Today, all the ministers who came to the Meridian Gate were scared sh * tless by the emperor's iron-blooded methods.
Looking at those who were about to be killed and those who were banished, all the officials in the court understood.
The era of our intellectual scholars doing whatever they want has passed! The era of the emperor and scholar-bureaucrats sharing the world was gone forever.
It turned out that the saying 'when the emperor is angry, millions of corpses will fall and blood will flow thousands of lies', was true.
After the Great Ming Emperor, there was no other iron-blooded emperor in power. This made everyone forget the blade in the hands of the emperor.
Once the emperor's sharp blade was unsheathed, the so-called unyielding officials would all kneel.
That night, none of the capital officials could sleep well. Their minds were filled with the scene of heads rolling on the execution ground.
In his heart, he truly realized the truth that the Son of Heaven could not be bullied or humiliated.
The next day, at seven in the morning!
All the ministers were already waiting for the arrival of the emperor in the throne room!
In the entire hall, the ministers were no longer as noisy as usual, waiting for the arrival of the emperor with a heart full of worries.
When Zhu Youjian arrived, all the ministers knelt down!
Zhu Youjian sat on the dragon throne and looked down at the ministers. His gaze was calm, but he was very proud.
He really didn't expect that this ruthless attack would have such a good effect!
At the very least, there were no ministers in the court who would jump out and go against him. Everything was up to him!
This was the true Son of Heaven, not a sullen Emperor who was held hostage by the morality of scholar-bureaucrats.
Just based on this point, he could proudly say to the late Tianqi, Guangzong, and Wanli emperors," This was the position that Tian Zi should have!
"Dear ministers, you've worked hard yesterday. However, for the sake of justice, I had no choice!”
The ministers couldn't help but curse Zhu Youjian for being shameless. What do you mean by 'having no choice?' Don't you know that we are all cowards?
Who could have slept well last night? You don't know what's going on!
Look at all the officials in court today. Which one of them didn't have panda eyes?
"We understand Your Majesty's painstaking efforts! It's not hard at all!" The ministers said in unison.
"Very good. Since that's the case, the rebellious minister in the court has been killed. I will now issue two decrees, and I hope that all my beloved ministers will strictly implement them.”
After saying that, Wang Chengen immediately unfolded the imperial edict and said,""In accordance with the heavens, the emperor decreed:
Since the establishment of the dynasty, the salary of serving officials has been too low. After careful consideration, I have abolished this maladministration.
Since then, the Ming Dynasty had implemented the policy of high salaries to raise honesty, which was regarded as the foundation of the country to solve the worries of honest officials.
It is now decided as follows:
From this month onwards, all officials of high rank will be given three times the salary.
At the end of each year, to reward diligent officials:
Those who are evaluated as good can be rewarded with a month's salary.
Those who are assessed as excellent can be rewarded with two months 'salary.
Respect this!"
"Long live my emperor!”The ministers all shouted loudly.
Especially the noble disciples of the Imperial Academy, they were even more delighted!
A promotion and a raise had always been a joyous occasion since ancient times.
The current emperor had already changed the maladministration of the country and scolded the officials of the world. From then on, he would never return.
The good days of the current officials had come. Three times the salary had solved everyone's worries. This was a great thing.
Even if other officials with real power dared to stop them, the officials in the Imperial Academy would not hesitate to fight.
"I know that the officials in the world have suffered from salary for a long time! The reason why I implemented the policy of high salary to cultivate honesty is also to fight corruption and advocate honesty.
I hope that all the beloved ministers will not be corrupt and accept bribes. Lead by example and lead the officials of the world to be honest.”
"We will obey the teachings of the Holy Church!" How could the ministers dare to come out and complain? Wasn't this courting death?
Whoever dared to come out would be the enemy of all the officials in the world!
The current emperor promoted high salaries to raise honesty, which showed that the emperor's determination to fight corruption was extremely firm.
Whoever dared to underestimate the emperor now would probably end up becoming one of those officials who were beheaded at the Meridian Gate.
Zhu Youjian nodded, seemingly satisfied with everyone's current attitude.
"I have just ascended the throne and am well aware of the sufferings of the people. In order to resolve the difficulties of the people, I have decided to issue a second decree.”
After saying that, Wang Chengen immediately picked up the second decree and announced,""In accordance with the heavens, the emperor decreed:
The current empire is corrupt, and the local officials are using the court's banner to run amok. This is not my intention.
In order to relieve the suffering of the people, it was decided that from today onwards, the Ming Empire would never increase taxes! To reduce the burden on the people."
"What is it? Never add taxes? This…"
The ministers were all sitting on their seats. They really did not expect the emperor to issue such an edict!
All the officials in the court knew that the local officials had long since established a trend of creating excuses.
In particular, exorbitant taxes and corvee were a major source of income for local officials to exploit the people.
Once they lost this source of income, it would be a major blow to the corrupt officials.
Wang Chengen ignored the reaction of the ministers below and continued to read,""From today onwards, the Ming Empire will abolish all exorbitant taxes and free corvee.
The people would no longer suffer from corvee and exorbitant taxes.
If the court repairs official roads and canals, it will turn into paid labor.”
Huang Liji stood up and said worriedly,""Your Majesty, this subject does not object to never increasing taxes. This is the good policy of the Son of Heaven.
However, without the corvee, the transportation of resources from all over the court will be a huge expense. I wonder…"
Zhu Youjian looked at Huang Liji in a new light and thought,""I didn't expect this old man to be so thoughtful.”
However, after Zhu Youjian swept his gaze across the worried expressions of the ministers, he couldn't help but smile and say,""I have my own way to solve the problem of silver.”
"Then I have no objections!"
"Is there anyone who objects?"
"We agree!"
"Very good! I know the worries of all the beloved ministers. There has never been a precedent of canceling corvee in the past dynasties.
Even exorbitant taxes and miscellaneous taxes have only been reduced, but there is no historical record of complete exemption.”
Then, Zhu Youjian continued," In three years, the empire will have sufficient money and food. It will also be enough for me to implement various tax reforms.
As for where my confidence comes from, I would like Minister Huang and Minister Li to step forward and tell me the reason!”
Huang Liji and Li Biao felt bitter in their hearts!
He had wanted to stall for time to give them more time to set up.
Unexpectedly, Tian Zi did not give them much time. This was the rhythm of forcing them to fight.
At present, no one dared to go against the emperor and could only follow the emperor's steps.
Sun Chengzong and Yuan Keli looked at each other. It was obvious that the Emperor had not communicated with anyone during the court meeting and had directly announced the Emperor's decision.
However, they couldn't refute the emperor's decision. They didn't object to the emperor's two decrees.
As the emperor's trusted aides, they were happy and supportive that the emperor could sympathize with the sufferings of the people, but could the empire bear the consequences?
However, the emperor already had a solution. They also wanted to know how Li Biao and Huang Liji would solve the series of problems after the two imperial edicts.
The crisis of the Ming Dynasty today was the exorbitant taxes and corvee.
By removing all kinds of harsh taxes and burdens on the people, the crisis of the Ming Dynasty would be solved, and the revival of the Ming Dynasty would be just around the corner.
Of course, Zhu Youjian forced Li Biao and Huang Liji to take the blame, which was the responsibility of the two elders.
If he wanted the emperor to take responsibility for everything, then what was the use of these cabinet ministers?
If he didn't take advantage of the opportunity to destroy Donglin and cancel the ban on the sea, he would be able to escape.
If he wanted to cancel it in the future, the obstacles would be even greater, and the effort he would spend would be immeasurable.
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