"Father, within the Ming Dynasty, only those who pay taxes in full are considered merchants. Those who evade taxes are just merchants under the guise of merchants. The Shanxi merchants who sent grain, ironware, and tea to the Donglu were among them. 1. But Shanqian does not produce tea, and the local food cannot make ends meet, and it is impossible to sell it to the Donglu. The only way is to collude with the merchants in Jiangnan and jointly sell these goods to the Donglu. Therefore, the Jiangnan merchants are enemies There is no doubt that I sent people to search the merchants in Jin Dynasty and found many account books at that time. There were many names of Jiangnan merchants in them, but I had not had time to do it. If my father was interested, it would be easy to take the account books and search according to the pictures. Then we can follow the clues, find the merchants with enemy capital, and kill them all. Not only can we increase the revenue of the imperial court by 20 to 30 million taels at a time, we can also take advantage of the trend to clean up the business in Jiangnan, and let the merchants operate in a disciplined manner and pay taxes in full!"
A certain prince not only knew how to crack a whip, but he also knew how to hold iron certificates. The account books taken from Shanxi merchants' houses were iron certificates. There were signatures and fingerprints on them, and everything was detailed. The content was "very good", especially for those in the Jiangnan area. For some businessmen.
Since the second-rate emperor has thought about moving to Nandu, he can just add fuel to the flames. If that doesn't work, just give him a hard kick and help the dumper take off.
A certain prince believed that as long as he was determined enough, the 20 million taels of tax paid in Jiangnan would be the minimum amount, and it would only be a lot more. He was afraid that the father who had blamed the blame would become soft-hearted and compromise with Donglin.
In theory, a certain prince can be regarded as a member of Donglin, because his uncle Zhou Yanru is the leader of Donglin, and Qian Qianyi, who likes water too cold, is the second eldest son in Wannian. But colleagues are enemies. Since you are "Dong Lin", of course you must "treat" Dong Lin kindly!
"……Um!"
This treacherous son was really justified, and Chongzhen couldn't help but agree after hearing it. He knew it and understood how to deal with the group of profiteers who were cheating on others and pretending to be in the East.
If the imperial court really wanted to send out factory guards to deal with the Jiangnan businessmen who evaded taxes, they would not be able to escape even if they copied the property worth tens of millions of taels. Calculating it this way, Chongzhen was really eager to give it a try.
There is no way, the court is really short of money. Now that natural and man-made disasters happen at the same time, money is needed everywhere. Without fifteen or six million taels of silver a year, the court is simply unable to deal with many important things.
If 30 million taels of silver could be copied from Jiangnan merchants, the imperial court would be able to support it for two years. Counting the part that the traitor found from the vassal king, it should be fine within three years.
Now that things have happened, Chongzhen has been stimulated by this traitor and has begun to get excited. As long as it is reasonable, legal, and well-founded, he can use any money-making trick he can think of.
At the same time, he kept comforting himself in his heart that dealing with profiteers shouldn't be considered competing with Min.
right!
That's right!
These people are all thieves of enemy property!
They should all be counted as the scum of Ming Dynasty!
Dealing with them now is justice for God!
If this were not the case, how come no one in the civil and military circles of the Manchu Dynasty stood up to oppose it?
Thinking of this, Chongzhen felt that this matter was quite strange, so he asked the Minister of Household Affairs: "Li Shiwen, Li Aiqing, what do you think of the imperial court's purge of merchants?"
His name was suddenly called, and Li Shiwen, who did not want to get involved in the trouble between the emperor and the prince, could only reply: "Your Majesty, I think that since the merchants are deliberately evading taxes, it is understandable that the court will punish them!"
Chongzhen: "..."
Is this the end?
Just one sentence?
Isn't this too simple?
I also wanted to purge merchants before, so why were so many people against it?
This traitor has only been in charge of the country for a few days, but you guys have become so submissive?
Is it possible that the traitor really has some skills in governing the country, especially in dealing with the officials?
Chongzhen still didn't dare to come to a conclusion easily, so he asked Cifu: "Wu Zong, what do Wu Aiqing think about this matter?"
Wu Yan had gone to the side of the prince. After all, he did not want to be suddenly liquidated by the emperor. It was easy for the prince to survive. Since the emperor heard about it, he said perfunctorily: "Your Majesty, I agree with what the great Situ said!"
Chongzhen: "..."
Finished?
this……
It was actually shorter than Li Shiwen's answer. Why did everyone become so precious with words?
When we held court meetings in the past, you guys wished you were all like this traitor, talking like setting off firecrackers.
This made Chongzhen very uncomfortable. People agreed with the holy will, but he could not openly refute it, otherwise it would be even more unpopular.
Invisibly hitting two soft nails, Chongzhen felt depressed. He couldn't understand, how could this traitor win people's hearts?
It’s not like Chongzhen had never tried the methods Nizi mentioned before, but they didn’t work at all!
Suddenly, Chongzhen thought that he also had a cheating chief minister. This guy was promoted by himself, but he chose to join the traitor. It was really shameful: "Xue Guoguan, tell me, if the merchants refuse to pay taxes, the court should how?"
Xue Guoguan, who was as smart as ice and snow, had already seen the answers of the first two people, so he immediately followed suit and said briefly: "Your Majesty, I think it is enough to act like your Highness!"
Chongzhen: "..."
Then there was no more, the chief assistant had shut up!
The reason why Li Shiwen took refuge with the prince was that he could not make two to thirty million taels of silver a year as the minister of household affairs, but the prince could help him do it.
The reason why Wu Di surrendered to the prince was that he was afraid that the emperor would be unkind and ungrateful. His predecessor, Liu Yuliang, was squeezed out by Yang Sichang and had to lead the army on an expedition. He did not want to follow in Liu Yuliang's footsteps.
The reason why Xue Guoguan joined the prince was that he wanted to be the chief assistant for a long time, preferably longer than Wen Tiren's term. He also wanted to be a national warrior and have a double title.
These three people made it clear that they would leave all the matters at hand to the prince and let the prince continue to fight with his father so that they could continue to sit back and watch the fight between tigers and tigers.
The atmosphere in the hall seemed very awkward, and Chongzhen could not continue to ask questions, because the answers were already known in advance. With the first three as examples, the people behind would know how to reply to the Holy Emperor as long as they were not fools.
"...In this case, what do you dear ladies think of me moving to the south?"
In desperation, Chongzhen could only ask a question that the ministers would be interested in answering. He could ask for directions and find a way out for himself. After all, the situation was already very bad for him, and he still wanted to get the 10 million. Two silver coins.
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, the Crown Prince is generous, diligent and thrifty, and is extremely suitable to guard the capital. Your Majesty's move to the southern capital can ensure the stability of the south of the Yangtze River and greatly increase tax collection. In this way, by echoing each other from afar, the south can deter rogue bandits, and the north can defend against the Eastern invaders. It’s the best of both worlds!”
Yes, Xue Guoguan was still the first assistant, but his words were not as simple as before. He said a lot of flattery. In short, he strongly supported the emperor's move.
"I agree with what the Chief Assistant said. Jiangnan is the source of our Ming Dynasty's money and food. We must not be negligent. Tax evasion by profiteers in Jiangnan is extremely serious today. If things go on like this, Taicang's silver reserves are bound to decline. If you want to eradicate the troubles of the imperial court, your Majesty must personally take charge of the southern capital. We cannot punish profiteers.”
As usual, Feng Quan, the Minister of Rites, spoke second after the first assistant. The general meaning was to ask the emperor to go to Jiangnan to scrape the land as soon as possible.
"I agree with what the Chief Assistant and Da Zongbo said. It is urgent to collect taxes in Jiangnan. Your Majesty wants to work hard to revive the Ming Dynasty. The court cannot allow profiteers to evade taxes for a day."
Li Daiwen's words were quite pleasant. Since the emperor was concerned about how to collect taxes from merchants in the south of the Yangtze River, he should combine the transfer and tax collection with the emperor.
"I second the proposal!"
"I second the proposal!"
"I second the proposal!"
"I second the proposal..."
After the three people, a group of people spoke one after another, as if they had discussed it in advance. Chongzhen, who was so depressed that he could hardly sit still on the dragon chair, was clearly trying to drive him away in disguise. It was a group of people who could say What a white-eyed wolf that people talk about!
Then I thought about it, as long as the traitor didn't die, these white-eyed wolves would always be led by the traitor, and they would always be against me, and my life in the capital would not be easy.
Giving death to this rebellious son is just an angry word. Let alone giving him death, even if he is removed from the title of prince, it will arouse fierce opposition from the ministers, and even the ministers who have taken refuge in him will not agree.
As a last resort, Chongzhen didn't want to lose all the last chips in his hand. At least he still had Huang Degong's Yongweiying and several ministers supporting him.
If the decree cannot leave the palace and most of the ministers turn to this rebellious son, he will have to move to the southern capital before he can find any chance of improvement. After all, he does not want to be directly promoted to the position of Supreme Emperor.
Chongzhen didn't want to get the same fate as Li Yuan. After all, Li Shimin was an adult and had achieved fame.
If he is ousted by his ten-year-old eldest son and becomes the Supreme Emperor, what face will he have in the future?
The capital is about to become this traitor's lair. If he can't defeat him, he will have no choice but to move on.
Ten million taels of silver is really a lot, and it's all for myself, so it's not too bad.
However, Chongzhen was still unwilling to surrender the capital and even the entire "Northern Land" to this rebellious son.
Because as long as he agrees, this traitor will actually be the emperor of half of the Ming Empire, but he will not have the title of emperor.
Chongzhen suddenly remembered that he still had ministers who supported him, so he rekindled his hope of staying in the capital, and asked with interest: "Ni Yuanlu and Ni Aiqing, what do you think of me moving to the southern capital?"
Ni Yuanlu, as the right minister of the Ministry of Rites, actually does not have much real power in his hands. The power of the Ministry of Rites is also the smallest among the seven. Since the emperor plans to transfer, he has no reason to stop him: "I am willing to follow your majesty at all times. !”
If the Holy Emperor was still dissatisfied, Ni Yuanlu would have no choice but to donate all her family property, including the pen-touching fee given to her by the prince for Hongshan's inscription.
This was definitely not the answer that Chongzhen wanted to get, but Ni Yuanlu said it. Chongzhen was too embarrassed to shirk and criticize because of his face, so he had to say a few words of encouragement: "Ni Aiqing said this, which makes me feel very relieved!"
"Chen Tailai, where is Chen Aiqing?"
"Your Majesty, I agree with what Shilang Ni said, and I will always follow your Majesty!"
"..."
After hearing this, Chongzhen became even more depressed. It was okay not to ask, but he got such an answer when he asked. Now it was impossible for him to move on, because even the ministers who supported him felt that he was planning to move on.
Further questioning would not help, so Chongzhen could only sit on the dragon throne and feel worried. Why did he become more and more passive during the court meeting? Even if you want to fight back, you can't find a chance, and you have already begun to ride a tiger.
"Father, aren't you a man of good deeds? Nowadays, the civil and military officials of the entire dynasty are willing to ask you to move to the southern capital. If you agree to this, wouldn't it be a feat of unity between the emperor and his ministers? It will definitely be praised by future generations!"
A certain prince was very good at choosing the right moment. When the emperor was still thinking, he stabbed the blame-finger in the heart without hesitation, cruelly and accurately.
"..."
When Chongzhen heard this, he really felt more disgusting than eating flies, more uncomfortable than lumbar muscle strain, and more angry than the invasion of Donglu. He couldn't get angry easily, so he could only choose to endure it for the time being.
"Father, the civil and military officials of the whole court are waiting for your judgment. The court also hopes that my father can intimidate Jiangnan and wipe out the many traitorous businessmen!"
Since the scapegoat seemed to be indifferent, a certain prince didn't mind stabbing him one more time. Anyway, one stab would be enough to stab him, and two stabs would be enough to stab the emperor into a honeycomb.
"..."
Chongzhen became more and more angry the more he listened, especially since most of the officials below him were won over and bribed by this traitor.
"Father..."
"That's enough! Move over! Move over! Move over! Move over! You bastard is just looking forward to... me! Move over! Move over! I agree..."
Chongzhen was completely annoyed by this rebellious son who was full of fallacies. He wanted to get along with him as soon as possible without paying any attention to what he said.
"My father is wise! My dear friends, why don't you kneel down quickly! My father agrees to move!"
A certain prince quickly seized this fleeting opportunity and killed this hard-won business with a hammer.
"My emperor is wise! Long live my emperor! Long live! Long live!"
Xue Guoguan took the lead in kneeling down and shouting long live, followed by a group of civil servants and generals who also knelt down in style to express their gratitude to the emperor.
"...I...don't agree! Move over!"
Only then did Chongzhen remember that this traitor was just waiting for his slip of the tongue, which was really shameless.
"Father! You just said 'I will move on', and then you said 'I agree'. You are not joking!"
A certain prince doesn't care so much, as long as he hears "I move my carriage", it is enough.
"You're such a traitor, you're clearly taking advantage of others' danger, so your words don't count!"
Chongzhen was a little annoyed and angry. How could this matter be just a child's play? How could it be done so abruptly?
"Father, this is your fault. If word spreads, how will millions of people in Ming Dynasty feel? Father, I am thinking of you!"
A certain prince immediately brought tens of millions of people to the scapegoat for certification. Even though they were not present, they could have considerable side effects on a certain person involved.
"...I don't need you, a traitor, to think about me! I..."
Chongzhen wanted to strangle this young man to death, so he began to plot against his traitorous son.
"Father, you are a man of words. You must keep your word, otherwise no one will listen to your edict in the future!"
A certain prince began to use the method of provoking the generals. Whether he can be prodded or not is another matter. Let him use it first.
"You...are ridiculous!"
Chongzhen didn't want to admit this in his heart, because he really didn't have the intention to approve the move, even though he had some expectations in his heart.
"Father, please don't embarrass me. The civil and military officials of the entire court have heard about it. In a short time, the people of the entire Ming Dynasty will also know about it. Father, you can either choose to do good and move to the southern capital smoothly. Or Choose to deny it and become your emperor."
Since dumping the blame is a good thing, then it is very likely that you will choose to cherish your own feathers, otherwise it will become a big joke.
"You traitor! How dare you threaten me???"
Chongzhen had never thought that such a day would come, and it came so suddenly that he was caught off guard.
"Father, this is what you said you agreed to move, and now you're regretting it?"
A certain prince finally found a way to blame his father, and now he couldn't let go easily.
"I... was framed by you, a traitor!"
