Chapter 149: Xia Yuanji: I Haven't Even Spoken Yet, Your Majesty, Why Did You Fire?!

Zhu Youjian pondered for a moment and said, "Bestow the name: Divine Might Great General Warship Cannon Version Two."

Consider it a tribute to Chongzhen.

"Your Majesty's literary talent is truly earth-shattering and ghosts-weeping, this subject is filled with awe. Once this name is uttered, it will undoubtedly strike terror into the hearts of barbarians from all directions!" Bi Maokang praised from the bottom of his heart.

Keep flattering and I'll slap you across the face.

Zhu Youjian glanced at him, offered a couple of words of encouragement, and said, "The Divine Might Cannon is not yet completed; Minister Bi, you still need to work harder."

"This subject will surely devote heart and soul to this, and will not fail Your Majesty's immense grace!" Bi Maokang stood solemnly and immediately made a vow.

He was already considered part of the emperor's faction. The civil officials in the imperial court ostracized him, military generals simply couldn't get along with him, and the southern gentry syndicate was suppressing his family's businesses.

Under Zhu Youjian's intentional suppression, Bi Maokang no longer belonged to any political party. Much like the eunuchs, he had no other reliance besides the emperor.

"Take it."

Zhu Youjian nodded. With a flip of his hand, a Peiyuan Pill appeared in his palm, emitting a rich, fragrant medicinal scent.

Gulp!

Bi Maokang couldn't help but swallow hard. He respectfully accepted it and shoved it into his mouth without hesitation. A sudden wave of mental clarity and bodily comfort washed over him. "Thank you, Your Majesty, for the elixir!"

No need to thank me. It's just to boost your work efficiency.

Zhu Youjian instructed, "Prepare one hundred units of the Divine Might Great General Warship Cannon Version Two for me, along with two thousand cannonballs. I will pick them up from your place when I leave."

"As you command!"

Bi Maokang acknowledged the order.

With a wave of Zhu Youjian's large sleeve, five hundred soldiers vanished from the spot, and the Divine Might Cannon Version Two disappeared along with Bi Maokang.

……

The Capital.

As soon as the emperor reappeared in the palace, the civil officials and nobility in the capital immediately quieted down, lowering their presence as much as possible, terrified of being dragged out by the emperor for target practice.

Upon receiving the news, Wang Chengen hurried over at the first possible moment: "Your Majesty!"

"Are there any major affairs in the capital?" Zhu Youjian casually asked a couple of questions. His ancestors had launched a military campaign in Jiaozhi, and he was eager to rush over and join the excitement.

Wang Chengen thought for a moment and said in a delicate voice, " Replying to Your Majesty, Dorgon, the leader of the Jianzhou Jurchens, has been waiting in the capital for over a month now. Also, the imperial clan sent people to ask for this year's expenditure..."

Dorgon was merely an insignificant character.

Just as Zhu Youjian was about to speak, his expression suddenly changed drastically: "The imperial clan wants money? That is all my money! My money!!"

"The imperial clan shall not be given money! Pass down my decree: abolish the imperial clan maintenance system! The lands under the imperial clan's names must also pay agricultural taxes. If they lack money, let them earn it themselves!"

Wang Chengen hurriedly fawned, "Your Majesty speaks truly. Those lands under the names of the imperial relatives are already tax-free and quite wealthy. For them to open their mouths and ask Your Majesty for money is indeed completely unreasonable..."

"Imperial clan lands... How can an entire province's worth of land be exempt from agricultural taxes?!" Zhu Youjian's expression turned ugly.

Seeing the increasingly irate emperor, Wang Chengen couldn't help feeling a tremor of fear.

"Your Majesty, calm your anger! Your Majesty, calm your anger! Th-this slave will go and convey the decree right away!"

"No need!" Zhu Youjian calmed down. With a wave of his hand, a bewildered Xia Yuanji was sent tumbling to the ground with a thump.

The imperial clan had turned into a pigsty! Over two hundred years had passed, and heaven only knew how many sheep, cattle, horses, and dogs were in there feeding on pig swill!

"This subject pays respects to the Emperor! May Your Majesty's sacred health be well!"

"Rise."

Zhu Youjian raised a hand, stared at him, and asked, "Does Minister Xia know about the reform of 'incorporating the poll tax into the land tax'? I want to abolish the poll tax and levy the land-ding tax instead!"

The Single Whip Law was proposed in the tenth year of Jiaozhi by Minister of Personnel Gui E. In the sixth year of Wanli, Zhang Juzheng ordered its nationwide trial implementation.

It shifted the basis of corvée labor extraction from households and individuals to acreage, making taxes heavier for those with more land and lighter for those with less, thus achieving an equalization of taxes and securing state financial revenues.

However, certain parts of it could not be used as-is. While it might look fine in the short term, if implemented for too long, it would inevitably cause widespread rebellions and beacon fires everywhere.

After all, people used to pay in grain, but now they had to pay in silver. Forcing the commoners to trade their crops for silver to pay taxes meant that, in the long run, the ones getting rich were the major silver-hoarding landlords!

Therefore, this modified version of incorporating the poll tax into the land tax had no silver restrictions. It would facilitate the upcoming promotion of the Great Ming silver coins and could also cause a population explosion during the Chongzhen reign.

With the poll tax abolished, those unregistered households concealed by the gentry and landlords would no longer bear the tax burden, and naturally, they would no longer need to dodge population censuses.

Xia Yuanji was startled, terror flashing in his eyes. He hurriedly cupped his hands in counsel and said, "Your Majesty, this must not be done! This will provoke public anger and lead to uprisings everywhere!"

As the Minister of Revenue, the moment he heard the phrase "incorporating the poll tax into the land tax," he understood that it was certainly no good news for the landlords and gentry.

Being a stranger newly arrived in this era, he wasn't about to speak up for the Chongzhen-era gentry class. Instead, his words served as an implicit warning: if anyone owned a massive amount of land and therefore had to pay heavier taxes, the very first problem would be the imperial authority coming under local backlash.

"Uprisings!?"

Zhu Youjian let out a cold snort and commanded:

"Pass down my decree: the five thousand elites of the Capital Camp shall be reorganized into my personal guards, and all of them shall be equipped with rifled muskets. I want to see whose skull is truly that hard!"

"Understood!" Wang Chengen accepted the decree and withdrew.

Zhu Youjian said in a tone that brooked no refusal, "Minister Xia, do it. I want to see the results as soon as possible."

"This subject implores Your Majesty to bestow grace and allow several musket guards to protect my life." Xia Yuanji simply resorted to behaving like a rascal, dropping to his knees right there and making his demand.

After all, once this policy was implemented—while the emperor possessed immortal divine arts and the gentry syndicate wouldn't dare act rashly—he was merely made of mortal flesh and blood, an old codger who might accidentally end up dissolved in water one day.

As a member of the Yongle-era civil official elite, he was far too clear about their methods. Over these past few days, he and the Three Yangs of the Cabinet had already tried their absolute best within their capabilities to appease the gentry syndicate.

Otherwise, let alone carrying out stability maintenance work, he would probably be "made decent" by tomorrow.

He was also quite straightforward: if you want the horse to run, you have to feed it grass. The moment this policy was issued, the position of Minister of Revenue instantly became a high-risk occupation.

The old fellow hadn't lived enough yet.

Zhu Youjian suddenly smiled, pulled out a rifled musket, and under Xia Yuanji's terrified gaze, pulled the trigger.

Bang!

The immense impact sent Xia Yuanji's body flying backward onto the floor.

A massive bullet hole appeared right in the middle of his forehead.

In the blink of an eye.

Xia Yuanji recovered as before, breathing heavily with lingering fear, and asked in terror, "Y-Your Majesty, did you do that on purpose, or was it an accident?"

"Stop talking nonsense! Even if you die, I can fish you right back out of the Underworld's hands. Go ahead and execute it without needing to顧慮 anyone!" Zhu Youjian radiated overbearing majesty and spoke with absolute decisiveness.

Then, with a wave of his hand, ten musket-bearing personal guards stood ramrod straight inside the grand hall, dropped to one knee, and shouted in unison, "May Your Majesty's sacred health be well!"

The families of all three thousand special forces soldiers were arranged in a utopian sanctuary guarded by specialized personnel. Not only were they free from worries about food and clothing, but their annual military pay amounted to a full two hundred silver coins.

They only needed to charge into battle; death came with a free resurrection package.

This job wouldn't be traded even for a Second-Rank Minister position!

Loyalty reached the maximum limit straight away!

Zhu Youjian ordered, "You ten shall temporarily serve as Minister Xia's bodyguards. Anyone who dares to obstruct him—anyone below a Third-Rank official—may be executed first and reported later."

"We obey the decree!" the ten men acknowledged in ringing, powerful tones.

Zhu Youjian turned his gaze toward the still-terrified Xia Yuanji and remained silent.

Xia Yuanji gave a start, quickly bowed, and saluted, "This subject—this subject receives the decree and expresses gratitude for the grace!"

"Hasten to advance this matter. Withdraw." Zhu Youjian waved his hand.

"This subject obeys the decree!"

Xia Yuanji scurried away with hurried little steps, vanishing in a flash, closely followed by the musket-bearing guards marching in step.

How long had it been!

Even beside the Yongle Emperor, he had never experienced this kind of feeling that accompanying a monarch was like accompanying a tiger!

This subject hadn't even opened his mouth, yet Your Majesty opened fire—who the hell could possibly withstand this!