My wife is Invincible East

The prince's behavior is still eccentric and his preferences are as he pleases, which has not changed at all.

For a moment, the entire Golden Throne Hall was terribly quiet, with even the sound of breathing as thin as a mosquito's hair. No one dared to speak, for fear that they would be the next to die.

"What this prince hates most is these red tapes, which waste people's time and money, but are actually useless superficial efforts."

"Listen up! A nation's strength doesn't lie in appearances, but in its backbone and national strength! Not this kind of stupid ceremony that consumes national strength and feeds treacherous officials!"

Zhu Moye lashed out curse words like a string of cannonballs. These shouts seemed like warnings and cautions, but also seemed like he was calling a horse a zebra and secretly cursing them as treacherous ministers.

Immediately, he swept his eyes, which contained a hint of cold murderous intent, towards the dozens of people below the stage and shouted:

"From today on, the coronation ceremony will be abolished!"

"You, dare you disobey?!"

Everyone was swept around by that terrifying gaze, and felt a sharp pain all over their body, as if a piece of flesh was being gouged out. Their whole body was cold to the bone, as if they had fallen into an ice cellar, and their straight bodies began to tremble.

Plop...Plop...

The first person knelt down on the ground, and as if a single move spread throughout the body, dozens of people knelt down one after another, slamming their proud heads to the ground and shouting in unison:

"Your servants respectfully welcome the new emperor to the throne! Long live our emperor!"

"Your Majesty, I will serve you wholeheartedly and wholeheartedly. Long live the Emperor!"

After a series of ruthless tactics and heavy pressure, all the ministers were finally forced to kneel down and surrender.

Zhu Moye put his hands behind his back, looking down at the crowd, with an imposing presence, his eyes slightly fixed, muttering:

"I, appointed by Heaven, shall live long and prosper!"

Huh, he finally becomes the emperor, and the sequel will be even more exciting!

Chapter 75: Never Add More

"Ding! Successfully ascended the throne and became the emperor. Unlocked the achievement: Dominate the World, rewarded 10000 points, and given the coercive skill: Imperial Aura!"

"Triggered side quest: Eternal Supreme, reward points: 100 million!"

"The first stage of the mission: A Wise Ruler, with a reward of 100,000 points. The second stage: The Greatest Emperor of All Time, with a reward of 300,000 points. The third stage: The Eternal Supreme, with a reward of 600,000 points!"

Zhu Moye was somewhat stunned by the series of prompts in his ears. Becoming the emperor was his set goal and he was determined to accomplish it.

There's a reward for this? It's practically free.

Immediately, a hint of tenderness appeared on Zhu Moye's stern face. Tianyi, this little girl, was becoming more and more considerate.

"Your Majesty... now that you have ascended the throne, what should the reign title be?"

Shang Ming smiled flatteringly, and immediately changed the address. He began to strike while the iron was hot and immediately reminded Zhu Moye to change the year name.

Tell the world that the current master of the Ming Dynasty is the former crown prince, Zhu Moye!

Dozens of ministers below the stage were also looking at Zhu Moye eagerly, waiting for his reply. After getting a definite answer, they could make preparations.

"Let me think about it first."

Hearing Shang Ming's question, Zhu Moye calmed down. It was not the right time to tease Tianyi, so he frowned and began to think deeply.

Zhu Yuanzhang, the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty, was born in Shaolin Temple and was a military man. After he came to power, he changed the reign title to Hongwu and was called the Hongwu Emperor.

I have been pursuing the true meaning of martial arts all my life. Should I be called Zhenwu Emperor?

No, the title of Zhenwu Emperor was bestowed upon Zhang Sanfeng, the founder of Wudang, by Zhu Yuanzhang himself.

A gentleman does not take away what others like. Although Zhu Moye does not consider himself a gentleman, he is definitely not a villain and still has a sense of awe for great historical figures.

After a moment, a smile appeared on Zhu Moye's lips, and he said in a loud voice: "From today on, the fourteenth year of Chenghua will be changed to the first year of Shangwu."

"My nickname: Emperor Wuzong of Ming!"

"Do you have any objections?"

Emperor Shangwu? What a powerful name.

The ministers, who were all experienced and shrewd, saw that there was something to flatter and they all rushed to congratulate him:

"Your Majesty values ​​both civility and martial virtue, and you rule over the four seas and unify the Ming Dynasty. You are truly worthy of the title of martial virtue, and I, your subjects, have no objection!"

"Get up."

Zhu Moye said this lightly, and after everyone stood up straight, he picked up an imperial edict, picked up the brush in his hand, and began to write quickly. After a while, he threw the imperial edict to Shang Ming.

"Liang Fang was a corrupt man. He falsely passed imperial decrees to sell countless official positions, embezzled the national treasury several times, and exploited the people's wealth, causing widespread public resentment. His crimes are unforgivable."

"I am responsible for the well-being of hundreds of millions of people in the Ming Dynasty and the safety of the country. For those who bring disaster to the country and the people, I will immediately order the execution of all nine generations of their clan!"

"Wei Xing, Wei Juan, and all their accomplices must be arrested and brought to justice. If they resist, they will be killed on the spot. Their property will be confiscated!"

Shang Ming took the imperial edict, opened it, and read it aloud. He then surveyed the important officials below the stage and said, "Is there any minister willing to carry out this order?"

Everyone was slightly stunned, and then a layer of cold sweat broke out on their foreheads.

This assignment was a hot potato. Everyone knew that Liang Fang and his cronies were the richest officials in the Ming Dynasty, with enormous wealth, much richer than the national treasury.

No one can guarantee that they will not be tempted by the mountains of gold and silver when seeing them during a house search and take some away.

If it was an ordinary new emperor taking office, they would not be afraid. Let him be greedy, but what could he do to them, the ministers in the highest positions?

But the martial emperor in front of him is different. His methods are as brutal as those of Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang. No, he is even more vicious than Taizu.

At least Taizu still had some sense back then. The White Lotus Sect, which was the Ming Cult back then, helped Taizu build his empire, and he still rewarded them according to their merits without any stinginess.

If the people of the Ming Cult had not been so greedy and wanted to be designated as the state religion and be on equal footing with the imperial court, thus angering Taizu, they would not have ended up being wanted and hunted down nationwide.

But now Zhu Moye is basically the second in command. He has the boss's style and won't tell you anything. If you touch his bottom line, the only word he has is kill you.

These ministers were all old foxes who had been in the officialdom for decades. They could see that Zhu Moye had given them this seemingly lucrative job.

It is just to make them show their true colors and then kill them without saying a word.

People die for money and birds die for food. Just now, Liang Fang was too greedy and tried to touch the tail of this fierce dragon, so he was whipped to death.

They dared not do it again and repeatedly evaded the charge, saying, "Eunuch Shang, matters like this, such as confiscation of property and extermination of the clan, are usually handled by the Imperial Guards and the East and West Factories."

"We, the humble officials, dare not overstep the bounds. Lord Wan Tong of the Imperial Guard is missing, and the governor of the Western Factory, Eunuch Yu, is also far away in Dali."

"I think you are the only one who can handle this matter."

Shang Ming's expression remained indifferent, without the slightest change. He turned to look at Zhu Moye and said respectfully, "Your Majesty, what do you think?"

Zhu Moye took in the situation below the stage, and a hint of murderous intent flashed through his mind. He had never intended to ask these good-for-nothings to do the job.

The purpose of asking this question is just to test whether there are any loyal and upright people who dare to stand up among the ministers who hold great power in the Ming Dynasty.

Now it seems that there really is none.

For a moment, Zhu Moye just felt a little headache. In such a big country, those who hold power are all useless.

We just want to kill them and replace them with a group of loyal and brave people. We cannot kill them until there are alternative talent resources, otherwise the order of the entire country will be paralyzed.

Governing a country is indeed not as simple as playing tricks and schemes.

He sighed slightly and said, "I'll leave it to you."

Shang Ming held up the imperial edict, knelt on the ground, and said loudly: "I obey your command!"

"My beloved sir, do you have anything else to say?"

"We have nothing important to do."

Zhu Moye took a deep breath, then suddenly opened his eyes. A glint of light flashed in his eyes, and he said in a clear voice, "You are all fine. I do have something important to announce."

"From today on, the entire nation will be tax-free for ten years! Furthermore, there will be no additional taxes!"

Well, I just became the emperor, so it is necessary to have two transition chapters to arrange state affairs. Don’t complain about me...

Chapter 76: Forcing people to spit out money!

As soon as these words were spoken, the entire Golden Palace suddenly became quiet.

Everyone held their breath, even Shang Ming, who had followed Zhu Moye for ten years, had his pupils shrink as he looked at his irresistible expression in disbelief.

"Your Majesty, this is absolutely impossible."

A somewhat panicked old voice suddenly sounded and entered Zhu Moye's ears.

Zhu Moye turned his head and information about this person instantly flooded into his mind.

This elderly man is the current Minister of War, Wang Fu, who is nicknamed one of the six clay ministers by later generations.

The implication is that although he is not a wicked person, he is also a fence-sitter, who can be manipulated by others like a ball of mud.

Zhu Moye did not have much ill feeling towards this person. After all, there were many turbulent situations in the court, and people who were too upright would die quickly.

Zhu Moye doesn't dislike people like Wang Fu who are prudent and self-protective, follow the trend, rarely commit crimes, and are honest and abide by their duties.

He immediately smiled with relief and said, "What insights do you have, my dear Lord Wang? Feel free to tell me. I won't blame you."

Seeing that Zhu Moye was not angry, Wang Fu's heart, which had been hanging in the air, suddenly dropped to his stomach. He breathed a sigh of relief, bowed, and said, "Your Majesty, you don't know that Taizu was born in the common people. After he came to power, he loved the people like his own children. He was very generous in taxation across the country. In fact, each place only had to pay a small amount of Taicang tax, and the vast majority was left to the local county government for emergency relief."

"It is because of these policies that our great Ming Dynasty has won the support of the people and made the country as solid as a rock."

Zhu Moye's expression remained unchanged as he nodded, motioning for him to continue.

Wang Fu saw that Zhu Moye was not unusual, so he organized his words and continued, "The late emperor was a benevolent and kind ruler, generous to the people, and even reduced taxes a few years ago."

"In recent years, the annual tax revenue collected from the national treasury has reached a historical low of several million taels of silver, barely enough to cover military expenses and government expenditures, with very little surplus."

Although Wang Fu was not considered a good official who loved his people like his own children, he was conscientious in his duties and managed everything in an orderly manner. What he said now was all true.

The Ming Dynasty's taxation was indeed one of the lowest in history. Even in the Song Dynasty hundreds of years ago, with such a small territory, the taxes collected were over 100 million strings of cash, or 100 million taels of silver, every year.

It is dozens of times more than that during the Chenghua period.

It is not that the population of the Ming Dynasty was smaller than that of the Song Dynasty, but that the taxation was generous, and there were no industrial and commercial taxes or any other miscellaneous taxes.

The amount of silver deposited into the national treasury each year never exceeded 10 million taels. Together with the grain, local specialties, etc. tributes, the total value was only tens of millions of taels.

In a word, one word: poor!

"Your Majesty, if you exempt the tax system for ten years, the millions of soldiers of the Ming Dynasty will have no wages to pay, and the entire court will have no salaries to receive. Then, the world will be in chaos."

"I beg Your Majesty to revoke your order!"

Wang Fu knelt on the ground with a thud, kowtowed repeatedly, and begged Zhu Moye to withdraw the imperial edict.

Dozens of ministers saw Zhu Moye's face change slightly, thinking that he was wavering, and they all knelt on the ground and pleaded loudly together.

After all, if there is really a ten-year tax exemption, the interests of a large number of people will be harmed.

Although the annual tax revenue is not much, more than 90% of it is saved by local governments and does not need to be paid.

Sensible local officials will naturally give them big red envelopes one by one when the time comes.

However, if they are exempted from tax for ten years, it means that they will not have a huge income for ten years.

This absurd decision must be stopped.

Anyway, Wang Fu took the lead in asking for the order. At worst, he would be beheaded. They wouldn't lose a penny by kneeling down.

Zhu Moye, sitting on the dragon throne, had a calm expression, without the slightest change. Seeing the entire court of civil and military officials all pleading for orders, he sneered, "Who says the Ming soldiers don't have any pay? We can save on anything, but we absolutely cannot on military spending!"

"Not only can I not save money, I will double it!"

When the crowd heard Zhu Moye's words, they were immediately overjoyed. They looked up and asked in surprise, "Your Majesty, are you taking back your order?"

Zhu Moye curled his lips into a strange smile and said playfully, "Who said that?"

"I will exempt taxes, but I will also increase military spending!"

At the end, a sinister look flashed in Zhu Moye's eyes, and he said jokingly: "As for the money..."

"You served under the late emperor, relying on his benevolence and kindness, and you certainly collected a lot of the hoarding taxes from the tributes from various places."

"The doubled military and government expenses for the past ten years will naturally be paid by you and the local people together."

It's going to happen!

These two words flashed through everyone's mind. They never expected that Zhu Moye would directly and openly expose this unspoken rule in the officialdom that had never been exposed.

Moreover, they were blatantly asked to spit out the money they had previously swallowed and use it to subsidize state expenses for ten years.

If we have to pay double the military pay and cover the palace expenses, we will not be able to get less than 20 million taels of silver every year.