"Wu Sangui! The Liaodong general!"
After repeating it several times in his mind, the Cabinet Chief Minister Fan Jingwen sighed softly.
He is the chief minister of the cabinet and knows all these things well.
The Liaodong generals were in a state of disarray, but there was no suitable solution.
Now that the imperial court is trying to pacify Liao, new problems arise.
The problem lies with Wu Sangui and the Liaodong generals.
I want to make use of them, but they are always useless at critical moments.
We have to do without them, otherwise they will most likely fall into the arms of the Jiannu, resulting in a situation where one side gains while the other loses.
It’s such a headache!
Seeing that Fan Jingwen didn't say anything, Chongzhen stood up, put his hands behind his back and said, "Minister Fan, I plan to let Wu Sangui go out of the pass to investigate the deployment of the Jiannu outside the pass. Is there any problem?"
"No...no problem, the cabinet will draft the decree later!" Fan Jingwen said hurriedly after being stunned.
"That's good. Only by knowing ourselves and the enemy can we win every battle. We must let Wu Sangui find out the truth!" A hint of murderous intent flashed in Chongzhen's eyes as he spoke.
He had already thought of a way to deal with Wu Sangui.
Strictly speaking, it was not about dealing with Wu Sangui, but about dealing with the Liaodong generals group.
As long as the offensive and defensive alliance of the Liaodong generals' group is broken, the Guanning Army and Wu Sangui will no longer be a threat.
However, this method requires not only money and life, but also time.
It's not the right time yet.
After discussing other state affairs for a while, Wang Chengen announced his withdrawal from court.
Chongzhen summoned cabinet ministers to the Palace of Heavenly Purity to discuss port taxation.
"This is the cabinet's draft decree to transfer Zheng Chenggong to the southern Zhili to wipe out the Jiannu bandits. Your Majesty, please take a look!" After arriving at the Qianqing Palace, Fan Jingwen handed over the draft imperial edict and said.
Chongzhen didn't even look at it, and waved his hand and said, "Change the order."
"Change the decree?" Fan Jingwen was stunned. "This is the decree discussed in the court. I wonder how Your Majesty will change it?"
"I believe that the best defense is offense, so the solution to the Jiannu navy's southward plunder is not to send the navy to defend, but to send the navy north to southern Liaoning to plunder their people."
"In order to defend, Jiannu can only send the navy to fight!"
"Our navy can take this opportunity to destroy the Jiannu navy!"
After listening to Chongzhen's words, Fan Jingwen thought for a moment and asked, "Your Majesty, do you mean to send Zheng Chenggong north to Liaonan?"
"No," Chongzhen shook his head, "the Jiannu in Liaodong shall be handed over to Yuan Shu, the governor of Denglai."
"Then where does Your Majesty want Zheng Chenggong to go?" Fan Jingwen was very confused.
"Let him escort the caravan from Songjiang Prefecture to Japan!" Chongzhen said with a smile on his face.
"To be precise, it was not a change of order, but a draft of another imperial edict. The first imperial edict ordered him to go north to Nanzhili to wipe out the Jiannu bandits. After he arrived in Nanzhili, the second imperial edict was issued to let him escort the Songjiang Prefecture's fleet to Japan for business!"
Chongzhen planned to plot against Zheng Zhilong and his son.
Zheng Zhilong used the identity of an official soldier as a cover to engage in pirate activities in private.
Chongzhen’s idea was simple.
He first transferred Zheng Chenggong to the north in the name of suppressing the Jiannu bandits.
At the same time as the imperial edict is delivered, the news that the court is setting up a port in Songjiang Prefecture will also reach Fujian.
As a big pirate, Zheng Zhilong would definitely have some ideas about these merchant ships.
What Zheng Zhilong didn't know was that his son Zheng Chenggong's mission had changed from suppressing bandits to escorting.
Once he sent troops to rob these merchant ships, he would encounter Zheng Chenggong who was escorting them.
No matter who wins or loses, the court will not suffer any loss.
On the contrary, all the losses were paid for by Zheng Group!
It’s so cool!
Fan Jingwen saw through Chongzhen's thoughts at a glance. He took a deep breath and said, "I... will ask the Ministry of War to draft an order."
After drafting the edict, Chongzhen began to listen to the cabinet's arrangements on port tax collection.
After listening for a while, Chongzhen looked at the dragon case and said, "Stop for a moment."
"Your Majesty, what instructions does your Majesty have?" Fan Jingwen asked with a bow.
"There is a problem with the commercial taxes collected at the port!" Chongzhen said with a serious expression.
"Tax is one in thirty, no problem!" Fan Jingwen was very confused.
"I'm not talking about the tax standard, but the method of calculating commercial taxes!" Chongzhen stood up while speaking: "Previously, commercial taxes were levied on ships. The amount of cargo was estimated based on the size of the ship, and then a tax of dozens to hundreds of taels of silver was collected."
"From now on, taxes will be collected based on the value of the goods!"
"For example, a ship carrying cloth can sell for 30,000 taels. According to the standard of 30% tax, it should pay 1,000 taels of commercial tax!"
"Similarly, they brought Japanese swords and copper worth 30,000 taels from Japan. According to the standard of 30% tax, they should also pay 1,000 taels of commercial tax!"
Fan Jingwen was stunned for a while before he reacted: "Your Majesty means... to collect taxes based on the selling price, not the cost price?"
"Yes, the court not only spent a lot of manpower and material resources to add ports, but also sent naval officers and soldiers to guard them! There is nothing wrong with collecting taxes based on the selling price!" Chongzhen put on a righteous look.
How much tax can be collected based on the cost price?
The right way to go is to levy taxes based on the selling price!
"But... the Ming Dynasty has never levied taxes like this since its founding, and this tax standard does not conform to Emperor Taizu Gao's thirty-one tax rate!" Fan Jingwen looked worried.
"Everything has a beginning!" Chongzhen snorted coldly: "Emperor Taizu Gao did say that the tax rate is 30%, but he didn't specify whether it is 30% of the cost or 30% of the selling price."
"From now on, all merchant ships entering and leaving Songjiang Prefecture's Shanghai Port will be taxed according to this standard. If you think the tax is too high, you can go to Yuegang to load and unload ships, where the tax is lower!"
Fan Jingwen and several other cabinet ministers exchanged glances and then smiled bitterly.
They suddenly realized that they had been fooled by Chongzhen.
When Chongzhen established the port, he did not mention the tax standards at all.
After they agreed to set up the port, they increased the tax standards by nitpicking on the wording.
"Your Majesty...will obey your Majesty's order!" Fan Jingwen and a group of cabinet ministers bowed helplessly.
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