These years of being the queen mother!

Because of the good news sent by the governor of Shanxi, Empress Dowager Yang was in a very good mood that day. Even when Zhu Cilin was lazy, leaving all the matter of reviewing memorials to her, and went to find her two sisters to practice bickering, Empress Dowager Yang was also in a good mood. It didn't turn bad, but it was full of energy and kept busy until the sun went down and the lights came on.

After grading the last booklet, Empress Dowager Yang breathed a sigh of relief, and rolled her eyes at Zhu Cilin. "Now I think of asking Ai's family if they have eaten, why did you go so early, brat?"

After Zhu Cilin rubbed her nose guiltily, Empress Dowager Yang softened her tone and continued. "It was the Ai family who asked the dinner to be served later. The Ai family wanted to finish the paperwork today, and wanted to have dinner with the emperor, so they sent the palace servants to make the dinner later."

"The queen mother is so kind."

Zhu Cilin stretched out his fingers again and rubbed his nose, no longer feeling guilty, and instead stretched out his hand obediently to help Empress Dowager Yang.Empress Dowager Yang knocked off Zhu Cilin's hand, and said dumbfoundedly.

"You do this...you are seventy or eighty years old when you are a queen mother."

"No no, my mother is eighteen years old and as beautiful as a flower, how could she be seventy and eighty?" Zhu Cilin touched his nose and said with a playful smile.This was obviously a deceitful one-liner, which made Empress Dowager Yang dumbfounded.Is this what a son should say?

Empress Dowager Yang shook her head, and didn't bother to pay attention to Zhu Cilin, who was obviously getting more cheeky. After dinner and a cup of good tea, Empress Dowager Yang was in the mood to chat with Zhu Cilin about the contents of the brochure, and this chat lasted most of the night past.

When the feeling of drowsiness was on the rise, Empress Dowager Yang returned to the Compassionate Ning Palace, and went to bed to rest after a simple grooming.There was no dream all night, and when it was just dawn, Chunlai woke up Empress Dowager Yang early because of the morning court.Empress Dowager Yang woke up, took a bowl of yam and chicken soup stewed all night, and a few pieces of jujube cake, changed into a court dress with phoenix embroidered on it, put on a phoenix crown, and sat on the phoenix to go to the Jinluan Hall.

Jinluan Hall, commonly known as the Hall of Supreme Harmony, was originally named Fengtian Hall. In the 41st year of Jiajing, it was changed to Huangji Hall. It was the place where the emperor held grand ceremonies and court meetings.

When Empress Dowager Yang arrived at the Jinluan Hall, all civil and military officials were already waiting outside the hall in official uniforms, obviously the court meeting had not yet started.Empress Dowager Yang stepped down and let the civil and military officials enter the palace with her, while sending the palace servants to Qianqing Palace to urge Zhu Cilin, who was probably still in bed, to come as soon as possible.

Empress Dowager Yang took a seat on the side of the dragon chair, and the eunuchs waiting on the side hurriedly lowered the bead curtain, allowing Empress Dowager Yang to talk to the civil and military ministers in the hall through the bead curtain.

Empress Dowager Yang pursed her lips, trying her best to appear as pleasant as possible. "My lords have something important to report!"

The six departments have different jobs, but they are a little different from the fact that the governors of various places can directly submit statements. The officials of the six departments belonging to the central court obviously like to speak out.In the past, for example, when the late emperor Zhu Youxiao was still alive, because he was impatient to go to the court and listen to the officials of the six ministries babbling, he often missed the morning court.

Fortunately, as soon as Zhu Cilin came to power, Empress Dowager Yang resumed the routine of a three-day small court and a five-day grand court meeting in order to control the government as soon as possible and to balance the power of the courtiers. The habit of bluntly speaking.

Empress Dowager Yang opened her mouth, even though Zhu Ciling hadn't arrived yet, civil and military officials began to speak freely, most of what they said was about trivial matters, for example, the officials of Yushitai, who's son stayed overnight in Huajie Liuxiang, Whose son gathered a crowd to fight and started a heated discussion in the hall, all citing scriptures and speaking so bluntly that even the parties felt that living was a waste of business and air, let alone other people.

On the dragon chair, Empress Dowager Yang covered her mouth with a handkerchief and yawned lightly. "Why hasn't the emperor arrived yet?" Empress Dowager Yang whispered to the little eunuch who was waiting beside her.

"Do you want your maidservant to invite someone else!"

Empress Dowager Yang nodded, acquiescing to the little eunuch's proposal.The little eunuch went to the Qianqing Palace again, and after a while, Zhu Cilin, wearing a black gauze wing crown and a bright yellow silk dragon robe embroidered with dragons, Zhai patterns, and twelve chapters, came slowly.

At this time, Zhu Cilin was already twelve or fourteen years old. Although he was much taller than when he was a child, I don't know why it was inherited from Empress Dowager Yang. No matter how much he didn't gain any flesh, Zhu Cilin looked a little thin.Zhu Ciling walked in straight, took a seat on the left side of the dragon chair, and didn't say anything.

Empress Dowager Yang signaled all civil and military officials to continue, and then glanced at Zhu Cilin from the corner of her eye, noticing that he squinted his eyes slightly, remained motionless with a dull expression, and didn't know whether to cry or laugh.This brat is still dozing off, it's just...

Just when Empress Dowager Yang was hesitating whether to yell at Zhu Cilin or let him continue to sleep, Qian Shisheng, the servant of the household department, suddenly came out and said that the treasury was not enough, fearing that it was not enough to pay the military salaries in various places, and whether to increase the tax of the Jianghuai generation.

The tax increase mentioned by Qian Shisheng included the commercial tax instead of the agricultural tax alone, but this proposal still displeased Empress Dowager Yang.

The treasury is short of tax money...

Although she hasn't done much in the household department recently, it doesn't mean she doesn't know the approximate amount of money in the treasury.Even if the treasury was used for 20 taels of silver due to the hailstorm not long ago, it is not considered exhausting, not to mention the rental fee of 8000 million taels a year for Haojingao.Although the 8000 million silver was discounted in half, only half of it went to the national treasury, but with it and the commercial tax that has already exceeded [-] million, will there be no silver in the treasury? It is a fool to say that the treasury has insufficient tax money!

Empress Dowager Yang narrowed her eyes suddenly, piercing Qian Shisheng's body fiercely like a needle, but Empress Dowager Yang did not speak, but pursed her lips tightly, because Zhu Cilin suddenly sat up straight and said with a stern expression .

"Insufficient national treasury? I remember that the French ambassador to Haojingao has just handed over the lease fee for this year. I only sent 3000 million taels into the private treasury, and the remaining 5000 million taels went to the treasury. How could the treasury be insufficient to pay the military salaries everywhere?" Don’t say that because you and your cronies embezzled the treasury money privately!”

"Your Majesty, my loyalty can be learned from the sun and the moon. You can't slander me like this!" Qian Shisheng prostrated himself on the ground, tearing up and began to narrate his loyalty: "It is true that the treasury is not enough to pay the military salaries everywhere. It is out of public interest and out of love for the people that I stand up and say this."

Empress Dowager Yang looked coldly at Qian Shisheng, who had outstanding acting skills, for a while, and then she turned her attention to the old slippery Shi Fenglai, and said. "Shi Qing, you are the secretary of the household department and the chief assistant of the cabinet. What Qian Qing said is true."

"Your Majesty, the reason why Lord Qian said this is that he is more and more worried about the expansion of the army in various places. Liaodong has added a total of [-] soldiers, and the number of troops in various places has increased by as little as [-], and as many as tens of thousands. The number of troops has increased, and the military pay will inevitably be increased. It also increases, so after paying the military salaries of the officers and soldiers in various places, there will indeed be a problem of insufficient silver in the treasury. I think Mr. Qian must be worried about this, so he bluntly said that your Majesty will increase taxes!"

Shi Fenglai was obviously making love again, and he really lived up to his nickname of old cunning.

Empress Dowager Yang snorted coldly, ignored Shi Fenglai, and uttered evil words at Qian Shisheng. "You guys from the Donglin Party are really disgusting!"

As soon as this remark came out, the entire court was in an uproar, and Qian Shisheng and other Donglin party members in the court trembled all over, feeling extremely humiliated.Seeing them like this, Empress Dowager Yang felt a strange pleasure in her heart.She licked her lips and said in a high tone.

"Isn't it true that everyone claims to be honest and upright, to revitalize the administration of officials, to open the way of speech, and to get rid of the evils of the government and the opposition, but in fact, they use the name of satirizing the government and commenting on the officials to cover up the landlords and fight for the profits of the wealthy businessmen. Turning a blind eye to Minsheng Guotai, trying to obstruct the collection of funds for disaster relief, and jumping out from time to time, asking for tax increases with various ridiculous reasons, doesn't it make the family feel disgusted and the emperor feel sick!

Yes, Aijia admits that what you said is that the political affairs belong to the Six Departments, and the public opinion is not bad, but will this really make Daming look forward to governance from now on?It is said that it is for the country and the people wholeheartedly, and it is recommended to pay attention to agriculture, industry and commerce, and to abolish mining taxes, just to show compassion for the people.But can you Donglin Party members tell Aijia that to show compassion for the people is to continuously increase agricultural taxes, reduce or exempt industrial and commercial taxes, and exempt mining taxes?If you mourn the family and pay more attention to industrial and commercial taxes than agricultural taxes, you are afraid that you will affect the interests of the families behind you. Keep clamoring, emphasizing business and despising agriculture is the way to destroy the country.Can you tell the Ai family that food is the foundation of a country, and the light agricultural tax is to allow the people to grow food vigorously without any worries, and to stabilize the cornerstone of the Ming Dynasty. How come it is the way to destroy the country when it comes to your mouth!

Aijia once said that although Duke Wei was an eunuch and his conduct was flawed, he was devoted to the country and was regarded as a loyal person.At that time, you all said that Aijia was right, and even proposed to build an ancestral hall for Wei Gong.As a result, as soon as Wei Gong died, your Donglin Party began to clamor for cleaning up the Eunuch Party.Said that Shi Qing's ability is mediocre and unbearable.

Aijia admits that Shi Aiqing's ability is not outstanding and can't compare with your full stomach of talent, but Aijia is still willing to reuse Shiqing, not you.Because of what, because the Ai family is worried about Shi Qing, but not about you.You keep saying that everything you say and do is for this Aijia, but Aijia has never seen this from your words and deeds.They keep saying they are patriotic, but they keep fighting with people from other parties, and they keep writing petitions to cancel or reduce the tax burden of overseas trade tax, mining tax, salt tax, tea tax, etc., but they only leave the agricultural tax and don’t say it will be cancelled. , lower, but continue to advocate the increase.

Don't think that Aijia doesn't know why.Aijia is disgusted by your behavior of sacrificing conscience in the name of serving the country and the people. "

Empress Dowager Yang was too lazy to care about the faces of the civil and military officials in the hall, and she didn't care how bad the reputation of the Donglin party members would be after her words spread.Anyway, they are not the people they represent, but the interests of a generation of businessmen and landlords in Jiangsu and Zhejiang.Even if they were condemned to death by the words of the world, and their stigma is none of her business, as she said, Empress Dowager Yang clearly understood why the Donglin party members did this. To put it bluntly, they just wanted to Daming's fiscal revenue source became single, so that as they and the people behind them wanted, the imperial court could only collect taxes from ordinary farmers to ensure their private interests.

Grandpa, grandpa, why didn't you uproot all the Donglin Party, so that they revived, so that you still wanted to control the court and let the court become their one day!

This time...

Ha ha......

Empress Dowager Yang gave a stern smile,

The Ai family will never let them live in the world again, and would rather kill a thousand by mistake than one of them continue to do some disgusting things out of righteousness.

The author has something to say: there will be another update in the afternoon, o(*￣︶￣*)o ummm~