Ming Dynasty: I risked my life to teach the prince, the emperor begged me not to die

Chapter 180 The Cabinet's Surrender

Zhu Houzhao continued to speak to Emperor Hongzhi step by step, "Then, Father, what we have to deal with now is the batch of salt permits in the hands of the people, right?"

As for the merchants, dignitaries and gentry, they may still have some, but definitely not too much.

They considered themselves to be smart, and had almost already passed on the risk by selling salt permits to ordinary people at a discount.

Emperor Hongzhi nodded, "So?"

Zhu Houzhao said: "Exempt the land tax."

"Let them use the salt vouchers in their hands in exchange for the imperial court's policy of exempting them from land tax!"

"In this case, do you think they will be willing?"

"These salt permits were originally purchased at a discount, but they can be exchanged for a more favorable tax exemption policy. The people will definitely support the court's decision."

"Let me summarize it for Father..."

Emperor Hongzhi's body was stiff, his eyes were dull, and he spoke almost subconsciously: "The big merchants and gentry lost a lot of money and sold the salt permits to the people."

"The people paid less money to obtain salt permits, which were considered worthless by others, but they were also eligible for exemption from land tax!"

"If the salt permits are in the hands of the big merchants, gentry and dignitaries, this strategy will not work, because they do not need to be tax-free, they already enjoy the tax-free policy...hiss!"

This plan is linked one by one. Until the last moment, you will never guess how this situation is set up!
In the eyes of Emperor Hongzhi, a situation that was impossible to solve was broken just like that?
The salt permits that had been piled up in the hands of the imperial court for two generations and decades were just disposed of like this?

Emperor Hongzhi could not help but gasp and stared at Zhu Houzhao in amazement. His eyes were very complicated, and no one knew what he was thinking!
He couldn't help but say, "My son is smart! It is indeed possible to operate it!"

Of course, Emperor Hongzhi did not think that Zhu Houzhao could figure this out clearly.

To set up such a large-scale plan, from the opening of the salt system to the proliferation of salt permits, one thing after another, it is impossible that Zhu Houzhao could have come up with this, so who else could it be?

That monster!

It was he who proposed the idea of ​​solving the problem of the Kaizhong system. I'm afraid he had thought of the problem of the rampant salt permits at that time.

There are a few things that need to be kept secret here. Emperor Hongzhi naturally understood the core of Chen Ce's thinking, and he knew how to implement it.

You must be very careful during the execution process and cannot make any mistakes. Any mistake will lead to the complete collapse.

If Emperor Hongzhi really wanted to implement this plan, he certainly couldn't do it himself!

He has been wanting to solve the problem of salt accumulation for a long time. Now that he has a solution, he has to give it a try even if it is risky!

Xu Pu was about to retire, and the chief minister of the cabinet had not yet been decided. Liu Jian, Li Dongyang and Xie Qian were all qualified.

Emperor Hongzhi was most partial to Liu Jian, and he could take this opportunity to test Liu Jian.

If the problem of salt permits was solved, he could legally and reasonably push Liu Jian to power.

Emperor Hongzhi's eyes glowed green, and he said to Zhu Houzhao, "Good son!"

"You go first. This is a serious matter. You can't tell anyone about it. Do you understand?"

Zhu Houzhao nodded excitedly and said, "I know!"

But he did not leave. He smiled at Emperor Hongzhi and said, "Father, what do you think of this plan?"

Emperor Hongzhi looked at him and said, "If the salt permit issue is really resolved, I will definitely receive a reward from you. Now is not the time to discuss this."

Zhu Houzhao said: "Father, you are the emperor, you must keep your word, don't just give me a few melons and dates and send me off."

Emperor Hongzhi laughed in anger and said, "You are my son! I have given you the whole country, what else do you want as a reward?"

The country cannot be divided equally, and this is not something I came up with. Emperor Hongzhi certainly knew that he was deliberately provoking Zhu Houzhao, but if the problem of salt permits was really solved, how should he reward Chen Ce? This really posed a problem for him.

Anyway, let's wait until the matter is resolved.

"Okay, I understand. We'll talk about it later. You go to the East Palace first."

Zhu Houzhao groaned and said, "Well, I'll go first. Father, you can think about it slowly."

After Zhu Houzhao left, Emperor Hongzhi could not wait to say, "Come here, summon Lord Liu to see you!"

"Here!"

Not long after, Liu Jian arrived at the Yangxin Palace and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you."

"Don't be polite, elder. Get up quickly."

"I have something to tell you."

"This is a serious matter. Please listen carefully and don't let anyone know."

Liu Jian's expression turned serious, and he said, "As you wish!"

After half an hour, Liu Jian looked dazed. After a long while, he could not help but take a deep breath and said, "Your Majesty... is wise!"

Liu Jian was full of admiration!
They had been thinking about how to solve the problem of salt accumulation and overflow, but had not been able to find a solution. They had never expected that the emperor's wisdom could be so terrifying!

I actually found a practical solution among the complicated problems!

"Your Majesty, this matter needs to be handled with caution. If an operation is not done well, the consequences will be disastrous!"

Although the plan is good, every step in it is a crisis. If it is not handled properly, once any mistake occurs, all the efforts will be in vain, and you may even end up shooting yourself in the foot!

But if it is implemented well, it can completely solve one of the biggest problems for the future of Ming Dynasty!

Liu Jian felt that the risk was worth taking, and he and Emperor Hongzhi hit it off.

Emperor Hongzhi was also a little ashamed. Looking at Liu Jian's admiration for him, he couldn't help but sigh in his heart, I wish this was really what I thought of.

Unfortunately, I don't have that evil mind.

Seeing how submissive Liu Ge Lao was, Emperor Hongzhi felt a little ambitious and a slight smile appeared on his face.

He said to Liu Jian: "Lord, I have not told anyone else about this matter. This is a serious matter and must be carried out in secret."

"But the most difficult part is undoubtedly the step where the gentry and the rich harvest the common people. They will be saddled with a huge infamy. I wonder if you, Lord..."

Liu Jian bowed and said, "Your Majesty! As a minister, I should share your worries. Even if I bear a huge infamy, I will move forward bravely!"

It sounds nice to say, because in the end, when everyone knows the whole story, no matter how big their misunderstanding of Liu Jian is, it will turn into deep admiration.

What does it matter if he suffered a little injustice in the early stage? It was harmless to Liu Jian.

Emperor Hongzhi nodded heavily and said, "Okay! Then this matter will be fully controlled by the elder!"

"Lord, this is a serious matter. We must be extremely careful. If it succeeds, you and I, the king and the minister..."

Emperor Hongzhi clenched his fist secretly. Although he didn't say anything, Liu Jian knew that if this matter succeeded, Emperor Hongzhi would leave a good name in history!
And I will also go down in history because of this!

So no matter what, Liu Jian will be fully alert!

He bowed and saluted, saying, "Your Majesty, please rest assured! I will do my best!"

(End of this chapter)