"Your Highness!" Liu Bowen trembled with excitement. This His Highness revealed the future to himself in the form of prophecy!
"May I ask, Your Highness, who is the one who will destroy our great world? Peace Guards the Good Osmanthus...could it be this 'Peace Guard'?"
"Good Osmanthus... Could this person have the word 'Gui' in his name?"
Zhu Su observed Liu Bowen's reaction. These few sentences he said are said by later generations to be the prophecy and strange book "Shaobing Song" composed by Liu Bowen himself. But Liu Bowen knew nothing about it at this time, and it seemed that this was indeed a rumor from later generations.
But in this case, it doesn't stop me from using the Shaobing song to covertly nod to Lao Liu. If he can help the great cause of the rise of the Ming Dynasty, it can be said that he has received an extremely powerful help.
To complete the rise of China, we need to gather the power of all the strong and wise men. Liu Bowen is undoubtedly the most top wise man in China in this era.
It’s worth fighting for!
Seeing Zhu Su shaking his head, Liu Bowen was even more moved. His Highness the Fifth Prince actually denied it so firmly, it seemed that he really knew what was going to happen in the future. He was trembling slightly, "Every time there is a change of dynasty, the people are bound to be in dire straits. We, the people of China, have only been able to live in peace for three hundred years, so are we going to suffer another disaster?"
"Who is the person who destroyed our Ming Dynasty?"
"The sweet-scented osmanthus blooms like a hero, and the Great Wall is demolished to show filial piety. The clouds are lost in the Mid-Autumn Festival, and the barbarians are still barbarians!" Zhu Su continued to quote the prophecy in the Shaobing Song and whispered.
"Hu people are poisonous...Hu people are poisonous!" Liu Bowen was horrified. "It turns out to be a barbarian! Have the barbarians invaded our country again?"
"The sweet-scented osmanthus is blooming, a good hero, he tore down the Great Wall to show his loyalty and filial piety... Could it be that this man with the word "osmanthus" in his name allowed the barbarians from outside the Pass to invade?"
"Yes, yes, 'safely guard the sweet-scented osmanthus', this sweet-scented osmanthus must be my general who will guard the border from tomorrow onwards... That's right! His Majesty sent troops to massacre the Jurchens in Jianzhou before. Could it be the 'Hu people'?" Could it be that she is a Jianzhou Jurchen?"
"Then this 'osmanthus' is the guard of Shanhaiguan... Our Ming Dynasty actually had such a shameless person and let the descendants from outside the pass join the invaders?" Liu Bowen couldn't believe it.
Zhu Su was also slightly shocked. From these specious prophecies, Liu Bowen deduced the historical fact that Wu Sangui released the Qing army into the Pass...
Seeing that Liu Bowen wanted to ask more questions, he interrupted: "Why does Mr. Liu ask so many questions?"
"As the saying goes, everything depends on man-made things. Who can care about what will happen hundreds of years later? Why not work hard now to take precautions before it happens..."
"If you want to know anything, just ask your father. If your father agrees, he will tell you sincerely, so why bother asking me?"
Liu Bowen was startled, knowing that he had asked too many questions today, and then laughed at himself: "What your Highness said is true, but it was Bowen who was in trouble."
He thought for a while and suddenly slapped his knee: "His Royal Highness Meng leaked the secret. If Bowen still protects himself wisely, the law will not tolerate it."
"His Royal Highness and Your Majesty want to seek peace for all eternity, and Bowen is willing to follow the example of a dog and a horse. His Majesty's reform of Confucianism is probably due to the saying 'the world values literature but not Wu'. The tax system can be reformed..."
"With all due respect, this is not a good policy." Liu Bowen said bluntly.
"Oh? I'd like to hear the details." Zhu Su became interested. This was the first time that Liu Bowen spoke out. Before, this old fox always acted wisely and protected himself. How could he be so willing to make plans and get into the puddle easily? Just listen to Liu Bowen say: "There is no problem in imposing additional taxes on court officials and merchants. The problem is that the person who imposes this additional tax is the Ministry of Husbandry. And the Ministry of Households is also an official of the court. Although the world is big, there is no one who can teach thieves to catch themselves. reason?"
"Do they still dare to deceive the emperor?" Zhu Su said.
"They don't dare to deceive the emperor." Liu Bowen said. "But in the officialdom, there are many people who have acquaintances, move their wealth elsewhere, or work as slaves. There are always more solutions than difficulties. And there are people from the household department helping to hide it, how can we cure it?"
“That’s why it’s said that this method cannot last long.”
Zhu Su nodded, acknowledging the words. "Then if Jin Yiwei is used to assist in the investigation, how can they deal with it?"
"The Jinyi Guards are fierce and powerful, so they can collect taxes. But they are the army after all, so they are suspected of being forced to recruit." Liu Bowen said. "And it will be difficult to make it after all."
"What do you think, sir?" Zhu Su asked.
"We can set up a separate department to deal with taxation!" Liu Bowen said. "The head of this department is in charge, and the head of the household department is out. There is no involvement in each other's comings and goings. This can ensure that this administration will last for a long time!"
Zhu Su was horrified. Liu Bowen's words were undoubtedly digging into the roots of the officials in the household department! You must know that the reason why the Ministry of Husbandry ranks first among all other ministries is because it has full authority over the world's money and food. No matter what government office or guard office wants to ask for some funds, it is necessary to ask the Ministry of Husbandry for help.
Having the power to collect taxes from all over the world also makes the Ministry of Revenue the immediate boss of all local officials and gentry in the world. No matter if you are the prefect of a state or a big family, if you meet this official in the yamen who has the power to collect taxes from you, You have to grovel and respectfully call me "Sir" and offer enough benefits.
But according to what Liu Bowen said, it is tantamount to dividing the power of the Ministry of Household Affairs into two halves, and assigning the more important half, which is in the upper reaches of wealth distribution, to another yamen...
This is not only taking away people's power, but also cutting off people's wealth!
"Most of the officials in the Ministry of Household Affairs are from Qingliu in eastern Zhejiang. As the leader of Qingliu, sir, aren't you afraid of offending your colleagues?" Zhu Su asked tentatively.
"The leader of Qingliu... How can the old ministers dare to form cliques for personal gain when the Holy Emperor comes to court?" Liu Bowen said with a bitter smile.
"However, the officials in Huaixi were rampant before, and the people in eastern Zhejiang were helpless. It was not easy to find a native of eastern Zhejiang like Chen, who was not from Huaixi, but also a former official of the Yuan Dynasty, and had some credit for the Ming Dynasty. We all take the minister as the leader and just report to the group to keep warm."
"Now that the Huaixi lineage has been settled, I naturally have no worries, so I returned to the fields and forests. If it weren't for Your Majesty's preference, I would have returned to my hometown in Qingtian and written a book."
It was rare for Liu Bowen to openly express his feelings. He bluntly said that he was temporarily taking over Qingliu in order to prevent Huaixi civil servants from causing trouble in the imperial court. Zhu Su nodded, relieved of all his worries. After all, Liu Bowen had no regard for power after Hu Weiyong's downfall. This was a fait accompli.
Coupled with his reaction after hearing the "Shaobing Song" just now, Zhu Su basically believed that this was indeed a gentleman who cared about the people.
"...Old minister, I have another concern." After thinking for a while, Liu Bowen continued to say to Zhu Su. "Your Highness needs to be careful about Mr. Han. If we impose additional business taxes this time, I am afraid that Mr. Han may be plotting behind his back."
"Korean Duke Li Shanchang?" Zhu Su was stunned. "No way. Both the Korean prince and Mr. Han have retired. Moreover, he was the leader of the Huaixi line before. How could he get involved with the officials from eastern Zhejiang who are now in the DPRK?"
"Sir, when you criticize Mr. Han, aren't you afraid that your father will think you are just avenging your personal vengeance?"
"His Royal Highness and His Majesty suddenly want to impose additional commercial taxes, which shows that this taxation policy must be related to the chaos that will occur in our Ming Dynasty a hundred years later!"
"With those prophecies telling future generations, how can Bowen still only care about his own small body and neglect the overall situation of the world?" Liu Bowen asked anxiously. "Although I have been fighting with the Korean public for half my life, I have never criticized each other over private matters. Everything I said was out of public motives!"
"Your Highness, although Mr. Han has retired, he alludes to his disciple Hu Weiyong to take over the position and continue to hold the power in the court. Now that Hu Weiyong has been dismissed, wouldn't it be difficult for Mr. Han to sleep and eat because he has always loved power?"
"The reason why he came up with the strategy of Bao Chao is to use the benefits of Bao Chao to make good friends with hundreds of officials in the court. The old minister is also the second minister of the Yuan Dynasty. He knows best that after the ministers of the Yuan Dynasty surrendered to the Ming Dynasty, they lamented the past. The majesty and luxury are no longer there, and the laws are too strict to make money!”
"Don't look at the fact that they were against the Korean prince in the past, but today they can make a profit, and they will definitely be willing to wave the flag and shout for the Korean prince. Then the Korean prince can use these people to take charge of the court again, and they will keep their word. Their names are not prime ministers, but their power is real!"
"Now His Majesty wants to impose more business taxes, which will make the strategy of treasure money fall short. With the stubbornness of the Korean prince, how can he give up so easily?"
(End of chapter)
