Ming Dynasty: Ask Zhu Yuanzhang to abdicate at the beginning

Chapter 165: The drums of war sound! To defeat the Japanese pirates, we must first take Taiwan!
Ever since a number of royal relatives lost face due to the turmoil over the commercial tax reform, the new commercial tax policy has been like a wild horse that has run away from its reins, unstoppable.

The numerous obstacles of the past disappeared in one day like morning mist.

After all, even the royal family members were dealt with, so how could others dare to resist?
In addition, public opinion across the country was overwhelming, condemning tax evaders and praising the tax commissioner's iron-fisted governance.

Smart people know that they should keep a low profile at this time to avoid getting into trouble.

Occasionally there are some ignorant people who do not know the current situation, but they are quickly disciplined by the tax commissioner and brought into obedience.

In just a few months, the commercial taxes collected by the Taxation Commissioner amounted to a huge amount of 20 million taels.

This certainly included the recovery of tax evasion and fines from previous years, but the amount of new taxes also exceeded 10 million taels.

Based on this calculation, the Ming Dynasty's annual commercial tax revenue could jump to more than 30 million taels.

This figure not only shocked the court officials, but even Zhu Yuanzhang was stunned.

You should know that before this, the total annual tax revenue of the Ming Dynasty, including the conversion of grain, was only more than 20 million taels.

The share of commercial tax was even smaller, less than 5%, only over one million taels.

According to common sense, Zhu Yunhuan's increase in the commercial tax rate from 30% to 15% could only increase tax revenue by more than one million taels of silver.

However, the fact is that the overall tax revenue of the Ming Dynasty more than doubled.

The national treasury was filled.

It is not difficult to see from this how serious commercial tax evasion was in the past.

Mr. Zhu was originally opposed to the imposition of additional commercial taxes.

After all, it was Zhu Yuanzhang himself who set the commercial tax rate at 1:30.

It was only because Zhu Yunhuan had just taken office as regent and Zhu didn't want to oppose him at this time that he let him have a try.

In Lao Zhu's eyes, this is not a big deal.

If it doesn't work, just go back to the old method.

However, he did not expect that the results of increasing commercial taxes and changing the collection method would be far beyond his expectations.

Since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, there has never been so much silver in the national treasury.

When the imperial court has money, it naturally spends it.

As a result, plans for large-scale road construction were put on the agenda.

With Jinling City as its center, it radiates in all directions.

From Songjiang and Ningbo in the east to Beijing in the north, from Guangzhou in the south to Wuchang in the west, including Taiyuan, Xi'an, Kaifeng and other places, there are plans for roads leading directly to Jinling.

At the same time, a large number of water conservancy projects were also put on the agenda.

In previous years, at the beginning of spring, officials from various departments of the imperial court would gather together to discuss the new year's expenses, and they would often have headaches because of insufficient income and excessive expenses.

The various government offices were quarreling over money.

This year, however, it is very harmonious.

The silver distributed by the imperial court to various government offices was sufficient.

The only fly in the ointment was that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince selected Xia Yuanji, a former student of the Imperial College, to serve as an official in the court and set up a new Audit Department to specifically audit the financial expenditures of various government offices, which caused some troubles for the officials.

However, overall it's pretty good.

At least we all have money.

It is no longer a situation where a good cook cannot cook without rice.

Although the issue of commercial tax made many nobles and officials feel deeply painful, they had to come out and express their support under the strong pressure of public opinion.

The power of the Ming Daily was fully demonstrated in this dispute.

Public opinion, which was originally controlled by the gentry through "scholars", gradually shifted to the hands of the court.

Although it is not entirely true yet, at least the trend is emerging.

Zhu Yunhuan never mentioned the "New Deal", but both the government and the public were discussing the "Crown Prince's New Deal".

There was no war last winter.

However, some people in the court have proposed that since the treasury is now full and the soldiers are well-trained and have sufficient food, it is better to take this opportunity to send troops to the Northern Yuan Dynasty and completely eliminate the threat to the northern Ming Dynasty.

This proposal was supported by many ministers.

The princes on the border wrote letters one after another, requesting to send troops.

The Crown Prince did not explicitly oppose it and did not make any comment on it, but he often went to the Ming Military Academy to train generals and review the new army.

This is also seen as a signal of preparation for war.

As a result, ministers submitted memorials more frequently.

If you want to send troops to attack the Northern Yuan Dynasty, spring is the best time.

After a winter, the horses on the grassland became thin and hungry, and the fighting power of the war horses was greatly reduced.

Attacking the Tatars at this time often produces excellent results.

Just when many people thought that the imperial court would definitely go to war against the Northern Yuan Dynasty and officials in the Ministry of War were preparing for the expedition, shocking news suddenly came.

Therefore, the entire Lu family, to which the Crown Princess belonged, were slaughtered by the "Japanese pirates".

This was of course done secretly by Jiang Yu and the Jinyiwei.

Old Zhu had already issued an imperial decree to exterminate all members of the Lu family.

But things have to be done in secret, and after finding someone to take the blame, we can only wait for the right opportunity and not act rashly.

After Lu's funeral, under Zhu Yunhuan's deliberate arrangement, all members of the Lu family left Jinling City and returned to their hometown Shouzhou.

Then, there was a surprise attack by Japanese pirates.

This method is not very clever.

But since the government determined after investigation that it was the "Japanese pirates" who did it, no one doubted it.

After all, the Japanese pirates have done many similar things over the years.

Many of them were real Japanese pirates, and many were local thieves who dressed up as Japanese pirates.

Otherwise, the Ming Dynasty court would not have issued a maritime ban.

The maritime ban was not so much about preventing Japanese pirates from invading as it was about preventing the people of the Ming Dynasty from going out to sea and transforming themselves into "Japanese pirates."

These people are civilians when they enter the country and bandits when they leave the country.

It would be impossible to completely wipe them out and kill them all.

The next day after the news came, the Ming Daily reported it on a full page.

First, the Japanese pirates were extremely brutal, causing the entire Lu family to be massacred, a scene worse than hell.

The second is to list all the atrocities committed by the Japanese pirates in the past.

In addition, interviews with victims whose families were massacred by Japanese pirates were also published.

In the interviews, they tearfully recounted the tragic experiences of their families, denounced the brutality and inhumanity of the Japanese pirates, and called on the imperial court to completely wipe out the Japanese pirates, send troops to attack Japan, so that they would never dare to invade the Ming Dynasty's borders again and bring peace and prosperity to the people.

Ordinary people are always easily instigated.

What's more, Jinling City is located in the southeast, and the people along the southeast coast have always suffered deeply from the Japanese pirates.

The report in the Ming Daily immediately caused a strong response.

The people all shouted for the Japanese pirates to be beaten and killed.

Each of them strongly demanded that the court send troops.

Wenhua Hall.

Zhu Yunhuan summoned all officials to discuss the matter.

"I think the Japanese pirates are just a minor problem. Although they may cause trouble from time to time, we can prevent them by strengthening the maritime ban and not allowing any ships to enter the sea."

"The Northern Yuan is the real threat to the Ming Dynasty. At this moment, the imperial court should do its utmost to deal with the Northern Yuan."

"I think so too!"

"I second the proposal!"

"The Japanese are far away overseas. When the Northern Yuan Dynasty was strong and powerful and swept across the world, it still failed to conquer the Japanese. The Ming Dynasty cannot raise troops at will."

"The Japanese pirates are brutal and have committed numerous evil deeds. This is really infuriating, but the Lord should not raise an army out of anger. I hope His Royal Highness will understand this."

……

Contrary to public opinion, most officials in the court believed that the court should focus on dealing with the Northern Yuan Dynasty and opposed sending troops to Japan.

One of the most important reasons is that, in their view, the Northern Yuan Dynasty could threaten the survival of the Ming Dynasty.

For thousands of years, the nomadic tribes on the grasslands have been a major concern for the Central Plains dynasties.

Otherwise, Qin Shihuang would not have built the Great Wall.

To put it more recently, just a few decades ago, this land was still under the rule of the Yuan court.

Now they finally managed to break free. But the Yuan court was not completely destroyed and still roamed the northern grasslands.

This is always a concern.

A hidden concern that concerns everyone’s life and property.

The officials and generals of the Ming Dynasty all hoped to eliminate this scourge forever.

In contrast, the Japanese pirates committed murder, burning, looting and all sorts of atrocities along the coastal areas.

But if we consider the overall situation, the Japanese pirates were small groups who could only plunder the people but were unlikely to overthrow the rule of the dynasty.

With such a comparison, it is clear which is more important.

However, some people have different opinions.

"The Northern Yuan has been driven back to the grasslands. As long as the border defense is strengthened, it will be difficult for them to invade again. But the Japanese pirates' rebellion has hurt our southeastern hinterland. Even the family of the former Crown Princess was slaughtered. How can ordinary people prevent it?"

"If the Japanese pirates are not pacified, the southeast will be unstable."

"If the southeast is unstable, then our Ming Dynasty will be unstable."

"The threat of Japanese pirates is a serious threat to the Ming Dynasty and must not be underestimated."

"The imperial court should have wiped out all the Japanese pirates instead of just retreating on the defense."

But his words were immediately met with fierce opposition.

"The Japanese pirates are far away on the sea. How can we defeat them? The best strategy is to take strict precautions."

The two sides started arguing.

"Sending the navy to fight may not be a bad idea!"

"The ocean is so vast, and there is nowhere to ask. Can we find the thieves' den by sending a ship out to sea?"

"Then send troops to Japan!"

"Ridiculous. Even the Yuan Dynasty at its most powerful was unable to conquer Japan. How can the Ming Dynasty send troops at will?"

"If the Yuan court can't do it, my Ming dynasty may be able to do it."

"Using troops is such a big deal, how can we be so careless?"

"Are we just going to let the Japanese pirates harm our Ming Dynasty?"

……

The two sides started arguing with each other.

below.

Huang Zicheng, who was standing in the crowd, looked a little strange.

Since the death of Lu, Zhu Yunhuan was made the crown prince and Zhu Yunwen was imprisoned. Although he was not punished, his status and position plummeted.

Many officials who had tried hard to curry his favor in the past have disappeared.

This made Huang Zicheng deeply understand the fickleness of human nature.

However, perhaps because Zhu Yunhuan's methods of implementing commercial taxes were too harsh and too fast, many of the former wealthy gentry in Jiangsu and Zhejiang had already secretly colluded in the hope of overthrowing him again.

This rekindled hope in Huang Zicheng's heart.

He was also full of doubts about the annihilation of the entire Lu family.

Because many wealthy people actually had private connections with the Japanese pirates.

Some of the Japanese pirates were simply supported by the wealthy.

Huang Zicheng asked them, but no one knew about it.

Where did the "Japanese pirates" who massacred the Lu clan come from?

Considering the accusations made by Prince Xian against the Crown Prince when he went mad, the answer is obvious.

As a crucial participant in the previous battle for the crown prince, Huang Zicheng immediately thought that this might be the work of Zhu Yunhuan.

Not only did he kill Lu, he also slaughtered her entire family.

As for why he did not suspect the Emperor, it was probably because Huang Zicheng did not dare to think about it.

Today it is today.

Even Prince Xian was imprisoned. It was impossible for him to overthrow Zhu Yunhuan by himself, even if he added the gentry of Jiangsu and Zhejiang.

But what if we ask Japan to send troops?
Because there was too little information exchange in that era, Huang Zicheng did not understand the specific situation in Japan.

In his opinion, a small number of Japanese pirates wandering out of Japan could cause unrest along the coast of Ming Dynasty. If Japan could send out a large-scale army, then...

It might not be impossible to force the Emperor to depose Zhu Yunhuan and make Zhu Yunwen the crown prince!
Thinking of this, Huang Zicheng became excited.

"I think that the Ming Dynasty should send troops to conquer Japan!"

He stepped out of the line and said.

Everyone in the field looked at Huang Zicheng in surprise.

I didn't expect that he would actually advocate sending troops.

"Empress Lu raised His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. Now Her entire family has been slaughtered. If His Royal Highness does not avenge this, he would be unworthy of being the Crown Prince's son!"

"Your Highness is the crown prince of the Ming Dynasty and the future emperor of the Ming Dynasty."

"The shame of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is the shame of the Ming Dynasty."

"This revenge must be avenged!"

Huang Zicheng spoke in a loud voice.

Zhu Yunxun looked at him with a slightly strange look.

Huang Zicheng continued, "Sending troops to Japan is, after all, a serious matter."

"I think we should send an envoy to Japan to force it to hand over the murderer who killed the Lu family and promise to restrain its people and soldiers and never invade the borders of the Ming Dynasty again."

"If Japan does not agree, then it will not be too late for the Ming Dynasty to send troops."

The court fell silent.

Everyone is looking at you.

After a long while, someone finally spoke up: "More than ten years ago, His Majesty the Emperor sent envoys to Japan to ask Japan to ban the Japanese pirates, but the envoys were killed by the Japanese instead."

"What's the point of sending someone there now?"

Huang Zicheng retorted: "At that time, the Ming Dynasty had just pacified the world and had not been unified for long. The national strength was not strong yet, so the Japanese were not afraid of them."

"Now, after years of governance, the Ming Dynasty is rich and powerful. The King of Japan will definitely consider it carefully."

"If you are afraid, I am willing to serve as an envoy to Japan."

"If you can use your eloquence to make Japan surrender, that would be even better."

"If he is killed, it won't be too late for the imperial court to send troops then."

He secretly planned in his mind that as long as he could seize the position of envoy, when he met the King of Japan, it would be his own business how he talked to him.

Upon hearing this, all the officials remained silent.

Zhu Yunhuan looked at him deeply again.

His eyes were deep, as if he had already seen through what he was thinking.

"it is good!"

"remarkably brave."

"In that case, I will appoint you as an envoy of the Ming Dynasty and send you to Japan."

"However, the time limit is only three months. If Japan does not hand over the criminal within three months, don't blame me for being rude."

Huang Zicheng was overjoyed and bowed hurriedly, saying, "I will do my best to fulfill my mission!"

Zhu Yunhuan stood up from his seat above.

With a wave of his hand, several eunuchs came to the hall and presented a huge map.

He slowly glanced at the ministers below and spoke in a deep voice.

"The Japanese pirates have been plaguing our southeastern coast for many years, committing countless atrocities that are too numerous to list, and the people have suffered greatly from them."

"Now they are slaughtering my mother, the Lu family. If I don't defeat the Japanese pirates, how can I be a son?"

"Although we have sent envoys to Japan to question them, the Japanese pirates who are already on the coast can only be suppressed by sending troops."

"I have decided to personally lead the troops out to sea to wipe out the Japanese pirates along the coast."

He pointed to Taiwan on the map and said, "From Ningbo to Dongfan, there are countless islands on the sea, all of which could be hiding places for Japanese pirates."

"I will send troops from the Yangtze River to recapture all the islands along the coast, big and small, all the way to Dongfan and Penghu Islands, so that the Japanese pirates will have nowhere to hide from now on."

……

(End of this chapter)