The Ming Dynasty 1626 Enlightenment

Chapter 32 I am not Emperor Zhao Gou.

Zhu Ming stood up, walked to the front of the hall with his hands behind his back like a superior, and looked down at him.

"Is this how my cabinet ministers share the burdens of the nation?"

The hall was completely silent.

Zhu Ming turned around and glanced at each of the cabinet ministers present.

Ding Shaoshi was sweating profusely, Shen Yourong lowered her eyes and remained silent, and the others all lowered their heads, none of them daring to meet his gaze.

"You are all from families that studied the classics."

His voice was neither loud nor soft, but every word was sharp and forceful, piercing the hearts of everyone present: "Have you read about the end of the Qin Dynasty? Have you looked into the history books about the end of the Han Dynasty? Have you read the history books about the end of the Tang and Yuan Dynasties?"

Zhu Ming paused, his tone growing increasingly cold.

"Which dynasty perished without the people suffering? Which popular uprising didn't begin with increased taxes? At the end of the Qin Dynasty, Chen Sheng and Wu Guang rose up in rebellion; at the end of the Han Dynasty, the Yellow Turban Rebellion swept across the land; at the end of the Tang Dynasty, Wang Xianzhi and Huang Chao rose up; at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, the Red Turban Rebellion broke out. In each of these instances, it was because the people could no longer survive that they rose up in rebellion."

"And now? You are still scheming against the people. Imposing additional taxes on Liaodong? Imposing additional taxes on suppressing rebellions? Imposing additional taxes on military training? Adding them layer by layer, until the people are forced to sell their children and even exchange their own offspring for food?"

His voice suddenly rose, carrying a chilling pressure that seemed to freeze the air in the hall.

"Do you want the Ming Dynasty to perish even faster?!"

The hall was deathly silent.

Even Zhu Youjian put down his fried chicken and stared blankly at his elder brother.

Ding Shaoshi's legs went weak, and he slumped back into his seat, trembling all over.

Zhu Ming took a deep breath, turned around, and looked over the kneeling cabinet ministers, his gaze falling on Sun Chengzong, then on Shen Yourong, and finally on the five commanders of the Six Divine Guards.

"I am not Zhao Gou, the Emperor," he said, his voice lower but deeper and heavier, "nor can any of you Grand Secretaries be Qin Hui."

"But those Jurchens don't just want to be the 'Great Jin'! Their Eight Banners cavalry are eyeing us covetously, wanting to once again march south to plunder and massacre cities. Do you all want me, you, and the people of the Ming Dynasty to repeat the humiliation of the Jingkang Incident?"

No one dared to answer.

Zhu Ming slowly walked back to the main seat, but did not sit down.

He braced his hands on the table, leaned slightly forward, and scanned the crowd with piercing eyes.

"You all should strive to be the Huo Guang and Zhou Gongdan of the Ming Dynasty, and your generals should strive to be the Wei Qing and Huo Qubing of the Ming Dynasty!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the entire hall fell silent, with only the dripping sound of melting ice in the ice mirror and the soft whirring of the fan chain.

Zhu Ming stopped looking at them.

He turned around, his gaze briefly meeting Sun Chengzong's.

coming.

Sun Chengzong understood, slowly rose, and bowed to Zhu Ming: "Your Majesty, this old minister has something to say."

"Please speak, Grand Secretary Sun."

"In my humble opinion," Sun Chengzong's voice was aged and steady, yet carried an unprecedented sharpness, "that increasing taxes on the people is indeed a poor policy. But the empty treasury is also a fact. If we want to replenish the treasury without harming the people, there is only one way to go."

Zhu Ming raised an eyebrow: "What strategy?"

"Commercial tax".

Sun Chengzong said slowly and deliberately, "The wealth of the Great Song Dynasty was unparalleled in the world, not because of land taxes, but because of maritime trade and commercial taxes. At the beginning of the founding of our Great Ming Dynasty, the commercial tax was one-thirtieth, which was not low."

"But what about now? The wealthy merchants of Jiangnan are richer than a country, the salt merchants of Lianghuai spend money like water, and the sailing ships of Fujian and Guangdong fill the sky. How much tax have these people paid? Less than one-tenth of it remains!"

His voice gradually rose: "Your Majesty, this old minister requests an imperial decree to revise the commercial tax regulations. All commercial transactions shall be taxed at a rate of one-tenth of the profits. Anyone who conceals or evades taxes shall, once verified, have their property confiscated and their family members exiled!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the hall erupted in a commotion.

Ding Shaoshi's face turned deathly pale, and his lips trembled for a long time before he finally managed to stammer out, "Grand Secretary Sun! This... how can this be allowed! Adjusting the commercial tax will shake Jiangnan, it will shake the entire country!"

Several cabinet ministers echoed, "Yes, Your Majesty, this matter must not be rushed!"

"If the scholar-officials and the court jointly govern the country, forcibly imposing taxes on merchants may cause unrest!"

"I second that. The matter of commercial taxes involves a wide range of issues and requires careful consideration..."

Zhu Ming watched coldly, a sneer in his heart.

Scared? This is just the beginning.

"As for the salt laws," Sun Chengzong continued, undeterred by the objections, his voice rising even higher, "this old minister requests that the salt exchange system be abolished and the Hongwu salt exchange system reinstated, but with the new Ming Dynasty paper money as the exchange currency!"

These words immediately sparked a buzz of discussion in the hall.

Ding Shaoshi, kneeling and slumped in his seat, couldn't help but raise his head, his face full of astonishment.

Open China Law? Isn't that the old almanac from the Hongwu era?

Merchants used to exchange grain for salt permits. The grain was transported to the border, and the permits were returned to the merchants. Later, the court found this cumbersome and changed it to a silver-based system, where merchants paid silver directly, and the court then used the silver to buy grain.

Over time, the border troops' grain supply fell into the hands of merchants. These grain merchants colluded with border generals, resulting in insufficient grain supply and a significant expenditure of silver.

Should I change it back now?

Sun Chengzong continued, "His Majesty has ordered the Ministry of Works to improve the salt-making process. The quality of the new salt far surpasses that of the old salt on the market. Although the payment for the salt permits is settled with new banknotes, the salt obtained in exchange is a top-quality fine salt unlike any seen before. Once this salt is released, merchants from all over the country will flock to it."

He glanced at Ding Shaoshi, whose face was ashen, and continued, word by word: "The salt exchange sites will be uniformly set up in Tianjin and various fortified garrisons in Beizhili. Salt merchants will purchase salt certificates with new banknotes, and the grain will be transported to the border garrisons by a logistics force specially formed by the imperial court and recruited civilians."

"All people who participated in transporting grain were exempted from corvée labor, and the court provided them with wages as a form of work relief. This not only solved the manpower problem for transporting grain, but also gave the people of the Ming Dynasty a stable livelihood."

"Thus, the imperial court controls the grain supply routes, salt permits, border trade, and military supplies!"

The hall fell completely silent.

Ding Shaoshi's lips were trembling.

He was a cabinet minister and knew that the Donglin Party members were spokespeople in the court.

Commercial taxes and salt laws—these two measures struck the hearts of the gentry in Jiangnan and the salt merchants in Lianghuai.

He could almost imagine that as soon as he left the Qianqing Palace today, impeachment memorials from the Donglin Party would flood the Office of Transmission like snowflakes tomorrow.

But he dared not speak.

Because Zhu Ming's gaze was coldly fixed on him.

There was no room for discussion in those eyes, only a notification.

At this moment, Zhu Ming's lips finally curled up slightly.

He silently calculated in his mind that this combination of moves would solve at least three problems.

First, the issue of money.

Once the new Ming Dynasty paper money is issued, and the government manages to weather the storm for two or three years, the people will get used to using the paper money, and silver will naturally withdraw from the market.

When the time comes, you can print as much as you want; that's what true "money power" means.

Second, the issue of food.

Once the Sino-French trade was restored, merchants who wanted to earn money from salt permits had to obediently deliver grain to Tianjin.

Once the grain entered the imperial granaries, it was distributed by the imperial court. The grain transport teams along the way consisted of imperial officials, soldiers, and civilians.

Merchants want to collude with border generals and resell military rations? No way.

Third, the problems of ordinary people.

With work-for-relief programs, the people transporting grain received wages, preventing them from starving, selling their children, or rising up in rebellion. A stable rear area is more important than anything else.

At the heart of all this, it all boils down to two words: control.

Control the currency, control the grain supply, control people's hearts.

As for those who oppose, obstruct, or outwardly comply while inwardly resisting...

Zhu Ming's gaze swept subtly over Ding Shaoshi and several eunuch ministers.

He will tidy them up one by one.