King Luhuang of the Ming Dynasty: My father, Ming Taizu

After hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help but clapped his hands and laughed, praising:

"Great! What a good way to return the fire consumption to the public! Old Ten, Old Ten, you are really my lucky star! This method is brilliant, really brilliant! Hahahaha!"

His laughter was loud and resounding, echoing in the imperial study for a long time.

"Old Ten, I'll leave this matter to you! Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, you must fully cooperate!"

Zhu Yuanzhang was in a good mood and made the decision immediately.

"Your son obeys your command!" Zhu Tan bowed and accepted the order, but sneered in his heart.

Do these old foxes really think he is a three-year-old kid who can be easily fooled?
He had long anticipated that the public ownership of the fire had affected too many people's interests, so how could those corrupt officials let it go?

Sure enough, after the court was dismissed, the assistant minister of the Ministry of Revenue invited Zhu Tan to the Ministry of Revenue on the pretext of discussing the details.

"Your Highness, this fire consumption will be returned to the public, it's a big project!"

The Minister of the Ministry of Revenue had a forced smile on his face, his triangular eyes rolling around.

"Yes, this matter is of great importance. I hope you will take more care of it."

Zhu Tan remained calm, picked up the teacup and took a sip.

"Your Highness, you don't know that this fire consumption incident has a long history and involves a lot of people. If you want to change it overnight, I'm afraid..."

The Minister of Revenue deliberately drew out his voice, looking embarrassed.

"Oh? I wonder what difficulties you have. You may just tell me directly." Zhu Tan put down the teacup and looked at him with a smile.

Seeing him like this, the Minister of Revenue secretly cursed him as a "little fox" in his heart, but his face remained calm and he continued:
"Your Highness, although the fire consumption is levied privately by local governments, in fact, the funds allocated by the court to the local governments every year are not enough to maintain operations. This fire consumption can be regarded as making up for the shortage of the court!"

"My lord, this is wrong."

Zhu Tan sneered, "The funds allocated by the court to the local governments are all fixed. If it is not enough, the local government should report to the court and request an increase in funding, instead of levying additional funds privately and pocketing the money!"

"This……"

The Minister of Revenue was speechless after being rebuked by Zhu Tan, and had to change the subject:
"Your Highness, even if what you said makes sense, this fire consumption will be returned to the public. We need to re-establish the tax system and calculate the tax amount. This is a huge project. It will take three to five years to complete!"

"Sir, are you stalling for time on purpose?"

Zhu Tan looked at him with a sharp gaze, "Could it be that you are reluctant to give up the money brought by this fire consumption?"

"Your Highness, be careful with your words! I am loyal to the court, as the sun and the moon can attest! How could I covet such a small profit!"

The Minister of the Ministry of Revenue was so angry when his thoughts were exposed by Zhu Tan that he slammed the table and stood up.

"In that case, please draw up a plan as soon as possible and submit it to me for review."

Zhu Tan was not afraid at all and looked at him coldly.

"Humph!"

The Minister of the Ministry of Revenue walked away in a huff, but he was secretly thinking in his heart that he must contact other officials to teach this kid a lesson!

In the next few days, the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue secretly colluded and contacted a group of officials who opposed the public ownership of fire consumption, preparing to jointly write a letter to prevent the implementation of the new law.

However, what they didn't know was that all of this was within Zhu Tan's expectations.

He had already sent people to investigate secretly and had evidence of the crimes of these opponents, just waiting for them to show their true colors.

On this day, during the morning court session, the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, along with a group of officials, came to the Golden Palace in a mighty procession, preparing to submit a joint petition.

"Your Majesty, we have something to report!"

The Minister of the Ministry of Revenue was the first to step forward and spoke righteously.

"What's the matter?" Zhu Yuanzhang asked calmly while sitting on the dragon throne.

"Your Majesty, this fire consumption should be returned to the public. This is a serious matter. After careful consideration, we all agree that this method is not feasible!" The Minister of the Ministry of Revenue said, and then he took out a memorial from his sleeve and held it high. "We jointly write a letter to implore the emperor to revoke his order!"

Zhu Yuanzhang took the memorial but did not open it. Instead, he looked at him with a half-smile:
"Oh? It was Old Ten who proposed that the fire consumption should be returned to the public. Why are you against it?"

"Your Majesty, this fire consumption is returned to the public, which seems to be beneficial to the people, but in fact it does more harm than good!"

The Minister of Revenue spoke eloquently:

"First, if the fire consumption is managed uniformly by the imperial court, it will inevitably increase the financial burden of the imperial court. Secondly, once the fire consumption is abolished, the income of local governments will decrease, which will inevitably affect the normal operation of the local areas. Finally, if the fire consumption is returned to the public, it will breed corruption, and those officials in charge of managing the fire consumption will be more likely to enrich themselves!"

"Yeah yeah!"

Other officials also echoed this, and for a time, voices of opposition arose one after another in the Golden Palace.

Zhu Yuanzhang remained calm, just listened quietly, with a cold light flashing in his eyes.

"Are you done?" After they finished speaking, Zhu Tan suddenly spoke with a cold tone.

"You..." The Minister of Revenue was startled by Zhu Tan's sudden question and was speechless for a moment.

"Now that we have finished speaking, it is my turn to say a few words."

Zhu Tan sneered and took out a stack of papers from his sleeve:
"Someone, come and distribute these things to the adults!"

The eunuch took the paper and distributed it quickly.

When the officials took it and looked at it, their faces changed drastically.

The paper was filled with densely packed evidence of their crimes, each one was solid and shocking!
"This this……"

The Minister of the Ministry of Revenue suddenly panicked, his face turned pale, and beads of sweat rolled down his forehead.

"Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, do you have anything else to say?"

Zhu Tan pressed on step by step, his tone sharp.

"me……"

The Minister of Revenue was speechless and couldn't speak for a long time.

Zhu Tan suddenly threw the papers in his hand to the ground, and the papers scattered and fell on the hall like snowflakes.

"My Lords, is the record here detailed? Would you like me to read it to you one by one?"

Zhu Tan had a sneer on his lips and his eyes swept over the pale-faced officials like a hawk.

The Minister of Revenue's legs and feet were weak, his lips were trembling, but he couldn't utter a word.

He never imagined that his actions, which he thought were secret, were actually discovered clearly by the Tenth Prince!
"Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, you keep saying that the fire consumption tax will increase the burden on the court, but where did the hundreds of acres of fertile land and dozens of shops in your house come from? Could it be that you bought them with your meager salary?"

Zhu Tan pressed forward step by step, and his voice exploded in the hall like thunder.

"And you!"

Zhu Tan pointed at an official with a pale face and said, "You said that the fire consumption should be returned to the guild, which would affect the operation of the local government. But you have been deducting military pay every year, causing the soldiers at the border to be poorly clothed and hungry. How can you still stand here with dignity?!"

"And you!"

Zhu Tan's eyes were like knives, sweeping across the trembling officials:

"Which of you doesn't talk about morality and justice, but secretly commits thieves and prostitutes, and takes bribes and perverts the law! Do you deserve to be in this official uniform?!"

Zhu Tan's series of questions were like a heavy hammer, hitting these officials' hearts hard and leaving them nowhere to hide.

Zhu Yuanzhang, who had been silent all this time, finally exploded at this moment. He slammed the dragon throne and roared:
"What a bunch of hypocritical dogs! Do you still have the law in your eyes? Do you still have the people?" "Come here! Take down all these corrupt officials!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a group of Jinyiwei, as ferocious as wolves and tigers, rushed in from outside the hall and captured the officials who had collapsed on the ground one by one.

"Father, calm down."

Zhu Tan took a step forward and bowed, saying:
"I think this matter needs to be thoroughly investigated. Anyone involved in corruption and bribery will be severely punished!"

"Okay! Let's do as you say!" Zhu Yuanzhang was still angry, but there was a hint of appreciation in his tone.

This morning court session ended with a sudden arrest operation.

Those officials who originally had complaints about the public ownership of the fire consumption revenue were now silent and dared not say another word.

The news of the implementation of the new law spread quickly throughout Yingtian Prefecture as if it had wings.

The arrest operation in Yingtian Prefecture was like a sudden storm that swept across the entire Ming Dynasty.

For a time, all those gentry and powerful people who usually appeared to be righteous and upright became frightened birds, and everyone felt in danger.

"This fire consumption is returned to the public, it is simply going to kill us!"

"Yes, the imperial court is forcing us to death!"

"We have to think of a way. We can't just sit there and wait for death!"

The gentry from all over the country gathered together, each of them filled with righteous indignation, as if they had suffered a great injustice.

They gathered in the exquisite gardens, enjoying fine wine and delicious food while cursing the "tyranny" of the court.

"Humph, what's the point of returning the fire consumption to the public? To put it bluntly, they just want to take all our money!"

A fat, big-eared gentleman, with a greasy mouth, threw the wine glass in his hand to the ground viciously, "These officials are all hungry wolves who eat people without leaving any bones!"

"That's right. Is it easy for us to earn a little money through hard work? Why should we hand it over to the court?"

Another skinny gentleman echoed in a shrill voice, "I think we should collect the money, but we can't let the court get away with it!"

"Right! We can't let them get away with it!"

Everyone responded as if they had found a backbone, and a greedy look appeared on their faces.

They discussed various countermeasures and prepared to join forces to resist the new policy, and even resorted to various means to threaten the officials who implemented the new policy.

A week later, Yingtian Prefecture, Prince Lu’s Palace.

"Your Highness, this new policy of returning the fire consumption to the public is really difficult to implement!"

The Minister of Personnel Zhang Chengche stood in front of Zhu Tan with a sad face and sighed:
"Officials in various places pretend to obey but secretly disobey, the gentry and powerful people obstruct in every possible way, and the common people only have a vague understanding of it. I'm afraid this new law... will be difficult to implement smoothly!"

Zhu Tan sat on the armchair, holding a book in his hand, and asked without raising his head:

"Oh? How do you pretend to obey but actually break the law? Tell me about it."

Zhang Chengche wiped the sweat from his forehead and said carefully:

"Those local officials, on the surface, agreed to the new policies, but secretly colluded with the local gentry and tyrants, secretly withheld taxes, and even made up all kinds of excuses to deceive their superiors and subordinates and obstruct the implementation of the new policies."

Zhu Tan put down the book in his hand and sneered:
"It seems that these people are tired of living. It's time to give them some rest!"

Zhang Chengche's heart trembled. This decisive and murderous Prince Lu was no good. If he angered him, the consequences would be disastrous.

"Your Highness, what do you think we should do next?"

Zhang Chengche asked cautiously.

"Master Zhang, tell me, where are the nails the hardest?"

Zhu Tan put down the teacup and looked at Zhang Chengche sharply.

Zhang Chengche pondered for a moment and said:

"Your Highness, in the vicinity of Yingtian Prefecture, Shangyuan County is the most stubborn. The county magistrate there, Wang Lun, is in collusion with the local gentry and powerful people, bullying the common people and oppressing the good. He has committed numerous crimes!"

"Okay! Then let's start with Shangyuan County!"

Zhu Tan slammed the table and stood up, "I want to see, whose bones are harder, or whose sword is faster!"

After saying that, Zhu Tan took Zhang Chengche and headed straight to Shangyuan County.

……

At this moment, Shangyuan County Government Office was a scene of prosperity and joy.

The county magistrate, Wang Lun, was drinking and having fun in the back garden with two young women in his arms.

"My Lord, you are in such a good mood!"

A sharp-nosed and monkey-faced advisor walked up to Wang Lun with a flattering face and said, "Look at this new policy of returning the fire consumption to the public..."

Wang Lun sneered disdainfully:
"What are you afraid of? Can those people in the imperial court control us? As long as we give them some sweet treats, those peasants will be at our mercy!"

"Your Excellency is wise!" The master immediately flattered, "But... those who are on duty, will they..."

Wang Lun interrupted him and said impatiently:
"Don't worry, I've already taken care of it. They won't dare to say anything."

"That's good, that's good!"

The master nodded repeatedly, but muttered to himself:
Lord Wang is so bold, isn’t he afraid of getting into trouble?

At this moment, a yamen runner rushed in in a panic, fell to his knees, and shouted in fear:
“Sir, something bad has happened! His Royal Highness Prince Lu… His Royal Highness Prince Lu… He’s coming!”

"what?!"

Wang Lun was so scared that the wine glass dropped to the ground and his face turned pale instantly.

He suppressed the fear in his heart, forced out a smile, and said to the bailiff:

"Why are you panicking? Prince Lu must be here for something important. I will go and greet him right away."

After saying that, he quickly straightened his clothes and wiped the sweat off his face with a handkerchief. Then he took a deep breath and walked out with heavy steps.

"Master, go quickly!"

Wang Lun passed by the master and ordered in a low voice, "Go and invite those gentlemen, and tell them... tell them that there is something important to discuss, and ask them to come quickly!"

The lawyer was also a smart man. He understood immediately and retreated with a nod and a bow.

"No need for that," a cold voice suddenly sounded at the entrance of the hall, "Since I am here, let's talk it out clearly so that we don't have to make another trip."

Wang Lun turned his head with difficulty and saw a young man in a python robe standing at the door.

It was Zhu Tan.

Wang Lun's legs went limp and he almost collapsed to the ground. He held himself up and forced out a smile that was uglier than crying:
"Your humble servant... Your humble servant did not know that Your Highness was coming. I am sorry for not coming to greet you. I hope Your Highness will forgive me!"

Zhu Tan ignored his hypocritical courtesy and walked straight to the center of the hall.

His eyes swept over the people present. The singing girls and dancing girls were trembling with fear and hid in the corners, not daring to make a sound. (End of this chapter)