Daming: The system rejected my request for salted fish

Chapter 990

Just when everyone was shocked, Zhu Yuanzhang, who was sitting high on the dragon throne, suddenly spoke.

"That's right. The national policy of equalizing the land tax and its details were all told to us by Wei Wu himself."

"Originally, we were planning to hand this over to him, but Wei Wu refused, citing his lazy nature."

"I didn't expect that he would actually bring up this matter today. It really took me by surprise!"

Having said that, Zhu Yuanzhang also looked at Wei Wu, and then asked a question.

"Wei Wu, why did you suddenly change your mind?"

Hearing Zhu Yuanzhang's question, Wei Wu first saluted and then replied:

"In the past, my humble position was insignificant and my influence was not taken seriously. Even if I tried to contribute, it would be difficult to get things done. I might even turn a good thing into a bad one."

"Now that I have received the Emperor's grace and have become the Duke of Ming, I must contribute to the Ming!"

Officials who were able to stand in the Fengxian Hall to attend court were basically smart people and could naturally understand the meaning of Wei Wu's words.

But it has to be said that what Wei Wu said was true. He was just a small figure before and no one paid any attention to him.

Land reform is no trivial matter. Looking back through the dynasties, every reform was accompanied by the danger of bloodshed.

If Wei Wu at that time were really asked to do this, he might have died before he even started.

But now it’s different. As the Duke of the current dynasty, there are few people in the court who have a higher status and position than him.

This identity alone is enough to crush anyone. Who dares to mess with him? There is no problem in implementing land reform now.

All officials understood this truth, and the official who opposed Wei Wu naturally understood it as well, but he just didn't want to give up just like that.

So, after Wei Wu finished speaking, he also bowed and said to Zhu Yuanzhang:

"Your Majesty, if this national policy was proposed by the Duke of Zhenguo, then there is indeed no need to worry, but everything in this world has its ups and downs."

"This is the first time the Duke of Zhenguo has taken over this matter. I believe we should start with other areas, such as Chuzhou, Luzhou, and Fengyang."

"After all, Jiangnan is a major tax-collecting area for the Ming Dynasty. If something unexpected happens, it could lead to a huge loss in national strength. The gain would be more than the loss!"

The official's words sounded nice, but to put it bluntly, he didn't want Wei Wu to interfere in affairs in the south of the Yangtze River.

But could Wei Wu possibly let him have his wish?

The answer is of course no, so after he finished speaking, without waiting for Zhu Yuanzhang to respond, Wei Wu spoke again:

"No, no, sir. In my opinion, if we want to carry out land reform, we should start from Jiangnan."

"Jiangnan is a major tax-paying region for the Ming Dynasty. The sooner reforms are completed here, the sooner the court can benefit from them."

"As for the threat of a significant loss of national strength, I think this is nothing more than alarmist talk. It simply won't happen."

"Now that our Great Ming is at peace, and the Japanese pirates' silver mines provide a steady supply of money, how can we say that our national strength has been severely damaged?"

When the official heard Wei Wu's words, he immediately became unhappy and quickly opened his mouth to refute.

"Duke Zhenguo, do you know that if something goes wrong in Jiangnan, food alone will become a huge problem!"

Upon hearing this, Wei Wu smiled contemptuously and said:

"Food? What does that have to do with my reform of the three prefectures in Jiangnan?"

"It doesn't make sense, it really doesn't make sense!"

As soon as Wei Wu finished speaking, the official angrily pointed at Wei Wu's nose and shouted, then continued:

"Jiangnan is a grain-producing region, yet you actually say it's okay? How can we entrust you with the responsibility of carrying out land reform?!"

Seeing that the official was about to jump up in anger, Wei Wu still raised a finger and said calmly:

"First, you have to understand one thing. The main grain-producing area of ​​the Ming Dynasty is the Huguang region, which has nothing to do with the three prefectures I mentioned."

"In Jiangnan, the Ganjiang River region and the southern Huizhou region are also responsible for grain production. The grain production of the three prefectures does not affect the Ming Dynasty."

In fact, Wei Wu also knew that Jiangnan was an important grain-producing area, but that was in the past. Although Jiangnan also produces a lot of grain now, especially Suzhou.