However, the disdain in Zhang Juzheng's eyes was not directed at him Zhang Benyuan, a mere seven-grade imperial history who was used as a gunman was not worthy of his contempt for the first assistant of the cabinet. Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 info What he disdains is to hide behind his back and instruct these people to impeach this matter, that person should have a lot of power in his hands, and his courage is really not small, but it's a pity that the means are too clumsy, do you think you can hit yourself by grasping such an omission?

Zhang Juzheng's gaze quickly swept over the faces of the row of important court officials in front of him, and he knew that that person must be one of the seemingly respectful officials in front of him. These people have been selected by him, the head of the cabinet, for many years, but I didn't expect that some of them have already had plans for themselves.

Who the hell is this person, Zhang Juzheng can't deduce from their current expressions, and he doesn't have the heart to do this at the moment, because he knows that as long as he checks down the line of Zhang Benyuan, this person's identity will soon be exposed. What he has to do now is just to block the impeachment of Zhang Benyuan and them, so that he can settle people's hearts.

Thinking of this, Zhang Juzheng withdrew his gaze, and then fell back to Zhang Benyuan. He didn't follow the other party's words, but suddenly asked a question: "Do you know how much grain my court earns in a year?" How much grain does Huguang have to hand over in a year? ”

"This ......" Zhang Benyuan was speechless, he was just an imperial history, of course this kind of detailed government affairs was not something he could understand, so he could only hang his eyes and dare not look at Zhang Juzheng.

Dare to come and argue with yourself without even mastering these things, these guys are really bold. When Zhang Juzheng saw him like this, he felt a little funny. Compared to the open and secret battles between Gao Gong and himself at the beginning, or those battles in the early days, this kind of calculation can really only be pediatric.

However, there was no smile on his face, and he just looked at Zhang Benyuan calmly: "In fact, since the imperial court implemented a whip law, the grain tax has been combined with other taxes, and the various taxes that I received in the Ming Dynasty are about 5.2 million taels of silver. ”

What does this have to do with this? Zhang Benyuan, as well as some other officials, all looked puzzled, and didn't understand why Zhang Juzheng would bring the problem to this point in order to flaunt the whip law he advocated? But at this time, it's not the time to brag about yourself.

Even Wanli felt a little strange. However, he believed that Zhang Juzheng must have his own ideas, so he just had to wait and see.

Sure enough, Zhang Juzheng continued: "Then do you know how much tax Huguang has to pay to the imperial court in a year?" Without waiting for the other party to shake his head, he had already helped answer: "It's 800,000 taels, accounting for more than half of the annual tax revenue of the Ming Dynasty, and most of them are grain taxes." ”

Although the Ming Dynasty has now thoroughly promoted a whip law, when it comes to collecting taxes, it is still mainly based on grain taxes, but in order to facilitate the collection of taxes by the imperial court, everything is converted into it. As one of the most important grain-producing areas in the world, Huguang naturally has a very high grain tax.

Zhang Juzheng's words continued: "Among the thirteen provinces in the world, only Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces have higher taxes than Huguang, but when it comes to grain taxes, even these two fish and rice towns are not as good as Huguang. In other words, in terms of grain taxes alone, Huguang Province alone bears nearly 20 percent of the country's pressure.

"You just have to keep an eye on this pavilion to reduce thirty percent of the grain tax for him, so have you found that even if you subtract these, Huguang is still no less than the grain tax in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces? The reason why this cabinet made this decision was not because I was a member of the Huguang clan and intended to protect the people of my fellow villagers, but because I understood the truth that the imperial court could not use all its resources to fish. This year's disaster in Huguang is not smaller than that of other places, but because the amount of money paid in previous years is quite large, if the tax is collected in this way this year, it will inevitably bring great harm to the local people. As for the other provinces, the Cabinet has also considered it before, and although things may be more difficult, the taxes can still be paid. That's why I made this decision, I wonder if you're still satisfied with it? ”

After this explanation, not only Zhang Benyuan, but also those imperial histories had nothing to say, but the other officials also changed their expressions, and some even showed shame. They really didn't look at things from a macro perspective, and they had prejudices early on, so they formed such a view.

In fact, as long as you carefully study the tax situation in each province, everyone can clearly see this truth. In the case of everyone's difficulties, it is not the poorest places that have the most difficult days, but provinces like Huguang, which are only supported by food, are the most stretched. It was precisely when Zhang Ge Lao saw this that he opened up and reduced their taxes by 30%, so it seems that he is also thinking about the overall situation.

"I see, I was also puzzled before, I don't know why you made such a decision, Master Zhang. Now I finally understand that Master Zhang still focuses on my Daming Jiangshan Sheji. Wanli took the lead in agreeing.

The emperor spoke like this, and the other ministers naturally hurriedly followed, saying to His Majesty Shengming, and at the same time praising Zhang Juzheng.

Zhang Juzheng's face was not happy, but his heart was a little relieved. Seriously, when he was blackmailed into making this decision, he also muttered, he knew very well that he had now become the target of public criticism, but if the slightest flaw was revealed, those who were hiding in the shadows would attack him en masse.

For this reason, he also took a lot of effort, and finally found a plausible reason. It was also with this reason that he dared to make such a decision that might provoke public anger.

Zhang Juzheng calmed down, and glanced at Zhang Benyuan again: "As an official of the imperial history, you can indeed hear about it, even if you are impeached, you will not be held accountable." But it is a matter of national affairs, this cabinet hopes that you can be more cautious in the future, don't listen to the wind is rain, this will only be taken advantage of by villains, and it will be a big thing! As he said this, he turned his gaze to the big men again, apparently pointing something.

Zhang Juzheng didn't intend to pursue Zhang Benyuan's intentions, these people were just pawns used by others, and his dignified cabinet chief assistant would naturally not condescend to deal with them. So after saying this, he didn't pay attention to Zhang Benyuan and the others.

Seeing his attitude, Zhang Benyuan and the others were greatly relieved, but they were not retaliated against, otherwise it was normal for them to lose their official positions and even be thrown into prison.

But Zhang Juzheng's words were not finished, and he swept the officials around him again: "This cabinet still has a word to warn your lords." You are the money of the imperial court, and you should consider the overall situation of the imperial court, instead of only caring about your hometown and fighting for the little profit for your hometown. After this incident, I don't want anyone to say anything unfair about the court because of this, and I also ask you to talk to those local officials after you go back, so that they can also put the overall situation first, and quickly hand over all the taxes and silver to the household department, otherwise the court has its own laws, and it will not be spared. The last few words burst out from between his teeth.

In the past few days, Zhang Juzheng also felt very depressed, but he couldn't find a chance to explain it for a while. Now, finally having such an opportunity, he naturally won't forget to knock these guys with ulterior motives and not a little selfish motives.

At this time, the officials can only say yes, and no one knows whether they will do the same after they go back.

This is the end of a small turmoil, and the court meeting is also over. It seems that this time, Zhang Juzheng relied on his powerful aura and too ordinary people's eloquence to get through a difficult time. But there are also many people who feel a feeling of declining in their hearts, and this cabinet chief has appeared in the body.

You must know that even if there was such a thing in the past, he Zhang Ge Lao didn't have to take action in person, and it can even be said that almost no one dared to speak out because of this matter. But today, not only did someone do this, but it was still above the court meeting, which shows that Zhang Juzheng's power is gradually fading, and his control over the courtiers is also slowly disappearing. He can no longer be above the entire court as before.

In addition, there are others who look in more detail. Although Zhang Juzheng's justification this time is very reasonable, and there are no loopholes in it, there is still something hidden behind it, which may be Zhang Gelao's weakest weakness.

"I don't know when the next attack on Zhang Ge Lao will start...... It seems that my Ming court may not be as peaceful as before in the future. Many people muttered in their hearts, and they were also a little uneasy, the Ming court really can't have any more changes.

"He Zhang Juzheng really has some means, and he can easily defuse these attacks. Even I have to say something of admiration. After learning about the events at the court meeting, Yang Zhen couldn't help but sigh.

"That's because the opponent he met was not our Lord Yang." Someone seemed to pat the horse and say something, which immediately caused the surrounding brothers to laugh.

"Don't put a top hat on me, or I'll be so proud that something might come out of my pride." Yang Zhen glared at the man with a smile.

"My lord, are you going to make a move?" Shen Yan immediately grasped the meaning of Yang Zhen's words.

Yang Zhen's expression froze: "Yes, this is a great opportunity." Taking advantage of the fact that the matter has just been settled by him, he will make a bigger trouble, which is enough for him to drink a pot. And in this way, those guys who have suffered a big loss at his hands will definitely take advantage of the limelight this time and help us deal with him together. So, just for these two days, let things go for me! When Yang Zhen said this, a ruthless look flashed in his eyes!