The struggle for the throne among nine princes—I really don't want to be the crown prince.

Chapter 355 No, you are the Great Zhou Divine Sword

Emperor Qianxi was extremely satisfied with the Crown Prince's performance!
He initially thought it would be quite risky to refute Zhen Yan this time.

After all, he knew the ins and outs of this all too well—which of those civil officials wasn't eloquent? Even if they were in the wrong, they wouldn't admit defeat verbally.

Otherwise, why would Emperor Wanli have simply avoided attending court to avoid arguing with his ministers?

And his grandfather, the Jiajing Emperor, who was also named the "Number One Memorial in the World," also dealt with those ministers by rarely showing his face and frequently resorting to caning in court.

But what about now? The Crown Prince's move has put Zhen Yan in a dilemma.

The two charges he leveled against the Crown Prince were all refuted by the Crown Prince, who presented the facts and reasoned with him, making his refutations sound righteous and justifiable.

It seems that this time, I, as the father, won't need to get involved myself.

To be honest, Emperor Qianxi really didn't want to get involved himself—he was a little uneasy and knew very well what would happen if he spoke up.

Looking at the radiant crown prince, his gaze unconsciously fell on his other sons.

The eldest is alright.

Sigh, this child is reckless. Although he is the eldest son of the emperor, he is not cut out to be the crown prince.

This time he was quite well-behaved. Although he didn't help, he didn't hold the Crown Prince back either, which is not bad.

As for the third son... Hmph!

Does he really think he's the only smart person in the world?
How could I, as his father, not see his little tricks?

That's just being too clever for your own good!
The fourth brother has always prided himself on having a strong sense of the big picture, but his performance this time was truly disappointing.

The ninth and tenth princes, those two idiots, were as stupid as ever this time, but no matter what, they did do something for their father...

Even ten fingers aren't all the same length, let alone these two. Their loyalty and support for their father have stood the test, and their attitude and stance are absolutely fine.

After a moment's thought, Emperor Qianxi's gaze fell once again on Zhen Yan.

Zhen Yan was feeling very uneasy, but the Crown Prince's words gave him a glimmer of hope.

The Crown Prince said, "Your Majesty is magnanimous." Could it be that after this defeat, Emperor Qianxi will not kill him?
The thought made his heart race—if that were really the case, then…

Although he wasn't sure, since the Crown Prince had said so, he quickly replied, "Thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty, and thank you, Your Highness!"

Shen Ye smiled and said, "Minister Zhen, there's no need to thank me. Your courage to speak out for justice and submit the 'Number One Memorial Under Heaven' to His Majesty shows that just as the previous dynasty had a 'divine sword' like Hai Rui, our Great Zhou also has one."

"Right now, there is something that I need your 'Great Zhou Divine Sword' to do."

As he spoke, Shen Ye waved his hand and said, "Zhou Bao, hang up the other statistical chart I prepared."

Upon hearing the Crown Prince say that he was the "Divine Sword of the Great Zhou", Zhen Yan's heart trembled.

His original intention in submitting this memorial was to emulate Hai Rui and gain fame, but he knew clearly that his true purpose in doing so was simply to secure a better future.

Instead of truly being like Hai Rui, who cared deeply for the common people.

Moreover, he impeached the Crown Prince. Logically, the Crown Prince should hate him to the core, not call himself the "Divine Sword of the Great Zhou" like this.

He even compared himself to Hai Rui!

I am far inferior to Hai Gangfeng!
What is the prince up to?
However, no matter how panicked he was, he understood that he had no way out now.

Zhou Bao and a few others quickly put away the statistical table about the Beijing Inspection, and then hung a large white cloth on the wall.

When Zhen Yan looked up, her heart skipped a beat—

These are two tables, one of which reads "Changes in the number of taxes and officials/gentry in the previous dynasty".

The other document is titled "Changes in Tax Revenue and the Number of Officials and Gentry in This Dynasty".

On the two tables, one curve is very long, while on the other it is much shorter.

When Emperor Qianxi saw this, he frowned slightly. He hadn't expected that the Crown Prince had prepared this move when he was criticizing Zhen Yan.

He immediately understood the Crown Prince's intention:
This is to promote Zhen Yan as the "Great Zhou Divine Sword" and then strike at the tax reform issue that is most troublesome for him.

Once this sword is swung, then naturally no one will be watching the matter of the "Number One Memorial Under Heaven".

After all, any change to the tax system affects the interests of all the gentry in the land. Who would be willing to spit out the meat they've already eaten?
Thinking that he could finally get rid of the predicament of being the "Number One Memorial in the World," Emperor Qianxi felt relieved and looked at the Crown Prince with even more approval.

However, upon closer inspection of the previous dynasty's table, the number of officials and gentry continued to rise, while the amount of land paying taxes decreased.

Tax revenue declined steadily from its peak at the founding of the dynasty, and by the time of the last emperor, it had been reduced by more than half.

Many people say that the previous dynasty collapsed because it couldn't collect taxes, and it seems that this is true.

Looking at the current dynasty's charts, Emperor Qianxi felt even more uneasy—if this trend continued, the Great Zhou might not even outlive the previous dynasty.

This was something that Emperor Qianxi, who always had a high opinion of himself and considered himself a "sage ruler," found hard to accept.

How can the tax revenue of this dynasty be inferior to that of the previous dynasty?
So, this emperor...

Emperor Qianxi was watching, and Ma Qi was watching too!
Looking at the table, Ma Qi's expression grew increasingly grim.

As the Minister of Revenue, he knew the ins and outs of taxation better than anyone. Yet he never considered making changes, not because he didn't want to, but because he dared not.

This is tantamount to going against the entire world; whoever touches it will die.

Now that the Crown Prince has revealed this list, he clearly intends to make a big deal out of it. If things go wrong, I, the Minister of Revenue, will be put on the hot seat.

This is something he absolutely does not want to see.

Just as he was in a state of utter confusion, he heard Shen Ye speak up: "Minister Zhen, one of these two pictures is a comparison chart of tax revenue from the previous dynasty."

"The other one is a comparison chart of tax revenue in this dynasty."

“Look at the previous dynasty, it enjoyed a long period of peace and prosperity, and the number of officials and gentry increased day by day, but the tax revenue of the previous dynasty was decreasing.”

"Why do you think this is?"

Upon hearing this, Zhen Yan's lips twitched. He had passed the imperial examination and was not someone who only knew how to study all day long.

Why is this happening? Well, what else could it be? It's because there are more and more people not paying taxes!

Moreover, these people acquired increasingly larger properties and tried every means to evade taxes, which ultimately led to this outcome. How could the imperial court not be poor?
However, offending these people is far more terrifying than submitting the "Number One Memorial in the World" to Emperor Qianxi.

After all, Emperor Qianxi was a man who cared about his reputation.

And these people? They can use every means at their disposal to kill without shedding blood!
In their eyes, I am not even worth mentioning.

His lips moved, as if he wanted to speak, but he dared not.

Shen Ye spoke for him: "The reason is simple: many taxes are exempted from payment by officials and gentry."

"More and more wealth and land were concentrated in the hands of officials and gentry, but these officials and gentry did not pay taxes. As a result, by the late period of the previous dynasty, those who had only accounted for less than 10% of the wealth of the country bore more taxes than when the dynasty was established."

"The result was that the imperial court became increasingly impoverished, until it finally collapsed."

At this point, Shen Ye solemnly said, "We absolutely cannot follow in the footsteps of the previous dynasty, so we must make changes."

"Because if things don't change, the fate of the Great Zhou might be even worse than that of the previous dynasty!"

"But changing all this will not be easy. Both the Emperor and the Grand Secretaries will be constrained by various parties."

"So at times like this, we need a 'divine sword' to cleave this dead end!"

At this point, Shen Ye looked intently at Zhen Yan: "And you are the 'divine sword' that drives reform!"

"The Ming Dynasty had Hai Rui, and our Great Zhou Dynasty also has a divine sword!"

Upon hearing the Crown Prince elevate his position to that of a divine sword capable of cleaving through everything, Zhen Yan felt that the Crown Prince was trying to kill him!

If I were to propose abolishing all the privileges of officials and gentry myself, wouldn't that be...

Even if I die, I'll probably be dug up from my grave and my bones will be crushed and scattered to the winds!

At this moment, he was truly terrified!

His gaze unconsciously drifted towards the Eighth Prince, and he cried out in his heart, "Eighth Prince, did you come to me in the first place just to have me do this?!"
After going through all this trouble, is this all you really meant to do, waiting for me to reveal your true intentions?
In fact, it wasn't just Zhen Yan who was stunned; all the high-ranking officials and ministers present were dumbfounded and completely dumbfounded.

At this time, the crown prince actually proposed reforming the tax system.

Officials and gentry should pay taxes in the same way as ordinary people.

What... what are they trying to do?
The imperial court has always treated officials and gentry well. Did you consult with them before canceling their benefits?

Making Zhen Yan the "divine sword of the Great Zhou"—Your Highness, you've gone too far with this move...

Grand Secretary Zhang Ying was in a state of turmoil. He knew that this was a taboo subject that absolutely could not be opened, because once it was, it would be uncontrollable and trouble would keep coming.

However, the Crown Prince's two tables also indicate that the Great Zhou Dynasty was at a critical juncture.

If things don't change, then one day we will inevitably follow in the footsteps of the previous dynasty.

Therefore, he couldn't find the words to dissuade him for the time being.

"Grand Secretary Zhang, this matter is troublesome," Tong Guowei said quietly as he approached Zhang Ying.

Zhang Ying sighed, glanced at Zhen Yan, and said helplessly, "Let's wait and see."

Just then, the Crown Prince said, "Lord Zhen, you dared to submit a memorial to His Majesty and criticize him for the sake of the court."

"And you can't just turn a blind eye to this predicament facing the world!"

"I have already prepared the pen for you, my dear minister. The content is actually quite simple: officials and gentry must pay taxes just like ordinary people. In short, officials and gentry should pay taxes together!"

"I believe that once this memorial is released, it will surely surpass the greatest memorial in the world!"

Zhen Yan's mouth was trembling. He really wanted to shout, "Your Highness, please stop joking!" but the words were stuck in his throat, and he couldn't say a word.

His mind was in turmoil.

Just then, Shen Ye grabbed his hand and said, "Lord Zhen, now that you have drawn your divine sword, when will you draw it again?"

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(End of this chapter)