuratorate, to repeat what Zhang Taiyue did, and to clean up all hidden land and tax evasion in the world. "

The air in the room was so tense that one couldn't breathe loudly.

Let those eunuchs go to the hometown of hundreds of officials to investigate?To verify hidden fields?

And Xinjun continued to talk about it.

"Whether it is the royal family or nobles, whether it is civil servants or military generals, the fertile land occupied by anyone is nationalized. There is no special case. This year's autumn tax will start from me. All properties of the royal family, whether it is Huangzhuang or Heze in the mountains, will also be nationalized. Or shops, all have to pay taxes. The vicissitudes of life have changed, and the people of the world are responsible for the affairs of the world. Everyone in Ming Dynasty is not exempt from tax.

Li Shangshu, see how to formulate new taxes.I believe that you can put the common people in the world ahead of personal interests and the interests of scholars.please. "

Faced with Xinjun's solemn entrustment, Li Ruhua felt that a heavy burden had to be shouldered.

"Your Majesty, I don't dare to take the word of your Majesty's request. This is my job. I will do my best to figure it out as soon as possible."

"Okay, you go."

As soon as Li Ruhua went out, he saw the British Duke who was listening outside the door.He smiled wryly at the Duke of England meaning to bow his hands, but the Duke of England returned the salute calmly and solemnly.

"Li Shangshu, I entrust you with the military salary of the soldiers on the nine borders."

Li Ruhua turned around and saluted solemnly, "It is the responsibility of the Minister of the Household Department, and I dare not be a British official's gift."

The voices of the two people's conversations spread into the silent inner study.

"The Duke of England is back? Xuan."

Wang An hurried to the door and bowed to the British Duke who had been standing outside the door for a long time.

"My lord, the emperor has summoned you to have an audience."

The author has something to say: Zhang Taiyue, named Juzheng, named Shuda, and named Taiyue, was the chief assistant of the cabinet during the Wanli period, and assisted the Wanli emperor Zhu Yijun to create the "Wanli New Deal".