My father is Chongzhen? Then I have no choice but to rebel.

Chapter 143: This is to rob Chongzhen of money!
However, Zhu Cilang had never obtained the exact tax data, so he did not dare to rashly decide the tax distribution ratio.

In other words, how much percentage does the imperial treasury account for and how much percentage does the Ministry of Revenue account for?
The amount is too little, and the treasury is short of money, so we have to borrow from the Ministry of Revenue, which is too embarrassing.

If too much is ordered, the Ministry of Revenue will be short of money and will have to borrow from the treasury, which will be embarrassing.

Don’t even think about the Imperial Treasury and the Ministry of Revenue being equal. That’s simply impossible!

Zhu Cilang can guarantee that while he is in power, he will never use the money from the treasury and the Ministry of Revenue to do things that should not be done.

But he could not guarantee that all future emperors of the Ming Dynasty would be like him.

What if the Ming Dynasty had another Emperor Jiajing in the future, who was obsessed with cultivating immortals and Taoism, and spent the Ministry of Revenue's money as if it were his own? Wouldn't that be a mess?
Because of these reasons, this matter has been delayed until now. Unexpectedly, Ni Yuanlu actually brought the matter directly to the court.

This guy, can't he discuss this with me in private?

Immediately at this moment, Ni Yuanlu continued loudly:

"Your Highness, taxation is the foundation of our nation. I request that Your Highness transfer all commercial taxes collected yesterday to the Ministry of Revenue."

"And from now on, all commercial taxes in the Ming Dynasty will be managed by the Ministry of Revenue!"

As soon as Ni Yuanlu said this, the civil and military officials around him realized what memorial he had submitted before.

After all the emotional trouble, now they are trying to steal money from Chongzhen!

wrong
It’s a bit of an exaggeration to say that it’s robbery. After all, since ancient times, all taxes in the world have been under the management of the Ministry of Revenue, because only when the Ministry of Revenue is in charge of taxes can the world be stable.

If the emperor were allowed to collect taxes into the treasury, and then he could use the taxes from all over the world at will, wouldn't the world be in chaos?
Realizing this, Cabinet Minister Fan Jingwen immediately stood up and said,

"Your Highness, I would like to ask how much commercial tax was collected yesterday?"

Zhu Cilang did not hide it and said frankly:
"There are about five million taels of silver, silver notes, and copper coins, and about thirteen million taels of goods used to offset taxes."

As soon as these words were spoken, all the civil and military officials present gasped.

Because this number really exceeded their imagination.

In addition to being shocked, everyone also felt a little pain in their hearts. After all, they also contributed their own share of these taxes.

Fan Jingwen was also a little surprised. No wonder he came back to his senses and then spoke again:

"Since this is the case, I implore His Royal Highness to order the transfer of all these taxes to the Ministry of Revenue."

As Fan Jingwen spoke, most of the officials in the court stood up one after another.

"I will reconsider!"

"I will also review this!"

There is no way. After all, this involves taxes. You must know that since ancient times, taxes have been paid into the national treasury and managed by the Ministry of Revenue.

If taxes were included in the emperor's private treasury, it would inevitably lead to confusion between family and country, which was a taboo that could not be violated in all dynasties in the past.

Of course, not everyone expressed an opinion.

Xue Guoguan, Duke Yingguo, Li Banghua and other ministers were all silent. Their eyes were focused on Zhu Cilang, and they were all quietly waiting for the prince to express his opinion.

In their perception, it is natural for the country's commercial taxes to go into the national treasury, but the current situation is very different from the past.

Let’s first see what the prince thinks!
Seeing that most of the officials had knelt on the ground, Zhu Cilang cleared his throat slightly and then spoke:
"Everyone, I already have an idea of what you just mentioned."

"But yesterday, the Emperor made the decision. From now on, the salaries of core military forces such as the Beijing Camp, the Embroidered Uniform Guard, the Five Tengxiang Guards, the Guanning Iron Cavalry, and the Ming Dynasty Taxation Army will all be paid directly from the Imperial Treasury, and will no longer go through the Ministry of Revenue."

"Therefore, this commercial tax cannot all be attributed to the Ministry of Revenue."

As soon as these words were spoken, the court was in an uproar, and all the civil and military officials looked shocked.

Immediately afterwards, everyone's eyes turned to Li Banghua.

The emperor personally used the treasury to pay the army's salaries, which was obviously an attempt to consolidate military power. Although there had been similar signs before, this was the first time it was stated so openly.

So everyone wanted to see how Li Banghua, the Minister of War, would react.

Looking at Li Banghua again, he was still calm and composed, with no ripples on his face, as if this matter had nothing to do with him.

In fact, Li Banghua's current mentality is just as he promised before. Now he has no intention of fighting for power and profit. He only wants to train an elite army for the Ming Dynasty, and then retire from the court after achieving success.

As for whether the emperor wanted to seize military power or whether the military pay should be paid by the Ministry of Revenue or the Imperial Treasury, he didn't care at all.

Seeing that Li Banghua ignored everyone, the Minister of Revenue Ni Yuanlu finally stood up again:

"Your Highness, I believe this is absolutely unacceptable! From ancient times to the present, the military pay of the Ministry of War has always been paid directly by the Ministry of Revenue. There has never been a precedent for it being paid from the imperial treasury."

"This old minister implores His Highness to persuade His Majesty to revoke his order."

Seeing that Ni Yuanlu took the lead in expressing his opinion, the others followed suit.

"Your Highness, this goes against ancestral rules!"

"Your Majesty, please take back your order!"

The emperor's intention to seize military power was a foregone conclusion, and the ministers knew they were powerless to change it.

After all, even the Minister of War Li Banghua acquiesced to it, so what could these officials who had nothing to do with it say?

However, the emperor wanted to transfer commercial taxes to the imperial treasury, which was something they absolutely could not accept.

Even if this money is used to pay the military salaries, it is not allowed!

What if there are clearly only 100,000 troops, but the emperor insists on saying there are 200,000, and then he himself collects the empty salaries of the 100,000?
By then, the money will be with the emperor, so won’t the emperor have the final say on how much?

If this continues, it will definitely lead to chaos in national taxation and affect the country's future development.

Looking at the ministers who were still opposing him, Zhu Cilang was not angry at the moment, because he also knew that this matter involved the future of the Ming Dynasty.

But he still refused to compromise!

In any case, the salaries of core troops such as the Beijing Camp, the Embroidered Uniform Guard, the Five Tengxiang Guards, the Guanning Iron Cavalry, and the Ming Dynasty Tax Army must be directly allocated from the treasury!

He even planned to personally distribute the soldiers' salaries this month to win their hearts!

How could you change your mind just because someone said a few words?

So, Zhu Cilang responded calmly:
"I have already advised the Emperor about this matter, but he has made up his mind, so there is no need for you to persuade him further."

"Next, let's discuss how the commercial tax should be distributed."

When Ni Yuanlu heard this, his heart sank, knowing that there was no way to save the situation.

Although part of the commercial taxes collected by the imperial court were distributed to the emperor in the past, the amount was very small, no more than three to five million taels of silver per year.

The amount distributed to the emperor was only a few hundred thousand to one million taels, and that was it.

But now the situation is very different. According to a rough estimate, after the commercial tax reform is completed, the annual commercial tax will be at least 300 to 400 million taels. How should it be divided?
If you give too little, the emperor will definitely be unhappy.

If we give too much, and the Ministry of Revenue runs out of funds, it will have to ask the emperor for help in the future. Where will the Ministry of Revenue's reputation be placed?

At the same time, seeing that Zhu Cilang had made up his mind, the ministers also began to discuss it among themselves.

"In my opinion, 30% of commercial taxes should go into the imperial treasury, and 70% should go into the national treasury. Is that feasible?"

Someone suggested it first.

"No, no, if it's 30%, that would be 10 million taels per year. That's too much!"

Someone immediately objected.

"A lot? According to your majesty, the annual allocation of the imperial treasury for military pay alone amounts to over ten million taels. I still think that's too little!"

"Then 40% should be enough, right?"

"How about 50%?"

"You are really crazy. The commercial tax of tens of millions, half of which goes to the Ministry of Revenue and the other half to the Imperial Treasury. Isn't this going to be chaos?"

For a moment, everyone expressed their opinions and argued until their faces were red.

At this moment, Xue Guoguan, who had been silent all this time, suddenly stood up:
"Your Highness, I have an idea that may help resolve the current situation."

When he shouted, everyone instantly quieted down and looked at him.

I heard that this old guy couldn't help but speak out!

After all, as the chief minister of the cabinet, although Xue Guoguan was secretly the emperor's lackey, he was still the supreme leader of the Ming Dynasty's civil officials in public. It would be unreasonable for him not to express his opinion on such matters.

Zhu Cilang first looked at Xue Guoguan, and then nodded slightly at him.

"Master Xue, please feel free to speak!"

Xue Guoguan cleared his throat first, then slowly said:
"The commercial tax hasn't been fully implemented yet, and the exact amount we can collect each year is still unclear. It's a bit premature to rush into discussing distribution now!"

"In my opinion, it would be wise to first transfer all commercial taxes to the Ministry of Revenue, which would then allocate a sum of money to the Imperial Treasury every month to be used to pay the military salaries."

"In addition, one-tenth of the commercial taxes will be allocated annually to the Imperial Treasury for Your Majesty's personal expenses."

"What do you think?"

Upon hearing this, all the civil and military officials present fell silent, as if they were considering the pros and cons of the matter.

Everyone could barely accept that commercial taxes would first be submitted to the Ministry of Revenue, which would then allocate money to the treasury every month to pay the military salaries.

But the last one, which required the emperor to give one-tenth of the commercial tax every year for his personal use, really made them feel distressed and unacceptable.

The annual commercial tax is estimated to be 30 to 40 million taels of silver. One tenth of this is 30 to 40 million taels. If this is the case every year, how much silver would that be?

Moreover, the emperor of the Ming Dynasty had many other sources of income and could earn several million taels of silver every year.

Even the silver seized from the previous house raids amounted to as much as 140 million taels!

The Ministry of Revenue only received 30 million of this money. Now, old man Xue Guoguan actually wants to take out 30 to 40 million taels of silver from the annual commercial tax to give to the emperor as private money. This is too much!
Can the emperor spend all this money?
Of course, no one dared to say this, and it could only be said by Ni Yuanlu, the Minister of Revenue.

Ni Yuanlu gritted his teeth first, then spoke again:

"Your Highness, I believe what Lord Xue said is inappropriate. The treasury is now abundant. The previous confiscation of property has already yielded over 100 million taels of silver, enough for Your Majesty to use for decades!"

"Therefore, this old minister suggests that the Ministry of Revenue allocate one twentieth of the commercial tax to the imperial treasury each year, which would be roughly 1.5 million to 2 million taels of silver. This should be enough for Your Majesty's expenses!"

In the end, Ni Yuanlu did not say that he would not give Chongzhen a penny. After all, it was Chongzhen who proposed the reform of commercial taxes and it was Chongzhen who promoted the matter.

He even doubled the salaries of all civil and military officials. If he didn't give Chongzhen a share of it, it would be a bit unreasonable.

But in his opinion, one tenth was too much, and one twentieth was barely acceptable.

After hearing these words, Zhu Cilang felt funny.

Although he certainly wasn't short of money, three or four million taels of silver a year was nothing to him. The money in the treasury alone was enough for him to spend for decades, so he really didn't care about the three or four million taels of silver a year.

But then again, just because he is not short of money doesn’t mean that future rulers of the Ming Dynasty will not be short of money!

After all, this system cannot be passed on to future generations!

If the future emperor of the Ming Dynasty is short of money, wouldn’t he have to argue with his ministers about the distribution of commercial taxes?

In order to eliminate this hidden danger, let’s just settle this matter today!

Thinking about this, Zhu Cilang finally spoke:

"One twentieth is indeed a bit too little. Why not follow Elder Xue's advice and go with one tenth?"

"If it's any less, my father won't agree!"

Upon hearing this, Ni Yuanlu's face turned pale and red, and he was still struggling in his heart whether to agree.

After all, three or four million taels of silver a year, that would be thirty or forty million taels of silver in ten years. This is too much!

If we put all this money in the Ministry of Revenue, how much work would we have to do?

Just as he was hesitating, someone next to him whispered:

"Master Ni, just agree to it. Ultimately, this matter was initiated by His Majesty. If you don't even give His Majesty one-tenth, and His Majesty gets angry and changes it to two-tenths or three-tenths, what will we do then?"

When Ni Yuanlu heard this, he felt helpless.

Then he saluted and said:
"In that case, let's do as His Royal Highness the Crown Prince says."

Zhu Cilang didn't say anything and looked at the others again.

Everyone immediately understood and hurriedly bowed and said:

"Your Highness, we believe this is feasible."

"I second the proposal!"

"I also second the proposal!"

Seeing this, Zhu Cilang nodded with satisfaction.

"In that case, then this matter is settled."

"I will send the commercial taxes collected yesterday to the Ministry of Revenue, and the Ministry of Revenue will send someone to take charge."

"All future commercial taxes will first be paid to the Ministry of Revenue, which will then allocate funds to the treasury!"

Ni Yuanlu hurriedly bowed again and said:

"The minister obeys the order."

In this way, the distribution of commercial taxes was finalized.

From then on, a sum of money would be allocated from the commercial taxes collected each month according to the needs of the imperial treasury to pay the salaries of the Beijing Camp, the Guanning Iron Cavalry, the Embroidered Uniform Guard and other troops, and then one-tenth of the money would be allocated to the imperial treasury for the emperor's personal use.

Of course, other expenses in the palace have nothing to do with this money.

For example, the Ministry of Revenue allocates a large sum of silver to the treasury every year to pay salaries to the eunuchs and palace maids in the imperial palace, and this sum of silver is not included.

It has to be said that Zhu Cilang was quite satisfied with this result.

This also opened up a new path to wealth for future emperors of the Ming Dynasty.

After discussing the distribution of commercial taxes, the morning court ended with Wang Chengen's shout of "dismiss".

The ministers also dispersed.

Zhu Cilang walked out of the palace and found that it was just dawn, which was about seven o'clock in the morning in later generations.

After a brief thought, he did not return to the Eastern Palace, but instead planned to go to Kunning Palace to see Chongzhen and have breakfast.

There is no way. It’s all because the ancient emperors had to go to court too early, so they basically woke up, drank a cup of tea, and then went to court, and then ate after the court.

After a while, Zhu Cilang arrived at Kunning Palace.

Coincidentally, Chongzhen was having breakfast with Empress Zhou.

Because there has been famine in various parts of the Ming Dynasty recently, Chongzhen issued an order that the harem should not be too ostentatious or wasteful, so the food in the harem has been relatively simple recently.

For example, in front of me, there is only a stack of steamed buns, two plates of stir-fried vegetables and a plate of pickled vegetables on the table, without even a single meat dish.

Beside it were two bowls of steaming porridge. The rice grains were plump and extremely soft, and the aroma of the porridge filled the air.

Empress Zhou was sharp-eyed. Seeing Zhu Cilang approaching, she quickly instructed the eunuch beside her:

"Go, add another bowl of rice for the prince."

When the eunuch heard this, he quickly served a bowl of porridge.

Zhu Cilang was not reserved either. He sat down calmly and slowly drank the porridge.

Pick up some pickles with chopsticks from time to time.

Although it is a pickle, it is specially supplied to the imperial palace, so the taste is naturally unique.

In a short while, Zhu Cilang had eaten two steamed buns and a bowl of porridge.

Empress Zhou watched with a smile on her face, and from time to time she would put some food into Zhu Cilang's bowl.

Chongzhen didn't react much at this moment and continued to drink his porridge.

He knew in his heart that Zhu Cilang had come here not just to have breakfast, but must have something else to tell him.

Therefore, he didn't say much and planned to talk in detail after the meal.

After the meal, Empress Zhou found an excuse to go out for a walk, leaving only Zhu Cilang and Chongzhen in the room.

"Tell me, what's the matter this time?"

Chongzhen asked as he picked up the teacup and took a sip.

Zhu Cixiang smiled slightly:
"Actually, it's nothing serious. I just discussed the distribution of commercial taxes with the Ministry of Revenue today, and I wanted to report to my father."

"From today onwards, the salaries of core military forces such as the Beijing Garrison, the Embroidered Uniform Guard, the Five Tengxiang Guards, the Guanning Iron Cavalry, and the Ming Dynasty Taxation Army will all be paid directly from the Imperial Treasury and no longer through the Ministry of Revenue."

"Of course, all commercial taxes must also be paid to the Ministry of Revenue, which then allocates funds to the Imperial Treasury, which then distributes them to the soldiers."

"In addition, the Ministry of Revenue must allocate one-tenth of the commercial tax each year for the personal expenses of the Emperor."

After hearing these words, Chongzhen nodded thoughtfully:
"This is well done. We may not be able to control the troops outside, but we must keep the troops surrounding the capital firmly in our hands!"

"This way, even if the Ming Dynasty encounters misfortunes in the future, we will be able to deal with it calmly!"

As an emperor, Chongzhen certainly knew the importance of military power, and he also knew the impact it would have on the soldiers if military salaries were paid from the imperial treasury.

Zhu Cilang nodded in agreement, then suddenly remembered something and asked:

"Father, I heard that you went to the Imperial Stables yesterday?"

When Chongzhen heard this, his face suddenly darkened and he said angrily:

"What's the matter? I'm bored in this palace. Can't I find some entertainment? I haven't left the palace yet!"

Zhu Cilang smiled and shook his head, then said:
"Your Majesty, you have misunderstood. This is not my intention. I simply feel that this is unnecessary. Could it be that Your Majesty still wants to lead the army in person?"

Chongzhen raised his eyebrows:
"Why not?"

When Zhu Cilang heard this, he was speechless and didn't know how to respond.

After all, the four words "Chongzhen" and "the emperor personally leads the army" have nothing to do with each other.

The previous trips to Xuanfu and Shandong, although ostensibly the emperor personally led the army, were actually just a formality in which Chongzhen was dragged along, and the armies of both sides had never fought at all.

Could it be that those two actions gave Chongzhen this unrealistic idea?
Just as Zhu Cilang was thinking about it, Chongzhen suddenly stood up with an angry look on his face and shouted:
"Rebellious son, do you look down on me so much? Never mind! Today I will show you my skills."

Immediately afterwards, regardless of whether Zhu Cilang agreed or not, Chongzhen walked out of Kunning Palace and strode towards the Imperial Stables.

Zhu Cilang looked helpless, thinking, "What the hell? I didn't say anything excessive. Why are you so angry?"
But since I have nothing to do today, I might as well go and see what Chongzhen is capable of.

Thinking of this, Zhu Cilang followed.

Not long after, the father and son arrived at the Imperial Stables.

Because a young eunuch had informed them in advance, the eunuchs in the Imperial Stables had already prepared two horses and two bows and arrows, one for Chongzhen and the other for Zhu Cilang.

But Zhu Cilang was not interested and had no intention of getting started at all.

Chongzhen ignored it, jumped on the horse swiftly, then pulled the reins and started galloping in the field.

The eunuchs in the Imperial Stables were so frightened that they were extremely anxious, fearing that Chongzhen would fall off his horse.

Immediately afterwards, Chongzhen suddenly drew his bow and arrow on horseback.

"Whoosh!"

An arrow was shot and hit the bull's eye!
When seeing this scene, Zhu Cilang couldn't help but sigh. He didn't expect that Chongzhen's riding and archery skills were much better than his own.

While he was thinking, Fang Zhenghua, who got the news, hurried over.

Seeing Chongzhen galloping on his horse, he simply approached Zhu Cilang and said with a smile on his face:

"My Lord, your Majesty's riding and archery skills are truly superb. I'm afraid even I am ashamed of myself!"

"Your Majesty said yesterday that if he had not become the emperor, he would have become a great general and expanded the territory of the Ming Dynasty."

When Zhu Cilang heard this, he just felt funny.

After a while, Chongzhen seemed to be tired of running, so he simply stopped and dismounted.

A eunuch nearby hurriedly handed over a hot towel and tea.

Chongzhen wiped his hands, drank another sip of tea, and couldn't help but sigh in his heart:
Alas, he is old after all. Before he became emperor, he could run a few laps like this without even taking a breath.

Now, I’m sweating after running just a few laps.

Just when Zhu Cilang was about to say something, suddenly at this moment, a young eunuch hurried in.

"Your Highness, the Minister of War, Li Banghua, requests an audience."

When Zhu Cilang heard this, he couldn't help but feel confused.

Didn't we just see each other at the morning court? It's not even half an hour later, why is he here again?
Could something big happen in Liaodong?
(End of this chapter)