The gentry and taxes and food deficits were common in the Ming Dynasty.

It is not unique to Zhu Youxiao after becoming emperor.

Historically, some emperors would also exempt them from tribute under the pretext of civil servants' deception on the grounds of loving the people.

Therefore, the gentry did not regard this tribute as a serious matter.

After all, in order to take into account the decentness of the gentry, many local civil servants will not let the yamen runners urge them to pay.

This time, because Emperor Zhu Youxiao was too cruel to civil servants, especially civil servants in Donglin, after he ascended the throne, the phenomenon of taxation became more serious, and even the transportation of grain was cut off.

These civil servants thought this was like the emperor's bright muscles, proving the importance of these people.

However, these civil officials did not expect that His Majesty the Emperor would use this trick after the grain was cut off, and directly formed the Western Factory to Nanzhili to collect taxes.

They thought the emperor would use a very gentle way, such as to make appropriate compromises in order not to force others to resist.

After all, this method is equivalent to drawing a sword directly, which is equivalent to directly forcing oneself, such as civil servants and gentry to rebel.

It's like each other fighting cards.

The gentry thought that the emperor would give in to the mercy of a few cards.

Because although there is a distinction between the ruler and the subject, everyone is the ruler, so there is no need to be tense, and it is to the point of life and death.

Only common people who cannot survive will use this life-and-death gameplay and will directly overturn the table.

But the gentry didn't expect that the emperor would actually use the method of lifting the table directly. Relying on the fact that he was the emperor and had power, he directly sent troops to grab the rich himself.

It is equivalent to having a direct life and forcing others to rebel.

But when Zhu Youxiao really did this, they did not dare to rebel.

After all, the risk of rebellion is too high. Those who are familiar with history know that the success rate of rebellion is very low, so who dares to die!

It’s not that I really can’t survive like a commoner.

It’s better to just give all the tuitions honestly and still be an official and collect land and rent a good life. Anyway, the privileges of the gentry are still there.

Moreover, if you rebel, you are afraid that you will be killed before you leave the capital. After all, the emperor has the final say in the capital.

Therefore, these civil officials simply beg for mercy and only hid their hatred for the emperor in their hearts.

...

"I know that they are begging me so much now. They must hate me very much, but they can only hold it in their hearts! But I just want them to hate me but not do anything to me!"

After learning that these civil servants from Southern Zhili were knelt on their begging at Zuoshunmen, Zhu Youxiao sneered, muttered a few words, and stared at the civil servants kneeling outside the palace wall with deep eyes and said:

"If you dare to cut off my water transportation, I will seize their power! I will pass the order to these kneeling officials. The West Factory only collects the taxes that should be collected. There is no saying that bullies the gentry. As long as the gentry pays the taxes well, they will be fine and let them leave quickly. If you want to hold me and threaten the court to depose the West Factory, then kill them on the grounds of resisting the order!"

Zhu Youxiao said coldly and then let the first snow fall on his sleeve.

"I obey the order!"

Wei Zhongxian replied, then went down the city tower, came outside Zuoshun Gate, and shouted loudly to the civil servants.

The civil servants such as Shen Yongmao were naturally extremely angry and disappointed. They all looked up at the palace wall, and they knew that the emperor must be hiding on the palace wall.

The censor Li Yingsheng shouted loudly: "As the saying goes, the rituals and wise men are respectful to the wise and inferior men. Therefore, our Ming Dynasty is free from the gentry's strong service to preserve its dignity. The gentry will also follow the national laws and pay the grain tax. Setting up a Western factory is to humiliate the gentry, and your Majesty does not trust us. Our gentry and civil servants are sorry to the emperor, the middle and the parents, and the lower the people cannot respect them. Since this is the case, the ministers can only die!"

Seeing Li Yingsheng say this, Wei Zhongxian had to wave his hand.

Suddenly, two teams of Jinyiwei rushed out with torches and Xiuchun Knife.

Seeing this, Li Yingsheng widened his eyes, then ran away.

Other civil officials also scattered like birds and beasts.

Only a few civil servants were stabbed behind them.

When Zhu Youxiao saw this, the corner of his mouth raised slightly.

...

"It's useless to admit your mistake and beg for help. The emperor refused to withdraw the Western Factory! He even directly asked the Jinyiwei to drive us away with a knife!"

After Shen Yongmao came to the secret meeting place of Donglin officials such as Qian Qianyi, he spoke in disappointment.

"Do you really have to sit idly by the West Factory to collect taxes, and our gentry will be humiliated by the West Factory's Qiu Ba at will?!"

Zhou Qiyuan said excitedly at this time.

"Otherwise, will the dukes still go back to their hometowns to organize the townships to go to the palace to advise, or contact the vassal kings to raise an army to establish a new emperor? We are not those illiterate bandits! We can ignore loyalty and filial piety and betray the country! We can do whatever we can and be willing to sacrifice ourselves!"

Qian Qianyi asked, and then said, "I have handed over the resignation! In this way, the court insists on benefiting the gentry. In the future, standing in the court will only be a conspiracy, otherwise it will be difficult to move forward!"

"What's wrong with raising an army to force the palace? If my son is so violent and merciless today, is it rare for me to let him slaughter him? Since ancient times, such kings have been punished by everyone!"

The doctor from the Ministry of Justice recommended the table, slapped the table with a angrily brow, and then looked at the officials of Donglin.

But no one echoed him.

Even Li Yingsheng, who had just escaped from death, did not speak.

Because not all Donglin officials dared to recommend to the court as radical, just like this radical official who was preparing to bring Huguang troops to Beijing to advise the Apocalypse.

Or others don’t want to make Zhu Youxiao’s rebellion, but no one wants to be the first to be the leader, they all want to follow the venture capital in the overall situation regularly.

"All courtesy recommendations! What are you saying, believe it or not, as long as you dare to do this, I will be the first to not tolerate you!"

Zheng Sanjun even excitedly scolded the court for recommending him, very righteous. He was the left minister of the Ministry of Revenue and wanted to go further to become the Minister of the Shang Dynasty. Naturally, he didn't want anyone to know that he had an ambiguous attitude on such a major issue.

The court recommended that he had to sit back.

"Today, we cannot deal with the emperor as the ordinary emperor. Raising a military force to force the palace can't intimidate him. Our Majesty is extremely determined and has even been ready to die together!

You should have seen that when Zi's behavior today, he never thought about his reputation. He was desperate from the beginning. It seemed that in his eyes, the Ming Dynasty had only 20 or 30 years of national destiny, and the Ming Dynasty would soon perish. And he was too lazy to be the Emperor Taiping, regulated Yin and Yang, and was gentle and appeased, but simply governed the country with iron blood, implemented strict politics, and demonstrated laws and regulations!

Now, the tax urge is an example. I heard that the test will be done! Think about it, can we threaten such an emperor? Your Majesty governs the country with hardness, so we can only use softness to overcome hardness. So, with Qian's opinion, it is better to endure it first and wait for him to change."

Qian Qianyi started to speak at this time, and all the officials in Donglin heard it.

Qian Qianyi became the think tank or military advisor of these Donglin officials, so he continued to say: "But since ancient times, the dynasty could not have been prosperous in the country. The Ming Dynasty had been enjoying the national fortune for more than two hundred years. The world was already difficult to return, and it could not be solved by urging our gentry to pay taxes. The people were becoming more and more prosperous, but the fields did not increase, so the number of refugees increased. The Ming Dynasty was in chaos soon, and the royal family was growing, and the burden on the court was getting heavier."

"If the emperor really wants to continue to be so tough and make drastic reforms, then there will be only more people who will offend in the future, and it will not stop me from the gentry of Jiangnan! Then there will naturally be more opponents. At that time, our opportunity will come. It will be easy to break, and your Majesty, a tough king, will sooner or later!"

Qian Qianyi said as he patted his hand on the chair and gritted his teeth.

"That's right, the emperor is going against the trend, and sooner or later it will be discounted!

The most important thing now is that our scholars and forests are united. The reason why the grain transportation was cut off this time did not threaten the court, more importantly, our scholars and forests are uneven. For example, the governor of Shandong, Wang Zaijin, was prepared for three million stones of grain and grass to solve the urgent problem of the grain transportation! He has now been promoted to the Governor of Ji Liao!

These officials only have their own personal achievements in their eyes, but do not care about the dignity of the scholars. In name, they are for peace in the world, but in fact they are just servants of the people, but they are not elegance and integrity in our scholars and officials. They pursue the learning of civil and military skills, and they are in the imperial family, and value reality but neglect virtue!”

Zheng Sanjun echoed Qian Qianyi's point of view and also explained his personal opinion on Wang Zaijin, and then said:

"Therefore, the key is that the scholars and the people of the world are united in their hearts, so that scholars, farmers, industry and commerce have different levels of high and low status. Scholars should treat them with courtesy, but should not be harsh with strict laws. Gentlemen are the benchmarks of local moral transformation. How can they discuss with the common people and restrict them with laws?

To make the scholars and officials in the world reach a consensus, the court uses the Western Factory to collect taxes and does not treat the scholars and the people differently, which will harm the virtues of the holy dynasty. Everyone in the world should regard respecting the wise and inferior people as the right way. As long as those who read books regard respecting our scholars and officials as the way of heaven, they will only have to wait for the changes of heaven!”

"The officials understand. Mr. Qian and the young corpse said that the officials were enlightened!"

The court started to speak, and sneered: "At that time, either change the emperor or change the court, the new emperor ascended the throne to the throne and the subordinates, and the officials he used also learned the way of respecting the wise and the subordinates, and then the time is still the time when the people are in full dynasty!"

"So, Qian decided to resign and return to his hometown, visit famous scholars such as Dong Qichang, Chen Jiru, Huang Zunsu, Liu Zongzhou, etc., and then go to Wuxi Donglin Academy to visit Ye Maocai, Gu Xuancheng and other Donglin gentlemen to develop and strengthen the right way advocated by our Donglin! In order to make the scholars and forests in the world all over the world be my Donglin people, and can work together in the future to promote the clear and eliminate the turbidity!"

Qian Qianyi smiled and said, "What he meant was to continue to grow the Donglin Party, and to allow the Donglin Party to take over the government after the emperor was replaced or the court was replaced in the future.

Other Donglin officials agreed and supported what Qian Qianyi was about to do.

"Qian Qianyi resigned from his official position. I have approved it, but your Dongchang must closely monitor him. Now the imperial court is strictly pursuing a tax in Nanzhili and clearing the land of Zhangzhang will inevitably cause great dissatisfaction among the gentry in Jiangnan. With their courage, it is impossible to directly rebel. However, it is not ruled out that public opinion is clamoring through associations and opening forums and other means. The Dongchang must keep a close eye on it. If necessary, I will use your Dongchang to give him thunder means!"

Zhu Youxiao ordered Wei Zhongxian here and said to Fang Shihong, who entered the palace: "The same is true for Chongwen Temple. We must use various means to build momentum so that the gentry in Jiangnan cannot be united. In public opinion, people in the world should form the awareness that paying taxes is a must, and even make the world feel that the more active the taxes are, the glorious it is!"

"I obey the order!"

"I also obey the order!"

Wei Zhongxian and Fang Shihong both replied.

At this time, Fang Shihong handed out Dong Qichang's confession: "Your Majesty! I dare not let your request. After letting Ruan Dacheng, the head of Chongwen Temple in Nanjing, patiently defend and educate Dong Qichang, Dong Qichang had already deeply realized his previous mistakes and was very regretful. Therefore, he wrote a notice to encourage the gentry of the world to actively pay taxes, and wrote a confession, asking the Chongwen Temple to present it to the emperor. I would like to ask your Majesty to take a look."

Zhu Youxiao nodded, and he naturally knew that Dong Qichang must have to repent under the joint threat of Xichang and Chongwen Temple.

But Zhu Youxiao naturally would not expose it, but Dong Qichang's confession and repentance began to read.

"The criminal Dong Qichang believes that paying full taxes is the first priority to practicing the teachings of saints. If all gentry do not actively pay full taxes, they will be a scholar in vain, which is to rebel against the king and abandon the country! They are unfaithful and unfilial! They should be severely punished! The head can be cut off, and blood can flow, but this tax cannot be cut off!"

Zhu Youxiao laughed at these contents and ordered: "Very good. After all, he is a Hanlin scholar. This enlightenment is indeed good. Chongwen Temple immediately published his remarks in Chongming newspaper. Wei Zhongxian sent an edict to the Ministry of Rites to engrave Dong Qichang's remarks in the original form of his calligraphy, and set up a group of scholars in various prefectures, prefectures, counties, and Imperial Colleges in the two capitals, so that scholars all over the world know that paying full taxes is the first priority for saints' doctrines, and to teach scholars all over the world!"

"yes!"

Wei Zhongxian and Fang Shihong replied again.

...

And so.

Dong Qichang's remarks were soon known to civil servants inside and outside the court.

"How could Dong Huating write such rebellious words that are against the teachings of the saints? It is only in line with the way of the saints when they pay full taxes! It is only when they pay heavy taxes and harsh policies should be banned immediately!"

"Incredible! Incredible! When did Dong Huating be so unconventional? How can we be honest in our scholars!"
To be continued...