Chapter 303: Manorial Estate Taxes—Better Hand Them to the Five Chief Military Commissions

Duke of Ying Zhang Weixian could see it too—these civil officials clearly had no good intentions, they were obviously stirring up trouble. If some fool on his side stepped forward and said something now, it would probably be too late by then.

Since things had already come to this, there was no retreat left, so he might as well not retreat at all.

So Zhang Weixian stepped forward and said, "Reporting to Your Majesty, your subject also has something to say."

Zhu Youxiao glanced at Zhang Weixian and said, "If my beloved minister has something to say, speak freely."

Zhu Youxiao did indeed want to hear what Zhang Weixian had to say.

After all, the man had been thoroughly squeezed by the civil officials—if he didn't say something, he would certainly feel aggrieved inside. So Zhu Youxiao had no intention of stopping him, he only hoped Zhang Weixian wouldn't go too far.

"Yes, Your Majesty." Zhang Weixian smiled, stepped forward, and said, "We are descendants of those with meritorious service, having received the imperial grace for generations, so naturally we understand how to be loyal to the sovereign and serve the country. Although there are some unworthy sons among our families, they are ultimately a minority—most of us know loyalty to the sovereign and service to the state, and we also understand the current situation of the court."

"So we are willing to pay taxes on our manorial estates—this is the duty of a subject. Let alone just those taxes, even if it meant ruining our families to relieve the nation's difficulties, we would do so willingly."

"As for what the various lords just said, your subject believes it was somewhat excessive. In the court, we must not speak thus. We merely fulfilled a bit of our duty; it does not deserve such praise. As long as the Great Ming prospers and Your Majesty remains hale and healthy, that is the blessing of us who serve as your ministers."

Zhu Youxiao glanced at Zhang Weixian and nodded lightly, saying, "My beloved minister is loyal and devoted to the state—this is a blessing for the Great Ming's rivers and mountains! Good, very good!"

Hearing the Duke of Ying's words, the civil officials felt as if they had swallowed flies—they had expected the nobles and imperial relatives to make a fuss, but who would have thought they would just cave in like that?

Still, at least the objective had been achieved, so everyone's mood wasn't too bad. What came next was more important; there was no need to dwell on this matter.

As Zhang Weixian stepped back, he cast a glance toward the civil officials.

Hatred burned fiercely in his heart.

This matter isn't over—after doing this to us, you think you can just withdraw like that?

Not a chance! One day, we'll get it all back!

Zhu Youxiao glanced at the Duke of Ying, then at the civil officials across from him, and nodded lightly, saying, "Then let us discuss how to collect the taxes. Do my beloved ministers have any opinions?"

Upon hearing this, Xu Guangqi was the first to step forward.

He walked ahead a few paces and said, "Reporting to Your Majesty, your subject has something to say."

Zhu Youxiao nodded and said, "If my beloved minister has something to say, speak freely."

"Reporting to Your Majesty, your subject believes that the manorial estate taxes of the nobles and imperial relatives should not be collected by local government offices. After all, there is too great a gap in official rank and status between local offices and the nobles and imperial relatives—collecting taxes would be difficult. If any trouble arises, it would be hard to manage."

"So your subject believes it would be better to hand this matter to the Ministry of Revenue, with dedicated personnel from the Ministry responsible, and the silver collected would go directly into the Ministry's treasury. In this way, it serves both public and private interests."

"Grand Secretary Xu, that would hardly be appropriate, would it?"

Before Xu Guangqi could speak, Huang Kezuan had already stepped forward.

At this moment, no one else should be allowed to speak. Since this was a war between Grand Secretaries of the Grand Secretariat, letting others get involved would not be good.

So Huang Kezuan said, "Whether it's transport or collection, both require a great number of personnel. Is Grand Secretary Xu suggesting we use even more officials?"

"Grand Secretary Xu should still remember the problem of redundant officials in the former Song dynasty, shouldn't he?"

"There was already a well-functioning system in place. If we suddenly add another set of personnel, wouldn't that lead to overstaffing and idle hands?"

After saying this, Huang Kezuan turned to look at Zhu Youxiao, bowed, and said, "Reporting to Your Majesty, your subject believes this proposal is highly inappropriate. The court's tax system is already sound and complete—adding another whole set of personnel is truly unnecessary. Although these are manorial estate taxes of the nobles and imperial relatives, this time they are voluntary on the nobles' part. Presumably they will not refuse to cooperate, and there will be no difficulty for local officials in collection. So handing it to local officials is sufficient."

If the Ministry of Revenue were allowed to create such a batch of personnel, then that batch would answer only to the Ministry of Revenue, and no one else could interfere—this was something the others did not want to see, so Huang Kezuan stepped forward to oppose it.

One should know that the court was now extremely wary of government offices outside the established establishment.

Previously, the Office of Transmission had been set up and caused everyone great anxiety. Now if the office for collecting manorial estate taxes were given to the Ministry of Revenue, who knew what would happen in the future?

What if one day they grew insatiable and wanted to take over all the empire's taxes?

That was not an impossibility. Everyone was perfectly clear about the current state of the empire's taxation.

Given Xu Guangqi's character, he was fully capable of doing such a thing. So it was best to strangle it in the cradle.

Even if it truly had to be done, only I should be the one to do it.

Zhu Youxiao's gaze swept over Huang Kezuan and Xu Guangqi, his face expressionless.

Clearly, this kind of infighting among civil officials was something he couldn't intervene in, and eliminating it was equally impossible.

Wherever there are people, there are struggles over interests.

Whether for private gain, for love of country and family, or for the ambitions in one's breast and the desire to implement one's own ideas—such struggles would never cease.

Seeing the two Grand Secretaries arguing, the others fell silent instead.

All the civil officials present knew that this was not the time to interrupt—otherwise, they might well end up as cannon fodder.

Even Cui Chengxiu shrank back, thinking that the best thing now would be for no one to see him at all.

But there was one person who did not fear this—and that person was the Duke of Ying.

He had already been quite dissatisfied with these civil officials. He had thought the matter was settled, but then this Huang Kezuan had to drag them into it again, pulling them out at every turn—showing them far too little respect.

Glancing at Zhu Youxiao, Zhang Weixian's resolve in his own plan grew even firmer.

At this point, either he gave it a try, or he caved in. If he didn't try, he would never be satisfied!

Zhang Weixian decisively stepped forward, bowed, and said, "Your Majesty, your subject has a proposal."

These words startled everyone, including Zhu Youxiao himself.

In his plan, Zhang Weixian had no part to play, but he was curious to hear what Zhang Weixian wanted to say.

So Zhu Youxiao smiled and said, "If my beloved minister has something to say, speak freely."

"Reporting to Your Majesty, your subject believes the collection could be handled by the Five Chief Military Commissions." Zhang Weixian said slowly, "The manorial estate taxes of the nobles and imperial relatives are, after all, the money of us military men. Having the Five Chief Military Commissions collect them is perfectly proper and justified, and the problems Grand Secretary Xu mentioned naturally would not occur. Is this not a move that kills two birds with one stone?"

"Once the silver is collected, it can be used to repair weapons and equip soldiers. In recent years, there have been many troubles at the borders, and the various regions have not been peaceful—it is time to spend some silver on this. Moreover, the court needs money for training troops, so why not use this money for that purpose?"

"In this way, the Ministry of Revenue is spared the trouble of allocating funds, avoiding one extra hassle. At the same time, the money saved can be used by the Ministry of Revenue elsewhere—this is a matter of killing two birds with one stone. If the Chief Military Commissions have surplus spending each year, it can be kept for the next year; if it still cannot all be spent, it can be sent to the Ministry of Revenue to be used elsewhere."

After Zhang Weixian said these words, the eyes of the nobles and imperial relatives standing behind him lit up.

This truly was an excellent idea!

If the Five Chief Military Commissions were to collect the manorial estate taxes, then this would be an office connected to themselves, where they could more or less have a say—and with that, many things would become much easier to handle.

And spending the collected money would also have to be done through the Five Chief Military Commissions—meaning that those serving in the Five Chief Military Commissions might even be able to skim a bit back for themselves.

In that case, the amount actually spent might not be so much after all—this was a good thing!

Compared to letting those civil officials embezzle the money, it was far better to use it on themselves.

So the meritorious nobles and imperial relatives all thought this idea was good. Many of them made their fortunes through the military, and if this money was spent on the army, they might even earn a bit more.

The Marquis of Xining stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, your minister believes this move is most excellent! The Duke of Ying is truly a pillar of the state, and his words are those of an old hand planning for the nation! If such a measure can be implemented, our Great Ming will surely have strong soldiers and sturdy horses, the border troubles can be resolved, and at the same time the troops in various regions will have good equipment—wouldn't suppressing rebellions and wiping out bandits be as easy as reaching into one's pocket?"

Zhu Youxiao looked at the Marquis of Xining with a smile on his face, but in his heart he was unimpressed.

Did they really think war was all about money?

You couldn't fight a war without money, but money wasn't the decisive factor either. Especially in this age of cold weapons, money wasn't that important. Even if this money was given to you, you still couldn't win battles.

Still, Zhang Weixian's idea was somewhat interesting, and perhaps quite feasible. At least once this money was collected and reached the hands of the Five Chief Military Commissions, it would be as good as in his own hands. When that time truly came, he could use this money to train troops.

Even if it was used in the future to train the navy, this money could be put to use without having to quibble with those people at the Ministry of Revenue—as long as the Five Chief Military Commissions agreed, that was enough.

As for the civil officials, their hearts skipped a beat. No one had expected to be stabbed in the back by Zhang Weixian, and this strike was both accurate and vicious, with the timing chosen perfectly.

The civil officials had been fighting fiercely among themselves—neither Xu Guangqi nor Huang Kezuan could afford to lose face—so it was simply a matter of giving no one any face at all. Such an approach was not unworkable.

"Your minister believes this matter is inappropriate."

At this moment, Shen Tingyun, the Minister of Rites, stepped forward.

He took a step forward and said, "Your Majesty, if the Five Chief Military Commissions collect taxes, there will likely be oversights. After all, there are personal connections involved—with officials shielding one another, they will conceal their landholdings."

"Minister Shen, what you say is wrong." Zhang Weixian glared and retorted, "This tax is something we voluntarily offered up. Just now you said we were loyal and devoted to the state, said we understood the greater good—how is it that in the blink of an eye you're measuring us with the mind of a petty man?"

"If we were unwilling to contribute the money, we simply wouldn't have offered it. Since we've already agreed, why would you speak of such deceitful, petty, and contemptible deeds?"

"Minister Shen—a dignified Minister of Rites—how can you measure a gentleman's heart with a petty man's mind?"