The emperor had a comfortable year.
The second batch of copper and iron shipped from Japan has been put into storage.
The quality is incredibly good, comparable to the stock that his father had saved for decades.
The third and fourth batches were even taken from other people’s treasury. I heard that the quantity was larger and the quality was better.
Wow, hahaha, from now on he can do whatever he wants.
However, his good mood only lasted until the seventh day of the new year's court session.
The news that Wang Ziteng had once again started a massacre in Japan spread back to the country. He was the main general, and even though Jin Muchuan's vanguard army had made the first contribution, they had to raise their knives against the Japanese gentry under his orders.
"This matter... can be big or small."
After leaving the court, Jia Zhen went home and told Chen Ning, "For example, after Annan was killed by him, it is now safe and sound. The taxes in Dazhao are lower than they were before. This place was repeatedly in the previous dynasty. My son said that it was mainly because we killed less people."
As a son of a military family, although he had never been to the battlefield, he heard a lot about it from his grandfather and his father when he was young.
Sometimes killing is for the sake of longer-term peace.
That piece of land originally belonged to them. The reason why it later became an independent country was just because some traitors took advantage of the chaos in the Central Plains to do so.
If they were not completely killed, Dazhao would have to retreat after mobilizing a large amount of manpower and resources, just like the previous dynasty.
"The Emperor also supports the killing of Prince Teng, otherwise, he would not have appointed him as the general to fight against Japan."
Jia Zhen said: "If we can kill Annan, why can't we kill Japan? Japan has a deep blood feud with us. People in Jiangnan are still singing about Qi's army."
It can be said that their family has both national and personal grudges against Japan.
"Moreover, Japan has never given up its evil ambitions towards our Great Zhao, and the officials in the court have long seen it. Tomorrow, the Censorate will at most make a symbolic impeachment."
“…This matter…”
Shen Ning thought for a moment and said, "Since our family has been targeted by the Japanese several times, no matter who impeaches Wang Ziteng, you must protect him."
Ah? Jia Zhen really didn't want to protect him.
"Like you said, the emperor won't actually punish him for anything."
Chen Ning was actually very happy that Wang Ziteng was able to understand the emperor's intentions and took action again.
"As long as you remember your father's revenge and your mother's hatred, then stand up and protect him. No one can say anything to you."
Jia Zhen is too smart, so the emperor can only give him limited trust.
But the simple Jia Zhen is different.
The emperor was competing with his ministers in the court every day, and what he needed was a simple and loyal close minister.
"Zhen'er," Chen Ning rubbed his brows, "Annan is stable, and Japan will be stable soon. Then it's Junggar. I heard that the war there is also going smoothly. All the wars that should be fought are over. So where do you think the emperor will start next?"
This? Jia Zhen hesitated, "Taxes?"
Several people have been talking about this in a veiled way recently.
He also pulled Rong Ge'er aside to discuss it.
Even Uncle Lin revealed a little bit to him.
"Nine times out of ten it's taxes."
Shen Ning didn't know that he still had external aid, and was very relieved to hear his answer, "If the court wants to collect your taxes in full, will you object?"
Jia Zhen: “…”
Of course he wanted to object.
Now he has another son.
This son will not have a title.
He wanted to get a bigger share of the family property.
But his mother is like this...
"My son dare not object."
The emperor is also a useful person.
"And Uncle Lin is also in the Ministry of Revenue. When it comes to taxation, no matter what reforms are made, the officials in the Ministry of Revenue will definitely discuss it with the emperor first."
Jia Zhen said: "When the time comes, my son will be like everyone else!"
Shen Ning raised an eyebrow, "Follow the crowd?"
"yes!"
Bang~ Shen Ning threw the official report in her hand at him, "Now they are following the crowd and losing everything to pay back the debt owed to the treasury. How do you think the emperor treats them?"
This? Jia Zhen, who hurriedly took the report, was stunned.
"If you are not smart, then be obedient and do whatever the emperor says."
Shen Ning wanted to despise him, "Ordinary people can live by paying taxes, but you, Jia Zhen, can't live?"
"My son is wrong."
Jia Zhen stood up and said, "The Emperor and Uncle Lin want to collect taxes from my son. I will pay it immediately. I will bring everyone in the Jia family with me and I will be the first to pay."
The fact that their family is what it is today is inseparable from the fact that his mother was the first to repay the debt owed to the national treasury.
Jia Zhen felt that he understood what his mother meant.
"… Just think it through."
Chen Ning waved her hand and told him to get out. "Let Xing'er prepare some things and send them to Taixuan Temple tomorrow. Your father died there. Now there are so many Japanese with him. We have to tell him."
"yes!"
Jia Zhen quickly agreed.
At this moment, he truly felt his mother's hatred towards the Japanese.
Because of her father, no matter how many Japanese died, it seemed that it would not be enough to ease the hatred in her heart.
When he returned to his own courtyard, Jia Zhen felt a little sad.
Nowadays, apart from attending court, he spends most of his time holding his young son when he gets home.
I almost never think about my deceased father anymore.
He is unfilial!
Jia Zhen's rare self-reflection.
The next day, as expected, only two censors symbolically impeached Wang Ziteng.
But Jia Zhen still stood up and tried hard to refute it.
Everyone looked at him and remained speechless, yet they couldn't help but sigh.
After this incident, the Jia family and the Wang family...
They were still wondering whether they should rebuild the city when the Minister of Personnel, who was about to retire, came up and talked at length about the issue of taxation.
Those who are highly politically sensitive had known about this disaster through the court reports in the past month. Now that it has finally happened, they have no time to think about anything else and are all concentrating their attention.
The others who hadn't thought much about it, seeing that the adults' expressions were becoming increasingly strange, finally realized something was wrong.
The tax is distributed among the acres, the fire consumption is returned to the public, and the gentry are all required to serve and pay taxes? ? ? This, this is not okay! "What Lord Su said, all the ministers have heard it, and you can speak up if you have any opinions."
The emperor's eyes swept across the faces of all the civil and military officials in the court.
He did not expect to achieve success overnight - governing a large country is like cooking a small fish, the temperature is the most important.
"If we can't come to a conclusion today, we'll discuss it again tomorrow. If there's still no conclusion tomorrow, we'll continue the day after tomorrow. Within three days, you can all speak freely."
"Your Majesty, the tax reform Lord Su mentioned is a policy to consolidate the foundation and maintain national security."
Jia Zhen did not expect this to happen so soon. When he stood up, he said sincerely, "Although I am stupid, I am willing to serve you like a dog or a horse and serve your majesty."
Huh? The emperor couldn't help laughing.
The tax reform was proposed by Mrs. Shen.
But since ancient times, every reform has inevitably led to a fight between the new and old forces.
He didn't want to drag Madam Shen into this, and let her be criticized by the world again, or even assassinated. So he specially went to the Ministry of Personnel, Old Shangshu Su, and talked with him for many days, and the old man became the first to speak out.
But now...
Today, the Jia family not only has influence in the military, but also among the literati because of what Madam Shen has done.
By standing up like this, Jia Zhen has already won one third of the battle.
The emperor did not dare to stop working for even a moment, for he was afraid that in a few years, the peaceful days would wear down his morale and he would become like his father, only remembering the glory of the past.
Before Mr. Liu went to Japan, they had several night talks and they believed that the best time for reform would be after a great victory, whether it was in Japan or in Junggar.
The emperor understood what he meant. Didn't he appear even more wise and powerful at this moment?
Those who don't want to give up the benefits they have obtained will subconsciously bow their heads when facing him at this time.
Even if they wanted to cause trouble, they had to consider whether they could withstand the emperor's wrath.
Even if I can bear it, can my family, three clans, seven clans, or nine clans bear it?
The emperor was a man who would listen to advice, so he did it without delay.
"My dear minister, your loyalty is so sincere that it comforts me greatly!"
The emperor gave Jia Zhen an encouraging smile and said, "However, the tax reform concerns the fate of the country, not the affairs of one family or one clan. My dear ministers, I still say the same thing. Speak freely within three days."
That's what they say, but speaking freely? That's hard.
Unless he is a soldier like Jia Zhen.
Why do other people, especially scholars, work hard to climb up?
Isn’t it because books contain beautiful women and golden houses? Studying is difficult, but as long as you can read well, even if you are a scholar, you can enjoy the benefits of dozens of acres of land tax exemption.
How many poor scholars rely on this to make a living.
If they really agree, won't they be criticized in the future? Da Zhao has never been as kind to scholars as the previous dynasty, so now they might as well give up this benefit...
"Your Majesty, I think this is inappropriate."
Someone stood up on the spot.
However, he did not dare to say anything like juren or jinshi.
He just said "poor" scholar.
The focus is on how difficult it is for an ordinary peasant family to support a scholar, and then on the difficulty of taking the imperial examinations.
How can they study in the future if they don’t provide such little benefits?
If this continues, will the people standing in the court be the children of the aristocratic families? Will the poor have no chance to rise? The emperor listened very seriously and discussed with him on the spot the feasibility of maintaining the basic welfare of the scholars...
For a moment, the court seemed to have turned into a vegetable market.
Jia Zhen obediently stepped aside and listened attentively to the voices with the loudest voices.
In the court, one often has to rely on one's voice and sustained physical strength.
If you can't win an argument, you will most likely lose.
Jia Zhen found their quarrel very interesting and he learned a lot from them, intentionally or unintentionally.
However, this discussion on tax reform is far from being resolved in three days.
It was not until the seventh day of the second lunar month after the first lunar month that the pilot program was started with Jinling as the starting point.
Jinling is the Jia family's hometown. Since Jia Zhen jumped out first, he should come from Jinling first.
Many people want to see the Jia family make a fool of themselves.
Do your clansmen agree with what you, Jia Zhen, are willing to do? Who wouldn't feel heartbroken to give up the silver they had earned for nothing?
Even if your clan members agree, will the Shi family agree? Will the Wang family agree? Will the Xue family agree?
Many people were waiting for them to cause trouble, but day after day, the city of Jinling remained quiet.
It was really impossible for everyone to object. Those people in the Wang family who had some ability, such as Wang Ziqi, had their property confiscated and were exiled.
The two marquises of the Shi family, Shi Nai and Shi Ding, were both cautious people who had never passed on any information to the family. How could the other members of the Shi family dare to do anything? Then who was Jia Zhen's mother?
He was the man who, when he went home, almost caused a river of blood to flow throughout the Jiangnan region.
As for the Xue family...
The sons and daughters of the direct lineage are all studying in the Jia family.
People wrote to their tribe to express their full support.
Even if other gentry had complaints, they dared not disobey.
On the day of collecting the autumn tax, the people of Jinling rushed to tell each other that their taxes had indeed been reduced.
The newly appointed prefect of Jinling was the runner-up in the previous exam and was specially transferred by the emperor to preside over the pilot project.
He reported happily that after the autumn tax, the city became much more prosperous because the scholars and wealthy families paid more taxes, so he exempted the city gate tax of one cent per person.
As more and more people came into the city, even if each person only spent two cents, the merchants would make a huge profit.
When merchants’ business is good, commercial taxes will naturally increase.
In short, for this pilot project, he used the data from Jinling over time. After the court had looked at it, they decided to expand the pilot project to include the entire Jiangnan region.
In Jiangnan, the Xue family has the most business.
This year, Baochai, with the help of Wang Xifeng, vigorously reorganized various family businesses.
She was also ransacking the house.
And it was copied very well.
In the years since her father passed away, all the shopkeepers have become fat like pigs.
If you voluntarily hand it over, she will give you some face and let you get away with it. If you don't take the initiative and still try to hide it, every one of them will be sent to jail.
With the Jia family around, her family's property, if not all of it, was recovered, at least most of it.
After all, those people are all human sperm, and they work very hard to make money for themselves.
In view of this, Baochai simply gave dividends to the newly appointed shop owner.
The better you do, the more you earn.
"Aunt, you called me?"
This year, Min Jianbai grew a lot taller.
"I heard that you are going to go to the grassland with the Xue family's caravan?"
Chen Ning had long discovered that Baochai, through Wang Xifeng, was intentionally or unintentionally controlling the entire Xue family.
"yes!"
Min Jianbai smiled and said, "Miss Bao has organized two new caravans, one to the grassland and one to the northeast. We have also invited my second aunt's cousins to accompany us to both places. With them, there will probably be no danger. My nephew wants to follow them to earn more money and see the grassland at the same time."
"Whether it's dangerous or not, this gun..."
"Don't worry, auntie. I got one from the missionary."
Although it is not as good as the firearms of the Dazhao Army, a gun is still very deterrent.
"Does the Xue family's caravan have one?"
Shen Ning asked again.
"Yes, I have!"
Min Jianbai nodded as a matter of course, "Miss Bao asked her second uncle to get several guns in Guangdong, and those guns have been registered with the government."
This precious girl is a hundred times better than her brother.
"That's good!"
Shen Ning smiled and nodded, "I'll get two more palace guards to follow you. Go back to Yidi and write a letter, otherwise your mother will be worried."
"yes!"
Min Jianbai bowed and said happily, "Thank you, aunt. I will bring you a gift later."
"Okay then. I'll wait for your gift."
Shen Ning responded with a smile, "But you are not allowed to mess around outside, especially with the little girl over there. If you really want to take her home, I'm afraid your mother won't agree."
Mei Jie'er got married, and she became the head of the household on the third day after she arrived at her husband's home.
Because the Jia family was well-known, she was able to support her mother-in-law.
What Jia Wen is most worried about now is her youngest son.
This child is good-looking, has a good personality and is capable. A few days ago, a businessman from Sichuan chased him and shouted that he wanted to take him home to be his son-in-law.
The girls on the grassland are more daring in love and hate.
It would be terrible if you accidentally brought one back.
"Aunt, why are you laughing at me too?"
Min Jianbai blushed, "That was a misunderstanding, a real misunderstanding." (End of this chapter)
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