After Yang Shicong, the Minister of Rites, more than a dozen southern officials came out to second the proposal.

They were angry that Cheng Guoxiang raised the issue of benevolence just before the new emperor ascended the throne. This move was tantamount to murder and heart-wrenching.

But they did not dare to object to the new emperor's proposal to recover the tax, and could only propose to reduce or reduce part of the tax.

Because almost every family of the southern gentry has this problem to some extent, especially in the state capitals under the jurisdiction of the Southern Zhili.

In history, taxes were reduced or reduced many times due to natural disasters. The wealthy gentry and merchants in Jiangnan were not without money.

It can be said that the vast majority of them deliberately defaulted on tax arrears and waited for reductions and exemptions in the coming year, and their behavior was extremely bad.

You must know that the imperial court pardoned the taxes of the people in the disaster area, not everyone.

If the common people have ten acres of land affected by the disaster and are pardoned, they will definitely be hungry if the harvest is cut off. However, if there are tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of acres of land for aristocratic families, they will definitely not be affected by the disaster and the harvest will be cut off.

Even if some of their fields were damaged, their family still had shops and other income, and they could even store grain for several years, so it was impossible for them to go hungry.

As a result, through the manipulation of many parties, all the rich and powerful families were included in the amnesty, which made many people fatter, but the only one who suffered was the court.

Zhu Cihong and Cheng Guoxiang had already discussed this matter last night, and they knew the inside story very well. How could they let these civil servants fool them.

He looked at these civil servants coldly with dagger-like eyes, and Yang Shicong and others began to get chills on their backs just by looking at them.

The old and cunning Yang Shicong suddenly felt bad. It seemed that he should not show off today, so he hurriedly raised his hands and said:

"Your Majesty, I am just making a suggestion. If the court encounters difficulties, I will take back what I just said and fully support your Majesty in collecting the tax!"

Such a shameless Yang Shicong actually took the initiative to slap him in the face and then returned to the morning class.

He seemed to have said nothing and left the civil servants who supported him on the spot.

All the officials in the court were shocked by his shameless behavior and looked at him with both disgust and admiration!

The civil servants who supported him were confused by their colleagues at the time. When they reacted, their faces were all livid with anger, and some even yelled:

"Yang Shicong...you are extremely shameless..."

Yang Shicong pretended not to hear anything, but he was thinking in his heart:

"A bunch of idiots, don't you know what it means to be a hero who knows the current affairs? The little killer's eyes want to kill, can't you see..."

Seeing that Yang Shicong was unmoved, seven or eight other civil servants realized the seriousness of the problem, and they also turned red and returned to court.

Wang Yongji, a doctor in the household department, is still eloquent:

"Your Majesty, I still request to reduce the southern tax..."

"I second the proposal..."

Three or four civil servants disdained the shameless actions of Yang Shicong and others and continued to support Wang Yongji.

Zhu Cixiang stared at Wang Yongji, silently communicating with the system in his heart:

"System, check how Wang Yongji became an official!"

"Ding, Wang Yongji, named Xiuzhi, was born in Gaoyou, Nanzhili. He was governor of Hebei and Liao Dynasties in the 17th year of Chongzhen. He served in the Ming and Qing dynasties. He was one of the two ministers. He surrendered together with Liu Zeqing and became a slave. The family endowment was twelve thousand taels!

"

"Ding……"

Don't try to play tricks in front of Zhu Cixiang's system, the system can take out their pants.

Just when Wang Yongjiji and others felt that the new emperor would not offend them for admonishing them to reduce or reduce their taxes, Zhu Cixiang slowly spoke:

"Wang Yongji, a native of Gaoyou, Nanzhili, has a family tax of 12,000 taels. As a court official, you completely ignored the safety of the court and defaulted on more than 10,000 taels of tax. You even boasted about reducing or reducing the tax. Do you know what the word shame is?

Write?"

Zhu Cixiang's words immediately made Wang Yongji tremble. He knew that the family had a problem with talent, but how did the new emperor know so clearly?

Although he was panicking, the new emperor was talking nonsense, and Wang Yongji would certainly not admit it.

"thump……"

He hurriedly knelt down and shouted his injustice:

"I am unjustly accused and did not know about the family affairs. Your Majesty, please investigate clearly."

Although he was the second minister in history, history has now changed because of Zhu Cixiang's time travel.

It is impossible for Zhu Cixiang to kill Wang Yongji just because he was gifted 10,000 taels.

As for his daring to openly oppose Bu Fu, it was mainly because of the habits he had developed when Chongzhen was emperor.

"Come here, take them all down and search your property immediately. If there is no more than 50,000 taels of silver in your house, you can be forgiven. If more than 50,000 taels of silver are found in your house, you will be killed for embezzlement and bribery."

"According to the order!"

Li Ruolian waved his hand, and the Jin Yiwei immediately took these civil servants down.

"It was so dangerous. Fortunately, I reacted quickly..."

Yang Shicong felt his legs become weak and paralyzed with fear. He was secretly glad that he had run fast just now, otherwise he would end up like Wang Yongji.

When Wang Yongji and several civil servants heard that their residence was to be raided, they were shocked and quickly kowtowed and begged for mercy:

"Your Majesty, I have been wronged. I have no objection to Fu. Please forgive me..."

Now that the court has become the new emperor's dictum, anyone who dares to openly oppose him will basically die. At this time, Wang Yongji finally began to regret it.

But Zhu Cixiang ignored Wang Yongji and others, and they were immediately dragged away by a group of Jinyi guards.

After Wang Yongji was dragged away, Zhu Cixiang looked at Li Banghua and said:

"Master Chief Assistant, I order you to be the Imperial Envoy and give Shang Fang a sword. Those below the third rank have the right to kill first and report later. In three days, you will set off to Jiangnan to collect the Fu.

Counting from the day when Aiqing arrives in Jiangnan, the period for making up the payment of the tax is one month. Those who refuse to pay or delay the payment of the tax must be dealt with strictly.

Nobles were demoted to one level of rank, and hereditary inheritance was cancelled. The eighteen generations of the three gentry clans could not participate in the imperial examination. Those who had official positions were immediately dismissed from official positions and would never be hired."

At this time, not only the civil and military officials of the entire court were shocked, but also the cabinet ministers and chief minister Li Banghua were shocked. The new emperor was too harsh on the arrears of taxes.

Li Banghua hurriedly bowed and saluted:

"Your Majesty, is this treatment too harsh? Please think again!"

Zhu Cixi said calmly:

"When the Ming Dynasty was in crisis, they could spend a lot of money on the Qinhuai River, but deliberately defaulted on paying taxes to the court. How qualified are they to serve as officials in the court? I have no idea, no need to say more!"

Li Banghua immediately bowed and accepted the order:

"Old minister, I obey the order!"

In the middle and late Ming Dynasty, bribery has always been a difficult problem to solve, with some court officials failing to act and some local officials protecting it.

The Chongzhen Dynasty was short of money, which eventually led to the sinking of the Ming Dynasty. Jiangnan defaulted on Fu Fu and did not pay it until the Ming Dynasty perished.

Others can't do it, but Zhu Cixiang must do it, because he has a gun in his hand and doesn't panic.

If you dare to cheat on me, I will kill you. If you don't accept it, just give it a try. Is it better for you or for him?

If you don't pay the Fu, you can do it, but the eighteen generations of the three gentry families can't take the scientific examination, and the officials in office will be dismissed immediately. If you dare to default on the Fu, the gentry family will withdraw from the officialdom of the Ming Dynasty.

Those nobles in the south of the Yangtze River are extremely rich. They don't want to pay taxes, right? They should abolish hereditary inheritance and downgrade their titles to see whether money or titles are more important.

The northern gentry has almost been dealt with, and the southern gentry will be given a show of strength first, and the more powerful ones are yet to come.

Li Banghua returned to court, and Zhu Cixiang said again:

"When the court was in difficulty, my father issued a decree to ban the post station. Now that the situation has improved, I think it is necessary to restore the inn station. The Ministry of Industry sent people to build the inn station at the original site, and the Ministry of Household Affairs must give its full support.

The newly built post station is different from the past. The newly built post station is divided into two parts, which is used by both officials and citizens. Pedestrians and merchants on the road can rest and stop at the post station, and the post station charges appropriate fees.

In the future, all official trips will have a certain amount of expenses provided by the court. Regardless of whether officials, big or small, stay in the inn, they will pay for it at their own expense. In this way, the inn can be completely self-sufficient and does not need to be maintained by the court.

But there is an exception, such as the transmission of military battle reports, etc., which are still free. That is, except for military use, everything else needs to be paid for at your own expense. The Ministry of Revenue will then outline the detailed charging details and submit them to me for review."

Zhu Cixiang's words immediately caused a sensation in the court. Since ancient times, the post station has never been open to ordinary people and merchants, and all official accommodation is free.

Now it is open to the public and charges a fee, and even the official entry to the inn is charged. Is there any point in operating the inn like this?

Wang Jiayan, the Minister of War, came out of duty and bowed to salute:

"Your Majesty, I have something unclear. Please make it clear. Will the military and civilian departments of the post station leak military secrets?"

Wang Jiayan is the minister of the Ministry of War. He only cares about the affairs of the Ministry of War, so he asked this question.

Zhu Cixi smiled lightly and said:

"What Ai Qing said is absolutely true. I have already considered this issue. The official and civilian uses of the newly built inn must be separated. It is strictly forbidden for both parties to communicate in the inn.

Once someone is found who dares to violate the regulations, they will be severely punished. The court will ban them from entering all the Ming Dynasty stations for life. I don't think they dare to make mistakes.

Or is it a financial issue at the station? All persons in charge of the station and internal managers must strictly abide by the rules and regulations of the station. Anyone who dares to commit corruption or accept bribes will be killed without mercy!"

"My emperor is wise, and I support your majesty's wise decision!"

Wang Jiayan bowed and returned to court.

Cheng Guoxiang, the Minister of Household Affairs, and Meng Zhaoxiang, the Minister of Industry, hurriedly came out to receive the order:

"Your Majesty is wise and I obey your orders!"
To be continued...