Emperor Zhengde

Chapter 364 Times have changed
Yan Song knew that this was the best time for him to show his loyalty to Emperor Zhu Zailei. Once the emperor thought that he was just Xia Yan's follower, he would never have the chance to become the prime minister of the cabinet.

Therefore, Yan Song stood up and said, "Your Majesty, I believe that no matter whether they are colonies or vassal states, they are all subjects of the Ming Dynasty! All land under heaven belongs to the king, and all the people in the world are subjects of the king! The court only takes half of their taxes, which is a great favor. How can we let them keep the taxes for themselves?
Since the reign of the Emperor, the revenues of the offshore colonies have been all transferred to the national treasury. As for the other more distant vassal states, they were only allowed to remain autonomous temporarily because they were too far away and their taxes were insufficient to support the imperial court.

Today, trade in various places is developing very fast, and it is no longer as difficult as in previous years. It is also time to collect their money and grain into the national treasury. Therefore, I support Mr. Xu’s proposal. "

Zhu Zailei smiled secretly. He felt relieved that Yan Song did not support Xia Yan.

Because this made Zhu Zailei realize that the alliance between Xia Yan and Yan Song did not seem to be that solid, and the cabinet would not really obey Xia Yan's orders alone, which would undoubtedly ensure that his imperial power was well protected.

Xia Yan's eyes were like sharp arrows, piercing Yan Song, but Yan Song lowered his head and did not look at Xia Yan, because he knew that Xia Yan must be very angry now, angry that he had betrayed him.

Zhu Zailei was somewhat happy to see Xia Yan so angry, and his mood couldn't help but improve: "Since more people agree with Xu Qing's proposal, then this proposal will be passed, and it will also be modified according to Yan Aiqing's suggestion. The colonies will still pay all tariffs into the national treasury, and then the court will allocate funds uniformly. The vassal states will pay half of the tax amount and send it to Beijing! The governors of the coastal provinces and the local national tax bureaus will strictly supervise the deportation of foreign tariffs to Beijing!"

"We obey your order," Yan Song, Xu Jie and others replied.

Zhu Zaile also announced his retirement from court. Zhu Houzhao exempted the land tax in the whole country, forcing him to find ways to increase tax revenue. Perhaps Zhu Houzhao himself did not expect that as the eldest prince, he would be eager to ask for money from his younger brothers, nephews and other relatives and nobles as soon as he came to the throne.

Xia Yan stopped Yan Song and said, "Lord Yan, please stay!"

Yan Song hurriedly bowed and said, "I wonder what advice Yuan Fu has for you?"

"Lord Yan is indeed a good boatman. His ability to change the course of the boat according to the situation is unmatched! I am truly ashamed of him!"

Xia Yan said this and walked away.

Yan Song knew that his behavior at that time would definitely offend the cabinet chief, but he was even more unwilling to offend the emperor Zhu Zailei, so he would rather offend Xia Yan first. Now that Xia Yan was angry, he could only apologize repeatedly and grovel:
"Prince, please don't misunderstand me. If I have any intention of not being loyal to you, I will be struck by thunder! I am doing this in the Council of State for your consideration!
"Please think about this, Yuanfu. His Majesty is determined to strengthen his control over the colonies and vassal states. If I continue to support you and make the emperor unhappy, what will His Majesty think? Will he think that you want to be a powerful minister and regent for the world?!"

Xia Yan couldn't help but stop when he heard what Yan Song said. He didn't want to be called a powerful official, nor did he want to become a powerful official himself. He also didn't want to change his original intention of supporting the eldest prince Zhu Zailei as the crown prince. So when Yan Song explained this at this time, he couldn't refute it, but he was indeed disgusted by Yan Song's behavior just now, which made him feel betrayed.

For a moment, Xia Yan was so angry that he could not vent his anger. He could only wave his sleeves and said, "Thank you for your kindness! There is no need for you to say more, Lord. We are all concerned about the world. How dare Xia Yan complain!"

After Xia Yan said this, he bowed to Yan Song and left.

Yan Song couldn't help but sigh when he saw this, but he hurried forward, put on a smile, and kept explaining his intentions.

Seeing this, Xia Yan looked down on Yan Song even more, thinking that Yan Song might just be flattering his superiors instinctively, and for a moment he couldn't help but sneer.

Yan Song saw that Xia Yan's expression had eased a little and he was less wary and resentful of him, so he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, because he knew that although Xia Yan was the chief minister of the cabinet and seemed to be a minister of the current emperor, he still held a heavy weight in the heart of the retired emperor. This also forced Yan Song to continue to please Xia Yan while starting to shift his camp to the new emperor.

……

Zhu Houzhao has now learned that some civil servants in the court have impeached him for interfering in state affairs.

Zhu Houzhao couldn't help but laugh at this moment: "These guys really don't know how high the sky is and how deep the earth is. They think that just because I abdicated, they really think that I am a toothless tiger that can't bite them?"

In fact, Zhu Houzhao had always been careful not to interfere in state affairs. After all, he himself did not want to worry about state affairs.

But now he holds military power and has a say in military affairs. The Japanese pirates and the high-ranking officials in the court who are involved in collusion with the Japanese are naturally military matters, and Zhu Houzhao can certainly take care of it.

Moreover, Zhu Houzhao did not directly tell the emperor and the court what to do through his edict. Instead, he let the court make its own decision by providing advice to Zhu Wan.

So, strictly speaking, Zhu Houzhao did not interfere in state affairs.

Because of this, Zhu Houzhao could be said to have a clear conscience. He was not polite to the civil servants who impeached him as the emperor. He directly ordered the Jinyiwei to investigate these civil servants. Any cases involving corruption were reported directly to the Censorate and Hai Rui, who was in charge of the Huang Ming Bao. Any cases involving collusion with the Japanese were reported directly to the Northern Pacification Office for arrest.

Because of this, it wasn't long before the court officials only dared to criticize Zhu Wan and no longer dared to say anything wrong about the retired emperor Zhu Houzhao.

Zhu Houzhao has been getting along with Zhu Wan these days. He can see that the civil servants from Fujian and Zhejiang have put a lot of pressure on Zhu Wan in the court, causing Zhu Wan to frown all the time.

Seeing this, Zhu Houzhao had no choice but to persuade him kindly: "Zhu Fuyuan, don't worry. The right and wrong here are clear to the people of the world. Those who oppose you are not necessarily true gentlemen. You are fighting against smuggling and killing Japanese pirates, not prohibiting the people of Fujian and Zhejiang from making profits through business. I see all of this."

"I thank the Emperor for his comfort! I can only serve the Ming Dynasty with all my heart at this moment! But it is precisely because of this that I realize that the forces behind these Japanese pirates are really not simple. I believe that these coastal nobles will continue to stir up trouble, or even cause bigger trouble. With thousands of miles of sea borders, it is really difficult to prevent these Japanese pirates from plundering the Ming Dynasty territory from any place and at any time."

Zhu Wan couldn't help but say.

Zhu Houzhao nodded. He was also thinking about this. When he heard Zhu Wan mention it, he said:

"I have also thought of this. I have ordered the Fifth Guard Army in Wuchang to rush to Nanjing. This is an army that emphasizes the individual combat level and comprehensive combat capabilities of soldiers, and is equipped with the best and most comprehensive weapons. It is one of the most powerful mobile forces that I have prepared. I named it the Ming Special Forces. My bodyguard general Qi Jiguang is the commander of this army.

Now, I have put him in charge of the coastal defense of the entire Nanzhili, Zhejiang, Fujian, Guangdong and Guangxi. This army is only responsible for annihilating the enemy and attacking. You, Zhu Wan, will lead the local troops of Fujian and Zhejiang to be responsible for defense and destroying the pirates' nests at sea. Make sure that every town on the coast of the Ming Dynasty has a company of guards, and the southeast coast is like an iron barrel. When the time comes, these pirates and the coastal nobles behind them will never be able to cause a big mess. "

"I will follow the Emperor's orders!"

Zhu Wan just bowed and nodded.

……

Things turned out just as Zhu Houzhao and Zhu Wan had expected. After Shuangyu Island was recovered by the Ming court and put under the government management system, the smuggling pirates and Japanese pirates in Southeast Asia lost their chance to make money. Before long, countless Japanese pirates began to harass the southeastern sea of ​​Ming with the help of the coastal nobles.

In Shangyu County, Shaoxing Prefecture, a group of Japanese pirates landed and headed straight for the county town, chopping down any Ming civilians they saw along the way.

At this time, Shangyu County resident Ju Siyuan was protecting his wife and children, holding a carrying pole and confronting several Japanese pirates in the group, saying, "You Japanese pirates, don't come over here!"

The Japanese pirates naturally would not listen to Ju Siyuan and immediately attacked him.

Another Japanese pirate pounced directly at his wife, pressed her to the ground and was about to rape her.

Zou Mei, a wealthy family from the Shangyu County gentry, watched all this through the crack in the door and couldn't help but laugh: "These Japanese pirates have finally arrived. When these Japanese pirates kill people and cause chaos in Jiangnan, we will see whether the court will still pay attention to the stability of Jiangnan."

Ah!
Ju Siyuan couldn't help but scream when he saw his hand being chopped off, and he also realized that he couldn't defeat these Japanese pirates, so he ran to the tightly closed door of his neighbor Zou's house, knocked on the door and shouted: "Master Zou, help!"

Zou Mei did not respond.

At this time, a team of special guards who were ordered to patrol everywhere appeared. They immediately opened fire and shot the Japanese pirate who was taking off his pants in the lower body. The Japanese pirate covered his crotch and screamed on the spot.

The other Japanese pirates became furious upon seeing this, and seeing that the Ming army was smaller in number than their own, they rushed over with Japanese swords in hand, with very cruel expressions.

Snapped!
Snapped!
Snapped!
The Ming army pulled the trigger quickly, and the rifles accurately shot all the Japanese pirates to death.

Zou Mei looked at all this in disbelief: "When did these Ming troops appear? Did the imperial court know that there would be chaos in the southeast and sent troops in advance?"

While Zou Mei was in disbelief, the retired official Deng Dong also looked in amazement as he saw three Ming soldiers chasing after more than twenty Japanese pirates and shooting all of them to death.

What is even more shocking is that in Jiangning Town, when more than 40 Japanese pirates sneaked here with the help of local gentry, they were swept away by five guards.

"The barrels on the revolver kept spitting fire, and the bullets were fired like rain. More than 40 Japanese pirates were killed in a short moment! The Japanese pirates were fierce, but they were no match for the elite troops of the imperial court!"

Ma Yinghong, an official who witnessed all this, could not help but write down what he had seen and heard, but he felt unwilling to do so when he wrote it down.

At this time in Nanjing City, Gao Qi, the right assistant minister of the Nanjing Ministry of War, had already received the secret report.

"Master, the Japanese pirates in the direction of Shaoxing were all wiped out by the government troops in three days! There were zero casualties among the government troops, and only fourteen civilian casualties!"

"Master, the Japanese pirates in the Jixi direction were also completely wiped out by the government troops within half a day! There were zero casualties among the government troops, and only six civilian casualties!"

"Master, the Japanese pirates from Jiangning were completely wiped out as soon as they arrived at Jiangning Town. I heard that the Fifth Army had prepared machine guns in advance!"

After listening to the report from his trusted aide, Gao Qi could not help but slam the table: "Didn't Captain Xu say that the pirates he sent were brave warriors who could fight ten at a time? How come they were repeatedly defeated by the government troops?!"

"Well, as far as I know, the government troops were well prepared this time, and we all overlooked that the weapons of the government troops are no longer the ordinary firearms and swords and spears of decades ago. The firearms of the government troops nowadays are so powerful that even the cavalry can't take advantage of them! It is said that among these pirates who came to plunder, there were always dozens of pirates being chased and killed by one or two government soldiers."

Gao Qi's confidant said.

After listening to this, Gao Qi couldn't help but fall into deep thought, and then he sighed: "Oh! Has the world really changed?!"

Zhu Houzhao also received a report from Zhu Wan, and learned that the Japanese pirate invasion was completely wiped out within three days.

Zhu Houzhao could not help but nod his head and said, "Very good, at least there was no major Japanese riot at the beginning! But we cannot let the Japanese pirates so wantonly challenge the majesty of our Celestial Empire. Pass on my imperial decree and send it to the current emperor Zhu Zailei. Tell him that his father, that is, me, wants to get all the Japanese women in Japan and make Japan my retirement home. Therefore, I want him to send troops to kill all the Japanese women in Japan within three years!"

Zhu Houzhao had long wanted to destroy Japan, and now he just found an excuse for the Japanese pirates to provoke the Ming Dynasty. At the same time, he also played a trick to make it easier for people all over the world to understand that he, the emperor, intended to destroy Japan.

However, when Zhu Houzhao was planning to destroy Japan, Zhu Wan told Zhu Houzhao a rumor from the capital that the emperor and the chief minister of the cabinet were beginning to have rifts and conflicts.

This was because Xia Yan vetoed the resolution in the name of the chief minister of the cabinet in order to prevent Emperor Zhu Zailei and other ministers from requiring the vassal states to increase their own tariffs and remit half of their taxes to Beijing. He vetoed the resolution in the name of the chief minister of the cabinet and refused to sign it.

This completely angered Emperor Zhu Zailei and also shocked many officials across the country.

Zhu Houzhao once strengthened the power of the chief minister of the cabinet in order to make the cabinet fully responsible for internal affairs in order to reduce his workload as emperor. In domestic affairs, he required that all cabinet edicts should be countersigned by the chief minister. However, he did not expect that Xia Yan would begin to use this to play against the newly enthroned emperor.

"This Xia Yan! Seeing that I have abdicated, he almost forgot who he is!"

Zhu Houzhao couldn't help but say something.

Zhu Wan also said: "I also think that Yuanfu is too rash to do this. Although it is for the sake of the country, it is not a trivial matter to resist the emperor. Perhaps Yuanfu has no choice but to do this."

"It's probably related to Yan Song. This guy changed sides at the Council of State Affairs meeting!"

Zhu Houzhao said that although he had abdicated, the intelligence system was still there, so he naturally knew what was happening in the capital. He knew that Yan Song would not be a man who would sit still, but now he began to worry that the conflict between his eldest son and the chief minister of the cabinet, Xia Yan, would be used by some people with ulterior motives, thus affecting the overall situation of the world.

(End of this chapter)