"Fifth Highness Chitose!"

"Phew!"

Andingmen in the capital, with the arrival of Zhu Youzhen and others, the sound of singing suddenly sounded.

may be because of the last incident, after the chief general of Andingmen knew that Zhu Youzhen habitually walked Andingmen, he deliberately trained the soldiers guarding the city of Andingmen.

Compared with last time, they seemed to be much more energetic, and Zhu Youzhen also lowered his horse speed after bowing his head slightly.

Unlike last time, they returned to the capital after a curfew at sunset, so there were no people on the streets at that time.

But this time they arrived in the capital at Shenshi (15 o'clock - 17 o'clock), so there are still many people around Andingmen at this moment.

The atmosphere of the late Ming Dynasty was very different from that of the early Ming Dynasty, and Zhu Youzhen could see a few people wearing some ceremonial clothes in Andingmen.

After hearing His Highness's words, they immediately squatted down into the crowd, for fear of being seen, and asked Jinyiwei to take it.

This is the atmosphere of the late Ming Dynasty, to a large extent, the people don't care about some small rules set by the imperial court, and there are even people in the Jiangnan area who blatantly sell helmets and semi-contraband things to make hats.

When Zhu Youzhen saw it, he didn't get angry and asked someone to take them down, but just chuckled.

"It seems that the social atmosphere of the late Ming Dynasty is already very open, but this is good, it is more suitable for changing the law......

He thought about it in his heart, and then said to the keeper of Andingmen:

"Good work."

"The last general didn't dare to ......" The Anding Gate guard hurriedly returned the salute, and Zhu Youzhen saw this, and also walked slowly towards the palace with the brocade guards.

There are a lot of people on the street, because it is winter, and because of the slackness of the Wucheng Terracotta Division, the Lingchunfang and Chongjiaofang around Andingmen Street, which are less than 30 meters wide, are full of small vendors with stalls.

These small vendors, don't look at the small stalls, but the customer flow is huge, even if a bowl of noodles is sold for two yuan, they can earn two or three hundred yuan a day.

According to the rules set by Zhu Yuanzhang, small businessmen with an annual income of less than 40 taels do not need to pay commercial taxes.

This was done in order to draw on the experience of the Yuan Dynasty in leaning taxes on all merchants, which led to small merchants attaching themselves to large merchants to avoid taxes.

However, such courtesy, in the middle and late Ming Dynasty, became a drawback.

Some businessmen opened more shops, and then controlled the annual income at less than forty taels, and legally avoided taxes, but even the easiest tax to collect, the Ming Dynasty could not collect.

"If you get something like a business license, it is estimated that you can collect a lot of silver from charging a fixed trader a hundred wen a year, and you can also avoid them being blackmailed by fifty percent of the soldiers and horses, and the ruffians and hooligans, which is a good thing......

"But it's just how to collect taxes that becomes a problem." Thinking of this, Zhu Youzhen thought about it.

According to the 1,427 counties of the Ming Dynasty, there are only 100 such small traders in each county, and they can collect 14,000 taels that year.

If the shop is required to also have a business license, and according to the situation of the store, it will charge a few hundred wen a year, or a few taels of silver a year, so that the tax source will increase.

Zhu Youzhen has seen all kinds of information in the capital, and there are dozens of towns and dozens of squares inside and outside the capital, and there are thousands of shops with stores, that is, the shops and hawkers in the capital alone can collect nearly 10,000 taels of taxes a year.

It doesn't look like much, but if you put it away strictly, you can have more than 200,000 taels of silver a year.

As long as the Beijing Terracotta Division cooperates and inspects all the stores, it doesn't even take ten days to count all the stores, and ask them to go to a fixed place to apply for a business license, and the tax can be raised.

"The Ronin Who Started from Douluo"

A few taels of silver a year is not much for them, and as the middle class of the Ming Dynasty, they can completely take out this silver.

As long as this model can be carried out steadily in the capital, it can be expanded to the counties of the northern Zhili, as well as the counties in the north, and further to the south.

If there is such a tax collection department in the world, then it will be very beneficial for Zhu You to collect commercial taxes in the later stage......

Thinking of this, Zhu Youzhen was ready to think about how to do this thing, so that it could be carried out without objection from the hundred officials.

While he was thinking this, the procession also arrived at the Donghua Gate of the Imperial Palace.

After checking the token, the Jinwu guards of Donghua Gate opened the door and let them go.

It's just that when Zhu Youzhen and his party entered the Donghua Gate, some officials at the gate of the Wenhua Hall immediately turned around and went to the hall to report.

Hurried footsteps sounded in the Wenhua Palace, and soon walked to the front of a palace that occupied a large area.

The two Han generals at the gate of the palace represented that the emperor was dealing with the music inside at this time, and Jin Wuwei, who came to report the news, also said to the eunuch standing at the gate of the palace:

"Please report to my father-in-law, Long live, His Royal Highness has entered the Donghua Gate."

"Okay" Hearing about Zhu Youzhen, the eunuch didn't dare to delay, and walked into the hall quickly.

Many ministers of the cabinet who were dealing with the sparseness on the side of the hall saw the appearance of the eunuch and thought it was a big deal.

The eunuch walked into the side hall on the other side, and then said to Wang An, the eunuch who was in charge of the red seal of the celebrant who was here to approve red:

"Wang Zhangyin, the Jinwu Zuowei who is on duty at Donghua Gate today has come to report, and His Royal Highness has returned to Beijing to enter Donghua Gate, do you want to inform Long live?"

"Huh?" Hearing that Zhu Youzhen had returned to Beijing, Wang An also closed the music in his hand, and said to the other celebrant eunuchs next to him after bowing his head slightly:

"Put the can't make a decision according to the ministries, the left of the military department, send it to Banzai's side, and tell Banzai about the return of His Royal Highness to Beijing."

"Yes......" Several eunuchs returned the salute one after another, and then began to sort out the recitals.

After tidying up in less than a cup of tea, he selected a person and sent it to a side hall in the temple near the celebrant of ceremonies.

After entering the door, the little eunuch held up the music in his hand and sang:

"Long live, this is a recital that the celebrant can't decide, a total of fourteen copies."

"Well, put it on the table......" The voice responded, and Zhu Youxiao sat behind the eucalyptus, frowning and looking at the music in his hand.

Under Wei Zhongxian's gaze, the little eunuch carefully put the music away, crossed his hands under his lower abdomen, bowed slightly, and said:

"In addition, Jinwu Zuowei came to report that His Royal Highness Fifth has returned to Beijing today, and he has passed through Donghua Gate a quarter of an hour ago."

"Back?!" Hearing Zhu Youzhen come back, Zhu Youxiao's originally frowning brows stretched for a moment, and a shallow smile appeared on his face.

Wei Zhongxian, who was next to him, understood what to say and do at the moment, so he said with a smile:

"Long live, there are already a lot of notes dealt with today, why don't you go and catch up with the Fifth Highness first, and send all the notes to the Heart Cultivation Palace?"

"It's good!" When Zhu Youxiao, who was about to leave, heard this, he immediately felt that Wei Zhongxian was very caring, so he got up and said to Wei Zhongxian:

"These notes will be sent by Zhongxian to the Heart Cultivation Palace, and I will go to the East Palace to visit my brother first."

After that, at the same time as Wei Zhongxian returned the salute, Zhu Youxiao walked out of the side hall with his crotch.

The cabinet ministers on the other side saw that the emperor had come out, and they all stood up from their seats, but they didn't want the emperor to look at them, and walked out of the Wenhua Hall directly.

Just as they were thinking about whether to go up and ask the emperor where he was going, Wei Zhongxian lazily walked out of the side hall and sang in the main hall:

"Long live the tiredness, all the cabinets and celebrants who can't handle it today, send them to the Heart Cultivation Palace, and read them after dinner."

"Long live ......" After hearing this, the cabinet and the celebrant sang back at the same time.

Seeing this, Wei Zhongxian walked back to the side hall, asked someone to bring a chair, and sat next to Zhu Youxiao's position.

After he walked into the side hall, the six ministers of the cabinet frowned, and Liu Yixiu, the deputy assistant of the cabinet, also said easily:

"Count the days, it should be that the Fifth Highness came back from Changping, yesterday Concubine Li Kang died of illness, long live the holy decree to ask the Fifth Highness to build Concubine Kang's Mausoleum, and now it should be to talk about things."

"Hmm......" Fang Congzhe bowed slightly, but Sun Ruyou, the leader of the Zhejiang Party next to him, frowned slightly, always feeling that something was wrong.

But they can't help it, after all, Zhu Youxiao can get out of the inner court and come to Wenhua Hall to deal with the music, which has already surpassed his father Taichang and grandfather Wanli, so they can't ask for anything.

In case Zhu Youxiao is in a hurry, squatting in the inner court like Emperor Wanli to deal with the slack, and sometimes not even appointing officials, then they will really be helpless.

Thinking of this, Sun Ruyou sighed in his heart.

At the moment, his idea is to welcome back Ye Xianggao, as long as Ye Xianggao comes back, then according to his character, no matter which party fights, he will stop it.

In that case, he can go home to retire with peace of mind.

This succeeding emperor is not easy to deal with, and he always feels that the current situation will be broken by the emperor one day in the future......

Putting the unrealistic ideas in his mind, Sun Ruyou returned to his position and continued to deal with the music, and at this time, Zhu Youxiao also led people from the Wenhua Hall to the gate of the East Palace.

He knew that Zhu Youzhen did not stay in the largest palace of the East Palace, but was still in the Miaoqin Palace, so he directly called someone to rush to the Miaoqin Palace.

"Brother!"

When Zhu Youxiao's voice sounded, Zhu Youzhen was changing clothes, so after hearing it, he could only raise his hands and help the palace maids put on a round-necked robe, and replied:

"Brother, I'm changing my clothes, wait a minute."

"Good!" Hearing Zhu Youzhen's voice, Zhu Youxiao felt a lot more at ease, and sat directly on the main seat of the main hall and waited for Zhu Youzhen.

After this scene was seen by Wang Chengen, who had been in the capital, he couldn't help but smack his tongue.

called the Son of Heaven and others, this kind of treatment is estimated to be only His Royal Highness, and I am afraid that he will be pulled out and cut down if he is someone else.

In this way, when a tea time passed, when a little eunuch brought two cups of tribute tea to the table, Zhu Youzhen also walked out of the dormitory, pretending to raise his hand in a mocking tone:

"Brother see Your Majesty, long live long live long live ......"

"That's it!" Seeing Zhu Youzhen playing with treasure, Zhu Youxiao got up and helped him up, glanced around and said:

"Stand down, all of you."

"Slave maid obeys orders......" Wang Chengen returned the salute, and then withdrew from the palace with everyone, leaving only the two brothers Zhu Youxiao.

After they all left, Zhu Youxiao took Zhu Youzhen's hand and sat back in his position, with a smile on his face that made Zhu Youzhen feel that he didn't feel like him.

"Brother, that poisonous woman is finally dead!"

Zhu Youxiao was very happy, in his opinion, he could finally find someone to talk to, and Zhu Youzhen also bowed slightly, but then said:

"Although the poisonous woman is dead, there is still Concubine Zheng in the inner court."

"Right now, I'm afraid that the death of the poisonous woman has already alarmed Concubine Zheng, and maybe someone has notified King Fu."

"Don't be afraid!" Zhu Youxiao waved his hand and snorted coldly:

"There is no one in the hands of that old poisonous woman, and the only person, Cui Wensheng, has been rebelled by Lu Wenzhao, and she can't imagine that her every move is under the noses of my brothers."

"It's just ......" Speaking of this, Zhu Youxiao looked at Zhu Youzhen in a deep voice and said:

"The only question now is how to respond to this matter to the hundred officials and the vassal king......

In history, after Zhu Youxiao and Zhu Youzhen became emperors, they did not solve this matter, so they could only let Concubine Li Kang live to the Kangxi period.

Therefore, now that he chose to kill Concubine Li Kang, how to appease the clan and the hundred officials has become the top priority.

"Is the news out?"

Zhu Youzhen frowned and asked, and the good imperial brother also nodded: "If the news can't be stopped, it is better to spread it from the inner court than to let others spread it." ”

"That'll do." Zhu Youzhen nodded, and then said:

"The clan of Zhong, the king of Qin and the king of Jin are the descendants of the first king who had no children and then succeeded to the king, and they are not treated by the clan clan, so they must not come out."

"The king of Chu is a child born after the death of the first king, and the internal clan is hostile, and it is impossible for him to come out."

"More than 20 vassal kings, including the King of Liao, the King of Dai, the King of Zhou, the King of Tang, the King of Shen, and the King of Han, will avoid suspicion."

"The only thing that needs to be paid attention to is the four imperial uncles such as King Fu, King Rui, King Hui, and King Gui."

Speaking of which, Zhu Youzhen felt a headache was that three of the four imperial uncles lived in the capital and had not yet settled in the domain.

As for why, the main reason is that Wanli likes King Rui, King Hui, and King Gui in general, and only favors King Zhu Changxun.

These three imperial uncles, when Zhu Changluo died, were guarding the tomb of Emperor Wanli in Tianshou Mountain and handling the burial matters.

As a result, in the seven days of Zhu Changluo's first seven days, the three of them were the last to rush back.

In history, they were unified before Zhu Youxiao's death, and it was only then that they were divided into feudal domains, and it is estimated that Zhu Youxiao was afraid that the three of them staying in the capital would threaten Chongzhen's rule, so he made the decision.

However, at the moment, Zhu Youzhen was not afraid of them, but wondered if the three of them would panic because of Concubine Li Kang's death.

"Long live, King Rui, King Hui, and King Gui have come to ask for an audience."

Just when Zhu Youzhen had a headache, sure enough, Wang Chengen cautiously walked to the gate of the Qingong Palace, and told Zhu Youxiao about the arrival of the three princes.

When Zhu Youxiao and Zhu Youzhen heard this, they glanced at each other, and then said:

"Invite the three imperial uncles in."

......Hearing this, Wang Chengen retreated, and then saw three people in their twenties wearing regular clothes walking into the hall.

They saluted Zhu Youxiao and said:

"Zhu Changhao, King of Chenrui"

"Zhu Changrun, the king of courtiers"

"Minister, Gui King Zhu Changying"

"Long live the Holy Bow ...... Visit, Long Live the Holy Bow"

"Three uncles, please." Seeing the three kings saluting, Zhu Youxiao and Zhu Youzhen got up and helped the three of them up.

The eldest of the three kings, Ruiwang Zhu Changhao, is only twenty-nine years old, Huiwang Zhu Changrun is twenty-six, and Guiwang Zhu Changying is twenty-three.

In short, the age of the three of them is not small among the princes of the Ming Dynasty, and it stands to reason that they should have gone to the domain a long time ago.

However, in order to fight against King Fu, Zhu Changluo left all his younger brothers in the capital.

finally Zhu Changluo ascended the throne, but before the three of them were allowed to take the throne, they died because of eating red pills.

As sons of man and ministers, they should have to keep filial piety in the capital for three years for Emperor Wanli, but now the death of Concubine Li Kang made them all a little panicked.

Especially under the notice of the palace maid sent by Emperor Zheng's concubine, the three of them discussed last night and agreed to enter the palace together today.

It's just that they didn't expect that Zhu Youzhen would come back today.

As for Zhu Youzhen, he looked at the three of them and guessed what they wanted to say.

The eldest Rui King, Zhu Changhao, did not forget the fact that his eldest nephew was already the emperor because of Zhu Youxiao's affectionate title, and he saluted Zhu Youxiao:

"Long live, the minister and the other three heard that Concubine Kang died of illness yesterday, so they came to mourn."

"The ministers are the same...... King Hui and King Gui saluted one after another, and the reason why they came, the five people in the palace were like mirrors in their hearts.

Zhu Youxiao first comforted the three of them and sat down, and then sat on the left and right positions of the main seat with Zhu Youzhen.

The three princes looked at Zhu Youxiao, and then looked at Zhu Youzhen, who had been doing things recently, and said in their hearts that these two nephews were not simple.

Not to mention that Zhu Youxiao restored the operation of the imperial court, and often dealt with the reputation of diligence in the Wenhua Palace.

The matter of Zhu Youzhen's training in Changping alone has already spread in the capital.

If it weren't for Yang Lian supervising Zhu Youzhen in Changping, I'm afraid Zhu Youzhen would have been impeached thousands of times by hundreds of officials.

Therefore, in the face of these two brothers, the three kings, as uncles, did not dare to underestimate them, and Zhu Youxiao also responded when the atmosphere was about the same:

"Concubine Kang died of illness due to excessive grief, and the eighth sister of the emperor has been entrusted to Concubine Zhuang."

"If the three uncles want to mourn, they can go to the Jiyan Palace, and the fifth sister of the emperor is guarding the spirit."

Zhu Youxiao's answer was generous, there was nothing to hide, and he told Concubine Li Kang's body where it was.

If he died of poisoning, then he would not dare to call someone to guard the spirit in the Jiyan Hall with great fanfare.

After all, death from poisoning is easy to see.

When the three kings saw Zhu Youxiao answer like this, and there was no trace of timidity, they suddenly couldn't make up their minds in their hearts.

They came, and it was the chief of the palace under his command who moved them to come, firstly, to determine the cause of Concubine Li Kang's death, and secondly, to ......

"Long live the ......" Rui Wang Zhu Changhao said:

"I'm waiting for the three of us to come, in addition to condolences to Concubine Kang, there is another thing I want to ask, when can the three of us be in the domain?"

The capital is very prosperous, but after all, it is not their fiefdom, and once it is chaotic, it will inevitably be impeached by the officials, and no one wants to be guarded for a lifetime.

This is a fact that the princes of the middle and late Ming Dynasty acquiesced in after determining the hopeless throne.

However, as soon as their words came out, Zhu Youxiao had not yet spoken, and Zhu Youzhen preemptively spoke:

"The domain of the three imperial uncles, the imperial examination has been explained before, and the situation in various places is disordered, and it is difficult to ensure that there will be turmoil."

"The imperial examination cherishes the three imperial uncles, so he wants to wait for the situation to stabilize before taking up the domain for the three imperial uncles, but ......"

After that, Zhu Youzhen didn't say anything more, but Zhu Changhao and the three of them understood that Zhu Changluo would die after that, where was there any time to stabilize the situation.

However, they were more curious about what Zhu Youzhen meant by the unstable situation......