Chapter 147 The King and His Ministers Are United! Ming Dynasty Will Never Lack Loyalty!

"Tang Hou!"

"Don't be too impulsive!"

Liu Jian couldn't help but remind him: "The Ming Dynasty is the Ming Dynasty, not a playground!"

"Whether it's the court or the officialdom, they all have their own rules. If all these rules are abolished because of you, there will really be chaos!"

Rules and order are the foundation of dynasty rule.

If there is no order and the rules are broken, then why should the emperor sit aloof on the dragon throne, and why should the people of the world have to submit to you, a young emperor?

Once something is destroyed, it is almost impossible to build it up again!

Liu Jian, an official, is the most disciplined person.

Even if he had also done things to oppose those with different parties, at least it was within the rules of this court and officialdom!

However, Tang Hao, the Marquis of Zhongshan, was the most unruly person. In other words, the character of Tang Hao, a reckless man, existed to break the rules!

"As a gentry from the south of the Yangtze River, of course I know this!"

Tang Hao chuckled and said: "Controlled half of the Ming Dynasty's taxes, money, and food, and then continuously sent the children of the family to the court through the imperial examination system, becoming the spokesperson of these gentry families, seeking benefits for them, and ensuring their vested interests. Benefit!"

"And they were not idle at the local level. They took advantage of their fame and privileges to annex land and monopolize local trade. They even dared to extend their hands to overseas trade. For this reason, they did not hesitate to discredit Zheng He's heroic voyages to the West. Liu Daxia, this beast, is even more It was the precious archives of Zheng He’s voyages to the West that were burned down in one fell swoop!”

After saying this, both Liu Jian and Ma Wensheng's expressions changed slightly, and the little emperor's expression became even more gloomy.

Tang Hao had said before that Zheng He's voyages to the West controlled overseas trade, and overseas trade meant unimaginable profits.

In other words, these profits should originally belong to the emperor!

That's all my money!

You damn civil servants and gentry, damn local gentry, you are robbing me of my money!

Tang Hao took a deep breath and led the topic in another direction.

"Master Tianguan, Master Yuanfu, if you want to revive the Ming Dynasty, you must enrich the country and strengthen the army!"

"But making the country rich and powerful, considering the current national strength of the Ming Dynasty, is that easier said than done?"

"All the land was divided up by the gentry and the powerful, the court could not collect taxes, and the people were extremely poor. All the money and grain eventually fell into the pockets of the gentry!"

"A rich country can strengthen its army. Only a rich country can strengthen its army. If you don't want me to attack these gentry, I will have to think of other ways to make Ming Dynasty rich first!"

This was the first time that Tang Hao confided in Liu Jian and Ma Wensheng.

If it were anyone else, Tang Hao would never do this to avoid having his true purpose discovered by civil servants and gentry.

But the old chief assistant Liu Jian and Otsuka Chief Ma Wensheng are different. The two of them have worked hard for the country all their lives. They are either veterans of the Five Dynasties or veterans of the Four Dynasties. They also worked together to assist Emperor Hongzhi and wanted to revive the Ming Dynasty in a serious way!

In other words, these two men were the imperial tailors of the Ming Dynasty. They spent their whole lives mending and repairing this shabby dynasty and forcibly supported the normal operation of the Ming Dynasty.

They are not Li Dongyang or Liu Daxia.

"A rich country, how come it is rich? Where does it come from?"

"If we don't attack the gentry, the Ming Dynasty will never get rich!"

"But I also know that now is not the time to purge these gentry and gentry, so I have found another way for Ming Dynasty to make the country rich!"

Tang Hao looked at the two empire tailors with excitement and tortured his soul.

"The former Song Dynasty court was located in a corner, poor and weak, but it was able to raise several barbaric fathers. Why?!"

In the former Song Dynasty, supporting the barbarian father?

Hearing Tang Hao's words, everyone was dumbfounded.

What you said is a bit too much.

Even if this is true, after all, the Ming Dynasty claimed to inherit the legal tradition of the former Song Dynasty, so it was somewhat offensive.

You can't say it so harshly!

The little emperor was so happy that he couldn't stop laughing.

The reason why he likes the savage is because the savage not only has outstanding abilities, but also speaks well.

Tang Hao didn't pay any attention to the strange looks on everyone's face and spoke on his own.

"In the Alliance of Chanyuan, the former Song Dynasty sent a total of 300,000 taels of silver and silk to the Liao Kingdom (Khitan people) every year. Later, the Liao Kingdom took advantage of the former Song Dynasty's predicament in fighting Xixia and increased the annual tribute by 200,000 taels. Ten thousand taels, a total of five hundred thousand taels, this is the first barbarian father in the former Song Dynasty! "

"In order to maintain face, the former Song Dynasty court called the silver and silk presented to the Liao Kingdom "year-old coins." The implication was that these were "gifts" from the former Song Dynasty court to the Liao Kingdom. They were regarded as materials exchanged between the two sides every year. Both parties were still equal. "The land of brothers".

“Faced with the Liao Kingdom’s unreasonable request to increase the annual currency, the former Song court did not refuse, but agreed!”

Tang Hao sneered and spoke, his tone full of contempt and disdain.

"Later the rise of Xixia, Emperor Li Yuanhao of Xixia violently attacked the former Song Dynasty. He successively won the Battle of Sanchuankou, the Battle of Haoshuichuan, and the Battle of Dingchuanzhai. The Song army suffered heavy losses and was in a state of embarrassment. After that, the Song Dynasty could only beg. He signed the "Qingli Peace Agreement" with Xixia, giving a total of 250,000 taels of silver, silk, and tea every year. This was the second barbarian father of the former Song Dynasty! "

"Then the "gifts" given to Xixia by the court of the former Song Dynasty were called "Suici", which meant that the emperor of the former Song Dynasty gave them to Xixia every year. Li Yuanhao of Xixia was still a minister of the former Song Dynasty and could not claim the title of emperor. Like the former Song Dynasty, He gained face, climbed up the ladder, and temporarily calmed down the war with Xixia by spreading money."

"At this point, the situation of Xia, Song and Liao being at odds with each other was formed, but the former Song Dynasty could support two barbarian fathers on its own. Is its national power really that rich?"

Before anyone could refute, Tang Hao continued.

"Then, the Jin Kingdom (Jurchens) destroyed the Song Dynasty, and the former Song Dynasty court fled south to a corner of peace, and the "Shaoxing Peace Agreement" signed between the former Song Dynasty court and the Jin Kingdom appeared. The former Song Dynasty court gave the Jin Kingdom twenty-five dollars each in silver and silk every year. Ten thousand taels, a total of five hundred thousand taels.”

"This time, the former Song Dynasty court really didn't even want to lose face. The silver and silk it gave to the Jin Kingdom were called "Sui Gong", which meant that the former Song Dynasty court paid "tribute" to the Jin Kingdom every year. The Jin Kingdom established by the barbarians became a state. country, the former Song Dynasty became a minister, which disgraced the Central Plains Dynasty. "

This time, the former Song Dynasty really didn’t even want to lose face!

Throughout the history of the Chinese dynasty, there was only one in the Song Dynasty who dared to shamelessly pay tribute to foreign barbarians.

Speaking of these, Tang Hao couldn't help but sigh.

The poor and weak former Song Dynasty court was indeed very unsatisfactory!

"Have you never thought that during the Chanyuan Alliance, the former Song Dynasty still occupied the entire world, but during the Shaoxing Peace Conference, the former Song Dynasty only had half of the country in a corner, and the same amount was 500,000 taels. How did the former Song Dynasty come up with this? of?"

"And even though it is a small corner of peace, the Song Dynasty was prosperous and prosperous. The annual tribute was never less, and its capital Bianjing was still the most prosperous and prosperous place in the world!"

"Why?"

Why?

The answer is ready to come out!

Liu Jian and Ma Wensheng took a deep breath together.

"Because...overseas trade!"

Tang Hao looked directly into their eyes.

"The commercial taxes collected through maritime trade in the former Song Dynasty accounted for more than half of the entire fiscal revenue. What is the concept?"

"In the former Song Dynasty, more than 400 kinds of goods were imported and exported through maritime trade. China mainly exported tea, porcelain, silk and other specialty goods. Because they were only produced in China, those overseas caravans only needed to transport these goods overseas. The value will immediately increase more than dozens of times, and they will definitely be able to make profits dozens or hundreds of times!"

"How many?!"

Liu Jian and Ma Wensheng were silent, but the little emperor's eyes were red.

"How much did you just say, savage?"

"As long as silk, tea, and porcelain are shipped out to sea, the profit will be dozens or hundreds of times?"

Zhu Houzhao asked in disbelief, feeling so heartbroken that he couldn't breathe.

Then it’s all my fucking money!

That's all my money!

It’s all so cheap for these damn gentry!

Tang Hao rolled his eyes at the little emperor and ignored the miser.

"These are the things that the former Song Dynasty exported, that is, sold. So what did the former Song Dynasty import?"

"Champa rice has a higher yield than the Central Plains and is more adaptable to the environment, providing a reliable guarantee for the logistics of the former Song Dynasty; spices have always been scarce in the Central Plains, so they are expensive, and they played a role as general equivalents in the trade between the former Song Dynasty and the north. In exchange for a large number of war horses, sulfur was mainly traded with the Japanese and Koreans, and was the main raw material for making gunpowder... as well as ivory, jewelry, ginseng and other materials. Everything that was scarce in the Southern Song Dynasty could be obtained through overseas trade! "

"The former Song Dynasty played the role of an intermediary in this round of Sino-foreign trade. Through the huge price difference between the two sides' goods, it earned an astonishing amount of wealth. It also extracted commercial taxes and duties, which made this money even more The wealth has increased several times, so the former Song Dynasty can afford to support such arrogant fathers as him! "

"The huge overseas resources brought a steady stream of wealth to the former Song Dynasty, and eventually became the most powerful economic backing for the northern defense line of the former Song Dynasty. The rich national strength was enough to ensure that no matter how poor and weak the former Song Dynasty was, they would eventually You can also spend money to quell the war!"

"But what about today's Ming Dynasty?"

Tang Hao asked sternly: "All money, grain and finance are in the hands of civil servants and gentry. The court cannot collect taxes, the people are impoverished, and the people of the world are exhausted. This is the Ming Dynasty today!"

"To put it bluntly, when the little Mongolian prince invades the Great Wall and invades the Great Wall, the Ming Dynasty will not even have the capital to kneel on the ground and beg for peace!"

These words deeply hurt the hearts of the two elders.

Everyone laughed that Song Gouyan begged for peace and had lost the face of the Central Plains Dynasty.

But what about today’s Ming Dynasty?

Once the Mongolian barbarians really cross the Great Wall again as Tang Hou said, what will the Ming use to claim vassalage and pay tribute, and what will it use to beg for peace?

The army is exhausted!

The people are impoverished and their wealth is exhausted!

It shouldn't be like this!

When did the great Ming Dynasty fall to this point?

The two elders were silent, with sad faces on their faces.

They dedicated their lives to the Ming Dynasty, and naturally understood the root cause of the Ming Dynasty's decline.

But the problem is that they are also members of the gentry. They cannot use the knife on the gentry, and they don’t want to see anyone use the knife on the gentry!

"Lord Tianguan!"

"Lord Gensuke!"

"Da Ming is rotten to the core!"

"If we don't think of a way to save it, it won't be long before the alien cavalry comes to Beijing again!"

Tang Hao's words were so resounding and shocking!

In fact, within a few years, the capital of the Ming Dynasty was besieged by Mongolia for the second time.

In the 29th year of Jiajing, the leader of the Mongolian Tumote tribe, Ada Khan, led his army southward due to the failure of the "tribute market". He first attacked Xuanfu and then broke through Gubeikou. He reached Miyun, then attacked Huairou and Changping, and finally arrived in Tongzhou, where he plundered all the troops. , troops are approaching the walls of Beijing!

In other words, in another thirty or forty years, the face of the Ming Dynasty will be trampled under the feet of this Anda Khan again!

After a long silence, the old chief assistant Liu Jian suddenly raised his head and looked directly at Tang Hao with his sharp eyes.

"If you want to go to the West again, you can!"

"But you want to open the sea and lift the ban? No!"

Returning to the West, allowing the emperor to control the profits from maritime trade, bypassing the civil servants and gentry, and using the profits to enrich the country and strengthen the army, this is where the old chief assistant Liu Jian can compromise!

However, opening up the sea and lifting the ban will shake the foundation of the gentry, and it will also shake the foundation of the Ming Dynasty, so it is absolutely not possible!

Tianguan Ma Wensheng glanced at Liu Jian in surprise, but at this moment the two of them were on the same front, so Ma Wensheng still had to follow Liu Jian's ideas.

“Although the government and the public have a lot of criticism about returning to the Western Sea, it is not impossible to achieve.”

"The premise is that you have to conquer the Jiangnan gentry who reaches inside!"

"Marquis Tang, keep a line in everything and don't kill them all!"

Otsuka Zai sighed.

"You young people are impulsive and violent, and you are ready to fight and kill at every turn."

"I roughly understand what you think. Although I don't agree with it, I don't object to it either. Since His Majesty supports what you do, I have no choice but to support it."

"But you have to remember that there must be no chaos in Jiangnan, and there must be a moderation in everything. Even if you bloodbath the entire Jiangnan, it won't take long for another group of Jiangnan gentry to appear. Do you understand?"

Tang Hao certainly understands this truth.

There is no end to the gentry and gentry that can be killed. As long as the imperial examination system exists, there will always be gentry and gentry in the Ming Dynasty.

Even if Tang Hao sends troops this time to bloodbath the entire Jiangnan and rectify the official fields in the south of the Yangtze River, it won't be long before these official fields will fall into the hands of a new group of gentry. They have many ways and means to turn these fields into their private property.

"Don't worry, gentlemen, I am not that stupid."

"There will be no chaos in the south of the Yangtze River, and I will not kill them all. The purpose of sending troops this time is just to lay the foundation for returning to the Western Seas."

Hearing this, Liu Jian and Ma Wensheng also breathed a sigh of relief.

"In that case, then just go ahead and do it!"

"Above the court, there is me as the chief minister of the cabinet, Otsuka Zai as the Heavenly Official, and Zhang Fuhua as the General Constitution. Together with His Majesty's strong support, they are enough to withstand all pressure."

Liu Jian said in a solemn tone: "Marquis Tang, don't let your majesty down, and don't let us down either!"

After hearing this, Tang Hao finally showed a smile on his face.

The Ming Dynasty will never lack loyalty!

Heavenly official Ma Wensheng is like this.

The same is true for the old chief assistant Liu Jian.

"This way, I can leave with more peace of mind!"

Perhaps to give these two elders some confidence, or perhaps to repay their kindness, Tang Hao took the initiative to tell them a piece of bombshell news.

"By the way, you two gentlemen, the Iwami Silver Mine incident... is indeed true!"

Tang Hao chuckled maliciously and said: "It is true that there are hundreds of millions of dollars hidden!"

Liu Jian: "Σ(°△°|||)︴"

Ma Wensheng: “∑(°口°)”