"Shut up!" Seeing that his younger brother actually blamed himself in turn, Li Shan angrily reprimanded in a low voice.
Li Cunyou was a mediocre scholar, so he relied on his elder brother Li Shanchang for his livelihood. Even he was resentful because the treasure banknote matter fell through, let alone the other officials in the court.
Li Shanchang turned his head and saw that the princes in the court who had wronged him a few days ago and knelt down were all secretly complaining. He couldn't help but feel something in his heart. He wanted to use money to win over the court officials to return, but he didn't want to be in office.
Don't play your cards according to common sense. If you fail to make a move, it will backfire on yourself...
"Prime Minister Li, you can come up with something!" Zhan Tong, the Minister of Civil Affairs, said anxiously. He is the only one risking his life in the court, and he will definitely bear the brunt of the additional business tax imposed on the family members of court officials.
If nothing is done, the property that my family has worked so hard to save may be completely lost...
Frightened and anxious, I realized that Li Shanchang's tone was somewhat unkind.
Then there is the disadvantage of using gold and silver to win people's hearts. Once there is no profit, not only will others no longer be respectful, but they will even be tempted to blame the person who tried to induce them for the failure to gain benefits. Looking at my father
He and his second uncle looked sad, but Li Shanchang's eldest son Li Qifu was secretly happy.
It would be better if the treasure banknote matter fell through, then my father would not be able to be a powerful minister. Since ancient times, how could a powerful minister have a successful outcome? The Li family has clearly become the Duke of the country, and has suffered a great loss...
"Gentlemen, please be patient for a moment. Let me think about it for a while." Contrary to what Li Qi thought, Li Shanchang did not give up the opportunity. "For a clear plan, we must first give up the idea of raising commercial taxes."
"Whether it is a treasure or a tax increase, its fundamental purpose is to collect money for the imperial court and solve the financial crisis of the national treasury."
"Then, if we can't raise wealth by asking for a tax on business..."
All the officials were stunned, and Zhan Tong said tremblingly: "Did Prime Minister Li ask him to wait... to resist the tax?"
"Your Majesty has already said that those who refuse to pay will be punished. Then..."
"Haha, if you don't care, you'll be in trouble. If you don't impose a commercial tax, why don't you ask for it to go through the Ministry of Household Affairs?"
"There is no need to take risks to resist taxes. I just thought of a perfect way..."
As he said this, he talked about the plan he had in mind.
Following Li Shanchang's words, the originally frightened officials gradually lost their anxiety and praised Prime Minister Li one by one for his brilliance. However, after Li Shanchang's death, the more Li Qi listened, the more frightened he became.
"My father was blinded by the desire for power in his heart, and he went too far!" Looking at his proud father being admired by the stars, Li Qi was already breaking out in a cold sweat.
"If this matter is known to Lord Biz... wouldn't it be... deceiving the king?"
"...If it doesn't work, we have to find a way to protect the survival of the Li family..."
Li Qi gradually made a decision in his heart.
…
Over there, after Zhu Su finished presenting his business tax strategy, he and Zhu Fan came to the Prince's Mansion.
Not only did Zhu Su come to look for Zhu Biao, Zhu Di, Zhu Xi and Mu Ying were also here. As soon as he saw Mu Ying, Zhu Su told him the good news of the success of steelmaking, and Mu Ying was also overjoyed.
"Sandiandong actually made low-carbon steel? That's great! Then, what Xiao Wu and I said are those thunder cannons that can be carried around, and the new fire cannons that can be fired continuously without worrying about exploding the barrel.
, can it be built?" Mu Ying's eyes lit up.
"It depends on Lao Wu's blueprints. Moreover, if you want to make those muskets and firearms, you need lathes and other precision craftsmanship for trial production..." As he said that, he looked at Zhu Su: "Lao Wu, I have some blueprints.
, and leave it to him together. I am a carefree person, so I don’t have the energy to focus on those boring trial productions.”
"Besides, I am already in charge of the Imperial College, and my second brother and fourth brother also have positions. He has also applied to dad to be the director of the Ministry of Industry. I have a lot of important weapons in my belly, so I can give them all to him."
I always felt that there was something in Zhu Fan's words and his eyes were not clear. It seemed that he could no longer hide it from the shrewd third brother. Zhu Su looked at him with a sneer and said: "Okay, okay. When he comes back, he will turn the lathe and so on."
I sent the blueprints to Third Brother together. For the development of firecrackers, ship cannons and other things, I have to rely on Third Brother."
"With the new weapons, the Ming Dynasty will expand its territory and expand its territory, which will be like adding wings to a tiger!" Zhu Di said excitedly. "Although the position of the Jin Yiwei is prestigious, if you want to come to the Ming Dynasty, you will not be able to enjoy the pleasure of leading troops to kill the enemy on the battlefield.
.”
"Lao Wu, do I have any idea when dad is going to send troops to destroy Bei Yuan?"
"How can the centipede insects of the Northern Yuan Dynasty be wiped out so easily?" Zhu Su said with a smile. "Ba Nao, depending on what my father wants, he probably wants to pay the Japanese island by mistake first."
"We have buried a secret on the Japanese island before, and if we hope to make progress, Mr. Gao and others will definitely incite the Japanese royal family and send him a Jiaojiao letter from the Ming Dynasty to invite troops."
"Japanese islands are rich in resources. Taking them will not only eliminate the troubles of Japanese pirates forever, but also greatly enhance the national strength. When the time comes to station troops in Japan, new weapons will be of great use!"
As soon as these words came out, everyone was excited. Zhu Biao saw Zhu Di and Muying gearing up, and almost wished they could fly to the Japanese island right away. He couldn't help laughing and said: "Fifth brother, please stop teasing them. It's very funny to say that at this time.
It’s too early.”
"If you want to conquer the Japanese, you need to build ships, guns, and artillery. You also want the treasury to be abundant and the government and the public to be calm. For example, the fifth brother of the Ming Dynasty is reforming Confucianism, and the father is also purging the court. First, calm down foreign worries, and then you can concentrate on foreign affairs. Those things are not
There’s no rush.”
"Masters of the palace, Lord Song Lian and Uncle Chengyi would like to see you." Several brothers were chatting when a young boy came in to report.
"Oh, I must have come to look for him." Zhu Su stood up. "After all, he is still young, so he needs the help of those two elders for some things."
"Brother, please let me borrow it for use in the study."
"Let's go." Zhu Biao said with a smile. There was a waiter in front of him, guiding Zhu Su to the study. After a while, someone brought Song Lian and Liu Bowen over, and Zhu Su stood up to greet them:
"I should have gone to find these two gentlemen in person, but there are so many things in the city that I really can't get away. Thank you for your hard work, gentlemen."
"It doesn't matter, it doesn't matter." Song Lian chuckled and said, "He and Uncle Chengyi have been away from home for a long time. When he returns to the city this time, he might as well go home and have a look."
"I don't know if the east of the palace has called them two here. What's the point?"
Zhu Su invited the two of them to go east, and then respectfully poured tea for the two old men. Fang said seriously: "To be honest, I do have two requests for help, and I need the help of two gentlemen respectively."
"My father, the emperor, favors me and asks me to take charge of the Imperial College. Previously, many Confucian students had far-fetched ideas and misinterpreted the saint's meaning, and many students of the Imperial College suffered from it."
"As the Prince of the Imperial Academy, I am in charge of this place where the country is able to attract talents, so I naturally need to be more cautious."
"Therefore... I am going to compile a book to speak for the country and redefine the world of Confucianism!" Zhu Su said.