Gou was a member of the imperial family in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 239 Tacit understanding
Putting this matter aside for now, Emperor Tianqi instead asked Wei Zhongxian about the taxation situation in Jiangnan.

Wei Zhongxian was slightly stunned and didn't understand why Emperor Tianqi asked this, but since the emperor asked him, he naturally had to answer, and besides, this was not a trivial matter.

Wei Zhongxian told Emperor Tianqi that since he approved the memorial from the Ministry of Revenue in the name of the Imperial Household Department last time, the Ministry of Revenue had begun to work on tax clearance. At the same time, the Imperial Household Department also stopped the recall of local mining supervisors and tax supervisors, and asked them to continue to stay in the local area in the name of assisting in tax clearance.

In name, they were assisting the Ministry of Revenue in clearing local taxes, but in reality, what they did was no different from the tax inspectors during the Wanli period.

After this order was issued, the mining supervisors and tax supervisors who were originally in the local area were instantly overjoyed. You have to know that eunuchs are just slaves in the palace, there are countless high-ranking eunuchs in the palace, and the rules in the palace are strict. Unless they have reached a position like Wei Zhongxian, the life of ordinary eunuchs is not easy.

But it was different once they left the palace and went to the countryside. The eunuchs who could not get ahead in the palace represented the emperor's will once they left the palace. No one dared to provoke them in the countryside, and there was no one in charge of them outside the palace. As long as they did what the emperor asked them to do, they could do anything else.

Although eunuchs are disabled and certainly cannot have sexual pleasure with men and women, they do have their own preferences, which, in addition to eating and drinking, also include gold, silver and treasures.

Whether they were mining supervisors or tax supervisors, their only job was to help the emperor make money. As long as they completed this task, they could do whatever they wanted, even if it was gold and silver treasures. While making money for the emperor, they could also make some for themselves. This was a normal practice. As the saying goes, you can't expect a horse to run fast without eating grass. How can this be possible?

Which eunuch would not want such a good job, living a carefree life and making money in the local area? But once they were asked to return to the capital and the palace, all these enjoyments and benefits would be gone. It was for this reason that after the imperial court abolished the mining and taxation supervisors and recalled the eunuchs from all over the country, the eunuchs in the local areas wailed and felt that their future was bleak and boring for a while, but they could not disobey the emperor's order. The only thing they could do was to delay as much as possible, and only set out to return to the capital when there was really no more room for delay.

A few months ago, news suddenly came from the Imperial Household Department, temporarily halting the action of recalling the mining supervisors and tax supervisors, and instead instructing them to assist the Ministry of Revenue and local governments in tax clearance work.

When the news came, the local eunuchs clapped their hands and shouted "Long live the emperor". Their previous sorrow was swept away by joy, and their feelings of loss suddenly became excited.

Mining work has now been completely stopped. Emperor Tianqi cannot offend everyone when he wants to do things. After the cancellation of the mining supervision, the civil service group and local gentry took back the jurisdiction of the mines in various places for the first time. But in terms of taxation, taxation and mining are two different natures. The former is a long-term taxation by the court, while the latter is just an industry. Therefore, Emperor Tianqi did a great job. All the previous mining supervisors were transferred to tax supervisors, and the previous tax supervisors also did their old business. Of course, in name, tax supervisors can no longer be used. These eunuchs all belong to the palace or the eunuchs in Nanjing, South Zhili, to assist the Ministry of Revenue, but what they do is exactly the same as before.

Whether they are mine supervisors or tax supervisors, they are experts in their jobs. In addition, they have been in the local area for many years and are very familiar with the local conditions. Compared with these eunuchs, some local governments may not have more detailed information than they do.

With these people around, and with the excuse of clearing taxes from the Ministry of Revenue, there was no restraint in doing things. A lot of achievements were made in just a few months. Not to mention other places, just in Jiangnan alone, results were achieved. When Wei Zhongxian told Emperor Tianqi that this year's tax revenue in Jiangnan alone would increase by 630,000 taels, Emperor Tianqi was extremely satisfied.

"well done!"

"Your Majesty, this is what I should do. It is my great honor to be able to serve you, Your Majesty."

"You old bastard, you are such a chatterbox." Emperor Tianqi was in a good mood and scolded Wei Zhongxian with a smile.

Wei Zhongxian felt a little relieved after being scolded, and his whole body felt relaxed. He happily flattered Emperor Tianqi a few more times, which made the emperor laugh out loud with great pleasure.

After laughing for a while, Emperor Tianqi became serious and said to Wei Zhongxian: "Tell your subordinates to pay close attention to the Shanxi incident, but do not interfere with the cabinet's investigation. If there is any news, report it to me immediately."

"I understand." Wei Zhongxian responded quickly, but he was very puzzled. Didn't the Emperor Tianqi hand this matter over to Ye Xianggao just now? He had advised him at that time, but the Emperor Tianqi insisted on letting Ye Xianggao investigate instead of handing it over to him. But why did the Emperor Tianqi tell him about this matter in the blink of an eye? What was the Emperor thinking?

When Emperor Tianqi mentioned the taxes in Jiangnan again in a meaningful way, Wei Zhongxian reacted instantly and understood the emperor's true intention.

After all this fuss, Emperor Tianqi did not want to pursue the matter relentlessly, but rather intended to use it to make a fuss.

After all, the decree to abolish the mining and tax supervisors was issued when Emperor Taichang was in power. As the successor of Emperor Taichang, Emperor Tianqi could not regret this matter. Moreover, this was not a trivial matter. Once he rejected Emperor Taichang's decree and insisted on his own way, it would be tantamount to putting the emperor and the Donglin Party on opposite sides. Emperor Tianqi would naturally not do that.

Although he had found an excuse to clear taxes to temporarily maintain the situation, Emperor Tianqi knew in his heart that no one knew how long this situation could last. Once the Donglin Party had another trick up their sleeve and forced Emperor Tianqi to recall the local eunuchs, the most he could do was to delay the situation as Emperor Wanli did.

But Emperor Tianqi was not Emperor Wanli, and he did not have the control over the court that Emperor Wanli had. Moreover, wasn’t Emperor Wanli also criticized by the civil service group in his time?
Right now the Ming Dynasty was facing financial difficulties, the Ministry of Revenue was in serious deficit, there was a war going on in Liaodong, and sudden trouble had broken out in Fujian and military action was required. In addition, there were normal expenses of the court and relief for natural disasters in local areas in recent years. Money was needed everywhere, and it was especially important for Emperor Tianqi.

Without money, nothing can be done. Emperor Tianqi knew this very well, but it was impossible to rely on those civil servants to get money. To put it bluntly, is it true that local taxes cannot be collected? Why can Emperor Wanli collect taxes by sending mining supervisors and tax supervisors?
Emperor Tianqi was not stupid. He had been the emperor for two years. If he had just ascended the throne, he might not have understood this problem, but now he had already understood it clearly. The real reason why local taxes could not be collected was nothing more than these officials colluding with local governments to evade taxes and enrich themselves. To put it bluntly, the emperor collected taxes from ordinary people, but the taxes from the rich could not be collected at all. They used their privileges and connections to evade taxes or even not pay them, which made the tax problem in the Ming Dynasty serious.

In this case, the main job of the local tax supervisor is to keep an eye on these people and make them pay the taxes they should pay. But once this is done, it is equivalent to taking money out of their pockets, so how can these people be willing to do so?

This is also the reason why the civil service group and local gentry had been clamoring to abolish the mining and tax supervision during the Wanli period, and even put a lot of big hats on them for harming the people and the country. Now that the mining and tax supervision have been officially abolished by fooling Emperor Taichang, good days are coming, so how can they be willing to be forced by the emperor to pay taxes?
Emperor Tianqi knew clearly that the Donglin Party could not be brought down with the information Feng Quan brought back from Shanxi. After all, Feng Quan's investigation in Shanxi was not justified. It was only an imperial decree without formal approval from the cabinet. Moreover, the people Feng Quan brought with him were only from the East Depot. These private investigations could not be made public, and if they were to be investigated, the procedures would not be followed.

Moreover, it was discovered that the officials were colluding with Shanxi businessmen. Although these officials had various relationships with the Donglin Party, there was not much evidence in hand, and secondly, these officials were not the core members of the Donglin Party. Even if they knew that the bigwigs of the Donglin Party were behind these people, it would be useless. They could always find excuses to distance themselves from the matter. Once the investigation was carried out forcefully, the final result would not bring down the Donglin Party all at once, but would only cause some trouble at most.

In this case, the Emperor Tianqi's intention was very clear. As mentioned earlier, he asked Ye Xianggao to investigate not only to save face for him, but also to dig up a rebel. He wanted to see how the Donglin Party would explain themselves to him. Secondly, his doing so was also a political exchange. Ye Xianggao was a smart man. Even if he didn't understand it at the time, he would figure it out after he returned.

The Emperor Tianqi could let the Donglin Party off on this matter, but at the same time, the Donglin Party had to cooperate with the Emperor Tianqi in tax collection and stop making a fuss about the tax collector. Everyone understood this tacitly, and each got what they needed. This was the real purpose of the Emperor Tianqi.

In addition, the reason why Emperor Tianqi did this was because the current Prime Minister was Ye Xianggao. If it was someone else, Emperor Tianqi would never do this.

Although Ye Xianggao was a big shot in the Donglin Party, Emperor Tianqi believed that Ye Xianggao was still quite capable. He was fundamentally different from other boastful Donglin Party members. As the chief minister, Ye Xianggao was still a capable person and an old minister who understood political compromise. If it were someone else, Emperor Tianqi might not have done so. It depends on the person.

Wei Zhongxian didn't understand it at first, he only understood it afterwards. After serving Emperor Tianqi, Wei Zhongxian left the palace and went to his residence outside the palace. The current eunuch Wei is different from the past. As his power grows, he has already bought a house outside the palace. Moreover, this house was given to Wei Zhongxian by Emperor Tianqi, and he feels at ease living in it.

After returning to the mansion, Wei Zhongxian pondered for a long time before he figured out the real intention of Emperor Tianqi. He couldn't help but slap his thigh and sighed that the emperor's brain was indeed very good. In comparison, he, a rough man, was far inferior.

Patting his head, Wei Zhongxian called the man and gave him a few words. Not long after, the two men hurried to Wei Zhongxian's mansion.

(End of this chapter)