Li Qing sighed bitterly: "Your Majesty, why do you always think about... slaughtering?"
"Otherwise?" Zhu Jianshen said matter-of-factly, "Is it possible to just wait for them to become more powerful and overpower the imperial power?"
Li Qing: "..."
"Your Majesty, plunder is the lowest and most unwise behavior, even though it is very effective." Li Qing looked serious: "It is true that the wealthy gentry's congress will affect the imperial power, but there is not only one way to slaughter."
After a pause, "Making the plate bigger so that more people can enjoy the benefits is the best option. Predatory harvesting is very enjoyable, but what happens after the harvest?"
Li Qing couldn't hide his bitterness: "The rich gentry exploited and the emperor plundered. This will eventually only lead to the decline and even collapse of the Ming Dynasty!"
Zhu Jianshen's face felt hot when he was told this, but he couldn't get angry easily. He said in a low voice:
"Then tell me, how can we not only stabilize the imperial power but also make the Ming Dynasty prosperous?"
"Exchange time for space, develop first, and then rot in the pot." Li Qing said, "This not only refers to business, but also includes you, the emperor, being in power."
Speaking of this, Zhu Jianshen immediately became interested and leaned forward, "Be more specific."
"Take this incident as an example. If Your Majesty ends up fighting hand to hand, do you think you can successfully station troops in Liaodong?" Li Qing said, "appropriately win over, make concessions, and even sacrifice some of your interests... Your Majesty, you understand these principles and do the same." Yes, but..."
Li Qing sighed: "With all due respect, Your Majesty, you are too petty. Your ultimate goal is to gain power. You just need to keep a close eye on this and work hard for it. There is no need to care about temporary gains and losses."
Zhu Jianshen thought for a long time and nodded slowly: "What you said makes sense. Sometimes I... care too much about temporary gains and losses."
After heaving a sigh of relief, Zhu Jianshen picked up Li Qing's plan again, reviewed it again, and muttered:
"According to your arrangement, it is indeed very feasible, but to be on the safe side, I think it would be better to be a little harsher and leave them room for bargaining."
Li Qing nodded happily: "Your Majesty is wise."
Finally heard something nice... Zhu Jianshen felt much better and said with a smile: "Then you will come to court tomorrow."
"It still doesn't work," Li Qing smiled, "I have done so many things that have harmed the interests of the officials and gentry that they will reflexively and mindlessly oppose any national policy I propose. This has become a habit. .”
Zhu Jianshen was startled for a moment, and a touch of emotion came over him: "Sir, thank you for your hard work..."
Li Qing smiled carelessly and said, "It's best to discuss this matter with the cabinet in advance. Firstly, this national policy will not embarrass them. Secondly, this can also show that you trust the cabinet;
In this way, they will be closer to you, the emperor, to a certain extent. "
"Sir, what you said makes sense." Zhu Jianshen nodded lightly. He finally felt guilty and said, "Come here, please send three hundred taels of gold to Marquis Yongqing later."
Li Qing smiled and said: "Then...thank you for the reward, Your Majesty!"
…
Looking at Li Qing's leaving figure, Zhu Jianshen couldn't help but sigh: "It's not easy for him either..."
After being stunned for a long time, it was not until Li Qing's figure disappeared that Zhu Jianshen turned around and said, "Peng Shi, Liu Dingzhi, and Shang Ren are ordered to come to see you as soon as possible."
"My slave obeys the order."
Zhu Jianshen walked to the imperial cabinet and sat down, whispering to himself: "The meat is rotten in the pot... Well, it's wonderful!"
Since the meat will eventually rot in the pot, there is no need to care too much about the immediate gains and losses... The corners of Zhu Jianshen's mouth rose.
Half an hour later, the three cabinet ministers came to Qianqing Palace to see him.
"I see you, long live my emperor."
The three of them behaved more respectfully than usual. They were quite touched by the emperor's help this time. After being held down by the six ministers for so long, they finally felt proud and proud. How could they not be happy?
"Three beloved ladies, please get up quickly." Zhu Jianshen also acted very affectionately, "Come here, serve tea!"
"Give me a seat!"
Oops... The three of them were surrounded by a deep sense of happiness, which even felt unreal, "Thank you, Your Majesty."
Sitting on the chairs, sipping tribute tea, the three of them had good natures, and they couldn't help but look like they were enjoying themselves.
Peng Shi cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty has summoned his ministers to come, but have you given any instructions?"
Shang Ren and Liu Dingzhi hurriedly put down their teacups and looked like they were listening.
"These days, I have been studying the business of the Ming Dynasty and formulated a set of national policies." Zhu Jianshen pushed the paper on the imperial case and said, "Let's take a look."
"Yes," the three of them stepped forward, spread out the paper and looked at it carefully, sometimes frowning, sometimes stretching... and finally turning solemn.
The three of them looked at each other and saw the shock in each other's eyes.
The emperor's method... is too strong, right?
There is strength, there is compromise, there is exploitation, there is giving... It seems that business taxes are reduced or reduced, but it can actually increase taxes, and the lifting of the quota for goods exported to the sea completely offsets the damage caused by labor laws to the interests of the wealthy gentry. .
This... is simply impeccable!
In view of Zhu Jianshen's previous political skills, they did not doubt the origin of this national policy. It was precisely because they believed it that they were shocked.
The emperor is so talented at such a young age, and given time... the British Lord, the Holy Lord, will definitely not run away.
Isn't it appropriate to be a close minister of a holy king and leave a name in history?
The three of them were thinking about it...
But they never imagined that the emperor would be so shameless as to steal the fruits of other people's labor.
Of course, there is a reason why Zhu Jianshen is so shameless. He gave money, and this wave is a paid buyout.
Zhu Jian deeply sipped the tea while observing the shocked expressions of the three people. His mood was so beautiful.
After drinking a cup of tea, Zhu Jianshen cleared his throat and said, "What do the three beloved ladies think?"
The three of them came back to their senses, and Peng Shi took the lead and said: "Your Majesty, the labor laws have brought benefits to the workers and the common people. They have reduced and reduced business taxes to benefit merchants, which can better develop the handicraft industry. Such a national policy..."
"I think it should be implemented immediately!" Liu Dingzhi rushed to express his views and exclaimed: "For such a national policy, delaying it for even one day will be a huge loss!"
Shang Ren frowned without leaving any trace: Damn it, you two just started fighting, don't ruin the good situation.
He is not destined to be the first assistant, so he is more rational.
So he hurriedly said: "The national policy drafted by the emperor is very feasible for the benefit of the country and the people. However, the Six Ministries... this time they stationed troops in Liaodong, which made the already poor treasury even worse;
I thought that at least the Ministry of Household Affairs would object on the grounds that the national treasury was poor! "
Peng Shi and Liu Ding were stunned, and then suddenly realized that the cabinet had not yet established a firm foothold, so they had to take advantage of the opportunity to defeat the common enemy first.
"Your Majesty, what the Bachelor of Commerce said is not unreasonable," Liu Dingzhi quickly changed his words, "I think the conditions can be set more harshly to leave room for bargaining."
Peng Shi nodded, cupped his hands and said: "Your Majesty, the worries of the two bachelors are not unreasonable. The cabinet must support the emperor, but the six ministries... it is hard to say."
After a pause, "Your Majesty, if this national policy is not proposed by the cabinet, then while the disputes are endless in the court, your Majesty will make moves that benefit the people, which will not only promote the national policy, but also fulfill the Emperor's reputation."
Liu and Shang agreed, the signs of internal strife disappeared, and the three of them began to talk about each other's business.
"Thank you, Master Peng."
"No, I just expressed what you two think. It's a trick."
After a few simple sentences, he turned to praise Zhu Jianshen.
It is really comfortable to be flattered by literati, especially those above the temple.
Zhu Jian said with a deep smile: "I am very relieved that the three beloved ministers do not care about personal gains and losses. However, how can I be a king who allows his ministers to bear a bad name for the sake of his holy name?"
He left no room for doubt: "This national policy was thought up by me, and it was naturally proposed by me."
After a pause, "What Shang Aiqing said is very reasonable. There is room for better implementation of national policies. However, I will be the villain and you will be good people."
"emperor……"
The three of them were shocked and quickly knelt down to express their loyalty:
"Absolutely not, Your Majesty, how can you harm your holy name?"
"The Lord is worried about the humiliation of his ministers, and the Lord humiliates his ministers to death. Your Majesty must never do this."
Zhu Jianshen said firmly: "I have made up my mind, that's it."
"emperor……"
"I have no words to say. I wanted to express my ambition, but the six departments... alas!" Zhu Jian sighed deeply: "Tomorrow morning, I will propose this national policy. My three beloved ministers must not let down my good intentions."
Before the three of them could speak, Zhu Jianshen said again: "As long as your hearts are with me and you understand me, it doesn't matter if I suffer some grievances."
The three people were moved to tears. Although they knew that the emperor was expressive, it was really rare for the king of a country to be so considerate of them and consider them.
"Your Majesty, think twice!" the three cried.
"I've thought about it three times, so there's no need to persuade me." Zhu Jianshen waved his hand and said, "Come here, send the three bachelors away."
"emperor……"
The three of them were forcefully dragged away from the hall, and their voices gradually faded away.
Zhu Jian breathed a deep sigh of relief, and a faint smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.
Naturally, he has a motive for doing this. The success of the cabinet depends not only on him, but also on the 'shareholders'. Now that they are not stable, if they go against everyone from the very beginning, at least the six ministries will seize the opportunity and make a comeback.
Therefore, if the cabinet wants to gain a foothold, they must be allowed to pay dividends to 'shareholders'.
The three cabinet members also understood this, but they rushed to give the emperor a bad name in order to further drag him into trouble.
In fact, the cabinet really wants to take the blame and is not being polite!
This is done to deeply bind the power of suggestion and decision-making.
Unexpectedly, Zhu Jianshen didn't give it in vain: I'm used to being scolded, and I won't end up in this situation again anyway.
However, it should be said that the three cabinet members were indeed moved.
Although the ultimate goal was not achieved, the emperor was indeed loyal enough to take the scolding himself and let them stand firm.
Although the purpose was not pure, it actually helped them.
This wave of competition between kings and ministers cannot be called a winner or a loser. Both sides have gained something.
…
Early morning the next day.
After the ceremony of the emperor and his ministers, Zhu Jianshen went straight to the point, promoting an enhanced version of the "Labor Law" on the grounds of loving the people, and reducing a pinch of business taxes on the grounds of developing handicrafts.
As soon as he said something here, the cabinet over there immediately came out to refute...
When Liu Bu saw the fight started, he immediately became energetic: Oh, is there such a good thing?
