Ming Dynasty: Tanks blocked the door and you said to me, "Long live Ming Dynasty"

"Foreign minister Park Muqian pays respect to His Majesty the Ming Emperor!"

"Your Majesty, please make the decision for North Korea!"

After he knelt down, he immediately burst into tears.

"Your Majesty, the shameless Later Jin has been bullying our Korea for a long time!"

"Last year, Yezhupi's nephew Amin led his army to invade our border, forcing our king to flee to Jianghuajue."

"Although the Later Jin has withdrawn its troops from Korea, it has plundered all the savings of the Korean people and the royal family."

"My king, my king can only survive on kimchi all day long. His life is so miserable!"

This guy was crying and sobbing, without any pretense at all.

He is definitely a bullied child, complaining to his parents.

The crying of grievance made anyone who heard it sad and moved to tears.

After listening to his complaints, Zhu Youxiao couldn't bear to blame him for visiting relatives with empty-handedness.

"Someone, get him a bowl of ginseng soup. Look how wronged the child is."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Pu Muqian kowtowed three times and stood up from the ground with blood all over his head.

After he took the ginseng soup brought by the eunuch, Zhu Youxiao spoke slowly.

"Park, Park Muqian, right?"

"Send someone back to tell your king, if you hold back any longer, I will make the Later Jin pay the price."

Having said this, he stood up from the dragon throne, faced the ministers, and shouted loudly.

"The Later Jin clown bullies my vassal state and invades my border!"

"His Sima Zhao's intentions can no longer be concealed!"

"Today, I am here to announce it to the world!"

"Within three years, we will destroy it!"

These words left everyone stunned.

With internal and external troubles and fiscal deficits, in such an era, can the Jin Dynasty be destroyed in three years?

Almost no one believed it!

Sun Chengzong was stroking his beard, and to his surprise, he pulled out a clump of it.

Zhu Youjian's eyes widened after hearing this. Just as he was about to say something, someone grabbed his clothes.

When he turned around, he saw Wen Tiren slowly shaking his head at him.

"Your Highness, be careful what you say!"

"Some things can't be said!"

Chapter 195 Three Things

Amid the stunned gazes of the crowd, Pu Muqian knelt down with excitement on his face.

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your help!"

"Hahahaha!"

Zhu Youxiao smiled, took two steps forward, helped him up from the ground with his own hands, patted his shoulder and said.

"From now on, don't call me a foreign minister anymore, just call me a minister directly!"

"Tell your King of Korea that the Ming Dynasty will always be your solid backer!"

"No matter who it is, if they want to bully North Korea, they must first ask me if I agree!"

After saying this, under Park Muqian's grateful gaze, he turned around and looked at the ministers outside.

"Today, I have three things to announce to the world!"

"Last year, many provinces suffered from drought, resulting in a total crop failure."

"The first thing is to exempt all agricultural taxes within three years!"

As soon as this statement came out, the whole place was in an uproar.

The reaction of all officials was even more shocked than when they heard that the Jin Dynasty would be destroyed in three years.

Zhu Youjian, in particular, was the first to stand up before Zhu Youxiao even finished speaking.

"Your Majesty, no!"

"Even the little prince and all the civil and military officials in the court can give up their salaries and live a tight life."

"But your majesty, there are soldiers waiting for their salaries outside, and there are thousands of hungry people crying for food inside!"

"The Ministry of Revenue is already struggling to make ends meet, and can only breathe a sigh of relief when the summer grain arrives in the warehouse."

"But if we don't collect agricultural taxes, how will the court spend its money?"

Looking at his righteous and stern look, Zhu Youxiao had only one impulse in his heart.

That is to knock open his head and see what he is thinking!

Nima!

What do you mean you and all the civil and military officials can do without salaries?

When you said this, did you ask for the opinions of civil and military officials?

As expected of you, Zhu Youjian, your emotional intelligence...

Zhu Youxiao glanced at the officials present, and sure enough, some of them were staring at Zhu Youjian with gritted teeth.

He smiled and waved his hand.

"Your Majesty, what you said is wrong! How could I be such a mean and ungrateful person?"

"The second thing I just wanted to talk about is clean government!"

As soon as these words came out, everyone looked at him with eyes wide open.

Integrity!

This is something that concerns everyone.

Emperor, are you planning to send out the Imperial Guards to check every household's financial situation, just like Emperor Hongwu did?

But what Zhu Youxiao said next was beyond their expectations.

"It is said that ten years of hard study are just for a day of fame. If you can get your name on the list of successful candidates, you will rise to the top."

"But I heard that the salary of a first-rank official in the court, such as Lord Wen, is only 87 shi!"

"Nowadays, the price of polished rice in the capital is 1 liang and 3 qian per dan. So, Lord Wen's salary is only about 110 liang."

"And some of the lower-rank officials, such as the ninth-rank Wuguan Sichen and Jingfu Jianxiu, only received a monthly salary of five stones."

"Converted into silver, it's less than ten taels of silver!"

"Ming dynasty law prohibits all officials from engaging in business."

"How can I support my family with this money?"

Having said this, he walked to the front of the hall, looked at the officials outside the hall, and casually pointed to the person at the back of the team.

"You, come out!"

When his voice reached there, the Jinyiwei ran over and brought the official to the emperor's presence.

Looking at the patches on the official's body, Zhu Youxiao asked in a friendly manner.

"What is your job?"

The official seemed obviously flattered and immediately knelt on the ground.

"Your Majesty, I am Zhang Ziling, the Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Works!"

"What's your rank and how much is your monthly salary?"

"Your Majesty, for a fifth-rank official, the monthly salary is 14 dan, which is equivalent to 18 liang and 2 qian of silver according to the current rice price."

"Eighteen taels and two cents should be enough for food and clothing, but why are you covered in patches?"

Zhang Ziling was a smart man. He had guessed what Zhu Youxiao was thinking and took the opportunity to complain.

"Your Majesty, I have an eighty-year-old mother at home, and a wife and children at home."

"In addition to them, we also have two maids, two servants, and a coachman. These all cost a lot of money."

"Add to that the receptions and farewells between colleagues and the wedding and funeral banquets between neighbors, and there will be basically nothing left from the monthly salary."

Zhu Youxiao nodded, motioned him to return to the queue, then looked at the ministers and asked.

"Is this also true for you?"

Before, all the ministers were wondering whether he was going to launch a large-scale anti-corruption campaign, but now it seems that this is not the case at all.

So they shouted in unison.

"Your Majesty, Holy Might!"

Zhu Youxiao raised the corners of his mouth and smiled slightly.

"In that case, I will make sure you don't get embarrassed about the second matter!"

"From now on, the monthly salary of officials will no longer be paid in grain, silk, etc., but in cash!"

"This is to increase salaries and maintain integrity!"

"First rank, three hundred and sixty taels of silver per month!"

"For every level you go down, your monthly silver will decrease by 20 taels!"

"For those who hold multiple positions, the highest official rank shall prevail!"

boom!

This decision was like a bolt from the blue, exploding in the minds of all officials.

There is only one exception!

That is the Minister of Revenue Guo Yunhou!

What the hell!

Everyone else is trying to increase revenue and reduce expenditure, but when it comes to the emperor, why is it completely the opposite?

Save source and open up flow?

Tax exemption first, then salary increase?

Moreover, the monthly silver is no longer distributed in discounts, but only in silver?

Where would the Ministry of Revenue, which is already so poor that it can barely make ends meet, get so much silver?

"Your Majesty, you can't!"

He immediately rushed out of the queue, slid down to his knees, and came in front of Zhu Youxiao.

"His Majesty!"

"From top to bottom of the imperial court, from the first rank to the ninth rank, there are more than ten thousand officials!"

"With such a salary increase, the Ministry of Revenue really can't come up with so much money!"

He was almost crying!

The Emperor of the Ming Dynasty knew how to play a lot of games, but I've never seen anyone as good at it as he was!

Isn't this clear-cut bullying?

Zhu Youxiao did not allow any rebuttal and spoke word for word.

"My dear Mr. Guo, you are the Minister of Revenue, and you are in charge of the purse strings for the Ming Dynasty!"

"How you make the money is up to you."