Chapter 364 Times have changed

Yan Song knew that this was the best time for him to express his loyalty to the emperor Zhu Zailei. Once the emperor thought that he was just Xia Yan's follower, he was afraid that he would never have the chance to become the chief minister of the cabinet.

Therefore, Yan Song stood up and said: "Your Majesty, I think that no matter whether it is a colony or a vassal state, they are all ministers of our Ming Dynasty! In the whole world, everyone is the king's land; on the shore of the land, is it the king's ministers! The imperial court only Taking half of the tax is already a great favor, how can we still allow it to keep the tax for itself;

Since the time when the Supreme Emperor was in power, all the revenue from offshore colonies has gone into the national treasury. As for other distant vassal states, it was only because they were too far away and the taxes were not enough to support the court that they were allowed to stay temporarily and independently;

Nowadays, trade in various places is developing very fast, and it is no longer as difficult as in previous years. It is certainly time to collect money and grain into the national treasury. Therefore, I support Xu Gong's proposal. ”

Zhu Zailei smiled secretly. Yan Song did not support Xia Yan, which made him feel relieved.

Because this made Zhu Zailei realize that the alliance between Xia Yan and Yan Song did not seem to be that strong, and the cabinet did not really say that it would only follow Xia Yan's orders. This would undoubtedly ensure that his imperial power was well protected.

Xia Yan's eyes were like sharp arrows aimed straight at Yan Song, but Yan Song lowered his head and did not look at Xia Yan, because he knew that Xia Yan must be very angry now, angry that he had betrayed him.

Seeing that Xia Yan was so angry, Zhu Zailei felt a little happy and couldn't help but feel better: "Since more people agree with Xu Qing's proposal, the proposal will be passed and will be modified according to Yan Aiqing's suggestion. All customs duties will still be paid into the national treasury, and then the imperial court will allocate funds, and each vassal country will have to pay half of the tax and deport it to Beijing! The governors of the coastal provinces and the local tax department will strictly supervise the deportation of customs duties to Beijing! "

"I obey the order," Yan Song, Xu Jie and others all responded.

And Zhu Zailei also announced his resignation from the court. Zhu Houzhao exempted the world from land tax, so now he has to think of ways to increase tax revenue. Perhaps Zhu Houzhao himself did not expect that he, the eldest son of the emperor, would be eager to pay tribute to his younger brother as soon as he came to power. The nephew and other relatives and nobles demanded money.

Xia Yan stopped Yan Song: "Old Yan Ge, please stay!"

Yan Song hurriedly raised his hands and said, "I wonder if Yuan Fu has any advice?"

"Mr. Yan Ge is indeed a good boatman. His ability to steer according to the wind is truly unparalleled! It's really shameless for Xia!"

Xia Yan said and walked away.

Yan Song knew that his behavior at that time would definitely offend the chief minister of the cabinet, but he was even more unwilling to offend the emperor Zhu Zailei, so he would rather offend Xia Yan first. But now that Xia Yan is angry, he can only accuse him again and again and apologize humbly. Apologized:

"Yuan Fu, please don't misunderstand me. If I have any intention of not caring about Yuan Fu, I will be struck by these five thunders! I did this in the political affairs office for Yuan Fu!

Yuan Fu, please think about it. Your Majesty is now determined to strengthen control over the colonies and vassals. If I continue to support you and displease the emperor, what will your Majesty think? Will you think that you want to be a powerful minister and regent? The world? ! ”

Xia Yan couldn't help but stand firm when he heard what Yan Song said. He didn't want to be said to be a powerful minister, nor did he want to become a powerful minister himself. He also didn't want his original intention of supporting the emperor's eldest son Zhu Zailei to become the prince to change, so Yan Song He couldn't refute this explanation at this time, but he was indeed disgusted with Yan Song's behavior just now, which made him feel betrayed.

For a moment, Xia Yan couldn't express his anger, so he could only wave his sleeves: "Thank you for your kindness, Xia! There is no need to say anything, Mr. Ge. They are all worried about the world. How dare Xia Yan have any resentment!"

After Xia Yan said this, he handed over to Yan Song and left.

Yan Song couldn't help but sigh when he saw this, and ran forward in a hurry, with a smile on his face, and kept explaining his intentions.

Seeing this, Xia Yan looked down on Yan Song even more, thinking that Yan Song might just be attracted by instinct, and couldn't help but sneer for a while.

Yan Song could not help but breathe a sigh of relief when he saw that Xia Yan's expression softened a little and he was less vigilant and resentful towards himself, because he knew that although Xia Yan was the chief minister of the cabinet and seemed to be a minister of the current emperor, he was under the Supreme Emperor's control. The weight in his heart was still very heavy, which also forced Yan Song to continue to please Xia Yan while starting to transfer his camp to the new emperor's account.

……

Zhu Houzhao has now learned that there are civil servants in the court who are impeaching him for interfering in government affairs.

At this time, Zhu Houzhao couldn't help but laugh: "These guys really don't know how high the sky is. They think that I have abdicated. Do they really think that I am a tiger without teeth and can't bite them?"

In fact, Zhu Houzhao has always been careful not to interfere in government affairs. After all, he himself does not want to worry about government affairs.

But now he holds military power and has a voice in the military. The involvement of Japanese pirates and high officials in the DPRK in communicating with Japanese is naturally considered a military matter, and Zhu Houzhao can certainly take care of it.

Moreover, Zhu Houzhao did not directly ask the emperor and the court what to do through his edict. He allowed the court to make its own decision by providing suggestions to Zhu Wan.

Therefore, strictly speaking, Zhu Houzhao did not interfere in government affairs.

Because of this, Zhu Houzhao had a clear conscience. He was not polite to the civil servants who were involved in impeaching himself as the Supreme Emperor. He directly ordered the Jin Yiwei to investigate these civil servants. All matters related to corruption were directly reported to the Metropolitan Procuratorate and the police in charge of the Huangming Newspaper. Rui, those involved in Japanese communication were directly handed over to Beizhen Fusi for arrest.

Because of this, before long, the courtiers only dared to criticize Zhu Wan, but did not dare to criticize the Supreme Emperor Zhu Houzhao.

Zhu Houzhao has been getting along with Zhu Wan these days. He can see that the civil servants in Fujian and Zhejiang have put a lot of pressure on Zhu Wan in the court, so that Zhu Wan's brows are always furrowed.

Seeing this, Zhu Houzhao had no choice but to persuade him: "Zhu Fuyuan, don't worry. Everyone in the world understands the right and wrong here. Those who oppose you are not necessarily true gentlemen. What you are fighting is smuggling and killing Japanese pirates." , it is not that the people of Fujian and Zhejiang are prohibited from doing business and making profits, I see all this. ”

"I thank the Emperor for your relief! At this time, I can only be loyal to the Ming Dynasty! But it is precisely because of this that I realized that the forces behind these Japanese pirates are really not simple. I am convinced that these coastal gentry will continue to make trouble, and even rise more There are huge storms and waves, and it is really difficult to prevent these Japanese pirates from plundering our territory in the Ming Dynasty.”

Zhu Wan couldn't help but say.

Zhu Houzhao nodded. He was also thinking about this. Now when he saw Zhu Wan mention it, he said:

"I have also thought of this. I have ordered the Fifth Army of the Guards, which is aimed at Wuchang, to come to Nanjing. This is an army that pays attention to the individual combat level and comprehensive combat capabilities of its soldiers, and is equipped with the best and most comprehensive weapons. , is one of the most powerful mobile troops that I have prepared for a long time. I named it the Ming Dynasty Special Forces, and my general Qi Jiguang is the commander-in-chief of this army;

Now, I have given him full responsibility for the coastal defense of the entire southern Zhili, Zhejiang, Fujian, and Guangdong and Guangxi. This army is only responsible for destroying enemies and attacking. You, Zhu Wan, will lead the local army of Fujian and Zhejiang to be responsible for defense and destroying Japanese pirates at sea. For the pirate lairs, every town in the Ming Dynasty must have a company of guardsmen, and the southeastern coast should be arranged like an iron barrel. By then, these Japanese pirates and the coastal nobles behind them will never think of causing a big mess. ”

"I obey everything the Emperor orders!"

Zhu Wan just said yes.

……

Things developed exactly as Zhu Houzhao and Zhu Wan expected. After Shuangyu Island was recovered by the Ming Dynasty and placed under government management, smuggling pirates and Japanese pirates throughout Southeast Asia lost the opportunity to make a fortune. Not long after, countless Japanese pirates began to harass the southeastern waters of the Ming Dynasty with the help of coastal nobles.

In Shangyu County, Shaoxing Prefecture, a group of Japanese pirates landed ashore and headed straight for the county seat. They killed the Ming people they saw along the way.

At this time, Ju Siyuan, a citizen of Shangyu County, was protecting his wife and children, holding a pole and confronting several Japanese pirates in the group: "You Japanese pirates, don't come here!"

Naturally, the Japanese pirates would not listen to Ju Siyuan and immediately attacked Ju Siyuan.

Another Japanese pirate pounced directly on his wife, pushed her to the ground and was about to commit violence.

Zou Mei, a wealthy nobleman in Shangyu County, watched all this through the crack in the door and couldn't help but laugh: "These Japanese pirates are finally here. When these Japanese pirates kill Jiangnan and cause chaos, we will see whether the imperial court will pay attention to the stability of Jiangnan."

ah!

Ju Siyuan couldn't help but scream when he saw his hand being cut off. He also realized that he couldn't fight these Japanese pirates, so he ran to the closed door of his neighbor Zou's house, knocked on the door and shouted: "Master Zou, help me!"

Zou Mei did not respond.

At this time, a group of Guards special forces who were ordered to patrol everywhere appeared and shot the Japanese pirate who was taking off his pants immediately in the lower part. The Japanese pirate covered his crotch and screamed loudly. cried out.

The other Japanese pirates were furious when they saw this, and seeing that the Ming army was not as numerous as their own, they rushed over with Japanese swords in their hands, their expressions very cruel.

Snap!

The Ming army quickly pulled the trigger, and the rifled rifle accurately killed all the Japanese pirates to the ground.

Zou Mei looked at all this in disbelief: "When did these Ming troops appear? Did the imperial court know that there was going to be chaos in the southeast and sent troops in advance?"

When Zou Mei was in disbelief, Deng Dong, a retired official, also watched in astonishment as three Ming soldiers chased the twenty or so Japanese pirates and shot all of them to death.

What is even more shocking is that in Jiangning Town, when more than forty Japanese pirates sneaked in with the help of local nobles, they were met by five guardsmen.

"The gun barrels on the entire runner kept spitting fire, and the bullets shot out like rain. More than 40 Japanese pirates were all killed in just a moment! The Japanese pirates were ferocious, but they were no match for the elites of the imperial court!"

Ma Yinghong, an official and gentry who witnessed all this with his own eyes, couldn't help but write down what he saw, but when he wrote down what he saw, he felt unwilling to do so.

In Nanjing City at this time, Gao Qi, the right minister of the Nanjing Ministry of War, had received a secret report.

"Sir, all the Japanese pirates in the direction of Shaoxing were wiped out by the army in three days! There were zero casualties among the officers and soldiers, and only fourteen civilian casualties!"

"Sir, all the Japanese pirates in the direction of Jixi were wiped out by the officers and soldiers within half a day! The officers and soldiers had zero casualties, and the civilian casualties were only six!"

"Sir, the Japanese pirates from the Jiangning direction were wiped out as soon as they arrived in Jiangning Town. I heard that people from the Fifth Army had prepared machine guns earlier!"

After listening to the report from his cronies, Gao Qi couldn't help but slap the table: "Didn't Captain Xu say that the Japanese pirates he sent were all brave men who could fight one against ten? How come they repeatedly lost to the officers and soldiers?!"
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"Well, as far as I know, the officers and soldiers were prepared in advance this time, and we have all ignored that the weapons of the officers and soldiers of the imperial court are no longer the ordinary firearms and broadswords and spears of decades ago. There is no way to take advantage! It is said that among the Japanese pirates who come to plunder, there are often dozens of Japanese pirates being chased and killed by one or two officers and soldiers. "

Said Gao Qi's confidant.

After hearing this, Gao Qi couldn't help but fell into deep thought, and then sighed: "Alas! Has the world really changed?!"

Zhu Houzhao also received a report from Zhu Wan here, and learned that the Japanese invasion was completely wiped out within three days.

Zhu Houzhao couldn't help but nodded and said: "Very good, at last there was no major Japanese rebellion at the beginning! But we cannot let the Japanese pirates just wantonly challenge the majesty of our heavenly kingdom, pass on my decree, and send it clearly to the current emperor Zhu Carrying a base, reporting Tell him that his father, that is, I, want to get all the Japanese girls in the Japanese country, and also use the Japanese country as my retirement home. Therefore, I want him to send troops within three years to kill all the Japanese people. Japanese girl! ”

Zhu Houzhao had long wanted to destroy the Japanese country, and now he just found an excuse for the Japanese pirates to provoke the Ming Dynasty. At the same time, he also played a bad joke, so that the people all over the world could more easily understand that he, the supreme emperor, intended to destroy the Ming Dynasty. Japanese country.

However, when Zhu Houzhao was planning to destroy the Japanese country, Zhu Wan told Zhu Houzhao about a rumor from the capital about the rift and conflict between the emperor and the chief minister of the cabinet.

In order to prevent Emperor Zhu Zailei and other ministers from asking each vassal state to impose additional tariffs on their own countries and also deport half of the tax to Beijing, Gein Xiayan vetoed it in the name of the chief minister of the cabinet. And refused to sign.

This suddenly angered Emperor Zhu Zailei and frightened many officials in the world.

In order to make the cabinet fully responsible for internal affairs and reduce the workload of the emperor, Zhu Houzhao strengthened the authority of the chief minister of the cabinet. In terms of internal affairs, he required that all cabinet decrees should have the counter-signature of the chief minister of the cabinet. However, he did not expect that, However, Xia Yan began to use this to play against the newly enthroned emperor.

"This Xia Yan! Seeing that I have abdicated my position, I almost forgot who I am!"

Zhu Houzhao couldn't help but say something.

Zhu Wan also said: "I also feel that Yuan Fu is too reckless to do this. Although it is a matter for the country, resisting is really not a trivial matter. Perhaps Yuan Fu has to do this as a last resort."

"It probably has something to do with Yan Song. This guy switched sides at the meeting of the Political Affairs Office!"

Zhu Houzhao said that although he abdicated, the intelligence system was still there, so he naturally knew what was happening in the capital. He knew that Yan Song would not be a peaceful master, but now he began to worry about the relationship between his eldest son and the chief minister of the cabinet, Xia Yan. Will the contradiction be exploited by some people with ulterior motives and affect the overall situation of the entire world?

(End of chapter)