Uncle from a poor family

Chapter 642: Half-sentence
Wenyuan Pavilion.

Cabinet value.

The meeting officially ended.

Several people from the Imperial Household Department walked back.

Huai En walked at the front of the team, while Qin Ji and Xiao Jingzhu seemed to be talking about something in the back. Li Rong in the middle looked around, then ran to catch up with Huai En and asked in a low voice: "Eunuch Huai, you see, the salt tax reform seems to have encountered no resistance in the cabinet. Even Xu Pu, who has always had a prejudice against Zhang Guozhang, can't find too many faults. If it is put on the court meeting, it is estimated that there will not be much controversy."

"Ah."

Wynn nodded.

At this moment, he couldn't help but look back at Qin Ji, who was already some distance away from him and was having a pleasant conversation with Xiao Jing.

Let’s look at Li Rong again.

Understood quickly.

Li Rong has now realized that if Huai'en dies, Tan Chang has lost his power, Tan Ji, who grew up with the emperor, is also weak and old, and may not last long, and Xiao Jing's qualifications are too shallow, then the next person to take charge of the Imperial Household Department will most likely be him, Li Rong.

So now Li Rong is trying his best to keep in step with his predecessor, so as to maintain the continuity of policies.

Huai En seemed to be the chief examiner of the imperial examination, and asked his question: "Maochun, do you think this matter should be implemented directly, or should it be discussed at the court meeting after the New Year and then implemented after there is a clear result?"

"Doesn't everything depend on your Majesty's wishes?"

Li Rong replied tentatively.

Huai En was not satisfied with this answer and shook his head, saying, "I want to hear your own opinion."

Li Rong thought about it carefully and said, "Tomorrow is the beginning of the new year. If the salt tax reform is indeed worthy of discussion, then we should listen to more people's opinions at this time. The cabinet's approval does not mean that the majority of ministers in the court also agree with this reform."

Huai En nodded, but just smiled faintly and did not comment.

"Houfang, come here."

Huai En stopped, turned around, and waved to the back.

Qin Ji was chatting happily with Xiao Jing, but when he heard Huai En's greeting, he reluctantly left Xiao Jing and hurried to Huai En's side. At this time, Li Rong tactfully stepped back and went to talk to Xiao Jing, who looked confused.

Huai En waited for Tan Ji to catch up before he resumed his walk. He turned his head and said, "Just now Mao Chun mentioned that if we want to make this reform more effective, we should listen to the opinions of more court officials today and let more people petition for this matter at this time... I wonder what you think of this opinion, Hou Fang?"

Qin Ji frowned upon hearing this and asked directly, "So...Eunuch Huai wants to prevent this law from being implemented?"

"Hou Fang, how can you look at me like this?"

Huai En's face was full of displeasure, and he refuted, "Didn't I make it very clear from the beginning? We do all this to make this law bring long-term stability to the Ming Dynasty... It's too much of a joke to change the old law that has been in effect for a hundred years. Why not listen to more people's opinions?"

Qin Ji was both angry and amused, and immediately retorted: "Eunuch Huai, since you have spoken, I would like to ask you a question. If Your Majesty really wants to listen to the opinions of so many people, why did you deliberately implement the new law at this time?

"What do you mean by ancestral laws that cannot be changed? If they really cannot be changed, then Cheng Zu would not have had to launch the Jingnan Rebellion. He should have just stayed in the Prince of Yan's mansion and waited for his death...

"Some laws are not enforced just because the majority of people think they are good, and some people object not necessarily because the new law is bad, but because... people's hearts are unpredictable!"

As he spoke later, his tone became cold and there was a hint of gnashing of teeth.

"hehe."

Huai En smiled, as if he didn't feel Tan Ji's anger at all, and shook his head and said, "It seems that Hou Fang, you have some prejudice against me!"

Qin Ji adjusted his mood and put on an indifferent look: "It's rare for the two cabinet elders to reach a consensus on this matter. Some issues can be put off until after the New Year. We should not take the initiative to push anything, and let everything take its course, isn't it good?"

Regardless of whether the ministers object after the New Year, it is best not to let our Silijian take charge of everything.

Especially you, Huai En, just don't get involved on your own initiative.

I don't care whether you are doing this to better implement Zhang Luan's new salt law or simply to hinder it. In the end... I respect you only if you don't do anything.

In this palace, unconditional support for the emperor is the only truth, otherwise don't even think about gaining my approval. "Yes."

Huai En nodded and said, "Okay, everything is up to you."

"what!?"

Qin Ji was stunned for a moment and felt a little at a loss as to what to do.

Are you going to listen to me now?
This is not like your usual style, Huai En.

Although you are well-known for your kindness and people in the court recognize your abilities, your stubbornness and stubbornness are also well known to everyone.

Were you persuaded by just a few words from me and even changed your original intention?

I don’t think I’m that capable, right?
Huai En said: "This method is just a trial implementation. Whether it can really achieve actual results, don't we have to observe carefully? If the salt merchants are still unwilling to take out silver to exchange for salt permits, and the reserves in the northwest are further reduced, I think that without me standing up and saying anything, Your Majesty will naturally stop this method and change back to the old one."

When Qin Ji heard this, he was shocked.

I thought to myself, it turns out that you, Huai En, are really cruel and ruthless.

Knowing that the emperor is determined to implement the new law, if you forcibly hinder him, you will be openly making an enemy of the emperor, which is an extremely unwise choice.

So you just go with the flow and want to create trouble behind the scenes and use conspiracy and trickery to hinder the implementation of the new law after the court implements it?

Then you, Huai En, are truly bringing disaster to the country and the people!

Just as Qin Ji was daydreaming, Huai En put on a bitter smile and shook his head, saying, "Hou Fang, the implementation of the new salt law will not be until the middle of next year at the earliest. With my physique, I'm afraid I can't hold on for another month or two... From now on, the court's plans will all depend on you."

What I mean is, don't fucking criticize my intentions.

As a person who only has a few days left to live, even if I really want to cause trouble for the implementation of the new law, I have to see if I can live to see that day.

In fact, I just think that the new method proposed by Zhang Laizhan is a bit too presumptuous...

How could a new law that was hastily implemented without any formal conclusion after consultation with the ministers and without any assessment of unknown troubles be successful in such a complex environment at the beginning of the emperor's reign?

Can you completely change the chaotic salt administration situation in the Ming Dynasty with a new salt law?

You, Zhang Laizhan, take yourself too seriously.

Qin Ji looked at Huai En's increasingly thin body, his heart softened, and he lowered his voice and asked, "So, Eunuch Huai thinks that the new salt policy is more of a paper talk?"

"Oh, I didn't say that."

Huai En shook his head and sighed, "Our goal is to make Ming Dynasty better, but the means we use and the degree of stubbornness in our attitudes are different.

"The main reason is that I don't know why Zhang Guozhang has such great confidence. Without any actual investigation, he just launched a salt tax reform strategy that he imagined out of thin air. I shudder when I think about the consequences of Wang Mang's New Deal and Wang Anshi's Reform.

"In my opinion, given the current level of chaos in the Ming Dynasty's salt administration, the resistance to the implementation of the new law will be unprecedentedly huge."

"For example...?"

Qin Ji completely put away his previous arrogance and asked in a tone of inquiry.

Huai En said: "Why do you think Liu Ji agreed to this law so easily? And why do you think Xu Pu hesitated when he agreed to this law? Because they all know that the obstacles to this law do not come from the implementation level, or in other words, they are not in the court at all, but in..."

Qin Ji listened carefully to this point, and when he saw Huai En suddenly stop, he waited for a while but saw nothing else, so he couldn't help but ask, "Where?"

Huai En smiled but said nothing.

This made Qin Ji completely depressed.

You, Huai En, are really experienced!

You knew there were obstacles in implementing the new law, but you didn't tell His Majesty or mention it to Zhang Luan. Are you just pretending to be ignorant?
Or do you plan to step out at the critical moment, and when the new law encounters difficulties in implementation, you will take the initiative to stand up and help Your Majesty solve the problem... and then demonstrate your ability?
In any case, Huai'en only expressed that there were many troubles in the implementation of the new law, but he did not explain it further. Qin Ji was unable to find out the inside story, so he could only return to the Qianqing Palace to report to the emperor with a worried mood.

(End of this chapter)