()Although it is already afternoon, the warmest time of the day. However, the Ming Dynasty is in the Little Ice Age, which is also the coldest period of the year. The guards of the Forbidden City, as long as no one sees them, they will rub their hands and stamp their feet.
Add some heating yourself.
But at this time, there was a person outside the Meridian Gate, pacing back and forth, sweating faintly on his forehead. This person was Liang Shixun, the Marquis of Baoding who had come to complain to Emperor Chongzhen earlier in the morning.
He was told that the emperor was discussing matters with the six ministers and cabinet ministers and could not see him for the time being. Then he learned that Zhongxing Bo had gone to see the emperor, but he was left here, and he felt very anxious.
As time passed, but no one came out to see Zhongxing Bo, and no one came to preach to him, Liang Shixun felt a little confused.
If Emperor Chongzhen believed Uncle Zhongxing's complaint, then someone should come to arrest him, but up to now he is still standing here fine.
If Emperor Chongzhen did not believe Uncle Zhongxing's complaint, then Uncle Zhongxing should have come out, but so far there has been no trace of Uncle Zhongxing coming out.
Liang Shixun finally judged that after Zhongxing Bo entered the Forbidden City, he was also left aside and would not be summoned until the emperor's discussion was completed.
Liang Shixun was already impatient with waiting. He saw that it was almost time to meet with Li Fengxiang, the eunuch in the capital camp. He couldn't help but become anxious. Looking at this situation, Zhong Xingbo would see the emperor sooner than he did. It was not okay for him to wait here.
As for the matter, I still don’t know if I will be summoned. It seems that I have to start from other aspects.
Liang Shixun thought for a while, and finally looked at the afternoon door. It was still quiet and no one was there, so he stamped his feet and turned around and left.
Little did he know that there was a pair of eyes staring at him from a hidden corner of the Forbidden City wall. When he saw Liang Shixun leaving the Meridian Gate, he waved his hand back and followed him with two plainclothes guards.
Uncle Liang, the steward of the Baoding Marquis Mansion, took a breather after visiting the last censor, and then returned to his home. As soon as he arrived at the door, he met Liang Shixun who was rushing back.
Liang Shixun saw that there were few pedestrians on the street, and there was no one near his door.
So, without dismounting, he directly called Uncle Liang to him and whispered to him: "Something is not going well over there in the Forbidden City. I haven't been able to see the emperor, but Uncle Zhongxing has been in the Forbidden City for a long time. You can get more
With some money, let the censors help invite the important ministers of the court to impeach Uncle Zhongxing, and we must kill him with one blow."
Uncle Liang was a little surprised, but he did not hesitate, agreed, and hurriedly entered the Baoding Marquis Mansion. Liang Shixun himself went directly to the old place to catch up.
In the main hall of worship, Zhong Jinwei was just about to answer Emperor Chongzhen's question when his stomach made a "gurgling" sound first.
There were always only two people in the palace, Zhong Jinwei and Emperor Chongzhen. When they were not talking, it was very quiet. This "Gulu" sound was particularly clear.
Emperor Chongzhen was stunned and realized that he was also very hungry.
He looked at the light reflected from outside the hall and found that it was already afternoon.
At that moment, he smiled and said to Zhong Jinwei: "Master Zhong, every time I talk to you about things, I often forget to eat. I also let Master Zhong accompany me hungry. No, your stomach will complain."
Already."
Zhong Jinwei was also so excited about talking that he forgot to eat. Hearing Emperor Chongzhen's joke, he also laughed along with him.
"Master Zhong, you eat with me and talk while eating." After saying that, without waiting for Zhong Jinwei to say anything, he called the attendants outside to come in and arrange the meal.
The attendants outside the palace were already waiting anxiously, but Emperor Chongzhen had an order not to disturb him, so they had to wait outside.
Now that I have received the order, I have to hurry up and make food arrangements.
While waiting, Zhong Jinwei answered Emperor Chongzhen's question just now: "Your Majesty, I disagree with what you just said about fighting for the interests of the people."
"Oh, what does Master Zhong mean?"
"Your Majesty, are the people selling cement or glass now? None. So how can the imperial court compete with the people for profit by selling these things?" Zhong Jinwei asked Emperor Chongzhen.
"So are all the items sold by this state-owned enterprise something that has never been seen before?"
"Absolutely. Only in this way can the profit be high." Zhong Jinwei nodded.
"Wait a minute, why do I think there is something wrong with what you just said?" Emperor Chongzhen said suddenly.
When Zhong Jinwei heard this, he saw that there was nothing wrong and looked at Emperor Chongzhen.
Emperor Chongzhen sat back on the royal chair, stared at the royal table, and then slowly squeezed out his doubts from his mind: "You, who have never owned an item, will also compete with the people for profit."
After Emperor Chongzhen started talking, he seemed to have straightened out his thoughts. He looked up at Zhong Jinwei and said, "Look, someone else bought your glassware, so where did the money for this glassware come from? I should have used this money to buy ceramics.
If you don’t buy the utensils now, wouldn’t it mean that the people selling the ceramic utensils would have no income? Wouldn’t this mean that we are competing with him for the profit, and that we are competing with the people for profit?”
According to what Emperor Chongzhen said, he was really competing with the people for profit. Zhong Jinwei thought for a moment, and just when he was about to refute, the servants came to arrange meals with various food boxes.
So Zhong Jinwei asked them to arrange their meals first. He was so hungry that if he delayed them, he would delay his own meal.
Emperor Chongzhen was also hungry, so he did not urge Zhong to advance to the guard.
After the servants made arrangements, Emperor Chongzhen kicked them out. Then he said to Zhong Jinwei: "Come, Master Zhong, take a few bites to fill your stomach first."
Naturally, Zhong Jinwei would not be polite to Emperor Chongzhen. He would eat first, at least until he was half full.
After a while, Emperor Chongzhen couldn't help it anymore. Although he saw Zhong Jinwei eating and drinking without any respect, he still asked: "If the ministers use this reason to oppose this state-owned enterprise, how should they refute?"
Zhong Jinwei listened to Emperor Chongzhen talking to him, and had to stop temporarily and replied: "Your Majesty, I think that few officials who can truly ask for orders from the people will do so. Basically speaking of competing for benefits with the people, in fact
They all have ulterior motives. When they oppressed the people, they never thought of competing with the people for profit."
Emperor Chongzhen nodded: "This is the principle, but aren't there a few officials who would do this?"
"Okay, if they say that, what about the salt and iron monopoly of the past dynasties? Should it also be abolished? Shouldn't the imperial court also collect taxes, because the money collected can be used to buy things and make people more comfortable?
People who sell things make money.”
If the state monopolizes anything in order to compete with the people for profit, Zhong Jinwei has nothing to say and starts to make strong arguments.
"This doesn't seem very convincing." Emperor Chongzhen said hesitantly.
"Your Majesty, there is no need to be so entangled. What is the money earned by our state-owned enterprise used for? It is not used by the court itself, not by your Majesty, but ultimately by the common people. So how can we talk about competing for profits?
"Zhong Jinwei had no choice but to avoid competing with the people for profit, and instead talk about the purpose of competing for profit.
Emperor Chongzhen felt that Zhong Jinwei's explanation was quite fresh, so he looked at Zhong Jinwei to see what he would say next.
"Your Majesty, look: the money earned is used to maintain roads and for people to travel. Is this being used on the people?"
Emperor Chongzhen nodded, that's it.
"It is also used for national education. The people who benefited from this are the people of Ming Dynasty. Is it used for them again?"
"That's what Master Zhong said."
"It will also be used to increase the salaries of officials, so that officials can work with peace of mind and do good things for the people. Is this being used on the people again?"
Emperor Chongzhen felt that this statement seemed a bit forced. According to this statement, it was reasonable for officials to steal wealth from the people to enrich themselves. However, he thought about it and did not interrupt Zhong Jinwei.
"The money earned will also be used for disaster relief, which is used for the people; it is used for building construction and protecting the people from the poison of the invaders, which is used for the people; it is used for building water conservancy projects, which is used for the people.
..”
Zhong Jinwei was talking eloquently, but Emperor Chongzhen had a new feeling about the imperial taxation. In the past, he always felt that it was to maintain the rule of the Ming Dynasty and for my country. After Zhong Jinwei said this, it became
Taxation is all for the benefit of the people of Ming Dynasty, so why compete with the people for profit!
Zhong Jinwei talked for a long time, and finally concluded: "Your Majesty, as long as the national taxes and profits earned by state-owned enterprises are used for the people, can anyone use the competition for profits with the people to oppose the state-owned enterprises?"