I want to ruin the country

Wenqing left in a hurry, Sushun also wanted to leave, Yining said,

"Stay, I have something to tell you!"

Yining waved his hands towards Yifang and the others,

"All of you get out! Don't come in unless you are told to!"

"Whoo!"

Su Shun looked at the huge Yangxin Palace and saw that only the emperor and himself were left. He knew that what he was going to say next must be very important. He put away the smile on his face and looked nervous.

Yining sighed.

"You don't think I'm shameless, do you?"

Su Shun said sincerely,

"Your Majesty, I have learned a lot from you today!"

Yining sighed,

"There's no other way but to take emergency measures. The rats in the Ministry of Revenue's treasury are almost starving out.

You've heard that the treasury is so small. It's not even a drop in the bucket for a country. Where can I get the money right now?"

Su Shun felt sad again. People thought that the emperor was living a life of revelry and debauchery every night, and that he was enjoying peace and prosperity every day. Who would have thought that he would actually worry about money!

Su Shundao,

"Your Majesty, in three months, the summer grain will be stored in the warehouse. We can then ease the pressure. At most, we can just increase taxes!"

Yining slammed the table and the sound became louder.

"You are confused!"

Su Shun was so frightened that he knelt down hastily.

"Your Majesty, forgive me!"

Yining waved his hand and said,

"Get up, get up. There are no outsiders here. I treat you as my own family and say this. What's the point of you getting up and falling down?"

Su Shun said hurriedly,

"Yes, I was wrong!"

Yining Road,

"Remember, from now on, there's no need to be so formal in private. I'm tired of all that red tape. If you can't help me with my worries, even if you knock your head until it bleeds, what's the point!"

"I will die for it!"

Yining Road,

"Don't I know you? There's only one person left in our Great Qing Dynasty to help me, and that person must be you!"

Su Shun burst into tears and knelt on the ground again.

"I will definitely live up to the emperor's trust!"

Yining helped him up and said,

"Hurry up and get up! Even though you are more than ten years older than me, you are my only friend. There are some things that can only be said between us!"

Su Shundao,

"I know, I'm listening!"

Yining said seriously,

"Now let's talk about your false consciousness!"

Su Shun said respectfully,

"Your Majesty, please teach me!"

Yining Road,

"Well, I'll teach you this once!

Since ancient times, increasing taxes has been the biggest reason for officials to force the Ming Dynasty to rebel.

Think about it, who among the common people doesn't want to live a peaceful life with a wife and children? As long as they can survive, who would be willing to risk their life in rebellion?

This is true, Su Shun nodded.

Yining said again,

This year, not only will I not increase taxes, I will also reduce them. This will give the people hope and a way to get by, so they won't be coerced or deceived by others!"

Su Shundao,

"Reducing taxes. The treasury is already so empty, how can we reduce taxes?"

Yining Road,

"I'm going to tell you about the injustices in the world. Only by understanding the root causes of things can we find the best solutions!"

Su Shundao,

"Listen, slave!"

Yining Road,

"For example, if there are 100 people in the country and 100 taels of silver, if we divide it equally, will each person get 1 tael of silver?"

Su Shun nodded.

"Yes!"

Yining Road,

“But is this the actual situation in the country now?”

Su Shun shook his head without even thinking.

"no!"

Yining nodded.

“The actual situation is that ten of them have eighty taels of silver.

The remaining ninety people only had a total of twenty taels of silver. Do you know what that means?"

Su Shun was bewildered.

"Ah? What a concept!"

Although Su Shun is also an extremely intelligent person, he has never studied economics. He also knows that there is an imbalance between the rich and the poor in this world, but he thinks that this is a natural situation and nothing big!

Yining Road,

"Calculate how big the gap is between people."

Su Shun began to sweat.

"Slave...slave can't figure it out!"

Yining Road,

"You are very honest. It's not that you can't calculate it, it's that you haven't calculated it at all!

If ten people share eighty taels of silver, each person will have eight taels. Can a person with eight taels of silver live a good life?"

Eight taels of silver is quite a lot, Su Shun nodded.

"I can live a good life!"

Yining said again,

"But what about the rest of the people? If ninety people were to share the remaining twenty taels of silver, how much would each of them get? Would this amount of money be enough to feed them?"

Su Shun was not stupid, and replied,

"cannot!"

Yining slammed the table.

"Those ten people are all the scholars and landlords, including you and me!"

Su Shun was speechless!

Yining said again,

"And those ninety people are the common people of the world. Do you understand? A few dozen copper coins and eight ounces of silver—what a huge difference!

Dozens of copper coins can't buy a stone of rice. A person only earns a few dozen kilograms of grain a year. How do they live?

Su Shun lowered his head and said nothing. What the emperor was talking about was the inequality between the rich and the poor, and he had no way to refute it. But the inequality between the rich and the poor had been like this since ancient times. Who could change it?

Yining said again,

"Do you think this is the end? These peasants still have to pay taxes on the literati and landlords from their meager income. Do you think this is fair? If this continues for a long time, the people will rebel. Can we blame them?"

Su Shun was terrified when he thought about it, and big drops of sweat rolled down his forehead!

Yining's eyes are a little red

"I'm asking you, have you ever seen an official or a landlord working in the fields?"

Su Shun shook his head.

"no!"

Yining asked,

"Does the crops in the fields just grow out of thin air? If no one plants the seeds, fertilizes, waters, pulls out the weeds, how can there be a harvest?"

Su Shun shook his head again.

“Even if the crops grow, how can they be harvested without someone to harvest and thresh them?”

Su Shun still shook his head.

"The question is, those who work hard every day to cultivate the crops don't get the harvest they deserve, while those who live a life of luxury, carrying bird cages and visiting brothels, have enormous wealth. Is this fair?"

Su Shundao,

"unfair!"

Yining said again,

"Why do the common people rebel? Isn't it because they can't survive? If there is any way to make a living, who would not want to live a comfortable life with a wife and children instead of risking their lives by rebelling? Is that a good thing?"

Sushun Mechanical's answer,

"unhappy!"

Yining asked,

"Let me make it clear. How can you still have the nerve to take away the little bit of food that saves the people from such hardship?"

The sweat on Su Shun's forehead dripped down.

"The servant was wrong!"

Yining himself said that his blood was boiling.

"Therefore, I have decided to exempt all the people in the world from grain this year!"

Although he was mentally prepared, Su Shun was still very surprised. Was the emperor serious? Was he joking?

"Your Majesty, I agree with exempting the common people from grain taxes, but we still have to make a living! How long can we survive just by selling antiques and paintings?"