Zhu Di was greatly encouraged by Su Bai. His eyes were different now, and he was extremely determined.
"Thank you, Mr. Su!"
Zhu Di raised his arm and bowed to Su Bai solemnly.
However, his movements were a little stiff. Clearly, he was not as good as the two men next door.
"There's no need to be so polite."
Su Bai waved his hand indifferently and said seriously:
"After I die, if you really become a general one day and still acknowledge me as your teacher, then go and destroy the Jianzhou Jurchen. Consider it as fulfilling my last wish."
"All the egg yolks have been shaken, and the ant holes have been filled with boiling water. As long as they can breathe, don't even think about running away.”
"Ah?"
Zhu Di was stunned and at a loss.
Jianzhou Jurchen?
Barbarians from Liaodong?
What was going on?
What did they do to Mr. Smith?
How much hatred did they have?
"Mr. Su, may I ask?"
Before Zhu Di could finish, Su Bai raised his hand and interrupted him. He said in an unquestionable tone:
"Don't ask. Even if you ask, I can't tell you.”
Seeing Su Bai's firm attitude, Zhu Di didn't dare to offend him. He pounded his chest and said:
"No problem, leave it to me!"
"I definitely can't be vague about what Mr. Smith has instructed me to do. Don't worry!”
Su Bai smiled contentedly and raised his glass:
"Good!"
Su Bai's dying wish stunned Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao in the secret room.
According to the previous investigation, Su Bai had never traveled far away since he was young. It was not until a year ago that he came to the capital.
When did he form a grudge with the Jianzhou Jurchen?
Those barbarians were far away in Liaodong!
It didn't make sense.
After thinking for a moment, Zhu Yuanzhang frowned.
He felt inexplicably depressed. It was a feeling that he could not describe.
"Boss."
"Your son is here."
"Go back and investigate the Jurchen tribes in Liaodong and see if there have been any movements from those barbarians recently.”
"Yes, Imperial Father!"
After giving Zhu Biao instructions, Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly thought of something else and asked,"
"By the way, boss, is the Jurchen tribe in Liaodong still maintaining the old system?”
Zhu Biao smiled bitterly.
"Yes, Father. After all, the Jurchen tribes are still under the rule of Northern Yuan."
Zhu Yuanzhang nodded thoughtfully.
"The vast forest and black soil are the most suitable to be used to reclaim farmland. If we make good use of the resources of Liaodong, it should be enough for our Ming people to eat for a long time."
Zhu Biao gasped and said in surprise,"
"Father, are you planning to expand into Liaodong?”
Zhu Yuanzhang's tiger eyes flashed with ruthlessness as he snorted and said,
"Expansion? Collect the debt!"
"I've long disliked them. There aren't many of them, but they're dancing quite happily. In the future, they'll follow the Han law. Bind your hair and wear a crown. Cut off that dog tail whip.”
"You don't know beauty!"
"If you really can't discipline them well, then we'll do as Mr. Su says and kill them all!”
"What Jianzhou Jurchen, Haixi Jurchen, Savage Jurchen, and all the other tribes, don't leave any alive!”
Zhu Biao shivered subconsciously.
He thought to himself, Father, you're much more ruthless than Mr. Smith!
Mr. Su only said that he would destroy an entire clan, but when it comes to you, you've directly destroyed them all!
.......
"By the way, Mr. Smith,"
Zhu Di saw that Su Bai was blushing, so he wanted to ask Su Bai more questions while Su Bai was drunk so that he could save Su Bai.
"The Great Ming Empire is expanding its territory, and the Imperial Court is giving benefits to the people.”
"Isn't it inappropriate to pay directly?”
Su Bai burped, slapped Zhu Di's thigh and glared at him:
"Do you still need to ask such a simple question?”
"How much can you give? Even if you took out all the money from the Northern Yuan royal family, it wouldn't be enough for the people of the country!”
Zhu Di gritted his teeth, but he did not dare to cry out in pain. In order to get information, he went all out and said embarrassedly,
"Then what method should we use?"
"My brain isn't working well, and I haven't read much. It's not like Mr. Su doesn't know."
Su Bai rolled his eyes at him in disgust, shook his head and sighed:
"Free of all agricultural taxes!"
"What? All free!"
"Yes, it's free!"
"If it wasn't for Mister Su, the agricultural tax would have been completely waived. What would the imperial court do?”
Zhu Di was dumbfounded. He said in a flabbergasted manner,
"Great Ming's current agricultural tax is already very low, only one-eighth of the previous Song. But even so, it still takes up the bulk of the tax revenue, followed by salt tax and merchant tax.”
"If we really exempt the agricultural tax, the common people will be happy, but won't the imperial court be paralyzed?”
Su Bai yawned and said lazily:
"That's why I said just now that a person's strength is too small and can't achieve anything at all. Even if you're the emperor, you can't do whatever you want.”
"Just listen to the fun. Don't take it seriously.”
Zhu Di was a little anxious and refused to give up.
"If it's not completely free, can we reduce it by half on the current basis?”
"No, it has to be completely free!"
Su Bai said without a doubt:
"If you don't completely exempt them, no matter how much you lower them, it will be futile. It will only increase the pressure on the national treasury.”
"As long as the agricultural tax exists, the problem will never be solved.”
What Su Bai said made everyone dumbfounded again.
Zhu Yuanzhang pinched his eyebrows. His head was already buzzing.
One had to know that he had lived through hard times and knew the sufferings of the people. The tax rate he had set after careful consideration could not be lower.
Even halving it again was not enough, and it had to be completely exempted?
What kind of show was this?
Throughout the past dynasties, there had never been an emperor who had set such a precedent, right?
If the commoners wanted to eat, so did the imperial court!
Wasn't this nonsense?
"Please tell me, Mr. Smith!"
Zhu Di thought hard for a long time but still couldn't come up with a reason. He decided not to trouble himself and asked Su Bai directly.
Su Bai got up and stretched his body, stretching his sore muscles and bones:
"I'll talk about it in the next class."
"I can't explain it in a few words. This involves the second lecture of 'On the Fate of the Nation.' We'll talk about it tomorrow.”
"What is 'On the Fate of the Nation' again?"
Zhu Di muttered a brand-new term, puzzled.
"Why is it the second lecture? What about the first lecture?"
Su Bai was speechless. When he walked past Zhu Di, he patted his head.
"The class just ended and I haven't left yet, but I forgot everything.”
"You're really good!"
Then, Su Bai went back to sleep.
Zhu Di was left dumbstruck, still confused about the situation.
"Are you done?"
Zhu Di grabbed his stubble in distress. Suddenly, he woke up from a dream and reacted.
"The Unquestionable Connection between the Fate of the Nation and the Heavens?!”
Zhu Yuanzhang, who was eavesdropping next door, held his breath.
He deeply remembered the three words 'On the Fate of the Nation.'
Zhu Yuanzhang smacked his lips, feeling somewhat unsatisfied.
"Let's go back too."
"Go and call Li Shan Chang over.”
"Wait! Let's not call him yet, let's talk about it tomorrow morning."
Zhu Biao smiled awkwardly and nodded.
His heart was clear.
He was trying to make a big deal out of it!
...............
P.S. Are there still readers watching?
The comments section was so deserted, and the statistics were so bleak. Without seeing the figures of the big shots, the young author's heart was panicking.
Please give your opinions!
Little author thanks!
...............
This book is provided by FunNovel Novel Book | Fan Fiction Novel [Beautiful Free Novel Book]