August 6, the ninth year of Chongzhen

Emperor Chongzhen and Crown Prince Zhu Cixiang once again performed together in the Huangji Palace.

Under normal circumstances, all the ministers knew that the crown prince would not go to court easily, and as long as the little killer appeared, something big would happen.

However, unlike the complicated psychology of the ministers, the new cabinet members are all grateful to the crown prince. Without the crown prince, it will be difficult for them to join the cabinet in this life.

Especially Li Banghua, the most disliked new chief minister of the cabinet. Although he is a member of the Donglin Party, Li Banghua never formed cliques for personal gain. He was truly loyal to the Ming Dynasty.

Before the crown prince did not supervise the country, Li Banghua was often the target of attacks by various parties because of his upright character. He was demoted to some idle posts by Emperor Chongzhen many times.

Seeing the crown prince and the emperor sitting together on the royal steps, the cabinet members were the first to go out to pay homage:

"See Your Majesty!"

Emperor Chongzhen waved his hand:

"My dear friends, please forgive me for being free!"

“Thank you, Your Majesty, long live my emperor!

The ministers have just passed away, and the new Minister of Household Affairs, Cheng Guoxiang, wrote this:

"Your Majesty, there is a drought in Henan and Shaanxi, and there are no harvests and people are starving and dying all over the land. Please send a decree to allocate money and food for disaster relief..."

After arriving, the Ministry of Household Affairs began to ask for money and food as soon as he went to court, and Emperor Chongzhen suddenly felt dizzy.

Without waiting for him to ask for advice, Wang Jiayan, the Minister of War, came out to play:

"Your Majesty, the leader of the bandits, Gao Yingxiang, was captured. The bandit Li Zicheng inherited the title of "King Chuang" and led the bandit army to attack the city and break the stronghold and move to southern Shaanxi and northeastern Sichuan. Hong Chengchou wrote a letter demanding food and wages..."

With money and food, Zhang Xianzhong in the south, and the raging slaves in Liaodong and Gyeonggi, Chongzhen felt that he was the most miserable emperor in history.

Chongzhen looked helplessly at the new cabinet:

"My dear friends, now that the Ming Dynasty's treasury is empty, how do you think this matter should be resolved?"

As the new chief assistant of the cabinet, Li Banghua immediately went to work:

"Your Majesty, I propose to exempt Shaanxi and Henan, the worst-hit areas, from taxes for three years, and allocate food from the south for disaster relief. Otherwise, the victims will become rioters, and it will cost more to suppress the bandits..."

Chongzhen nodded helplessly:

"It's accurate, but where does the money come from?"

The new cabinet minister Yang Sichang came out to play:

"Your Majesty, I suggest that we collect and suppress three million taels and wipe out the bandits as soon as possible."

Before Yang Sichang finished speaking, Cheng Guoxiang, the new Minister of Household Affairs, hurriedly left the class and began to play:

"Your Majesty, no! There will be natural disasters next year and people's lives will be extremely difficult. We must not impose a crackdown!"

Zhu Cixiang nodded secretly, Cheng Guoxiang was indeed dedicated to serving the people.

But this Yang Sichang simply did not regard the common people as human beings. If he was allowed to be the chief minister, it would be even more difficult for the common people to survive.

Yang Sichang still insisted on his suggestion:

"Your Majesty, where will the money come from if we don't collect and suppress the bandits? Three million taels is not a heavy burden for tens of millions of people. Just stop collecting immediately after the bandits are suppressed!"

Cheng Guoxiang said angrily:

"Master Yang, go to the disaster area and see how difficult the lives of the people are now. Bark, grass and roots have become their staple food. Isn't the burden still heavy?"

Yang Shicong, head of the Ministry of Personnel:

"I suggest that we collect and suppress Xiang, otherwise where will the money come from?"

After Yang Sichang and Yang Shicong, more than a dozen ministers came out to second the proposal and requested additional levies and suppression campaigns.

Cheng Guoxiang's face turned livid with anger. He really didn't want to be with these people.

At the insistence of those ministers, although other ministers in the cabinet did not recommend additional campaigns to suppress the attack, they did not know where the money came from, so they kept silent and did not dare to speak out.

Zhu Cixi couldn't stand it anymore and said coldly:

"The people are living in dire straits. Not only do you not want to find a solution, but you propose to impose a crackdown. Do you want to force the people of the Ming Dynasty to join the army of rogue bandits?"

Zhu Cixiang's words immediately made the ministers who suggested the levy of a crackdown speechless. They murmured in their hearts:

"What do little kids know? If you can get money, you're awesome!"

Others secretly slandered, but Yang Sichang was different. He had just been promoted to the cabinet by Chongzhen and was eager to show off, so he asked Zhu Cihong:

"Your Highness, forgive me for being bold and not allowing additional conquests to be carried out. Where will the money come from?"

Zhu Cixi snorted coldly:

“Are there only ordinary people in the Ming Dynasty in the world?

Are officials and merchants not citizens of the Ming Dynasty? Otherwise, why would they always impose various taxes on the people?

Ming merchants should make some contributions to the country. I suggest issuing a business tax certificate..."

One stone stirred up a thousand waves, and Zhu Cixiang's words made everyone in the civil and military dynasties stunned.

If the person who said this was not the crown prince, he would definitely be spit on by the officials and drowned.

Wu Weiye, the Minister of Rites, bowed and said:

"Your Highness is careful to say that the purpose of collecting commercial taxes is to compete with the people for profit. In the Ming Dynasty, commercial taxes only amounted to a few taels of silver. His Majesty personally sent an edict to abolish commercial taxes..."

"I second the proposal..."

"I second the proposal..."

…

After Wu Weiye, 90% of civil and military officials opposed the increase in commercial taxes.

Those few ministers who have not expressed their opinions may not support the increase in commercial taxes. Maybe they are just watching the trend.

Zhu Cihong finally understood how difficult it was to impose commercial taxes in the late Ming Dynasty, and almost all of them opposed it.

It can be said that the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty were the spokespersons of various interests. In their hearts, the family was far more important than the court.

Farmers have no spokesperson in the government, so they have been suppressed.

In fact, Zhu Cixi also knows that it is unrealistic to collect commercial taxes at this stage. He just wanted to test it today.

He did not expect that there would be a one-sided result, with only a dozen people supporting him.

Zhu Cixi couldn't help but sneer in his heart. Aren't you opposed to increasing commercial taxes? Then just make a donation.

“Everyone, since you are so opposed to the imposition of commercial tax, I suggest all officials make a donation!

Starting today, all officials and eunuchs of the seventh rank and above in the capital must donate money.

When the Ming Dynasty's treasury is full, it will be returned to you. What do you think, Father?"

Emperor Chongzhen almost laughed when he heard this. Wasn't this solution discussed last night?

The prince actually angered the officials by levying additional business taxes, and then resorted to donating money. My son is awesome! I am not as good as you!

Emperor Chongzhen immediately said:

"Okay, let's follow the prince's suggestion. Don't worry, dear friends, this donation is just a temporary loan from the court, and it will definitely be returned in the future!"

After Chongzhen finished speaking, he looked back at the prince's expression. Seeing the emperor's face full of admiration, he immediately became excited.

Before the stunned ministers could react, Chongzhen immediately issued a decree:

"It is decreed that all officials of the seventh rank and above in the capital will participate in this donation, as well as nobles, relatives, including the eunuch in charge.

When the Ming Dynasty is in trouble, I hope that all the ministers will lend a helping hand. The prince will be responsible for this donation, and Wang Daban will help!"

After Chongzhen finished speaking, his face was a little hot, and he felt a little unjust and hurriedly walked away.

By the time the officials came to their senses, Emperor Chongzhen had long since disappeared, with only the little killer sitting firmly on the imperial steps with a proud look on his face.

Zhu Cixiang was very satisfied with the emperor's performance today, at least it did not hold him back.

Looking back at the eunuch Wang Chengen beside him, he said:

"Wang Daman, prepare pen, ink, paper and inkstone to record. I want to see which officials are the most loyal to the Ming Dynasty..." I like the Ming Dynasty. In the prosperous age, the prince began to supervise the country. Please collect: (https://www.myxls.net) In the prosperous age of the Ming Dynasty, the prince began to supervise the country.
Chapter completed!