The eunuch read out the decree in a cadence,
"The imperial edict orders Xu Jie and his cabinet ministers to immediately report the details of the land occupied by the various vassal kings, aristocrats, and landowners. The commercial reform will be put on the cabinet for discussion from now on without any mistakes!
"This humble subject has received the decree!"
After Xu Jie and Zhang Juzheng heard the edict,
He immediately realized that Tian Zi was serious this time.
There was indeed a huge problem with the land tax of the Ming Empire.
None of the previous emperors dared to move.
For example, who would care if the vassal kings invaded the people's farmland?
Those fertile fields didn't need to pay taxes.
This was the rule set by the great ancestor Zhu Yuanzhang.
The tax revenue of the Ministry of Revenue was only that of the vassal kings, aristocrats, and landowners.
Commoners had to pay taxes, and they were heavily levied.
Once the main labor force in the family fell sick, they would sell their land to borrow money.
Now, everything was waiting to happen!
Zhu Zaihou only wanted to collect taxes. More than half of the land in the world did not pay taxes.
After measuring the land in the world, taxes would be collected according to a certain number of acres.
Then the Ming Empire's treasury and the people's wallets would be filled together.
Those vassal kings who didn't pay taxes, the aristocrats, and the landowners were now Zhu Zaihou's enemies.
To the Ming Empire, these people were ten thousand times more detestable than corrupt officials!
After Zhu Zaihou's decree was issued, the cabinet began to move quickly.
If Xu Jie had secretly gone to measure the land of the vassal king before, it was a secret edict.
Then this time, the land had become a well-known imperial edict.
The imperial edict represented the emperor's will.
Whoever disobeyed the decree would be cut into pieces!
Zhu Zaihou paid close attention to the reactions of the various prefectures.
He understood that this matter would affect the entire empire.
The losses were the interests of the vassal kings, the great aristocratic families, and the great landowners.
Would they resist?
Would they rise up?
Zhu Zaihou had ordered the three battalions of the capital to be on standby!
If anything unexpected happened, they would rush over at any time and kill without mercy!
At the same time, another major event was unfolding.
Empress Dowager Du issued a decree to select talents from all over the empire to enrich the harem and strengthen the foundation of the country.
Within half a month, all the prefectures in the world would send 10,000 women.
The female officials in charge of selecting the beautiful women in the palace selected 100 of them.
For these little girls, entering the palace was like a carp leaping over the dragon gate. It was something they dreamed of.
Even if she couldn't become the empress or imperial consort, even if she was conferred the title of beauty, it would still bring honor to her ancestors.
After all, if the emperor had visited them, their value would skyrocket.
The social status of the family members would also rise overnight, and they would soar from then on…
However, it was not easy to enter the palace. To be selected, one had to have a good appearance and figure.
Even if there was an imperceptible flaw, it would be eliminated.
The girls who entered the palace had to serve the emperor. It would be a great merit if they could give birth to a prince, because a prince was the foundation of the country!
The entire empire was looking forward to it. As long as a prince was born, the whole world would celebrate.
No matter what the status of this girl's family was, she would be registered in the palace, and her status would skyrocket…
——
The next day.
Zhu Zaihou summoned Qi Jiguang, who had just been promoted from Dengzhou Guard to Minister of War, in Yangxin Hall.
Qi Jiguang was from a military family and was much more mature than his peers. His eyes were bright and piercing.
The ceremony was over.
Qi Jiguang began to report the battle situation.
After the battle at Dengzhou City, Qi Jiguang realized the crucial role of artillery.
He promised Zhu Zaihou that as long as he gave him a million taels of silver, he would be able to get the money.
If it was used for in-depth research and development of artillery, it would allow the artillery to form a certain scale in a very short period of time.
This was exactly what Zhu Zaihou wanted. They would soon start a war with the Tartars.
The lethality of artillery against cavalry would be devastating!
In addition to the research and development of cannons, Qi Jiguang also hoped that Zhu Zaihou would lift the sea ban as soon as possible and retrain the Ming Navy.
The reason why the pirates had been rampant in the southeast for hundreds of years was because they were familiar with the water, tides, and ocean currents. They were also good at naval warfare.
There were many large barges and Zheng He's treasure ships.
A large number of ships were placed in the shipyards by the Ministry of Works and were gnawed on by rats year after year…
If the Ming Navy was restored to its original state, how would those pirates dare to covet the Ming Coast Defense?
Qi Jiguang suggested to install the cannons on the large barges based on his experience in the Battle of Dengzhou.
A huge ship like a pontoon was enough to install more than a dozen fire bubbles.
If they moved on the sea, they would be able to dominate the world!
Only when the ship is strong and the cannon is sharp can all countries come to worship and crown!
There were still tens of thousands of Japanese pirates in Japan, and most of them used fishing boats.
Those small fishing boats only needed one shot to sink several ships.
Actually, Qi Jiguang was only looking at the Japanese.
As for the westerners, they had already started to sail, and some of their sea adventurers had already come to the east.
The Folang Mechs had already built powerful cannons.
In time, they would also be able to build ironclads.
How could this lion of the Ming Empire continue to sleep?
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