"Your Majesty, the income tax payment of Kaihai is indeed unexpected, and it is expected that this year's income will be much more than last year." After the military meeting, Wen Tiren met Emperor Chongzhen in the Wenhua Palace, holding a book in both hands and playing, "Weichen has sorted out the statistics of the salt tax, if the private salt can be eliminated, the imperial court can at least double the salt tax." However, the situation is a bit complicated, please take a look at it! ”

As soon as the rotating eunuch Gao Shiyue saw it, he walked over and took the music with both hands and presented it to Emperor Chongzhen.

Wen Tiren didn't have a piece in his hand, he looked at Emperor Chongzhen with his eyes, and immediately played: "Those who sell illicit salt, there are outlaws, there are serious salt merchants, there are princes and nobles, officials are strong, etc., the court wants to ban illegal salt, it is very difficult!" But no matter how difficult it is, Wechen is determined to collect all the salt taxes......"

For the Ming Dynasty, the salt tax was one of the largest sources of wealth for the state treasury. If it can be doubled, the amount should not be underestimated. Wen Tiren said in the court that one of the measures to increase financial revenue by imitating the Song system was to reform the salt tax, and now, it is he who has fulfilled his promise to be elected as the first assistant.

When Emperor Chongzhen heard this, he glanced at him and didn't speak, and then picked up the piece presented by Gao Shiyue and opened it to read it.

"This salt tax reform is a major event for the imperial court!" Wen Tiren continued, "And the salt tax reform has damaged the vested interests of countless people, which is still more than the opening of the sea ban in the previous two years. Wechen is ready to face the opposition of these people, and Wechen is fearless! ”

After all, the opening of the sea mainly affects the southeast coast of the Ming Dynasty, at most to the south of the Yangtze River. The salt tax reform involved the entire empire, whether it was north and south, east and west, all had vested interests affected, and if they made a riot and fought back, it was indeed not comparable to when the sea was opened.

When Wen Tiren said this, when he saw Emperor Chongzhen raising his head and looking at him, he had a serious face, and said: "Now Weichen is preparing to start working on the salt tax, but His Majesty wants to take charge of it himself. Weichen is really a little worried, without His Majesty sitting in the capital, I am afraid that this salt tax innovation will have to be postponed in the future, after a long time, the news has leaked, I am afraid that there will be a lot of changes. ”

Wen Tiren has been busy with the salt tax reform, and now it is almost time, he originally thought that Emperor Ming could start reforming the salt tax. As a result, the emperor suddenly started the matter of the imperial expedition to Liaodong in advance, which ruined his plan. Therefore, after the end of the military discussion, he came to Emperor Chongzhen to ask for an explanation on this matter.

There are many people in the cabinet, and even if there are secrecy regulations, the matter of salt tax reform involves the interests of many people. Therefore, it is impossible to hide this matter for too long. If the new policy has not been implemented, the outside has already known in advance. The so-called policy at the top and countermeasures at the bottom, if one is not done well, the new deal will become a bad policy, and the result will be bad.

Emperor Chongzhen had already finished reading the chapter at this time, and after hearing Wen Tiren finish speaking with a little complaint, he smiled, picked up the chapter and threw it back on the imperial table before asking: "Wen Qing summarized the disadvantages of the salt administration in detail, it can be said that the salt administration is something that goes deep into the bone marrow of the Ming Dynasty, all aspects, all kinds of people, etc. Once the New Deal harms the interests of these people, even if it is me, I am afraid that I will have to weigh it. ”

Speaking of this, he laughed self-deprecatingly before he said: "In the past, I have not urged Wen Qing on the matter of salt tax, in fact, I have a lot of worries, if the implementation of the new policy is not stable, it will cause internal strife in the Ming Dynasty, whether it is party disputes or local disturbances, it is what I don't want to see......"

When Wen Tiren heard this, he couldn't help but suddenly realize. Originally, he had always been a little strange, the emperor asked and explained the matter of opening the sea three times and twice, but in terms of this salt tax, he never mentioned it, it turned out that the emperor knew the seriousness of this matter.

“…… As Wen Qing said, this salt involves thousands of households, and the salt has been rewarded a lot by the previous emperors, the vassal royal family, the hereditary princes, etc., not to mention Wen Qing, even if it is me, I feel very tricky, especially since I have only been on the throne for a few years. When Emperor Chongzhen said this, his face suddenly became serious, and he smiled slightly, "But after I take the imperial expedition and recover Liaodong, I believe it will be able to deter a lot of ghosts." Who would dare to jump out and make trouble, at that time, I don't mind letting my new army go on a killing spree......"

When Wen Tiren heard this, he couldn't help but feel a little Lingran. In the end, the emperor's words were majestic, murderous, and even more firm in his tone. However, when he came back to his senses, he was immediately a little happy.

He understood what the emperor meant.

Emperor Chongzhen temporarily ascended the throne from the vassal king to the emperor, and he did not become a prince, so there was no old person in the prince's mansion available, that is, he did not have his own imperial team. As an emperor at the age of seventeen, in the eyes of the Manchu Dynasty's civil and military forces, he had no prestige.

Although Wei Zhongxian was swept away later, Wen Tiren understood that it was not so much that Emperor Chongzhen overthrew Wei Zhongxian, but that the foundation for Wei Zhongxian's power was gone. In this case, any emperor can oust Wei Zhongxian from power. This matter will only be praised verbally by hundreds of civil and military officials, and I really want to admire it from the bottom of my heart, I am afraid that there are not a few.

However, later, Emperor Chongzhen used himself as a bait, and finally forced Jianyu to withdraw from the land of Gyeonggi early, and made an arbitrary decision, organized and trained a new army, promoted Lu Xiangsheng, and won victory after victory in the war against Jianyu, and also exterminated the Liukou, and rowed the river for the Ming Dynasty, etc., these things made the emperor's prestige increase day by day. If you change the general thing, it is estimated that the emperor's prestige at this time can indeed deter the ghost.

But the salt tax is different, it really involves all kinds of people in the Ming Dynasty, even if it is in the army, such as Zu Dashou, in the court, such as the various ministries of Shangshu, etc., maybe there are interests involved. After all, the emperor is not the founding emperor, his prestige is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, and the butcher's knife is raised when it is raised. If there is no prestige, that is, there are no cronies who have been cultivated from scratch, and this butcher knife is raised, and I don't know who it will fall on!

However, as the emperor said, the emperor drove the personal expedition, recovered the Liaodong land lost from the Wanli period, and eliminated the invincible Jianjiao, this merit is great, and the emperor's martial arts, although it is not as good as Gaozu Chengzu, but it is stronger than other emperors, I don't know how much. Coupled with those other deeds, the emperor's authority is bound to be as high as the sky. And in this kind of war to destroy the country, the emperor will definitely be able to promote a large number of justifiable Ming upstarts, with the support of these upstarts, even if the vassal royal family and hereditary princes, who dares to go against the king's will?

Thinking of this, Wen Tiren's eyes lit up!

Emperor Chongzhen noticed this change in him, and smiled slightly in his heart, knowing that Wen Tiren finally understood the importance of the imperial expedition. If he just threatens a few factory guard leaders like later generations, and then he can let people kill and kill to establish his authority, this emperor is too easy to be.

In fact, being an emperor is definitely the most difficult discipline in the world. One is not good, several of the emperors of the Ming Dynasty died strangely, which is an example. For matters involving great interests, Emperor Chongzhen was cautious. Especially for this salt policy. He even decided to do it after recovering Liaodong, and he had a great grasp at that time.

These thoughts flashed in Emperor Chongzhen's mind, and then, he saw him smile confidently at Wen Tiren and said: "Regarding the matter of the salt policy, I have made a decision in my heart, and when I come back from the imperial conquest, I will implement the new policy, regardless of the troubles of all kinds of people, one size fits all, it will definitely make them not object, and let the people of the Ming Dynasty really enjoy the benefits of the new policy, and the treasury income will also increase greatly!" ”

When Wen Tiren heard this, he was stunned for a moment, and then he didn't believe it in his heart. You know, after he investigated the situation of Shiomasa, his head hurt a mess. The situation was so complicated that he had to implement a new policy to increase the revenue of the treasury while minimizing the obstacles to reform that he had been suffering from insomnia for many nights.

But here is Emperor Chongzhen, but he said that it can be one-size-fits-all, which will make everyone oppose, not only will the treasury revenue increase greatly, but also allow the people of the Ming Dynasty to enjoy the benefits of the new deal, which is ...... Is there such a way?

Wen Tiren thought so, he really couldn't believe it, but when he looked at Emperor Chongzhen and saw him full of confidence, he couldn't help but be very curious, I don't know what kind of idea the emperor always came up with in his strange mind?

He felt that there could be no such a good way, so he really wanted to ask the emperor, what kind of new policy has so many benefits?

However, the emperor didn't say it, could it be that this new policy couldn't be said in advance, after all, when His Majesty returned from the imperial expedition, I don't know how many months later. If the news is leaked beforehand, it is not good to cause bad changes.

Thinking like this, Wen Tiren held back his curiosity and didn't ask questions. He immediately bowed down and said, "Since Your Majesty has made a decision, Weichen will go to prepare for the imperial expedition to Liaodong." ”

Emperor Chongzhen listened, smiled and nodded, this is good!

After Wen Tiren left, he also left the Wenhua Palace, and went to the War Bureau and the Ordnance Bureau respectively to check the construction of flintlock pistols and artillery, as well as the configuration and reserve of gunpowder. He personally checked all these things.

Although Emperor Chongzhen has a chat group system and is suspected to be the protagonist, after all, it is a personal expedition of the imperial driver, and it is a matter of his own life, only success and failure are allowed, and this logistical matter must not be ignored.

On the side of the Beijing camp, the third batch of new troops was mainly flintlock musketeers and artillery battalions, which had been almost trained. On this day, Xi Mao Yuanyi, the chief instructor of the new army, was ordered to rush to the Wuying Hall to see the driver.

After seeing the ceremony, Emperor Chongzhen asked him with a smile: "According to the plan, the third batch of new troops will be assessed tomorrow, right?" ”

"Back to Your Majesty, it will be assessed tomorrow, and those who meet the standards can fight with the Manchu Qing Dynasty!" When Mao Yuanyi heard this, he hurriedly replied.

Emperor Chongzhen nodded and said, "Okay, then tomorrow I will personally go to watch the assessment!" ”

Mao Yuanyi listened, his expression was slightly hesitant, and when he saw that the emperor seemed to be smiling, he gritted his teeth and said: "Your Majesty, the last general will be in Beijing for a long time, and if you continue like this, your body and bones will rot." The last general is willing to lead this group of new troops to Liaodong to repay the kindness of the king! ”

Listen to the new army he trained, winning battle after battle. He understands that Jianyu is already at the end of his strong crossbow, and if he doesn't go to Liaodong to make contributions, I'm afraid he won't have a chance in the future. Therefore, taking advantage of this opportunity, he asked Emperor Chongzhen for war.

The matter of the imperial driving expedition scheduled for next month has not yet spread at this time, and Emperor Chongzhen naturally understands that Mao Yuanyi does not know, so he smiled slightly and said: "Yes, Mao Qing is ready to set off with me at the beginning of next month." ”

Mao Yuanyi was stunned for a moment when she heard this, and then understood that the emperor had decided to drive to Liaodong early next month, and he could accompany him. Suddenly, he was overjoyed and hurriedly responded.

With the progress of the preparations for the imperial expedition, the news that he was about to personally conquer Liaodong finally spread in Beijing. Then, the temporary acting general of the Beijing camp, Rong Zu Dashou, asked to see him, and like Mao Yuanyi, he put forward a request to go to Liaodong with the car.

Regarding Zu Dashou's request, Emperor Chongzhen shook his head and refused: "I didn't plan to take Jingying away this time, Zu Qing is the head of Jingying, and Jingshi can't leave here." ”

The meaning is very clear, Zu Dashou still has to stay in Beijing, which made him very disappointed, so he proposed to resign from the post of chief of the Beijing camp, even if it is a small soldier, he is willing to fight for the emperor.

However, Emperor Chongzhen still refused. Zu Dashou, it's okay to stay in Beijing.

What Emperor Chongzhen didn't expect was that after sending away Zu Dashou, there were military generals and nobles who came to ask for battle, and they all expressed their impassioned attitudes that they wanted to throw their heads for the emperor and the Ming Dynasty, spill their blood, bravely kill the enemy, and return with a horse leather shroud.

This time, Emperor Chongzhen was strange.

I think that back then, when Jianyu invaded the land of Gyeonggi and surrounded the Jingshi, few of these military generals and nobles were as impassioned as they are today, and even many of them were unwilling to pay for them, so he had to use factory guards. Even so, some people instigated Queen Zhou's father to make trouble. Why have they all changed their personalities now, and they are so "generals are not afraid of death"?

If it is said that victory can affect people's hearts, Emperor Chongzhen believes. At least now the Ming soldiers in Liaodong, when they faced the Manchu soldiers, they no longer had half of the fear in their hearts, and they no longer had the fear of the past.

But if you want to say that this victory can also affect the brave heart of these generals and nobles in Jingshi, Emperor Chongzhen didn't believe it when he was killed. Just these wastes that are used to enjoying in Beijing, although they have the name of military generals, but they have never even been on the battlefield, and they are shrouded in horse leather, which is a joke!

But the facts are in front of you, among these military generals and nobles, there are many of them, and they really have never been on the battlefield. Among these people, there are not only hereditary lords who are over the age of sixties, but also half-grown sons who have just taken over the position of military generals, or those who are famous in the land of fireworks in Beijing. Just these people, why do they all want to go to the Liaodong battlefield one by one?

Seeing that Emperor Chongzhen was a little confused, Fang Zhenghua, who had been driving beside him, reminded the emperor about the intentions of these military generals.