Capital, morning court.
Jin Xiang was eloquent.
"The silk, porcelain and other products produced in our Central Plains are very popular in Western countries. It can be said that we have no worries about selling as much as we have."
"So we can use these flashy items without affecting the national economy and people's livelihood in exchange for gold, silver, grain, spices, and various materials that our Ming Dynasty urgently needs."
"As long as the silk porcelain is shipped overseas, it will be more than ten times the huge profit. These profits can completely make up for the lack of gold and silver, insufficient food production and other problems of the Ming Dynasty."
"This is a good thing that benefits the country and the people, but because of the navy's arrogance and wanton behavior, the caravan cannot go to sea. Instead, it has to pay high tariffs!"
"Your Majesty, please immediately send a special person to investigate this matter and severely punish all Navy officials!"
As soon as the words fell, there was silence.
Zhu Di looked at Jin Xiang indifferently, his face still expressionless, showing no trace of happiness or anger.
Did such a clown just appear?
That’s still a bit boring!
All civil and military officials in the court remained silent.
Gu Zuo had already sentenced Jin Xiang to death in his heart.
Because he had already reported the investigation results of the Metropolitan Procuratorate directly to His Majesty the Emperor.
So Jin Xiang seems to be in the limelight now. Later he will know why the flowers are so red!
Xia Yuanji's face was expressionless, and the old god was lying on the ground with his eyes closed to rest.
He was still planning to discuss the matter of financial power with the prince after he returned to Beijing.
In fact, Xia Yuanji felt a little uneasy at first, but he never reacted.
It wasn't until the prince made great efforts to build the five major customs that Xia Yuanji finally woke up from a dream. After all, customs duties are also commercial taxes!
Now that the imperial court has abolished the national policy of sea ban, ordinary people and merchants can go out to sea to trade on their own, but the prerequisite is that they must pay customs duties from the five major customs and obtain a voucher before they can go out to sea for trade.
In addition, the Ming Dynasty navy also deployed ships to patrol smuggling ships in various places where smuggling may be carried out. Once a smuggling ship is found, that is to say, if the customs tariff certificate cannot be obtained, the ship and the goods will be confiscated on the spot, regardless of Whose caravan do you belong to, and what kind of big shot is standing behind you? All of them are of no use!
And the person standing behind the Ming Navy was none other than the current crown prince, or even the entire Ming royal family!
In other words, the Ming royal family successfully controlled maritime trade by controlling customs and strictly prohibited anyone from interfering in it.
And gentry officials like Jin Xiang were eyeing this piece of fat and wanted to get a piece of it.
I just don’t know what else they can do!
Impeachment alone seems not enough!
Impeachment, which was always beneficial in the past, now has no effect on the emperor.
There were so many impeachments against Zheng He and the navy, but the emperor pretended not to have seen them and kept them all in silence. Moreover, the emperor basically no longer went to court, so it was not easy to find an opportunity to question the emperor face to face.
That is to say, His Majesty the Emperor was happy and in better spirits today, so he went to the morning court for the first time.
Clowns like Jin Xiang couldn't sit still anymore and jumped out to make the matter clear in public, forcing the emperor to make a statement.
Xia Yuanji was a little curious at this moment, what decision would His Majesty the Emperor make?
Should clowns like Jin Xiang be dismissed from office, or should they be cramped and skinned?
For a moment, the entire court was extremely quiet, filled with a strange atmosphere.
All the officials in the court knew very well about this matter. This was a war between the gentry and the royal family, so they all chose to remain silent and watch on the sidelines.
If the gentry wins, they will naturally take action and get a share of the business tax, not for personal gain, but to cut a piece of meat from the royal family!
However, this possibility is unlikely!
After all, this is Emperor Yongle, an iron-blooded emperor with a golden sword and an iron horse!
If you want to cut the flesh from his mouth, it will be even harder than climbing to the sky!
After a long silence, Zhu Di finally spoke.
"Well, what Jin Aiqing said...is not unreasonable!"
"But I can't believe what one family says, but Zheng He is far away in Nanjing."
"If that's the case, then let's do it. Where is Gu Zuo, the censor of Zuodu? I want you to go check it out for yourself!"
Gu Zuo was obviously stunned, and then he bowed and accepted the order.
Check?
Verify what?
Your Majesty, what does this mean?
Is it possible that the royal family is giving in?
All civil and military officials in the court were a little surprised and confused for a while.
Only Jian Yi and Xia Yuanji looked solemn. After the two looked at each other, they both saw the uneasiness in the other's eyes.
His Majesty the Emperor did not deal with clowns like Jin Xiang, which only proves that he has a bigger conspiracy!
This approach seems familiar, it was the favorite of the Han prince back then - fishing and law enforcement!
However, Jin Xiang is still complacent, thinking that he and others have achieved a major victory!
The emperor asked Gu Zuo, the censor of Zuodu, to verify the matter in person, which would only prove that the emperor was already dissatisfied with the navy!
Next, as long as they follow the plan and replace Zheng He and other naval generals, their good days will come!
Jin Xiang didn't notice at all that Gu Zuo looked at him with eyes full of contempt and pity.
Gu Zuo has done fishing and law enforcement so many times that he is already familiar with it!
But this time, the person responsible for fishing and enforcing the law is no longer Prince Han, but His Majesty the Emperor!
It seems that some people are going to be in bad luck!
At the same time, the Nanjing Imperial Palace.
Zhu Gaoxu is spending time with his wife and children.
Concubine Wei is much busier than the prince himself now.
He visited major textile factories in southern Zhili all day long and set an example for female workers. He was quite the denominator of the world.
Zhu Gaoxu also felt sorry for her, so he stayed with Concubine Wei whenever he had time to consolidate the relationship between the couple and study some new postures.
It wasn't until Zheng He found Zhu Gaoxu in a hurry that the comfortable days came to an end.
Zheng He's face was very ugly, or he was extremely angry.
"Prince, something big has happened!"
"Those gentry and merchants are really looking for death!"
Hearing this, Zhu Gaoxu's expression changed slightly.
This was the first time he saw Zheng He being so angry.
He is a really honest person. He never participates in any fights and only thinks about going to the sea!
"What's going on? Speak slowly!"
"Your Highness is unaware that those merchants are deliberately hoarding silk, porcelain and other items and then driving up prices. They have also controlled the circulation of raw silk. Now Jiangnan Weaving Bureau No. 3 can no longer buy raw silk raw materials!"
Zheng He scolded angrily with a livid face: "These bastards are doing this on purpose. They want to force us to bow our heads and allow them to participate in voyage trade!"
Zhu Gaoxu's face darkened after hearing this, and a sneer appeared at the corner of his mouth.
"What a coward!"
"You can do anything for money!"
After a pause, Zhu Gaoxu smiled again.
"But it's a good thing!"
"I have long wanted to deal with these gentry and merchants, and then take advantage of the trend to develop Jiangnan industry and commerce."
"Since they are seeking death on their own initiative and have brought it to their doorstep, then don't blame Gu for being ruthless!"
