Chapter 51

This Great Ming is simply too miserable.

Can't even put a single chili pepper on a pancake with fried dough!

Before Su Qiao could even curse a few times.

The mouth that had been chewing the pancake with fried dough suddenly froze in place.

Because Su Qiao clearly saw, within the hall in the distance, the quietly seated back of someone slightly aged...

48, the root of the illness is Your Majesty himself!

The evening breeze brushed past.

The corners of Su Qiao's mouth twitched slightly twice.

If this person isn't Old Zhu, then who else could it be!

Is the Emperor of Great Ming so impolite?

Forcing his way into someone's home like this?!

Who will be held responsible for the lost items!

Hearing the commotion behind him, the little Eunuch beside him couldn't help but scold.

"Su Qiao, why do you not kneel before the Son of Heaven?"

Before Su Qiao could even open his mouth, Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help but scold.

"Get lost! Can't you see we are busy here!"

Hearing Zhu Yuanzhang finish scolding the little Eunuch beside him, Su Qiao finally came to his senses.

Looking at Zhu Yuanzhang somewhat awkwardly, he asked.

"I do not know why Your Majesty has come to this subject's home late at night, for the purpose of...?"

Zhu Yuanzhang took a deep breath, sized up Su Qiao, and snorted.

"It is still that hypothesis from the palace that day."

"If a future ruler of our Great Ming used your method, and the first time extorted over a million taels of silver from the nobles, what should be done?"

Su Qiao knew the historical trajectory of Great Ming.

Hearing this question, a slight smile immediately appeared on his face.

A million taels of silver is only where to where, damn it!

Do you know how much silver was found after Li Zicheng entered the city?

Seeing the smile on Su Qiao's face, Zhu Yuanzhang asked somewhat displeased.

"I am asking you a question, what are you laughing at?!"

Su Qiao stared coldly at Zhu Yuanzhang and said.

"Nothing else."

"This subject is just thinking, if all the nobles in the court could dismiss the Son of Heaven with a mere million taels of silver."

"Then that Son of Heaven is probably worth far too little."

Hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang immediately furiously scolded Su Qiao.

"What do you take all the future subjects of our Great Ming for?!"

"Are they all massive greedy villains?!"

Hearing Zhu Yuanzhang's words.

Su Qiao looked at Zhu Yuanzhang as if looking at a fool and asked.

"Your Majesty, if every civil and military official in the court were not a massive greedy villain, how could the Jurchens outside the pass and the refugees inside the pass grow so powerful?"

"If there were even one loyal and righteous, poor and clean official stationed in a place where the people rebel, the people would never be forced to raise their banners in revolt!"

Looking through the Twenty-Four Histories.

Besides Great Ming, which other dynasty collapsed so inexplicably.

So many experts and scholars in later generations simply could not find a single direct cause that played a decisive role in the fall of the Ming.

Han was hammered by the Huang Jin Rebellion, then had its power seized by Boss Cao.

Tang had its power seized by the regional warlords after the An Lushan Rebellion, plus a bunch of Eunuchs in the palace who had nothing better to do than depose Emperors for fun.

Song, needless to say, was completely beaten by the north.

What about Great Ming?

Did it fall to the Jurchens?

The key is that when the Jurchens crossed Shanhai Pass, Chongzhen had long since hanged himself from a southeast branch.

Did it fall to the rebellious people?

This fellow Li Zicheng had no rear area to speak of; in previous years he was beaten until only a dozen riders fled into the Shangluo Mountains.

He turned around and came out leading hundreds of thousands of men to kill.

Were there regional warlords?

The four Sizhen of Jiangbei plus that piece of goods Zuo Zuo Liangyu were not even qualified to hold the shoes of the Tang dynasty's regional warlords.

It was simply inexplicably forcing the people to rebel, then the rebellious people broke into Jingcheng, forced the Emperor to his death, and the world was lost.

Zhu Yuanzhang's expression gradually grew dark.

Staring fixedly at Su Qiao, he asked.

"Then what exactly do you mean?"

A ruthless expression suddenly appeared on Su Qiao's face as he said.

"Give them the interest, repay the principal, let them taste the sweetness, and use a long line to catch a big fish!"

Zhu Yuanzhang stared fixedly at Su Qiao and asked.

"Then at how much silver should we stop?"

"Thirty million!"

"We will not stop until we reach thirty million taels of silver!"

Originally, Zhu Yuanzhang thought one million five hundred thousand taels was fantastical enough.

He never expected Su Qiao to open his mouth and demand thirty million taels of silver!

Old Zhu's face grew gloomy, and he gritted his teeth, asking,

"Thirty million taels of silver? Why thirty million taels?"

To put it plainly.

Old Zhu simply did not believe the entire court of civil and military officials possessed three million taels of silver!

Unexpectedly, Su Qiao's words directly shattered Zhu Yuanzhang's fantasy.

"Because the entire court of civil and military officials will not bring out their entire family assets; stopping when we have scraped up about half is just right."

Hearing these words.

Zhu Yuanzhang nearly spat out a mouthful of old blood.

"Thirty million taels of silver, and that is not even their entire family assets?"

"It is only half?"

Su Qiao snorted coldly,

"To be precise, it should not even be half."

"The family assets of the entire court of civil and military officials are at least over seventy million taels of silver!"

"The rest will require the Son of Heaven to seize their families by leveraging the momentum of a great victory."

Seventy million taels of silver!

Let alone Zhu Yuanzhang!

Even Zhan Hui, the Minister of Revenue of Great Ming, would not dare to think of such a number!

Even the Guo Huan Case caused a loss to Great Ming of only twenty-four million shi!

And that was grain.

Converted into silver, there would not be this much silver.

Zhu Yuanzhang stared fixedly at Su Qiao.

He gritted his teeth and asked,

"Are you so certain that the future ministers of our Great Ming will each be so corrupt?"

Hearing this, Su Qiao could not help but feel secretly delighted in his heart.