Ni Yuanlu agreed without hesitation, which really surprised Zhu Ling. He thought it would take a lot of trouble to convince him, but he didn't expect that he agreed so decisively in the end, which also caused a significant change in his attitude towards Ni Yuanlu.
Could it be that this is a reformist?
"Why did Ni Qing agree so readily when I made this request today?"
"Your Majesty serves the country and the people. Those merchants have always valued profits over the country. At this juncture, everyone has to dedicate their strength to the Ming Dynasty. Moreover, our dynasty was too tolerant to merchants in the past. On the other hand, the previous dynasty was extremely harsh on merchants. Your Majesty said
It’s just a tax of 1 out of 10, it’s nothing to them.”
Ni Yuanlu was very open about this in his heart. He had no interest in dealing with those merchants in the court. Moreover, as the Minister of Household Affairs, it was naturally his duty to raise money for the court.
"What if you are blocked?"
Zhu Ling raised the issue that he was most worried about. Those merchants would not agree so easily, and local officials would only violate the imperial government's national policies. In this way, although the policies were good, they would have little effect in the end.
"Your Majesty has troops on hand! Anyone who obstructs the implementation of national policies will be beheaded in all dynasties!" Ni Yuanlu immediately said such domineering words, which made him quite happy.
He personally went over to help Ni Yuanlu up, his eyes full of expectation, and said to him sincerely: "Ni Qing, I want to know, if the merchants' income is adjusted to ten taxes per one, and then the taxes of the people across the country are reduced to thirty taxes per one, how can we vigorously
How much tax can the court recover if the sea route is opened?"
"Your Majesty, I can only make a rough estimate."
"But it doesn't matter."
"Most of the merchants in the south have huge wealth. Some even earn millions of taels of silver a year, and most other merchants earn up to 100,000 taels. If this is implemented, they can get it from merchants alone.
Two million taels of silver! But most of the people are poor, so the tax will be reduced compared to previous years, but we can also collect two million taels of silver. But the last one is to open a sea route. This will not only allow us to reap the benefits of the West, but also
Promote business exchanges between the two places."
"That being the case, once the sea route is opened again, it will definitely add at least five million taels of silver to the imperial court! This is only the initial opening. In the later stage, tens of millions of silver will not be a problem, but..."
At the end of the sentence, Ni Yuanlu suddenly stopped and hesitated.
"Just what?"
"Your Majesty, this is a situation where Japanese pirates are not prevalent and sea routes are smooth. However, although Japanese pirates are not as prevalent as in the past, there are still small groups that are still prevalent in the southeastern sea. It is said that foreigners have occupied Taiwan for twenty years."
Hearing about the Japanese pirates and Taiwan, Zhu Ling seemed more and more confident. He immediately laughed a few times and said to him: "Ni Qing, don't worry, I will immediately draft an imperial edict to order Zheng Zhilong on the coast to vigorously eliminate pirates, guard the coastal areas, and then conquer Taiwan.
Remove obstacles to my Ming Dynasty’s sea route.”
"Your Majesty is Holy Ming."
"Today's discussion ends. I will send someone to deliver the two million silver to the Ministry of Revenue. Remember, you have to take it away with you on the way."
"I understand."
After Ni Yuanlu retired, Zhu Ling felt much more relaxed. Every time he discussed matters with these ministers, the burden on his heart would be invisibly aggravated. Only by not meeting them would he feel much better.
"Cheng'en."
After talking to them, I naturally did what I wanted to do.
"It is imperative to establish the East Factory, but I have to tell you something." Zhu Ling warned him quite seriously.
"Slave, listen."
As soon as Wang Chengen heard His Majesty's instructions, he immediately came over and said closely.
"Don't be in charge of the Dongchang. Find someone to be the boss of the factory for you. From now on, whether it's killing people or arresting people, it will be your Dongchang and Jinyiwei who do it. But in the long run, others will regard you as Liu Jin."
, Wei Zhongxian and his like have a bad reputation for you."
"Your Majesty cherishes this slave. I really don't know what to say."
As soon as he finished speaking, Wang Chengen burst into tears like his little daughter-in-law, sobbing, and kept saying how good Zhu Ling was.
"Don't cry. You are the godfather of so many people. How can you set an example for your godsons like this?" Following Zhu Ling's laughter and curses, Wang Chengen immediately stopped crying.
"It is a blessing for a slave to be able to dress such a master."
"What a blessing, you are always on tenterhooks with me." I don't know what to say, but many times these ministers are actually much better at loyalty than the ministers.
"Call Gao Wencai over."
After the words fell, Gao Wencai, who was guarding outside the hall, immediately entered the hall, knelt down to Zhu Ling and said: "My subordinate is here!"
"I heard that you robbed Dongchang's head yesterday? Is this true?" Zhu Ling's tone was tepid. It seemed that he mentioned it casually, but it was very different in Gao Wencai's ears.
He immediately put his forehead to the ground and said in fear: "Your Majesty, my subordinates were suspected of being eager for quick success yesterday. Please forgive me!"
Wang Chengen on the side had no expression when he saw this. This was mentioned by His Majesty, and he did not make irresponsible remarks in front of him. For him, this matter was just a trivial matter, and there was no need to disturb His Majesty's peace of mind.
"Okay, get up, Wang Chengen didn't blame you, why should I blame you?" Zhu Ling looked down at him and knew that he was still loyal to him in his heart, but he just didn't want Jin Yiwei to be controlled.
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
Gao Wencai slowly stood up, but he was still a little scared inside.
"I will promote you to be the commander of Jin Yiwei. Do a good job for me." As he spoke, he walked back to the stage and sat down.
"I thank you for Your Majesty's grace!"
In a few days, he was promoted from a hundred households to a thousand households, and then to Qianshi. Such an honor made Gao Wencai extremely excited, his body trembled constantly, and he was ecstatic.
"As soon as the kingdom wakes up, let him come to me as soon as possible. In the past few days, you have chosen 800 people. Remember to be loyal. In the end, there will be no family members! The day after tomorrow, we will go south, and the Jin Yiwei will serve as my personal guard. And then today
Catch Zhou Kui as soon as possible, and be sure not to let the queen know."
"My subordinate understands!"
"Your Majesty, I have told you through my people these days that the officials who have been abandoned by Your Majesty are quite dissatisfied and have some objections to the court and to Your Majesty. What do you think?"
Wang Chengen glanced at Gao Wencai, turned around and said to Zhu Ling who was sitting above him.
"Just keep an eye on them and don't let them cause trouble. Don't worry about the rest. I don't want to kill them all."
"Slave, please obey."
…
At noon, while Zhu Ling was taking a nap, Wang Chengen called a group of people from Dongchang into a house.
"Xiao Ruanzi, you will be the master of Dongchang from now on. You have to handle such a big burden well." Wang Chengen sat on the main seat, picked up the cup of tea and took a sip.
"The godfather treats his son like this, and the son will never be able to repay him in full in his lifetime." The eunuch named Xiao Ruanzi was the one who personally led people into the Duke Cheng's mansion that night.
Today he was led in by Wang Cheng'en, and something unusual happened. He thought it was what happened that night that angered His Majesty, so he planned to deal with him. Unexpectedly, he received such a huge reward, and his sadness turned into joy in an instant.
"Okay, deal with those people who were targeting you and me before. We will leave in the future, so hurry up."
"Don't worry, godfather, my son will definitely handle things to your satisfaction." Xiao Ruanzi, who had obtained the position of factory boss, was extremely excited at the moment. He had no other disloyal thoughts and wanted to serve Wang Chengen immediately.
"Find ten smart people for our family and I will take them away." Seeing his appearance, Wang Chengen's eyes were full of disgust.