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When Hu Guang said this, he glanced coldly at all the courtiers below and said sternly: "Other ministers should set an example and be comforted. If anyone dares to cause trouble secretly, once the factory guards find out, it will not be as simple as being dismissed from office!"

"This temporary control policy will be canceled after the grain has been shipped from the south and millions of victims have been resettled. The grain collected will also be returned!" After Hu Guang said this, he asked again, "My lords, what are you doing? If you have any objections, you can report them to your face; after you retire from the court, you must not violate them in secret!"

This is Hu Guang's style. If you have something to say, you can talk about it face to face. But once a decision is made and implemented, if you still think of ways to object, you will be rude.

Regarding this point, the assistant minister Cheng Jiming and others have experienced it and understand that what the emperor said is true, and they will not be blamed if they have any opinions at this time.

To be honest, he really had great opinions on the emperor's new decree and the unheard-of food control policy. There is no other reason, because he has a source of money, which is a grain merchant.

Every time there are wars, floods and droughts, it is the easiest time for grain merchants to make a fortune. All the grain merchants have to do is to hoard them until this time, and then buy low and sell high, and they can make a fortune.

As a result, your emperor confiscated all the food. Although he promised to return the food in the future, he missed this opportunity and lost a lot of money. It is strange that he could be willing to do so!

Generally speaking, grain merchants have backgrounds and require capital. Small business is not enough to cover the expenses on the road. Therefore, if the background of a grain merchant is not at the level of an assistant minister like Cheng Jiming, it will not be that low.

For example, Cao Yubian, the censor of Zuodu who had just been beheaded, had a relative who was one of the major grain merchants in the capital. There are also royal relatives and nobles. This force is so powerful that even Cao Huachun, the admiral of Dongchang, hesitated.

Because of this, Hu Guang wasted more time and let Cao Yubian jump out first and operate on him, thus shocking the courtiers first. Then, the soldiers and horses of the Beijing Camp and the Royal Horse Supervisor were arranged in advance, and the factory guards were assembled to wait for orders. As for the Wucheng Soldiers and Horses Division, it was too closely connected with the local government, so he didn't even think about using it.

He had just won the battle to defend the capital, and the generals leading the army were all his confidants. Under this premise, and with sufficient control, Hu Guangcai suddenly took out this control measure.

He even thought about extending this control measure to other disaster areas, such as Shaanxi. But that's all I can think about. It's not as good as the capital there. For me or the court, I don't have the control yet. The result of forced promotion will only make the situation there more chaotic.

Hu Guang was thinking about this, and when he saw that the people below him had not spoken, he wanted to announce the execution. However, Cheng Jiming coughed, stepped out and said: "All the people in the world are your Majesty's subjects, including the victims of the disaster and the grain merchants." Yes. If we adopt such control measures, it will be no less than competing for profits from the people."

"As we all know, grain selling requires a lot of capital, and borrowing the capital requires interest, and hiring workers also requires wages. If selling grain cannot make money and support the family, how can the grain merchants survive? How is this different from taking someone's life? Although there are victims who are indeed in need of assistance, does the hardship of the victims stem from the grain merchants? Is it fair to the grain merchants to bear the consequences if they are not the cause? Are we all His Majesty's subjects, preferring one to another?"

Cheng Jiming talks eloquently, as if he is upholding justice, asking for orders for the people, and redressing injustice in the world!

Hu Guang looked at him expressionlessly and did not express an opinion, just waiting for him to finish.

Among the other ministers, those with interests nodded in agreement. Although they did not agree with him, their attitude was clear.

Although Cheng Jiming saw that the emperor's face was not good-looking, he also knew that the emperor's reaction must not be good, but as long as it was not unreasonable, it was within the scope of his expectations, so he continued to tell his reasons.

"Businessmen are naturally profit-seeking, and they are not just grain merchants. If selling grain not only makes no profit, but also suffers a lot of losses, what grain merchant will dare to sell grain again in the future? If there are no more grain merchants in the world, what will be the rations for the border troops? Come, food will not be able to flow from the north to the south. By then, I am afraid that not only millions of old and weak people will starve to death! So many deaths from starvation may shake the foundation of the Ming Dynasty. Your Majesty, I am worried about the people of the Ming Dynasty, and I am worried about your majesty. It is for the sake of the country and the country of Ming Dynasty!"

When Cheng Jiming said this, he even squeezed out two tears, as if he had seen people dying of hunger everywhere and the Ming Dynasty was about to perish.

After hearing what he said, several civil and military officials came out one after another, echoing or admonishing in extremely affectionate tones, asking the emperor to consider this policy carefully.

Hu Guang sneered secretly after hearing this. These literati are really good at talking. They can turn life into death, black into white, and make the sky fall down on something as big as a sesame seed.

Before he went to court, he also made a special effort to investigate the affairs of the previous court. I found that Cheng Jiming was not the first person to say this. For example, when Emperor Wanli ordered the mining tax to be levied, Li Sancai, the governor of Fengyang, wrote "Please stop the mining tax" in the 28th year of Wanli. He once said similar words, describing a scene like the sky falling to stop Wanli. The emperor collected mining taxes.

If the emperor does not have much life experience and has been surrounded by civil servants, then Cheng Jiming and others will say such words, which will most likely shake the emperor's determination. If the policy to be implemented was proposed by other ministers, I am afraid that it would also be attacked together, making the emperor confused about what is true and what is beneficial to Ming Dynasty. When there are too many people attacking, things will often come to a halt, and those who contributed words and suggestions will even be punished.

However, Hu Guang was not the original Emperor Chongzhen, and he knew the seriousness of the matter clearly. Just the basic method has no effect on him.

Hu Guang waited for those who should object to jump out, and his opinions were almost expressed, and he said coldly: "I said, this is a temporary measure, and it will only be implemented temporarily in the capital. The price of grain has increased more than three times these days, and the price of grain has increased more than three times. Isn’t the money earned by the merchants too much? If that is the case, I will send factory guards to check the fortunes of the major grain merchants to see if they will suffer losses and starve to death because of this? Check the interests in the middle to see if they can starve to death. How many people are on the line of death?"

"..." Cheng Jiming and others were speechless. The emperor did not accept this trick at all. Moreover, the words hit the nail on the head. If the grain merchants were really investigated and made public to discuss the truth, they would have nothing to hide.

This kind of thing cannot be brought to light. Cheng Jiming and others only felt pain in their livers, but they could only swallow their breath and bowed down to accept the teaching: "Your Majesty is absolutely right, I have learned from you!"

These are the backstage of the grain merchants. They have communicated with each other in advance. If you dare to stumble again, don't blame me for getting angry! Hu Guang thought in his mind, then stood up and shouted: "In this case, all the ministers must act according to this, and must not be negligent and withdraw from the court!"

If you are interested, you can download the mining tax policy on Baidu. It’s very cool.