Late Ming Dynasty: Oops, I am surrounded by the Donglin Party

"It must be used with caution. This is a rare opportunity for the Ming Dynasty to revive." Emperor Chongzhen said calmly.

He had been waiting for this day for too long.

"My Lord, you have indeed worked hard, but you should still be careful of those assassins." Fang Zhenghua reminded with a smile while refilling Zhang Shikang's tea.

Over the past year, both the Imperial Household and Guard Offices have sent additional personnel to protect Zhang Shikang, and they have experienced almost every assassination attempt that Zhang Shikang has encountered.

Fang Zhenghua knew that Zhang Shikang was more casual, so he gave him a special reminder.

But these words made Emperor Chongzhen frown.

"Fang Daban, does Shikang often encounter danger outside?" asked Emperor Chongzhen.

He knew that the court's style this year was bound to offend many people, but he was behind high walls after all, and there were people around him who were guarding him strictly, so he only needed to be a little careful and he would be safe.

Fang Zhenghua then said:

"Your Majesty, those corrupt officials and gentry of the Donglin Party had their assets confiscated by the Marquis over the past few decades, so they naturally hate you to the core."

"How many times has Shikang encountered danger outside this year?" Emperor Chongzhen asked.

"Well...it's okay." As if sensing Emperor Chongzhen's displeasure, Fang Zhenghua didn't dare to say anything.

“How many times!”

Emperor Chongzhen had a sullen look on his face. Fang Zhenghua quickly put down the teapot and knelt on the ground.

"Your Majesty, it's only about a hundred times. Why are you trying to scare me? I'm used to it." Zhang Shikang replied calmly, holding a cup of tea.

Now that he is outside, he no longer dares to eat street food, and even going to the toilet requires five or six big men to follow him.

The most dangerous time was in Yangzhou Prefecture, when Shou Ma, who was doing business with him, suddenly pulled out a dagger from under his pillow and tried to stab him. Fortunately, he learned some kung fu from Sun Weifan and others, and was able to escape from danger in a miserable way.

It's really hard to guard against.

Zhang Shikang helped Fang Zhenghua to block it because he was worried that this guy would tell everything. If Brother Chongzhen knew that he had taken risks several times just to discuss trade, he would definitely get furious on the spot.

"More than a hundred times..." Emperor Chongzhen repeated in a low voice.

"I have told Your Majesty before that taking away someone's wealth is like killing their parents. Not only did I take away their wealth, I also killed them. Those people have the habit of raising servants or even assassins, which is inevitable.

But I don't hate them. If this happened to you, I guess you would also want to kill me.

Didn’t Confucius once say, “To live as an enemy of one’s parents is to be a traitor to one’s parents…” Zhang Shikang talked eloquently, but when he got to the topic of “Confucius said”, he couldn’t say anything else.

"He sleeps on straw, uses a wooden pillow as a pillow, and does not serve as an official. He does not want to share the world with you. If you meet him in the market or court, he will not raise an army to fight him." The Minister of Revenue Hai Zhongqi said it in a deep voice for Zhang Shikang.

"Oh, yes, yes, that's it. Mr. Hai is indeed knowledgeable and well-informed. How do you translate it?" Zhang Shikang asked seriously.

"I sleep on a straw mat, using my shield as a pillow and ready to fight to the death at any time. If I meet an enemy on the street and he doesn't have a weapon, I will kill him with my bare hands."

Hai Zhongqi had a look of hopelessness on his face, thinking that as a minister of the current dynasty, it was really outrageous that he couldn't even remember the Analects of Confucius.

But Zhang Shikang's focus was obviously not on this matter. He looked at Brother Chongzhen with a smile and said:

"Your Majesty, you heard me, I have to bring a weapon, otherwise they will kill me.

Um... the sword you gave me is now bent, when will you give me another one?"

Bang - Emperor Chongzhen slapped the table, scaring the other ministers who were resting with their eyes closed.

"Smiling like a frivolous person! Your life belongs to the Ming Dynasty, how can you take it so lightly?

From today on, I order you to double the number of your personal guards and bring them with you wherever you go. You are not allowed to eat outside food and do not go outside unless necessary!

Did you hear that? "Emperor Chongzhen was very angry, but his expression was more like a parent in later generations scolding a naughty child, angry but reluctant to really hit him.

"Also, Your Majesty, please let me go. Now there are a thousand people following me wherever I go. Life is almost unbearable.

Your Majesty, please believe me, it is not enough to have a large number of people. Even if the assassins dare to come, their number will not be large. "

Zhang Shikang said with a bitter face.

He originally wanted to get a new Emperor's Sword, but ended up losing more than he gained. When he thought about having two or three thousand people following him wherever he went in the future, how could he still have any privacy?

After bargaining with Emperor Chongzhen for a while and making promises with his chest for a while, Zhang Shikang finally dispelled the idea of Emperor Chongzhen to continue to add personal guards.

After everyone finished eating, they immediately returned to the conference table and began to discuss next year's budget.

Before discussing next year's fiscal budget, the Minister of Revenue Hai Zhongqi first reported on the problems encountered in the tax system and land reform process this year.

This includes many industries with meager profits, which will cause merchants to be unable to make ends meet after the tax increase. The court will not allow price increases, and if this continues for a long time, many industries will disappear, affecting the national economy and people's livelihood.

The tax reform was proposed by Zhang Shikang, and Emperor Chongzhen required that it be implemented strictly in accordance with the established policy. The officials of the Ministry of Revenue did not dare to be careless, for fear that Zhang Shikang would execute them if he was dissatisfied.

Therefore, even if problems of one kind or another were encountered, they were just piled up and raised by the Minister of Revenue at the annual meeting.

After Hai Zhongqi finished speaking, all the cabinet ministers looked at Zhang Shikang.

"The ancestral rules are not enough, since the rules are not suitable, then change them.

The method of collecting commercial taxes is to use the remaining amount after deducting the costs as the collection standard.

The collection of commercial taxes focuses on checking accounts, which can easily breed corruption. Mr. Hai should supervise the officials of the Ministry of Revenue more, otherwise it will be difficult to handle if the matter falls into the hands of the factory guards. "Zhang Shikang said maliciously.

The Ming Dynasty's supervisory mechanism consisted of self-inspection by the Censors of each department, supervision by the Censorate, and external inspection by the Factory Guards, which was also the last layer of insurance.

If he falls into the hands of the factory guards, he will be skinned alive if not killed.

Zhang Shikang only wanted to change the image of the factory guards in the eyes of the common people, but he did not want to change the image of the factory guards in the hearts of the officials.

"There is no need for you to remind me, sir. This is a major matter of taxation in our Ming Dynasty. I will personally handle it and will not let Your Majesty down." Hai Zhongqi said coldly.

"That's good. Anyway, the purpose of handling business taxes remains unchanged. Those who dare to evade taxes will be chased to the ends of the earth and the taxes will be collected."

Since ancient times, the survival of a country has been mainly supported by taxation. Zhang Shikang envied the United States in later generations, which was very aggressive in tax inspections and tax collection.

Even if you are a so-called gangster boss, I don’t care what you do, but if you don’t pay taxes, you will not get any good results.

From taxing based on turnover to taxing based on the surplus after deducting costs, although the taxation method has become more complicated, it is also more reasonable. Haizhong did not refute it after all.

Seeing that no one had any objection, Zhang Shikang thought for a moment and then said:

"Speaking of which, my behavior this year has probably frightened merchants all over the world.

If you slap someone in the face, you should quickly give him a date.

Your Majesty, I think it is time to loosen the shackles on merchants. "

……