The Ming Dynasty: The most ruthless imperial grandson, Old Zhu begged me not to kill him.

Chapter 169 Empress Ma Faints

Upon hearing this, alarm bells rang in everyone's hearts.

This is not a good thing, because their family doesn't have many people, but they own a lot of land.

Their vast land holdings also guarantee them greater profits.

Ordinary families, though having many members, lack sufficient land, yet they are still subject to a large head tax.

If the Tandin system is used now, it means that their land will have to pay a lot more taxes, and the more land they own, the more taxes they will have to pay.

No one expected that Zhu Xiong Ying would resort to such a drastic measure.

This is really good. Which official in the court doesn't own some land? Zhu Xiong Ying's move is equivalent to taking over the land in the court.

He offended every single scholar-official.

"Your Highness, this is absolutely unacceptable! This is a path to national ruin, a method never before used in history. If this were to happen, wouldn't the world be thrown into chaos!"

"Your Highness's current policies are based on the ancestral laws established by His Majesty, and cannot be changed!"

……

One voice after another rang out, and even Tie Xuan felt that Zhu Xiong Ying's behavior was a bit too impulsive.

This policy of incorporating land tax into the poll system directly offended all the scholar-officials, which was not a good thing.

Korean official Lee Seon-chang felt a pang of regret.

Zhu Xiong Ying actually took this opportunity to propose such a policy, which has now caused a lot of trouble.

Minister of Revenue Yang Siyi closed his eyes and carefully calculated how much money this move would bring to the court.

After some calculations, he couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat.

If that's the case, then the imperial court's taxes will surely increase dramatically, and they will definitely be able to obtain more money.

Thinking about this, he felt a surge of excitement, even a sense of eagerness to try it out.

Sure enough, not long afterward, Korean Prince Lee Seon-chang sighed.

"Your Highness, there's no need for such silence. We can discuss these matters further!"

“The brothers still have some money, so not having these two thousand acres of fertile land won't be too much of a problem. However, this is the law of our ancestors, so it's best not to change it!”

Marquis Yongjia Zhu Liangzu and the others were stunned for a moment, looking at Duke Han Li Shanchang with puzzled expressions.

This is not what I expected; why did my thoughts suddenly change?

Although these two thousand acres of land didn't seem like much to them, it was better than nothing.

Now it's really gone.

Zhu Xiong Ying smiled.

"The Duke of Han is truly wise and understanding. Since he has said so, let's put this matter aside for now!"

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this.

If Zhu Xiong Ying were to do that, wouldn't it turn the entire Ming Dynasty upside down?

However, before everyone could catch their breath, Zhu Xiong Ying continued.

"Minister Yang, I wonder how it would be to test the 'integration of land tax into poll tax' system in one area first?"

Yang Siyi nodded.

"This approach is feasible. I wonder if Your Highness thinks it would be best to use the Milky Way as a testing ground?"

Zhu Xiong Ying thought for a moment and then said.

"Then let's go with Fengyang Prefecture!"

The nobles looked extremely distressed. They had the most wealth in Fengyang Prefecture, but they had almost lost it all this time.

But once they return, once Zhu Yuanzhang leaves Fengyang Prefecture, Fengyang Prefecture will once again be their domain, and everything they lost will return.

However, if the land tax and poll tax were to be converted into a fixed-land tax in Fengyang Prefecture, their good days would truly be over.

At this point, they frantically hinted to Li Shanchang, the Duke of Han, hoping that he would lead them in opposing the movement.

Li Shanchang sighed, lowered his head, and didn't say a word.

Although this matter was detrimental to these nobles, it brought a sense of relief to officials in other places.

As long as this matter doesn't involve them, it doesn't matter whose territory it is.

The same method cannot be used twice, and besides, without the support of these ministers, it would be useless even if it were spoken.

The group seemed to have tacitly agreed to the matter.

After the court officials left, Zhu Xiong Ying summoned Yang Si Yi alone.

Inside the Qingzhen store, Yang Siyi looked at Zhu Xiong Ying with a puzzled expression.

"Your Highness, there is something I don't understand. The implementation of new policies must be carried out in areas with less resistance. The powerful families in the southwest region are obviously weaker, so reforms there will face less resistance. On the contrary, there are many powerful families in the Southern Zhili region, so reforms there will likely face considerable resistance. I wonder why Your Highness chose this region!"

Zhu Xiong Ying shook her head.

"Times have changed. In the past, it would have been most reasonable to implement the land tax reform in the southwest. However, there are still many chieftains in the southwest, especially the Liangwang Mansion in the southwest, which has not been completely pacified. To implement the land tax reform, a stable environment is required, and the southwest does not have such an environment!"

"On the contrary, after this incident, all the malignant tumors left by the powerful families in Fengyang Prefecture were completely eradicated. With the Emperor and Father there, the remaining forces could not cause any other trouble. Therefore, the entire Fengyang Prefecture became the best place to implement the land tax reform!"

"Therefore, I plan to conduct a pilot program in this place and select young officials!"

Yang Siyi nodded.

"I wonder who would be better suited to handle this matter?"

Zhu Xiong Ying thought for a moment.

"Let's leave it to Tie Xuan. Firstly, Tie Xuan has a stable personality, which is more suitable. Secondly, Tie Xuan has already made a name for himself in Fengyang Prefecture this time, and if he goes, he will have more supporters!"

"Then we'll transfer a few young officials from the Ministry of Revenue to gain experience!"

Just as the two were discussing how to proceed, Yu'er rushed in anxiously from outside.

"Your Highness, something terrible has happened! Her Majesty the Empress has fainted!"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Xiong Ying's expression changed immediately, and he hurriedly ran towards Renshou Palace.

At this moment, all the imperial physicians in Renshou Palace were sweating profusely. Everyone knew that the person they could not afford to offend in the world was Empress Ma in front of them.

If anything were to happen to Empress Ma, they would be in serious trouble.

Prince Qin, Prince Jin, and all the other princes arrived at Empress Ma's Renshou Palace, their eyes filled with anticipation.

"Director Zhang, how is the Empress Dowager?"

Dean Zhang shook his head.

"It's nothing serious, just a bit of stress and anxiety. With some rest and recuperation, you'll be fine!"

Now that they heard this, they breathed a sigh of relief. If anything were to happen to Empress Ma, their good days would be over.

If Zhu Yuanzhang were to return, he would surely unleash a reign of terror.

"Thank you very much, Chief Physician Zhang. You must treat Mother well, or don't blame us brothers for being impolite!"

Zhang Yuanzheng swallowed hard.

"Please rest assured, I will do my best!"

Being a royal physician in the palace is an extremely dangerous job. Fortunately, Empress Ma was not seriously injured this time, otherwise it would not have been so easy for her to get away.

Dr. Zhang selected a mild and nourishing prescription, and after writing it, he immediately sent someone to fetch the medicine. At that moment, Zhu Xiong Ying walked in from outside.

(End of this chapter)