Huangming

Chapter 31: Heart-to-Heart Communication Between Ruler and Minister, Unveiling Hidden Secrets (Please continue reading!)

Li Ruhua waited outside Ciqing Gate.

His brows were furrowed, and his already aged face suddenly looked bitter and resentful.

Today, during the regular court session, the Liaodong military pay was still undecided. Coupled with natural disasters and man-made calamities, the Ministry of Revenue was truly on the verge of starvation.

Li Ruhua's pupils contracted, and his hand, hidden beneath his court robes, clenched into a fist. He had already made a decision in his heart.

If His Majesty does not agree to impose additional taxes on Liaodong, he will beg to retire!

This job is impossible to do. Liu Yiju and Yang Lian, whoever is capable of managing this household, should take over!
I don’t want to serve you anymore!

"Minister Li, please!"

Li Jinzhong smiled and led Li Ruhua into Duanbentang.

At this time, the palace maid Zhang Yun'er had already left Duanben Hall, leaving only Zhu Youxiao, Wei Chao, Li Jinzhong, and Li Ruhua in the study.

"Your Majesty, I, Li Ruhua, Minister of Revenue, respectfully wish Your Majesty good health!"

After the five bows and three kowtows were completed, Zhu Youxiao waved his hand and said, "Minister, please rise. I have come to see you urgently. May I ask what brings you here?"

Li Ruhua took a deep breath, his eyes hardening. He did not get up, but instead knelt down and said, "Your Majesty, I have a memorial to present. The national treasury is empty. If Your Majesty does not increase the tax on Liaodong, the Ministry of Revenue will be unable to continue. Although all the officials in the Ministry of Revenue are good and capable, even the most skilled cook cannot make a meal without rice. What should we do?"

If no additional taxes are levied on Liaodong, I humbly request Your Majesty's permission to retire!

Your humble servant is ignorant and humbly begs for Your Majesty's judgment!

Zhu Youxiao remained silent for a long time before rising from his throne and descending the hall to personally help Li Ruhua up.

"Minister, please rise."

Li Ruhua originally intended to kneel until Zhu Youxiao made a decision, but now that the emperor had condescended to help him up, how could he not get up?
He could only get up with a wronged look on his face, his old face contorted in embarrassment.

"Your Majesty, it is not that this old minister is forcing Your Majesty, but the Ministry of Revenue is truly powerless to do anything about it."

Zhu Youxiao nodded and said to those around him, "Take a seat."

Li Jinzhong quickly brought over a small stool, and Li Ruhua reluctantly sat down.

"Has the Minister seen any refugees outside the capital?" Zhu Youxiao did not give Li Ruhua a direct answer, but instead asked a seemingly unrelated question.

"There are so many people migrating from outside the city that they have blocked the roads."

"Why are there so many refugees?" Zhu Youxiao's tone gradually became more serious.

Sensing the Emperor's emotions, Li Ruhua honestly replied, "Natural disasters raged, locusts filled the sky, and the tree bark was eaten away. Unable to fill their stomachs, they had no choice but to go to the capital for food, and thus became refugees."

"Only natural disasters, no human calamities?" Zhu Youxiao questioned.

Li Ruhua was speechless and could only weakly say, "It was a natural disaster that led to man-made calamities, which in turn created a population of refugees."

"Did the natural disaster lead to the man-made disaster, or was the man-made disaster more serious than the natural disaster?"

How was Li Ruhua supposed to respond to that?
He could only remain silent.

Li Ruhua remained silent, while Zhu Youxiao's words were sharp and incessant.

"Since last year, Shaanxi has been suffering from a severe drought. As a result, there has been no rain. Grain prices have soared to 5 liang per shi (a unit of dry measure). Farmers need to sell 6 shi of grain to pay the tax for 1 mu (a unit of land area) of Liaodong. This has led to the situation where 'one tax has taken away half a year's worth of grain.'"

As a result, farmers resorted to exorbitantly priced loans to pay their taxes, causing their debts to double within a year. A farmer who borrowed 10 taels of silver to pay taxes would have to repay 26 taels the following year, forcing him to use his land to settle the debt.

The gentry colluded with the government to buy up land at low prices under the guise of "paying taxes in Liaodong." Landowners were forced to become tenant farmers, paying rents as high as 70% of their harvest.

Farmers with no land to sell chose to "abandon their registration and flee," leaving nine out of ten villages empty, overgrown with weeds.

Zhu Youxiao looked intently at Li Ruhua and asked, "Does the Minister not know these things?"

Li Ruhua's eyes flickered, and he opened his mouth, but could only utter, "Your subject, this old subject."

He naturally knew these things, so when Zhu Youxiao questioned him, he couldn't utter a single complete sentence.

"People scrambled to eat goose droppings, cut open white bones to cook, and the dead lay piled up on the roadside."

"People eat each other, fathers sell their sons, and husbands devour their wives." Zhu Youxiao's gaze was sharp, like a drawn sword, its aura imposing.

What will ordinary people do when they can no longer survive?

Zhu Youxiao walked up to Li Ruhua, looked down at the uncomfortable old minister, and said with a disappointed expression:
"If the people cannot survive, they will rise up in rebellion. At that time, all the emperors and ministers of the Great Ming Dynasty will die without a burial place! Is it not digging our own grave by imposing additional taxes on Liaodong?"

"Your Majesty, I deserve death! I failed to fulfill my duties and beg for severe punishment!" Li Ruhua hurriedly got up from the small stool, knelt down and begged for forgiveness.

Zhu Youxiao bent down again to help Li Ruhua up, but Minister Li seemed rooted to the spot, and no matter how Zhu Youxiao pulled him, he wouldn't get up.

"I have no intention of blaming the Minister."

Upon hearing this, Li Ruhua finally looked up, but her face was streaked with tears, and she looked extremely aggrieved.

"Your Majesty, I have repeatedly petitioned to increase the tax on Liaodong. This would be tantamount to undermining the foundation of our Great Ming Dynasty. I beg Your Majesty to punish me with death!"

This old man's temper flared up all at once.

"With natural disasters occurring frequently, even in areas without drought, land yields are still reduced. In addition, the Yellow River is overflowing, flooding farmland. The people need tax reductions to survive the famine, but we are increasing taxes. Are we trying to kill them and force them to rebel?"

Seeing that Li Ruhua showed no intention of getting up, Zhu Youxiao did not try to pull him up.

"With constant warfare in Liaodong and continuous natural disasters in the Ming Dynasty, if we add more taxes to Liaodong, I'm afraid the Ming Dynasty will be finished!"

Upon hearing those four words, Li Ruhua hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, please be careful with your words! Take back what you just said!"

Wei Chao Li Jinzhong also hurriedly knelt down.

"Your Majesty, please rescind your order!"

Zhu Youxiao shook his head and said, "Since there is a problem, we must solve it. Can simply evade and deal with it really save the Ming Dynasty?"

Hey ~
The Emperor of the Ming Dynasty sighed deeply and said, "I originally thought the Minister was a practical person, but now it seems that he is no different from other ministers. Oh well."

"His Majesty!"

Upon hearing the emperor's words, Li Ruhua immediately became anxious.

He can resign from his post, he can be flogged in court, but you cannot tarnish my innocence!

I, Li Ruhua, have worked diligently and cautiously as the Minister of Revenue, striving to maintain the status quo. How am I not a practical person?

Aren't you bullying honest people?

"I risk my life to ask, if Your Majesty does not levy taxes on Liaodong, how will the court continue to exist?"

Zhu Youxiao countered, "The Minister has been in charge of the Ministry of Revenue for a long time, constantly demanding taxes from Liaodong. Is there no other way to increase revenue?"

Li Ruhua wiped the snot and tears from her face, got up from the ground, and sat on a small stool.

He never imagined that compared to His Majesty the Emperor before him, he would be the one who merely patched up the paper.

Since we're going to speak openly, what's there to be afraid of?

At worst, I'll just quit this official position!
At worst, I'll give up my life!

"Investigate the land, reinstate the Single Whip Law, levy commercial taxes, and restructure the tax base! Reduce the stipends of the princes, stop the war with Liaodong, and the Ming Dynasty will surely prosper!"

Finally, there's someone who's not afraid of death.

Zhu Youxiao looked at Li Ruhua with the same gaze that Bo Ya had when he met Ziqi, and said, "I have the Minister of the Imperial Secretariat, just as Emperor Gaozu of Han had Xiao He. What worries do I have about not being able to accomplish great things?"

Having revealed his true feelings, Li Ruhua was not so optimistic. With a bitter and resentful expression, he said, "Your Majesty, I am not Xiao He, but want to be Chao Cuo. Do you know that what I just said is all about offending the root of the problem? And offending the root of the problem will surely lead to many obstacles!"

Zhu Youxiao also spoke seriously and solemnly: "I am not Emperor Jing of Han, nor are you Chao Cuo. I know the road ahead is fraught with difficulties, but how can reform be accomplished without taking some risks?"

Reform is not a dinner party.

Zhu Youxiao had already prepared for the worst!

(End of this chapter)