Jiajing Chengming

Chapter 256: Regarding the nobles and relatives, Zhu Houcong gave them three options!
When a group of royal relatives and nobles came to see Zhu Houcong, Zhu Houcong was in Kunning Palace, asking Imperial Physician Zhou about the condition of his eldest son.

Because it was the coldest time of the year, even though the palace servants were very careful, the eldest prince still caught a fever.

Fortunately, Imperial Physician Zhou was good at pediatrics, and Zhu Houcong had been taking his medicine since he was a child, so he did not die from various diseases or leave any sequelae.

Thanks to the proper medication prescribed by Imperial Physician Zhou, the eldest prince's condition was finally stabilized and his fever subsided.

But Zhu Houcong still took time to come to Kunning Palace and ask in person.

The main reason was that the two Empress Dowagers and Empress Zhuangsu came to visit every day. If the emperor didn't come to see him, others might not have any objections, but his biological mother, Jiang, would definitely have an objection.

This was the experience Zhu Houcong had accumulated in his previous life, so for the sake of family harmony, he needed to do this.

Just as Zhu Houcong finished asking about the eldest prince's illness, he saw Qin Wen coming hurriedly and whispering to Zhu Houcong.

"Let Luo An tell them that I'm coming soon. Let them wait for me in the east warm room of the Qianqing Palace!"

Zhu Houcong said.

Seeing this, Empress Dowager Jiang of Xingguo felt sorry for her son, so she couldn't help but say to Zhang: "I wonder what urgent matter the outer court has!"

"It's hard work for the emperor. He has to go to the harem to care about the heir's illness, and he also has to care about the affairs of the previous dynasty."

"It's rare that he can still work hard to govern the country without any intention of slacking off."

Empress Zhuangsu Xia couldn't help but smile and talk at this time.

Let’s talk.

When Zhu Houcong returned to the eastern warm room of the Qianqing Palace, he saw a room full of royal relatives and nobles standing in his warm room. There were so many of them that not even a needle could be inserted.

After Zhu Houcong arrived, all of them knelt on the ground in a large group.

"Stop kneeling!"

"Huang Jin, have someone bring them a stool so they can sit and talk to me."

Seeing this, Zhu Houcong waved to these people, walked to the dragon throne and sat down, his hands hanging on his knees, and asked:
"Tell me, what's the matter?"

In fact, Zhu Houcong had already guessed that if the tax on banknotes was increased, especially a substantial increase in the tax on luxury items, the first people to make a fuss would definitely be the royal relatives and nobles.

After all, they are the main force of the wealthy and powerful who do the most business in the capital but do not pay taxes, and they have an inseparable relationship with the emperor, so naturally they will suffer heavy losses in this tax reform, and they are not afraid of what the emperor will do to them.

After expressing their gratitude, Shao Xi, the Earl of Changhua, and his brother Shao Qing sat on the stool. Shao Xi then took out the memorial prepared by his family's scribe and said:
"Your Majesty, I am here to impeach the Ministry of Revenue's Deputy Secretary Xiong Jia for brazenly beating to death Zhu Fu, a member of the Funing Marquis's household. His execution was extremely harsh and he simply did not take us, the nobles, seriously!"

"Your Majesty, I second your motion. This Xiong Jia is extremely arrogant and domineering. Not only did he beat someone to death, but he also relied on his tax collection for Your Majesty to act tyrannically in Chongwenmen, ruining your good reputation!"

Zhenyuan Marquis Gu Shilon followed suit.

"Your Majesty, I will also report him!"

"Your Majesty, I will also report him."

……

Seeing that these people were talking nonstop, Zhu Houcong had no choice but to pick up the gilded wooden hammer beside him and hit the bronze chime.

boom!
As the deafening sound rang out, these people finally quieted down.

"Don't be anxious, speak one by one, and I will listen to you one by one."

"Changhua Bo, you speak first."

Zhu Houcong looked at Shao Xi.

Shao Xi said, "As I said just now, it was Xiong Jia who brazenly ordered the killing of several people from the Funing Marquis family, so I want to report him for his cruelty and domineering behavior!"

"Then do you know why he ordered the killing of the people from Funing Marquis's Mansion?"

Zhu Houcong asked.

Shao Xi was speechless for a moment, and said somewhat embarrassedly: "Because, because, the third son of Funing Marquis's Mansion, Zhu Fu, scolded him!"

"How did you scold him?"

Zhu Houcong asked.

The Ming Dynasty's relatives by marriage were not of noble birth, so they were greedy but not very cunning.

Therefore, Shao Xi did not know how to express himself in front of the emperor, and in order to benefit the emperor and make him hate Xiong Jia, he just answered truthfully: "Zhu Fu cursed his mother and said he wanted to fuck her."

"This is Zhu Fu's fault."

"Not to mention that Xiong Jia is an official appointed by the imperial court. Even if he is a commoner, you insulted his parents, and he killed Zhu Fu because his parents were insulted. This is also a filial act and is included in the eight discussions!"

Zhu Houcong said.

Shao Xi couldn't help but said anxiously: "But Your Majesty, he shouldn't kill people just for this!"

"I ask you, why did Zhu Fu scold Xiong Jia?"

Zhu Houcong asked.

Shao Xi replied, "Because Zhu Fu refused to pay taxes, I scolded him."

"So, Zhu Fu wanted to resist the tax, so he scolded him?"

Zhu Houcong asked.

"Your Majesty, I think that even if this is the case, he cannot kill anyone." Shao Xi said with some lack of confidence.

Gu Shilon, Marquis of Zhenyuan, who was here with him, couldn't help but close his eyes slightly.

He really hoped that the first person His Majesty would ask was him, a nobleman, rather than Shao Xi, a simple relative.

"Resisting taxation is equivalent to disobeying an imperial order. Xiong Jia did nothing wrong!"

"Maybe the method was a bit harsh, but in that case, his execution was not considered a crime, so I cannot punish him. Do you understand?"

"After all, I am the emperor. I cannot be too demanding. It is said that one who is not confused should not be the head of the family. This is true for you and for Xiong Jia as well."

Zhu Houcong said.

"I understand!"

"But……"

Shao Xi wanted to argue again, but Zhu Houcong stood up and asked sternly: "But what?!"

Shao Xi couldn't help but shudder. He was not good at expressing himself to begin with, and for a moment he didn't know what to say.

"Don't you want to pay the customs duty?"

Zhu Houcong asked.

Shao Xi hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, it's not that we don't want to pay, it's just that the current tax rate is too high."

"How tall is it?"

"It's just a 60-70% increase at most! Compared with the profits from the silk and porcelain businesses that you monopolize, how can it hurt you?"

Zhu Houcong began to question.

Seeing that Shao Xi was really not capable, Gu Shilong interrupted and said:
"Your Majesty, although my family has made a lot of big business every year and has a lot of income, we have a lot of people in our family and the expenses are also very high!"

"So, basically, what we earn is just enough to cover our expenses. Now that the tariffs have been increased, we have to tighten our belts and live a hard life. It doesn't matter, but we really can't bear to see our elders at home suffer!"

"Of course, this is only because we are incompetent, and we have no one else to blame. If the court really wants to increase the tax, we can only accept it and dare not complain!"

"But what Xiong Jia did was really too much. After all, we are not unwilling to surrender. Zhu Fu of Funing Marquis' Mansion may just not understand and is contradicting him. He could have persuaded him first, but he would never directly order someone to kill! Even if he could just arrest them first, that would be fine!"

"He is doing this now, deliberately using this matter to suppress us nobles, not really wanting to collect taxes for Your Majesty!"

After hearing this, Shao Xi looked at Gu Shilong with admiration, and hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, this is what I meant! Xiong Jia did this because he had other intentions!"

"I don't care if he has other thoughts or not, but Zhu Fu took the initiative to run into the muzzle of the gun, so this matter cannot be blamed on him, Xiong Jia!"

"Of course, I understand that you complain because your family has a lot of expenses and the sudden tax increase makes you unable to bear it. However, no matter how much you complain, you must be sensible! Don't learn from Zhu Fu and curse directly. Not only will you lose your dignity, but you will also be in the wrong."

After Zhu Houcong said this, Gu Shilong also stood up and knelt on the ground, and began to force out tears: "I am guilty and shouldn't bother Your Majesty with this matter!"

Shao Xi and other relatives were stunned when they saw this, and then they followed suit and replied, "We are guilty!"

Zhu Houcong couldn't help laughing and said, "Okay! Everyone get up!"

then.

Zhu Houcong then said: "I know you are having a hard time, and I am having a hard time too!"

"After all, although you have a large family to support, I have a larger family to support than you!"

Zhu Houcong sighed as he spoke.

Gu Shilong sobbed and said, "Your Majesty is right. It is us who cannot understand Your Majesty!"

Zhu Houcong also looked at Gu Shilong and said, "Marquis Zhenyuan, you said that you are not good at managing your family, and I think so too. Therefore, I will provide you with some ways to manage your family and increase your income. You can think about which method to choose."

"I won't tell you how to be frugal. Saints have taught you this countless times anyway."

"I only talk about ways to increase revenue."

"I can help you with three things. Keep them in mind."

"One is that I plan to develop Liaodong and send envoys to Korea to open an iron mine in northern Korea and sell it to the court, because the Jinyiwei did discover a large iron mine there!"

"One is that I plan to give you a large piece of royal land in the western and southern suburbs for you to buy. After you buy it, you can build houses and sell them. I will let Shuntian Prefecture cooperate with you to build medical clinics and schools around the houses you build, and operate real estate like the current Xiwai City."

"One is that I will give you a certificate to open a money house and give you a low interest rate, allowing you to open a money house in the more prosperous places in the south to lend money and collect deposits, just like the favor I showed to the Yuan and Liang families."

Zhu Houcong said at this point: "Among these three methods, opening an iron mine can make money as long as the Ming Dynasty survives, and there is no need to worry about not being able to sell it. After all, the customer is the court. But it is too hard and requires sending people thousands of miles away."

"If you open a bank in the south, you can make money all the time, and it's not that hard, but you will offend the gentry!"

"Building houses in the capital and selling them is not hard work and does not offend the gentry, but it just won't last long."

"It can be said that each has its own advantages and disadvantages. Think carefully about which one you want to choose. You can tell me and I will grant you the grace to seek the benefit of it."

These royal relatives and nobles all began to think about it seriously.

Zhu Houcong knew that these people were greedy, but he was not afraid of their greed, because he knew that there were still many cakes in the world that could be made bigger, which was enough for his family and relatives to share.

Zhu Houcong was afraid that these people were greedy for power and wanted to control him, which he could not tolerate.

(End of this chapter)