Princess Ruining guessed what he was worried about and smiled, "Father, my cousin has something else to say."
She looked at Lu Zhaoan with a smile. Lu Zhaoan listened to the emperor speak before saying, "This humble subject believes that if Your Majesty can increase the freedom of trade among the people and encourage the development of new industries, the people will have work and food, and naturally they will not cause trouble. Moreover, if trade within the court is developed, the taxes levied may not decrease but increase."
At first, the sage didn't understand why taxes were increasing instead of decreasing. After a moment's thought, he laughed. Tax reductions and exemptions ultimately only apply to a minority; most reductions simply mean lower taxes. Land taxes and poll taxes are fixed taxes, and merchants mostly pay taxes on a profit-sharing basis. Naturally, the more prosperous the trade, the more silver will be collected for the national treasury.
The emperor waved his hand impatiently, saying, "What 'commoner' nonsense. Young man from the Lu family, speaking of which, I am your uncle-in-law."
During the time the Emperor was late for court, he discussed the matter of reducing taxes with Lu Zhao'an and Princess Ruining in the Yong'an Hall. It sounded easy, but the specifics of how to implement it and the percentage reduction had to be finalized one by one.
At this moment, after the emperor finished speaking, a commotion broke out in the hall. Officials wearing deep purple robes with gold embroidery stepped forward to present their petitions to the emperor on the throne.
The dress code for all officials in the imperial court was set in accordance with regulations. This deep purple gilded brocade robe was the official robe of the censor in charge of supervising and remonstrating with the emperor.
The person who stepped forward was Imperial Censor Zhou.
There were four censors appointed to the court, but the others rarely impeached anyone in front of their colleagues in court. This Lord Zhou, however, was the most rigid, upright, and stubborn, and even among the censors, he was considered an outspoken anomaly.
He usually disapproved of Princess Ruining's presence in the court despite being a woman, so when she stepped forward, it was almost obvious what he intended to do.
With the sage above, no one dared to whisper among themselves, but most exchanged glances. Some gloated, while others watched quietly as the situation unfolded.
Wang Chengxian calmly tucked his wooden board into his pocket, his eyes fixed on the ground beneath his feet.
Before speaking, Lord Zhou let out a long sigh: "Your Majesty!"
Emperor Zhenlong frowned slightly, yet also displayed a habitual relaxation. Clearly, this wasn't the first time Lord Zhou had acted this way in court.
Although Lord Zhou was bold, he was not ignorant of the danger. He first glanced at the Emperor's face, and seeing that the Emperor remained expressionless, he continued, "Since ancient times, tax reductions have mostly occurred during years of famine. Now, in a time of peace, tax reductions are being implemented, which may easily cause unrest and lead to chaos!"
The sage merely smiled wryly and asked in return, "Minister Zhou, do you truly believe that this is still a time of peace and prosperity?"
Lord Zhou was speechless.
He knew that refugees were now flocking to the country, but hadn't the Gu family contributed money, and the national treasury also allocated some for disaster relief? This was enough to temporarily quell the disaster, so why further reduce taxes? He enjoyed the Emperor's trust and knew a thing or two about the situation on the border. He was naturally worried that an empty treasury might lead to instability on the border, but he couldn't openly discuss this matter in court.
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