Chapter 75

054. Halt Great Wall Construction, Nobles Must Pay Taxes! Does This Rebellious Son Intend to Ruin the Nation?

"What?"

"Halt construction of the Epang Palace?"

The moment these words were spoken, the entire court was utterly stunned!

The Epang Palace!

One must understand, that is the Epang Palace!

The reason First Emperor ordered the construction of the Epang Palace was to build a new imperial palace for Great Qin!

Thus, to demonstrate Great Qin's unparalleled supremacy!

Yet... now!

With a single sentence, Ying Su actually intends to halt construction of the Epang Palace?

"Your Majesty!"

One person had just stepped forward intending to say something.

But... Ying Su gave him no chance to speak, instead directly listing all the remaining matters in one breath!

"Halt Great Wall construction!"

"Attack the Xiongnu!"

"I wish to implement new policies: merge the head tax into the land tax; henceforth, all taxes in Great Qin shall be levied based on land acreage, not per capita!"

"In other words, whatever amount of land one owns, one shall pay a proportional amount of grain!"

"What?"

"What?"

"Halt Great Wall construction!"

"Attack the Xiongnu?"

"Implement new policies? Merge the head tax into the land tax?"

The moment these words were spoken, instantly, everyone in the entire court exploded in uproar.

At that moment, even Li Si and Xiao He, who had discussed these matters with Ying Su just yesterday, were shocked beyond measure!

One must understand, this meant halting Great Wall construction, attacking the Xiongnu, and seizing grain from the nobles!

Accomplishing any single one of these three matters would require immense resolve!

Yet now... Ying Su actually intended to undertake all three simultaneously!

What magnitude of resolve must this require!

Li Si was terrified!

Xiao He trembled even more violently!

And at that instant, the entire court directly exploded in uproar.

Everyone's heads buzzed loudly!

At that moment, many wished to speak, yet momentarily, everyone was overwhelmed by these several matters.

For a time, they were so shocked they hardly knew what to say!

Regardless of whether they spoke or not, Ying Su immediately summoned another person: "Huang Chao, where are you?"

He called out!

Instantly, a person entered the court!

And merely glancing at this individual, everyone was completely dumbfounded!

Because... this person's appearance was truly incredibly ugly!

Not only the crowd, but even Ying Su could not help but sigh at Huang Chao's appearance.

It was truly ugly!

The saying that he fell to the ground at birth due to ugliness was truly no idle talk!

However... regarding Huang Chao's appearance, Ying Su cared not one bit.

He only required that Huang Chao be capable of getting things done!

At the same time, he proclaimed an edict to Huang Chao:

"From this day forth, I appoint you as the Chief Administrator for collecting tax grain, and bestow upon you the Shangfang Sword; with the Shangfang Sword in hand, it is as if the Emperor himself is present; anyone who refuses to pay tax grain, whether royal nobility or common folk, regardless of status, you possess the authority to handle the case specially, executing first and reporting later!"

"Guards! Bestow the Shangfang Sword!"

At that moment, upon Ying Su's command, instantly, a purely forged sword was handed into Huang Chao's hands!

And Huang Chao raised this sword high, bowing deeply before Ying Su: "Your subject obeys!"

"What?"

"What?"

The moment these words were spoken, at that instant, the entire court of civil and military officials was shocked once again!

Appointing Huang Chao as the Chief Administrator for collecting tax grain, and bestowing the Shangfang Sword!

With the Shangfang Sword in hand, it is as if the Emperor himself is present!

Whether royal nobility or common folk!

Regardless of status, possessing the authority to handle cases specially, executing first and reporting later?

These words truly stunned everyone!

What does this mean?

Does this mean everyone must pay taxes according to regulations?

If they do not pay, is it possible they will be killed by Huang Chao?

At that moment, everyone was truly stunned and numb!

Everyone's scalps tingled to the extreme!

At that moment, countless people opened their mouths; they wanted to say something to oppose this matter!

However, Ying Su gave them no chance to speak at all, shouting directly: "Recess!"

Having spoken those words, he turned and left immediately.

And at that moment, in the court hall, everyone was numb!

Everyone's scalps tingled!

Some even shouted loudly: "Your Majesty, wait!"

"Wait, Your Majesty!"

However, no matter how they shouted, Ying Su did not even turn his head once.

Instead, Huang Chao directly raised the Shangfang Sword and bowed to everyone, saying:

"My lords, from today on, Huang Chao shall be the chief official specifically responsible for collecting taxes; I hope all my lords will grant convenience!"

"Additionally, according to Your Majesty's will, since this is a new decree, taxes from previous years shall be waived!"

"But... the taxes for this year, I earnestly hope all my lords will make up!"

"I will state a time!"

"Three days!"

"Within three days, I earnestly hope all great noble families within Xianyang City can prepare the tax grain and await Huang Chao's arrival for inspection!"

"After three days, if tax grain cannot be paid, Huang Chao will handle matters specially!"

Having spoken, he drew the forged Shangfang Sword with a sharp clang!

Ding!

A faint sound rang out; in that instant, cold light dazzled. Everyone looking at that Shangfang Sword felt their hearts tremble with fear and their scalps tingle!

In the blink of an eye, Huang Chao departed.

The entire court of civil and military officials, all of them, were even more terrified and numb.

But the very moment they left Outside Xianyanggong, everyone gathered together!

"Rebellious son!"

"This rebellious son!"

"That he stopped repairing the Great Wall and the Epang Palace is one thing; disregarding the current state of the Great Qin Empire and wanting to attack the Xiongnu is one thing!"

"But now, he actually wants to implement this 'incorporating head tax into land tax'?"

"What is 'incorporating head tax into land tax'? Spoken nicely, it means collecting taxes according to the land area!"