Daming: I am the Crown Prince

Chapter 155

Daoyan did not expect that the Crown Prince had such great ambitions. He did not look like a crown prince at all, but more like a founding monarch with great ambitions.

The territory of the Ming Dynasty was already large enough, and it had already achieved great unification. Under such circumstances, most of the crown princes who could govern the country well were considered wise rulers and would definitely leave a good reputation in history books.

But this Crown Prince is obviously not like that. He is still determined to make progress and wants to go further based on his already strong foundation.

But if you think about it, it seems normal. Some of the actions of this crown prince are actually not a disguise of his ambitions at all.

Yu Xin came again and said to Zhu Yunhuan, "Your Highness, we have drafted the rules for the collection of autumn taxes, and the proportion of the treasure notes to be used to pay the taxes has now been preliminarily determined."

Zhu Yunhuan looked at it carefully and said, "Nine to one, isn't that a bit low?"

Yu Xin quickly explained, "Your Highness, the court is short of food. It's not a big deal if we collect 10% less food, but if we collect more, it won't be a good thing."

Xia Yuanji also said, "Your Highness, we have carefully calculated that the current court's use of treasure notes to pay taxes can slightly prevent the trend of treasure notes being devalued. If some damaged old notes are collected this year, the court can also destroy some."

Zhu Yunhuan nodded and said, "Okay, then we'll convert it according to this ratio. Remember, when you issue a decree, you must not calculate it based on the converted treasure notes, otherwise a good policy will turn into a harsh one."

Although this might cause the imperial court to suffer a slight loss, if we consider the current depreciation rate of the treasure notes, if we really calculate it based on the depreciation rate, the people would suffer a huge loss.

Even though this number is not small for the imperial court, it is still affordable for the common people and small families.

On the other hand, if it is really calculated based on the depreciation rate, it will not play a role in preventing the further depreciation of Baochao.

Yu Xin, Xia Yuanji and others naturally understood this truth, and they did not dare to be careless about this matter. This can be said to be one of the most important things for the Crown Prince to preside over the government. Anyone who makes a small move in this matter is going against the imperial power.

Zhang Fusheng probably received some news, and whispered, "Your Highness, His Majesty has ordered the elephant farm to collect manure."

Zhu Yunhuan took a look and said, "Send someone to tell them to separate cow and sheep manure, horse manure, pig manure, or elephant manure. Which manure has greater fertility? This should be clearly calculated and not mixed up."

Zhu, who was addicted to farming, was really serious about it. The horse manure in the Imperial Stables was not enough, so he set his sights on the elephant farm outside Yingtian Prefecture. The elephants that were tributed were good at excreting manure, so they were naturally treasured.

However, there are some differences between various types of manure, so these naturally need to be recorded clearly.

He was so busy that he kept a close eye on the autumn harvest and banknotes, watched the court start to send troops, and naturally he also needed to preside over the affairs of state. It cannot be said that Zhu Yunhuan was extremely busy, but it was certainly not easy either.

The autumn harvest was approaching, and Zhu Yunhuan felt unhappy when he looked at the rice ears.

In his opinion, the number of ears of corn was too small, but Lao Zhu felt very satisfied and happy, as it was considered a good harvest.

"Yunhuan, this manure is really useful." Old Zhu was very happy and said, "This winter we will build some fertilizer piles outside the city, and in the spring we will build a few hundred acres of land."

Zhu Yunhuan smiled and said, "In theory, it should be enough. The manure in the stable can produce more fertilizer, and the compost can add a little more. I thought that ordinary people can't get so much fertilizer. Even if it can produce an extra 10 or 20 kilograms per acre, it can be used for a few more meals."

Old Zhu smiled and nodded, "That's right. If you have food in your hands, you won't be worried. You said it well before, crops are like flowers, and they all depend on fertilizers. Without fertilizers, the growth of crops will be worse."

Zhu Yunhuan looked at Old Zhu and asked, "Are you not celebrating Christmas this year?"

Old Zhu shook his head and said, "I don't think much about it. Just cook me a bowl of noodles when the time comes. Celebrating a birthday requires getting up early, having all the officials kowtow, and having a banquet. I find it troublesome."

Zhu Yunhuan said, "Then let all the officials show their appreciation, and we can just have a simple family gathering. When the time comes, let the eldest and second aunts come to cook the noodles. You definitely can't count on me, I can't do it."

Old Zhu glanced at Zhu Yunhuan and said with more disdain, "Your two aunts are not much better. What about your birthday?"

"You are still in mourning, so don't celebrate it for now." Zhu Yunhuan said directly, "Wait until next year to celebrate it, and then you can get married."

Old Zhu hesitated to speak, then sighed.

Old Zhu used to celebrate his birthday, but he felt that it was meaningless in the past two years, and it was enough for his grandson to celebrate his birthday. However, his precious grandson was somewhat resistant when it came to his birthday, and he would postpone it if possible, and would not celebrate it if he could. His filial piety was heartbreaking.

Zhu Yunhuan smiled and said, "I've thought about it. I'll celebrate my birthday next year and then get married. I'm the crown prince, so I don't need to be crowned. Later on, just celebrate an integer. Anyway, there are big court ceremonies like Zhengdan, so I can save myself the trouble." Old Zhu said insincerely, "That's good. It can save you some trouble and you can be more relaxed. In the future, when you have your birthday, just let all the officials kowtow to you. It's fine to have your family celebrate your birthday. Outsiders don't take it seriously after all."

Zhu Yunxun smiled and said, "Shang Bing will be returning to the capital in two days, so I called back Ji Hui, Gao Chi and others. I originally wanted to call back Yun Wen as well, but I was afraid he would not be happy, so I did not let him come back."

Old Zhu complained, "Yun Wen doesn't dare to come back! If he comes back, you will make him offend people. Will he dare to come back?"

"It's not all about offending people. Who among the scholars now doesn't praise the wise king of Wulin?" Zhu Yunhuan said with a thick skin, "If everyone didn't know that Yunwen and I had a quarrel, maybe some scholars would go to him for help."

Old Zhu looked at Zhu Yunhuan suspiciously, "What do you want to do to him?"

"It's not him that's being tormented, it's some merchants in Zhejiang that are being tormented." Zhu Yunhuan said with a smile, "I just feel that Yunwen has been put under too much pressure, so he doesn't contact merchants, and merchants don't contact Yunwen. Isn't this because of the commercial tax? It just so happens that Wu Dinghou has suppressed some Japanese pirates, and is preparing to increase the commercial tax on merchants."

Old Zhu became serious, "Raising business taxes? Aren't you afraid of being scolded?"

Zhu Yuanzhang established a relatively strict policy of emphasizing agriculture and suppressing commerce. The agricultural tax was about one-thirteenth of the tax rate. Although there were also some miscellaneous items, overall the burden on farmers was not particularly heavy.

Zhu Yuanzhang initially set a commercial tax rate of 1% of the tax rate, without even clearly defining its content. In the actual collection process, it often varies from time to time and from place to place, and there are gains and losses. However, in general, the scope of collection is very wide, and almost everything is taxed.

At present, the commercial taxes in the Ming Dynasty are mainly divided into two major aspects: transit tax and residence tax. Even though there are various miscellaneous items below, they are still relatively low overall.

Zhu Yunhuan said, "You can scold me if you want. Nowadays, many big merchants are getting rich, and the commercial taxes of the court are reduced. Another thing is that now it seems that some people don't pay the taxes that should be paid. Many commercial taxes are paid by small business vendors. This is not acceptable."

Old Zhu became serious and asked, "Is that really the case?"

"Those who engage in maritime trade and smuggling are all very rich, and the commercial taxes they pay are pitifully small." Zhu Yunhuan said, "Otherwise, why would I let Wu Dinghou implicate some merchants in Zhejiang? Isn't it just to give them a hard beating? If I don't hurt those people, they won't behave themselves."

Old Zhu became serious and said to Zhu Yunhuan, "Don't rush this matter. Let your subordinates investigate it first. After we finish the autumn work, we will look into this matter again."

Zhu Yuanzhang realized the seriousness of the Baochao incident, so he let Zhu Yunhuan take charge of it. He only needed to pay attention to the direction of the matter.

But when it comes to taxation, whether it is agricultural tax or commercial tax, it is an extremely important matter. Even though Zhu Yunhuan is now in charge of government affairs, even though Old Zhu is busy farming, he still dare not be careless. He must confirm this matter before doing it.

Zhu Yunhuan naturally had no objection and said, "I think so too. I rarely deal with these matters, so I feel uneasy. I also think that matters such as commercial taxes should be set by my grandfather, so I can't change them easily, right?"

Old Zhu glanced at Zhu Yunhuan and scolded him with a smile, "I said you are the most cunning, and it is true! We will do the things that offend people, and you will be the good guy!"

Zhu Yunhuan did not refute. Not only did he want to be a good guy, but there were also some rules that could be changed by Zhu so there would be less resistance.

In these matters, the grandfather and grandson still have some tacit understanding. No matter who is the good guy and who is the bad guy, there is no need to distinguish them so clearly. If necessary, they can both be good guys and bad guys.

As long as it is beneficial to the Ming Dynasty, then this matter is naturally worthwhile.

Old Zhu asked casually, "How is Fu Youde doing now?"

"He is a smart man. He knows that there are too many people in the Chang family. Now some nobles want to get close to them, so he helps to clean them up." Zhu Yunhuan said with a smile, "Chang Sheng and Lan Yu came to me to complain a few days ago, but I blocked them back."

Old Zhu smiled and said, "Fu Youde is a smart man, but some people are not smart enough."

Of course not, otherwise in history, as soon as Zhu Yuanzhang expressed his intention, Fu Youde would have committed suicide out of sheer determination.

"It's because I'm close to the Chang family, so I always want to be richer. This is human nature." Zhu Yunhuan said, "The Chang family doesn't have a big problem. It looks like a flourishing family. But in the future, they will probably just be rich and idle."

Old Zhu looked at Zhu Yunhuan and said jokingly, "You are really suitable to be the emperor. Even your uncle's family is very calculating!"

"How can this be a calculation? This is to ensure the prosperity of the Chang family for generations!" Zhu Yunhuan said disapprovingly, "If the Chang family produces another Lan Yu, I will be restless! It's so good now. My second uncle doesn't have much ability. No matter how much military power and prestige he has, I still have it in my hands!"

Old Zhu smiled and nodded. That kid Chang Sheng was indeed Zhu Yunhuan's puppet!
(End of this chapter)