"Hahaha, the effect of the strike is better than I imagined!"
In the Dali Temple Yamen, Huang Zicheng was in a very good mood.
Qitai just arrived and brought news from the market.
Now, not only merchants in Jinling City, but also in Yangzhou, Suzhou and other places are eager to try and plan to go on strike to force the imperial court not to increase commercial taxes.
"Although this son is talented in poetry, how can running a country be something that a child like him can simply handle?"
Qi Tai smiled and said: "On the other hand, secular affairs are the most difficult to deal with. I think he is still good at writing poems, which may be passed down through the ages."
Huang Zicheng also nodded lightly.
He had no objection to Zhu Yunxuan's poetic talent.
After all, it is very rare for a seven-year-old child to be able to write "talented people have emerged from generation to generation, and each has led the way for hundreds of years."
Not to mention there are quatrains such as "The most unforgettable thing in the world, a beautiful woman quits the mirror and flowers quits the tree", and there are also shocking improvisations such as "The rolling water of the Yangtze River passes eastward".
Even Fang Xiaoru could only admire him, and Huang Zicheng certainly didn't dare to question it.
Cao Zijian composed a poem in seven steps, which has been recited for thousands of years.
Zhu Yunxuan was also flawless. He wrote and improvised poems, which have long been famous all over the world.
But the name of the poem belongs to the name of the poem, and governing the country belongs to governing the country.
Huang Zicheng didn't believe that a seven-year-old child could manage political affairs well.
You see, he just took office, and a merchant went on strike, making him unable to step down.
"Your Majesty made a miscalculation this time. If he doesn't take charge of Yingtian Mansion, we really don't have any good ideas, but if he comes to take charge of Yingtian Mansion, we will have a lot of ideas."
Huang Zicheng smiled and said: "He proposed to increase business taxes, and those nobles were extremely dissatisfied."
"The strike can go so smoothly this time, and the cooperation of those distinguished people is indispensable."
Qitai nodded.
Businessmen are just "little soldiers" charging at the front.
Without the support of nobles and nobles, they would not dare to go on strike collectively even if they borrowed a hundred courage from those merchants.
Now that the general trend has been established, Zhu Yunxu is riding a tiger and it is difficult to get off.
If he orders no more commercial taxes at this time, it will prove that his previous petition to increase commercial taxes was wrong.
Then he is not qualified to be established as the crown prince and the successor of the Ming Dynasty.
On the other hand, if he does not back down now, the merchants in Jinling will not resume trading, and the merchants in Suzhou and Yangzhou will follow suit.
The entire Ming Dynasty Jiangnan will be in chaos.
Can he bear this responsibility?
"I can add fuel to the fire later and write a letter of support to the court."
Qi Tai nodded and said: "Don't worry, this matter is already being handled. According to the news from the General Affairs Department, 271 officials have submitted letters within one day today."
Huang Zicheng was overjoyed, clapped his hands and said, "Okay!"
As soon as he finished speaking, someone hurried in from outside.
"Two adults, it's not good, the merchants in Jinling City have resumed trading."
"What?"
Qi Tai and Huang Zicheng were both shocked.
"How can it be?"
Both were in disbelief.
How could a strike of such a large scale suddenly stop and resume?
"This is absolutely true. The market has indeed resumed outside."
The man took out a piece of paper excerpting the notice.
"Yingtian Mansion has issued a notice, and it was someone from Jinyiwei who posted it."
He presented the paper.
Huang Zicheng snatched the paper over, glanced at it, and his pupils suddenly dilated.
His hands slowly weakened and he slumped down on the chair, his spirit already sluggish.
Seeing this, Qi Tai took the paper over and took a quick look, his expression also changed accordingly.
"That's great! He actually came up with such a plan to eliminate the problem. No wonder those businessmen have resumed the market."
"We worked hard to plan, but it all came to nothing."
…
Imperial Palace, Imperial Study Room.
Zhao Mian, the Minister of Household Affairs, and Yang Jing, the Minister of Criminal Affairs, stood respectfully below.
Zhu Yuanzhang sat at the top with a very ugly face.
On the desk, there is a mountain of memorials.
"Okay, these profiteers, how dare they go on strike?"
When Lao Zhu spoke, he was filled with murderous intent.
He was born as a common man and conquered the entire Ming Dynasty with just one bowl.
What storms have you not seen?
What does it matter if a mere businessman goes on strike?
What really made Lao Zhu feel angry was that he just wanted Zhu Yunxuan to do something and accumulate some merits so that he could be made his grandson.
Unexpectedly, as soon as Zhu Yunzhen was put in charge of Yingtian Mansion, there would be a mass strike.
As a result, Lao Zhu's arrangements were all disrupted.
Lao Zhu believed that with Zhu Yunxuan's ability, he would be able to make some political achievements sooner or later.
But the matter of the crown prince cannot be delayed for too long.
If he hesitates, it will be like forcing brothers to fight against each other for the position of prince and fight against each other.
This is what makes Lao Zhu feel the most miserable.
"Your Majesty, the current plan is to postpone the increase in commercial taxes."
Yang Jing added: "The imperial court still has some savings, so there is no need to rush into raising commercial taxes."
He used to be the Shangshu of the Ministry of Household Affairs. Although he has been transferred to the Ministry of Punishments now, he also knows that it is not easy to be a member of the Household Department.
Common people are always worried about a few taels of silver.
In fact, is this not the case for the imperial court?
It's just magnified countless times.
But now that the merchants in Jinling City are on strike, they can only postpone the increase in commercial taxes.
"We can't delay it any longer." Zhao Mian objected.
He is now in charge of the Ministry of Household Affairs, and all expenses of the imperial court must be paid from the Ministry of Household Affairs. However, his income is not much, and he is facing the dilemma of having a clever wife who cannot make a living without rice.
"Those merchants dare to go on strike. The court should deal with them severely and must not tolerate them."
Zhao Mian said: "Master Yang, when you are in charge of the Criminal Department, you should send people to arrest a group of merchants who are leading the strike. Behead those who should be beheaded, and ransack the homes of those who should be ransacked. Let's see who dares to go on strike."
Yang Jing quickly winked at him.
If this is really done, the problem of merchants going on strike will be solved, but what about the initiator of this incident, His Highness Zhu Yunxuan, King of the South?
Apart from anything else, at least the matter of establishing him as the crown prince is considered a waste.
In order to transfer power smoothly and smoothly, His Majesty named him King of the South and put him in charge of Yingtian Mansion.
Breaking His Majesty's arrangement of establishing a crown prince is a real national event.
Besides, if someone really wants to be arrested, Zhu Yunzhen is now in charge of Yingtian Mansion, so he can directly order the arrest. There is no need for the Ministry of Punishment to intervene.
Above, Zhu Yuanzhang said in a deep voice: "I have sent Jiang Yu to Yingtian Mansion, and asked Xi'er to just go ahead and do it, and the Jin Yiwei will assist."
Yang Jing was shocked. Is Your Majesty going to raise the butcher's knife?
Right.
The merchants' strike is a challenge to His Majesty's majesty. Who is Your Majesty? How can we allow others to provoke us?
Moreover, as long as you are not a fool, you will know that there are nobles and civil servants behind these businessmen.
They are declaring war on the imperial power!
How can your majesty endure it?
But if this happens, the matter of establishing a crown prince will become troublesome...
Just as he was thinking about it, he heard Zhu Yuanzhang sigh.
"I hope Fu'er can come up with a solution that has both ends. It's hard for me too!"
For a moment, he seemed to have aged ten years.
If these businessmen came for him, it would be easy to just kill them all.
Killed with heads rolling in and blood flowing like rivers!
His butcher knife was never dull.
Not to mention worrying about killing too many people.
But this matter involves Fu'er and the position of the crown prince...
Even someone as powerful as Zhu Yuanzhang had to think carefully and throw the rat into the trap.
As a grandfather, he has to take care of his grandchildren.
As an emperor, he has to worry about the stable inheritance of the country.
For a time, several people in the hall fell into silence.
At this moment, a eunuch bent down and hurriedly walked in.
"Your Majesty, the merchants in Jinling City have resumed trading."
"What?"
Zhu Yuanzhang was shocked.
Will the market resume so soon?
It shouldn’t be!
Even if we arrest people, kill them, and force them to resume trading, counting the time, we will only have time to arrest a few of the leaders.
These merchants may remain silent, but they will never give in so easily.
"His Royal Highness Nanwang posted the notice, and all the merchants resumed trading."
Zhao Mian, Yang Jing, and even Zhu Yuanzhang were all shocked.
The eunuch quickly handed over the paper with the notice written on it.
Zhu Yuanzhang took it over and looked at it, and he immediately looked up to the sky and laughed.
"Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful! With just one move, these merchants were able to resume trading without any effort. Sou'er has indeed lived up to our high expectations."
…
PS: Don’t worry, everyone, updates will start tomorrow, and the climax is coming!
