Chapter 483 Fighting in the Palace is worse than Rebellion (20)
There are three things a new official should do when he takes office.
Emperor Yongcheng was a young emperor who had been on the throne for several years but had no real power.
Now that he finally got the jade seal that symbolized the supreme power of the empire, and the woman who was in charge of politics was no longer behind him, he suddenly felt like he was in sole control of power.
As a man, as a person who received the emperor's education from an early age, he has a strong desire to guide the country and control the world.
He can finally realize his ambition!
Emperor Yongcheng was like a volcano that had been pent up for a long time and finally had a chance to erupt. His eagerness and desire should not be too strong.
After taking office, Emperor Yongcheng's first fire was directed at the salt administration.
Well, there's nothing wrong with that per se.
Not to mention the emperor, even recently, the big guys in the Political Affairs Hall have been discussing this issue.
As an important strategic resource, salt and iron should have always been controlled by the imperial court.
However, in the past few hundred years, the family has become stronger and the dynasties have changed frequently.
Resources such as salt fields and iron mines were divided and occupied by aristocratic families and wealthy families from various places.
The late emperor unified the country and established the Dayuan Dynasty.
After he ascended the throne, he once wanted to take back those salt fields and iron mines to the imperial court.
The late emperor would resist the aristocratic family so much and try every means to divide and suppress it. It was not just the most primitive "hatred of the rich".
In addition to being dissatisfied with the aristocratic family's monopoly on personnel appointments and removals in the court, they are also motivated by these resources.
It's just that the family has lasted for hundreds of years, is intricately connected, and has huge power.
Its influence among the people almost surpasses that of the royal family.
Even if the late emperor was the founder of the country and had hundreds of thousands of elite soldiers in his hands, he could not shake the foundation of the family.
Therefore, in the Dayuan Dynasty, there was no such thing as "smuggling salt", because all the salt in the world was illegal salt!
As for the government, it was so poor that even the government agencies were on the verge of collapse, but they could only look at the local aristocratic families, who made a lot of money by selling salt.
At that time, the late emperor thought about rectifying the salt and iron industry. Even if he could not bring all the salt fields and mines back to the court, he would still collect enough taxes.
It's a pity that he passed away too early, and many government decrees just proposed a concept and there was no time to implement it!
Queen Mother He:...You blame me?! If you weren't a scumbag who betrayed your trust and doted on your concubines and destroyed your wives, I would risk the disapproval of the world and kill you?!
As the late emperor's eldest son, Emperor Yongcheng naturally wanted to inherit the late emperor's wishes.
Therefore, his first government task after taking back the imperial seal from "Queen Mother He" was to rectify the salt affairs.
To rectify the salt affairs, even if the salt fields cannot be nationalized, a certain amount of taxes must be collected!
This was the late emperor's idea, and Emperor Yongcheng took it all in without changing it at all.
This is not wrong in itself.
The court's tax revenue was insufficient, and even if the salt fields were occupied by aristocratic families, a certain amount of taxes should be paid.
But the problem is that such an issue should not be raised by a young emperor who has just taken over the throne.
Even if it was proposed by the Political Affairs Hall or the Empress Dowager He, they would have more credibility than the little emperor, and they would be able to prevent the imperial court from overly opposing it.
Emperor Yongcheng?
Ha, I just took charge and have no achievements at all, let alone any prestige.
Did he really think that with the imperial seal, all civil and military officials in the dynasty would listen to him?
"Your Majesty, there are too many issues involved in the salt affairs. It is not good to rush into it. Please consider it carefully!"
Wang Yuan and Zhao Shuo, the three major ministers, did not speak. On the contrary, Feng Shou, who supported Emperor Yongcheng the most, stood up and tried his best to persuade.
Although Feng Shou was "opposed", he really considered Emperor Yongcheng.
He couldn't let the little emperor be obsessed with this kind of "reform" that would obviously lead to big mistakes!
If the other party is allowed to act recklessly, not only will it cause big trouble, but it will also cause the little emperor's already low prestige to fall to the bottom.
Once the emperor loses his prestige, even if he sits in that seat, he will be ignored by the courtiers.
And if a certain powerful official has too much power, haha, the collapse of the previous dynasty is just around the corner.
Feng Shou had an agreement with the late emperor, and he would not just watch Emperor Yongcheng walk into the quagmire step by step.
Feng Shou worked so hard, but Emperor Yongcheng didn't appreciate it.
Because of the matter of canonizing the queen, Emperor Yongcheng already had a estrangement from Feng Shou in his heart.
Now, he finally took charge and proposed the first decree. The old fox Wang Yuan who was most likely to object did not say a word, but his Master Feng jumped out.
"Sir, you are really my good husband!"
Emperor Yongcheng secretly gritted his teeth.
"Feng Zhongshu Ling, you can't say that. Is it because the salt administration is complicated and difficult to deal with that the court won't straighten it out?"
Suppressing his dissatisfaction, Emperor Yongcheng spoke in a formal manner.
He thought he was hiding it well, but little did he know that the people standing in this hall were basically old oil men who had been involved in official circles.
How vicious are their eyes? How keen are their senses?
With just a quick glance, it can be seen that the young emperor Yongcheng was resentful of Feng Zhongshu Ling.
All the courtiers: ...This emperor is probably not a fool.
Feng Shou, an old thief, was definitely the late emperor's most loyal minister.
Tao Yong and other martial heroes were also loyal to the late emperor, but these people had wives, children, family members and friends, so their loyalty to the late emperor was inevitably mixed with some selfish motives.
But as for Feng Shou, he had betrayed the family a long time ago and had no children. His only old wife also died of illness last year.
In this world, Feng Shou can be said to be carefree.
If he had not made an agreement with the late emperor in the early years, he would have gone to find a hermit in the mountains and forests.
If there is anyone in this court who is sincere to Emperor Yongcheng and has no selfish thoughts, it must be Feng Shou.
As a result, such an extremely loyal "Emperor Party" was resented by the Emperor!
Tsk tsk... While everyone felt unworthy of Feng Shou, they also felt vaguely uneasy.
The emperor sitting on the dragon throne is not very smart, let alone stupid, but he is self-righteous and smart.
Alas, the court, which has been stable for just a few years, is probably going to be in chaos again.
Some veterans of the two dynasties, although they were not "emperorists", were fair and upright, and could not help but feel worried.
After going to court, they all went to see Queen Mother He.
When they thought about it, Queen Mother He was the biological mother of Emperor Yongcheng. Even if the relationship between mother and son was not very good, Queen Mother He's previous action of returning to power still made the courtiers feel that Queen Mother He loved the young emperor.
Therefore, Queen Mother He would definitely not just watch Emperor Yongcheng make a fool of himself.
As a young emperor who has just taken over the throne, challenge all the aristocratic families and wealthy families in the world?
The courtiers could not even say "A newborn calf is not afraid of a tiger." A calf might be doomed to fail when facing a tiger, but it can still fight to the death.
Maybe we can even have a "beat the old master to death with random punches".
But Emperor Yongcheng vs. all the aristocratic families?
No one in the whole court was optimistic.
"The Ai family has handed over the jade seal to Your Majesty, which means that the world of Great Abyss has been handed over to Your Majesty. How he wants to manage it is up to him!"
"Furthermore, the reform of the salt administration cannot be delayed any longer. The national treasury is empty and the salt tax is urgently needed to be replenished!"
"...Your Majesty is indeed a bit young and has little experience, but doesn't he still have three assistant ministers such as Wang Zhongshu Ling, as well as the ministers of the Political Affairs Hall, they will definitely assist the emperor well!"
"As for the Ai family, they should have retired to the harem long ago and taken care of themselves. They really don't want to worry about the affairs of the court anymore!"
He Tiantian ignored the requests of several veterans and responded tactfully.
Are you kidding me?
To discipline the little emperor who wants to reform the family and centralize imperial power?
Haha, I didn’t see Feng Shou having hit a snag and arousing the dislike of Emperor Yongcheng?!
He Tiantian would never do such a thankless and stupid thing.
Besides, she took the initiative to return power and quickly withdrew from the previous dynasty, just to give the little emperor a chance to "point the country."
If the little emperor is not stupid, how can she, the queen mother, show her achievements in front of the courtiers and even the people of the world?
To a certain extent, He Tiantian was just like some old foxes in the court, waiting for the little emperor to pick his own way out of the mud.
However, no one expected that Emperor Yongcheng would be so fierce and make a big deal out of him right away!
Re-registering the salt fields and imposing a salt tax almost touched the cake of all the powerful families in the world.
Such a large force, let alone the little emperor, even the late emperor would not dare to provoke it easily.
In fact, not only wealthy families, but also some martial artists also have salt fields in their homes.
What, ahem, during the war, some small aristocratic families or down-and-out families were overturned.
And the property they left behind was divided up by other wealthy families or passing warriors.
In addition, as a "rebel army" lacking logistical support, the late emperor's warriors also relied on extortion, oh no, asking local powerful people to donate to maintain the army's food and grass.
Among the many "pleasurable donations" are cash cows such as salt fields, fertile fields, and mines.
Especially for a general like Tao Yong, he built a palace without hesitation. In addition to the regular soldiers under his command, he also maintained five thousand troops.
With so many people, eating, drinking, and eating all cost money.
The Tao family's biggest income came from a salt field in the Bohai Sea.
Now, Tao Yong's good son-in-law suddenly points a knife at Yanzheng... This is not to cut off the family's flesh, but to want the lifeblood of the Tao family.
Not to mention Tao Yong's support, he didn't jump up and yell directly, which was considered to be a favor to the emperor's son-in-law.
Therefore, after going to court, Tao Yong was summoned to Ganlu Hall by Emperor Yongcheng. When Emperor Yongcheng "persuaded" him to help, he directly refused.
Emperor Yongcheng: ...You are a thief, you are too special to give me face.
You are my father-in-law after all.
Moreover, the two families have a covenant.
If the Tao family refused to support Emperor Yongcheng, how could Emperor Yongcheng marry a unruly and willful woman as his queen?
Now that the daughter of the Tao family is showing off her power in the harem, Emperor Yongcheng needs the support of the Tao family, but Tao Yong, an old man, is acting like this!
The hatred in Emperor Yongcheng's heart.
A self-centered person like him will not reflect on himself: Everyone is opposed to it, is there really something wrong with the decree he issued?
He will only think: These people all look down on me and want to cause me trouble and trouble!
Tao Yong:……
Seeing such a little emperor with "clear grievances and grievances", I suddenly felt a little regretful.
With such a willful investment and a king who refuses to listen to advice, can the Tao family really get the wealth they expected?!
Weng and son-in-law each had their own thoughts and they separated unhappy.
Emperor Yongcheng was so angry that he kept circling around the hall like a trapped animal.
Could it be that his first decree died prematurely?
no!
Absolutely not!
He couldn't let Queen Mother He laugh at the whole court.
He cannot give up halfway, he wants to become a wiser and more powerful emperor than his father.
Like a donkey, Emperor Yongcheng turned around several times. Suddenly he thought of Hu's words, and a light suddenly lit up in his mind!
"...the wet nurse is right, eggs cannot be put in one basket."
"I can't rely too much on Feng Shou and Tao Yong. I need to find more helpers. In addition, I can also take the opportunity to bring Nian'er back!"
Emperor Yongcheng is indeed an infatuated person. Even at this time, he still doesn't forget to make plans for his little childhood sweetheart.
In other words, he had actually had such an idea for a long time, but what happened today completely stimulated him!
"Draft? Recruiting a harem?"
He Tiantian guessed that Emperor Yongcheng would have some unexpected magical operations, but she still didn't expect that the little emperor would be so willful!
Uh, to say that you are willful is an understatement. This is basically being stupid and seeking death.
He and Tao have been married for less than three months, so they are probably still in the honeymoon period.
Even if it was a political marriage, even if he didn't like Empress Tao, the emperor couldn't slap her in the face like this.
He didn't just slap Empress Tao in the face, but tore off the entire Tao family's face, stepped on the ground and rubbed her repeatedly!
The marriage alliance was originally intended to be supported by the Tao family.
It would be better for Emperor Yongcheng to go straight to death for offending the Tao family.
Is he preparing to break up with the Tao family?
Wang Shijiu, who was helping He Tiantian organize the memorial, couldn't help but secretly shake his head when he heard the news.
Emperor Yongcheng is really stupid!
Wang Shijiu was secretly glad: Fortunately, I didn't marry him, otherwise, she would be the one being slapped in the face now.
It doesn’t matter if she has no face herself, she will also bring trouble to the family!
This is the biggest bottom line in Wang Shijiu's heart.
Thanks to Queen Mother He, who reminded her grandfather in time, Wang Shijiu and the entire Wang family were not dragged into the quagmire by the little emperor.
With this thought in his heart, Wang Shijiu looked at "Queen Mother He" and felt even more grateful.
Naturally, He Tiantian did not miss Wang Shijiu's eyes, and she could also guess what this smart woman was thinking.
Well, Wang Shijiu was right, Emperor Yongcheng was a stupid naughty boy.
But this person still thinks he is very smart.
His extensive harem, in the eyes of normal people, is definitely seeking death.
As for Emperor Yongcheng, he felt that he had made a good move.
He Tiantian could completely guess what Emperor Yongcheng was thinking. He just felt that Tao Yong was incompetent, so he looked for more "Yue family".
Not only does it have a few more helpers, it also makes Tao Yong feel a sense of crisis - you see, if you don't help me, I really need to find a few more helpers.
He was looking for competitors for the Tao family, making Tao Yong feel a sense of crisis, and then desperately seeking performance.
Haha, who does Emperor Yongcheng think he is? What kind of hot cake is this that everyone is grabbing?
Still think that after sitting on the throne and getting the imperial seal, he is an iron-clad emperor and no one can shake his position?!
