"Ahem! This time things have gotten serious. Your Majesty actually chose to side with His Highness the Crown Prince. What are we going to do?"
"Alas! The money has been collected. Those noble families are waiting for news from us. If we tell them that we can do it, they might take our matter away!"
"Is this... is His Majesty threatened by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince?
No! I want to enter the palace to see His Majesty, and I must not let His Majesty the Crown Prince run amok!"
"Absolutely not! Have you seen the imperial ink pen on this?
His Majesty’s handwriting, if we go to find your Majesty right now, we will really behead you!”
…
The officials were all anxious, but they didn't know what to do. They could only reply to the nobles from the aristocratic families, but the matter failed. The prince and his majesty reached a consensus.
"What! The prince doesn't understand how difficult it is for nobles like us from aristocratic families, doesn't your majesty also understand?
Haha! They are father and son after all, they are indeed standing on the same boat!"
"Mo Dan! This matter must be fought against by the imperial court to the end. Let's also join the ranks of grain merchants. We won't sell those silks and cloths!"
"That's right, our supply of rouge and gouache will also be suspended for a period of time, causing most of the products on the market to disappear. I'll see what the court will do!"
…
The nobles of the aristocratic families were anxious, and they decided to stop selling all the goods they sold for a period of time in order to confront the court.
In front of the largest rouge shop in the capital, a group of gorgeously dressed women gathered.
"what happened?
Why is this rouge shop closed?"
"Alas! I heard that because of what His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has done recently, the nobles of these aristocratic families have felt the crisis, so they have closed their shops one after another!"
"This... the rouge shop is closed, what should we do?
I’m running out of all my rouge and gouache!”
"kindness?
Look! There is a small vendor over there selling rouge gouache. I bought it from him once before, and the quality is pretty good!"
"Really?
If the quality is good, I will buy some too!"
"Well, the quality of his rouge and gouache is really good, and the price is many times cheaper than the ones in this shop. Let's go buy some!"
"OK!"
…
The largest rouge and gouache shop was closed, but the small vendors insisted on setting up their stalls. Then, their spring came, and they sold ten days' worth of products in one day!
"Hey! Madams, I will bring more goods tomorrow. If you need door-to-door delivery, I can also deliver it to your door!"
The vendor selling rouge and gouache said with a smile.
The shops selling clothes sold by wealthy aristocratic families and luxuriously decorated stores have also closed down one after another. However, the tailors who make a living by selling clothes insist on opening their doors.
Their orders surged more than ten times in one day, and the business volume of tailor shops everywhere has skyrocketed during this period!
They had to work overtime, so they hired some guys to help. It seemed that the shops were closed, but the lives of the people were not greatly affected.
"How...how could this happen?"
"Our rouge and gouache shop is closed. Those small vendors have made huge profits. If this continues, all of our regular customers will disappear!"
"I heard that some vendors are already looking for shops. They are planning to open a shop selling rouge and gouache just like us!"
"Here! Let's open the door quickly, otherwise, we won't be giving them an advantage in vain!"
"Those tailor shops have made no less than a thousand taels of silver in the past few days! We lose more than we gain this time. Hurry up and open the door. We also want to sell clothes!"
…
All of a sudden, shops in cities all over the country began to open for business. After being closed for several days, not only did they not get any benefits, but they suffered huge losses.
There are also some shops that have lost a lot of customers and are on the verge of bankruptcy. However, the business of those small shops is getting better and better.
Of course, most of the shops still managed to win back some customers after opening their doors. Just when the nobles from aristocratic families heaved a sigh of relief, people from the Ministry of Revenue came to visit them again.
"Starting from today, everyone who opens a shop in the city must register and apply for a business qualification certificate. From now on, they must sell according to the content registered on the business qualification!"
"For example, if you open a tailor shop, then it is a tailor shop and you are not allowed to sell anything else. If you sell rouge and gouache, you must sell rouge and gouache!"
"For this business qualification certificate, you need to pay ten taels of silver every year. Those who do not have a business qualification certificate are not allowed to open a store!"
The official from the Ministry of Revenue said coldly.
The shopkeeper of the rouge and gouache shop is stupid. What is the court trying to do?
Do you want to kill nobles like them in one fell swoop?
This is a money grab!
"This! Sirs, you are totally robbing us of money! You just took away our ten taels of silver for no reason, and we have to pay it every year in the future. Isn't this inappropriate?"
The shopkeeper of the rouge and gouache shop said.
"Hmph! If it weren't for your misbehavior and malicious closing of the store, we wouldn't have done this. At the same time, this is also to protect your interests!"
“If individuals could buy and sell things at will, wouldn’t the market be in chaos?
Do you still make money?"
"Just like those small traders, you have seen the money they have earned in the past few days. Do you feel good?"
The official from the Ministry of Revenue said in a deep voice.
"Yes! Sir, what do you mean, if we apply for this business qualification certificate, those small traders will not be allowed to sell?"
The shopkeeper asked immediately.
"You can apply for it. Similarly, they can also apply for it. However, to apply for a business qualification certificate, you need a store. Do you understand?"
The official from the Ministry of Revenue said in a deep voice.
"This...understood!"
The shopkeeper immediately said with a smile.
Since you need to have a store to apply for a business qualification certificate, it means that those small vendors will not have a business qualification certificate.
Then, most of the shops honestly paid the annual fee of ten taels of silver and applied for business qualification certificates!
This income alone generated more than one million taels for the imperial court. Officials from the Ministry of Household Affairs were dumbfounded when they saw so much money!
Although the Ministry of Household Affairs still has more than 40 million taels of silver, those were all promised to the Ministry of Works by His Highness the Crown Prince. These more than one million taels of silver truly belong to them.
"Haha! It's so cool to hang out with the prince!"
"Your Highness, what kind of brain is this? It's so satisfying to make money! In this way, our household department will have more than one million taels of silver in our account every year without doing anything!"
"His Royal Highness is so benevolent and righteous! In fact, the taxes collected in the past two years have nothing to do with our Household Department, but His Royal Highness has left this sum of money to us!"
The officials from the Ministry of Revenue said excitedly.