Thief Emperor

Chapter 1059 Going and Returning

It was not surprising that Prime Minister Zhuo returned to court. When that imperial edict was first revealed, many people in the court and the public were probably kept in the dark. But afterwards, anyone with a little intelligence could figure out what was going on.

Given His Majesty's temperament, if he were to actually kill someone, even a single imperial edict would likely not be enough to stop him. If he managed to stop him three times, the emperor would turn around and say that he deserved to die a thousand deaths.

They should still be killed if they deserve to be killed.

Therefore, looking back, it is almost certain that the great show at the Grand Court Assembly was a result of prior communication between His Majesty the Emperor and Prime Minister Zhuo, providing an explanation to the laws of the Tang Dynasty.

Afterwards, all those involved were severely punished by the court, but the Zhuo family was granted an extra exemption by His Majesty the Emperor. In fact, Zhuo Xiangong's son was even promoted to Vice Minister of Works. Under these circumstances, most people could imagine that Zhuo Xiangong would soon return to the court.

Even now, there are still four Grand Secretaries in the Central Secretariat, and no one has come up to fill the vacancy left by Zhuo Guangrui.

No one expected this day to come so soon.

All told, it has only been a little over half a year since Prime Minister Zhuo was dismissed from his post due to the imperial examination cheating scandal, and now he has been summoned back to the court by His Majesty the Emperor.

Although he no longer served as prime minister, he was still ranked among the Nine Ministers, and even more so as the Minister of Revenue, holding a high position and great power.

More importantly, His Majesty the Emperor is implementing new policies, including establishing the Maritime Trade Office in Jiangdong Province, shifting the focus slightly towards commercial taxes. In the future, the Ministry of Revenue may become even more important.

Therefore, after this grand court assembly, the Zhuo family's gate, which had been deserted for more than half a year, became lively again. Many court officials personally came to visit their "old superior," Prime Minister Zhuo.

The relevant government departments handled the matter quite quickly, as instructed by His Majesty the Emperor himself. The next day, the imperial edict reinstating Zhuo Guangrui as Minister of Revenue was delivered to the Zhuo family. Zhuo Guangrui was extremely respectful to the palace servants who came to read the edict, kneeling and bowing. After receiving the edict, he kowtowed again in the direction of the palace.

This imperial edict not only signified his return to the court as a founding father, but also meant that the Zhuo family had completely extricated themselves from the imperial examination scandal of the seventh year of Zhangwu, and would no longer be involved in it.

After receiving the imperial edict, he dared not delay. He quickly changed his clothes and went into the palace, preparing to meet the emperor and kowtow to express his gratitude.

Upon arriving outside the Ganlu Hall, Gu Chang, with a beaming smile, came out to greet them. He bowed to Zhuo Guangrui and said with a smile, "Prime Minister Zhuo, His Majesty is seeing someone. Please come with me to the side hall and wait a moment."

Zhuo Guangrui quickly bowed his head and replied, "Yes," and then said, "Eunuch Gu, I am no longer the prime minister, so there is no way I can address you as 'Eunuch Gu.'"

Gu Chang smiled and said, "You are a founding father of the nation, and His Majesty relies on you greatly. You will be reinstated as prime minister sooner or later."

As they spoke, the two arrived at the side hall. After Zhuo Guangrui sat down, he glanced at Gu Chang and asked, "Eunuch Gu, who is His Majesty seeing right now?"

Gu Chang hesitated for a moment before speaking, "If outsiders ask, I will never tell, but since you ask, Master Zhuo, I will tell you."

"It is Meng Sizheng."

Eunuch Gu said, "We've been here for quite a while now, they should be coming out soon. Please wait a little longer, Master Zhuo. Once Chief Secretary Meng comes out, I will immediately lead you inside."

"Meng Sizheng."

Zhuo Guangrui muttered something to himself, bowed his head and thanked Gu Chang. After thinking for a moment, he took off the jade pendant from his waist and handed it over: "Give this to the eunuch for tea."

As a close attendant of the emperor, Gu Chang's seemingly casual words revealed a great deal.

Meng Sizheng, naturally, is Meng Hai, the chief of the Nine Departments of the Capital Region. Meng Hai arrived at Ganlu Palace early in the morning and had been secretly meeting with the emperor for a long time.

Taking all these factors together, it's easy to guess that the corruption case in the seventh year of Zhangwu and the assassination attempt on the emperor during the Longevity Festival last year have seemingly passed in the past, and the court seems to have stopped pursuing them. However, in reality, there are probably people secretly investigating these matters all along.

Neither of these matters is over yet. In the next year or two, or even three to five years, unless His Majesty the Emperor declares it over, they will most likely continue indefinitely.

During this process, people will continuously fall into the emperor's clutches.

Gu Chang looked down at the jade pendant that Zhuo Xianggong had handed her and smiled, "You're looking down on me, sir."

"This servant only speaks frankly because I admire you, sir, and it's not for any money."

Zhuo Guangrui took a deep breath, put away the jade pendant, and nodded, saying, "It was my recklessness."

Compared to some wealth, gaining the favor of a senior official who is likely to become prime minister is obviously more important.

After chatting for a few minutes, Gu Chang went to check inside the hall and immediately returned to inform Zhuo Guangrui. Zhuo Guangrui walked to the entrance of Ganlu Hall and saw Meng Hai walking out towards him. Meng Hai looked up at Zhuo Guangrui, initially surprised, but then quickly realized what was happening and clasped his hands in greeting: "Greetings, Lord Zhuo."

Zhuo Guangrui returned the greeting with a cupped hand, and the two passed each other. Only then did Prime Minister Zhuo enter the Ganlu Hall. Upon seeing His Majesty the Emperor, he knelt on the ground without saying a word and kowtowed in greeting.

"Your subject Zhuo Guangrui pays his respects to Your Majesty." The Emperor put down his brush, looked at Zhuo Guangrui kneeling on the ground, sighed, and said, "Rise, rise."

Zhuo Guangrui then stood up, stood before the emperor with his hands at his sides, and bowed his head, saying, "I was originally a guilty subject, but now Your Majesty has made an exception and promoted me, and I am deeply grateful."

The emperor waved his hand and said, "We're old acquaintances, no need for such formalities."

After gesturing for him to sit down, His Majesty the Emperor gave a self-deprecating smile: "Since we're all on the same side, I'll also speak the truth. Originally, we should have transferred Brother Zhuo back to the Secretariat in a year or two, but man proposes, God disposes. My father-in-law unfortunately passed away."

"Xue Shou could only stay at home to observe mourning."

Upon hearing this, Zhuo Guangrui looked up at the emperor. He hesitated for a moment, then looked up and said, "Throughout the court and among the people, it seems that Your Majesty intends to weaken the power of the Empress's clan."

It is true that the imperial court had a system of mourning for parents, but it was also possible to be reinstated after the mourning period. To put it bluntly, it mainly depended on the imperial court and the emperor's will.

Now that Minister Xue has resigned due to the death of a concubine, His Majesty the Emperor has not reinstated him but has instead chosen another Minister of Revenue. This shows to the court and the public that some discord has arisen between the Emperor and his family.

It might not be long before someone seizes this opportunity to attack the Xue family.

However, these were Master Xue's dying words. Even Li Yun did not want to disobey his elder's last words. Moreover, perhaps Master Xue gave these instructions in order to prevent the imperial family from becoming complacent and to ensure that they could eventually rise from the status of maternal relatives to become a noble class that shares the fate of the nation.

"Let them think what they want."

The emperor said nonchalantly, "I don't need to consider what they think."

At this point, Emperor Li continued, "From now on, the Ministry of Revenue will not only be in charge of household registration and the national treasury, but also my national policies for the next ten years. I need the cooperation of the Ministry of Revenue. Brother Zhuo, you must do your best to manage the Ministry of Revenue for the court and for me."

Zhuo Guangrui bowed deeply: "Your subject obeys."

"Your subject will certainly do his utmost to handle the duties of the Ministry of Revenue well."

Li Yun nodded silently and continued, "At the beginning of this year, the Ministry of Revenue's top priority is to assist the court and the Crown Prince in managing the Maritime Trade and Tax Bureau of Jiangdong Circuit."

"If this matter is handled well and the results are good, then in the future, all provinces, prefectures and states can consider setting up tax offices as local branches of the Ministry of Revenue, under the overall management of the Ministry of Revenue."

Zhuo Guangrui was taken aback, then said, "Your Majesty, this will likely create many unnecessary manpower and require the court to spend a lot of salaries for no reason."

"Therefore, we should first do a good job in Gangdong Province before doing these things in other places."

Emperor Li smiled and said, "Once the commercial tax system is established, the court and government offices will no longer be afraid of hiring too many people. The court can hire people and let them spend their money, which will make commerce prosperous."

"If the court collects commercial taxes again, it won't increase expenditures by much, as long as it keeps a good balance."

His Majesty the Emperor said quietly, "Supervisory systems in various regions should also be established as soon as possible."

In this era, the most difficult thing is regulation, especially commercial taxes, which are difficult to quantify.

Therefore, ancient dynasties often focused on land taxes, because the amount of land was fixed and would not increase or decrease, making it difficult to manipulate the system.

Zhuo Guangrui scratched his head, momentarily confused.

Emperor Li was very patient, talking to him for most of the hour. Finally, he said, "In short, let's try it out in Jiangdong for a few years. After a few years, we will naturally see the results."

Zhuo Xiangong bowed his head and greeted Li Yun with a slight bow, saying, "Your subject obeys..."

The emperor patted him on the shoulder.

"Then it's settled. Brother Zhuo, prepare for a few days and you can go to the Ministry of Revenue to work at any time."

Zhuo Guangrui responded and left Ganlu Hall with utmost respect. After leaving Ganlu Hall, he went to Zhongshu and met with several prime ministers. He remained calm and bowed respectfully.

"Your humble servant is Zhuo Guangrui."

"Greetings, Your Excellencies."

(End of this chapter)