"Your Majesty, isn't it inappropriate to change the ancestral system?"
Shen Shixing was the first to speak this time. He said hesitantly, "Tax exemption has been used for so many years. If we really do this, I'm afraid that many people will criticize us!"
Zhu Yijun glanced at Shen Shixing and said, "Shen, you think this is not good?"
"I think it's good. Some poor scholars don't have land. Even if you give them tax exemption, they won't get any benefits. What's the use?
It's better to give them money and grain directly. This is also a good thing for the scholars. "
But there was cash investment!
A word flashed through everyone's mind, but no one was embarrassed to say it.
Speculating in the first place was not something to be proud of. It was a loophole in the law. The imperial court had thought of many ways, at least on the surface, to stop the trend of speculating in the first place. However, none of them were very effective.
In fact, it was a paradox to let those with vested interests reform other people's interests!
If the issue of cash investment was brought up now, this policy would be more conducive to stopping the trend of cash investment. It was estimated that the Emperor would implement it more vigorously.
Thinking of this, Shen Shixing suddenly had an idea. He raised his head and glanced at Zhu Yijun.
Seeing that Zhu Yijun was looking at him calmly, he instantly understood.
The Emperor didn't know what cash investment was. He was pretending not to know. The Emperor also knew the impact of this policy. It was obvious that he wanted to abolish the tax exemption of scholars.
In other words, it was the tax exemption that scholars opened.
Since Shen Shixing could figure it out, the others naturally could as well. Instantly, no one spoke.
In fact, the ministers present had long passed the stage of paying taxes. Even if all the land was taxed, it wouldn't affect them much.
Zhang Siwei's family was a salt merchant. Moreover, they were one of the top salt merchants in Daming. They were very rich.
In fact, paying the land tax was not a big deal at all. But this matter was not easy to handle!
"I think Your Majesty's idea is good!"
While everyone was hesitating, Zhang Siwei spoke first, "I think Your Majesty's idea is very reasonable. Giving money and grain directly will indeed save a lot of trouble."
"Firstly, we can avoid the trouble of collecting taxes. Secondly, we can bring more benefits to the scholars."
"After all, there's a limit to the number of fields that can be eradicated, and it's not like the weather is good every year. If we directly distribute money and grain, it can be said that there's a guaranteed harvest. When the imperial court's finances are good, we can even distribute more.
As for those scholars who come from poor families and really can't afford to study, we can also give them an appropriate amount of help. "
"Your Majesty's ability to think of such a good plan is truly a blessing for the scholars of the world."
"On behalf of all the scholars in the world, this subject thanks Your Majesty for your kindness. This subject feels that they will understand Your Majesty's painstaking efforts. Once Your Majesty's plan comes out, it will surely be praised by the world."
Everyone looked at Zhang Siwei in surprise. Are you crazy?
Unexpectedly, as soon as Zhang Siwei finished speaking, everyone turned to look at him. Lord Grand Secretary, have you gone mad?
Aren't you afraid of being cursed for doing this?
Everyone could imagine the effect of this policy.
Even if it wasn't to say that the whole world would curse, it was probably close. The scholars wouldn't curse the Emperor, but they would definitely curse the Grand Secretary of the Cabinet.
Zhu Yijun looked at Zhang Siwei approvingly. He smiled and nodded, saying, "Very good. Grand Secretary Zhang has my heart."
Just as everyone was surprised by Zhang Siwei's words, another person also spoke up. This person was the Minister of Justice, Yan Qing.
"This subject also feels that Your Majesty's plan is beneficial to the country and the people. The scholars can reduce the burden and the imperial court can save manpower and resources. This is a good thing. This subject agrees." After saying this, Yan Qing shut his mouth again.
Zhu Yijun glanced at Yan Qing and was slightly astonished. One must know that Yan Qing rarely spoke on normal days.
Other than his own matters in the Ministry of Justice, Yan Qing rarely cared about anything else. Now that he heard his words, Zhu Yijun realized that this stubborn old man had another side to him. He smiled and said, "Good, Yan, you said it well."
Everyone didn't expect Yan Qing to say this. They looked at each other and wanted to object, but they didn't say anything.
"All right, then this matter is settled. The Cabinet should come up with a regulation as soon as possible."
Seeing that there were two people who supported him, Zhu Yijun directly made the decision. He then stood up and walked outside.
The Cabinet Grand Secretary and the Ministers of the Six Departments all had different expressions on their faces. The impact of this news was really too great.
Compared to the matter of the cultivation silver, Pan Jixun's matter was simply too insignificant.
As expected, after the news of the cultivation silver spread, it instantly caused a huge uproar.
However, those who weren't stupid knew what was going on. They would know after a little calculation when they went back. If the cultivation silver policy was really implemented, then their families would have to pay a sum of tax every year.
The more land they had, the more tax they had to pay. This was unacceptable.
The news that Zhang Siwei and Yan Qing agreed to this also spread. Many people turned their attention to these two people.
The memorials of impeachment and the voices of discussion could be said to be in an uproar for a while. The noise was endless.
The smart people in the officialdom all realized that this Daming the officialdom was going to experience a big shock.
Of course, there were also people who supported this policy. For example, Imperial Censor Li Zhi of the Imperial Censorate had joined forces with many people to submit memorials to Zhu Yijun, advocating his policies without restraint, and even refuting the claim that it violated the ancestral rules.
Forbidden City, Wenhua Hall.
Zhu Yijun looked at the memorial in his hand with a bitter smile on his face.
Zhang Siwei!
Those who submitted memorials in favor of this policy were basically all Zhang Siwei's people.
Obviously, after Zhang Juzheng's death, Zhang Siwei's idea of taking over the power had not been realized. He had been staying at home waiting for an opportunity.
After living in the shadow of Zhang Juzheng for so many years, Zhang Siwei naturally didn't lack patience.
This time, when he mentioned the cultivation silver, Zhang Siwei instantly realized that his opportunity had come.
This matter would definitely cause a huge uproar and countless people would oppose it. This was Zhang Siwei's opportunity to rise.
During the court discussion, Zhang Siwei instantly made up his mind and was the first to stand up and support.
After returning, Zhang Siwei began to mobilize his own people and began to advocate without restraint. He also wrote a letter to express his approval.
Zhu Yijun looked at the memorial in favor and didn't know what to feel.
To be honest, because of the problem with Zhang Juzheng in his previous life, Zhu Yijun really disliked Zhang Siwei and felt that he was not a good person.
Although Zhu Yijun also knew that this was the reason why he sympathized with Zhang Juzheng, that feeling just couldn't dissipate.
However, this matter this time also taught Zhu Yijun a lesson. People would change, and many people didn't have a bottom line or persistence.
The choice that Zhang Siwei had made was only the most advantageous one for him in his current position.
"Chen Ju, get the cabinet to draft the decree!" Zhu Yijun said plainly as he glanced at Chen Ju, who was serving him.
"Imperial Censorate Li Zhi is loyal, upright, diligent, and fearless. He is indeed a role model of the Imperial Censorate. He will be promoted to Right Deputy Imperial Censorate."
Although Zhu Yijun knew that this would cause a group of people who fawned on the rich and powerful to sing praises, it would also cause a group of people with ulterior motives to gather under Zhang Siwei's banner.
However, at this time, he needed these people.
When implementing this policy, it didn't matter who they were as long as they supported him.
At this moment, Zhu Yijun finally understood why the Emperor appointed crafty officials. Sometimes, the Emperor had no choice.
If you didn't use them, you wouldn't be able to do what you wanted to do. These people basically didn't have any principles or bottom lines. They dared to agree to anything and could agree to anything.
"Yes, Imperial Majesty, this servant will go and pass the decree!" Chen Ju said as she turned around and walked out.
"Your Majesty, Eunuch Xu is here!" Liu Seol came to Zhu Yijun's side and bowed.
Nodding, Zhu Yijun said, "Alright, let him in!"
Not long after, Xu De walked in and bowed respectfully to Zhu Yijun. "Imperial Majesty, this servant has found the person you asked me to find!"
"Tell me about it!" Zhu Yijun nodded and said calmly.
"At first, Li Zhi's surname was Lin, and his given name was Zhi. Later, he changed his surname to Li, and his given name was Zhi. His courtesy name was Hongfu, and he was from Quanzhou, Fujian. In the 31st year of Jiajing, he passed the imperial examination. He was the successor of the Taizhou School of Yangming School of Psychology. He was a lecturer in Gong City and a professor in the Imperial College. Wanli was the prefectural magistrate of Yao An.
"Not long after he became the prefectural magistrate, Li Zhi resigned and returned to his hometown, Huang 'an, Hubei. He lived in Geng Di's house and wrote some historical articles and taught the children of the Geng family.
"Li Zhi also gave many lectures in Ma City, criticizing the current politics and the ills of the times. Men and women from all walks of life went to listen to his lectures and were warmly welcomed.
"This servant once investigated and found out that Li Zhi once said, 'If even half a person who cherishes talent appears in the Imperial Court, allowing a talented person like the Virtuous Paragon of Great Vigor to be of use, he will definitely kill himself in order to repay the favor, unwilling to forget the favor.'
Hearing this, Zhu Yijun said with a smile, "He was talking about himself, right?
However, this sentence has the meaning of a scholar being a bosom friend. It sounds more like the relationship between a scholar and his master. Very interesting. "
"Let's talk about his thoughts!"
Zhu Yijun said with a smile, "Although the Taizhou School of Yangming's School of Mind has always been denounced as a heresy and is detested by the scholarly community, We are still very interested. I heard that he often criticizes Confucianism?"
Xu De nodded. "Imperial Majesty, it is no secret that the School of Mind and Confucianism are at odds. The Taizhou School of Mind is especially fierce, and their criticism of Confucianism is very severe."
Although many of Li Zhi's opinions were deviant and rebellious, his vision of salvation was still placed on the imperial court. He hoped that the officials of the imperial court would "take pity on talent" and be willing to repay him as a scholar. In the end, he was still a scholar.
From beginning to end, he never thought of being loyal to the emperor. He seemed more like the Kang Youwei of the later generations.