At the beginning, his wife came to him, and he became rich by selling kidney treasures.

If there is no war and the treasury is full, this is a manifestation of mercy.

But now the war against Wei is ongoing and the treasury is empty. If the corvée is reduced and the taxes are exempted, who will work? Who will join the army? Who will pay taxes to replenish the treasury?

Originally, the emperor was delighted to have a son, but now, because of Ma Qian's proposal, the emperor was immediately embarrassed.

Wen Yan stood in front of the emperor, thinking that some minister would be able to speak for him, but neither the prime minister nor the ministers of various ministries said a word, and instead followed suit and requested a reduction in corvée labor and exemption of taxes.

In this way, their industries do not have to pay taxes and can make more money.

What disappointed Wen Yan most was not these ministers, but the old Shangshu Liu from the Ministry of Revenue. He knew best that the national treasury could not afford the current situation, but he still valued his reputation, so he had to play dumb and knelt on the ground to ask the emperor for amnesty.

These ministers who claimed to be loyal to him would not care about the country's survival as long as they could gain benefits.

"good good good good."

"I will comply with your will, grant amnesty to the whole nation, and reduce corvée and taxes."

Wen Yan nodded repeatedly, gritting her teeth in anger.

"Your Majesty, English..."

All the ministers were secretly delighted in their hearts, but just before they could utter a word of approval, a loud voice stood up to oppose.

"Your Majesty, I cannot grant amnesty to the entire world, and I cannot reduce corvée and taxes." Ren Hao stepped out and sang a different tune.

Sooner or later, I'm going to offend these people anyway, so it doesn't matter if it's sooner or later.

All the ministers in the court looked at Ren Hao, and each of them frowned.

He had just entered the court and hadn't even received his title, but he was already eager to become the emperor's vicious dog and start biting people everywhere?

"Your Majesty should follow the example of the previous kings and not listen to the treacherous words and break the rules." Ma Qian glared at Ren Hao and quickly asked the emperor to report. He also gave the example that a general amnesty would make the criminals in the world grateful to His Majesty the Emperor and would turn over a new leaf. As for the reduction of corvée and taxes, it would make the people of the world praise His Majesty's benevolence and call him a benevolent and righteous monarch.

"Maybe those criminals will change their ways as the teacher said, but there will definitely be more criminals who will disrupt order or come back to take revenge."

"If these criminals come out and cause trouble, it will only cause more trouble to the local county, and will not be conducive to maintaining order, and will only make the government lose face."

"As for reducing corvée and taxes, it is even more impossible. Now the frontline war needs people everywhere, and the national treasury needs money everywhere to maintain the war and the expenses of the border."

"If you really want to reduce corvée and taxes, I have no objection, but first of all, are you willing to send your children to the frontier, or are you willing to take out the money in your pocket?"

"If you are willing, I have nothing to say, and I am willing to support Your Majesty in granting amnesty to the whole nation and reducing corvée and taxes."

Ren Hao glanced at the ministers present and Ma Qian.

And his rebuttal really touched Wen Yan's heart.

This is exactly what she wanted to say.

Before the ministers and officials could refute Ren Hao, Ma Qian jumped up in anxiety: "How bold and treacherous! Your arguments are all fallacies, fallacies!!!"

Then, Ma Qian said to the emperor in front of him: "Your Majesty, you must not listen to this treacherous fallacy. If you listen to it, you will become a tyrant."

Treachery?

Ren Hao suddenly wanted to laugh.

If we talk about the real treacherous people, shouldn't they be the ones?

Although he is a minister of the emperor, he does not have a loyal heart and is only interested in profit.

"Treacherous? Who is the treacherous one?"

"The ancient rituals of the Zhou Dynasty that you follow have been lost for hundreds of years? You rotten Confucian scholars are still thinking about those broken rules instead of making progress."

"Instead of thinking about how to make the emperor enforce those crappy rules, it would be better to put aside those self-righteous ideas, think carefully about national affairs, and do what you can for His Majesty." Ren Hao criticized them mercilessly, directly tearing off the fig leaf of these rotten Confucian scholars.

These pedantic Confucian scholars never consider who is in power now, and always think about the ancient rituals of the Zhou Dynasty.

If it weren't for the magnanimity of the previous dynasty and the current emperor, they would have been chopped off long ago.

"you you……"

This made Ma Qian very angry, he almost suffocated and was nearly angered to death by Ren Hao on the spot.

"Teacher, teacher..." The Confucian scholars hurriedly helped Ma Qian, and some of them glared at Ren Hao indignantly.

If this was not the Linde Palace, they would have rushed over to teach Ren Hao a lesson and let him know what it means to win people over with virtue.

The reason why Ren Hao is so opposed to these rotten Confucian scholars is that as a modern man, he is well aware of the history before him.

Although the two were Confucian scholars from different times and places, their approaches were surprisingly similar. Some were even more conservative than the Confucian scholars of his previous era.

They never consider prosperous or chaotic times, and they just don't care about national affairs.

Anyway, even if the current court is destroyed, they will not perish. They can continue to govern the next court and instill the ancient rituals of the Zhou Dynasty into the new emperor, or they may have more opportunities to participate in the court and gain power.

"Corrupt scholars are harming the country. Your Majesty must not believe their words." Ren Hao stepped forward to report, not giving these Confucian scholars any face at all.

"Your Majesty, I have served two previous emperors. How can I say something that would harm Your Majesty?"

"It is this treacherous and absurd words that cannot be believed. If you believe these treacherous and absurd words, then what is the difference between Your Majesty and a tyrant?" Ma Qian also hurriedly spoke out and directly brought up his title of serving two previous emperors.

Zhao Ping'an, who was standing at the front, suddenly stepped out and helped Ma Qian to speak out: "Now that wars continue and taxes are increased, the people are suffering. Your Majesty should obey the will of heaven and let the world recuperate. You should be a benevolent monarch."

"Your Majesty, please obey God's will."

All the ministers knelt on the ground in response.

"We'll discuss this matter later. Let's put it aside for now." Wen Yan waved his hand and could only deal with it coldly for now.

It is impossible to grant amnesty or to reduce corvée and taxes.

At this time, the Confucian scholars and ministers were all in the same boat. If they forced their decision to be implemented, they would surely be opposed by all officials.

So the best way is to put it aside for now and deal with it coldly.

Seeing that the matter was shelved, both the ministers and the Confucian scholars felt unwilling, but they had to give up for the time being.

Then, Wen Yan shouted, "Ren Hao, listen to the announcement."

"The common people are here." Ren Hao stepped forward and bowed his head to the ground.

Wen Yan stood up and announced in front of all the officials: "I hereby appoint you as the first-rank Grand Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, and the second-rank Left and Right Assistant Ministers. This position does not have a salary, but you enjoy the privilege of recruiting retainers."

and so.

"My dear Ren, please don't let me down. I have high hopes for you." Wen Yan looked at Ren Hao with a caring tone.