……

……

However, he said that after Emperor Deqing dealt with Huang Yourong's matter, the court discussion quickly moved on to the next topic.

Prior to this, because of the southern tour, Emperor Deqing had not held a court meeting for more than four months, so the center of the court naturally had a backlog of many important government affairs that needed to be dealt with as soon as possible.

For example, the vacancy of the Sichuan political envoy, the budget for this year's river work, and the mutual impeachment between two court officials......

If these things are placed in ordinary times, they are all major events that attract attention, which will cause widespread attention and controversy, and even lead to open and secret battles and mutual attacks among the major factions of the imperial court, but in today's big court discussions, they are all insignificant trivial matters - even in the eyes of many officials, these matters are only slightly more important than Li Yuran's impeachment of Zhao Shancai - so that the hundred officials did not spend too much energy discussing them at all, and they were all a little absent-minded.

Because, the hundred officials in the Imperial Palace all know that there are only two really important issues in today's Great Court Meeting: one is the imminent fall of Huang Yourong and the changes in the court pattern after Huang Yourong's fall; The other is the follow-up development of commercial tax rectification - the commercial tax rectification policy implemented by Prince Zhu and Yu has now caused chaos in the situation between the government and the opposition, should it continue? Do you want to make a change? And...... Do you want to hold the people involved accountable?

Compared to these two things, the other things are insignificant.

Now, Huang Yourong's matter has come to an end for the time being, but the matter of commercial tax rectification has not yet begun. Everyone waited in silence, either anxious or calm.

But. Although the matter of commercial taxation is very important, it is closely related to the vital interests of the vast majority of officials. But at the very beginning, the officials carefully avoided this topic, and just threw out those "insignificant" things one after another for discussion, but they never mentioned the matter of commercial taxes.

After all, the matter of commercial taxation is too sensitive and complicated, not only related to the interests of all parties, but also implicated the crown prince Zhu and Yu, and no one is willing to personally ignite this artillery battle, for fear that it will blow up themselves.

In addition, the matter of rectifying commercial taxes has certainly violated the interests of the vast majority of officials. It has also been widely opposed and resisted because of this, but this opposition and resistance is only the voice of the low-level officials in the imperial court after all, but what the real thoughts of the core figures of these temples such as Emperor Deqing, Zhou Shangjing, Shen Changmao, Zhao Junchen and so on are still unknown.

The vast majority of the court officials who were able to participate in the Great Court Conference were "smart people", they didn't want to be the first bird, they just wanted to reap the benefits of the fisherman, but unfortunately everyone thought the same. Every official was very cautious, and in the end, no one took the initiative, and the situation was deadlocked.

In fact, even the "Prince", who has always been known for his "uprightness". Party "officials. When faced with the issue of commercial taxation, they are also unusually silent - after all, they messed up this matter with their own hands, and they are naturally unwilling to expose their shortcomings.

In this case, since Huang Yourong's matter has been temporarily resolved. Before I knew it, half an hour had passed. Emperor Deqing and the officials have discussed and dealt with seven or eight backlogs of government affairs in a row, but no one has taken the initiative to mention the matter of commercial taxes.

So. Even if Emperor Deqing was patient, he gradually felt a little impatient.

As a result, Emperor Deqing's eyes turned to Zhou Shangjing - Emperor Deqing and Zhou Shangjing are still in the stage of cooperation, so Emperor Deqing hopes that Zhou Shangjing can take the initiative to mention the matter of commercial tax rectification in order to break the current deadlock - but unfortunately Zhou Shangjing just looked down and looked down, as if he did not notice Emperor Deqing's hint at all.

After Emperor Deqing frowned slightly, he naturally turned his gaze to Zhao Junchen.

For Emperor Deqing, "looking for Zhao Junchen when there is trouble" seems to have become an instinct.

Unlike Zhou Shangjing, Zhao Junchen's influence is still insufficient, and he does not dare to ignore Emperor Deqing's hints for the time being, nor does he dare to go against Emperor Deqing's wishes, especially at this stage.

Therefore, Zhao Junchen can only choose to comply.

So, after the completion of another accumulated government affairs, under the attention of everyone, Zhao Junchen slowly came out of the list.

******

"Your Majesty, the minister has something important to do." After coming out of the ranks, Zhao Junchen said loudly.

Emperor Deqing raised his eyebrows and said, "Oh? What's the matter? Go ahead. ”

Zhao Junchen said slowly: "As far as the minister knows, during His Majesty's southern tour, several cabinet elders and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince investigated the current situation of our dynasty's commercial taxes in detail, found many shortcomings, and also promulgated a series of rectification measures. However, so far, the rectification of commercial taxes has not seen any results, but has caused a lot of chaos, and even many middle and lower-level officials have called on the imperial court to change its policy and suspend the rectification, which is not trivial and far-reaching, so the minister believes that the imperial court should discuss this matter in detail and make a decision as soon as possible, otherwise the chaos of the situation between the government and the opposition will be further expanded. ”

When speaking, Zhao Junchen chose his words very carefully, trying not to show any tendencies in his words.

However, although Zhao Junchen had tried his best to be neutral, Emperor Deqing still asked: "I also know about the rectification of commercial taxes by several cabinet elders and the crown prince, but the differences between the hundreds of officials are so serious?" Zhao Aiqing, as the head of the household department, has the best understanding of the situation of commercial taxation, what do you think about this matter? ”

Obviously, Emperor Deqing was forcing Zhao Junchen to express his position.

After hearing Emperor Deqing's inquiry, Zhao Junchen secretly sighed in his heart, but soon, Zhao Junchen had changed into a heavy expression of distress, and said: "Your Majesty, since the minister was in charge of the household department, he has been well aware of the disadvantages of our dynasty's commercial tax, and the annual commercial tax income of the imperial court is only more than 700,000 silver, but at the same time, because of the various shortcomings and loopholes of the commercial tax policy. The annual loss of commercial tax revenue of the imperial court is as high as more than 20 million taels of silver, compared with the two. It can be described as shocking, so the minister has always tried to find a way to reverse the status quo of commercial taxation. I also conceived a lot of plans, but unfortunately I couldn't find the right time! Now, the minister still thinks that the time is not ripe, but since the center of the imperial court has begun to rectify the status quo of commercial taxation and promulgated relevant decrees, it is even more impossible to give up halfway, and it is time to go all out and persevere to the end, and take the opportunity to completely reverse the chaotic status quo of commercial taxation! In addition, for the sake of maintaining the reputation of the imperial court. The policy of the imperial court cannot be changed overnight!"

As he spoke, Zhao Junchen had already stated his position, and his attitude was resolute.

After all, if Zhao Junchen wants to take over the matter of commercial tax rectification, he must show his attitude of supporting commercial tax rectification at this time, otherwise Zhao Junchen will completely lose his qualification to be responsible for this matter.

However, as Zhao Junchen's words fell, many hostile eyes suddenly fell on Zhao Junchen in the Imperial Palace.

As the saying goes, "cutting off people's financial routes is like killing parents". Zhao Junchen's stance of wanting to change the status quo of commercial taxation naturally aroused the hostility of many officials.

Zhao Junchen had expected the hostile eyes of the officials, but he didn't care.

The other side. After Emperor Deqing found out about this, a trace of satisfaction flashed in his eyes.

Emperor Deqing planned to let Zhao Junchen take over the rectification of commercial taxes, of course, he wanted to use Zhao Junchen's ability to reverse the chaotic status quo of commercial taxes. But at the same time, he also intends to use this incident to make the officials hostile to Zhao Junchen, so that he can do it. In order to protect himself, Zhao Junchen could only continue to seek the protection of Emperor Deqing in the future. Emperor Deqing was also able to further strengthen his control over Zhao Junchen.

So, Emperor Deqing confirmed again: "So, Zhao Aiqing, you are in favor of the imperial court's rectification of commercial taxes?" ”

Zhao Junchen also replied again: "The minister believes that the rectification of commercial taxation is related to the century-old continuation of the Ming Dynasty, and all kinds of accumulated disadvantages must be rectified, and we cannot retreat because of some setbacks. ”

Emperor Deqing didn't know that Zhao Junchen had been planning for a long time and was fully prepared for the rectification of commercial taxes, even if it caused the hostility of the officials, but Zhao Junchen would only get more in the end!

Therefore, after hearing Zhao Junchen's answer, Emperor Deqing just nodded with satisfaction, and then turned to the hundred officials and asked, "What do you think about this matter?" ”

*****

However, he said that after Zhao Junchen made his position, the atmosphere in the Imperial Palace suddenly changed, and the expressions of the officials were all focused, not as casual as before.

After a long stalemate, the main topic of today's court meeting has finally appeared.

Then, as Emperor Deqing's words fell, naturally, Zhao Junchen's statement was immediately refuted.

The first person to stand up to refute Zhao Junchen's position was Shen Changmao, the new cabinet chief assistant.

In Shen Changmao's eyes, the matter of commercial tax rectification is also a great opportunity for him, as long as he can stand up and clearly show his opposition at this time, then even if his opposition ends in failure, he can also gain the favor and support of most court officials, so that Shen Changmao's prestige and influence can naturally be greatly improved, and his position as the first assistant of the cabinet can also be stabilized a lot.

Although Shen Changmao also knew the necessity of commercial tax rectification, for his own interests, Shen Changmao stood on a completely opposite position.

I saw Shen Changmao come out and say: "Your Majesty, about Zhao Shangshu's idea, the old minister doesn't dare to agree!" The old minister has also heard about the business tax! As far as Lao Chen knows, the chaos of the situation between the government and the opposition caused by the rectification of commercial taxes is definitely much more serious than the situation described by Zhao Shangshu! Since the imperial court implemented the policy of rectifying commercial taxes, it has not only been more than a month, not only has it not achieved any results, but it has seriously hindered the circulation of goods in various places, resulting in a sharp rise in private prices, making the people complain, and also greatly reducing the commercial tax revenue of the local yamen, making it difficult for local officials. Therefore, the old minister believes that the imperial court should suspend the policy of commercial tax rectification, and must not try it easily until the correct and appropriate method is found! ”

As Shen Changmao's words fell, he immediately received a lot of support.

After all, Shen Changmao's speech defended the interests of the vast majority of officials.

"Your Majesty. The minister agreed with Shen Shoufu's proposal, the matter of commercial taxation. It is the most sensitive and complicated, if you are not adequately prepared. It must not be touched lightly, otherwise it will only backfire! ”

"Your Majesty, Shen Shoufu's proposal can be said to be the words of the old Cheng to seek the country, and the various policies of commercial and tax rectification are now difficult and unsustainable, and both officials and ordinary people are upholding an attitude of opposition, which is the will of the people. It must not be easily disobeyed, and I hope that Your Majesty will learn from it! ”

"Your Majesty, because of the various policies of commercial tax rectification, the situation between the government and the opposition is now on the verge of getting out of control, and the minister believes that the imperial court should now focus on stabilizing the situation, and must resolutely suspend all kinds of measures for commercial and tax rectification, otherwise the consequences will be difficult to control!"

"Your Majesty, Zhao Shangshu's proposal is just a scholar's opinion. Completely ignoring the difficulties of the situation, it is impossible to do it......"

"Your Majesty......"

With Shen Changmao's voice of opposition, it was a hundred responses, and the Imperial Palace was suddenly surging. Immediately, a large number of officials came forward to support Shen Changmao's opinion.

After all, with the head of the cabinet leading the opposition, the officials don't have to worry about anything.

But. Because of Emperor Deqing's attitude, the officials opposed the rectification of commercial taxes at the same time. They all carefully avoided the factors of the prince Zhu and Yu.

On the other hand, the support of hundreds of officials. It also made Shen Changmao's eyes flash a trace of pride, knowing that he had made the right choice, after this incident, there will definitely be many officials who regard Shen Changmao as a spokesperson for interests, so that Shen Changmao's reputation can also be improved a lot.

However, Zhao Junchen's insistence on rectifying commercial taxes also has many supporters.

Ironically, the first person to stand up for Zhao Junchen's views was Zhao Junchen's political enemy, the crown prince Zhu Heyu.

This is also a matter of course, after all, the rectification of commercial taxes was carried out by the crown prince Zhu and Yu from the beginning, and now he sees that all the officials are opposed, and he also blames all the faults of the chaotic situation in the government and the opposition on the rectification of commercial taxes, and the prince Zhu and Yu are naturally furious.

So, the crown prince Zhu and Yu immediately came out and said loudly: "Father, the son believes that the original intention of the imperial court to rectify the commercial tax is good, after all, once this matter is successful, the treasury revenue can increase by tens of millions of taels of silver every year, which can be said to be a merit!" There is no problem with the policies implemented by the imperial court, but the officials below are disobedient and secretly obstructed, which causes the imperial court's decrees to be unsmooth, so it has caused chaos in the situation between the government and the opposition! As long as the imperial court strengthens its supervision over the localities, severely punishes officials who violate government decrees, and ensures the smooth implementation of various policies for the rectification of commercial taxation, I believe that the chaotic situation in the government and the opposition will soon be brought under control, and the rectification of commercial taxation will soon be effective! ”

With the statement of the crown prince Zhu and Yu, "The prince. The members of the party also came out one after another to show their support.

At the same time, the officials of the "Zhao Party" naturally did not want to see Zhao Junchen become the target of public criticism, but they also spoke one after another and shouted for Zhao Junchen.

For a time, the "Zhao Party" and the "Prince. The "party" actually supports each other and cooperates tacitly.

It can be seen from this that above officialdom, positions are often the most unreliable things, and only interests are eternal.

"Prince. The party's hostile attitude toward the "Zhao Party" is well known to the world, but now for the sake of its own interests, it is also willing to temporarily form an alliance with the "Zhao Party."

Then, as is usual with any controversy, officials with different positions debated, fought and attacked, and refuted each other's views with the most vehement, and the situation in the Imperial Palace was once again chaotic.

This time, the opposition faced by Zhao Junchen and the crown prince Zhu Heyu was too strong, but they were gradually at a disadvantage.

As a result, Emperor Deqing had to take control of the situation again!

With Emperor Deqing's stern reprimand, the controversy among the officials finally subsided a little.

Then, Emperor Deqing's gaze skipped over the crown prince Zhu Heyu, came to Zhao Junchen again, and asked: "Zhao Aiqing, you also heard the objections of the hundred officials!" As the head of the household department, you know the most about commercial taxation, so I still want to hear your opinion, what do you say about the rebuttal of the officials? ”

In fact, Emperor Deqing also upheld a supportive attitude towards the rectification of commercial taxes, but he did not disclose his position at this time, but only consulted Zhao Junchen again.

Emperor Deqing's approach is also quite meaningful - that is, through Zhao Junchen's repeated statements, let Zhao Junchen replace the crown prince Zhu Heyu as the leader of the commercial tax reform, and divert the attention of the officials, so that the officials will gradually ignore the factors of the prince Zhu and Yu, and transfer the grievances of the commercial tax rectification to Zhao Junchen.

To put it simply, the crown prince Zhu and Yu Qiang's implementation of the commercial tax rectification offended too many relevant forces, and also caused too much trouble, and if they wanted to divert the anger of the officials, it was not enough to rely on Huang Yourong, a scapegoat, so Emperor Deqing added Zhao Junchen.

On the other hand, Zhao Junchen had also expected Emperor Deqing's attitude, but he did not resist, but replied with a calm expression: "Your Majesty, Shen Shoufu said just now that before finding the right and appropriate method, the matter of commercial tax rectification must not be easily attempted. As you have said, the matter of commercial taxation is the most sensitive and complex matter that needs to be handled with care, and in this respect, the views of the minister and his colleagues are completely identical. ”

After a pause, Zhao Junchen changed his words and said: "However, even if there is a problem with the policy implemented by the imperial court, it does not mean that the imperial court should not rectify commercial taxes!" After all, the chaotic status quo of commercial taxation caused the imperial court to lose tens of millions of taels of silver in treasury revenue every year, and the situation was extremely bad, and it must not be turned a blind eye! On the other hand, if the imperial court can find a suitable and appropriate feasible policy, it also means that it is imperative to rectify commercial taxes! ”

After hearing Zhao Junchen's words, Shen Changmao came out again and questioned: "Is it possible, Lord Zhao, you have already found a feasible solution?" ”

At the same time, Shen Changmao secretly made up his mind that no matter what method Zhao Junchen proposed, he would find a way to find loopholes and refute them.

After all, it's always hard to figure out how to solve a problem, no matter what time or event, but it's easy to stand aside and find faults.

However, Zhao Junchen shook his head and said: "Of course, I have thought of some methods, but before these methods are actually implemented, I dare not guarantee that these methods are the correct and feasible strategies." But if you don't try, how do you know that these methods won't work? ”

Shen Changmao sneered: "Try? It's easy to say! What if it causes chaos in the situation between the government and the opposition as before, or even aggravates the chaos in the situation between the government and the opposition? How much effort does it take for the imperial court to re-stabilize the situation? Is this responsibility just a matter of 'trying' something that can be shirked? ”

In the face of Shen Changmao's questioning, Zhao Junchen's expression was still calm, and he said slowly: "What Shen Shoufu said is reasonable, so the younger generation does not dare to fully implement the methods he has in mind, but suggests that the imperial court should conduct a pilot first to test the feasibility of these methods." ”

This time, before Shen Changmao could open his mouth to question, Emperor Deqing above the imperial rank had already asked, "Oh? Pilot? What do you mean? ”

Zhao Junchen explained: "Back to Your Majesty, the so-called pilot of the minister is to try it out in one or several places before the imperial court fully implements a certain policy, to explore, verify, and demonstrate, and gain experience, find out the shortcomings of the policy for modification, if the pilot proves that the policy is feasible, and then expand the scope and promote it comprehensively; On the other hand, if this policy proved unfeasible, the chaos caused would not be too widespread, and the imperial court could control it completely. ”

In later generations, the so-called "pilot projects", "test fields", "pilot areas" and so on can be seen everywhere.

But in this era, the so-called "pilot" is still a very new concept, but it also made the Deqing Emperor interested.

After all, Emperor Deqing has always been the first to stabilize the word, although he is now determined to change the status quo of commercial taxation, but also does not want to see the rectification of commercial taxation cause too much chaos, in addition, although Zhao Junchen is a good hand in financial management, but whether Zhao Junchen can successfully rectify the status quo of commercial taxation, is still unknown.

Therefore, Zhao Junchen's pilot proposal also made Emperor Deqing quite appreciative.

So, Emperor Deqing asked: "I see, this proposal is not bad, but where are you going to conduct a pilot?" What is the method you have in mind? ”

……

PS: Well, a big chapter of 6,000 words!

In addition, there will be at least two more today!

Above.

…… (To be continued.) )