I'm only seven years old, Lao Zhu, you let me supervise the country?

Chapter 140 Unexpected Surprise

Below the city of Jiaxing is a plain.

But the plains in the south are very different from those in the north.

Because of the abundant rainfall, the southern plains are often accompanied by a large number of rivers and ditches for drainage.

In the case of a normal march, it is easy to pass through these places because there are many bridges.

Even if there are no bridges, most of the rivers and ditches are not too wide, and it is not difficult for the army to cut down trees and build temporary bridges.

However, when the army collapses, a ditch two or three feet wide will also become a fatal moat.

The bridge that was originally erected quickly became the center of chaos when everyone was crowded.

In order to escape before their companions, many people picked up their weapons and waved them at others who were crowding the road.

Cannibalism.

Many people were hacked to death.

More people fell in rivers and ditches.

There are pursuers behind.

They were originally a mob, and when they won battles, they showed off their power and were arrogant.

The collapse at this moment is disorderly and chaotic.

Everyone is heartbroken.

He didn't dare to turn around and fight, but he was merciless in killing the other people who fled together.

The Ming army with weird costumes and weird weapons is too scary.

They just want to escape in front of others, and they can't bear the thought of turning around to fight.

The wind is rumbling, and the grass and trees are all soldiers.

In contrast, the pursuit of the new army seems to be full of mountains and plains, but in fact it is very methodical.

During the training, Zhu Yunzhen had already thought about how to pursue the defeated army in the future and formulated a training plan.

The new army did not have a single soldier scattered, but adopted a team of at least three people to pursue.

In this way, even if you occasionally encounter deserters who are stubbornly resisting, you can quickly deal with them.

It is impossible to suddenly attack anyone.

For the defeated army who was injured and fell to the ground, the soldiers of the new army would make up for it with a bayonet.

They also run faster than pirates and rebels.

If the three-person team occasionally encounters dozens or hundreds of defeated troops gathered in front of them, they will fire shots first to deter them.

The defeated army, who had already lost their fighting spirit, only knew how to flee when they heard the gunshots.

As for resistance, I don't even think about it.

The sky quickly darkened and the pursuit continued.

This night is doomed to sleepless.

Whether it is the Japanese pirates or the traitors attached to them, they are in constant fear.

They only cared about running for their lives, and didn't think much about it.

Little do they know that this is just the beginning, and that the real end for all of them is coming soon.

……

……

……

When the fighting in Jiaxing City was fierce, Jinling City was also in turmoil.

On the same day that Zhu Yunxi led the army to set off, Lao Zhu also ended his "vacation" and went to court in person.

Because of the sudden attack by the Japanese pirates and the occupation of Songjiang Mansion, there are many more officials who came to court today than usual.

In the spacious hall, all civil and military officials bowed down together.

"Long live my emperor! Long live!"

"Everyone loves to be flat!"

Lao Zhu's spirit has improved a lot, and he no longer looks sick.

As soon as he came to court, officials immediately came to give advice.

"Your Majesty, the Japanese pirates colluded with Zhang Shicheng's old men, private salt dealers, and some rebels to occupy Songjiang Mansion."

"The minister believes that the biggest reason for the Japanese pirates' rebellion this time is that the imperial court increased business taxes, which caused dissatisfaction among the wealthy merchants, causing them to secretly support the Japanese pirates and build bridges for them, so that several parties gathered together, resulting in Songjiang City being destroyed. The tragedy of the breach."

"Improving commercial taxes to compete with the people for profit is something that should not be done. Now it has caused a terrible disaster."

"It's not too late to mend the dead sheep. I ask Your Majesty to stop the increase of business tax. And declare to the world, this dynasty will never levy any more business tax in the future."

"So that the hearts of the people can be assured, no one will collude with the Japanese pirates, and the war can be calmed down, and such disasters will not happen again in the future. Your Majesty please follow it."

As soon as he finished speaking, official No. 2 immediately followed suit to give advice.

"I also think that the most urgent thing is to stop raising business taxes immediately."

Then officials stepped forward.

"My minister agrees."

"The minister also agrees."

"The minister also seconded the proposal."

……

There are not many officials in the court who support the increase of business tax.

The civil officials felt that this was a competition for the interests of the people and strongly opposed it.

Most of the servants of military generals and nobles are businessmen, who make huge profits for them, and they are naturally opposed.

Due to the situation, I had no choice but to hold my nose and admit it.

Now that the time is right, everyone will stand up and publicly oppose it.

"Increasing business tax has increased the court's tax by a full [-]%. With this money, the court was able to alleviate the financial crisis. I think this move should continue and not be abandoned halfway."

Zhao Jing, Shangshu of the Ministry of Punishment, made a speech.

He had been the Minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs for several years. He knew the financial difficulties of the country and always demolished the east wall to pay for the west wall, unable to make ends meet.

If no commercial tax is levied, will officials still be paid their salaries?Do we still need to pay the military pay to the soldiers at the front?What about the country’s engineering construction?Where does the money for famine relief come from?
All kinds of things are useless without money.

In the past, it could be solved by printing banknotes.

Nowadays, more and more precious banknotes are being printed in the Ming Dynasty, and the common people have begun to disregard the precious banknotes one after another, and only recognize silver and real objects.

If it continues, Daming's financial crisis will become even more serious.

What should we do in the future?
"That's right. It's the increase in business taxes that has brought back the treasury's silver deposits. Otherwise, I don't know where to raise military expenses for the suppression of the Japanese pirates. The Ministry of Households is a family that cannot be a minister."

Zhao Mian, Shangshu of the household department, also hurriedly came out to speak.

These people are not in charge of the family and don't know how expensive firewood is.

But he was in charge of the household department of the Ming Dynasty, and all parties came to him for money.

However, where does the money come from?

"A bunch of nonsense."

Huang Zicheng immediately retorted: "If there is no increase in business taxes, this disaster will not happen, so why raise military expenses?"

"The little money obtained from the increase in business taxes was used to make up for the military expenses to put down the Japanese pirates' rebellion. Apart from letting the common people suffer and endure the Japanese pirates' rebellion, what good is it for the court?"

"Your Majesty, I think that those who continue to levy commercial taxes are ignoring the court, Your Majesty, and the Ming Dynasty. They should immediately be dismissed from office, sent to the frontiers, or even beheaded for public display, so as to correct people's hearts."

Other officials immediately followed suit.

"That's right, using the money from the business tax to subsidize the military expenses for the chaos, is there such a calculation in the world?"

"I think some people have ulterior motives, right?"

"Rebellious ministers and thieves, everyone gets it and punishes them. How can we allow them to cause chaos?"

"Immediately repeal the increase in the commercial tax."

……

All civil and military officials were passionate.

At this moment, Lao Zhu said coldly: "Is it all over?"

The hall suddenly fell silent.

All the officials looked at their noses and hearts, and they didn't even dare to breathe harder, let alone say a word.

"People are not enough to swallow an elephant."

Lao Zhu's voice was not loud, but the hall was extremely quiet at the moment, and it was especially loud when he fell to his ears.

"The giant merchants have amassed a huge amount of wealth."

"If the imperial court does not collect taxes from them, should it still collect taxes from the poor people who are already extremely poor?"

"After receiving a few taels of money from them, they dared to secretly finance the Japanese pirates' rebellion."

"If the imperial court doesn't punish them severely, but retreats to them, then what are they going to do in the future?"

"What else do you want to use to blackmail the court?"

Lao Zhu's tone suddenly became sharp: "This wind must not last long."

"The Ming court must not retreat to a group of businessmen and Japanese pirates."

"They want to rebel, okay, let's see what they are capable of."

"We have just conferred the title of "Mighty General" on the emperor's grandson to lead the troops to put down the Japanese pirate rebellion."

"Anyone who colludes with the Japanese pirates will be killed without mercy if the court does not accept their surrender."

There was no sound in the hall, and the officials who were impassioned just now did not dare to make a sound.

Old Zhu kept his word, no one dared to touch his inverse scales.

at this time.

There were bursts of hurried footsteps outside.

A eunuch came in and reported: "Your Majesty, something serious has happened. His Highness Taisun killed Cao Guogong Li Jinglong."

The time of going to court was very early, which happened to be the time when Zhu Yunxu led the troops to go on an expedition, so the news was not transmitted until now.

"what?"

In the court, all the civil and military officials were dumbfounded.

Cao Guogong, Li Jinglong, and Zheng Guogong, Chang Mao, are both Dukes of the same country, but the status of the former is much higher than that of Chang Mao.

In addition to being the Duke of the State, Li Jinglong is also a well-known general. He also served as the censor of the Zuodu and was in charge of the Governor's Mansion of the Zuojun. He was a real military leader with real power.

"Why did the grandson kill him?" Zhu Yuanzhang asked in a deep voice.

His voice also changed drastically.

This time, five people including Feng Sheng, Fu Youde, Li Jinglong, Chang Sheng, and Sun Ke were transferred back to Beijing. In addition to responding to the Japanese pirates' rebellion, Zhu Yuanzhang had other thoughts.

Xi'er is already the grandson of the emperor, but he hasn't arranged his own team yet.

Lao Zhu planned to use these five people, together with Lan Yu, as the new team of the Prince's Mansion.

Li Jinglong is his favorite candidate for the crown prince.

Unexpectedly, Li Jinglong was actually beheaded by Liu'er?
No wonder even Lao Zhu changed color suddenly.

The eunuch quickly told what happened in detail.

Lao Zhu's expression changed again and again, and gradually calmed down.

below.

The officials could no longer hold back.

"How could His Highness Taisun behead a duke of the state and the censor of Zuodu at will?"

"Your Majesty granted him the right to act cheaply for the convenience of commanding before the battle, but the incident happened in Jinling City. Why don't you ask His Majesty for instructions, but make your own decisions?"

"Cao Guogong also has a heart for the country. Even if there is something wrong, the crime does not lead to death."

"The new army is weird. It has no armor, no bows and arrows, no swords and axes. It is only equipped with very short daggers. It has never been heard of such an army since ancient times. Cao Guogong is the leader of the army, so naturally he knows it, so he questioned it. Seeking to prove the truth, what is the crime?"

"His Royal Highness Taisun killed Cao Guogong without authorization, which is really a rebellious act. I ask your majesty to issue a decree to severely punish him."

"Yes, it must be severely punished. If not, who will dare to plead for the country in the future?"

In the court hall, the voices of civil and military officials gathered together, and the momentum became louder and louder, all demanding that Zhu Yunxian be severely punished.

Huang Zicheng, Qi Tai and others were even more overjoyed.

Although Li Jinglong is one of his own, if his death can be exchanged for the downfall of Zhu Yunxi, the great grandson, it will be too worth it.

These people always think that it is worthwhile to sacrifice others to achieve their goals.

Originally thought Zhu Yunxi had to suffer a big defeat in order to bring him down.

I didn't expect him to be so bold.

Is Li Jinglong someone he can kill casually?

Let alone in Jinling City, he could ask for an order at any time, but he didn't ask for it.

Even if the leader is outside, he can't just kill him.

How could they miss such an opportunity?
For a time, the crowd was furious.

The civil servants have long disliked Zhu Yunxi.

He is not the eldest grandson of the emperor, and it is not in line with the wishes of the civil servants to make him the crown prince.

Since then, the policies he implemented, especially the various measures of setting up the Advisory Office, have made many civil servants hold grudges against him.

It's just that he was intimidated by his status as the grandson of the emperor, so he dared not speak out.

As for generals, the same is true.

The people whose interests will suffer the most from the increase in commercial taxes are the military commanders and nobles who like to let their servants open shops and make money in business.

And Zhu Yunxuan used to fight against Changmao to gain power, but now he kills Cao Guogong Li Jinglong, these are all their people, how can they not be against the enemy?

Because of Sapphire's attitude before, the generals and nobles did not dare to act rashly.

Now that Sapphire is not here, everyone has no scruples anymore.

Therefore, the military general Xungui and the civil officials went up to impeach Zhu Yunxi one after another, asking His Majesty to punish him severely.

However, neither civil servants nor military generals Xungui mentioned that he would be abolished as the crown prince.

Although this is what everyone is thinking.

But no one said it.

The position of crown prince is too sensitive.

Whoever spoke could get into trouble.

Even if he succeeds in getting His Majesty to abolish Chu, he may suffer backlash.

What's more, as long as Zhu Yunzhen is severely punished by decree and his majesty is completely lost, it will be difficult for him to keep his position as crown prince, so why bother?

"Where is he now?" Old Zhu asked.

The eunuch said: "After the grandson killed Cao Guogong Li Jinglong, he ordered the whole army to speed up the march and rushed to the front line of Jiaxing."

When Lao Zhu heard this, an imperceptible smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.

The voice contained anger.

"It's really wrong for Yunxi to kill Li Jinglong without authorization."

"We should have summoned him, asked him what happened, and issued an order to punish him."

"But the military situation ahead is urgent, and he has led the army out."

"At this time, it is not appropriate to recall the coach, and it is not appropriate to convict and punish, so as not to shake the morale of the army."

"This matter will be dealt with after the army commander returns to the court."

All civil and military officials saluted together: "Your Majesty is wise."

Although they all wished that Lao Zhu would convict Zhu Yunxuan immediately, he had already led his army away and the military situation was urgent, so there was really no reason to pursue the coach back.

The punishment afterwards was reasonable and reasonable, and none of the civil and military officials could find fault with it.

However, none of them noticed the subtle expression change on Lao Zhu's face.

"You brat, you can actually kill even Zuodu Yushi and Cao Guogong Li Jinglong at any time, and you can actually frighten the three armies. We really didn't misjudge you!"

That's right.

Lao Zhu's current mood is quite good.

What is Cao Guogong Li Jinglong?
Although Lao Zhu valued him a little bit, if he killed him, he would kill him.

In contrast, Zhu Yunxi's performance brought Lao Zhu a huge surprise.

What Lao Zhu is most worried about is that Zhu Yunxuan is too young, unable to control the situation, and cannot subdue the civil and military officials.

Li Jinglong dared to stop him, which was also an important reason.

Otherwise, if Zhu Yunzhen was an adult prince, even if what he did was more ridiculous and outrageous, and if Li Jinglong had ten more courage, he would not dare to provoke a prince like this.

It was precisely because he was only seven years old that he would not take him seriously and dared to intercept the army when he was going on an expedition.

Zhu Yunzhen's punishment for this matter was also very straightforward, killing him directly.

In Lao Zhu's opinion, this is the best way to deal with it.

What to do if you don't kill him, but let the army stop and ask for orders from yourself, then Lao Zhu will be really disappointed.

After all, Lao Zhu didn't know how many years his body could last.

If he died suddenly, who would he ask for an order?
If no one asks for an order, can he still be able to suppress all civil and military officials, and those military generals who once fought with him in the world?

Zhu Yunzhen killed someone directly without asking for an order, thus giving Lao Zhu a perfect answer.

Tell Lao Zhu, he can!
Can suppress the most arrogant general Xungui.

Even if he didn't ask for an order, even if he didn't have Lao Zhu as his backstage, he could do it.

Li Jinglong said he would be beheaded, who else can't be beheaded?

Who else can't suppress it?

Because of this, Lao Zhu felt very happy.

It was a pleasant surprise.

The child has grown up.

The Ming Dynasty can be left to him with confidence.

There is nothing more gratifying for Lao Zhu than this.

As for Li Jinglong.

If his death can be exchanged for no one in the court to dare to disrespect Zhu Yunxi from now on, then his head, not to mention beheading one, beheading ten is too worthwhile.

"You brat, you know how to leave right away. We don't have to worry about protecting you. As long as you win a big victory and return triumphant, who dares to say that you will be punished? Hahaha..."

Old Zhu smiled complacently.

And the officials below were all overjoyed.

His Majesty said that he would pursue it, so Zhu Yunxi must be doomed this time!

(End of this chapter)