Father Liu finished speaking quickly and nodded slightly to show his understanding. Emperor Wanli seemed to want to give the father and son time to breathe. He paused for a moment and then said: "Liu Haojia, the reason why I sent you to the palace this time is because someone said that Jubaozhai is a business of your Gu Ningbo Mansion, so someone suggested that it be returned to the imperial court. So, what do you think about using the money you get from selling mirrors to buy war horses for the border army?"
Liu Haojia took a step forward, stood with Liu's father, and said: "Under the wall, the Jubaozhai is not a business of Weichen's family, so I don't have any ideas!"
After hearing this, the ministers burst into an uproar! Are you telling lies with your eyes open? Everyone in the capital knows that the guys from Jubaozhai are delivering money to your house one after another. Do you think everyone is blind?
At this time, Zhou Zhiwu was heard saying loudly: "Liu Haojia, this is in the main hall, and lying is a crime of deceiving the emperor!"
Liu Haojia straightened up and said coldly: "Your Majesty is asking me what I am asking now. Why are you interrupting?"
The ministers were in an uproar again after hearing this! There is a huge difference in status between Jin Yiwei Baihu and Ning Xibo. How dare he stand up to you so hard? It seems that this guy is also a man who wants money rather than his life!
When Zhou Zhiwu heard this, he raised his finger and pointed at Liu Haojia and said: "You..."
Before he could say anything, Emperor Wanli said: "Uncle Ning Xi, why don't you come and ask questions on my behalf!"
Zhou Zhiwu broke into a cold sweat when he heard Emperor Wanli's words! He knew that he had made a big mistake in his moment of complacency, so he hurriedly bowed and said, "Your Majesty, please forgive me. I have disrespected you!"
Emperor Wanli snorted, turned to Liu Haojia and said, "Both Ning Xibo and others said that Jubaozhai is your uncle Gu Ning's property. How can you say it's not?"
Liu Haojia said: "Your Majesty, the Jubaozhai is indeed not the property of Gu Ningbo Mansion, but the private property of Liu Changyuan, the steward of Gu Ningbo Mansion!"
When the courtiers heard this, there was another slight commotion, but it was not strong. They felt that Liu Haojia was cheating! Because they know that this is what everyone does. After all, as an official, it is really shameful to run a humble business like a merchant, so they always put these properties in the names of their relatives or servants. But they didn't think Liu Haojia could avoid this disaster.
At this time, Zhou Zhiwu knew that he had no choice but to go. If things were done, the people behind him would naturally protect him, and he would still be able to share the profits. If it doesn't work, I'm afraid he will be in bad luck! So he ignored the etiquette in the palace and interrupted: "Liu Haojia, what you said is biased! The things in your servant's name belong to your Uncle Gu Ning's house, so there is nothing to quibble about!"
Liu Haojia glanced at him and said: "Your Majesty, although Liu Guangyuan is the steward of our Guning Mansion, he is not a servant! His ancestors had left their humble status three generations ago and are an ordinary civilian of our Ming Dynasty! Moreover, he and my father were brothers, but he saw that my family was not good at running things, so he helped us take care of the housework, just in the name of a housekeeper! So in fact, he and my father are friends, not masters and servants! Speaking of which Here, Wei Chen really wants to know why the imperial court wants to take the property of an ordinary person as his own!"
Zhou Zhiwu quibbled and said: "This is not expropriation, but the court paying a certain amount of remuneration in exchange! For example, the court can give him a knighthood!"
Liu Haojia sneered and said: "Master Zhou, can you represent the imperial court? And do you know what the consequences will be after this example is set? Once there is a precedent, the imperial court or senior officials in the imperial court will take a fancy to something among the people, as long as it Just shout that the court is useful and you can directly levy it. What kind of world is that? If you exchange it for a title, there are so many good things in the world. How many titles will the court prepare? Do you want the streets to be filled with this uncle and that marquis? Master? Then there will be room for ordinary people to survive?"
Zhou Zhiwu was a little panicked, and he said in a stern tone: "How could such a thing happen? That's impossible, this is just your random guess!"
Although he said so, no one including him believed what he said! Now when there is no compulsory expropriation of people's property, officials and nobles at all levels are constantly taking advantage of it. If there is an example like this, wouldn't it be easier to do it in the future?
At this time, Liu Haojia said in one step: "You said it's impossible, what guarantee do you have? Can you afford this responsibility?"
At this point, Liu Haojia suddenly slowed down and said, "If you put it like this, I also have an opinion! As long as our family takes out things, it's too unfair. Why don't each noble family also take out something to serve the court?" Come on! My requirements are not high, as long as the annual income is the same as that of Jubaozhai, I will agree to this matter on behalf of Uncle Liu!"
When the ministers heard this, their hearts were churning! Whoever has a business with an annual income of one million would be willing to use it to serve the court. Isn’t that crazy? And how many businesses in the world have such profits?
At this time, Liu Haojia continued: "I heard that there are many caravans in the northwest traveling outside the Great Wall. These caravans have a large number of horses. Even the guys are good at riding. With a little training, they can become an elite army! And the caravans Not only can we earn a lot of money from these trades, but we can also spy on the Tatars, so why not the imperial court orders all those caravans to be confiscated!"
As soon as the Liu Hao family finished speaking, some of the ministers couldn't help but murmured. I don't know whether they agreed or objected? Anyway, everyone’s faces don’t look good!
Zhou Zhiwu's face became very ugly, and he even did not dare to say anything, for fear that he would say the wrong thing and be misunderstood! Because he knows very well who are the people behind those teams, they are all high-ranking officials and wealthy families in the northwest! If because of his suggestion, the imperial court really wanted to confiscate those caravans, it would be an easy task for his whole family to die without being buried!
At this time, Liu Haojia raised his head again and said slowly: "This caravan makes money slower after all! To say that the ones who make money fast are the salt merchants in Jiangnan. They didn't earn hundreds that year. That's ten thousand taels of silver! I think the imperial court can seize their salt and let the imperial court sell the salt themselves, and the profits in the period will probably be even greater!"
After hearing Liu Haojia's words, there was another murmur among the ministers, but this time there were more voices! At this time, they didn't think there was anything wrong with Liu Haojia. Instead, they felt that Zhou Zhiwu and others were too hateful and stupid!
However, there was a voice of agreement from Xungui! Because of the salt tax, Yanyin was controlled by civilian officials. The nobles tried to intervene many times but were fooled! If you can just tear a hole in it, you will enjoy it endlessly in the future! But they also knew that they were wishful thinking at this time, so they just muttered and let it go!
