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

Chapter 148 Chongzhen: If Huang Taiji can lead the army in person, so can I!
In this way, some businessmen have undergone some changes in their hearts.

Compared with these small merchants, several large grain merchants in the capital were on pins and needles at the moment, and almost fainted from crying.

Because they saw the news about overseas grain transportation in the Ming Daily, and that the grain would be shipped to Ming next month.

This is a fatal blow to them!
Because their granaries still store more than five million shi of grain!

These grains included some that had been stockpiled previously and some that were purchased from Xia Dewu.

They originally thought they would make a lot of money in the future, but they didn't expect that they had to pay a large amount of business tax before they even made any money.

Now the grain from overseas is about to be shipped to Ming Dynasty again. When this grain arrives, will they still be able to sell the grain in their hands?

Moreover, in two months, this year's summer grain will arrive, which will definitely have a greater impact on their food supply.

At the moment, losses are inevitable, it’s just a matter of how much.

After several major grain traders discussed it, they finally decided to sell grain in exchange for meat.

The current market price of grain is three taels of silver per stone, so they lower the price to two hundred coins per stone or even less.

In short, these grains cannot be wasted in their hands.

Just like that, in just one day, the prices of all the materials needed for people's lives in the entire capital city dropped to varying degrees.

The people were all very surprised.

After all, prices in the capital haven't dropped for decades.

As for those who had previously stockpiled food because they were worried about a food crisis, they are now a little frustrated because they have stockpiled too much food and cannot finish it.

At the same time, looking at the various news sent back by the Jinyiwei, Zhu Cilang smiled knowingly.

You see, it’s actually not that difficult to control prices. As long as you use your brain, you can easily do it.

"What are you laughing at? You're laughing so happily."

At this moment, a voice suddenly sounded in Zhu Cilang's ears.

The person who spoke was none other than Chongzhen, who was sitting opposite him.

That’s right, at this moment, Zhu Cilang was with Chongzhen again.

However, the father and son were not in Kunning Palace, but in the Imperial Stables.

Chongzhen had just finished exercising and was now sitting at the table drinking tea.

Zhu Cilang directly handed over the secret letter in his hand. Chongzhen took a look at it and looked a little surprised.

In fact, he had already read about the Daming State-owned Store in the Daming Daily this morning, but he did not expect that it would cause such a big impact in just half a day.

After all, the high prices in the capital have not been a day or two. He had tried to find ways to stabilize prices before, but the results were not very good.

But now, Zhu Cilang just opened a shop and actually successfully achieved this goal, which really surprised him.

"No matter what, this is a good thing. Prices are falling, and ordinary people benefit. You've done a good job."

Chongzhen nodded and said.

Then, he suddenly changed the subject.

"By the way, what have you thought about what I told you before?"

Zhu Cilang smiled and asked:

"What is Father talking about?"

Chongzhen glared at him and said:

"Don't play dumb, you know what I'm talking about."

Zhu Cilang touched his nose and said hesitantly:

"Father, you must think carefully. This time, the emperor will lead the army in person, which is different from the previous two. We may have to face the main force of the Jiannu army directly, which will be very dangerous."

Chongzhen snorted coldly and said:

"Why? Didn't they say that Huang Taiji would personally go to the battlefield? If he can go, why can't I? Am I worse than him?"

Zhu Cilang pretended to think for a moment, then continued:

"If Your Majesty really wants to go, it's not impossible, but you have to promise me one thing: after you go, we have to agree on three rules."

Chongzhen gave Zhu Cilang a cold look.

"Given the current situation, does my words still matter?"

Zhu Cilang scratched his head embarrassedly. He knew that Chongzhen was mocking his rebellion.

To be honest, he thought the matter was over.

But then he continued:

"First, once you arrive in Liaodong, you must not give orders casually."

After all, on the battlefield, any order from the emperor could determine the success or failure of a war, so Zhu Cilang did not want Chongzhen to give orders casually.

After hearing this, Chongzhen didn't say anything, but just snorted coldly.

Zhu Cilang didn't care, thinking Chongzhen had already agreed, and continued:
"Secondly, you must stay in the city no matter what. You must not leave. I don't want you to become the second Emperor Yingzong of Ming."

When Chongzhen heard this, he almost vomited blood and angrily shouted:
"You unfilial son, how dare you mock our ancestors like this! Although Yingzong was wrong, he is still your ancestor after all. How can you be so unfilial?"

In the face of Chongzhen's rebuke, Zhu Cilang didn't care at all.

In the end, although Chongzhen was angry, he still nodded, which was considered as agreement.

Zhu Cilang continued:
"The third point, and the most important one, is that after this war is over and we achieve victory, I may confer upon you a great many titles. You must be mentally prepared."

Chongzhen was speechless.

"Rebellious son, do you even know what you're talking about? Although the Ming Dynasty's titles are awarded based on military merit, you can't confer a ton of titles just for one war. If you do that, the titles will become worthless."

Although Chongzhen had many dissatisfactions in his heart, seeing Zhu Cilang's serious look, he knew that it was useless for him to object at this time, so he could only agree:

"I promise you."

Seeing that Chongzhen agreed to his three rules, Zhu Cilang smiled and nodded:
"In that case, I have decided to support Father in leading the army in person this time."

If it were still the Chongzhen of the past, then this personal expedition would not only bring no benefits to the army, but would instead bring unforeseen disasters.

After all, Chongzhen used to be stubborn, suspicious, and didn't trust anyone. Such a character was bound to cause all kinds of problems on the battlefield and ultimately lead to the failure of the war.

Although these problems still exist, they are no longer a problem.

Because the person who really manipulated everything behind the scenes was not Emperor Chongzhen, but the crown prince Zhu Cilang.

Chongzhen’s role on the battlefield was just like a mascot that could boost morale!
From this point of view, Chongzhen's existence is still very necessary.

After all, as long as Chongzhen goes to that station, all the soldiers will know that the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty is watching them from behind. At that time, which soldier would dare not fight to the death?

By then, the hope of winning this war will be greater!

Moreover, this time is different from the previous two times when he sneaked out of the city. This time he must announce it to the world and let everyone in the Ming Dynasty know that Chongzhen is going to lead the army in person and fight a decisive battle with the Jiannu!

However, such a move is likely to spark strong opposition from ministers.

After all, the two previous imperial expeditions were both within the territory of the Ming Dynasty, and there was no danger encountered.

But this time he has to go to the battlefield to fight the Jiannu in person, and the civil and military officials will definitely strongly oppose it, because this kind of thing will easily remind them of the Battle of Tumu.

After all, in their opinion, if the emperor was really captured by the Jiannu at this time, then the Ming Dynasty would really be finished.

So how to persuade these ministers became the next thing to do.

And now it’s different from the past. Zhu Cilang has already killed all the people who should be killed.

Not only are all the officials in the court loyal and capable generals, they are also people who can get things done. It is impossible for Zhu Cilang to kill them all just because they oppose the emperor's personal expedition, right?

This is too cruel!

However, this matter has to be put on hold for two days. After all, there has been no news from the Ming Navy yet.

Zhu Cilang was not anxious about this, as he still had great confidence in his father-in-law.

And he also knew that wars at sea were completely different from wars on land.

It doesn't mean that the two armies can just join forces and fight and that's it.

The weather at sea is unpredictable and the sea area is very vast. There are many factors involved, which he does not understand very well, so he will not give any instructions casually and leaves it entirely to Zheng Zhilong and Huang Fei to command.

In the evening, the East Palace welcomed another uninvited guest.

This person was none other than the chief minister of the cabinet, Xue Guoguan.

At this moment, Zhu Cilang had just finished dinner and was chatting with Zheng Xiaomei Donggong in the garden.

When Zhu Cilang heard that it was Xue Guoguan who came, he was a little dissatisfied.

This old guy came at a really bad time.

Then he patted Zheng Xiaomei's hand and said:

"Little sister, go back and rest first. I'm going to see this old guy."

Zheng Xiaomei smiled.

"Then I will take my leave first. Your Highness, please rest early after finishing your work."

After saying that, he gently scratched Zhu Cilang's palm, and then left.

Zhu Cilang's heart was moved, but he could only shake his head helplessly, suppressing the evil thoughts in his heart, then he straightened his clothes and walked towards the main hall.

Xue Guoguan had been waiting there for a long time, holding a memorial in his hand.

Upon seeing Zhu Cilang, Xue Guoguan hurriedly bowed:
"This old minister pays respect to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

Zhu Cilang waved his hand to signal him to stand up, and then asked:

"What's the important matter at this time of night?"

Xue Guoguan said quickly:

"I do have something important to report to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

After that, Xue Guoguan handed the memorial to Zhu Cilang. Zhu Cilang took it and opened it, and found that it contained a reform plan for salt tax and other commercial taxes.

Among them, the salt tax reform plan was proposed by him, and the remaining reform plans were discussed by the Minister of Revenue and several cabinet ministers.

Zhu Cilang took a quick look and nodded with satisfaction.

Perhaps due to his own influence, the tax rates for other commercial taxes were also set relatively high, basically around 20%.

It seems that the cabinet has guessed his intention and simply raised the commercial tax to a unified standard.

According to this standard, the overall commercial tax of the Ming Dynasty will definitely exceed 40 million taels.

This was absolutely unprecedented for the Ming Dynasty.

The reason why Xue Guoguan came to visit Zhu Cilang in the evening was mainly to ask him to review the commercial tax reform plan to see if there were any adjustments or supplements that needed to be made.

If Zhu Cilang felt there was no problem, he could formally announce it to the ministers at the morning court the next day and then issue the imperial edict.

You know, the Ministry of Revenue and the Cabinet have been working really hard on the commercial tax reform these past two days.

After repeated discussions and weighing, the two sides finally determined the specific tax amount.

The Ministry of Revenue and the Cabinet will face considerable pressure in making such a decision.

Although the commercial tax reform is imperative, it is not an easy task to change the 30% tax rate during the Taizu period to 10% tax rate.

After all, the scope involves commodity tax, business tax, salt tax, tea tax, mining tax, customs duty, and transit tax.

This will inevitably affect the interests of many people and cause strong dissatisfaction among them.

Fortunately, Chongzhen had doubled the salaries of civil and military officials before, which slightly eased the officials' resistance.

However, there are still some officials, especially those in the south, who will definitely strongly resist.

Over the past few hundred years, officials in the south have colluded with local businessmen, and their interests have become so complex and intertwined that they are like a tight web.

They didn't care whether Chongzhen increased their salaries or not, because they didn't rely on salaries to live at all.

They are only thinking about how to pay less tax or no tax.

The commercial tax reform implemented by the imperial court this time was a painful act for them, especially the reform on salt, which caused the southern salt merchants to go bankrupt instantly.

In the past, they relied on the monopoly of salt to make a fortune and became extremely wealthy. They could be described as rich enough to rival a country.

Now the imperial court wants to thoroughly reform the salt tax, which will instantly break their monopoly. From now on, anyone who meets the requirements will have the opportunity to get involved in the salt business. How can they accept this?

At that time, they will definitely collude with local officials to cause trouble.

However, this is beyond the scope of the cabinet's responsibilities and is not their business.

But it is a difficult problem that Zhu Cilang needs to deal with.

Of course, Zhu Cilang has no time to take care of these things now, because he is busy dealing with the threats from the Jiannu and Li Zicheng. He can only wait until the situation stabilizes before he can properly deal with these officials and businessmen in the south.

After all, over the years, these southern officials have made huge amounts of ill-gotten gains through illegal means such as smuggling, and they must not be let off easily.

After finally gathering his thoughts, Zhu Cilang closed the memorial and said:
"There's nothing wrong with this reform plan. I'm very satisfied. Announce it to the court officials tomorrow morning! Then distribute it throughout the country immediately!"

When Xue Guoguan heard this, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Then, just as he was about to say goodbye and leave, Zhu Cilang suddenly spoke again:

"By the way, there's one more thing I need to tell you. You have to prepare in advance!"

Xue Guoguan heard this and said seriously:

"Your Highness, please speak!"

Zhu Cilang spoke directly:

"In a while, the Emperor will lead his army into battle again. You will then have to help deal with the court officials!"

What?
Are you going to lead the army in person again?

When Xue Guoguan heard this, his brain almost exploded.

Not
What the hell is this?

Can't we just stay in Beijing? Why do we always want to run away?

Did Chongzhen really think of himself as Taizu or Chengzu?
Of course, Xue Guoguan only dared to complain about these things in his heart but didn't dare to say them out loud.

After calming down a bit, Xue Guoguan asked:
"May I ask, Your Highness, where will His Majesty be heading this time?"

Zhu Cilang uttered two words calmly:

"Liaodong!"

Xue Guoguan was immediately shocked, and his mood, which had just calmed down, was once again in turmoil.

He originally thought that this time would be the same as before, and at most he would just cause some trouble within the territory of the Ming Dynasty. He even thought about personally leading an expedition against Li Zicheng, but he never thought of personally leading an expedition to Liaodong!
Is Chongzhen trying to kill himself?
Where is Liaodong?
That is the power of the bitter cold outside the Great Wall, the place where the Ming Dynasty and the Jiannu fought. If we are not careful, there will be another Battle of Tumu. Is this something to be joked about?

Thinking of this, Xue Guoguan waved his robe and prepared to kneel down.

But before he could kneel down, Zhu Cilang's voice rang out.

"Don't kneel! Kneeling is useless. This battle involves the safety of the Ming Dynasty. Father must go, and no one can persuade him!"

When Xue Guoguan heard this, he froze in place, and after a moment he could only stand up stiffly.

But then he said:

"Even though this is the case, as a subject, I still want to advise Your Highness. This is absolutely unacceptable!"

"Liaodong is where the Ming and Jiannu fought. If something goes wrong, what will we do?"

At this moment, Xue Guoguan really regretted coming to Zhu Cilang tonight and letting him know such a fatal thing.

Moreover, the reason why Zhu Cilang told him about this matter in advance was to let him find a way to get the civil and military officials to agree to this matter.

Wouldn't this cost him his life?
In the past, he would support whatever the emperor wanted to do without thinking.

But now this is the emperor leading the army in person! The place he is going to is Liaodong. If he supports it without thinking, those officials will definitely break his spine!
Zhu Cilang naturally understood what Xue Guoguan was worried about, but he still didn't care. Instead, he said jokingly:

"I know what you're worried about, but don't worry, things won't get to that point."

"The reason why the Emperor is leading the army in person is simply to demonstrate his resolve for this battle! Furthermore, I have already planned this battle thoroughly, so there won't be any mistakes!"

"Even if Father is captured by the Qing army, he won't be as cowardly as Emperor Yingzong. He will definitely sacrifice his life for his country!"

"In this way, I will immediately inherit the throne!"

When Xue Guoguan heard these words, he was stunned on the spot, and his body couldn't help shaking for a moment.

Because if you take these words seriously, it's no different from rebellion.
Not
Is this really something the prince could say?
Is this really something he would listen to?

Just as he was thinking about it, Zhu Cilang suddenly stood up and walked down, walked straight to Xue Guoguan, and patted him on the shoulder and said:

"Master Xue, you are a smart man. You should have already seen some clues about some things, so I will not hide it from you."

"The Ming Dynasty has long ceased to be ruled by my father."

"The entire capital city is no longer under the control of my father."

"So, you should know what to do, right?"

Zhu Cilang's words were almost telling Xue Guoguan that his rebellion had succeeded.
Xue Guoguan is not a fool, on the contrary, he is a very shrewd and smart man!

Combined with the various speculations he had made before, he understood everything in an instant.
At this moment, he just felt sweaty.

If it weren't for his strong ability to endure, he would have been scared to death by now!
After a long while, Xue Guoguan forced a smile and said tremblingly:
"Your Highness, rest assured. I know what to do. I will definitely find a way to get the other ministers to support Your Majesty in leading the army in person!"

Zhu Cilang then nodded in satisfaction.

"In that case, then I am relieved!"

"Indeed, the Ming Dynasty is fortunate to have Elder Xue!"

Xue Guoguan's mouth twitched, but he still bowed and said:
"This is my duty, Your Highness, I appreciate your praise!"

Immediately afterwards, Zhu Cilang instructed Xue Guoguan on some other matters before letting him leave.

When he left the East Palace, Xue Guoguan realized that his back was soaked.
The next morning, Zhu Cilang still did not go to court.

Because he knew that today's morning court would definitely be a scene of great uproar over the commercial tax reform, and he didn't want to get into trouble, so he wisely chose to avoid it.

As expected, in the court, as soon as the cabinet announced the details of the commercial tax reform, civil and military officials immediately became like a pot of boiling water, and everyone started talking about it.

Although they understood that the commercial tax reform was closely related to their salaries, many officials were still worried about the sudden increase in commercial taxes.

For a moment, the ministers quickly divided into two camps.

One group believes that commercial taxes do need to be reformed, but the step should not be too drastic. Raising all commercial taxes to a rate of 10% and 20% at once would be too heavy a burden for merchants and would probably lead to many adverse consequences.

The other group felt that merchants had not paid taxes in full for the past two hundred years, and it was only natural to impose high commercial taxes on them now.

Both sides insisted on their own opinions and refused to give in. The argument became heated and heated.

However, the quarrel did not last long.

Because these ministers quickly came to their senses and realized that the Ministry of Revenue and the Cabinet must have discussed this matter long ago, and the emperor must have nodded in agreement, otherwise the cabinet ministers would not have been so calm.

Everyone stared at them as if they were watching a good show.

In this case, continuing to argue is futile and will only make people laugh at us.

As a result, the scene gradually quieted down.

Seeing that no one was arguing anymore, Xue Guoguan, the chief minister of the cabinet, stood up.

"Regarding this matter, the Ministry of Revenue and the Cabinet have already completed their discussions and have submitted it to His Majesty for review. His Majesty has also agreed to it, and the imperial edict will be issued shortly."

"So this matter is settled, no one is allowed to disobey!"

When the officials heard this, they felt as uncomfortable as if they had eaten a fly.

No, the Ministry of Revenue and the Cabinet have already discussed it, and the Emperor has agreed to it. Why the hell are you letting us discuss something like this?
Wouldn’t it be enough to just read out the imperial edict?

Have to wait for this to happen.
For a moment, the ministers' eyes when looking at the cabinet changed!

Perhaps in the past, the cabinet could have imposed some constraints on imperial power, but under Zhu Cilang, the cabinet was actually used to take the blame.
(End of this chapter)