The eldest son of the red mansion

These ministers are now full of resentment towards old Mengming in their hearts. Originally, the collection of fire consumption was a rule left by the past dynasties, and the officials at the bottom also relied on him to survive.

And these old men in Beijing also rely on fire consumption to get ice respect and carbon respect in order to maintain their dignity.

Now that Meng Ming said so in the court hall, everything is open, how can he give the money to the common people in the future.Then what about their future life?

Old Mengming had already put life and death aside, he felt that if he told the truth, the emperor would not be able to forgive him.But I didn't expect the emperor to condescend and condescend to help himself up.Old Mengming was still very moved.

If it was before Meng Ming made up his mind, then the emperor, this action is enough to make old Meng Ming feel grateful and determined.But now, although he was also moved in his heart, he did not waver in his determination to continue following Jia Ke.

Because Meng Ming knew that the emperor had no chance, and now the emperor was just dying.After Jia Ke finished the arrangement, a backhand could make the emperor fall into the dust.

Chapter 445 Taxation

The emperor didn't know about Lao Meng Ming's current mental activities. He saw the emotion on your face, Lao Meng, and he was also proud of his courtesy to the corporal this time.

"Old Aiqing, if you continue to talk, I really want to hear how the officials in this world support themselves." The emperor stood in the middle of the hall, with a cold look in his eyes.All the ministers who watched felt a little guilty.

Hearing the emperor's question, Meng Ming bit the bullet and said: "Your Majesty, the officials below can only increase the consumption of tax and silver in order to live. In this way, the burden of the people actually exceeds the tax collected by the imperial court by a lot. If the emperor increases taxes by three more levels, I am afraid that the people below will have no way out."

After listening to Meng Ming's words, the emperor stood there silently.Only now did he know that the tax paid by the people was not what he thought.

At this time, Liu Wan, Minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs, stood up and said, "Your Majesty, Mr. Meng is right. If the emperor wants to increase taxes, I am afraid that officials from all over the country will double the amount. I am afraid that the people will be even more miserable."

Liu Wan paused for a moment, then looked at the ministers in the court, and saw that all of them had unfriendly faces, and knew in her heart that she had offended everyone by spreading this matter in the court.

But as a loyal subject of the emperor, he must never allow the emperor to be at fault.You must know that the emperor is walking on thin ice now. If he makes a mistake, he will fall into the ice hole and never come out again.

The emperor turned back silently, climbed up the imperial steps again, came to the side of the throne, and held on to the armrest of the throne, not knowing what to say.

Finally, the emperor turned around and asked Jia Ke directly, "Jia Aiqing, you are the head minister of the Military Aircraft Department. Now the court is seriously short of pay. You should find a way to increase the court's tax revenue."

The emperor just broke the pot and threw the problem directly to Jia Ke, let's see what you can do.It is my emperor's kindness if it is done well, and it is your crime, Jia Ke, if it is not done well.

Jia Ke did not expect that the emperor would push this mess to him. Jia Ke had no idea to accept this trouble. Jia Ke thought for a while, and then thought of a solution that the emperor would never accept.

"Long Live Lord, for the current plan, all I can think of is to collect taxes from the gentry all over the world. These people have quite a lot of land. If the tax revenue from the imperial court can be increased by at least 50.00%, so that , the court’s troubles will be resolved.” Jia Ke said eagerly.

As soon as Jia Ke finished speaking, all the officials in the hall started clamoring together. All the people present, including Jia Ke, were not big landlords and gentry. Jia Ke's method was simply digging their roots.

After listening to Jia Ke's method, the emperor still thought it was very good. Asking these rich people to pay some taxes was just a drop in the bucket for them, and it didn't hurt the fundamentals.

Unexpectedly, seeing the ministers below clamoring together, I felt a chill in my heart.If this method is passed, it will be tantamount to offending the gentry in the world.

The foundation of this dynasty is these gentry. Once they no longer support the court, the court may be in danger of being overthrown.

The emperor broke out in a cold sweat thinking of this, and when he looked at Jia Ke, the cold light in his eyes swept across his body.This Jia Ke clearly wants to separate himself from the officials and gentry in the world, so that he can control the world.What a ruthless method, what a vicious intention.

The emperor thought of this and shot the case, "Shut up, Jia Aiqing, what are you talking about? If you do this, the court will immediately chill the hearts of the people in the world. Don't mention this matter again."

The civil and military people below breathed a sigh of relief when they heard what the emperor said. They were really afraid that the emperor would act like a green-haired young man who would follow Jia Ke's plan to collect taxes from the gentry all over the world.

Jia Ke said helplessly from below: "Since the emperor does not accept the minister's suggestion, then the minister really has no choice."

The emperor saw Jia Ke as a rascal, which means that this is my way, if you don't adopt it, you think it has nothing to do with me.

Liu Yu actually thinks that Jia Ke's method is very good, but it's not the time to mention it now, if the emperor is in power and there is no such powerful minister as Jia Ke.Then this method can naturally be implemented smoothly, and it will only take a year or two to solve the court's problems.

But now the court is unstable, and Jia Ke has been watching from the side. As long as the emperor makes a mistake, Jia Ke will pounce on the emperor like a wolf and bite the emperor to pieces.

Liu Yu thought about it below, and came out of the class and cupped his hands to the emperor, "Your Majesty, due to the drought in Shaanxi and the floods in the Lianghuai area, this year's tax revenue must be reduced. In this way, next year's tax revenue will be even less. At that time, the imperial court will be completely powerless."

When Liu Yu said this, all the ministers looked at him, which means that I put the problem here, can you think of a way to solve it?

Jia Ke naturally knew what he meant, but now is not the time to speak, you are standing there silently, as if there is no other way.

And the officials below are well aware of this matter, but they are all silent, as long as it does not violate their interests, it doesn't matter what you do.

Seeing that all the ministers were silent, Liu Yu said to the emperor again: "Long Live Lord, it may not be appropriate to increase the tax by [-]%, but if it is only increased by one layer, it can still be manipulated at once."

When Liu Yu said this, he looked at Old Meng Ming again. He was the one who opposed this matter the most. Let's see what he meant now.

Old Meng Ming stood by and listened carefully. He analyzed the current situation of the court and was not optimistic about the tax situation next year.Now that Liu Yu proposed to increase the tax by only one layer, it is considered a compromise of the emperor, and in this way, the impact on the lives of the people will be much smaller, it is not a solution.

So Meng Ming kept silent there, which meant that he agreed with Liu Yu's method.

The emperor saw that Meng Ming had already acquiesced to this matter, and finally a stone fell from his heart.Although he did not achieve his goal of collecting [-]% of the tax, only this level of tax can barely cope with it. As long as all the yamen next year streamline some expenses, they can barely cope with it.

Unexpectedly, the emperor just breathed a sigh of relief, but a young censor stood up.

This censor is only in his 20s and looks like a fledgling, but his eyes are very firm.

The censor stood up, knelt down on the ground, and said to the emperor with a choked voice: "Report to the emperor, the minister has his own quality."

The emperor couldn't help but smile when he saw Zhang Zhi kneeling at the bottom.This person can be regarded as coming out under his hands.

To say that this Zhang Zhi was born in a poor family, when he was in the last exam, he was picked out from the failed papers by his own insight and knowledge, making him a biography, so this Zhang Zhi has always been grateful to himself, loyal.

"Zhang Aiqing, if you have anything to say, just say it. Is it true that I can't tolerate others?"

After Zhang Zhi heard the emperor's words, although he was still a little choked up, he stubbornly raised his head and looked at the emperor.

As for Jia Ke, who was standing at the front, seeing this, he understood that what Zhang Zhi was going to say was not good.

"Long live my servant, take it back, otherwise, catastrophe will not be far away."

The emperor was taken aback when he heard this. Just now he admitted that he had made a compromise. Originally, the tax was increased by three levels, but now it is magnanimous to add only one level.What is this little censor doing?

"Zhang Zhi, what do you mean?" When the emperor said this, his face was very gloomy.

Zhang Zhi didn't stop because of the emperor's unkind expression, "Long live, I came from the common people, and I know that these ordinary people's life is not easy. Every day, I go out early and come back late, just for one bite of food, so I still can't have enough food all year round? "

When Zhang Zhi said this, he couldn't bear it anymore, and began to sob in the court hall.It seems that he thought of his own sadness.

After hearing his words above, the emperor wanted to get angry, but he finally endured it. After all, Zhang Zhi was also thinking of himself.

"Zhang Aiqing doesn't need to worry too much. He even increased the tax this year to help the court tide over the difficulties. It will naturally be reduced next year. The people who have suffered this year can be regarded as contributing to the court."

Although Zhang Zhi was crying, his eyes were firm. After hearing the emperor's self-righteous words, he suppressed his sadness.

"Long live this kind of thinking, I am afraid that I can deceive myself, because I am afraid that when the time comes, the Lord Long Live wants to stop collecting taxes, but the officials at the bottom and those cruel officials will not abide by it."

After listening to these few words, Jia Ke kept nodding.If it was when the emperor was in power, perhaps due to the authority of the emperor, the officials below would be able to restrain himself, but now the emperor is forced by himself to take care of himself.Where there is energy to take care of the affairs below, and now the officials below are becoming more and more unscrupulous, the emperor's thinking is probably nothing more than seeking a sword in a boat and seeking a fate.

Jia Ke now admired this little official a little, and was afraid that the emperor would do something to him in his anger, so he winked at him.

Xie Xiang, the censor of the left deputy capital, immediately stood up after receiving Jia Ke's signal.

"Long live Qi, what Zhang Zhi said is the truth, please take it back long live."