The atmosphere in the Qianqing Palace suddenly became stagnant, and Shen Shixing's pressure suddenly increased sharply. He knew that if his answer could no longer satisfy Emperor Wanli this time, his chief assistant might really be finished.

Shen Shixing knelt on the ground, with beads of sweat falling from his forehead. He said to the ground: "Your Majesty, over the years, the imperial court has fought successively in the Battle of Ningxia and the Battle of Korea. The silver coins in the household are flowing like water. The water flowed outwards, and in recent years, the people have suffered from natural disasters due to drought in the north and floods in the south. The emperor was considerate of the people and has exempted many places from taxes. Now the Ministry of Household Affairs has long been unable to make ends meet and has no money."

As soon as Shen Shixing finished speaking, the dark clouds in the sky seemed to have sensed Emperor Wanli's heart. There was a crack of thunder and a thunder across the sky.

Under the rumbling power of heaven, Shen Shixing, Wang Xijue and Shi Xing suddenly felt that they were extremely insignificant.

The wind suddenly rises!

Suddenly it blew through the curtains and into the temple.

The sweltering and oppressive summer heat has finally been relieved.

However, Emperor Wanli's thoughts at this time were not on the sultry weather and the cool breeze.

His mood had been completely disturbed by Shen Shixing's irresponsible answer.

The great Ming Dynasty had hundreds of millions of people living in it, and its population was far greater than that of the Han and Tang Dynasties. At this time, they actually said they had no money. Isn't this a slap in the face of the Celestial Empire?

Emperor Wanli endured his anger and said a few words between his teeth, "That's so good!"

Shen Shixing and others were even more frightened and uneasy. They had never seen Emperor Wanli so angry.

Emperor Wanli looked at the three kneeling ministers in the palace. He really missed the bold Mr. Zhang now.

Although Mr. Zhang is authoritative and good at the country, at least he has never been tripped up by money matters. Instead, he has increased the income of the Ministry of Household Affairs.

But, what about these people in front of me?

Shen Shixing has been in the cabinet for more than ten years, and has served as chief minister for thirteen years. In these thirteen years, although he has not made many mistakes, there is nothing outstanding about him.

Wang Xijue is also an old man in the cabinet. He has never been seen as the Wanli Emperor. Except for the so-called merger of two kings a few years ago, there has never been anything outstanding.

However, Shi Xing is still somewhat useful. Before he took charge of the Ministry of War, Shi Xing was the Minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs. When he was the Minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs, although he did not increase any taxes to support the court, after all, during his tenure, the Ministry of Household Affairs was still somewhat Produced by a surplus of silver.

Otherwise, Emperor Wanli would not have transferred Shi Xing to the Ministry of War. However, what did Shi Xing do after he arrived at the Ministry of War? Not only did he not change the predicament of the Ming Dynasty's military affairs, but he became even more constrained, and even today, he has The errands assigned to me were ruined.

How could this not make Emperor Wanli angry?

However, these Wanli Emperors also tolerated it. After all, he himself did not go to court, so he could not criticize these ministers too much.

However, now comes the critical moment.

Emperor Wanli looked at Shen Shixing and the others, and he questioned: "I am exempted from taxes. But this is not a reason. I am exempted from taxes in the disaster-stricken areas. Like the wealthy areas in the south, their taxes are still paid as usual. Really? If I remember correctly, the Salt Road alone has an income of hundreds of thousands of taels a year. Where is the money?"

After hearing Emperor Wanli's question, Shen Shixing knelt on the ground and replied: "Back to the emperor, the silver from the Salt Road was escorted to the Nanjing Department of Revenue for processing according to previous years' practice. The Beijing Department of Revenue has not received the money."

Emperor Wanli said angrily: "Then transfer the money from the Nanjing Household Department."

At this time, Shen Shixing was in trouble again, because he could not transfer the money from the Nanjing Department of Revenue. The only person who had the right to transfer it to the bank treasury of the Nanjing Department of Revenue was the emperor.

However, with the development of the civil service system over the years, the Nanjing Ministry of Household Affairs has quickly become an independent kingdom. Although they still submit financial reports to the Beijing Ministry of Household Affairs for approval every year, it is just a formality.

If you really want to use the money from the Nanjing Ministry of Revenue, it will be extremely difficult. Because these civil servants will naturally think that the emperor uses the money just for pleasure.

Therefore, gradually, unless it is necessary, they will not escort a single tael of money here to Beijing. This has to be said to be a deformed and bizarre fiscal policy and idea.

Moreover, in today's Ming Dynasty, in the eyes of most officials with ideals, morals and integrity, the emperor spent money indiscriminately. Only they can keep money for the empire. Therefore, Nanjing's money has been transferred to Beijing households at some point.

The division has been completed, and it has become a "routine" by now. Therefore, even Shen Shixing, the Shofu University Scholar, had no choice but to ask Emperor Wanli to give the order.

However, once the emperor gave the order, it showed that he, the chief assistant, was incompetent.

How can an incompetent chief minister continue to stay in the cabinet? He will definitely be accused and returned home.

However, how can Shen Shixing, who is now in his golden age, be willing to do so?

So Shen Shixing gritted his teeth and said, "Your Majesty, I have a way that may be able to solve the urgent need of the Ministry of Household Affairs."

Emperor Wanli looked a little better and said: "Mr. Shen, please tell me. I want to hear what you can do?"

Shen Shixing looked at Zhu Changluo who was standing quietly aside, and then he said firmly: "I ask the emperor to collect commercial taxes."

As soon as Shen Shixing said these words, the entire Qianqing Palace became quiet. All you could hear was the wind blowing outside.

Wang Xijue looked at Shen Shixing in disbelief, was he going to dig his own grave?

Zhu Changluo was also attracted by Shen Shixing's words. He slightly raised his head and glanced at the dying bachelor of Shoufu.

Emperor Wanli looked at Shen Shixing and asked: "Commercial tax has been custom-made as early as the time of Taizu. One is drawn in thirty. If I remember correctly, the commercial tax silver reported by the Ministry of Household Affairs last year was 470,000 taels of silver.

, and it accounts for 10% of Taicang Bank’s annual income. Now that you’re telling me to introduce a commercial tax, are you making me happy?”

Shen Shixing knelt on the ground and explained: "I dare not deceive the emperor. The reason why I said that I would levy commercial tax was not just talking nonsense. I have paid special attention to the operation model of Xishan Wanli Street in the past two years. The commercial tax model of Xishan Wanli Street,

I think we can try to promote it nationwide, which will not only relieve the financial pressure on the court, but also relieve the pressure on the people who farm the land."

Before Shen Shixing could finish speaking, Wang Xijue on the side directly interrupted Shen Shixing's words, "Your Majesty, please don't listen to Shen Shixing's nonsense! This is nonsense! It harms the country and the people! The country and the dynasty have already had commercial taxes.

Customization, if according to Yuan Fu's words, separate tax items are opened, this is the same as

The people strive for profit! The state's emphasis on agriculture and suppressing commerce is the foundation of the country. If commercial taxes are levied openly, wouldn't this tell the cheap merchants in the world that the court must rely on them? In the long run, the order of scholars, farmers, industry and commerce will be chaotic, and the generals of the country will
Chapter completed!