Empress: Your Majesty, please respect yourself, I don't want to be promoted

Hearing what King Sui said, Jiang Yunke thought for a moment and then nodded.

"That's true. Those scholars have spread the word that although Saint King Cangming is well versed in martial arts and extremely powerful, he has not made any outstanding achievements in government affairs. He is a typical warrior. Logically, he cannot think of such a sophisticated reform method. However, Young Master Lu has amazing achievements from time to time. His thinking is wild and unrestrained, and he has never been supported. This reform method does seem to be his work, but it is promoted under the guise of Tiance Mansion and Saint King Cangming's supreme power."

Hearing this, the King of Sui was immediately very emotional and said: "Lu Shaobao is indeed a genius. Your Majesty has a keen eye for talent. You must have valued his talent in employing him, not just because of his unparalleled loyalty and righteousness."

"Now that Your Majesty is working hard to govern the country and is determined to make innovations, and you have capable ministers to help you, a prosperous era is not far away. God bless Daxia and allow our Jiang Dynasty to have such wise rulers and wise ministers."

Jiang Yunke couldn't help but roll his eyes secretly.

Father, when the decree on the reform of the royal family worship system was first issued, you did not say this...

His expression became a little strange when he thought of how his father kept jumping up and down in the Sui Palace and couldn't eat for several days when he received the order to reform the system two years ago.

However, a son should not criticize his father. No matter what happened, he would not undermine his father. He could only agree with his father respectfully.

"Ke'er."

After finishing his high-sounding words, the King of Sui said, "In the future, you must not have any contact with those gentry families who have no good deeds. They are wicked bastards, none of them are good. We in Daxia have given them so many preferential treatments, including tax exemption and tax waiver, but how do they repay the imperial court in the end?"

"Eating up the land, hiding the population, bullying the common people, destroying the foundation of our Great Xia!!"

When he said this, he became extremely angry and looked heartbroken.

"Every time they occupy an inch of farmland, the court loses a cent of land tax; every time they hide a civilian, the court loses a cent of grain tax; every time they kill a family, the court loses a cent of output. These people only care about their own enjoyment and don't care about the lives of the people. They cause the court's annual income to decrease year after year, and the life of our royal family is getting harder and harder."

Hearing this, Jiang Yunke's expression became even weirder.

Father... the last sentence is the key point...

I said a lot before, do you really think that the child doesn't know that it's all bullshit...

If the treatment of the royal family was not now linked to local fiscal revenue and directly related to the people's reputation of the local royal family, and every penny of the palace was closely related to the people, would my father, who has never cared about the people's livelihood, be so beating his chest and stamping his feet?

Did they proactively send people to monitor whether the government was doing anything last year?
That's bullshit.
"Ugh…"

King Sui suddenly sighed and said with regret: "It's a pity that the gentry don't pay taxes. This is the ancestral rule set by our Hongwu ancestor. Otherwise, I would have to write a letter to ask Your Majesty to collect taxes from these parasites. The more land, the higher the tax. In this way, the local government's finances will definitely be greatly relieved, and the people will have extra money to build bridges and roads and reclaim wasteland for farmland."

Jiang Yunke couldn't bear to listen any more.

What the hell is going on with the local government's finances being alleviated? What my father was thinking was that with the increase in local fiscal revenue, more silver, spirit stones and spiritual food would go into his pocket.

Especially when King Yu was killed two years ago, many royal family members in Suizhou wrote to the emperor requesting a change of title. They would rather go to Qiongzhou to be granted a title than stay in Suizhou. As a result, a group of people left, resulting in very few royal family members in Suizhou and Yuzhou now.

With fewer people sharing the money, the amount of money coming into the Sui Palace naturally increased.

The Wangfu reaped a huge amount of benefits from the restructuring last year, and was definitely one of the first to try it out.

Otherwise, how could he be so enthusiastic about the reform? He was even more enthusiastic than the Xuanji Guards stationed in the two states.

They even set their sights on the local gentry.

It's very real.

At the same time, he couldn't help but admire that Young Master Lu was really smart. In the reform, the treatment of royal family members was linked to local finances. Local finances would include more. As long as he was bolder and handled it properly, the financial sources would not be limited to farmers' land taxes and merchants' business taxes.

Those gentry families are extremely wealthy.

In the past, there was no conflict of interest between the royal family and local powerful families, gentry, and officials. There was no benefit even if they were touched. Moreover, the other party was very sensible and sent gifts from time to time, so there was peace. But now it is different.

The pie is only so big now. If those people eat more, the royal family will have less to eat. Or maybe the local finances are too bad, so they have to tighten their belts and live a frugal life.

Who can bear this?
Since this concerns their fundamental interests, how can they, the royal family, continue to keep out of the way of the gentry and wealthy families as they did in the past?
Now at the local level, the Xuanji Guards are keeping an eye on everywhere. If anyone dares to collude with others or engage in despicable acts, they will be attacked directly. Afterwards, they can legitimately make a sum of money from the confiscation of property. The royal family members, who are given special attention, have to focus their attention on the gentry.

There is no other way. With such a big mansion and so many people to feed, even the noble royal family members need to eat.

The gentry and nobles could not sit still and wait for death. They would inevitably rise up in resistance and either kill the Xuanji Guards, kill the local royal family, or run away.

Lu Chen's intention is very clear, which is to let all parties play games and ensure the rights and interests of the grassroots people.

Suizhou and Yuzhou are okay, the local areas have basically been cleaned up. The next step should be the nobles and gentry in the seven provinces... Originally, some royal family members there were very jealous of the current prosperity of the Sui Palace, but because of their lack of strength and stripping of power, they dared not touch the local gentry.

But if Lu Chen went there, wouldn't this opportunity be right at his fingertips...

His father resisted in the beginning, but became a crazy supporter after tasting the sweetness. It is conceivable what the reaction of the royal family there will be after Lu Chen's arrival.

"Father, there is actually a solution to the ancestral rule."

While the Sui king was rambling, Jiang Yunke took the initiative to speak: "Speaking of the ancestral system, the treatment of our clan members was also determined by Emperor Taizu Hongwu, but due to the rapid increase in the number of clan members, it has placed a huge burden on the court's finances. If the system is not changed, the increasingly huge expenses for clan members will inevitably drag down the entire Daxia."

"Lu Shaobao obviously realized this, and that's why he risked the world's disapproval to advise Your Majesty to abandon the ancestral system and protect the country."

Upon hearing this, King Sui was stunned for a moment and murmured:
"Abandon the ancestral system to protect the country..."

Then his eyes suddenly lit up.

"Yes! Grandpa Taizu left behind the ancestral system for the purpose of ensuring the longevity of our Great Xia Dynasty. If one day the ancestral system causes the country to become unstable and overthrown, even if we, the descendants of later generations, abandon it, I think even if we go to see Emperor Taizu in the future, he will definitely not blame us."

"exactly."

Jiang Yunke smiled and said, "Between the ancestral system and the country, the great grandfather would definitely choose the latter. Since the support policy for our clan members with the blood of Emperor Hongwu can be changed, what can't be changed for those gentry whose ancestors are unknown?"

"The original policy of supporting the clan members has caused endless harm, and how much better can the policy of not paying taxes be? The common people can't survive, so they give their land to the gentry. This is essentially them taking advantage of the court's favor to annex land. If we let it go, the court will have less and less land to tax, and the finances will still be stretched. The harm is no less than the policy of supporting the clan members before the reform."

"In this case, the ancestral system of gentry not paying taxes should be abandoned. If you are unwilling to do so, then you are extremely selfish and deserve to be killed!"

The King of Sui laughed out loud.

"Ke'er is right. This is what should be done!" Jiang Yunke suddenly bowed and said, "This should be reported to Lu Shaobao as soon as possible. I beg him to write to His Majesty so that Tiance Mansion can formulate the reform. I am not talented, but I am willing to go to Yuzhou for my father and explain the pros and cons to Lu Shaobao."

King Sui looked at him in surprise.

"Oh? Why is Ke'er suddenly so enthusiastic about this?"

Jiang Yunke said honestly: "Actually, I have some selfish motives."

"What selfish motives?"

The King of Sui asked, but there was no anger on his face, instead he had a faint smile on his face.

Jiang Yunke said repeatedly: "Since the reform, I have been thinking about what the future of the royal family will be. Now that His Majesty has relaxed the restrictions on the employment of royal family members, they can also participate in the imperial examinations, become officials and do business. I am thinking that since our Sui Palace has responded to the reform, we might as well respond to it to the end. This will help all the brothers and sisters in the palace to have a proper family business, so they don't have to rely on the palace all the time to make a living."

"I heard that Master Lu is a man of many talents and a scholar. Fang Yu, a business genius, achieved such accomplishments by following Master Lu's teachings when he was in Yuzhou. I also want to learn business and see if I can get some inspiration from Master Lu."

Hearing this, King Sui couldn't help but fall into deep thought.

After a moment, he asked, "Ke'er, why do you have such an idea?"

Jiang Yunke said softly:

"My brothers and sisters can enjoy a comfortable and prosperous life, but life is not just about eating, drinking, defecating and urinating. They may not have to worry about food and clothing in the palace, but this is their life, and you can see the end at a glance. I once asked them if they had any ambitions, but they all said that they were limited by the laws of their ancestors and dared not express their ambitions. If there were no shackles, they would also like to learn literature and martial arts, serve their country, and achieve something."

"If they don't have the ambition to build a family business, I will leave them in the palace."

Hearing this, King Sui couldn't help but sigh:
"Ke'er, you are a filial and kind child, and you are also the prince appointed by your father. The Sui Palace's property will be yours sooner or later. With your talent and the huge increase in the palace's income after the reform, it will not be a problem to support your brothers and sisters and uncles. Even if you do nothing, you are born rich and superior. Your father has never asked anything of you, so why do you have to do all these troublesome things?"

Jiang Yunke shook his head. "Lu Shaobao once said: A zhilan orchid grows in a deep forest, and it is not because there is no one that it loses its fragrance. As a member of the royal family, I have the blood of Emperor Hongwu flowing in my body. Even if I don't go to court, I should hide in the gate and still be fragrant. I will endure and not show it, and I will not compete for power or seek unreasonable things. If the court needs me, I will stand up and do my best for the king."

The King of Sui looked at him deeply, as if he was meeting his son for the first time.

After a long while, he stretched out his hand and gently placed it on his shoulder.

"Ke'er, I'm very pleased that you have such an idea. You... are better than me."

Jiang Yunke didn't dare to respond.

"Father, your words are too serious. How dare I compare myself with you?"

King Sui didn't say anything, but just patted him on the shoulders twice again, and everything was said without words.

Then he called his servants and ordered, "Come here, bring me the king's seal!"

"Also, prepare 200,000 dan of grain and 10,000 spirit stones for me, and send them to Yuzhou as soon as possible and give them to Lu Shaobao. Tell him that this is a token of my gratitude to the court. I only ask Lu Shaobao to quell the unrest in the south as soon as possible, destroy the rebels, and restore peace to all provinces."

As he said this, he couldn't help revealing a painful expression on his fat face, but he still gave the order without hesitation.

Hearing this, Jiang Yunke was stunned for a moment.

"Father... this..."

King Sui smiled.

"You also said that Lu Shaobao is a rare great man, a contemporary hero, and the key to whether Daxia can regain its heyday. How can we go to see him empty-handed? I heard that Lu Shaobao hates the officialdom and never accepts gifts. Giving gifts rashly will only cause him to make plans. Why not instead donate to the court? While selling good things, our palace can also gain a good reputation."

"He has a prejudice against me. After all, my previous reputation... He must know it clearly through Xuanji Guards. But Ke'er, you have always been kind and virtuous, humble and respectful, and treat others with kindness. You have a good reputation, and he must know this too."

"If you ask for an audience, he will definitely not refuse. With this generous gift to pave the way, he will be more attentive to the ancestral rules. In the long run, it will be beneficial to our palace."

Jiang Yunke immediately understood.

I have to say that although my father's character is not very good, he still has vision and knows how to make choices. Otherwise, when the great reckoning took place, the Sui Palace would not have escaped unscathed.

To say that he was a wicked man is not really that serious. At least compared with King Yu, he was not even worthy of carrying his shoes.

There are definitely some problems, but they are just common problems that most princes of Daxia have.

Now that the court has changed, his strengths of foresight and courage have been fully demonstrated.

"besides."

King Sui turned around again and looked at the guards who were waiting for his orders.

"Immediately send business cards to the royal family members of the other seven provinces and three states, and tell them that I have several big businesses and I want to find people to cooperate with me. If you are interested, please come to the Sui Palace as soon as possible. The time limit is half a month. No more than that."

"Here!"

After receiving the order, the guard immediately took the seal of King Sui and left to carry out the order.

Looking at their departing backs, Jiang Yunke seemed to realize something, and a look of anticipation gradually appeared on his handsome face.

"Go, Ke'er."

Finally, Jiang Yunke of the Sui Dynasty waved his hand.

"Give my regards to Lu Shaobao for me."

"Yes! Father."

Jiang Yunke bowed and retreated.

After leaving the hall, he raised his head, clenched his fists, and his eyes were full of confidence. (End of this chapter)