amaotonovel Chapter 1177 Son-in-law... well, not quite...
Chapter 1177 Son-in-law... well, not quite...
Emperor Zhu gave Yang Shaofeng a meaningful look.
Emperor Zhu felt that no one knew his son-in-law better than himself—he dared to sleep against the dragon pillar during the grand court assembly, and he dared to mess with the emperor whenever he had the chance. He dared to teach all sorts of nonsensical knowledge to outsiders. Calling him audacious would be an understatement.
The key point is that his connections from Ningyang County to Dengzhou Prefecture, then to Dengzhou University, Dengzhou Market and Dengzhou Fleet, and even the silver mines in the area of the short, ugly man, plus all the messy cases he handled, are enough to demonstrate this scoundrel's abilities.
Yet this very same Yang the Madman, who dared to mess with our founding emperor, the founding prime minister, and all the civil and military officials of the Ming court, and was known as the "Devil's Sorrow," was actually forced into this situation by those so-called aristocratic families, officials, gentry, and maritime merchant groups he mentioned, and actually asked us to establish an ancestral system.
In other words, he felt he couldn't solve the problem, and didn't even think Biao'er could.
This bastard has been driven to the brink of desperation and has reached the end of his rope.
Emperor Zhu's expression gradually turned serious, and his fingers tapped lightly on the table.
Li Shanchang didn't dare to utter a sound.
This is a huge deal!
In particular, Yang Dianfeng's statement, "The greater the cost, the better, preferably so great that no one can afford the consequences of amending these prohibitions," was clearly aimed at His Highness the Crown Prince and even the future Emperor of the Ming Dynasty.
Those in positions of power won't care.
His Highness the Crown Prince wouldn't care.
But what about the future?
Even if the Crown Prince still calls Yang the Madman "Uncle," what about after that?
What's even more damning is that Yang the Madman also said, "It should be discussed by the Duke of Han and the cabinet ministers"—the entire court can't afford to offend you, Yang the Madman, but can't they afford to offend me, Li Shanchang?
You, Yang the Madman, really don't care whether I live or die!
Li Shanchang was cursing inwardly when Emperor Zhu, who was tapping the table, suddenly paused and said, "Alright, we agree to the ancestral rule."
“You should talk to Mr. Shanchang and Mr. Qingtian about this properly, and we should also think about it carefully.”
"The official suggested revisions, so we should exterminate their entire clan."
"The emperor proposed amendments, allowing vassal kings to enter the capital to serve the emperor, and allowing the common people to stand up and purge the court of corrupt officials."
"We've set an ironclad rule beforehand that no one can touch it; whoever does will die!"
As Emperor Zhu finished speaking, not only were Li Shanchang and Liu Bowen startled, but even Yang Shaofeng, who had long anticipated that Lao Deng would agree to establish ancestral rules, was equally astonished.
To put it bluntly, ancestral rules are not unusual. Deng Xiaoping himself was a system fanatic, so it's normal for him to agree to establish ancestral rules.
However, Yang Shaofeng never expected that Lao Deng would be so radical, even saying things like "allowing princes to enter the capital to serve the emperor, and allowing the people to stand up and purge the court of corrupt officials."
Allowing princes to enter the capital to serve the emperor is one thing, but no matter how much they serve the emperor, they will ultimately be descendants of the Zhu family who become emperors, so it's like the meat rotting in the pot.
However, allowing the common people to stand up and purge the court of corrupt officials is a completely different matter.
This is practically a blatant declaration to the world that whenever the emperor or anyone else tries to challenge the ancestral ironclad rules, the common people have a perfectly legitimate excuse to rise up and rebel.
So... Old Deng is the real radical, while I am the orthodox conservative?
Yang Shaofeng wondered if he and Lao Deng had swapped scripts, but Li Shanchang stepped forward and bowed to Emperor Zhu, saying, "Your Majesty, allowing the people to stand up and purge the court of corrupt officials, isn't that a bit too much..."
Emperor Zhu waved his hand and looked at Li Shanchang, saying, "Rather than waiting for them to break the iron law, exploit the people to the point of starvation, and eventually cause the people to rebel and the country to fall into chaos, it would be better for us to give the people a chance to cleanse the court of corrupt officials."
"Or to put it more bluntly—in the same chaotic world, will the people forced into rebellion remember our kindness and leave a way out for our descendants?"
“We’ll give the people a reason to rebel. Even if the emperor is replaced by someone else and the Ming dynasty no longer belongs to the Zhu family, at least for our sake, our descendants won’t be slaughtered.”
"Just like that bastard told us before."
Emperor Zhu glanced at Yang Shaofeng, smiled self-deprecatingly, and continued, "He said, why were those officials and gentry so keen on a good reputation in the past?"
"First, we must exchange a good reputation for power and profit."
"Another reason is that even if the family falls into poverty and the descendants are reduced to begging, they can still get half a steamed bun more than other beggars."
“Those simple-minded people, once they have received even half a steamed bun from them, would be eager to repay them with all their heart and soul.”
"If even officials and gentry are like this, how can we, as the emperor, not know how to win the hearts of the people and accumulate half a steamed bun's worth of blessings for our descendants?"
At this point, Emperor Zhu looked at Li Shanchang and Liu Bowen with a half-smile and said, "Mr. Shanchang, Mr. Qingtian, our Emperor of the Great Ming Dynasty, and you nobles, are all supported by the common people."
"Those officials and local gentry don't care, who becomes emperor or whether the world is in chaos or not, it doesn't affect their status as officials or gentry."
"But we can't do that."
"If the dynasty really changes one day, most of the descendants of the Zhu family will be purged, and hereditary nobles like you will probably not fare well either."
"..."
Li Shanchang and Liu Bowen stared blankly at Emperor Zhu.
Hey, you in power, do you want to hear what you're saying?
Can these things be said openly?
So, just because your son-in-law is acting crazy, you're going to act crazy along with him?
No matter how much Li Shanchang and Liu Bowen complained in their hearts, it had no effect on Emperor Zhu.
On the contrary, Emperor Zhu became more and more excited as he spoke.
“Take the coastal merchants for example.”
"Damn it, they've been trying every possible way to create Japanese pirates and maritime threats, forcing us to ban the sea."
“We banned it, but they went on a smuggling spree, pocketing all the taxes that should have gone into the national treasury.”
"The results of it?"
"They still fondly remember Hu Yuan."
"They won't even give us a single penny of tax!"
"They pocketed 99 million out of a tax of 100 million, and when they gave us 1 million, they still felt they were losing out!"
"Damn them, that's our money!"
"We could have used this money to increase your salaries!"
"Damn it, so in their eyes, the Emperor of the Great Ming Dynasty is nothing more than a beggar kneeling on his knees?"
"That won't work."
"We used to beg for food, but now that we're emperors, why should we still have to kneel and beg?"
After cursing for a long time, Emperor Zhu suddenly turned to Yang Shaofeng and said, "You tell me, how can we earn money while standing up?"
Yang Shaofeng was stunned for a moment, then suddenly perked up.
Old Deng was completely enraged.
If we don't give him a push now, when will we?
Yang Shaofeng smiled slightly, cupped his hands to Emperor Zhu and said, "Your Majesty, I have come up with a rhyming jingle regarding the taxation of those wealthy merchants."
Before Lao Deng could even ask, Yang Shaofeng said directly, "As the saying goes: Give me ninety-five out of a hundred, you know my methods."
"Don't spend the remaining five strings of cash yet. Pay four strings and eight taels tomorrow night."
"Don't touch the remaining two hundred yet; the hundred will be very useful the day after tomorrow."
"Remember the last hundred, the fifty will be your only chance to survive."
"I'll deposit fifty with you, and then I'll return the principal and interest later."
"If you're not satisfied, then sue me. The tax collectors in brocade robes will be here immediately."
"If that doesn't work, head outwards; there are two sunny roads, one to the north and one to the south."
"To the south, it shines like a street lamp; to the north, it's like a large bar of soap."
"You've earned precious money and you still want to spend it? You've got all the good things in the world?"
Emperor Zhu, black sesame dumplings, Li Shanchang, and Liu Bowen all stared blankly at Yang Shaofeng.
Is this the imperial son-in-law of the Ming Dynasty and the Duke of Ying?
This guy is clearly a living Yama!
Emperor Zhu gasped, smacked his lips, and said, "My dear son-in-law... it's not that bad..."