All the civil and military officials in the Huangji Palace were looking at Yue Su to see how Yue Su would respond. Qiqi Yue Da Ru seemed to be unhurried, smiled slightly, and said: "Marquis Taining, noble lords, Da Ru,

You oppose the tax increase, saying that it was set by Taizu and an ancestral system. You also say that increasing the grain tax is to compete with the people for profit. Now I would like to ask you a question, the official price of grain is one tael of silver and one stone, and the business income is

Shouldn't we abide by it? This was also set by Emperor Taizu and was an ancestral system. The merchants did not abide by this ancestral system. Why are we the only ones who have to abide by this ancestral system? If all the merchants in Yaoxian lowered the price of rice to one tael

For one stone of silver, I will abide by this ancestral system and will not increase taxes. What do you think?"

"This..." Chen Shaofu hesitated for a moment, then immediately said: "Then what should we do if the merchant increases the price? We didn't ask him to increase it."

"Yes, yes... We didn't ask Shangru to raise the price... Daru, what's the use of telling me..."... The officials who stood up with Chen Shaofu quickly echoed.

"Businessmen are also people of the Ming Dynasty. So if they don't respect the ancestral system, you just don't care. I want to increase the business tax. Why do you have to care about it? Otherwise, if you want to care about it, then care about it together. If you want to care about it, just don't care about it.

What do you think?" Yue Su said coldly.

Yue Su's words made everyone speechless. He wanted to reduce the price of rice back to one tael of silver and one stone. How could this be possible? Furthermore, the cost of the grain our family had just imported from the south was more than

One or two.

But soon, some officials came out and said, "Yue Da has entered, the ancestral system can be put aside, but the government does not compete with the people for profits. This is the foundation of governing the country. How can the court increase taxes and compete with the people?"

How about adding benefits to the people?"

The official who spoke was Song Shixiang, the right deputy censor of the Metropolitan Procuratorate. This man was an official of the Qi Party. Because he had a rice shop at home, the matter involved his own interests, so he came forward.

"Song Daru, what you said is very good. It is a good way to compete with the people and increase the burden on the people. Now I ask you, now the food is fifteen taels of silver and one stone, what is the benefit to the people? The people are going to eat it.

If you don't want to eat anymore, tell me what's in it for them?" Yue Su said coldly.

"This..." Yue Su's words made Song Shixiang speechless. Song Daru was a public speaker and he had always been very talkative. But now, because he was irrational, he really couldn't find anything to say to refute.

.I hesitated for a long time without saying a word.

He had nothing to say, but now Yue Daru had something to say, "Competing with the people for profit, the people can't eat, how can there be any profit at all? To be honest, it is just fighting with those unscrupulous and profiteers who are unkind and enrich the country."

Profits are real. Killing people like this is not an exaggeration, let alone just collecting some taxes and replenishing the national treasury. Could it be that at this time, only these people are allowed to increase prices without authorization, and the court is not allowed to increase prices?

Taxes? For those of you who have come forward, I would like to ask you now, is this descendant the descendant of profiteers like them, or is it the descendant of the emperor?"

"Ah...this..." The official who stood up and the noble Yue Su asked again in silence. He could only stutter and said: "Yes, it is the emperor's descendant..."

"That's right. Your Majesty is the emperor. Naturally, it is the emperor who has the final say. They have raised prices without authorization, and they have doubled them several times. The court only increased taxes a little. Isn't this okay? If you think it is wrong for the court to impose taxes now

, that’s easy to handle. You should think of a way now to get them to lower the price of food back to the previous price. If they can’t do it, stop talking so loudly in front of me! Are you having something to do with them when you are so protective of those unscrupulous and profiteers?

What's the connection? What's the benefit of taking them in? You don't know how many people died in Fan Yongdou's case!" The more Yue Su continued to speak, the sharper his voice became.

"No, no...how could we have anything to do with those profiteers..." All the officials and nobles shook their heads.

"That's good. Who else is against increasing the tax on grain sales?" Yue Su said loudly.

"It's just..." The officials had grimaces on their faces. They wanted to object, but they really didn't know what to say. Especially this Yue Dayu, he was not someone to be trifled with, let alone bullied. It would never be good to argue with him.

Eat the fruit, and now, you can't argue with him.

"To the emperor, I have something to say..." At this time, an official suddenly stood up. This official was wearing a fifth-grade official uniform. To be honest, the emperor didn't even know his name for such a small official.

Not to mention the emperor, even Yue Daru didn't know the name of this person, and he couldn't seem to think of where he had seen him before. This is also true. Since returning to Beijing, the emperor has not been in court, and it is rare for officials to know each other. Especially

He is a minor official, not at the same level as Yue Daru, let alone one whom he would never see.

"What can you say, Aiqing?" The emperor didn't recognize him, but he didn't need to call him by his name. He just called him Aiqing. Anyway, he didn't know most of the officials in the court. Even those of the third rank and above could be called Aiqing.

When I came up with names, some of them were just familiar.

"Chen Zizhuang, a scholar at the Hanlin Academy, agrees with Yue Daru's suggestion that the tax on grain sales should be increased!"

Chen Zizhuang, also known as Jisheng and Qiutao, was born in Guangdong. His father, Chen Xishao, was a Jinshi and worked as an official. Chen Zizhuang was a child prodigy who was able to write at the age of seven. He was a well-known child prodigy in Guangzhou.

There is a small allusion to Chen Zizhuang. One year during the Mid-Autumn Festival, the moonlight could not be seen. A guest at the banquet at Chen's house felt regretful and recited two lines of ancient poetry: "How does Mr. Yao feel tonight? No silver lanterns."

"Illuminating the blue waves." After hearing this, Chen Zizhuang, who was only seven years old, responded casually: "When I visit the garden next year, I will ask Chang'e to find out the causes of flowers." As soon as the poem finished, he won the applause and admiration of the whole hall.

Coincidentally, thirteen years later, 20-year-old Chen Zizhuang went to Beijing to take part in the imperial examination. After passing the imperial examination, he was ranked third, passed the imperial examination, and was awarded the Imperial Academy editorship. From then on, he continued to be Zuo Chunfang Zuo Yude.

Unfortunately, his father passed away a few years ago, and Chen Zizhuang returned to his hometown of Dingyou. After returning, the officials considered his achievements and awarded him a bachelor's degree from the Hanlin Academy.

It has only been less than a year since he returned to the capital. Rice is now expensive in the capital, and he can't bear it for a fifth-rank official. As an official, he has little luck, and it is impossible for merchants to deliver rice to his house, especially now.

At this time, the most important thing was to buy rice by myself. Coincidentally, Chen Zizhuang's family also went to Liuji Rice Shop to queue up to buy rice, and came across a place where two families were fighting.

The Chen family is very attentive. He knows the background of Liu Ji’s rice shop. If anyone dares to go there to cause trouble, he must have a good background. Therefore, this kid has been hiding not far away and watching. Later, he learned that he was going to Liu Ji’s rice shop.

The person who caused the trouble in Mipu belonged to the Yue Cifu Mansion. Yue Daru's name was well known in Beijing. The people in the Chen Mansion thought that there might be another story about this matter, so they told the story after they returned home.

Chen Zizhuang.

Chen Zizhuang is a talented young man who is not only smart but also patriotic. Without Yue Su, many years later, Chen Zizhuang would rather die than surrender and die under the saw knife of the Qing court. He will also be given the title of "Lingnan Three" by later generations.

Loyalty.

After listening to Xiajin's story, Chen Zizhuang thought about one thing. What was it? The current price of rice was so high that even he, a fifth-grade official, couldn't stand it.

What's more, it's ordinary people. It can be said that he has been thinking about a solution these days, and plans to come up with an idea before returning to the court. But for several days, he has never come up with a solution. Although the emperor used his own food

How long can we continue to provide relief to the people?

Now that Yue Su proposed to increase grain taxes, his eyes suddenly brightened, and he thought that this method was feasible. The imperial court would collect heavy taxes from grain merchants, whether it was collecting money or directly collecting grain, and then it could be used to help the people.

"Your Majesty, when Yue Daru proposed to make Li Wenzhang an earl, I originally opposed it, thinking that it was against the ancestral system, and scolded Yue Daru for being a nepotism. But now that I think about it, I regret it very much and feel that I

It was too pedantic at the time. How many people could be saved with 800,000 dan of grain? With so much grain, only one earl could be exchanged. It can be said that the court took a big advantage. If it were now, someone else would be willing to donate 800,000 dan.

The grain came to be exchanged with the court for a count, and the lower official was the first to agree. However, the grain now is higher than that then, and the merchants in the Yaoxia Dynasty all wanted to treat the grain as gold. Who would donate more, and who would care

The life and death of the common people. Yue Dalu increased the tax on grain sales. As long as profiteers sell, the court can collect the tax. With the tax collected, the court can provide relief to the people. It is really the best way to solve the problem of the people!" Chen Zizhong said righteously.

As soon as he finished speaking, Yue Party officials stood up and bowed one by one and said: "What Chen Daru said is absolutely true. Yue Daru's method of increasing grain taxes is really the best way to solve the problem of the people!"

...There are supporters around him, but it's different. If an official with little power makes such a proposal, he will probably be scolded to death by nobles and officials like Chen Shaofu and Song Shixiang. But Yue Daru is different.

He has the power, and there are a lot of officials behind him.

As soon as Yue Dang officials stood up, the atmosphere in the hall immediately changed.

Why didn't they stand up earlier? In fact, that's what Yue Daru always instilled. If something happens, don't stand up and agree first. Wait until others agree with you before you come out. This will prevent others from thinking that we are using power to suppress

enter.

After the officials of the Yue Party came out, many petty officials like Chen Zizhuang also came forward. For example, low-level officials in the Imperial College, the Ministry of Rites, and the Hanlin Academy. They were all in Qingshui Yamen, and there was no such thing as trying to win over others. Of course, there was nothing

Even if they don't have the right, no one will give them gifts. The official's family situation is not very good. Now the food is fifteen taels and one stone, which makes them a little bit unable to bear. You must know that the salary of a fifth-grade official is only sixteen taels per month, and

They need to add some facade and support a few people. It used to be okay, but now they barely buy one stone of rice, which is not enough. They hate those profiteers so much.

Because it's not easy, everyone is now on Yue Su's side. Although increasing the grain tax has no immediate benefits for us, if you don't make it easy for us, we must at least make it harder for you.
Chapter completed!