Chongzhen hinted that some people were resisting national policies.
Of course the princes present would not admit it, so they all kept silent.
Chongzhen was mentally prepared.
He looked at Zhu Zhishu, the King of Shu, who had just received the money owed to him, and asked, "Uncle King of Shu, do you support me and my national policy?"
The King of Shu said drunkenly, "Your Majesty, I have supported you from the beginning to the end."
"Alas," Chongzhen sighed again, "Not only do you resist the national policy, but you also deceive the emperor in front of me. You are simply hopeless!"
Zhu Zhishu, the King of Shu, was stunned for a moment, then bowed and asked, "I have not deceived you, Your Majesty. I hope Your Majesty will understand."
Chongzhen put the wine glass in his hand on the table, and looked at Li Ruolian in the corner of the hall with his hands behind his back: "Commander Li, bring out the evidence that the King of Shu is resisting the national policy."
"Yes!" Li Ruo Lian took out a booklet from his bosom, opened it and read: "After investigation, the Shu Palace currently has more than 10 million taels of silver that have not been exchanged for Ming Yuanbao. This silver is hidden in the Shu Palace's treasury, cellar, and other palaces."
"Among them, the government treasury holds 6,877,200 taels of silver..."
"In addition, the Shu Palace has committed crimes such as seizing people's land, bullying the market, and causing chaos in the local area..."
With every word Li Ruolian said, King Zhu Zhishu of Shu's expression became uglier.
Before he could finish, the King of Shu's face had turned as pale as paper.
It's terrible, so terrible.
The Jinyiwei not only found out how much property he had, but also checked every deposit of silver.
The other princes were very shocked.
The King of Shu is so rich that he is almost as wealthy as a country.
Chongzhen asked coldly, "Uncle Shu, you keep saying you support my national policy, why don't you take out the silver in your house and exchange it for Ming Yuanbao?"
King Zhu Zhishu of Shu has completely sobered up.
But he didn't know how to answer, and could only stammer under the cover of drunkenness: "This... This... This is probably..."
Chongzhen said seriously: "If you feel that the Jinyiwei has wronged you, I can immediately send someone to Sichuan to verify the situation."
Zhu Zhishu's face turned from pale to red. He wanted to defend himself but didn't dare to open his mouth.
The facts are there, no matter how you try to argue, it's useless.
Chongzhen slammed the table and said, "Uncle Shu, do you admit your guilt?"
The King of Shu immediately knelt down on his knees and kowtowed repeatedly: "Your Majesty, please spare my life. I acknowledge my crime."
"Haha," Chongzhen continued to sneer, "According to the imperial decree, all those who fail to exchange silver for Ming Yuanbao on time will have it confiscated! As the saying goes, the emperor is guilty of the same crime as the common people. Uncle Shu Wang would know this, right?"
King Zhu Zhishu of Shu almost cried.
That money was the savings of successive Shu kings.
If everything is confiscated, it would be better to kill him.
Everyone else understood the principle of "the lips and the teeth are in danger" and pleaded for him.
"Your Majesty, please forgive him for the first time offending His Royal Highness the Prince of Shu."
"I second the motion."
"I second this motion."
"Your Majesty, please show mercy and give the King of Shu a chance."
Chongzhen snorted coldly, "Show mercy outside the law? I gave him a chance, but he lied to me in front of me! If I don't punish him severely, how can I convince the people?"
King Zhu Zhishu of Shu was almost fainting.
He kept shouting for mercy.
Others followed suit and begged for mercy.
When everyone was almost begging for mercy, Chongzhen changed the subject: "Although the Shu King's uncle was guilty, he at least lent me the silver. It was because of this silver that Qin Liangyu was able to keep Zhang Xianzhong out of Sichuan. From this point of view, the Shu King's uncle is a meritorious person!"
Seeing this, everyone immediately flattered him and said, "Your Majesty is right. I think we can let the King of Shu make up for his crime with his merits."
"That won't do," Chongzhen changed the subject again: "Merits are merits and faults are faults, they cannot be offset."
Everyone was completely stunned.
Up to now, they still haven't figured out Chongzhen's intentions.
Amid the puzzled gazes of the crowd, Chongzhen said, "I have summoned you all here for two main reasons."
"First, let's discuss changing the vassal kings' royal salaries from the national treasury to the internal treasury. Do you have any objections?"
The princes looked at each other and shook their heads to indicate that they had no objection.
In their view, it doesn't matter whether it is expenditure from the national treasury or expenditure from the internal treasury.
Just give the money.
"Okay," Chongzhen paused, then said, "The second thing is related to the treasury!"
"After the princes' clan salaries were changed from the national treasury to the internal treasury, the internal treasury would inevitably be short of money over time. If we want to solve this problem, there are only two options: increasing revenue or reducing expenditure."
"Saving money means reducing the salary of the princes and clans, and increasing income means making money and using the money earned to make up for the shortfall in the salary of the princes and clans. Which method do you think is appropriate?"
The princes looked at each other again and answered in unison: "We think it is more appropriate to open up the source."
"Okay," Chongzhen continued to dig a hole: "If you want to make money, you must first have enough capital, and secondly, you must have a way to make money. I have a way to make money, but I don't have enough capital."
Zhu Zhishu, the King of Shu, asked, "I wonder what the way to make money is that Your Majesty is talking about?"
Chongzhen replied: "Da Ming Money House!"
After hearing this, everyone understood Chongzhen’s true purpose.
Chongzhen wanted them to invest money in the Ming Dynasty Money House.
The profits from operations were used to distribute royal salaries to vassal kings.
Some people think it is feasible, after all, the Ming Dynasty Money House will not lose money.
It would be strange if we could make a loss.
Both personnel costs and warehousing costs were borne by the imperial court and local governments.
Other costs are almost negligible.
Some people think not.
They were afraid that Chongzhen would take the opportunity to steal their money.
Everyone began to hesitate.
Chongzhen was not in a hurry and watched quietly from the side.
He had another purpose in changing the princes' royal salaries from national treasury expenditure to internal treasury expenditure.
The princes had the privilege of tax exemption on their land.
The common people and local gentry donated their land to the princes.
The princes received bribes, and the common people and gentry received tax reductions.
The losses were borne by the court.
The princes who received the benefits thought that they had obtained the benefits from the people through their own abilities.
They were grateful neither to the imperial court nor to Chongzhen.
This obviously doesn't work.
Chongzhen wanted to make them realize the need to be grateful.
Prince Fu Zhu Yousong suddenly said, "Your Majesty, the whole world belongs to the Zhu family. There is no difference between the money in the national treasury and the money in the imperial treasury. I think we should just keep it the same as before, and there is no need to use the imperial treasury to bear the salary of the princes."
Chongzhen said calmly: "This world is indeed our Zhu family, but there is a difference between the money in the national treasury and the money in the inner treasury. The money in the national treasury must first guarantee the military pay of various places, followed by the salaries of officials, and finally the salaries of the princes and clans."
"And the money from the treasury is first used to ensure the welfare of the princes and clans! In other words, as long as I have something to eat, you will never starve."
"As for how to choose, it is up to you all to decide. If you choose the imperial treasury, the imperial treasury will bear the vassal king's clan salary in the future. If you choose the national treasury, the national treasury will bear the vassal king's clan salary in the future."
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