Brother Zhu Youxiao

Chapter 95
"The Fifth Highness is a thousand years old!"

"Shut up!"

With the arrival of Zhu Youjian and others at Andingmen in the capital, the sound of singing suddenly sounded.

It may be because of what happened last time. After knowing that Zhu Youjian habitually walked through the Anding Gate, the general of Anding Gate deliberately trained the guards of Anding Gate.

Compared with last time, they looked much more energetic, and Zhu Youjian lowered his horse's speed after slightly lowering his head.

It was different from the last time, the last time they returned to the capital after the curfew was almost at sunset, so there were not many people on the street at that time.

But this time they arrived in the capital at Shenshi (15:17-[-]:[-]), so there are still many people around Andingmen at this moment.

The atmosphere in the late Ming Dynasty was very different from that in the early Ming Dynasty. At Andingmen, Zhu Youjian could see a few common people wearing some Passover ritual clothes.

After hearing the word His Highness, they immediately squatted down in the crowd, fearing that if they were seen, they would let Jin Yiwei take it.

This is the style of the late Ming Dynasty. To a large extent, the common people don't care about some small rules set by the imperial court. There are even common people in the south of the Yangtze River blatantly selling helmets, which are semi-contraband items, to make hats.

After Zhu Youjian saw it, he was not angry and asked someone to take them down, but just smiled lightly.

"It seems that the social atmosphere in the late Ming Dynasty has become very open, but this is also good, it is more suitable for reform..."

He thought about it in his mind, and then said to the Anding Gate guard:

"Thanks for your hard work."

"The last general dare not..." The guard of Anding Gate hurriedly returned his salute, and seeing this, Zhu Youjian also walked slowly towards the palace with the guards in brocade clothes.

There are a lot of people on the street. Because it is winter and the slackness of Wucheng Bingmasi, Lingchunfang and Chongjiaofang around Andingmen Street, which are less than [-] meters wide, are full of small vendors.

These small vendors, although the stalls are small, have a huge traffic flow. Even if a bowl of noodles sells for two yuan, they can earn two to three hundred yuan a day.

According to the rules set by Zhu Yuanzhang, small businessmen with an annual income of less than forty taels do not have to pay business tax.

This is based on the experience of the Yuan Dynasty that taxed all merchants heavily, causing small merchants to attach themselves to big merchants to avoid taxes.

However, this kind of courtesy became a disadvantage in the middle and late Ming Dynasty.

Some businessmen opened more shops, and then controlled their annual income to less than forty taels to legally avoid taxes, but Daming couldn't even collect the easiest tax.

"If you come up with something like a business license, you can charge regular traders one hundred yuan a year, and it is estimated that you can collect a lot of money, and it can also prevent them from being blackmailed by [-]% soldiers and gangsters. good thing..."

"It's just how to collect taxes has become a problem." Thinking of this, Zhu Youjian began to think.

According to the 1427 counties in the Ming Dynasty, even if there were only [-] such small traders in each county, they could collect [-] taels that year.

If it is required that shops also need a business license, and depending on the situation of the store, a few hundred renminbi a year, or a few taels of silver a year, then there will be more tax sources.

Zhu Youjian has read all kinds of information about the capital. There are dozens of towns and workshops inside and outside the capital, and there are thousands of shops with stores. There can be nearly ten thousand taels.

It doesn't look like a lot, but if you keep it strictly, you can have more than two hundred thousand taels of silver a year.

As long as the Jingcheng Bingma Division cooperates and checks all the stores, it doesn't even take ten days to count all the stores, and ask them to go to a fixed place to apply for a business license, and the tax can be raised.

A few taels of silver per year is not too much for them, and they, as the middle class of the Ming Dynasty, can definitely come up with this amount of silver.

As long as this model can be carried out steadily in the capital, it can be expanded to the counties in northern Zhili and the counties in the north, and further expanded to the south.

If there is such a tax collector in the whole world, it will be very beneficial for Zhu You to collect commercial taxes in the later stage...

Thinking of this, Zhu Youjian was going to think about how to do this thing, so that it could be carried out without objection from all officials.

While he was thinking this way, the team also arrived at the Donghua Gate of the Imperial Palace.

After checking the token, the Jinwu guards at Donghua Gate immediately opened the gate and let them go.

It's just that when Zhu Youjian and his party entered Donghua Gate, some small officials at the gate of Wenhua Hall immediately turned around and went to the hall to report.

The sound of hurried footsteps sounded in Wenhua Hall, and they soon walked to a palace that occupied a large area.

The two Han generals at the gate of the palace represented that the emperor was processing the memorials inside at this time, and the Jin Wuwei who came to report the news also bowed to the eunuch standing inside the gate of the palace:
"Please report to Long Live, Eunuch, His Royal Highness Fifth has entered Donghua Gate."

"Okay" Hearing about Zhu Youjian, the eunuch did not dare to delay, and walked into the hall quickly.

Many ministers in the cabinet who were dealing with the memorials on one side of the hall thought it was a big deal when they saw the appearance of the eunuch.

The inner eunuch walked into the side hall on the other side, and then said to Wang An, the eunuch who was approving the red flag here:

"Wang's palm seal, Jinwu Zuowei who is on duty at Donghua Gate today is here to report that His Highness Fifth has returned to Beijing and entered Donghua Gate, do you want to tell Long Live?"

"Huh?" Hearing that Zhu Youjian had returned to Beijing, Wang An also closed the memorial in his hand, nodded slightly and said to the other eunuchs beside him:

"Put away the memorials that cannot be decided by each department. After the military department is on the far left and sent to Wansui, tell Wansui about His Royal Highness Fifth's return to Beijing."

"Yes..." Several eunuchs responded one after another, and then began to sort out the memorial.

After tidying up in less than a cup of tea time, I chose a person and sent it to a side hall in the hall near the supervisor of ceremonies.

After entering the door, the little eunuch held up the memorial in his hand and sang:
"Long live, this is a memorial that the supervisor of ceremonies cannot decide. There are fourteen volumes in total."

"Well, put it on the table..." The voice responded, and Zhu Youxiao sat behind the desk, frowning and looking at the memorial in his hand.

Under Wei Zhongxian's watchful eye, the little eunuch carefully placed the memorial, crossed his hands under his lower abdomen, and bowed slightly:

"In addition, the left guard of the Jinwu came to report that His Highness the Fifth Highness returned to Beijing today, and had already passed through the Donghua Gate a quarter of an hour ago."

"Are you back?!" Hearing Zhu Youjian's return, Zhu Youxiao's originally frowning brows instantly relaxed, and a slight smile appeared on his face.

Wei Zhongxian next to him knew what to say and what to do right now, so he said with a smile:

"Long live, there are already a lot of memorials to be dealt with today, why don't you go and catch up with His Royal Highness and send all the memorials to the Hall of Mental Cultivation?"

"Alright!" Zhu Youxiao, who was about to leave, heard this, and immediately felt that Wei Zhongxian was very caring, so he got up and said to Wei Zhongxian:

"The memorials will be sent by you, Zhongxian, to the Hall of Mental Cultivation. I will go to the East Palace to visit my younger brother first."

After all, at the same time that Wei Zhongxian returned the gift, Zhu Youxiao walked out of the side hall.

Seeing the emperor coming out, the cabinet ministers on the other side stood up from their seats one after another, but they walked out of the Wenhua Palace without wanting the emperor to even look at them.

Just when they were thinking whether to go up and ask the emperor where he was going, Wei Zhongxian lazily walked out of the side hall and sang in the main hall:

"Long live the exhaustion, all the memorials that the cabinet and the chief of ceremonies cannot handle today will be sent to the Hall of Mental Cultivation, and will be read after dinner."

"Long live..." After the cabinet and Si Li listened to it, they sang back at the same time.

Seeing this, Wei Zhongxian hurried back to the side hall, asked someone to bring a chair, and sat next to Zhu Youxiao's seat.

After he walked into the side hall, the six cabinet ministers frowned, and the cabinet's second assistant Liu Yixiu also said relaxedly:
"According to the date, it should be His Highness the Fifth Highness who came back from Changping. Concubine Li Kang died of illness yesterday. Long Live issued an imperial decree to ask His Highness the Fifth Highness to build the Mausoleum of Concubine Kang. It should be time to discuss matters now."

"Hmm..." Fang Congzhe nodded slightly, but Sun Ruyou, the leader of the Zhejiang Party next to him, frowned slightly, feeling something was wrong.

But they have nothing to do, after all, Zhu Youxiao can walk out of the inner court and come to Wenhua Palace to deal with memorials, which has already surpassed his father Taichang and grandfather Wanli, so they can't ask for anything.

If Zhu Youxiao got anxious and squatted in the inner court to deal with the memorials like Emperor Wanli, sometimes even officials were not appointed, then they would really be helpless.

Thinking of this, Sun Ruyou sighed in his heart.

Right now, his idea is to welcome Ye Xianggao back. As long as Ye Xianggao comes back, according to his personality, no matter which party is involved in the party dispute, he will stop it.

In such a situation, he can go home to take care of himself with peace of mind.

The successor emperor is difficult to deal with. He always feels that the current situation will be broken by the emperor one day in the future...

Putting down the unrealistic thoughts in his mind, Sun Ruyou returned to his seat and continued to deal with the memorial. At this time, Zhu Youxiao also led people from the Wenhua Palace to the gate of the East Palace.

He knew that Zhu Youjian did not live in the largest palace in the East Palace, but was still in Xuqin Palace, so he sent someone to rush to Xuqin Palace directly.

"younger brother!"

When Zhu Youxiao's voice sounded, Zhu Youjian was changing clothes, so when he heard it, he could only raise his hands to help the maids put on the round collar robe for him, and replied:

"Brother, I'm changing clothes, wait a moment."

"Okay!" Hearing Zhu Youjian's voice, Zhu Youxiao felt relieved, and sat directly on the main seat in the main hall to wait for Zhu Youjian.

After Wang Chengen, who had been in the capital, saw this scene, he couldn't help but click his tongue.

Calling the emperor and others, this kind of treatment is probably only his own highness, and others may have been pulled out and chopped.

Just like this, the time for a cup of tea passed, and when a little eunuch brought two cups of tribute tea to the table, Zhu Youjian also came out of the bedroom, and raised his hands in a mocking and teasing tone:

"My brother sees Your Majesty, long live long live long live..."

"Okay!" Seeing Zhu Youjian playing tricks, Zhu Youxiao got up to help him up, looked around and said:

"You all leave."

"Your servant obeys..." Wang Chengen returned the salute, and then led everyone out of Xuqin Palace, leaving only the two brothers Zhu Youxiao.

After they all left, Zhu Youxiao held Zhu Youjian's hand and sat back on his seat, with a smile on his face so overflowing that Zhu Youjian didn't feel like himself.

"Brother, that poisonous woman is finally dead!"

Zhu Youxiao was very happy. In his opinion, he finally found someone to confide in, and Zhu Youjian nodded slightly, but then said:
"Although the poisonous woman is dead, there is still Imperial Concubine Zheng in the inner court."

"Right now, I'm afraid that the poisonous woman's death has already alarmed Imperial Concubine Zheng, and someone might have informed King Fu."

"Don't be afraid!" Zhu Youxiao waved his hand and snorted coldly:
"The old poisonous woman has no one in her hands, and the only one, Cui Wensheng, has already been instigated by Lu Wenzhao. She didn't expect that her every move is under the noses of my brothers."

"It's just..." At this point, Zhu Youxiao and Zhu Youjian looked at each other in a deep voice:
"The only problem now is how to respond to the officials and the vassal king..."

In history, after Zhu Youxiao and Zhu Youjian became emperors, neither of them resolved this matter, so they had to let Concubine Li Kangxi live until the reign of Emperor Kangxi.

Therefore, since he chose to kill Concubine Li Kang right now, how to appease the vassal and officials became the top priority.

"Did the news get out?"

Zhu Youjian asked with a frown, and Brother Hao Huang also nodded and said: "The news cannot be stopped. Instead of letting others spread it, it is better to spread it from the inner court."

"That's fine." Zhu Youjian nodded, and then said:

"Zongfu Zhong, King Qin and King Jin are the descendants of the previous king who had no children and then became king by adoption. They are not treated well by the clan's vassals, so they must not be able to stand out."

"The King of Chu is a child born after the death of the previous king, and the internal sects and vassals hate him, so it is even more impossible for him to stand out."

"King Liao, King Dai, King Zhou, King Tang, King Shen, King Han, etc., will avoid suspicion."

"The only ones that need attention are the four uncles, King Fu, King Rui, King Hui, and King Gui."

Speaking of this, Zhu Youjian's headache is that among the four emperor uncles, three of them live in the capital, and they haven't become a feudal clan yet.

As for why, the main reason is that Wanli loves Rui Wang, Hui Wang, and Gui Wang in general, and only favors Fu Wang Zhu Changxun.

When Zhu Changluo passed away, these three emperor uncles were guarding the mausoleum of Emperor Wanli at Tianshou Mountain and handling the burial matters.

As a result, during Zhu Changluo's first seven days, the three of them were the last to rush back.

Historically, they were united before Zhu Youxiao's death, and they were separated to join the feudal clan. It is estimated that Zhu Youxiao was afraid that the three of them would threaten Chongzhen's rule if they stayed in the capital.

But right now Zhu Youjian is not afraid of them, but wonders if the three of them will panic because of Concubine Li Kang's death.

"Long live, King Rui, King Hui, and King Gui have come to ask for an audience."

Just when Zhu Youjian was having a headache, sure enough, Wang Chengen walked carefully to the gate of Xuqin Palace, bowed in the air, and told Zhu Youxiao that the three princes were coming.

Zhu Youxiao and Zhu Youjian looked at each other when they heard the words, and then said:

"Please come in, three uncles."

"The servants lead the order..." Hearing this, Wang Chengen withdrew, and then saw three people in their twenties who were wearing ordinary uniforms enter the hall.

They saluted Zhu Youxiao and said:
"Chenrui King Zhu Changhao"

"Chenhui Wang Zhu Changrun"

"Chen, Guiwang Zhu Changying"

"Visiting Long Live, Long Live Sheng Gong'an..."

"Three uncles, please get up." Seeing the three kings saluting, Zhu Youxiao and Zhu Youjian got up and helped the three of them up.

Among the three kings, Zhu Changhao, King Rui, was only twenty-nine years old, Zhu Changrun, King Hui, twenty-six, and Zhu Changying, King Gui, twenty-three years old.

In short, the age of the three of them is not too young among the princes of the Ming Dynasty, and it stands to reason that they should have gone to Jiufan long ago.

However, in order to fight against King Fu, Zhu Changluo left all his younger brothers in the capital.

It was not easy for Zhu Changluo to ascend the throne, but he died because of eating red pills before the three of them became feudal vassals.

As sons and ministers of men, they should have been mourning for Emperor Wanli in the capital for three years, but now the death of Concubine Li Kang made them panic.

Especially under the notice of the palace maid sent by Concubine Zheng, the three of them agreed to enter the palace together last night.

It's just that they didn't expect that Zhu Youjian would come back today.

As for Zhu Youjian, he looked at the three of them and guessed what they wanted to say.

Zhu Changhao, the oldest Rui Wang, did not forget the fact that his nephew was already the emperor because of Zhu Youxiao's affectionate title. He saluted Zhu Youxiao:

"Long live, Chen and the other three, they heard that Concubine Kang passed away yesterday, so they came here to express their condolences."

"The same is true for the ministers..." King Hui and King Gui saluted one after another, and the reason why they came, the five people in the hall had the same heart as a bright mirror.

Zhu Youxiao first comforted the three of them to sit down, and then he and Zhu Youjian sat on the left and right of the main seat.

The three princes looked at Zhu Youxiao, and then at Zhu Youjian who was doing something recently, and thought that these two nephews were not simple.

Let's not talk about Zhu Youxiao's reputation for being diligent and diligent in restoring the imperial court to operation, and often handling memorials in the Wenhua Palace.

Just the fact that Zhu Youjian was training soldiers in Changping has already spread in the capital.

If Yang Lian hadn't supervised Zhu Youjian in Changping, Zhu Youjian would have been impeached thousands of times by hundreds of officials.

Therefore, in the face of these two brothers, the three kings, as uncles, did not dare to underestimate them, and Zhu Youxiao also responded when the atmosphere was about the same:

"Concubine Kang died of illness due to excessive grief, and the Eighth Sister Huang has been entrusted to Concubine Zhuang."

"If the three uncles want to express their condolences, they can go to Jiyan Hall. The Fifth Sister Huang is currently guarding the spirit."

Zhu Youxiao's answer was generous and unobtrusive, and he told Concubine Li Kang where her body was.

If he died of poisoning, he would definitely not dare to call people to wake up in Jiyan Hall with great fanfare.

After all, death by poisoning is easy to see.

Seeing Zhu Youxiao's answer without any timidity, the three kings were suddenly uncertain.

They came here because Zuo Changshi, one of his subordinates, moved them here. One was to determine the cause of Concubine Li Kang's death, and the other was...

"Long live..." Rui Wang Zhu Changhao bowed and said:
"I'm waiting for the three of you to come. Apart from condolences to Concubine Kang, I also want to ask, when will the three of us be able to leave?"

The capital is very prosperous, but it is not their fiefdom after all. Once they mess up, they will be impeached by the officials. No one wants to be guarded by others for a lifetime.

This is a fact that the princes in the middle and late Ming Dynasty acquiesced to after confirming the hopeless throne.

But just after their words were spoken, before Zhu Youxiao spoke, Zhu Youjian spoke first:

"The feudal lands of the three imperial uncles have been explained by Huang Kao before. The situation in various places is chaotic, and it is inevitable that there will be turmoil."

"Huang Kao cherishes the three emperor uncles, so he wants to wait for the situation to stabilize before he becomes a vassal for the three emperor uncles, but..."

Zhu Youjian didn't say anything after that, but Zhu Changhao and the three understood that Zhu Changluo died after that, so there was no time to stabilize the situation.

But they were even more curious, what did Zhu Youjian mean by the unstable situation...

(End of this chapter)