I, Emperor Chongzhen, have extended the life of the Ming Dynasty by five hundred years.

This matter has come to an end, and the court session will continue.

Because there are more important things to discuss today.

Chen Yan led his troops to confront Liu Fangliang's Shun army in Baoding, and the southern front was temporarily safe.

But what about the main force of the Shun army on the western front?

With cannons, it was only a matter of time before Li Zicheng took Juyong Pass.

Wei Zaode said, "If Juyong Pass falls, the capital will be in grave danger! Your Majesty must immediately issue an edict to mobilize troops from all over the country to come to the capital to defend the emperor!"

Zhu Youjian asked, "What troops are available for mobilization now?"

"Wu Sangui of Shanhaiguan, Zuo Liangyu of Hubei, Liu Zeqing of Shandong, and Tang Tong of Jizhou are all formidable troops, and their distance from the capital is moderate. In particular, Tang Tong, the commander of the western garrison of Jizhou, is only two hundred li away from the capital, and can be reached in a day or two."

After listening, Zhu Youjian thought to himself, "If these people could be trusted, the Ming Dynasty would not have perished."

Historically, Emperor Chongzhen did indeed mobilize four ministries to the capital to defend the emperor and even promised to bestow titles upon them; however, none of these people were reliable.

First was Wu Sangui, the general of Liaodong, whose Guan Ning cavalry was extremely powerful. However, after receiving the imperial edict to defend the emperor, he began to advance towards Beijing at a snail's pace. By the time Emperor Chongzhen was hanging from a tree, he was still halfway there. Upon hearing that Beijing had fallen, he turned back to Shanhaiguan.

Liu Zeqing, the general of Shandong, lied that he had fallen off his horse and was injured, citing his inability to move, and refused to obey the imperial edict. After the fall of Beijing, he fled to the south.

Despite holding considerable military power, Zuo Liangyu hesitated to act, instead submitting a plan to support the emperor.

This plan is very detailed, including how to choose the troop deployment route, how to transport supplies, etc. Then it says, "Your Majesty, I dare not send troops without authorization. Please take a look at this plan. If there are no problems, please sign it. Once you approve it, I will send troops."

Emperor Chongzhen waited day and night, only to receive a plan, leaving him in despair.

Tang Tong was the only one of the four to go to the capital to defend the emperor, and he brought with him eight thousand soldiers, all of whom were seasoned veterans.

Emperor Chongzhen was overjoyed and immediately conferred upon Tang Tong the title of Earl of Dingxi, bestowed upon him gold and silver, rewarded the army, and ordered him and the supervising eunuch Du Zhizhi to reinforce Juyong Pass.

As a result, this bastard surrendered!

It's not entirely his fault; it was Du Zhizhi who opened the gates and surrendered first, which led to Tang Tong being attacked from both sides and having no choice but to surrender.

History is repeating itself, but Zhu Youjian is not the Chongzhen Emperor of the previous life.

Since we know we can't rely on these people, we should think of other solutions as soon as possible.

Wei Zaode paused, and seeing that Zhu Youjian did not react, he continued, "Your Majesty has summoned troops to defend the capital. To show your sincerity, you may promise rewards."

Zhu Youjian then asked, "How shall I reward you?"

"In my opinion, he should be granted a title!"

"According to the ancestral precepts of the Ming Dynasty, no one may be granted a title without military merit. Yet now, the troops on all four fronts have not achieved any merit, but they are to be granted titles first. What kind of logic is this?"

Wei Zaode could only say, "The rebel army is now too powerful to care about ancestral rules."

Fang Yuegong, the Left Vice Minister of War, then said, "I second that suggestion; Your Majesty, please summon all the troops in the realm to defend the capital!"

"I second that proposal!"

"I second that proposal!"

Zhu Youjian quietly looked at the people in the court. Although they were unwilling to move the capital, they were also really afraid that Li Zicheng would invade.

Admittedly, a subject can surrender, but who knows what kind of character Li Zicheng was?

If surrendering will also result in being killed, then you can only blame your bad luck.

"I will indeed issue an edict, Your Majesty!"

"Yes, sir!"

Wang Chengen agreed and then took out a book of yellow silk from his bosom.

"Let me read it to you all!"

"yes!"

Wang Chengen slowly unfurled the yellow silk, cleared his throat, and began to read aloud.

"A proclamation to all the vassal kings!"

Upon hearing these words, everyone frowned.

"I believe that the Mandate of Heaven has been bestowed upon us, and the foundation laid by our ancestors has been passed down to this day for 276 years. However, the times have been unfavorable, and the country is in dire straits. Within the country, bandits have risen up and ravaged the land, causing immense suffering to the people and countless lives lost. Without the Jurchens, the Jurchens covet the Central Plains, their eyes fixed on the Central Plains. The borders are in turmoil, and the country has no peace."

"All the princes under heaven are descendants of the founding emperor, Emperor Gaozu. They have inherited the virtues of their ancestors, guarded the four directions, served as the bulwark of the court, and were relied upon by the people. At this critical moment for the nation, I am deeply worried. Therefore, I issue this letter to all the princes under heaven, hoping that they will understand the difficulties of the times and work together to overcome the national crisis."

"From this day forward, I hereby grant the princes the special permission to recruit loyal and righteous men within their respective fiefdoms, and to train troops for defense. The recruited troops must be rigorously trained, disciplined, and must not harass the people; their sole purpose must be to suppress bandits and bring peace to the people."

"The troops recruited by the princes, in addition to protecting their fiefdoms, can also be deployed as needed to cooperate with the imperial army in suppressing bandits and quelling unrest. I will dispatch capable generals to join forces with the princes to discuss important matters and strive to restore peace to the realm."

A commotion immediately broke out in the Fengtian Hall.

What was Emperor Chongzhen doing, allowing princes to command troops!

Don't you know what the consequences would be if vassal kings commanded troops at the beginning of the dynasty?

Wei Zaode quickly dissuaded him: "Your Majesty, you mustn't!"

Zhu Youjian countered, "Why not?"

Wei Zaode said, "The ancestral precepts state that a vassal king shall not command troops..."

"Is what you say the ancestral precepts of the Ming Dynasty?"

"This... is not an imperial ancestral instruction, but a legacy left by Emperor Chengzu."

"If the princes didn't command troops, then where did Emperor Chengzu's throne come from?"

Upon hearing this, all the officials in the hall were dumbfounded. How could such a thing be said?

The descendants of the Zhu family are trying to avoid mentioning it, but you, on the contrary, say it so openly...

Wei Zaode, with a mournful face, said, "Your Majesty, please be careful with your words..."

Zhu Youjian waved his hand and said, "Our Great Ming is beset by internal and external troubles. Why bother with those rules and regulations? Let alone commanding troops, if a prince were to step forward and quell a rebellion, what harm would there be in me abdicating the throne to him!"

Upon hearing this, Wei Zaode and the others looked at each other in bewilderment, at a loss for what to do.

Zhu Youjian looked at everyone and continued, "My lords, do not be anxious. I have another copy here, Wang Chengen!"

Wang Chengen put away the imperial edict he had just received, and then took out another one.

All eyes turned to this. The previous edict was already shocking enough, so what was this one?

Wei Zaode looked completely bewildered. Normally, imperial edicts were drafted by the Grand Secretariat or by Hanlin scholars who were to be summoned, and then submitted to the Grand Secretariat for review.

However, His Majesty wrote two edicts that did not go through the cabinet at all!

Wang Chengen cleared his throat again and read aloud: "Since ancient times, emperors have always regarded the people as the foundation of their rule, and taxes are the lifeblood of the nation and a heavy burden on the people. Since ascending the throne, I have worked diligently day and night to ensure the peace and prosperity of the nation and the well-being of the people. However, looking at the taxes levied over the years, some have been excessive and harsh, causing the people to be exhausted and their livelihoods to shrink day by day. This is truly not what I desire."

"After careful consideration, in order to alleviate the people's suffering and demonstrate the Emperor's grace, I hereby issue this decree to the whole world: from this day forward, the three taxes are abolished, and for the rest of the Ming Dynasty, no additional taxes shall be levied. All taxes on land and merchants shall remain fixed and unchanged according to the existing regulations. Future generations shall also abide by this ancestral instruction and shall not arbitrarily increase them in the slightest."

"I know that the greatest plan for the nation lies in the prosperity of the people and the strength of the country. Only by reducing the burden on the people can they live and work in peace and contentment, thereby leading to national prosperity and the stability of the state. Therefore, the decree to never increase taxes is not only to solve the immediate problem, but also to plan for the long-term development of the nation..."

"...I hope that all my subjects will understand this intention, and work together to build a prosperous Ming Dynasty. Once this edict is issued, it is as immutable as an ironclad law, and those who violate it will be punished to uphold the law of the land."

Wei Zaode murmured, "Abolish the three taxes and never impose additional levies..."

The "Three Taxes" refer to the additional taxes levied by the imperial court on top of the regular land tax, namely the Liaodong tax, the suppression tax, and the training tax, in order to raise military funds.

It was these three taxes that crushed the Ming Dynasty, causing countless people to be displaced.

If the people can't survive, then they have no choice but to rebel.

This edict shocked the officials even more than the edict issued to the vassal kings.

The Ming Dynasty is now beset by internal and external troubles. There are the Manchus outside the Great Wall, Li Zicheng in Xi'an, Zhang Xianzhong in Sichuan, and various rebel armies of all sizes fighting everywhere. However, fighting requires money!

The national treasury is already running a deficit, so the only option is for the people to suffer.

Now that the three taxes have been abolished, where will the money come from?