The Ming Dynasty: A Modern Return, Building an Overseas Empire

Chapter 119 The fervent public opinion: A petition from the people to the royal palace!

Five days have passed in the blink of an eye, and there are only five days left before the full opening of business.

This day also marked the beginning of the full-scale promotion and implementation of the various policies set forth by Zhu Gaochi.

In every city, township, and village resettlement site, the people Zhu Huan had arranged in advance were mobilized, and everyone stopped all other work to begin a full-scale propaganda campaign.

Meanwhile, in the palace, Zhu Gaoxu had neither the time nor the energy to witness this grand event. Instead, he was working with Mei Qing on the final commercial tax regulations.

The commercial tax was finalized in advance; this is just a final check to ensure everything is correct. Once the business is fully operational, the commercial tax will also be launched simultaneously.

In fact, the so-called commercial tax was simply replacing operators with enterprises, with the business offices under the Ministry of Commerce issuing certificates. This was something Zhu Gaochi had Mei Qing do long ago.

And some income taxes, transaction taxes, customs duties, etc.

Zhu Gaoxu reduced and applied what he could learn from modern times to this point.

Yes, reduction doesn't mean copying everything; it means simplifying and applying those taxes.

As a startup, starting with the most difficult tasks can easily lead to mistakes and a severe shortage of personnel.

More importantly, policies must be adjusted to suit different times and periods.

Policies that were good in the past may not be applicable today, and those that will be good in the future may not be applicable to the present.

Throughout history, in the early and later stages of a dynasty, those that did not seek policy changes have all perished.

In the early days of a nation's founding, there is often a need to stimulate population growth, improve people's livelihoods, carry out various large-scale projects, and rapidly restore farming, among other things.

However, once the initial difficult phase was over, the situation changed significantly, and the policies implemented at the beginning of the founding of the nation were clearly no longer applicable.

This is why reforms and changes often occur in the middle and later stages of dynasties throughout history.

Institutions that are not compatible with development will only become a hindrance and a shackle.

Zhu Gaoxu's version is currently being simplified to what is applicable at present, and will be gradually updated and improved as development progresses.

This is a process that is destined to be experienced.

Zhu Gaoxu carefully examined each word without the slightest slackening.

Taxes have been reduced across the board, and the meager tax revenue collected from the people is simply insufficient to support their consumption.

The Wang court's main source of income has decreased so much, and in order to ensure that the people can afford salt, he has compressed the price of salt to a very low level and abolished the salt tax.

This meant that if Zhu Gaoxu wanted the royal court to have income, he had to rely mainly on the commercial economy and commercial taxes.

The better and more developed the commerce, the more commercial taxes are paid and the more input tax is generated.

Only in this way can we share the benefits with the people and prevent them from starving to death as much as possible.

While wealth is not guaranteed, at least basic survival from starvation is ensured, and the people will be more stable and less likely to rebel.

Zhu Gaoxu wasn't entirely confident about the economic transformation, but he had to give it a try.

Give it a try; perhaps it's possible to break the cyclical pattern of dynasties and forge a new path.

Even if we fail, we can always try again. We can leave some direction for future generations and help them find the right path sooner.

In this situation, the matter was of great importance, so how could Zhu Gaoxu not be cautious?

While Zhu Gaoxu was proofreading, outside, things were bustling with excitement, and public opinion was boiling over.

After the news was spread, everyone was eagerly discussing the new policy, with most people moved to tears and filled with disbelief.

The implementation of these policies has left most people in disbelief.

They'd been living in hardship for so long, they'd gotten used to it, but now Zhu Gaochi's sudden actions made everyone feel like they were being...

Like a dream.

Once it was truly confirmed, most of them couldn't help but cry.

Only those who have experienced those hard times, those heavy taxes and exorbitant levies, know how good the policies implemented by Zhu Gaochi were.

Everyone knelt down and bowed towards the palace where Zhu Gaoxu was, expressing their gratitude.

Those who had become middle-class slaves were even more excited and fervent than those brought by Zhu Gaochi and those who migrated there afterward.

They actually don't enjoy these rights at all. Before they get rid of their slave status, these things are irrelevant to them.

But these middle-class slaves who had risen from the ranks of the lower-class slaves were excited about these policies. If they could go further and become higher-class slaves, they would be able to enjoy a very small number of rights.

Even a tiny fraction of their rights are worlds apart from what they had before.

No, even more so, that's the difference between heaven and the eighteen levels of hell.

All the slaves went mad; they wanted these things too, even the higher-ranking slaves. Everyone yearned for them more than ever before.

The middle-class slaves thought about how to join the slave army, thereby obtaining the status of a higher-class slave, and then, through military merit, enough military merit to become Zhu Gaochi's true commoners.

The lower-ranking slaves were filled with madness, wanting to be promoted to middle-ranking slaves, wanting to escape their current situation, and wanting a better life.

However, as the new policy continued to take effect, things gradually started to go wrong.

More and more people began to spontaneously go to the palace to kneel and worship Zhu Gaoxu, shouting "Holy King!" and wanting to see him.

Some highly respected elders led the way, and no matter who asked, they all wanted to see their Holy King.

Since the Holy King Zhu Gaoxu did not come, no one left, nor did they discuss any specific matters.

Zhu Huan came personally to appease them, but after learning the reason why the people had gathered there, he fell silent.

"Wait here for a moment, and be sure to maintain order and not cause any accidents. I will go and inform the Holy King now."

Zhu Huan urgently deployed additional personnel to maintain order, and even mobilized the entire army to prevent any accidents.

The people paid no attention, and there was no disturbance or commotion. They simply waited and kept kowtowing to express their gratitude.

Inside the palace, Zhu Gaoxu spent an unknown amount of time finally completing the inspection.

"I've already made a note of what needs to be changed. Take it down and make the changes as soon as possible."

As for the rest, just do it according to the plan.

"Yes, Your Highness!"

Mei Qing agreed with great enthusiasm, as verifying these things had taken a lot of effort.

A moment after Mei Qing left, Zhu Huan hurriedly arrived.

"Your Highness, tens of thousands of people have gathered outside, and more and more are heading towards the palace. They want to see you."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Gaoxu had just breathed a slight sigh of relief when he immediately became anxious again.

In Zhu Gaoxu's view, such a big commotion clearly indicated that public opinion was boiling over.

I just don't know if it's good or bad.

But nine times out of ten, these kinds of things are bad.

Zhu Gaoxu's face immediately darkened.

"What on earth is going on?!"

"Your Highness, you'll see when you go out; they want to speak to you in person."

Zhu Huan did not reveal the reason; he wanted Zhu Gaoxu to hear it for himself.

Zhu Gaoxu gave Zhu Huan a deep look, said nothing, and hurriedly walked out of the palace.

Upon arriving outside the palace walls, Zhu Gaoxu was startled.

Looking around, one sees a dense crowd of people, all neatly kowtowing towards the palace.

Zhu Gaoxu quickened his pace, almost jogging, and went outside.

"Greetings, Holy King!"

"Holy King~"

Everyone suddenly became excited, shouting out the nicknames they used to call each other in private.

While Zhu Gaoxu remained puzzled and confused, the person at the front took the initiative to approach Zhu Gaoxu and knelt down in front of him.

"Holy King, you have done so much for us. We are where we are today because of you."

You have given us so much, and we know it today. Holy King, you have been so good to us.

I know Your Majesty is benevolent, but you cannot do this.

You have abolished corvée labor, exempted us from taxes and levies, and the tax revenue is so low. You have also exempted us from salt tax and built schools. We all want to repay you for what you have done for us, Holy King.

The royal court has no taxes. What kind of situation is this? How can the imperial court have no harvest?

We, a few old folks, on behalf of everyone, humbly request Your Majesty to levy even more taxes.

Back when I was a tenant farmer in the Ming Dynasty, I had to hand over 60% of my harvest, and some people even had to hand over 70%. The remaining 30% had to be kept for seed and used to repay the grain tax. I managed to get through it all.

Now that Your Majesty has exempted us from so much tax, collecting only 20% is too little; the tax revenue must be 60%.

"Your Majesty, please rest assured, we will not regret it. Now that the land has been distributed, we will keep the remaining forty percent to grow grain, eat sparingly, and gather some wild vegetables. That will be enough to feed us for a year."

Zhu Gaoxu, who was originally feeling heavy-hearted, was unsure whether to laugh or not upon hearing this; his feelings were complex and somewhat touching.

In his previous life, he had never valued these people so much. If he hadn't seen and learned so much in modern times, he wouldn't have done these things.

That is why this was the first time, no, the second time, that he truly felt the will and feelings of the people.

The first time he received eggs was at the royal palace.

With these different perspectives, Zhu Gaoxu realized that the common people were not the unruly or lowly people that the officials had described.

Look at these people, they are all so simple and honest.

If it were officials and gentry, they would probably be eager to gain more benefits and wouldn't care at all whether the interests of the imperial court would be harmed.

Zhu Gaoxu was deeply moved; he had never witnessed such a scene in the Ming Dynasty.

From the Hongwu to the Xuande periods, this is almost never seen in historical records.

In the past, the common people hoped that the imperial court would reduce taxes and corvée labor.

When it came to him, the situation was completely reversed; the people actively begged him to increase taxes.

This was Zhu Gaoxu's first time experiencing this, but the feeling was quite peculiar to him.

Looking at the people in front of him, Zhu Gaoxu helped a few of them up, and then sent people to help all the people behind them up.

"I understand your intentions. Since I have made these decisions, I must have a plan."

The policy was implemented after repeated consideration, so don't worry about those things, just follow the policy.

Now is the time for development here. Everyone should work hard and develop this place as soon as possible. That would be the best way to repay me.

Go back now, that's all.

Zhu Gaoxu offered a few words of comfort, and despite their reluctance, he still dismissed them.

On the way back to the palace, Zhu Gaoxu was filled with excitement.

Although he was not the emperor, who could compare to him in terms of his achievements and accomplishments?

Only when you truly feel the will of the people can you realize how incredibly compelling these sentiments are.

Zhu Gaoxu also sighed with great emotion, saying it was better to come out.

In the Ming Dynasty, how could one achieve these things?

Unless you are determined to kill every official and gentry member of the upper class, don't even think about doing it.

The people who left did not give up and seemed to be still thinking of ways to help.

As things settled down and policies were fully implemented, commerce was about to fully open, and the initial centralized system came to an end.