Zhang Yanling's mood at this moment was very complicated. He and Zhu Houzhao had never had such an in-depth communication. To be precise, Zhu Houzhao had never said these words to him so sincerely.
In the past two years, whether it was the critical moment of Dushi City, the moment when he was threatened by the outer court, or when the Ningxia Rebellion occurred, he stepped forward to resolve these dangers for Zhu Houzhao. In Zhu Houzhao's heart,
You should have complete trust and reliance on yourself.
This is certainly a good thing, and this is what I wanted to achieve from the beginning. Having a good relationship with Zhu Houzhao is the basis of everything. And I rely on my strength and ability to win the trust, rather than deliberately surrendering to him through flattery.
So we can win all this. This foundation of trust will obviously become stronger.
However, from Zhu Houzhao's words, Zhang Yanling also sensed Zhu Houzhao's attitude towards Liu Jin. It can be said that Liu Jin's position in Zhu Houzhao's heart has reached a new level. It can almost be seen as Zhu Houzhao's way of controlling the situation.
A substitute.
The inner world of the young emperor in front of him has begun to emerge from his previous words. Although his behavior is indeed a bit absurd, his words and deeds are indeed absurd and rigid, which is not the behavior of a human king. Especially when he was with the late emperor Zhu Youtang
In comparison, they are simply two extremes.
When Zhu Youtang was in office, the court was solemn and orderly, both inside and outside the court. He was diligent, frugal, generous and kind. He was also very respectful to his ministers and respected their opinions. Everyone was accustomed to treat Zhu You as his
Tang's behavior was used as a benchmark for the emperor in their minds. Who would have thought that Zhu Youtang died suddenly, and such a misbehaving, mischievous and completely uncontrollable Zhu Houzhao came up, and the psychological gap was so huge.
Because of this, a major earthquake broke out in the court in a short period of time, which led to the major incident of Liu Jian's Xie Qian and dozens of related officials being deposed and beaten to death.
Although this incident ended with Zhu Houzhao's victory, and the outer court was almost wiped out, and now thousands of horses are in silence, they are at a low ebb, but the long-standing fixed ideas cannot be reversed in a short time. On the contrary, the government and the opposition have no confidence in Liu Jian and Xie
The sympathy of Qian and others, but the dissatisfaction with the current emperor is growing. In fact, it has actually caused great opposition and division.
The entire Ming Dynasty lost its previous harmony, and people's hearts could not be at peace. Dissatisfaction and distrust were growing among the government and the public. This was a terrible phenomenon.
Zhu Houzhao was a smart man, and he obviously realized this. So he hoped to do some big things to reverse the current situation. Rectifying the land and rectifying finances and taxes should be the big thing he wanted to do most.
This matter is indeed an excellent starting point to reverse the image and current predicament. Once successful, the situation will suddenly be greatly different.
But Zhu Houzhao had concerns in his heart. The reform of land finance and taxation would inevitably affect the interests of the ministers and ministers in the DPRK. If this matter could succeed, it would greatly enhance the authority of his emperor and help him reverse the situation.
Stabilize people's hearts. But on the other hand, the backlash caused by this incident will also be extremely serious.
Because of this, Zhu Houzhao gave strong support after Liu Jin made a request to clear the villages and rectify the money and taxes. By doing this through Liu Jin, he avoided having to come forward directly and avoid directly causing trouble with the ministers whose interests were affected.
It was a direct confrontation. Liu Jin was a shield in front of him. As a last resort, Liu Jin was a pawn that could be sacrificed. At that time, he still had room for maneuver.
I have to say, this is an extremely smart decision.
But before that, he must support Liu Jin and become his backer firmly so that Liu Jin can do things. Without his own support, Liu Jin cannot hold on. Although King Anhua's rebellion has been planned for a long time,
But the people sent by Liu Jin did intensify the conflict. Since the rebellion broke out, accusations about this matter have never subsided.
King Anhua's call for troops clearly stated that it was aimed at Liu Jin, and that he wanted to eradicate Liu Jin under the banner of the Qing emperor. Although this was an excuse, it also clearly pointed the finger at Liu Jin.
Today in the palace, Yang Tinghe made an attack, and he followed suit. This should be the time for Zhu Houzhao to feel that he had to do something. That's why today's heart-to-heart talk happened. Zhu Houzhao obviously wanted to explain his inner thoughts to himself,
Enlist your own help. Allow yourself to help him.
Support Liu Jin and accomplish the big thing he wants to do. At the very least, he hopes that he will not stand on the opposite side of Liu Jin, because he knows that once he comes forward to openly confront Liu Jin, he may encourage the Xungui Group and other officials from the foreign court to come forward together. By then,
, I am afraid that even he, the emperor, will not be able to keep Liu Jin.
To put it simply, Zhu Houzhao's confession today was purposeful. Not only was he opening his heart to himself, but he was also trying to win his help so that he could help him complete the major task of rectifying the land, rectifying finances and taxation.
Zhang Yanling was actually in a dilemma at this moment. He actually wanted to report some things he had seen on the way home to Zhu Houzhao today.
What happened in Zhaozhou, what I learned from the Zhaozhou thieves named Qi Yanming, and the results of my own visits and investigations in Zhaozhou all show that the land reform initiated by Liu Jin has caused serious consequences. I
Originally, he was going to report all this to Zhu Houzhao and suggest that the land reform policy should be implemented with caution. But now Zhu Houzhao actually asked him to help him complete this important matter. Isn't it ridiculous?
"Uncle, uncle. What are you thinking about? I'm asking you something." Seeing Zhang Yanling frowning and falling into silence for a long time, Zhu Houzhao waited for a moment and finally couldn't help but said in a deep voice.
"Uncle, do you think I'm making things difficult for you? If not, I'll ask Liu Jin to kowtow to you to apologize. For his disrespect to your uncle before and for not giving him face in the palace today, I'll ask him to kowtow a few more times to apologize to your uncle."
.uncle
For my sake, my uncle will not care about those things. Although Liu Jin has many shortcomings, he is a person who truly cares about me and is loyal to me. What do you think?" Zhu Houzhao looked at Zhang Yanling with a look in his eyes.
With the intention of asking for permission.
Zhang Yanling sighed secretly in his heart. It seemed that from the current point of view, Liu Jin's position was unbreakable. If he aroused Zhu Houzhao's rebellious spirit, all his previous efforts would be wasted. That would be unwise.
However, Zhang Yanling had his own bottom line. He still made it clear what he saw in Zhaozhou and Hebei.
"Your Majesty has betrayed me. Your Majesty is so sincere to me, and I am very moved. Your Majesty, please rest assured that I will not mention this matter again, and the relevant matters will be handled properly and no one will take advantage of this matter."
I will not take the initiative to create any quarrel with Mr. Liu. There is no need to kowtow and apologize. It makes me look like a chicken." Zhang Yanling bowed and said.
Zhu Houzhao said happily: "That's good. I know that my uncle understands justice and sincerely thinks about me. I am very happy."
Zhang Yanling said: "I naturally have to think about the emperor. The emperor is so generous and generous, so I should share the emperor's worries. However, there are some things that I feel I should report to the emperor."
Zhu Houzhao said: "That's what you say."
Zhang Yanling said: "First of all, I would like to state that I am absolutely in favor of the fiscal, taxation and land rectification policy. What I say below is not to slander this policy, but what I have seen and heard. I originally wanted to make it clear to the emperor alone. Absolutely.
I didn’t just say this out of the blue.”
Zhu Houzhao said with a smile: "Why should uncle be so cautious when talking to me? Can I still blame you for saying the wrong thing? This is not like my uncle's behavior."
Zhang Yanling said with a smile: "The Emperor's power is growing day by day, so I will naturally have to be in awe."
Zhu Houzhao smiled, feeling very happy in his heart. But he said: "That doesn't have to be like this."
At that moment, Zhang Yanling told in detail what he had seen and heard in Zhaozhou and Hebei areas on his way back and the results of his investigations in people's homes.
Although Zhang Yanling's tone was as calm as possible, without any emotion, without adding any of his own feelings, likes and dislikes, Zhu Houzhao still frowned and looked a little unhappy after listening to these words.
After Zhang Yanling finished speaking, Zhu Houzhao frowned and said, "Is what uncle said the truth?"
Zhang Yanling said: "How dare I make half-truths? How dare I talk nonsense about this kind of thing."
Zhu Houzhao pondered: "What my uncle means is that this land taxation policy has made things worse? Made the people more miserable? Breeded a large number of bandits? This is strange. This is completely consistent with what I know.
It's completely different. I have also seen the memorials submitted in various places in Hebei. The number of refugees has been greatly reduced, the people have returned to the land, and every family has farmland to cultivate. The local security is also very peaceful. The payment of money and taxes is also very smooth. In Hebei,
Recently, a large manor has surrendered 180,000 acres of land, and paid nearly 600,000 taels of land tax. I specifically asked Gu Zuo, the Minister of Household Affairs, and he confirmed that this is true. I am still thinking about promoting it to various places. Do you want to
, it can be found in Hebei Province
If such results are extended to all parts of the Ming Dynasty, the imperial tax revenue will increase by at least five million taels every year. This will greatly alleviate the fiscal and tax deficit of the imperial court. How come the situation you mentioned is completely different from what I know?"
Zhang Yanling opened his mouth to explain, but suddenly he saw the impatience and suspicion in Zhu Houzhao's eyes, and realized that maybe he shouldn't say any more. In this matter, Zhu Houzhao probably didn't want to hear what he said.
That's right. Zhu Houzhao regarded this matter as the first major event after he ascended the throne, and absolutely did not want to hear any objections.
Zhang Yanling did not want to be like those civil servants of the foreign court who would not let go of one thing, stubbornly pestered them, and continued to pester them when they recognized the dead reason. That kind of method was completely ineffective with Zhu Houzhao. Zhu Houzhao believed what he wanted to believe.
Something, or a fact that he saw with his own eyes. The more he said, the more he would suspect that he was deliberately obstructing this matter.
Zhang Yanling decided not to dwell on this matter anymore. After all, he only passed by Zhaozhou in a hurry, and his understanding may not be profound, and perhaps it is not the whole picture. We cannot deny this change in land and finance and taxation.
"Your Majesty, I am just reporting to the Emperor what I saw and heard. I don't have a deep understanding of the specific situation. I am just worried that the subordinates may have gone wrong during the execution, resulting in some mistakes. After all, if it is provoked
The consequences of public outrage are very serious. My suggestion is that the emperor can send people to understand the Qing Dynasty.
Chu, take precautions before they happen. After all, it is not uncommon for local officials to misinterpret and distort the court's intentions. I just don't want the emperor's important affairs to be ruined in the hands of a bunch of local fools. When I say this, I also think that I
I feel that I should report it to the Emperor and ask him to consider the matter, and I have no other intention."
Zhu Houzhao nodded and smiled: "My uncle's words are pertinent. It is always good to take precautions before they happen. It is right for my uncle to be concerned about this matter. He is still thinking about important court affairs. I will send someone to understand the situation. Don't worry, uncle."