Chapter 122 Tianjin Small Court 3
Looking at the ministers kneeling on the ground, Zhao Xiaofei didn't try to persuade them. He sang in his heart: It's not a sin for a man to cry! Even the strongest have the right to be tired. If there's only heartbreak behind a smile, why bother to act so awkwardly?
Seeing that they had almost cried enough, some of them had fainted. Zhao Xiaofei then stepped forward to support Li Banghua, Ni Yuanlu and other veteran officials. At this moment, the curtain of the tent opened, and Empress Zhou and Concubine Yuan came out!
Empress Zhou said, "My Lords! Now is not the time to cry! If the capital is lost, we will take it back sooner or later!"
"Mother!" Zhu Cijiong immediately broke free from Liu Gongzheng and rushed over to his mother when he saw her. Empress Zhou reached out and hugged him, tears streaming down her face.
At this time, Zhao Xiaofei spoke up and said, "Everyone! The Queen said! Now is not the time to cry! Let's discuss a countermeasure first!"
At this time, all the ministers around stopped crying and knelt before the queen. The queen asked everyone to stand up. Ni Yuanlu then asked, "Excuse me, where is the prince now?"
"Master Ni! Let me answer you! The Crown Prince and other princes were detained in the mansion of the Earl of Jiading as a close guard. They were probably captured by Li Zicheng!" said Zhao Xiaofei.
"What? The Earl of Jiading actually did such a shameless thing!" Li Banghua was so angry that his face turned purple and his whole body was shaking.
The other ministers were also filled with righteous indignation, whispering among themselves. Empress Zhou's face wasn't very good either. She felt ashamed that her father had done such a thing. She was also particularly worried that her son would fall into the hands of thieves, and she hated his ruthlessness and disloyalty even more. The Ming Dynasty had been so kind to you, yet you did such a thing.
"Empress! I believe that the country cannot be without a monarch for a day. I support Prince Ding to ascend the throne and become emperor, and the Empress will rule the country from behind the curtain!" said Zhao Xiaofei.
When the ministers heard what Zhao Xiaofei said, they immediately exploded! Someone immediately objected, and Ni Yuanlu said, "The Crown Prince's life or death is unknown. We can't be too hasty! If the Crown Prince is rescued one day, I'm afraid it will be a tragedy of brothers killing each other!"
Zhao Xiaofei thought to himself: You are just afraid of a coup d'état like the one that happened to Emperor Yingzong and Emperor Daizong! You are afraid that you will be killed like Yu Qian!
Li Banghua then stepped forward and said, "I support the Marquis of Loyalty's suggestion! The situation now is different from when Emperor Yingzong was captured! Back then, the capital was intact, but now the late emperor is gone, the capital has been destroyed, and the crown prince has been captured. We need someone to raise their voices and turn the tide! Should we wait for the rebels to be kind enough to release the crown prince, and then invite him to the throne?"
The Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of War Wang Jiayan, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Punishment Meng Zhaoxiang, the Imperial Censor of the Ministry of Revenue Wu Ganlai, the Junior Secretary of the Ministry of Imperial Household Wu Linzheng, the Grand Secretary Fan Jingwen, and the Deputy Director of the Ministry of Personnel Xu Zhi also echoed the sentiments.
"Your servants request that Prince Ding enter Tianjin Wei and then be crowned emperor, and announce it to the world! Your Majesty the Queen be promoted to the position of Empress Dowager and rule the country from behind the curtain!" Zhao Xiaofei stepped forward and suggested at the right time.
"We second the motion!" Li Banghua said. Seeing that Zhao Xiaofei and Li Banghua had said so, the other ministers thought, "Let's all support the new emperor!" So they all said, "We second the motion! We second the motion! We second the motion!"
Empress Zhou looked at Zhao Xiaofei and asked, "Lord Zhongzhen, how many troops do you have now? Is the commander of Tianjin Guard reliable?"
"Her Majesty! I have over 3,000 escorts, recruited from various counties! They are slightly more powerful than the Imperial Guard. As soon as Prince Ding ascends the throne, loyal ministers and righteous men from all over the world will surely come to serve the Ming Dynasty. As for the garrison commanders, Tianjin's deputy commander, Shi Zhaoxinhui, is loyal to the Ming Dynasty, but I'm unsure about Commander Feng Shengshi!" Zhao Xiaofei said. Zhao Xiaofei now shamelessly called the empress dowager.
"Can we capture Feng Shengshi first and then make a decision?" Queen Zhou said.
"The reason why I didn't let you enter the city is to wait for news! I have sent people to Tianjin Wei to contact Zhao Xinhui. He said that he would help us capture Feng Shengshi and then invite us into the city!" Zhao Xiaofei said.
"Marquis Zhongzhen is doing things in a reliable manner, and I feel relieved!" said Queen Zhou.
"My Lord, when can we enter the city?" Ni Yuanlu asked.
"Probably tonight!" said Zhao Xiaofei.
"Empress Dowager! The court is in trouble now and needs to reorganize the cabinet. Please give your instructions, Empress Dowager!" said Li Banghua.
"I am a woman and don't know much about state affairs. You should discuss it with Lord Ni and Marquis Zhongzhen, and then write a memorial!" said the Empress Dowager Zhou.
"I obey your order!" said Li Banghua.
"Okay! You guys discuss it first! I need to rest for a while!" Queen Mother Zhou wanted to spend some time with her son. She wanted to calm down and think about what to do next!
Everyone said in unison: "Your Highnesses and I respectfully send off the Queen Mother!"
Everyone escorted the Queen Mother back to her tent. Li Banghua and Ni Yuanlu took Zhao Xiaofei to their own tent. Li Banghua said, "Lord! Since the Queen Mother asked us to discuss cabinet matters, do you have any suggestions?"
"I'm not in a position to comment on cabinet matters. You two have been in the cabinet for many years and have more experience than I do. I just want to be a general, commanding troops to reclaim the capital! But I must remind you two that the main reason our Ming Dynasty is in its current state is that we don't have the money to collect taxes. If we keep taxing the peasants, they'll rebel. And if we tax the merchants? You know, other ministers will accuse the court of competing with the people for profit." Zhao Xiaofei threw out these words to test whether they represented the southern gentry and merchants. If they expressed helplessness or evaded responsibility, don't blame me for leaving you in Tianjin to experience the pain of being squeezed by Li Zicheng.
In response to Zhao Xiaofei's question, Li Banghua said, "The court was too lenient towards merchants in the past. From now on, the cabinet will definitely increase taxes on merchants! No matter how many people oppose it, I will collect taxes for the court even if it means risking my life!"
Zhao Xiaofei saw Li Banghua's statement and turned to Ni Yuanlu. Ni Yuanlu said, "I have no objection! I just hope the emperor won't send eunuchs to collect taxes like he did during the Wanli era. I think we need to establish a new government office specifically to collect commercial taxes!"
Zhao Xiaofei thought to himself, Ni Yuanlu is quite understanding! So he said, "In that case, I think Lord Li will be the new cabinet's chief minister, and Lord Ni will be the second in command. The former Right Vice Minister of War Wang Jiayan, Right Vice Minister of Punishment Meng Zhaoxiang, and the former Imperial Censor of Revenue Wu Ganlai should also be absorbed into the cabinet. In addition, Nanjing's Minister of War Shi Kefa is fair and willful, and he can be appointed Left Censor-in-Chief to supervise all officials. However, the main responsibility of the new Censorate is to supervise officials for corruption. And we can no longer impeach officials based on hearsay, we must have actual evidence."
"But if they want to have concrete evidence to impeach, we must give the Censorate greater power and more manpower!" said Li Banghua.
"Of course! This is necessary! For example, regularly checking the government office's accounts and re-examining the cases." Zhao Xiaofei said.
"Good! Your Majesty has quite a few insights into government affairs," said Li Banghua.
"In addition, we will organize tax bureaus at all levels, so that other government agencies will no longer be needed to collect taxes. The power of taxation will be concentrated in the hands of the central government, and the tax revenue collected each year will be distributed to government agencies at all levels in proportion. The tax bureau must also have its own soldiers to prevent businessmen from organizing people to violently resist taxes." Zhao Xiaofei said.
"I'm afraid officials across the country will oppose this!" said Ni Yuanlu.
"Oppose? Opposition is better than the destruction of the country, right?" Zhao Xiaofei said.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
