"Increase taxes on the common people?" Zhang Yitai shook his head. "If taxes are to be increased, they should be imposed on the rich. The Way of Heaven is like drawing a bow! The high is suppressed, the low is lifted, the surplus is reduced, and the deficient is given. The Way of Heaven reduces the surplus and supplements the deficiency."

Xu Fuyuan looked at Zhang Yita with a hint of surprise and asked, "Brother Zhang, do you believe in Taoism?"

Zhang Yita laughed heartily and said, "I will uphold whichever one is right. Do you think, Brother Xu, that 'the way of heaven is to take away the excess and give to the deficiency' is wrong?"

Xu Fuyuan laughed twice and said, "That's not the case. I quite agree with Brother Zhang that learning from others is the right path."

"Aren't we all here to learn from others and apply what we have learned to society?" Xia Yunyi said with a smile, "Come, the victory wine the emperor has given us should be drunk."

Everyone raised their glasses and drank together, then started chatting about other topics, such as recent anecdotes, local customs and practices in their hometowns, famous people, and so on.

"It's a pity that Brother Shen is so elusive that I can't invite him to a party and drink with me." Zhang Yita said with some regret: "As for that house, I've been there. Neither the neighbors nor the servants in the house could find out anything about Brother Shen."

"No, no." Chen Zilong shook his head and said, "Since Brother Chen is hiding something, it must be a little inconvenient. Friends, it's important to be open-minded. It's inappropriate to pry into someone's affairs privately."

Zhang Yita blushed and bowed, saying, "I know I'm being abrupt, but curiosity got the better of me and I couldn't hold back. Please don't blame me, please don't blame me."

Xia Yunyi smiled and waved his hand, indicating that he didn't need to worry about it. He was also very curious and asked, "The servants in the mansion don't know Brother Shen's whereabouts? Or they dare not tell us?"

Zhang Yitai said uncertainly, "I don't know either. However, the gatekeeper recognized us and said that the head of the family had told us to go there if we had free time and just treat it as our own home."

"Brother Shen is really warm and generous." Xu Fuyuan smiled and said, "But I feel that if Brother Shen is not here, we will not be comfortable staying here."

Chen Zilong nodded and said, "The last time we met, Brother Shen left a message saying that there would be a chance in the future, so there's no need to be too anxious."

After a pause, he smiled and said, "My master told me that the emperor has sent people to find fertilizer that can increase the land's yield by at least 20%. If successful, it will be a blessing for our Ming Dynasty and the people."

"A 20% increase in production?!" Zhang Yitai did a rough calculation, clapped his hands and laughed, "If that's true, there will be no more hunger in the world. This is truly good news."

Wang Jizhong gave a wry smile and said, "Brother Zhang's calculations are wrong. A 20% increase in production is certainly good, but will it really reach the hands of the people and be accepted by them? In my opinion, that's not necessarily the case."

Everyone quickly understood what Wang Jizhong meant, and they couldn't help but frown in thought. The cheerful atmosphere suddenly became a little depressed.

………………

No matter whether it was a great victory, or the fact that he, the emperor, had a child, or any other happy event, Zhu Youxiao was not going to use it as an excuse to implement any tax reduction or exemption policy.

Just as the land's harvest is either good or bad, the landlord will not suffer too much loss. Tax reductions and exemptions may seem to be a relief to the people, but how many of the people who can benefit the most are ordinary people?

Although last year there was a policy to determine the recipients of tax exemptions based on the amount of tax paid, for example, those below 5 taels were exempted, while those above 5 taels were still charged.

But Zhu Youxiao also knew that there must be many people on the local government's exemption list who should not enjoy this treatment.

But although he knew it, Zhu Youxiao did not conduct a thorough investigation before showing mercy.

The real common people can indeed get some relief, which is the main purpose. As for those who take advantage, you will be listed later.

Looking through the production and storage data of the Ordnance and Gunpowder Bureau presented by Sun Yuanhua, Zhu Youxiao made some calculations and felt that he could gradually replace the equipment of Liaozhen and Dongjiangzhen.

The musket itself was still a firearm, but the transition from a matchlock to a flintlock took almost 50 to 60 years of development. According to the history of the musket's development, it was almost at the end of its development.

The rifled musket was not actually a major stage, and breech-loading rifles and shell-loading ammunition ended the historical mission of the musket.

Of course, Zhu Youxiao doesn't need to climb too high or too fast on the technology tree. As long as he can surpass the Jiannu and the Western Barbarians, he should be satisfied.

The second year of the Tianqi Revelation was a year of shrinking the defense line, stabilizing the position, and strengthening armaments; the third year of the Tianqi Revelation should be a year of gradually transitioning from defense to offense, and from harassment to frontal combat.

There is nothing much to say about Dongjiang Town. It has increased investment, replaced flintlock rifles and equipped artillery to enhance its field combat capabilities.

The advancement of Liaozhen was also mentioned in the daily agenda, but the old slaves demolished the city when retreating, which made Zhu Youxiao more worried.

Although Xiong Tingbi was quite confident and stated in the memorial he submitted that if they only relied on the trench breastwork, even if they could not hold the position, the ratio of enemy and our casualties would at least reach 1:1.5.

Zhu Youxiao had previously thought of exchanging people for pieces, but now, even a ratio of 1 to 1.5 could not satisfy him.

A war between hot weapons and cold weapons, with a generation gap, should not be fought like this, nor should the casualty ratio be like this.

In the use of muskets, the Ming army was already far superior to the Jiannu. But this was not enough, and even the use of flintlock rifles did not give them an overwhelming advantage.

The number of artillery pieces needed to be increased, and their power needed to be enhanced. However, once there were requirements for transportation and mobility, the Red Cannon would show its many shortcomings.

It was too heavy and difficult to transport, making it difficult to provide the Ming army with fast and mobile artillery support.

Although the Ordnance and Gunpowder Bureau was manufacturing field artillery, Zhu Youxiao had always criticized the artillery for firing solid bullets. He preferred the killing effect of artillery shells that exploded when they hit the ground.

Although the grenade launcher is effective, it also has obvious flaws, such as its range is too short.

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