Chapter 173 The Worst Plan
"Brother, you have been involved in court affairs for such a long time, you should understand that the taxes collected by the Ming Dynasty court are first placed in the Ministry of Revenue, right? Our father has to withdraw money from the Ministry of Revenue when he uses money in the palace, is that right?" Zhu Chong asked.
Zhu Biao nodded. There was nothing wrong with what Zhu Chong said. It had been like this for more than ten years since the founding of the Ming Dynasty. Taxes and levies were collected by the Ministry of Revenue, and when the royal family needed money, they would withdraw it directly from the Ministry of Revenue.
"So here comes the problem," Zhu Chong said with a smile, "All the taxes and levies collected by the court are deposited in the Ministry of Revenue, and the royal family spends money to transfer them from the Ministry of Revenue. This subordinate relationship seems to be fine now, but it may not be the same in the future!"
Zhu Biao frowned upon hearing this, but seeing how serious Zhu Chong was, he couldn't help but reply, "Second Brother, it's not that serious, isn't it? It's all the same, right? What's the problem?"
Zhu Chong scoffed. "Is it really the same? How could it be the same? Doesn't he feel it in his heart?"
Let’s not talk about anything else, just talking about Zhu Yuanzhang. If he had money in his hands, how could he still sit in Yingtian Prefecture? I’m afraid he would have led the army in person and headed straight to the small Northern Yuan court to kill them.
The Northern Yuan Dynasty was a thorn in Zhu Yuan's side. How could he tolerate such a mortal enemy as the Northern Yuan Dynasty staring at him covetously?
The reason why we haven't been able to send troops to start a war until now is just one word: money!
Zhu Yuanzhang was poor, but it was obvious that a number of princes and ministers, including Zhu Biao, chose to ignore some problems.
Zhu Chong simply told Zhu Biao, "Brother, all taxes now go to the national treasury. My father and you don't seem to think there's anything wrong with it, but that's also because of you."
"Our father is powerful. Who dares not to listen to what he says? Who dares not to do what our father wants to do? Let's not talk about our father. It's the same with you, big brother. Looking at the entire Ming Dynasty court, the most prestigious and capable of commanding the support of the people are you two."
"But, brother, have you ever thought about this? You don't think that the ministers will always be willing to obey orders, do you?"
When Zhu Chong said this, he saw Zhu Biao's thoughtful expression and immediately struck while the iron was hot, "Our father can be so arbitrary and dictatorial, and you can be so arbitrary, but do you think your next emperor can be like you?"
"Now the ministers are being suppressed by our father and you and dare not show off their power, but who can guarantee that they will always be so humble?"
Zhu Chong's words moved Zhu Biao slightly, and Zhu Chong began to use his ultimate move, "What if, I say what if, there comes a day when our royal family does not have enough prestige and strength to intimidate the ministers, what do you think the situation will be like?"
When Zhu Biao heard this, his eyes widened and he wanted to refute Zhu Chong, but he opened his mouth and couldn't say a word in the end.
Of course he dared to say to Zhu Chong, who dares to be so presumptuous, but that situation was referring to himself. Zhu Biao himself could indeed imagine that his descendants, and their descendants' descendants, might not be able to do what he and Zhu Yuanzhang did.
He also knew that all dynasties were the same. The kings at the beginning of the founding of the country were able to have the ability to absolutely intimidate all civil and military officials.
But as time went by, in the end, almost without exception, the situation between civil and military officials and the king was completely different from what it was at the beginning of the founding of the country. When Zhu Biao thought of this, his face looked a little ugly.
"Second brother, don't give me this." Zhu Biao gritted his teeth and asked Zhu Chong, "Now that you understand everything, what are your thoughts? Should the fu be collected by the royal family from now on?"
"Brother, you are really desperate and are trying anything to cure your illness!" Zhu Chong laughed. He didn't expect that someone as smart as Zhu Biao would say such irrational words when he heard him mention this kind of problem.
How much money does empowerment cost? I'm afraid there won't be much money in a whole year, and once it is done as Zhu Biao said, it will definitely lead to countless problems, and it will definitely make Zhu and him very anxious.
"Brother, relying on taxes to support the royal family is a very bad idea." Zhu Chong's shocking words made Zhu Biao's eyes widen.
"Second brother, please explain clearly. Is it a bad idea to support the royal family with the tax? You look down on the small amount of money from the tax? But if our royal family doesn't have the tax, where will the expenses of the palace come from?"
"You should know that even with the gift, my father and mother have been cutting down on palace expenses, even going so far as to open up fields in the imperial gardens specifically for growing crops..."
When Zhu Chong heard what Zhu Biao said, he couldn't help but roll his teeth. It was because of people like Zhu Biao who were like peasants and didn't do serious work but only did useless things that the Ming Dynasty became such a mess from beginning to end.
However, Zhu Chong would never say this to Zhu Biao. After all, this was also a good thing for the Zhu family to gain fame for themselves.
"Brother, things are different now. Our father started out as a peasant, fighting for our country, and built our Ming Dynasty with every sword and spear!"
"So he's someone who's truly experienced hardship, and naturally understands the hard-earned truth of every grain of rice. But, big brother, have you ever thought about this? While there's nothing wrong with him thinking this way, it's unrealistic to expect all future generations to understand the difficulty of defending a kingdom."
Zhu Chong's words were actually very tactful. He almost said it directly. The princes, even those like Zhu Biao and Zhu Chong who had seen the suffering of the people with their own eyes, might not be able to always maintain the same original intention as Zhu.
After all, they were all royal descendants, destined from birth to never live the lives of ordinary people. But precisely because of this, how could we expect the descendants of the Zhu family to understand the suffering of the common people? That's nonsense!
"Second brother, tell me the truth, what is the right thing to do?" Zhu Biao could see that Zhu Chong was planning to do something bad, but he knew the truth. Fortunately, he was Zhu Chong's son. If it were someone else, he would have lost his head several times!
Zhu Chong laughed and said, "Brother, don't be so anxious. This matter can't be rushed. But you must understand that our royal family must have its own source of wealth."
"As the saying goes, even a penny can make a hero fall. If our royal family does not have a stable source of wealth and income, one day in the future, the descendants of our Zhu family will definitely be controlled by others."
Zhu Biao understood completely that Zhu Chong was making preparations for a rainy day, for the future generations of the Zhu family.
The person he was referring to who was controlled by others was the officials in the future Ming Dynasty court.
"So what you mean is that coal mines are the source of our royal family's wealth and income?" Zhu Biao understood it immediately.
He had completely understood why Zhu Chong was so sensitive to the price of coal ore. It turned out that the root of the problem lay here.
It is no wonder that Zhu Chong never asked for a larger share of the coal mine in the beginning. Even when Zhu finally forced 10% on him, he only accepted it in the name of the Baochao Tizhusi. It turned out that he had been planning to seek benefits for the royal family since then!
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