Fan Jingwen, the first assistant of the cabinet, Zhang Shenyan, the second assistant, Li Banghua, the Minister of War, Lu Daqi, the Minister of Personnel, and Shi Kefa, the imperial censor of Zuodu. A total of five of the most powerful ministers in the Ming Dynasty now sat in their seats, slightly uneasy.
At the top of them are Zhu Yuanzhang, who is reading the secret letter, and Zhu Youjian, a melon-eater.
"It's nothing serious. It's a secret report from Jin Yiwei. There are officials in Yanping Prefecture, Fujian Province who are unwilling to obey the new policy and want to lure Japanese pirates ashore to cause trouble. They have been suppressed."
Zhu Yuanzhang casually read the secret letter from Jin Yiwei in his hand, handed it to Emperor Chongzhen, and motioned for him to show it to several important ministers present.
Emperor Chongzhen's mouth twitched, but seeing Zhu Yuanzhang's sharp eyes, he finally obeyed.
Fan Jingwen and others respectfully took the secret letter from Emperor Chongzhen. After reading the contents, the corners of their eyes couldn't help but twitch.
A major case involving the entire three division chiefs in Fujian and seven thousand-household offices.
Is this not a big deal?
If Jin Yiwei hadn't discovered it early, and Zhu Yuanzhang had already made arrangements in Fujian and other places, I'm afraid Fujian would have been in ruins by now.
It is even possible for the whole of Fujian to completely break away from the rule of the Ming Dynasty.
"Your Majesty, the examination law has just been implemented, and there is such a reaction from the local government. Should the subsequent commercial tax be implemented slowly?" Fan Jingwen, the chief assistant, pondered for a moment and said.
He had worked with Zhu Yuanzhang for a period of time two years ago, and was very familiar with Zhu Yuanzhang's behavior, and knew that this man was not actually the kind of person who killed indiscriminately.
Although he killed a lot of people, he had a reason and purpose for killing everyone.
He had already seen Zhu Yuanzhang's methods two years ago.
It can be said that the fact that the Ming Dynasty was able to achieve the current situation and still manage to form a united front to deal with the outside world was directly related to Zhu Yuanzhang's constant killing.
“There’s no time to wait, and we have to do it as soon as possible!”
Zhu Yuanzhang shook his head and said: "At this time, if we don't take advantage of the fact that the energy of the gentry in the world is severely weakened, we can cut through the mess as soon as possible and sort out the taxation issue. We will never be able to collect the business tax."
Zhu Yuanzhang smiled and said: "Don't worry, we are not just promoting commercial tax. At the same time, we also want to exempt all the messy and exorbitant taxes levied by the court, including household tax and land tax. It can be said that in addition to commercial tax, in the next five years
In this year, we will not collect any other taxes from the people."
"Will the resistance become much smaller all of a sudden?"
"Of course it's great!"
"The common people in the world are blessed." Shi Kefa nodded in agreement.
"But if taxes are not collected, where will the money for the imperial army come from?" Zhang Shenyan, the second assistant, hesitated for a moment, but still put forward his opinion.
After all, in addition to being the second assistant, he is also the Minister of Household Affairs. If the court has no money, he will eventually have to find him to solve the problem.
"Don't worry about the money, we have plenty of it."
"Soon, the first batch of 10 million taels of silver and 200,000 shi of grain will be escorted into Beijing." Zhu Yuanzhang smiled and waved his hand.
After hearing this, several important ministers looked at each other without trace, and they all knew in their hearts that this must be the money they had stolen from hundreds of wealthy families in the south of the Yangtze River and ransacked their homes.
Of course, this matter cannot be announced to the public. After all, this is something done by the traitor who calls himself King of Righteousness. What does it have to do with the wise and powerful Hongwu Emperor?
Zhu Yuanzhang naturally saw the small actions of several people, but he didn't care, and continued to give instructions: "The most important tasks of the imperial court now are business taxation and legal examinations. We can't do it alone. You all have to shoulder the burden."
Come."
"In addition, when it comes to hiring people, I would like to remind you that these are extraordinary times. You don't need to stick to the various rules and regulations of the past. As long as you can do things, just recommend them to us. We don't look at family background here, only ability."
"When it comes to family background, we ourselves have a humble family background, but your family background is much better than mine. Do you understand?"
Several people stood there quite awkwardly after hearing this, not knowing whether to nod or shake their heads for a moment.
At the end of the Yuan Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang's words were correct.
But now the Ming Dynasty has ruled this land for nearly three hundred years. As a royal family, the Zhu family's status has been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. The surname Zhu is the most noble surname in this era, no one.
"I will live up to His Majesty's trust!" In the end, it was Li Banghua who spoke first, easing the embarrassing situation at this moment.
Seeing several ministers filing away, Emperor Chongzhen hesitated for a long time before asking: "Emperor, do they really know how to do things with their heart?"
"They are basically all northerners. No matter how the court policy changes, it will no longer affect their families. The biggest thing they want now is to fight back to the north, drive out the Tatars, leave a name in history, and realize their own destiny.
Ideals and ambitions, do you think such people will do things with heart?" Zhu Yuanzhang asked with a half-smile.
"I see. Is this the emperor's way of employing people?"
A glimmer of understanding flashed in Emperor Chongzhen's eyes, and he nodded excitedly: "I seem to understand a little bit."
"You know what a stick!" Zhu Yuanzhang was too lazy to care about this descendant who felt good about himself.
Two years ago, he tried his best to teach Emperor Chongzhen how to be a king, and even left him a lot of tips and tricks. However, he still messed up most of his arrangements.
The civil servants and generals he left for him were different. They were all Ma Shiying, Qian Qianyi and others. They were very capable, and they were very good at fighting for power and profit, and boasting.
At that time, Emperor Chongzhen also swore to himself that he knew how to do it, and in the end he didn't have to wipe his ass for him.
Zhu Yuanzhang had completely given up on treating his great-grandson.
"Mao Xiang!" Zhu Yuanzhang spoke again.
"Wei Chen is here!" A figure floated silently into the hall from nowhere.
Now in the late Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang actually had two teams of royal guards.
One set is on the bright side, headed by Yan Jiu, and its core is the elite gang members of Qingshan Hall who have been recruited in the past two years.
The other group is hidden in secret, and its leader is Mao Xiang. Its members are a mixed bag, some brought over from the early Ming Dynasty, and some newly recruited in the past two years.
To be honest, this team of royal guards was the key to Zhu Yuanzhang's ability to sit firmly in Nanjing and control the world. It was also the one he had spent the past two years personally building.
If it weren't for Mao Xiang, it would have been even more difficult for Yan Jiu to fight against the gentry all over the world.
"You are responsible for supervising various places, especially coastal areas such as Fujian and Guangzhou where maritime merchants gather. I estimate that as soon as commercial taxes are levied, maritime merchants in these places will rebel."
Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Mao Xiang with a hint of murderous intent in his eyes, and said in a cold voice: "Your mission is to cooperate with Xu Da and uproot them in the name of the Righteous King before they cause huge damage. Do you understand?"