……

……

Let's not talk about the secret agreement reached between Zhao Junchen and Huo Zhengyuan.

However, it was said that after a temporary rest in Changzhou for one night, the southern patrol fleet set off north again, and under the urging of Emperor Deqing, the southern patrol fleet was still sailing at full speed along the way, but in just over three days, it had crossed Zhenjiang and came to Yangzhou.

Because of the continuous rush, the upper and lower members of the Southern Patrol Fleet were all tired, so Emperor Deqing was also very gracious and went to Yangzhou to rest for a day.

At the same time, the news contact between Emperor Deqing and the center of the capital finally returned to normal, and Emperor Deqing finally understood a general idea of the process of the crown prince Zhu and Yu's rectification of commercial taxes.

In fact, the action of the crown prince Zhu and Yu to rectify the commercial tax this time was not blindly reckless, and in order to achieve the goal, they still implemented a lot of strategic means.

First of all, the crown prince Zhu and Yu designed a wedge between the "Yellow Party" and the "Shen Party", which not only greatly weakened Huang Yourong's control over the central temple, but also distracted Huang Yourong's energy, which was also the main reason why Huang Yourong could not prevent Zhu and Yu from rectifying commercial taxes.

Secondly, the crown prince Zhu and Yu also carried out full investigation and preparation before proposing the rectification of commercial taxes, and when he formally proposed, he listed a large number of detailed data - according to the prince Zhu and Yu, the Ming Dynasty lost no less than 20 million taels of silver every year, which was the biggest reason for the lack of money and grain in the imperial court! In this way, the people can not be relieved, the border defense can not be prepared, the emperor can not be at ease, for the continuation of the Ming Dynasty for a hundred years, the commercial tax must be rectified, all the officials who oppose the rectification of the commercial tax are ill-intentioned, ill-intentioned...... In this way, under the threat of the righteousness of the imperial court, many officials did not dare to raise objections even if they had different opinions in their hearts.

At last. Prince Zhu and Yu also understood the truth of killing chickens and monkeys, and several officials who strongly opposed the rectification of commercial taxes were found to have a large number of crimes and evidence, many of which were related to commercial taxes, and then they were naturally dismissed and imprisoned by Prince Zhu and Yu, so that they were. The opposition that was not very strong in the first place was even more insignificant.

These methods are quite clever, and the style of the prince Zhu and Yu has always been inconsistent, obviously when the prince Zhu and Yu implemented the rectification of commercial taxes, there were high-level people behind them.

However, who this master is, Emperor Deqing can't guess anyway.

Because, Emperor Deqing would never have thought that his frail and low-key seventh son Zhu Hejian. There is such an ability to turn his hands into clouds and hands into rain, but he is hidden behind the scenes, and he turned the center of the capital upside down with the hands of Prince Zhu and Yu!

*

However, although Emperor Deqing complained a little that the crown prince Zhu Heyu had stabbed the big basket of commercial taxes, after seeing the reason for the prince's rectification of commercial taxes, he couldn't help but move in his heart!

Prior to this, everyone knew that there were many flaws in the commercial tax of the Ming Dynasty, but because the matter of commercial tax was too sensitive. No one ever dared to actually touch it, so no one knew how serious the problem really was!

However. After a detailed investigation, the crown prince Zhu and Yu found that the imperial court would lose at least 20 million taels of silver every year due to various mistakes in the commercial tax, and everyone understood how serious the problem of the commercial tax was!

After Emperor Deqing saw this number, he was also a little moved!

20,000,000 taels of silver a year! And that's just a rough estimate! If the imperial court can earn an extra 20 million taels of silver every year, how many things is enough for Emperor Deqing to do?!

Emperor Deqing called himself a holy monarch and was an emperor who rejoiced in his achievements. But whether it is cultural governance and martial arts, it is inseparable from silver! Since his accession to the throne, Emperor Deqing has been plagued by the lack of silver and grain in the imperial court, and now after seeing this number, he is naturally a little upset and upset.

Maybe. Although Prince Zhu and Yu's move to rectify commercial taxes is a bit reckless, it is not a completely bad thing?

For a moment, Emperor Deqing had such an idea.

However, after seeing the specific measures taken by the crown prince Zhu and Yu to rectify the commercial tax, Emperor Deqing couldn't help but shake his head and sigh.

Although Zhu Heyu vigorously suppressed public opinion and carried out the rectification of commercial taxes, his specific measures to rectify commercial taxes were too taken for granted, and they only abolished the private tax collection stations set up by the yamen such as the prefecture and county, the six ministries, the military towns, and the Huangzhuang, and then severely cracked down on smuggling activities!

These measures seem to be very targeted, but they are too simple, too crude, and offend all stakeholders in one go, and it is impossible to implement them smoothly, and they will only usher in countless backlashes and deception.

From the perspective of Emperor Deqing, these measures of the crown prince Zhu and Yu will soon end in failure, and in the end he not only failed to achieve his goal, but still got into trouble!

"Today, the mistakes of commercial taxation are known to the whole world, so the rectification of commercial taxation must continue! However, this matter must not be left to the crown prince, he does not have that ability, he will only make a mess of things! Well, the most suitable candidate should be Zhao Junchen, after all, he is the head of the household, if you talk about financial management, no one in the world can stand side by side with him! In addition, the business tax matter is widely implicated, related to the interests of all aspects, if it is drastically rectified, it will inevitably offend many people, so this matter is better to hand over to Zhao Junchen after all! ”

After Emperor Deqing read the information from the capital, he thought secretly.

"However, once Zhao Junchen presides over the rectification of commercial taxes, his strength will inevitably be greatly expanded, and it may be difficult to control, but he still has to find a way to prevent one or two!"

Thinking of this, Emperor Deqing pondered for a moment, then suddenly raised his head and said, "Recruit Zhao Junchen to meet you!" ”

*

After coming to Yangzhou, the first thing Zhao Junchen did was to prepare a big boat to pick up the old master Xu, Zhao Ying'er, who was about to enter the palace as a concubine, her maid Zhang Zhaodi, and the children of the Zhao family who were about to enter the country, and planned to let them return to Beijing with him.

As soon as these things were arranged, Zhao Junchen got the will of Emperor Deqing.

Although it was predicted, Zhao Junchen did not dare to delay, and hurried to the palace of Emperor Deqing and met with Emperor Deqing.

It's just that after Zhao Junchen met Emperor Deqing, Emperor Deqing didn't put on a good face for Zhao Junchen. He just ordered someone to hand over the information from the capital to Zhao Junchen, and said with a cold face: "This is the news I received today, about the prince's rectification of commercial taxes, you can take a look!" ”

After seeing Emperor Deqing's face, Zhao Junchen didn't dare to slack off, and hurriedly took a closer look.

After reading it. Zhao Junchen pondered for a moment, and had already roughly guessed Emperor Deqing's intentions.

So, Zhao Junchen showed a hasty appearance, and knelt down very neatly and pleaded: "The minister is negligent!" Dereliction of duty! The minister has lost hope! Please also forgive your majesty! ”

After speaking, Zhao Junchen cried with a sad face, looking like he was allowed to be beaten and scolded by Emperor Deqing.

Seeing Zhao Junchen's appearance, Emperor Deqing sighed softly without attracting attention.

To be honest, Zhao Junchen always looks like this every time he gets into trouble. It's just that Emperor Deqing can't really punish him.

However, in the next moment, Emperor Deqing said in a cold voice: "It turns out that you still know that you are guilty!" As the head of the household department, you are in charge of the world's money, grain and taxes, and the commercial taxes of our dynasty are so chaotic and there are so many mistakes, and you will lose at least 20 million taels of silver every year, and you, the head of the household department, are actually ignorant and unaware, if it weren't for the prince to find out these things. Even I will be kept in the dark! Although the prince's move to rectify the commercial tax is a little reckless and stabbed a big basket, it is more than ten times stronger than your corpse vegetarian meal! ”

Hearing the accusations of Emperor Deqing. Zhao Junchen pursed his lips secretly.

There is a flaw in the commercial tax of the imperial court, this is a well-known thing, don't you Emperor Deqing know? It's just that you, Emperor Deqing, are bent on stability and don't want to poke a hornet's nest! Now that he saw that the rectification of commercial taxes was profitable, he suddenly changed his face and put all the responsibility on Zhao Junchen. But it's a loss of responsibility!

However, of course, Zhao Junchen will not show these thoughts.

Therefore, Zhao Junchen hung his head, still looking pitiful and scolding.

According to Zhao Junchen's experience. After Emperor Deqing gave Ma Wei, it was time to cut to the chase.

Sure enough, after Emperor Deqing severely criticized Zhao Junchen for a few more words, he suddenly changed his words and continued: "I don't know about the matter of commercial taxes, but now that the world knows about it, this matter can't be settled and end without a problem, otherwise the prestige of the imperial court will also be lost...... The prince's original intention of rectifying the commercial tax is not wrong, but he is not familiar with the financial tax system, according to my thoughts, after returning to the capital, the business tax rectification will be handed over to you to be responsible, and it can be regarded as giving you a chance to make meritorious contributions, taking advantage of these few days, you can seriously think about how you want to do this, and give me a specific plan after returning to Beijing. ”

While speaking, Emperor Deqing did not ask Zhao Junchen's opinion at all, and had an unquestionable attitude.

After all, in the eyes of the world, rectifying the commercial tax was completely a chore that offended people, and Emperor Deqing was also worried that Zhao Junchen would refuse.

It's a pity that Zhao Junchen already had a plan in his heart for this matter, although he looked embarrassed on the surface, but he was faintly excited in his heart.

Just as Emperor Deqing feared, once Zhao Junchen presided over the commercial tax reform, he would gain unprecedented authority and influence, and Zhao Junchen's power would also develop rapidly in a short period of time.

Compared with the opportunity of commercial tax rectification, Zhao Junchen's plan to take the opportunity to carve up the "Yellow Party" is just a small fight.

Now, after planning for a long time, Zhao Junchen finally waited for this opportunity!

On the other side, Emperor Deqing saw Zhao Junchen's bitter expression and embarrassed expression, and said with relief: "Of course, I also know that rectifying the commercial tax is not so simple, not only will it be difficult, but it will also offend people, but I believe in your ability and will fully support you, so you don't have to worry about other things, just let it go!" ”

After a pause, Emperor Deqing seemed to suddenly think of something, and suddenly said: "However, the rectification of commercial taxes is very important and complicated, and it will inevitably involve most of your mind, and I can't bear to let you be too fortunate...... In this way, when you return to the capital, you will hand over the affairs of the West Factory and the Inner Carrier Warehouse, and return them to the Inner Court to be responsible! If you concentrate on handling the business tax affairs well, I will naturally be rewarded at that time! ”

Obviously, Emperor Deqing was worried that Zhao Junchen's strength would expand too quickly after presiding over the commercial tax rectification, so he took over power in advance.

In this regard, Zhao Junchen also expected it, and made a lot of preparations in advance, and did not have any objections, but obediently agreed: "The minister obeys the order!" The minister will definitely not live up to the emperor's grace this time, and he will definitely put the business tax in order, and I hope His Majesty can rest assured. ”

Of course, when he spoke, Zhao Junchen showed a bitter and unbearable look, as if he was very reluctant.

At the same time, after seeing Emperor Deqing's move to take power, Zhao Junchen sneered in his heart.

Obviously, the reason why Emperor Deqing did this was because he did not trust Zhao Junchen and was full of defensiveness towards Zhao Junchen.

Many people are not optimistic about Zhao Junchen's future development, because although Zhao Junchen is deeply favored by Emperor Deqing, the crown prince Zhu Heyu is very hostile to Zhao Junchen and regards Zhao Junchen as a thorn in the eye and a thorn in the flesh, which is Zhao Junchen's biggest hidden danger!

For example, Huo Zhengyuan, a university scholar, has such an idea!

However, Zhao Junchen knew very well that his real "foresight" was never the hostility of the crown prince Zhu and Yu, but the unloading of the donkey by Emperor Deqing!

……

…… (To be continued.) )