Invincible Zhengde

Chapter 489 Start

Zhu Houzhao glanced at Qi You, nodded slowly and said, "You are the Minister of the Household Department, and it is most suitable for you to do this. Do you have any questions?"

Qi You shook his head quickly, and then said: "His Royal Highness, don't worry, I will prepare when I go back."

Zhu Houzhao nodded and said: "Then you go back and prepare. You can participate in the performance tomorrow morning, and then we can see the situation."

"Yes, His Royal Highness." Qi You agreed: "If there is nothing else, then I will leave."

Zhu Houzhao nodded.

Qi You turned around and walked outside.

Stretching slightly and standing up, Zhu Houzhao thought for a while, it seemed that he hadn't gone to court for a long time, and it seemed that he would go to court tomorrow morning.

Zhu Houzhao told Liu Jin who was beside him: "Get ready and go to court tomorrow morning."

"Yes, Your Highness the Crown Prince." Liu Jin quickly agreed.

Early the next morning, Zhu Houzhao got up early, and then went to court.

It seems that insisting on going to the morning court every day is really a test for people's perseverance. Zhu Houzhao can't help but admire his father.

Many emperors of the Ming Dynasty did not go to the early court, and even more hid. The reasons were all kinds of strange, and there were not many who could persist in the early court.

Except for the previous Taizu and Chengzu, it is estimated that the old man is the most diligent, and no one can compare to this point.

While yawning and walking forward, Zhu Houzhao shook his head with a wry smile.

This person, it is really easy to go from frugality to extravagance, but difficult to go from extravagance to frugality.I also went to the morning court before, but it's been a while now, and I haven't woken up so early for a while, and I'm really not used to coming here suddenly.

When Zhu Houzhao arrived here, the officials had already arrived, so he walked quickly to his place and waited for the arrival of his father with the officials.

Soon, the old eunuch Yang Peng came in first, and then he shouted: "Your Majesty is here."

The officials paid homage, and Zhu Youtang rose to sit.

After Zhu Youtang sat down, Yang Peng on one side said, "Play early if you have something to do, and leave the court if you have nothing to do."

Although the early court was a very important court meeting, in fact it was formal and meaningful, especially after the promotion of the memorial system, the courtiers would submit everything to the emperor through memorials.

Even if it is a small matter, if there is no need for a memorial, it will usually go through the title book, and will not get it to participate in the memorial.

Usually, things like this are things that have already been discussed in private, and they are brought here for discussion, or if someone wants to catch someone by surprise, they will directly bring it up here.

Therefore, there are not too many things to do in the early morning. Basically, it is to arrange today's tasks and listen to the summary report.

At first, everyone thought that this was still an ordinary day, but they didn't expect Qi You, Minister of the Household Department, to stand up.

Some old courtiers had helpless expressions on their faces. When they saw His Highness the Crown Prince, they already had a bad premonition in their hearts.

After so many years, everyone knows that His Royal Highness must have something to do in the court, and usually it is not a very good thing.

Especially this time, when His Royal Highness the Crown Prince came back from Jiangnan, he seemed very low-key. He didn't take much part in the affairs of the court, and he didn't express too many opinions. He usually hid in the Xianyang Palace to accompany the Crown Princess. give birth to a son.

But the prince suddenly ran over this morning.The old courtier felt that there was something unusual here, and felt that His Royal Highness was going to make trouble again.

After all, such things don't happen once or twice, and everyone is very experienced, so they are all worried.

After seeing Hubu Shangshu Qi You stand up, everyone understood in their hearts that this is a big deal.

You must know that His Royal Highness has a lot of people in the court, and there are even more people who can be used.What can make Qi You, who has become the Minister of the Household Department, stand up?
Since it was Qi You who stood up, it must be a big deal.So many people's hearts were raised.

"Your Majesty, I have a copy." Qi You said respectfully.

There was no expression on his face, and no one could see the emotions, and no one could guess what he was going to say.

Except for one person, this person is Zhu Youtang.After seeing Qi You stand up, he already knew what his son was going to do.So he cast a vague glance at Zhu Houzhao, and said, "Then let's talk."

Qi You took a step forward, and then said: "Your Majesty, I checked the accounts of the Ministry of Households the day before yesterday, and found one thing, that is, the tax-free land for scholars in the court is really too cumbersome."

"There are more and more scholars in the imperial court every year, and more and more people with fame; every year, some people die, and new people come out, and the tax-free fields have to be re-approved, so a lot of manpower and material resources are taken up, and local officials are also It's beyond annoying."

"Some of them donated their land, and some of them hid their land. It's too troublesome. So I wondered if I could change it."

After hearing Qi You's words, everyone's expressions changed.No one thought that Qi You was talking about this matter, and then looked at Zhu Houzhao with a different look.

As expected of His Royal Highness, the first move is a big deal.

Everyone knows what this event means.

Although this is the ancestral system established by Emperor Taizu, but today, the ancestral system of Emperor Taizu has long since changed beyond recognition, and everyone does their own things.

This tax-free system, everyone knows where its flaws are.Contributions become popular, and there will be more hidden land.

The tax of the imperial court is getting less and less every year, until now it can’t make ends meet, has no one really thought about the reason?

No, someone thought about it.

With so many capable people in the Ming Dynasty, the courtiers must have farsightedness.They can clearly realize where the problem is, but none of them dare to raise it.

Because by doing this, you are going against the scholars all over the world.

Zhang Juzheng was the only one who dared to do this, but he did nothing more than search the land and find out those hidden lands, and he didn't dare to do other things.

And now that Zhang Juzheng has not appeared, no one dares to do such a thing.

Now that Qi You actually wants to change this, this is simply audacious behavior.

Thinking that behind Qi You is His Highness the Crown Prince, everyone's heart felt a little chilled.

They all know that His Royal Highness does things, and they have always vowed not to give up until they achieve their goals. Apart from the more sinister methods, they rely more on domineering pushes.

This time His Highness the Crown Prince suppressed the rebellion in the south of the Yangtze River, not to mention the calculations, everyone realized a very important thing, that is, His Highness the Crown Prince's confidence is the Black Dragon Army.

With this invincible army, there is nothing His Royal Highness dare not do.

"This is the ancestral system of Emperor Taizu, do you also want to change it?" Zhu Youtang looked at Qi You and asked expressionlessly.

This sentence is very serious, and the hearts of the courtiers are moved.

Could it be that His Royal Highness did not discuss with His Majesty about one thing?
Does His Majesty object to this matter?

The hearts of the courtiers were suddenly mixed.

The joy is that His Majesty actually objected, so the possibility of this matter passing is very small.

What is worrying is the conflict between His Majesty and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.The relationship between His Majesty and His Highness the Crown Prince has always been very good these years, but if there is a disturbance because of this incident, the court will be unstable in an instant.

This is not what they want to see, because once there is a commotion, they will be widely implicated, and no one thinks that His Royal Highness will have anything to do.

The reason is also very simple. Today His Majesty only has one son, the Crown Prince. No matter how much their father and son quarreled, His Majesty can only pass the throne to the Crown Prince in the end, so there is no benefit for anyone involved in these matters.

If there is a commotion now, how will the courtiers stand in line?

I can only stand on His Majesty's side.

In the future, after His Royal Highness the Crown Prince ascends the throne, this matter will be pushed again, and the methods will be more drastic. All those who oppose now will be retaliated against.

But if you stand on the side of His Highness the Crown Prince, you will not only be against His Majesty, but also against those who oppose these things.

"Returning to Your Majesty, when the Taizu established the ancestral system, the Ming Dynasty had just unified the world, and a lot of things were waiting to be done. Many things have no solution, expedient measures. Until today, it is already a bit out of date." Qi You said expressionlessly. .

Everyone looked at Qi You in disbelief.

How dare you say that the system established by Taizu is out of date?Is this courage too big?
Everyone turned their heads to look at Zhu Youtang.Because everyone knows that this matter can be big or small.

If His Majesty is really angry, then there is only one sentence, and Qi You is finished.Not only will his official position be lost, he may even be convicted.

But if His Majesty agrees, then this sentence is nothing.Some people even heard a bad premonition from this, that is, His Royal Highness is going to reform.

In fact, what His Royal Highness has done in recent years has been innovative.Many places have been changed beyond recognition, but no slogans have been shouted.Is it going to be a slogan this time?
"Oh, it's inappropriate." Zhu Youtang said with a deadpan face, "Then tell me what's inappropriate."

As soon as these words came out, the ministers felt that His Majesty was really angry, and looked at Qi You with sympathy and sarcasm, but more of gloating.

In recent years, Qi You's status has been continuously improved, and he has always held the position of Minister of the Household Department.What is the current position of Shangshu Tobe?
Since the reform of the salt administration.The Minister of the Household Department holds great power, and now there is a tax department, the status of the Household Department is constantly improving, and there are signs of becoming the largest department of the six departments.

For Qi You to sit in such a position, naturally many people are not reconciled.It's just that he is a member of His Royal Highness, and no one dares to attack him and make trouble.

But this time it was his own death, and it was also the mistake of His Highness the Crown Prince.Wait until Qi You goes down.Everyone's opportunity has come.At such times, they are more happy and gloat.

There was no change on Qi You's face. He had always been very clear in his heart that His Majesty would not agree to any of the things His Royal Highness asked him to do.There is a tacit understanding between father and son.

Although many people thought that His Majesty and His Royal Highness might turn against each other, Qi You didn't think so.

So Qi You said: "When the Taizu established this system, the Ming Dynasty was waiting for prosperity. There was no money or food in the court. In order to show that the court valued scholars, this policy was formulated."

"But now that the Ming Dynasty has been so many years, more and more land, more and more people enjoy this system, resulting in very heavy pressure, tax collection is also very complicated, and the annual statistics of various places are also very chaotic, and it also requires a lot of money. part of the staff."

"So if we expand the manpower, there will be redundant officials. So I thought about whether we can make some changes to this matter without changing the original intention of Emperor Taizu."

Zhu Youtang looked at Qi You, the expression on his face seemed to soften a little, and asked, "How can we make a change?"

"His Majesty, can all the land be taxed? In this way, there is no need to pay it off, and there is no need to worry about contributions. The court's taxation and collection accounts will be very clear. At the same time, there is no need to invest too much manpower. And material resources, all the taxes can be collected.”

"This is also a lesson learned from the past. After the nobles and relatives paid their own taxes, the accounts of the household department are indeed much clearer. You don't need to look at the amount of farmland, and you need to pay as much as you have. It's all clear at a glance."

I heard Qi You mention this matter.Xungui and Xunqi remained calm, but the hearts of the civil servants thumped.

This is to bring in the honorable relatives.

You must know that those people on their side are all members of His Royal Highness, and they might not really support it with all their strength, but it is different now.

Over the years, the civil officials have been counting on them, proposing to tax their farmland, not once or twice.

Everyone is very clear that it was not approved before because His Majesty did not agree, and this time His Majesty will agree.

The tax revenue from them has done a lot for Daming over the years.

Although the imperial court gave them preferential treatment, there was still a pimple in their hearts. Now it was the imperial court's turn to collect taxes from civil servants. How could they not stand up and step on it?
Even if it is not good for me, I will be happy if it makes you unhappy.

"As for the policy of preferential treatment for scholars formulated by Emperor Taizu, it will naturally continue." Qi You continued, "It's just that now the imperial court has money, food, and money, and the exempted land tax can be converted into money, food, and money. , distributed to famous scholars every year."

"In this way, it is simple and convenient. As long as you are a scholar with a reputation, you can receive this money every year. In this way, public and private are clearly distinguished, and the accounts are clear."

There is a movement in everyone's heart.This is really fatal.I don't know if it was Qi You's idea.It was the idea of ​​His Highness the Crown Prince.

(End of this chapter)