A son who doesn't resemble his father? Love you, old man, see you at Xuanwu Gate!

Chapter 65 Marquis Shang
Thirty-nine salt officials and forty-eight iron officials, in an instant, heads rolled, hot blood gushing, melting the ice and snow that fell to the ground.

The officials, nobles, and members of the imperial family from both the Chinese and foreign dynasties witnessed it firsthand, yet they showed no discomfort whatsoever. Some even revealed expressions of pleasure amidst the lingering smell of rust.

How can merchants be worthy of being ranked alongside them in the same court?
Sang Hongyang remained in a daze for a long time.

The deaths of his fellow human beings and the failure of the salt and iron monopoly plan brought him to the brink of mental collapse.

Behind him, Dongguo Xianyang and Kong Jin, the Grand Minister of Agriculture, lowered their heads silently, their expressions complex.

The actions of Zhang Tang, the Minister of Justice, provided everyone with an alternative solution: to replace the person in a practical sense for the sake of the new policies.

All eighty-seven salt and iron merchants and their families were wiped out.

Following dozens of powerful families in Chang'an, Zhang Tang achieved another "remarkable feat" in the practice of punishing relatives and friends.

"Now, let's re-elect the salt and iron officials. Do any of you still have any objections?" Zhang Tang's imposing manner carried a hint of dominance.

"Nothing."

For high-ranking officials, the salt and iron monopolies were a means to increase national profits; whether the profits increased quickly or slowly, it was all the same, and there was no harm in it.

For the marquises and members of the imperial clan, as "victims," ​​no matter how much the salt and iron monopolies increased, as long as His Majesty felt even a little more uncomfortable, it was worth doing.

Mei Gao, Wuqiu Shouwang, and other court officials remained silent. It had been proven that His Majesty's cooperation with the salt and iron merchants was a huge mistake. Now, Zhang... well, as the Crown Prince, he should be the one to support the Emperor. If he were to speak up and obstruct him, he would be seen as a treacherous minister.

"In that case, after the court discussion, we will report to His Majesty and promulgate the new salt and iron policies, appointing the Grand Minister of Agriculture and the Minister of the Imperial Treasury," Gongsun Hong concluded.

"Your humble servant is here," Yan Yi and Zhao Yu said in unison.

"The Imperial Household Department, the Imperial Treasury, and the Court of Justice cooperated to exterminate those salt and iron merchants and their families, and confiscated all their illegal wealth. Then, the salt and iron administration was reopened, and the court produced salt and iron according to the actual needs of the people."

"Yes, Prime Minister," Zhang Tang, Yan Yi, and Zhao Yu replied in unison.

Yan Yi and Zhao Yu returned to their posts.

Zhang Tang remained standing in the same spot.

Even though the execution outside the main hall had been completed, the corpse and head had been taken away, and the bloodstains had been washed away, everyone still felt that the stench of blood had not only not dissipated, but had actually intensified.

"The third new policy is the tax on vehicles and vessels."

Based on the situation, Zhang Tang adjusted the order of the new policies and slowly said, "Taxes will be increased for wealthy merchants, and taxes will be waived for ordinary people."

Is this another matter of business?

The nobles, marquises, and members of the royal family gradually realized that, unlike His Majesty's indiscriminate targeting of everyone, the Crown Prince was clearly more interested in the profits of merchants.

Upon closer reflection, that makes sense.

Compared to agriculture, commerce inherently offers greater profits and easier wealth accumulation, making it more attractive to people.

This is the reason why "in seeking wealth through poverty, farming is not as good as industry, and industry is not as good as commerce."

Human nature is always driven by self-interest, and without coercive measures, it is difficult to stop people from flocking to places where there are more benefits.

In particular, once merchants become extremely wealthy, they will inevitably hire more people and acquire more servants in order to gain more profits, causing more people to leave the farmland. Over time, they will become less obedient to the imperial court and may even dare to rebel.

The recently deceased major salt and iron merchants are prime examples; these were no ordinary businessmen, and a strong crackdown is necessary.

Among the pre-Qin states, Qin was the most proactive in "making the most of its geographical advantages." Qin, which was then part of the Guanzhong Plain, faced the most severe problem of sparse population among the states. Therefore, Shang Yang's reforms employed every means to encourage people to abandon other professions and engage in agricultural production. Correspondingly, it was necessary to legally deprive merchants of certain political rights, creating an environment where the entire society, and even the whole world, looked down upon and despised "minor occupations."

For example, business people were among the first to be conscripted during wartime. Later, as the number of people conscripted increased, even those who had been businessmen or whose fathers had been businessmen were given priority for conscription.

Those who became impoverished through commerce could be arbitrarily taken in as government slaves; this was known as the "Seven Categories of Exiles." The character "谪" (exile) can be broken down to mean "salesman."

At the end of the Warring States period, Han Feizi even directly classified "merchants and artisans" as one of the "parasites" of the state, believing that if they were not completely eliminated, the state would inevitably perish.

The fall of Han is not mentioned.

At the beginning of the Han Dynasty, the people of the Central Plains had experienced a long period of war and urgently needed to restore their strength. Therefore, during the reign of Emperor Gaozu, the policy of emphasizing agriculture and suppressing commerce was continued. Merchants were subject to heavier taxes and were prohibited from wearing brocade and traveling by carriage.

During the reigns of Emperor Xiaohui and Empress Lü, the court relaxed its laws and regulations on merchants, but still prohibited merchant families from becoming officials.

Emperors Xiaowen and Xiaojing, and even Your Majesty today, have been even more lax. People like Sang Hongyang, Dongguo Xianyang, and Kong Jin either forged their identities or made no attempt to conceal them, and thus gained entry into the inner court.

In essence, the existence of merchants is inherently linked to the prosperity of dynasties. Even with long-term political denigration, it cannot change the reality that "the current laws despise merchants, yet merchants are already rich and noble; they honor farmers, yet farmers are already poor and lowly."

When merchants become wealthy, they begin to covet the affairs of the court. History has already provided the answer: Guan Zhong destroyed Lu and Liang, the Tian family replaced Qi, Lü Buwei usurped Qin... However, each era has its own advantages. At least for now, there are a few people, a group of people, who can decide the fate of the entire business world with a single word.

Sang Hongyang showed a look of horror.

Even His Majesty is close to them, yet the Crown Prince dares to discard them like worn-out shoes.

"How much is the heavy tax?" Mei Gao finally couldn't hold back any longer.

The essence of Your Majesty's cooperation with merchants is that Your Majesty urgently needs a large increase in funds, and the Crown Prince is cracking down on merchants. This is to change the course of the empire.

“Thirty percent!” Zhang Tang gave the figure.

The merchants among the tax-exempt commoners were replaced by those who were wealthy merchants, who paid three times the taxes of ordinary merchants. It should be noted that merchants already paid twice as much tax as ordinary merchants, so the commercial tax was six times that of the commoners.

Commercial tax is very close to one of the three taxes.

Mei Gao, Wuqiu Shouwang, and other officials from the central court were greatly alarmed. "Does the Minister of Justice intend to cut off trade routes?"

"Why does the Imperial Censor say such a thing?"

Zhang Tang looked at him with a puzzled expression, "With a few less big merchants and more millions of ordinary merchants, isn't this a sign of a booming business?"

Mei Gao's mind went blank after hearing this. How could an industry be considered prosperous if it didn't even have a leading player?

Wuqiu Shouwang frowned slightly as he looked at Zhang Tang, as if he were seeing that young sovereign who wanted to prohibit all private monopolies except for those run by the imperial court.
Is it true that officials are allowed to set fires, but ordinary people are forbidden to light lamps?
"This system has a huge impact. I wonder if Your Majesty has another plan?" Mei Gao asked after a moment of silence.

If one is not careful, the entire business will turn against them.

"The sovereign said: 'There are 109 prefectures and kingdoms in the country, and perhaps 109 more marquises may be added.'" Zhang Tang nodded and smiled.

Can eliminating wealthy and powerful merchants earn one a title?

Suddenly, Chengming Hall became even hotter.

The new policy is great!

(End of this chapter)