Ming Dynasty: Ask Zhu Yuanzhang to abdicate at the beginning

Chapter 293 The Ming Dynasty is in a huge debt...Yang Rong’s trick!
As soon as these words were spoken, Jiang Li and Yoshigaki beside them could not help but exchange glances secretly.

Such a big misunderstanding happened today, but this person used it to congratulate as soon as he opened his mouth. He is really eloquent.

Lai Wen'an also secretly admired him.

As expected of a person trusted by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, he knows how to speak.

Everyone was worried about this matter, but he was able to describe it as a "good thing". He was really amazing.

He couldn't help but glance secretly at His Majesty the Emperor.

However, there was a faint smile on His Majesty's face, as if he was very pleased with what he said.

It seems that Your Majesty somewhat agrees with what Yang Rong said?

Is the flattery right?
Lai Wen'an's admiration grew even stronger.

Lord Yang is truly extraordinary.

Everyone was frightened to death, fearing that His Majesty would be furious.

He could be so calm and talk so eloquently.

"What about Erxi?" asked Old Zhu calmly from above.

Yang Rong cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, while inspecting the Ming Dynasty, has inadvertently discovered Zhu Sun, a man of great talent in governing the country. He is unprecedented in history and is the best of our time. With such a man, the Ming Dynasty can rest assured that the country will last for thousands of years. This is my second happiness."

Old Zhu stood up suddenly and asked, "You actually know Zhu Sun?"

Yang Rong looked calm and said, "I know it, and I will report it in detail later."

He did not dwell on this question and quickly changed the subject: "Your Majesty, there is a third joy."

Without waiting for Old Zhu to ask, he continued, "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has found a lover, and is waiting to report to Your Majesty and marry him. Your Majesty can rest assured from now on. This is the third happiness."

"With these three joys, the Ming Dynasty is fortunate! Your Majesty is also fortunate!"

"I have come to congratulate your majesty. Congratulations, your majesty!"

Yang Rong kowtowed heavily and congratulated loudly.

The room was extremely quiet, with only Yang Rong's voice still echoing in everyone's mind.

Lai Wen'an also knelt on the ground, glancing at Yang Rong out of the corner of his eyes.

But he was seen lying on the ground, his face tilted backwards and downwards, but he was signaling with his eyes.

Lai Wen'an was slightly startled, then reacted and said hurriedly: "I congratulate Your Majesty, Your Majesty!"

Jiang Lin and Ji Yuan looked at each other and knelt down as well: "Congratulations, Your Majesty! Congratulations, Your Majesty!"

Everyone else knelt down: "Congratulations, Your Majesty! Congratulations, Your Majesty!"

……

Above, Lao Zhu's face looked gloomy.

Zhu Yunhuan was certainly happy that he could find a wife, but this happened so suddenly that he didn't even know who it was.

Old Zhu said in a deep voice: "You said Hu'er has a crush on someone, but is it your arrangement?"

He didn't even ask who the other person was, but directly asked if it was their arrangement!
Since ancient times, "jesters" have loved to put beautiful women around the emperor in order to control him.

Although Hu'er is smart, he is still young, with vigorous energy and blood, and his desires are the strongest.

Since ancient times, heroes have been unable to resist the temptation of beautiful women. Huer can't let himself be manipulated by others in this regard.

"We did arrange the marriage for His Royal Highness, but whether it will happen in the end is beyond our control."

Yang Rong said: "Your Highness the Crown Prince is a man of great talent and vision, and he has the whole world in his mind. He cannot be deceived by beauty."

"The people chosen in the end were, one a commoner, and the other the daughter of the late King Zhongshan."

"A commoner girl, well-read but without a strong family background, if she is made a concubine, there is no need to worry about the in-laws taking power and interfering in government affairs."

"The daughter of the King of Zhongshan is from a famous family. If she is made a concubine, it can win over the nobles and also balance the harem so that no one person dominates."

"Your Highness is a man of foresight and has a plan in mind. He is not swayed by beauty and does not lose his mind. This makes me, the humble minister, admire him very much."

These words can be said to be a stroke of genius.

Without giving too much explanation, he directly pointed out Zhu Yunhuan's arrangement.

If one can make such arrangements, then he is naturally not deceived.

When Old Zhu heard him say this, a hint of joy appeared on his face, but it disappeared in an instant. He said calmly: "Since ancient times, marriage has been nothing more than "parents' orders and matchmaker's words". Hu'er is the crown prince of the Ming Dynasty, so how can his marriage be a joke?"

"We need to examine the two people you mentioned carefully."

As he spoke, he changed the subject and asked, "You just said that you knew Zhu Sun?"

Yang Rong's heart trembled, and he hurriedly said: "I do know him, and I have benefited a lot from his teachings. If it weren't for him, I wouldn't be where I am today."

Upon hearing this, Old Zhu's eyes suddenly gleamed with brilliance: "So, he is still your teacher?"

"I am ashamed to call myself his disciple." Yang Rong said hurriedly, "This man's talent is unprecedented and unparalleled in the world. Looking at the world today, I am afraid that only Your Majesty can have a broad discussion with him and comment on the world."

"What we discuss is the great affairs of the world; what we plan is the peace of the world for all eternity."

"I am a humble official with limited talent and have not been able to achieve even one tenth of it."

"If I could be accepted as my disciple, it would be my three-life wish, but Yang Rong is not virtuous enough to have this opportunity."

Old Zhu laughed loudly: "Zhu Sun is indeed a rare talent that I have never seen in my life, but his 'Tao' is quite unorthodox, and it is inevitable that it is too high to be understood by the general public."

"I thought that there wouldn't be many people in this world who could understand his talent."

"I didn't expect you to understand him so well."

"It seems that you are also a talented person!"

Yang Rong kowtowed and said, "Your Majesty, I am ashamed to accept your praise."

"If you can talk to him and understand his ideas, then you deserve it."

Old Zhu said with a smile: "It's like 'there are great scholars among the people who talk and laugh, and there are no unlearned people among the people who come and go'."

"If you are really uneducated, what he says to you is like playing the lute to a cow, and you won't understand it."

Old Zhu waved his hand and said, "Don't kneel anymore, stand up and talk."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Yang Rong kowtowed, slowly climbed up from the ground, bent his waist and stood with his head lowered.

The movements are respectful, neither too fast nor too slow.

"Your name is Yang Rong, and you are the chief clerk of the Eastern Palace?" Old Zhu looked at him and smiled, "So, you are a seventh-rank official. Do you have any other responsibilities in the court?"

A seventh-rank official is not considered high.

But the Eastern Palace is the crown prince, and the officials of the Eastern Palace are the team that will serve as the future emperor.

Once the new emperor ascends the throne, they will all be old ministers in the palace and will be given important positions.

Therefore, the officials of the Eastern Palace cannot be judged simply by their rank.

Moreover, Zhu Yunhuan is now in charge of the government.

He would also use some of his own officials to take charge of court affairs.

That's why Mr. Zhu asked this.

Yang Rong bowed and said, "That's right."

"I recently did something wrong and was punished by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. I was demoted and now I have no rank at all."

"But I am still at His Royal Highness's side, taking orders. On weekdays, I am responsible for drafting documents for His Royal Highness, and I am also in charge of the tax commissioner's duties."

As soon as these words came out, Lao Zhu's expression suddenly changed slightly.

Since he went out, he only learned about court affairs from the Da Ming Daily.

Although the original secret channels had been operating all along, they had already received his order long ago. Unless there was an earth-shattering event that might endanger the safety of the country, otherwise, no report would be made.

This is because Lao Zhu was originally living incognito, and if he were to keep in contact with people from the intelligence agencies all day, his identity would be easily exposed.

Even hidden intelligence agency personnel will be implicated.

Although he had arrived outside Jinling a few days ago, he remained in this position until he returned to the palace. The Ming Daily reported in detail on the adjustment of the three judicial departments.

However, the Ming Daily never mentioned who would take charge of the post of Commissioner of Taxation after Zhu Gaoxu left office.

Only at this moment did I realize that it was the person in front of me.

This is a very coveted position in the court, not to mention that he also helped draft the documents.

Old Zhu said with a smile: "You are so young, yet you are so highly valued. Not bad, not bad! Come, please take a seat!"

As for why he was punished and had his rank stripped, no one was in a hurry to ask.

Since he is still in charge, it shouldn't be a big deal.

Yoshigaki hurried over, pulled a small stool and placed it behind Yang Rong, and whispered, "Master Yang, please sit down."

Yang Rong bent down and whispered, "Thank you, eunuch."

He turned and bowed again, "Thank you, Your Majesty!"

He slowly leaned forward and sat down, but only his buttocks touched the seat a little bit, and his body was still slightly leaning forward to show respect.

It would be a lie to say that Yang Rong is not nervous at all.

Before this, Yang Shiqi and Yao Guangxiao had both been summoned by His Majesty.

Yang Rong had also heard about their deeds.

Of course, he was also unaware of the fact that the two of them took the opportunity to eliminate the Lu family in front of His Majesty.

That's top secret.

Apart from Yang Shiqi and Yao Guangxiao, only Zhu Yunhuan knew about it. No one else knew about it, and he would never tell anyone else.

All Yang Rong knew was that both of them could handle themselves in front of the emperor and were admired by his majesty.

Today, it is finally his turn.

As a person who was also promoted and valued by Zhu Yunhuan, Yang Rong had been waiting for this day.

Just because he is in charge of the position of Commissioner of Taxation, Your Majesty will definitely summon him.

Not to mention, he also serves as Zhu Yunhuan's secretary, a position that is also extremely important, and Your Majesty will definitely meet him.

Yang Rong also has pride in his heart.

Yang Shiqi and Yao Guangxiao were praised and promoted by the emperor when they met him, so he could do the same.

What's more, he has been with His Majesty the Crown Prince for a long time and understands His Majesty's temperament better than Yang Shiqi did.

However, no matter how much Yang Rong planned, he never expected that he would finally meet His Majesty under such circumstances.

Your Majesty is furious about Zhu Sun's matter.

And the person who played Zhu Sun...although it was not him, the letter was written by him.

On the surface, the current situation seems that Yang Rong is in high spirits and is in high spirits.

In fact, only he himself knows how dangerous his situation is.

If he plays a trick on His Majesty and gets to know about it... Zhu Yunhuan, as the emperor's grandson and the crown prince, will simply be scolded and punished by His Majesty.

But as a ghostwriter... especially since he knows so many of His Majesty's private affairs and has read so many letters containing His Majesty's true feelings, can he still keep his head?

Thinking of this, how could Yang Rong not be nervous?

However, on the surface, he still forced himself to remain calm.

He talked with Lao Zhu, waiting for the best time to confess in order to resolve his own crisis.

The card of Zhu Yunhuan's marriage has already been played.

But His Majesty the Emperor seemed unmoved.

Right.

Your Majesty is certainly concerned about the Crown Prince's marriage, but it is not an urgent matter after all and there is no need to rush into it.

It is still unknown how angry His Majesty would be if Zhu Sun's identity were to be revealed.

The only option now is to use another urgent and important matter to divert His Majesty's attention.

After Zhu Sun's identity was revealed, Your Majesty would neither bother to settle accounts with Yang Rong nor leave in anger, but would be busy solving the problem.

Yang Rong's mind was racing with thoughts, and he had already made up his mind.

At this time, Lao Zhu asked, "I heard that after the establishment of the Taxation Department, a lot of taxes were collected. Can you tell me the specific amount?"

These days, Lao Zhu visited the Manufacturing Bureau and gained a lot of knowledge.

However, no matter how high the production level of the Manufacturing Bureau is, the funds invested in its construction are by no means a small amount.

Not to mention the money for road construction, reservoir construction, river embankment repair, and granary construction...

At present, the entire Ming Dynasty is like a huge construction site, with construction going on everywhere.

How much money will it cost to carry out so many projects?

Moreover, Zhu Yunhuan also ordered the court to bear the food and accommodation expenses of the laborers performing corvée labor.

In addition, there were a large number of craftsmen who were hired by the court and were paid quite high wages.

It is precisely because of this that, despite so much construction being carried out, there has been no public resentment, but instead there has been a chorus of applause.

In previous dynasties, if the imperial court had mobilized the people's power like this, I am afraid that the people would have criticized the imperial court.

If things go wrong, they will all rise up in rebellion!

The Qin Dynasty built the Great Wall and the Sui Dynasty built the Grand Canal, which are both ready-made examples.

Even the Yuan Dynasty was destroyed because of the construction of the Yellow River dike.

The scale of the various construction projects that Zhu Yunhuan is currently carrying out is more than ten times larger than the project of building the Grand Canal by Emperor Yang of Sui.

Now that it is the winter idle season, almost all the labor force in the country has been involved in this major construction project.

Old Zhu was also very curious about how much silver the Tax Commissioner had collected to support such a large construction project of the Ming Dynasty court.

Not to mention a unit like the Manufacturing Bureau, whose initial construction investment was also an astronomical figure.

Although I knew how much tax the tax commissioner collected before, there must have been a lot of changes today.

Otherwise, where does the money for construction come from?
However, I still feel a little worried because I haven’t heard a specific answer.

Yang Rong was just worrying about not being able to find an opportunity to get in on the topic. When he heard what Zhu Yuanzhang had said, he hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, the tax collected by the Department of Taxation has increased significantly compared to before. Now, the total tax collected from all over the country is nearly 100,000 taels per day."

"Based on this calculation, the tax silver collected each year is about 30 million taels, and this number is still growing."

Old Zhu's eyes suddenly flashed slightly.

Is this just the income?

Thirty million taels is certainly a lot, but he roughly estimated the expenditure of the Ming Dynasty court, and it is far more than just this increase.

Before Old Zhu could ask, Yang Rong spoke first, saying, "This year, the court will carry out various construction projects according to the arrangements of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

"So far, various construction funds have been allocated, totaling 500 million taels of silver."

"The tax commissioner could not have taken out this money anyway, and neither could the national treasury."

Before he finished speaking, Lao Zhu hurriedly asked, "Where did the money for the construction project come from?"

Yang Rong smiled slightly and said, "These 500 million taels of silver were all borrowed from the Daming Bank. The interest alone will cost about 20 million taels per year."

"What?" Old Zhu just felt dizzy.

It was thought that Zhu Yunhuan had solved the financial problems of the Ming Dynasty, but no one expected that he would end up in a huge debt.

"Your Majesty!" Yang Rong said without losing any time, "This matter was all Zhu Sun's idea. I am very uneasy about this, but I am afraid Your Majesty will have to ask him about the specific reasons."

……

(End of this chapter)