Domineering Daming

"Let's go." Zhu Xu ignored her and walked south.He is going to the Royal Political Council today, which is in the south of the city.

The little guy was persistent and yelled at Zhu Xu's side, as if he wasn't afraid of the cold anymore.

On the contrary, Li Xiangjun hurriedly followed, for fear that she would freeze again.

Zhu Xu just ignored her and hurried out of the palace.

"My minister sees the emperor."

Outside Daming Gate, Bi Ziyan had been waiting for a long time, and when he saw Zhu Xu, he stepped forward and raised his hand in salute.

Zhu Xu looked at him, also wearing thick clothes, couldn't help but smiled and said, "Master Bi has been waiting for a long time."

Bi Ziyan looked at Zhu Xu and Xiao Yongning, and if he felt moved, he still said: "This is the duty of the minister."

Zhu Xu looked up and said, "It's not far anyway, Master Bi, let's go."

Bi Ziyan knew that today was not a simple walk around, so he responded, "Yes."

Zhu Xu smiled and walked in the front, still thinking about his words.

The weather was too cold, and a group of people were all in thick casual clothes, but they weren't very noticeable.

"What does Master Bi think of me pardoning Master Yang and the Donglin Party?" Zhu Xu asked after a while.

The decree of amnesty has not yet been issued, and the imperial edict drawn up by Wu Youwei was sent to the cabinet yesterday.

Bi Ziyan listened to Zhu Xu's words, and said with a normal face: "The Donglin Party no longer exists. If it can benefit the 'New Deal', I think pardon is okay."

After all, the government and the public are all sympathetic to Dong Lin, and there have always been many people who speak for Dong Lin.

Zhu Xu said "Yes", and said: "There are also some different opinions. I think that I should not pardon, otherwise it would be 'indulging' party disputes, and it would not have the function and purpose of learning from past mistakes and avoiding future ones, right?"

In order to please the emperor and those in power, it was natural that some people flattered them, and they wrote a letter to the imperial court to oppose the pardon with a very resolute appearance.

Knowing this well, Bi Ziyan followed Zhu Xu slowly and said, "The cabinet will make some arrangements as soon as the decree is announced. These criticisms should be easily quelled."

Zhu Xu nodded slightly. Even if this matter is settled, it is still in the release stage. After a while, once the decree is issued, it will be able to remove a big stone between the imperial court and the scholars, and remove a big obstacle for the "New Deal".

After walking for a while, Zhu Xu changed the subject and said again: "Have you heard about the 'relegation'?"

There was an uproar in the past half a day yesterday, covering the sky and the moon, so it was impossible for Bi Ziyan not to know. He looked around and said, "I heard about it, but I just don't know the inside story."

Zhu Xu put his hands behind his back, slowed down a bit, and said: "The patriarchal family, the annual salary of honored and noble ministers accounts for more than one-third of the court's tax burden, and there will be more in the future. I plan to curb it, and someone will give me money." got the idea."

Bi Ziyan looked up at Zhu Xu's back and fell silent.

"Demotion" is no small matter, it involves all aspects, and one carelessness will really shake the "national foundation" and prolong the disaster to future generations.

But if no measures are taken, the annual salary of the clan, nobles and ministers will drag down the taxation of the court, and even drag down the Ming Dynasty.

Bi Ziyan also thought about it all night yesterday. He didn't know whether it was preconceived or why. He couldn't think of other suitable means.

After a while, Bi Ziyan said cautiously: "Your Majesty, the clan is a clan after all, if it is reduced to a commoner, it is not in line with 'benevolence and propriety'."

Chapter 839

"Benevolence" is the core of Confucianism. The Ming Dynasty ruled the country with Confucianism, so naturally it cannot violate this word.

"Li", the order of the Ming Dynasty all started with this word, and everything needs to be coordinated.

If the Emperor of Ming Dynasty and the imperial court were tough and acted recklessly regardless of these two words, there might be many unpredictable consequences.

Zhu Xu heard the meaning of the exhortation in Bi Ziyan's words, walked slowly, and said: "Then Master Bi said, what should I do? How many people were there in the clan at the time of Taizu, how many are there now? If it happens again After several decades, I am afraid that my annual tax will not be able to support the clan..."

Bi Ziyan frowned, and slowed down his steps, his thoughts racing.

Regarding the problem of excessive clan salary, it has existed since the Wanli period, but the emperor had a problem with his personality, and when it came to the "battle over the country", the clan issue was almost never brought up again, and even King Fu returned to the vassal. As much as [-] hectares of food land was acquired, so that Shaanxi had no land to seal, and had to go to other identities to "finance".

How can this be limited?

In the reign of Tianqi, there was a playbook of "restricting the salary of the imperial clan", but after Tianqi ordered the "ministerial discussion", it was nothing, and had no practical effect.

Although the current emperor has carried out a "confiscation" of the clan and collected their fields and most of their property, they have to keep them. There are tens of thousands of people, and ten stones per person every year is several million stones, plus other weddings and funerals. Marriage, the expenditure is even more terrible, and it is still a huge burden for the court.

Now the imperial court has relatively less money and food for the clan. In the words of the clan, it is just "barely surviving". In fact, there is indeed not much room for further reduction. A million stones will definitely starve to death!

Although Bi Ziyan's words are concise and to the point, they contain a lot of things.

Zhu Xu was also deliberate about the "relegation to the nobility". He could not allow the clan's population to expand without limit, absorb blood from the court, and be kept in captivity like pigs and sheep, eating together and waiting to die.

Zhu Xu stopped and said in a deep voice: "I have made up my mind to solve the clan issue. If the cabinet can't think of a better way, let's draft an order first." This matter cannot be done by the emperor Zhu Xu, the blame is either The clan mansion is either the cabinet, or they share the responsibility.

Bi Ziyan looked at the back of Zhu Xu's head, took a deep breath, and said, "I obey the order."

The cabinet must think of a better way, otherwise, once the "reduction of nobility" is implemented, the clan, nobles and ministers will definitely have troubles.They are not ordinary people, nor are they one or two stragglers.

Seeing that Bi Ziyan did not resolutely object, Zhu Xu nodded secretly. Now the cabinet is not powerful enough, and it does not have the courage to stand up to him. It will be difficult to say in a while.

If Bi Ziyan didn't object, it meant the cabinet agreed. Zhu Xu smiled, walked a few steps, and suddenly said, "I heard that uncle asked for leave?"

After these words, even Xiao Yongning, who had been covering his head carefully, raised his head, looked at Zhu Xu, and then at Bi Ziyan.

Regardless of her young age, she knows more about some things than others.

Bi Ziyan's expression also moved slightly, he bowed slightly, and said in a cautious tone: "I'm a little anxious, which may make Fu Shangshu unhappy."

Zhu Xu nodded, and said in a calm tone: "Well, be careful. It is one thing for the cabinet to collect power, but it is another thing to unite all the ministers and workers. You can't just focus on collecting power and offend the six ministries and nine temples. It's useless to collect the power."

Bi Ziyan could hear Zhu Xu's admonition, and maybe there was dissatisfaction with him for "offending" Fu Changzong, so he raised his hand slightly in his heart and said: "Yes, I understand."

Zhu Xu didn't answer any more, walked slowly, passed through Zhengyang Gate, and strolled on the street, gradually the voices of people started to buzz.

Seeing that the Royal Political Council was in front of him, Zhu Xu thought about it, and then asked again: "Master Bi, what do you think of the Royal Political Council?"

Although Bi Ziyan holds the title of President of the Royal Political Academy, he actually didn't care about it. Hearing Zhu Xu's question, he was a little puzzled, and said: "I think that the Royal Political Academy is very important for popularizing education and prosperous writing style. Useful."

Zhu Xu shook his head when he heard Bi Ziyan's words.What Bi Ziyan said was concise and to the point, but he didn't touch the core at all.

Zhu Xu smiled softly, and took the lead across the Sanli River, and the Royal Political Court was in front of him.

"Come on, go in and have a look." Zhu Xu went straight to the door.

Bi Ziyan looked at Zhu Xu's back and suddenly had a bad feeling in his heart.

Perhaps, the emperor didn't ask him to come here because he was the dean of the Royal Political Council, maybe there was another purpose!

Song Yingxing and a group of people had been waiting impatiently. When they saw Zhu Xu, they all flocked to pay homage: "I will see the emperor!"