Wow, as soon as the words came out, the hall was shocked, and what I didn't know was surprised by the courage of Linlang Pavilion and Xue Guoguan, this is a treasure that courtiers or local or even foreign countries pay tribute to the emperor, and they dare to steal it out for auction, and there are really people who dare to buy it. Those who know are worried about themselves, because some of them have successfully bought these things and have been complacent. In the future, it is very likely to be passed down as a family heirloom from generation to generation, but I didn't expect to be poked out by this Yang Hongzhang now, how should it end now?

Zhu Youzhen waved his hand, Wang Chengen hurriedly ran down and took the song from Yang Hongzhang's hand and sent it to Zhu Youzhen, Zhu Youzhen looked at it briefly and said, "Call Cao Huachun to come over!" ”

The emperor's tone is already very blunt, because the young emperor is humble and polite, and the old man in the palace like Cao Huachun is talking about Cao Gong, and now he is shouting out by name, which shows that the emperor is really angry.

Wang Chengen hurriedly went down to call people, and everyone in the hall began to chatter, and Xue Guoguan began to break out in a cold sweat, he didn't expect Yang Hongzhang's first fire to burn on his head, and this matter is really inexplicable. I still underestimated this yellow-mouthed child!

Cao Huachun was in the palace, and soon came to the Taihe Palace, Zhu Youzhen asked, he began to answer, and what he said was similar to Yang Hongzhan's accusation. Especially when Linlang auctioned the treasures in the palace, Cao Huachun said that it was because of his uncle Yuan Dewang and thought that those treasures were the emperor's reward. Unexpectedly, Emperor Zhu Youzhen denied the vast majority of them on the spot, and a very few of them couldn't remember anymore.

At this time, Liu Yuliang, the secretary of the Criminal Department, was not calm, he looked at the young Yang Hongzhang, and then at Xue Guoguan.

Emperor Zhu Youzhen denied that most of the treasures on the list had been rewarded to people before he finished it, and asked: "Lord Yang Hongzhang, a member of the household department, said that Lord Xue has millions of family assets, how did you check this matter?" ”

Cao Huachun said with a little smugness: "Back to the emperor, the family assets of one million are just a preliminary statement, after investigation, the cost of Lord Xue's mansion alone should exceed 100,000 taels, and then the annual profits of the eight major industries should exceed one million, if Lord Xue is not extravagant, it is estimated that there should be millions of silver in the cellar at home." ”

"Humph! Liu Aiqing, what is the crime of deceiving the monarch like this, despising the imperial court Wei Yan, and auctioning off the treasures in the palace privately? Zhu Youzhen stood up from the dragon chair again, staring at Liu Yuliang with his eyes and asked.

"Your Majesty, this ...... This should be exiled...... ......"Liu Yuliang couldn't bear it, he didn't say anything about the crime of killing his head, and secondly, he had bought something, and the current Xue Guoguan may be his turn tomorrow."

"Is it so light? You see that he just said that Lord Yang said that he wanted to increase the income for officials, and he was still crying poor, it's really hateful, forget it, Cao Huachun, take someone to raid the house, and copy the house of my uncle Yuan Dewang together with me! ”

After Cao Huachun got the order, he immediately went down to execute it without the slightest delay, and Yang Hongzhang continued to go to the book: "Your Majesty, these people deserve to deceive the king, these are just small things, and there are still a few major things related to the national economy and people's livelihood......

Many people in the next court deserted, some of them were talking about the emperor's treatment of Xue Guoguan, and some were worried that it would be their turn next. So much so that Yang Hongzhang proposed to exempt the peasants of Henan and Shaanxi from taxes, but almost no one objected except for Emperor Zhu Youzhen.

Then Zhu Youzhen said angrily: "Yang Hongzhang, now that the treasury is empty, you know, if the tax is reduced again, the military salary of the army over there cannot be guaranteed." ”

Ni Yuanlu, the secretary of the household department, hurriedly stood up to support the emperor: "Lord Yang, you are a member of the household department, and you should know the family background of the imperial court." At present, Jiannu has just retreated, and there is a shortage of soldiers and major generals in various border towns, and it is the time when money and grain are needed, and it is not appropriate to reduce taxes in Henan and Shaanxi at this time. ”

"Your Majesty, Lord Ni, it is necessary to open up sources and reduce expenditure at the same time, and it is naturally not enough to reduce expenditure. The emperor, the minister thought that when the tax rate was reformed, the commercial tax should be modeled after the Zhao and Song dynasties, the commercial tax during the Zhao and Song dynasties was ten taxes and one, and the commercial tax of my Ming Dynasty today is fifty taxes and one tax, which can increase a lot of income, and no matter the nobles, officials and people should pay taxes together! ”

Finally got to the point, the hall suddenly fell silent, everyone held their breath, some looked at the emperor Zhu Youzhen, some looked at today's protagonist Yang Hongzhang, and some looked at the adults in the first few rows of civil officials. There are very few nobles who can participate in the court meeting, but most of the officials present have their own property, and now they are shrouded in the slaughter that Yang Hongzhang ran out, and it is absolutely impossible to say that they have no opinion.

Emperor Zhu Youzhen was the first to stand up: "What is the issue of tax law?" Do I have to pay taxes on the income of my inner slaves? ”

"Yes, Your Majesty! You are the ruler of a kingdom and should be a model to the world. Yang Hongzhang was categorical.

Zhu Youzhen didn't continue, and his expression changed, as if he was thinking about whether he should pay taxes and how much he should pay.

"Ridiculous! Honors and officials do not pay taxes to the ancestral system, not to mention the emperor, Yang Hongzhang, you don't want to bewitch the emperor with evil words. Your Majesty, Yang Hongzhang's words misled the country, what kind of system would the nobles and hundreds of officials have to do without worry? Yang Sichang saw that Xue Guoguan was wilted, and the emperor seemed to be interested in cooperating with Yang Hongzhang, so he had to go into battle directly. Because Yang Hongzhang didn't play cards according to the routine today, the methods they discussed before were not used.

"Ancestry? Now the treasury is empty, the slaves have repeatedly committed crimes, and the thieves in the Central Plains have also been repeated, if the money is not paid again, and the army construction is not strengthened, the Ming Dynasty will be finished, where are the ancestors? Yang Hongzhang asked rhetorically without giving an inch.

"Presumptuous!" Yang Sichang didn't expect Yang Hongzhang to say it so bluntly.

"Lord Yang, may I ask why the nobles and officials don't have to pay taxes, but the imperial court has to collect taxes from the peasants?"

"Because the imperial court needs to form an army to protect them!" Yang Sichang blurted out.

"Shameless!" Yang Hongzhang pursed his lips and glanced at everyone in the audience before continuing: "The 100,000 army of Jiannu is going south, and the people are displaced, has the imperial court protected them?" In the past ten years, every time Jiannu went south, the imperial court protected the people of Zhili and Shandong, and their family property was looted, and even their houses were burned down. What's more, even their families were captured by Jiannu. Over the years, the number of people who have been captured by Jiannu is less than a million, but there are hundreds of thousands, right, have those people not paid taxes? Is the court protecting them?

What I saw was that the hundreds of thousands of troops and the Beijing camp in Gyeonggi were going all out to defend the city of Beijing, the imperial court, the nobles, and the lords, but the nobles and the lords did not have to pay taxes!

That's right, this is the system set down by the ancestors, that is because the ancestors sympathized with the nobles and sacrificed a lot for the country, but what about now? Jiannu came, what can the nobles do, the Ming Dynasty is finished, and the first unlucky ones are these nobles. For the sake of the Ming Dynasty and for their descendants, it is time for them to stand up and make some efforts.

Lord Yang may say that you are just an official, not a noble, and I can also say that Jiannu entered the city of Beijing, ordinary people are still ordinary people, and you can also become an important minister of the Qing Dynasty, so you don't have to pay taxes and refuse to pay taxes. But think about it, how many people have their own property, and how many people are here to provide convenience for those landlords and wealthy businessmen who evade taxes? The court gives priority to protecting you, and when it is your turn to pay taxes, not only do you not pay taxes yourself, but you also find ways to cover for others. In the end, it was the imperial court that suffered, the peasants who paid their taxes honestly. The treasury is empty, and then desperately collecting taxes from those poor peasants, not only can they not collect much, but the key is that you have the face? Why did the peasants in Henan and Shaanxi rebel repeatedly, and why did they respond to every call, it was not that the people couldn't survive, and the imperial court didn't give them hope, even if they risked killing their heads and followed the thieves, it was better than farming the land in a down-to-earth manner and not being able to survive the wall.

Lord Yang, have you ever heard of Xungui rebelling because he couldn't survive? Why do the nobles only enjoy rights but do not bear obligations, why do civil and military officials keep saying that they are benevolent and righteous, and why do they not pull out a dime when it is their turn? Why did you lick your face and say that you collect taxes in order to protect them, increase or decrease the tax burden in order to protect them, how many times have the so-called Liao Salary and Lian Salary been increased over the years, and what has the imperial court protected the peasants in the past 50 years? Even if it's the turn of the nobles and the merchants, right? Lord Yang, what is it to ask for your life for the people and be loyal to the country? Is it the peasants who dance honestly but have no walls?

Ladies and gentlemen, think about it, if the peasants can't survive, even if they don't rebel, who will help the court fight Jiannu when they come? Is it a nobleman of the Manchu Dynasty? It's not that the peasants have to rely on it in the end, why is it that the country is noble, and only the peasants contribute money and efforts?

And all the sage books of your lords have read on dogs, just now when Yang Hongzhang said that the imperial court gave too little money to officials, how many people nodded, when I persuaded the emperor to increase the number of money for officials, why didn't anyone object, but so many people seconded it? The imperial court is not a bottomless pit, and it is necessary to increase the income of officials, because the income of officials is indeed too small, and it is very difficult for those who do not have their own property to live by. But shouldn't An Xie, who owns an estate, such as Lord Xue, pay taxes to the imperial court? ”

Yang Hongzhang's question pointed directly to Yang Sichang's heart, and also asked the depths of the hearts of most people in the hall, but it is absolutely impossible to get them to agree to pay taxes on this. They are all waiting, waiting for someone to come out and pick the head.

It's just that Zhu Youzhen didn't give them a chance, but waved his hand: "What Yang Aiqing said is extremely true, the imperial court needs money to train a strong army, protect the Minghe Mountain of Zhejiang University, and assess the rebellion of the thieves, which is beneficial to all the nobles and officials, and they are duty-bound." I took the lead, and the income of slaves was taxed at the new rate every year. Regarding the specific tax rate, this matter fell on Yang Aiqing's head, and he went down to carefully draw up a charter, Ni Aiqing wanted the right to cooperate, and other parts of the design were never allowed to shirk. Get here here today, Wang Chengen, follow the list to invite people, and I'll wait for them in Dongnuan Pavilion! ”

After saying that, Emperor Zhu Youzhen walked away, and Wang Chengen took the list and glanced at the adults on the list. Those people were originally worried, but they were finally relieved to hear that the emperor was going to summon them alone. If you take it directly like Xue Guoguan, you won't even have a chance to turn over.

Almost everyone is thinking about one thing, that is, Yang Hongzhang's house was set on fire, why didn't the emperor mention it, and Yang Hongzhang himself didn't say it, did they all think that it was just an ordinary case waiting for the investigation of Shuntianfu?

After thinking about it, Yang Hongzhang's thunderous methods seemed to be targeted, could it be that the fire was ......