Liu Jian heard the conversation between the Emperor and the Crown Prince and continued to ask,
"Your Highness, will this grassland be used as a pasture in the future?”
Zhu Houzhao shook his head and said slowly,"
"It would be too wasteful to graze all of them.
The terrain is flat and close to the water source. Bengong plans to reclaim it and use it to grow crops such as potatoes and corn.
The remaining barren land was used for grazing.”
As for the mining, Zhu Houzhao didn't say much.
However, Liu Jian didn't intend to let go of this opportunity. He took the opportunity to say,
"Your Highness, the treasury is empty now. This time, north of Lang Mountain…"
"What is it? You said that the national treasury is empty?"
"Hmm?" Liu Jian was about to mention the copper mine to the north of Lang Mountain.
Zhu Houzhao suddenly interrupted him. After being stunned for a moment, he continued," Yes, the national treasury is empty. Your Highness, you…"
"Grand Secretary Liu, are you going to ask me if there's any way to solve the problem of the national treasury being empty?”
Liu Jian was interrupted by Zhu Houzhao.
However, this time, Liu Jian did not repeat his previous words.
After Zhu Houzhao finished speaking, he suddenly stopped frowning.
Just as the two pavilion elders were hinting at Liu Jian to continue…
Liu Jian frowned and looked at Zhu Houzhao.
"Your Highness, this humble subject dares to ask, do you have any solution to the problem of the national treasury being empty?”
When Zhu Houzhao heard this, he smiled lightly. Then, his expression turned serious as he replied,
"Yes!"
Emperor Hongzhi and the other elders heard Zhu Houzhao's reply.
He looked at Zhu Houzhao in shock.
When everyone saw Zhu Houzhao's serious expression, they all became serious.
Emperor Hongzhi, who was sitting at the head of the table, put down his chopsticks and urged Zhu Houzhao,
"Pin 'er, if you really have a way, then say it quickly!”
Zhu Houzhao nodded after hearing Emperor Hongzhi's words. He extended two fingers and said to the few people present.
"The reason why the treasury is empty, bengong believes that there are two main reasons.
The first was the vassal king system, and the second was the tax system.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Emperor Hongzhi was about to speak.
When Zhu Houzhao saw Emperor Hongzhi's actions, he waved his hand and stopped him,"
"Imperial Father, don't talk about our ancestors 'methods.
How many vassal kings were there when Taizu was in power?
And now?
What about the future?
Just based on the speed at which those vassal kings gave birth, your son estimated that in less than a hundred years, the descendants of these vassal kings would be all over the world.
At that time, who would provide for the children of these vassal kings? Would it be the imperial court?
Even the Imperial Court is struggling with the current situation. Do you think the situation will be better than it is now?”
Zhu Houzhao said.
Emperor Hongzhi was speechless.
Seeing this, Zhu Houzhao changed his tone and continued,
"There's also the tax system.
Scholars do not pay taxes, meritorious officials do not pay taxes, royal families do not pay taxes.
Not only were there many ways to avoid taxes, but it was also difficult to collect taxes. The exorbitant taxes that fell on the commoners were even more numerous.
However, most of these taxes were pocketed by corrupt officials and could not reach the national treasury at all.”
When the three Pavilion Elders heard this, they immediately lowered their heads and listened silently, not daring to speak.
Zhu Houzhao glanced at the three pavilion elders and saw that they were silent.
He didn't intend to let them go and said coldly,
"Also, regarding the land donation, it's understandable that Father doesn't know about it. Could it be that the three elders don't know about it?”
As soon as he said this, the three elders were so frightened that they knelt on the ground.
He was shocked. How did the Crown Prince know about this?
To put it bluntly, the so-called contribution was just a way to escape taxes.
Take the scholars of the Ming Dynasty for example. After these scholars became a scholar or a juren, they would enjoy a certain area of land tax exemption.
As for some farmers, they used the method of giving money to these Elementary Scholars and High Scholars, or directly selling themselves as slaves to contribute their land to their names.
In this way, the Juren could obtain money or servants, while the farmers could achieve the goal of avoiding taxes.
It seemed like a win-win situation, but it was sucking blood from the Imperial Court.
Of course, there were also those from the royal family and the nobility who enjoyed similar benefits.
The three pavilions knew about this long ago and even had land under their names.
However, hearing the Crown Prince's words…
Only then did the three elders realize that the land they had never cared about had become one of the reasons why the national treasury was empty.
When they thought about the scope of the matter, the three elders 'faces turned pale.
Zhu Houzhao snorted coldly and didn't continue to dwell on this matter. He changed his words and said,"
"Let's talk about the business tax. When the country was founded, the business tax was low.
But now? To put it bluntly, the business tax was only in name. Scholars and merchants colluded to evade taxes. In recent years, the business on the water transport line had become more and more prosperous. However, did the business tax income of the national treasury also change?”
Zhu Houzhao looked at Liu Jian who was kneeling on the ground and said.
"Grand Secretary Liu, do you still want to ask me why the treasury is empty?”
Liu Jian knelt on the ground. After hearing Zhu Houzhao's question, his forehead was covered in sweat. He humbly cupped his hands and replied,
"This lowly subject is willing to listen to Your Highness 'advice!”
Zhu Houzhao turned his gaze to Emperor Hongzhi and asked,""Where's Imperial Father?"
"Zhen also wants to hear it."
Zhu Houzhao slightly raised his neck, took a deep breath, and said loudly,"
"First, clean up the land and redraw the Fish Scale Atlas. Gather the land taxes, corvee, and other miscellaneous taxes of the provinces and counties into one, combine them with silver, and convert them into payment per mu. Put an end to tax evasion and concealment, put an end to exorbitant taxes, and reduce the burden on the people.”
"Second, increase the business tax."
"Third, abolish the hereditary rule of the vassal kings, reduce their salaries, and let them be self-reliant.”
Zhu Houzhao spoke quickly, and the three strategies were soon finished.
The four people around the table were shocked and gasped when they heard Zhu Houzhao's words.
No matter which one of these three strategies was implemented, it would involve a lot of people.
However, everyone had to admit it.
No matter which one of these was implemented, it could change the situation of the national treasury being empty.
It could be said that it was a swift and decisive move that went straight to the vital points.
At the thought of this, Emperor Hongzhi and the courtiers 'expressions began to become complicated.
The national treasury had been empty for a long time.
It was a problem that often troubled the monarch and his subjects.
However, who would have thought that the Crown Prince would actually give the answer in a flash.
Emperor Hongzhi's gaze kept sweeping over Zhu Houzhao.
In the end, he simply said,
"Pin 'er, I have something to discuss with you. Father will let you ascend the throne!”
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