Daming: I can’t kill such a greedy prince-in-law?

Chapter 516 You are really patient! (Subscribe please!!)

Zhu Yuanzhang had just finished speaking.

Wang Zhong suddenly ran in.

"Your Majesty, it's bad. Duke Hanguo Li Shanchang and a group of officials are coming towards the Hall of Supreme Harmony!"

kindness! ?

"I didn't summon Li Shanchang, why did he come here?" Zhu Yuanzhang asked in a deep voice.

"To answer your Majesty's question," Wang Zhong said, glancing at Ouyang Lun. "I heard that Duke Han and his men came to your Majesty to sue Prince Consort Ouyang."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang frowned immediately, then glared at Ouyang Lun fiercely, and said unhappily: "What did I just say? You are too radical and reckless this time. This is going to cause a big trouble. The court is not a game, it requires weighing the pros and cons!"

In response to Zhu Yuanzhang's words, Ouyang Lun looked up at the roof of the hall without saying a word.

"Father, my brother-in-law also wants to solve the tax problem as soon as possible. Every reform will affect the interests of some people. This is a very normal thing. You have also told this to your son." Zhu Biao still stood on Ouyang Lun's side and spoke for Ouyang Lun.

"I told you that the reform will affect their interests, but this time Ouyang Lun is almost cutting the flesh of all the dignitaries to subsidize ordinary people!" Zhu Yuanzhang was both angry and furious.

"Your Majesty." Wang Zhong said cautiously.

"What's wrong again?!" Zhu Yuanzhang became more and more angry.

"I want to ask, Duke Hanguo and his men are about to arrive at the Hall of Supreme Harmony, do you want me to stop them?" Wang Zhong asked more carefully.

"Why should I stop them? Some people don't even worry about themselves, so why should I worry? If I really stop them, then everyone in the world will know that I, Zhu Yuanzhang, am biased!" Zhu Yuanzhang spoke angrily and looked at Ouyang Lun from time to time, but the latter still had no expression, which made him even angrier.

"Yes!"

Wang Zhong nodded and stepped back.

"Father, the Duke of Korea and the others will definitely attack my brother-in-law later, so we have to protect him!" Zhu Biao said quickly.

"What do you want to protect? Does he look like he needs our protection?" Zhu Yuanzhang said unhappily, "Let him debate with Li Shanchang himself! Whoever loses the debate will be dealt with by me!"

"Brother-in-law, please say something!" Zhu Biao said to Ouyang Lun anxiously.

"If enemies come, we will fight them with soldiers; if water comes, we will block it with earth. Let's see the situation first." Ouyang Lun said calmly.

"You are really patient!" Zhu Biao couldn't help but complain.

With the emperor's permission, Wang Zhong soon led a large group of people in.

There were nearly a hundred people there. Fortunately, the Hall of Supreme Harmony was big enough, otherwise it would not be able to accommodate so many people.

The leader was naturally Li Shanchang.

Pfft!
Li Shanchang walked into the Hall of Supreme Harmony and knelt down immediately.

"Your Majesty, I, Li Shanchang, kowtow to you. Long live Your Majesty!"

slam-la-

The other officials also knelt down and shouted in unison.

"Your Majesty, long live Your Majesty!"

At this moment, Zhu Yuanzhang had already sat back on the dragon throne, looking at the people in front of him with a serious expression.

No one dared to speak until Zhu Yuanzhang spoke, so there was a brief silence in the Hall of Supreme Harmony.

After a moment, Zhu Yuanzhang spoke calmly, "Everyone, stand up."

However, no one stood up.

"Your Majesty asked you to stand up. Are you all deaf?" Wang Zhong shouted.

Still no one took action.

Wang Zhong's face changed, and he quickly looked at Li Shanchang who was kneeling in the front, "Duke Hanguo, are you going to disobey the order?"

Upon hearing this, Li Shanchang said calmly "I dare not", and then slowly stood up.

With Li Shanchang taking the lead, other officials also stood up. This scene made Wang Zhong's face change.

Zhu Yuanzhang's face darkened, but he was still relatively calm. He slowly said, "Li Shanchang, I heard that you were sick and recuperating at home. I should have come to see you, but I've been busy lately and can't spare the time. I didn't expect you to get better so quickly! I'm very relieved!"

"Tell me, what's the matter with bringing so many people to my Hall of Supreme Harmony today?!"

Although Zhu Yuanzhang did not directly blame Li Shanchang for leading people into the palace, the plainer the tone, the more it could express.

Li Shanchang could naturally sense the dissatisfaction of Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang, but now he no longer cared about it. Facing Zhu Yuanzhang's question, he spoke directly: "Your Majesty, I am indeed recuperating at home. It is not my turn to worry about the affairs of the court, but today I received extremely shocking news, and those who dared to speak out were persecuted and imprisoned. If I don't stand up, I am afraid that I will bring disaster to my Ming Dynasty!"

Hearing Li Shanchang's words, Zhu Yuanzhang's mouth twitched. He thought to himself that this old guy Li Shanchang was really horrifying when he said something angry. It was just something caused by Ouyang Lun, but he made it sound like the Ming Dynasty was about to perish!
Although Zhu Yuanzhang was extremely contemptuous of Li Shanchang's words, he did not show it.

"Li Shanchang, what you said is a bit serious. If something so serious really happened, how could I not know about it?"

Zhu Yuanzhang spoke slowly.

"His Majesty!"

Li Shanchang shouted, "This is exactly what I am worried about! Some people are doing evil things, and Your Majesty is still kept in the dark. Isn't this dangerous!?"

"I heard that the Ministry of Revenue has recently issued a new policy, some new tax reform, which is to exempt almost 60% of the people from taxes. Isn't this nonsense? If all taxes are exempted for these 60% of the people, where will the tax revenue of the Ming Dynasty come from?"

"Your Majesty, I also heard that you want to increase taxes on the remaining 40% of people!? This is even more ridiculous. Some people are exempt from taxes, while others are taxed. This will definitely make people dissatisfied! This is a completely disastrous move!"

"I think this is extremely unreasonable!"

"Therefore, I have brought along all the civil and military officials to come here to jointly report the son-in-law Ouyang Lun. I report that he has interfered in the affairs of the Ministry of Revenue without authorization, that he has promoted policies that harm the Ming Dynasty, and that he has detained those who oppose him!"

"From all these, Ouyang Lun's ambition is obvious!"

"Please - Your Majesty, look carefully!"

"Don't be deceived by some treacherous officials!"

Li Shanchang's remarks can be said to be sincere and full of justice!
The dignitaries behind him also became excited instantly and echoed him.

"Your Majesty, Ouyang Lun allowed his men to arrest people at will!" "Your Majesty, the new tax bill is harmful to the country and the people, it must not be implemented!"

"Ouyang Lun is simply treating my Ming Dynasty as a joke. If he continues, my Ming Dynasty will be in great trouble!"

"I second the proposal!"

These ministers were obviously headed by Li Shanchang, and their target was Ouyang Lun.

Seeing Li Shanchang and these ministers so united, Zhu Yuanzhang was not angry at all, but was happy instead.

Ouyang Lun, Ouyang Lun, look at you. Aren't you awesome? But you are not liked by others!

well!

I can watch a good show today.

It’s a good opportunity to see how Li Shanchang and Ouyang Lun debate.

"So, Li Shanchang, you brought people here today just to impeach Ouyang Lun?"

Zhu Yuanzhang spoke slowly.

"Yes!"

Li Shanchang nodded decisively, "Your Majesty, since ancient times, throughout the dynasties, this tax policy has been the core of dynasty governance. Even if taxes have increased and decreased, the span of change will never be this large. Some parts are tax-free, while others are taxed. This tax reform is like a child's play!"

"Besides, Ouyang Lun is no longer the Minister of Revenue. He is not qualified to formulate tax policies!"

"This is also the main reason why I am here to visit Ouyang Lun today!"

"Well, there is some truth in what you said." Zhu Yuanzhang nodded slowly.

Seeing this, Li Shanchang was delighted, thinking that Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang was just as he expected. Although he would favor Ouyang Lun, when it came to the safety of the Ming Dynasty, he would not stand by Ouyang Lun to the end. His strategy worked!
With victory in sight, Li Shanchang spoke again.

"Your Majesty, not only did Ouyang Lun reform the tax system, he also arrested those young talents who dared to oppose him! How overbearing! This is clearly an attempt to abuse power!"

"In addition, Ouyang Lun has also finalized the year-end bonus system. However, as far as I know, this year-end bonus system is just a means for Ouyang Lun to win over and suppress officials. For those officials who support him, the year-end bonus is much larger, while the officials who do not support him or even oppose him will receive very little year-end bonus, or even have their year-end bonus canceled directly!"

"Such differential treatment will obviously chill the hearts of all officials. At this moment, I just want to shout out that the Ming Dynasty belongs to your Majesty, not Ouyang Lun!"

After hearing Li Shanchang's words, Zhu Yuanzhang was slightly stunned.

It has to be said that Li Shanchang seemed to be well prepared this time and had a clear goal, but that is too much to say.

"Ahem, I just asked you why you came to see me. I didn't ask you to say so much!"

Zhu Yuanzhang said in a deep voice.

"I will pay attention next time." Li Shanchang nodded.

"Ouyang Lun, Li Shanchang has said so much, do you have anything to say?"

Zhu Yuanzhang asked in a deep voice.

Without waiting for Ouyang Lun to speak, Zhu Biao spoke first, "Li Shanchang, I also know about the new tax policy of the Ministry of Revenue. You just said that some people are exempt from tax while others are taxed more. Is this nonsense?"

"My opinion is the opposite of yours. According to the specific content of the tax reform, those people are exempt from tax because their income is not enough for their normal consumption in a year! Exempting them from tax is to let them pay less money so that they can live a better life!"

"As for those who are subject to tax increases, they must have at least a thousand acres of fertile land and do a good business. The money they earn in a year is more than ordinary people can earn in their entire lives! What's wrong with them donating a little more?"

"As for what you said about Brother-in-law Ouyang relying on year-end bonuses to win over and suppress officials, this is completely wrong. Every official has an independent evaluation, and this evaluation is made by me, the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of Rites, and the Ministry of Personnel. It is clear at a glance which officials are idle, which ones are diligent, and which ones have made outstanding achievements!"

"You mean everyone should get the same year-end bonus? That would defeat the purpose of the year-end bonus!"

"Oh, by the way, I forgot that most Koreans don't know what a year-end bonus is. So I'll explain it to you. The so-called year-end bonus is not only a recognition of your work this year, but also a reward to encourage you to work harder next year. If you can't even do these two things, how can you have the face to take this year-end bonus?"

"Some of you will definitely ask, we also distributed year-end bonuses last year, why didn't we do something like this this year? I'm telling you, there has always been a strict review, but to take care of you, Brother-in-law Ouyang deliberately made the threshold for receiving the year-end bonus relatively low, so that as many people as possible can get the year-end bonus, but some people are still unsatisfied!"

"This year we just made the threshold normal, and someone immediately showed his true colors!"

"Don't even mention Brother-in-law Ouyang who wouldn't allow it, even I wouldn't allow it!"

Crown Prince Zhu Biao's impassioned speech, coupled with his well-reasoned arguments, left Li Shanchang and others speechless.

Even Zhu Yuanzhang looked at his son in surprise. He never expected that these words would come from Zhu Biao's mouth.

Well, it has some of my style.

"I think what the prince said is right. When you blame others, you must think seriously about yourself!" Zhu Yuanzhang said lightly.

Upon hearing this, Li Shanchang lowered his head and his face became even more terribly gloomy!
Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang and Crown Prince Zhu Biao have both sided with Ouyang Lun at this moment! !

If it had happened in the past, when things had developed to this point, Li Shanchang would have already started thinking about how to end it gracefully, but this time was different. He and the Huaixi Party had already lost several battles in a row.

Reality no longer allows them to lose!
In a moment, Li Shanchang thought a lot, but finally concluded that he must fight Ouyang Lun to the death today!

Thinking of this, Li Shanchang raised his head sharply, his eyes full of fighting spirit, and spoke again: "Your Majesty, the logic of this tax reform seems to make sense. Exempting ordinary people from taxes and increasing taxes on dignitaries not only takes care of the people, but also allows dignitaries to contribute more!"

"I believe someone must have thought of such a good idea, but why was it not implemented? Obviously there is something wrong with this new tax law!"

"If the people don't pay taxes, what's the point of having them? If we exempt them now, it will be difficult to collect taxes in the future!"

"No one can guarantee that the Ming Dynasty can continue to prosper and develop like this. If one day the Ming Dynasty's treasury is empty again, where will the money come from?"

"Your Majesty, these matters are of the utmost importance. Please think twice!"

Hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang narrowed his eyes. It was obvious that Li Shanchang's words touched him, and he began to think in his mind.

Zhu Yuanzhang certainly agreed with Ouyang Lun's proposal to take care of ordinary people, reduce their burdens, and make their lives better and better. But this was based on the premise of not damaging the foundation of the Ming Dynasty.

Tax exemption and tax refund are easy, but what if you want to collect it again in the future?

There is another point that Li Shanchang said correctly: no one can guarantee that the Ming Dynasty will always be in such a good state.

Li Shanchang saw this and immediately took advantage of the situation and continued, "Your Majesty, I am not against tax reform. After all, the tax pressure this year is huge, and I understand that. However, such a large-scale tax reform should be discussed with all officials, and many things need to be considered and improved before implementation!"

"Instead of being so reckless"

(End of this chapter)