Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

"Sir, do you know why I am holding a ceremony on the platform?"

Han Yu listened to the emperor's question and shook his head to indicate that he didn't know.

Zhu Youjian said earnestly:

"What I meant by announcing this on the platform is that I have built a platform for you and I will leave it to you to perform."

"I will leave the empire for the next three years to you, my dear minister!"

Half warning, half instruction, he said:
"Your Majesty will have all the powers that a Prime Minister should have."

"But you, my dear, must also shoulder the corresponding responsibilities."

"From now on, when an imperial edict is issued, in addition to my seal, the Prime Minister or relevant cabinet members must also sign their names."

“When you confirm responsibility in the future, don’t shirk responsibility.”

This is to transform the current cabinet, which is more like a secretary, into a responsible cabinet.

After initially taking back power, Zhu Youjian delegated power to the cabinet again and let the cabinet ministers take the lead to help him shoulder responsibilities.

Of course, this responsible cabinet had very little power and could not issue any orders without the emperor's nod.

But Han Yu was still very excited, because the emperor had clarified the cabinet's authority to co-sign.

Although imperial edicts without the approval of the cabinet did not have much effect before, the current emperor even exchanged his promise not to use imperial edicts for the implementation of martial law.

But there is still a possibility that the emperor will change his mind and put the cabinet aside.

Now that the emperor had made a clear statement, he put his worries aside and said tentatively:
"Should we issue an imperial decree to let all the people know about this matter?"

Since Zhu Youjian wanted the cabinet to take the lead and bear the responsibility, he would of course announce it to the world. He nodded and said:
"Publish the enthronement edict together with the appointment document so that all the subjects in the world will know about it."

"When we formulate etiquette and laws in the future, we will also include this in our writing."

"I have given you the power of the Prime Minister, but you must also shoulder the responsibility."

“The unification of power and responsibility is a requirement for all government offices and officials.”

"You should work with the Ministry of Personnel to gradually formulate the rules for each government office."

This was a decision Zhu Youjian made after careful consideration based on the state institutions chapter of the Constitution.

There will be these regulations in future etiquette and laws.

When Han Yu heard that the emperor wanted to write this into the etiquette, he was extremely excited and deeply realized that the current emperor was a wise ruler.

How could a monarch who is not wise and enlightened voluntarily give up power?

Even if I have to take responsibility in the future, I have to accept it for the sake of power.

He said solemnly:

"Shun said: If I am guilty, I will not blame the others; if the others are guilty, the fault lies with me."

"Your Majesty has entrusted me with the power of the world, so how can I not take responsibility?"

"Your Majesty, if you sit back and do nothing, the world will be at peace!"

When Zhu Youjian heard Han Yu asking him to take over, his face almost changed, but he still smiled and said:
"Han Qing is right. If the world is peaceful, what does it matter if I rule the country without any hesitation?"

"You all know that I love music, beautiful women, and tools just as the last emperor loved carpentry."

"If the world was not in turmoil, why would I want to seize power and worry about the world?"

"Even now, I am still worried about the war in Liaodong. I hope the soldiers can win, but I am also worried about how to reward them after the victory."

"Does Han Qing know how to solve this problem?"

The two biggest problems facing the court at the moment were the Jianlu Rebellion and financial difficulties. When Han Yu heard the emperor throw these two problems at him at once, his expression almost twisted.

Because he had no way to solve these two major problems in a short time!
Han Yu instinctively wanted to brush it off, but he thought of the unity of power and responsibility that the emperor had just mentioned. If he was unwilling to take responsibility, how could he fight for more power from the emperor?
So he thought about it seriously and responded carefully to the emperor:
"The land vouchers that Your Majesty issued earlier are enough to reward the soldiers."

"If you want to give out silver rewards, I think you can let them sell their land certificates in exchange for silver."

"My hometown, Shanxi, is known for its mountains and rivers. Many wealthy people in the countryside want to cultivate the land."

"If the land vouchers can be sold, someone will definitely buy them."

This proposal surprised Zhu Youjian. He did not expect that Han Yu already had this insight.

However, the distribution of Liaodong land was not only to reward merit, but also to train a group of loyal hereditary soldiers for the Ming royal family.

So he rejected Han Yu's proposal and said:
"The land vouchers have not been redeemed yet. Even if they are allowed to circulate now, they can't be sold at a high price."

"What's more, it is linked to the title and official position, and cannot be sold at will."

"However, what Han Qing said about selling securities is a solution. It can allow the Gold Reserve Association to set up a stock exchange in the form of a metal exchange."

"Put salt vouchers and stocks on the exchange for circulation, and the court collects stamp taxes."

“Will the businessmen in Shanxi support this policy?”

Of course Han Yu would say he supports it! And he has a deep understanding of Shanxi businessmen.

His father-in-law, Zhang Siwei, was deeply involved with Shanxi merchants. Even the Puzhou Zhang family was a big merchant family itself, and they were related to the Wang Chonggu family and the Ma Ziqiang family.

After Altan Khan paid tribute, Shanxi merchants had already developed by relying on official relations. Now they must support them if they are to contribute.

Otherwise, Han Yu would let them see that his power as the Prime Minister was far greater than that of the so-called "county magistrate who destroys families and prefectural governor who exterminates clans."

So although he didn't think how much money could be collected from stamp tax, he still responded to the emperor:

"If we sell salt permits on the stock exchange, we will definitely be able to collect the full amount of salt tax."

"If Your Majesty sells trade quotas on securities exchanges, more merchants will support it."

"Many Shanxi merchants are now restricted by trade quotas. I think we should give them opportunities."

Zhu Youjian nodded with a smile, agreeing to the proposal.

In fact, he had no choice but to nod, because under the background of the inner court's large-scale entry into Zhangjiakou trade, the interests of Shanxi merchants were squeezed, and they had been increasingly uniting to engage in smuggling trade.

Many officers and soldiers in the Xuanda area were corrupted by them. Wang Chengen and Wang Chaoyong had repeatedly requested that the crackdown on smugglers be stepped up.

However, the imperial court was organizing the grassland coalition to fight against the Jianlu, so it was impossible to purge the merchants who traded with the grassland at this time. Moreover, Zhu Youjian was very worried that he could not stop smuggling at all, which would only make smuggling more covert.

So he decided to give Shanxi merchants a chance and win over a group of people to continue to participate in official trade. The requirement was to pay taxes according to the law, otherwise their trade qualifications would be revoked and they would be fined.

New industrial and commercial tax policies must also be determined under the name of re-establishing rituals and music, making it clear that paying taxes according to the law is the responsibility of every citizen, and those who do not pay taxes according to the law are naturally not citizens.

If any merchants do not comply, then do not blame the court for punishing them without teaching them, by confiscating their property and convicting them.

It can be said that Zhu Youjian's agreement to Han Yu's request was actually full of malice.

He was just worried that Shanxi merchants would rise up in rebellion, so he gave some people a chance first, so that he could confiscate the property of those who resisted and raise military funds for the court.

After the investigation and confiscation of the eunuch party, Zhu Youjian turned his attention to Shanxi merchants, hoping to gain some money to help the court through the difficult period.

The task now is to win over Han Yu's support and bring the truly powerful merchants among Shanxi merchants to the court's side.

Zhu Youjian didn't know whether Han Yu had figured out this intention, but after leaving Xiyuan, Han Yu immediately wrote a letter to his father-in-law's family, asking the Zhang family to support the court's policy and to persuade relatives and friends to support it.

Otherwise, as the Prime Minister, he is not someone who can be easily messed with, and he will let those people know how powerful he is.

Under the new policy formulated by the emperor, Shanxi's shopping malls are about to start a major reshuffle and re-establish order. (End of this chapter)