It was just a small palace in a remote corner of the palace. Six gray-haired old Taoists raised their heads fiercely, looking at the dragons and tigers with good luck above the palace. They couldn't help but change their faces and shook their heads in silence.

"It seems that the Ming Dynasty is going to be in trouble again!"

"It would be better for us, the Qing cultivators, to be less involved in government affairs!"

"This is a great thing to say!"

"..."

Lu Yu, the Secretary of the Ministry of Punishment, was getting older and could not handle government affairs, so he wrote a letter requesting to become an official. The emperor immediately agreed and rewarded him with some things.

At the same time, the emperor promoted Chen Zhao to be the Minister of the Ministry of Punishment, and then added the title of bachelor, officially joining the cabinet and becoming one of the top people in the power pyramid of the Ming Dynasty.

When the news came out, the whole court was in an uproar.

Chen Zhao is only twenty years old, but he is already a very popular minister!

Not only that, as soon as Chen Zhaochu took office, he was entrusted with an important task by Zhu Jianshen, giving him complete control over the country's salt and iron production, which immediately aroused fierce opposition from both the government and the opposition.

However, Li Xian, the first assistant to the cabinet, did not speak, nor did Shang Ren, a famous person who had just joined the cabinet for a year. When the second assistant Chen Wen and other cabinet veterans Liu Dingzhi spoke fiercely, the emperor did not listen at all.

Zhu Jianshen is different from his grandfather Zhu Zhanji and his father Zhu Qizhen. He has a tough character and a firm mind. In addition, he has already controlled the military power, and Chen Zhao can also control the security of the capital.

Under such circumstances, once the emperor insisted on having his own way, the courtiers basically had no power to oppose him.

The matter was settled like that, but what Chen Zhao did next caused an uproar again.

With nobles as the core, he recruited Juren from the Northland and meritorious officers from all over the world to form a temporary salt and iron management yamen.

However, the first fire after the establishment of the Salt and Iron Control Yamen did not burn anywhere in the court, but announced the expansion of the Changlu Salt Farm in Jinmen.

Changlu Saltworks was established during the Yongle period, but it has not been developed due to various reasons.

As a result, Chen Zhao's fire can be said to have stirred up a thousand waves with one stone!

The government and the public were in an uproar, and voices of opposition rose into the sky. Every civil servant objected impassionedly. They all said the same thing: the Jiangnan Salt Policy was enough for the imperial court. To open a large salt farm would be to compete with the people for profit!

"It is not advisable to waste money and people!"

At the great court meeting, the civil servants attacked in large groups, and some who were excited pointed their fingers at Chen Zhao and shouted loudly.

Snapped!

Chen Zhao slapped him with his backhand, and after dozens of steps away, he still slapped the guy into the air and hit him headfirst against the palace wall next to him.

This chapter is not finished yet. Please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! "No matter how big or small, a mere fifth-grade official dares to point fingers at his ministers. Who gave him the courage?" Chen Zhao retracted his palm and said calmly.

"You...how dare you hit someone?"

Zou Qian, the left minister of the Ministry of Rites, scolded angrily, with an incredible look in his eyes.

"He is a civil servant, and I am also a civil servant. If a civil servant slaps a civil servant, what does it mean to beat someone? I didn't hit the Imperial Guard Hall!" Chen Zhao said disapprovingly.

As he said that, he glanced at Jinyiwei Dutang Wantong.

Even though Commander Wan was the brother of Concubine Wan Guifei, he could not help but shrink his neck and did not dare to speak.

When the Mongolian Oara tribe provoked the Ming Dynasty on the border, the 200,000-strong army sent by the Ming Dynasty was almost completely wiped out because of the deliberate and random command of the eunuch Wang Zhen.

Zhen was beaten to death by the angry Minister Fan Zhong with a hammer.

Although Wang Zhen was dead, the civil and military officials were still upset and demanded that he be executed. At this time, Ma Shun stood up and said: Don't make any noise, get out!

Ma Shun was promoted by Wang Zhen single-handedly, and he can be regarded as Wang Zhen's accomplice. Now that Wang Zhen is dead, you still dare to be so arrogant. Everyone caught him and beat him up, and he was beaten to death.

He can be called the most useless Jin Yiwei boss to die.

It had not been twenty years since this incident, and Wantong was not a fool. He naturally remembered it very clearly and did not dare to provoke this extremely powerful civil servant.

What's more, at this moment, Chen Zhao's eyes were as cold as lightning, and Feng Shen's sharp body was like a towering mountain. He slowly glanced at a group of civil servants with angry faces. No one dared to snort under the glare of his razor-sharp eyes.

A bunch of bully bastards!

This feeling and scene were deeply engraved in Emperor Zhu Jian's eyes and kept in his heart.

As a person who received an orthodox royal education, he had read many emperors' books and knew that during the Taizu and Taizong periods, those ministers did not dare to shout in front of the emperor.

Only a cowardly emperor can have arrogant ministers.

It is indeed very appropriate for me to reuse this young man Chen Zhao!

The scholarly character of the ministers was immediately tested!

That’s all!

"Drag him out. He will be punished for thirty years of dishonor in front of the palace. He will be stripped of his official position and will never be able to use it again."

Zhu Jianshen said calmly.

As soon as the decision came out, there was a sudden gasp from the ranks of civil servants, but no one dared to come forward to support the leader, and they were as if they had fallen into an ice cave and did not dare to say a word.

Even the other three senior cabinet ministers noticed that the atmosphere was dim. Chen Zhao and the emperor were obviously playing a double act. Old foxes like them would not easily come forward and ask for trouble.

Neither Zhu Jianshen nor Chen Zhao can be easily provoked by them!

"Changlu's salt method is a method of drying sea salt. It does not require labor and money from the treasury. The output is expected to be no worse than Jiangnan Saltworks..."

Chen Zhao leisurely stated his plan, but all the courtiers were shocked and stunned. However, they did not dare to refute because of the lessons learned from the past.

The method of drying sea salt is not a strange thing. It has been practiced for a long time in previous generations, but it was abandoned due to various well-known reasons. Unexpectedly, Chen Zhao had this idea.

"Isn't Mr. Chen worried that the amount of salt produced will be too large and affect the court's salt tax revenue?"

Finally, Chen Wen, the third assistant minister who was also a cabinet minister, could not hold back and asked with an angry look on his face.

"Haha, how much is the court's salt tax now?"

Chen Zhao chuckled lightly, but what he said was shocking: "It's only two million taels a year, and it has to be exchanged for the life of the salt inspector. The price of salt in the North has always been high. How can we stabilize the price of salt?"

Wouldn't it be nice to let the people breathe a sigh of relief?"

"Salt tax..."

"Fuck the salt tax. If the salt tax is less than last year, how much less can I use the money to subsidize it myself?"

Chen Zhao's face darkened and he suddenly cursed angrily. He pointed his finger at Chen Wen and sneered: "If the Changlu Saltworks not only does not affect the salt tax revenue but also has a surplus, how much surplus does it have for you, Bachelor Chen, to take the initiative from your home and give it to the state treasury? That's great."

?”

The whole court was shocked. Unexpectedly, Chen Zhao was so courageous that he even pointed at a cabinet minister and yelled at him at the court meeting. It was an insult to a gentleman and an unworthy man.

However, no one dared to step forward. This was a war between ministers, and the ministers below had no right to intervene. Besides, what if Chen Zhao was targeted and he was asked to make a bet?

What's going on with the Jiangnan salt tax? Apart from the nerds who don't know how to use their brains, who here doesn't know what's going on?

If all the salt tax could be collected, the national treasury would have at least tens of millions more taels of silver every year!

No one knows how much output the Haiyan Salt Farm created by Chen Zhao can produce, and how much income it can generate. It would be no joke to fall into it accidentally.

"You, you, you, I have always been an upright official, and my family has no money left..."

Chen Wen was so angry that he fell back, blowing his beard and staring, wishing to give Chen Zhao a good beating, and spoke with dignity.

"Tsk, tsk, the mansion in Li Ge's hometown, the beautiful concubine, the thousands of fertile fields outside the city, and..."

Chen Zhao interrupted Chen Wen without hesitation and spoke lightly with a sneer on his face. The words that followed were not spoken, which was obviously very predictable.

"you you you……"

Chen Wen's old face was red from holding back, and his face was like a pig's liver. He was so embarrassed, but he was so angry that he couldn't speak. In the quiet Zixiao Palace, the only sound he could hear was his heavy breathing.

Chen Zhao looked with disdain on his face and didn't even bother to look at this guy. He bowed his hands to the emperor and continued to explain his "policy outline" in the field of salt and iron.

The subsequent court meeting was extremely smooth. All the courtiers saw Chen Zhao's fighting power and thought that he was no match for him, so they did not have the courage to refute.

Whether it was Chen Zhao's disapproval, the emperor's obvious favoritism, or the collective silence of several cabinet ministers, this court meeting ended successfully in a strange atmosphere.

"Master Chen is so beautiful and domineering. I just hope that Master Chen can maintain it for a long time!"

When they came out of the main hall, Chen Wen blocked Chen Zhao's way and said with a cold and disdainful expression: "I'm afraid that the Zhongyong Hou Mansion will be completely destroyed by then!"

This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! "Dong Zhai threatens me?"

Chen Zhao smiled lightly, but the smile did not reach his eyes.

Chen Wen, courtesy name Anjian and nickname Zhizhai, was born in Luling, Jiangxi.

He himself was very clever. After the death of Emperor Yingzong, when today's emperor ascended the throne, he used clever tricks to drive away the eunuch Wang Lun, expel the cabinet minister Qian Fu, and secure the position of cabinet minister, namely Li Xian, the chief minister of the cabinet.

, and respect him very much.

It can be said that Chen Wen has extremely high prestige among the government and the public!

"Just advice!"

Chen Wen smiled coldly, his eyes were cold and murderous.

hehe……

Chen Zhao smiled softly and patted Chen Wen's shoulder. From the outsiders' eyes, the two of them behaved intimately, which aroused quite a bit of surprise. There was even a dark suspicion that these two guys were singing an oboe just now.

"The day you fall, the Chen family in Luling will be completely destroyed!"

A cold and hard voice sounded in Chen Wen's ears, which shocked the old man and made him feel extremely uncomfortable. By the time he reacted, Chen Zhao had already strode away. He said coldly, with anger on his face: "We'll see!"
To be continued...