Queen Zhou on the side said to Zhu Cixiang with a smile on her face.
The eyes she looked at Zhu Cixiang were full of satisfaction and distress. She felt that His Highness the Crown Prince must have suffered a lot these days outside.
I heard that he even went to the battlefield in person, and the artillery fire outside started at night and after midnight.
The prince must not have slept well!
Thinking of this, Queen Zhou looked at Zhu Cihong in front of her with a hint of distress in her eyes.
With a smile on his face, Zhu Cihong walked to the side between King Yong and King Ding.
"Brother Prince!"
"Brother Prince!"
When King Yong and King Ding saw Zhu Cihong, they both had smiles on their faces and shouted towards Zhu Cihong.
At this time, Princess Taiping on the side also looked at Zhu Cixiang with a sly smile on her face and said: "Brother Prince, I heard that you went to the battlefield. How about it? Is the battlefield fun?"
"Is not fun!"
Zhu Cixi looked helplessly at Princess Taiping beside her.
At this time, Queen Zhou on the side also frowned, looked at Princess Taiping and said angrily: "Taiping! As a princess of the Ming Dynasty, I am curious about the battlefield! How unbecoming!"
"oh!"
Princess Taiping lowered her head aggrievedly and did not speak.
At this time, Queen Zhou looked at Zhu Cixiang in front of her with a trace of distress in her eyes and asked: "Brother Chun, are you tired from defending the city this time? I am awakened by the sound of cannons every night. At that time, I
Very worried about you!"
"It is indeed a bit tiring to have to worry about my mother! But it is also a blessing for me to be able to share my father's worries!"
Zhu Cihong said respectfully to Queen Zhou in front of him.
Queen Zhou looked at her eldest son in front of her with some distress. Only then did she feel that her eldest son had grown up and became sensible!
"Come and sit next to me!"
Chongzhen said to Zhu Cixiang.
Zhu Cixiang nodded, walked to Chongzhen, found a chair next to Chongzhen and sat down.
Emperor Chongzhen looked at his son in front of him with a complicated look in his eyes, and looked at Zhu Cixiang, who had strands of black beard growing out of the corners of his mouth.
At this time, Emperor Chongzhen's eyes softened.
"Tell me! The prince successfully defended the city this time and made great achievements. What reward do you want?"
Chongzhen asked with a smile on his face, looking at Zhu Cixiang in front of him.
"Father, I want to ask you for someone."
Zhu Cixiang said respectfully to Chongzhen in front of him.
"Oh? Who!"
Chongzhen still had a smile on his face, looking at Zhu Cihong in front of him.
"Wu Zong!"
After hearing Zhu Cixiang's words, the smile on Chongzhen's face suddenly stopped.
Soon, his expression turned gloomy.
"What do you want him to do?"
"This man has great talent! I think he can help me!"
Zhu Cixiang looked at Chongzhen in front of him and said.
Hearing Zhu Cixiang's words, Chongzhen exhaled slightly. With emotion in his eyes, he looked at Zhu Cixiang in front of him and said: "How could I not know that this person is talented? But this person is talented, but he is
He is the most arrogant and unwilling to be used by me, so it is useless for you to want him!"
"Father, don't worry, I can use his methods!"
Zhu Cixiang smiled slightly, looked at Chongzhen in front of him and said.
Upon hearing Zhu Cixiang's words, a complicated expression flashed across Chongzhen's face.
He pondered for a moment, looked at Zhu Cixiang in front of him and said, "Okay! Then I will issue an order later to transfer him back from Yunnan and serve as the crown prince's young guardian for you!"
"Thank you, Father!"
Zhu Cixiang said with a smile on his face, looking at Chongzhen in front of him.
"Besides that, what else do you want?"
Chongzhen smiled slightly, looked at Zhu Cixiang in front of him and said.
Zhu Cixiang pondered for a moment, then he looked at Chongzhen in front of him and said, "I want to have something to say to my father alone. I hope my father won't be angry."
Hearing Zhu Cixiang's words, Chongzhen was slightly stunned, and a look of confusion flashed across his eyes when he looked at Zhu Cixiang.
"Come with me!"
After pondering for a moment, Chongzhen looked at Zhu Cixiang in front of him and said.
After finishing speaking, Chongzhen glanced at Queen Zhou who was standing aside.
He took Zhu Cixiang to the back of the screen.
"Tell me what's going on."
After sitting down behind the screen, Zhu Cixi looked at Emperor Chongzhen in front of him and said seriously: "Father, I would like to ask you to move the capital!"
To Zhu Cihong's expectation, when he said this, Chongzhen was not furious. Instead, the expression on his face did not change at all, as if he had expected Zhu Cihong to say this.
Damn, who said Chongzhen was stupid???
That’s smart, okay!
An idea flashed through Zhu Cixiang's mind.
Chongzhen did not directly answer Zhu Cixiang's question. Instead, he first asked Zhu Cixiang in front of him: "Brother Chun, what do you think is why our Ming Dynasty has reached this point? Being besieged by an army of thieves?"
Zhu Cixiang was slightly startled when he heard Chongzhen's question.
But he soon came to his senses, pondered for a moment, looked at Chongzhen in front of him and said: "There are both natural and man-made disasters, but I believe that the biggest root cause is that the court has no money!"
"Not bad! No money!"
There was emotion in Chongzhen's eyes.
"There are many reasons for lack of money. The most important reason is that taxes in Jiangnan are becoming increasingly difficult to collect! There is also Liaodong. Liao's annual payment is more than six million taels of silver! And the total fiscal revenue of Chongzhen in the sixteen years
Only sixteen million!
This alone accounted for nearly half of the fiscal revenue that year! Then there were the suppression of bandits, natural disasters, floods, dam construction, water conservancy..."
Chongzhen looked at Zhu Cihong in front of him with a wry smile in his eyes.
After hearing Chongzhen's words, Zhu Cixiang was silent for a long time. He actually knew this very well. After all, he was most interested in the history of the late Ming Dynasty. At that time, he often boasted to his friends, saying that he would be able to do something if he traveled to the late Ming Dynasty.
How about it.
At that time, they thought that Chongzhen didn't know this, but he really didn't expect that Chongzhen actually understood it so clearly...
But think about it, he is the emperor!
You know this, it’s actually quite normal.
"In the first year of Chongzhen, the actual tax revenue was about 28 million taels of silver. At this time, it was still normal. But after the fifth year of Chongzhen, it became increasingly difficult to collect taxes, especially in Jiangsu and Zhejiang. The main fiscal revenue of the imperial court accounted for almost 70% of the total.
All are from Jiangsu and Zhejiang.
By the sixteenth year of Chongzhen, the imperial court's income was only over 16 million taels of silver."
"As for why it is becoming more and more difficult to collect taxes from the imperial court?"
Chongzhen looked at Zhu Cixiang in front of him with a tired look in his eyes and asked.
"What does the prince think is the reason why it is becoming more and more difficult to collect taxes?"