Great Emperor Hongwu
Guo Biao and his son had just left the county office and walked a few steps along the main street when a group of warriors dressed in brocade clothes and holding embroidered spring swords rushed out from the alleys on both sides of the county office to protect the father and son.
These people were silent in the night, forming a dark mass.
It was obvious that they were well-trained elites.
The father and son didn't say anything, but walked slowly on the streets of Shangyuan County.
However, Shangyuan County wasn't very big, so they arrived at the city gate in just a few minutes.
The leading guard held a token in his hand and ordered the soldiers guarding the city gate to open the city gate. He also instructed them to keep what happened tonight to themselves, or they would be killed without mercy.
Only then did he escort the father and son out of the city gate.
When the group arrived on the official road, there was actually a cavalry of more than a thousand people waiting there.
These cavalrymen were all wearing light armor and looked very mighty.
After seeing the father and son, the thousand cavalrymen immediately dismounted and knelt on one knee.
Their movements were neat and uniform, as if they were moving their arms and fingers.
Guo Biao and his son didn't say anything else. Instead, they got into a very spacious carriage.
After the father and son boarded the carriage, the thousand cavalry mounted their horses and escorted the carriage in the direction of the Ying Tian Prefecture.
During the entire process, no one made a single sound.
Even if the horses neighed softly, they would be stopped by the knights, afraid that they would disturb the nobles in the carriage.
After all, the father and son in the carriage were the most respected people in the world.
The founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang, Zhu Biao and his son.
The Ming Dynasty had been established for 15 years.
After 15 years of development, this new empire had gradually become rich and powerful.
Their military strength was about to reach its peak. Not only did they recover the Han clan's traditional two capitals and thirteen provinces, they even chased their former enemies far away to the northern grasslands.
Moreover, the society was stable, and all walks of life were thriving.
The weather had been good, and they had been reaping good harvests for several years.
But even so, agriculture was still the strongest foundation of this huge empire.
Therefore, on this day of spring, Zhu Yuanzhang, Zhu Biao, and his son decided to go out in civilian clothes to see the development of farming near the capital.
After arriving at Shangyuan County, they saw that the prosperity of this remote small county town was actually not inferior to Yingtian City, which was dozens of miles away. They could not help but feel curious and wanted to enter the city to investigate.
Who knew that he would actually return to a county magistrate with a wooden club.
Thinking of Ye Jin's lazy appearance, Zhu Yuanzhang was really angry and amused.
The corners of his mouth curled up slightly, and his dignified square face looked a little more energetic.
Zhu Biao, who was sitting opposite him, smiled and asked,"Did Father think of something happy?!”
"Humph, the state affairs are complicated, your mother's body is getting weaker day by day, and Xiong Ying's grandson is also very weak. Today, I was in a good mood, but now I've met such a clump of wood, what's there to be happy about?”Zhu Yuanzhang snorted coldly.
When Zhu Biao heard him mention Empress Ma and his eldest son, a trace of gloom appeared in his heart.
However, Zhu Biao did not show it.
Instead, he laughed." He's indeed a clueless person. Although Meiyu is young, she speaks well. Although she doesn't have much contact with him, what he says does make sense."”
When he saw Zhu Yuanzhang's expression turn ugly, he immediately said,""Of course, those treasonous words are an exception.”
"Humph!" Zhu Yuanzhang snorted and asked,""I didn't really understand what that kid meant by the business tax, but I roughly understood what he meant. Was the business tax of the former Song Dynasty really that high?!”
Even though all walks of life in the Ming Dynasty were thriving, the treasury did not receive much silver, only a mere thirty million taels a year.
There wasn't much money, but there were many places to spend it.
In such a big country, money was needed everywhere.
Moreover, Northern Yuan (the overthrown Yuan Dynasty) was still the biggest threat to Ming Dynasty.
It would be impossible for the northern expedition to completely eliminate this threat without spending tens of millions of taels of silver.
Moreover, the Jiangnan area was about to enter the rainy season.
Building a river embankment, preventing and controlling drought, which of them did not cost money?!
Therefore, Zhu Yuanzhang wished that he could break a penny into two petals.
However, Zhu Biao did not answer immediately.
Because he knew that his father was actually a little tempted by this question.
As the highest decision-makers of this empire, every decision made by the father and son had to be carefully considered.
Otherwise, a careless move by him could even affect the lives of thousands of people.
Holding the power to kill billions of people in one's hands was indeed very satisfying.
However, as a qualified ruler, he had to tread on thin ice.
Zhu Yuanzhang didn't rush him. Instead, he opened the curtain and stared at the night sky in a daze.
After a while, Zhu Biao said,"The business of the former Song Dynasty was developed, so the proportion of business tax was naturally very high. The actual situation in my dynasty is different from the Song Dynasty. It may not work to blindly apply the policies of the Song Dynasty.”
Zhu Yuanzhang came back to his senses and revealed a satisfied expression."That's what an old man should say. Hmph, does that kid really think that he can guide the country just by reading a few more books?! However, he didn't know that the difficulty of governing the world was incomparable to governing a county.!”
Zhu Biao smiled and didn't reply. Instead, he continued,"However, there is indeed a huge problem with the financial situation of our dynasty. My son is still thinking about how to reform it. Previously, my son had thought of increasing the commercial tax, but he was afraid that it would affect the livelihood of the people, so he delayed it. Didn't Meiyu say that he had been collecting business taxes in Shangyuan County for half a year?! His son wanted to see how effective it was. If it was effective, he would gradually promote it to the world. If it caused unrest among the people, it would only be a small part of Shangyuan County.”
"However…" Zhu Biao changed the topic and continued,"If my son really implements the business tax reform in the future, I reckon that he will encounter a lot of resistance…"
When Zhu Yuanzhang heard this, his face immediately revealed a murderous look." As long as it's a policy that's good for our Zhu family, you just have to carry it out. As for other matters, I will be the one holding the fort for you. When the time comes, I will see who dares to jump out and sing a different tune. Do you really think that my saber is not sharp enough?!”
Although it was just a whisper between father and son, Zhu Yuanzhang's sudden burst of killing intent made the surrounding people as silent as cicadas in winter.
Was this the deterrence of Emperor Hong Wu?!
I, Emperor Hongwu, am so strong!
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