Two-Man Act

As soon as the voice fell, Zhuge Huaijin, holding his ceremonial tablet, once again strode out of the ranks.

"This old minister, Zhuge Huaijin, has a memorial to present!"

Wang Hao raised his eyebrows slightly. This old thing still couldn't hold back.

"My beloved subject Zhuge, you now hold the dual posts of Grand Secretary of the Cabinet and Director of the General Taxation Bureau, managing a myriad of affairs every day. What is the matter today?"

Zhuge Huaijin suddenly raised his head, his scratched old face written with determination.

"Your Majesty! Since receiving Your Majesty's grace to take charge of the General Taxation Bureau, this old minister has worked day and night, not daring to slack off in the slightest. However, the Great Zhou has long-standing abuses. Local tyrants and noble families annex land, hide the population, and the trend of resisting and evading taxes is rampant! The tax officials this old minister sent to the local areas are verbally abused and driven away at best, or drowned in rivers at worst! Collecting taxes is harder than ascending to the blue sky!"

Zhang Wuji listened from the side, sneering repeatedly.

Wang Hao remained calm: "And so? What good strategy do you have?"

Zhuge Huaijin took a deep breath.

"This old minister pondered bitterly and finally came up with a strategy! If we want the noble families and tyrants of the world to pay taxes, we must first strike at the root and start from the top down! This old minister begs Your Majesty to let the royal enterprises take the lead in paying taxes!"

As soon as these words came out, the massive Hall of Supreme Harmony instantly fell into a deathly silence.

You could hear a pin drop.

The laziness on Wang Hao's face vanished instantly, and his eyes narrowed slightly. You old dog Zhuge! I borrowed your hand to bite the noble families, and you turn around and backstab me first?

Zhuge Huaijin seemed not to see the displeasure in the emperor's eyes, and continued to speak passionately: "Your Majesty! This old minister has already inquired clearly. The royal enterprises under the Directorate of Ceremonial, especially the six workshops that have been listed on the exchange in recent months, are raking in gold every day! The monthly cash flow is as high as twenty to thirty million taels of silver! What a massive fortune is this?"

Speaking of this, Zhuge Huaijin's voice was trembling, stimulated by so much money.

"Your Majesty often teaches us that when the Son of Heaven breaks the law, he is guilty of the same crime as the common people. Then, when the Son of Heaven does business, shouldn't he be taxed the same as the common people? If Your Majesty can issue a decree to let these six major listed royal enterprises pay a fifty percent tax every month to fill the state treasury, this old minister dares to guarantee with the head on his shoulders that no noble family or tyrant in this world will dare to say a single 'no'! Whoever dares not to pay, this old minister will go and confiscate their property!"

Fifty percent?!

Sitting on the dragon throne, the corner of Wang Hao's mouth twitched fiercely.

Is this old thing crazy? He really dares to ask!

Before eunuchs like Sun Li and Wei Zhongxian had time to flare up, voices of opposition suddenly rang out in the hall.

"Impossible!!!"

"Absurd! This is simply the most absurd thing in the world!"

Among the ranks of nobles and military generals, the eyes of several top-tier dukes, such as the Duke of Ying, Zhang Jing, and the Duke of Ding, Xu Chengzuo, turned red. Like mad bulls whose tails had been stepped on, they rushed out desperately.

At the same time, in the ranks of civil officials, Zhang Wuji also disregarded all decency. Sporting a purplish-black black eye, he scrambled and stumbled out.

Sitting above, Wang Hao was instantly amused.

Old man Zhuge, oh old man Zhuge, you scheme against me, but you forgot who stands behind these royal enterprises!

You should know that in the beginning, in order to bind their interests, massive amounts of the original shares of these six major listed enterprises were distributed to the noble faction led by Zhang Jing. Meanwhile, aristocratic officials like Zhang Wuji, in order to hedge against the losses of their noble families in the local areas, went for broke and bought a massive amount of shares at the stock market's peak.

Now, the monthly dividends of these stocks are their lifeblood!

The moment Zhuge Huaijin opened his mouth, he wanted to take away fifty percent of the profits for taxes. This was equivalent to snatching half the food right out of the rice bowls of these dukes and noble families! Who could tolerate this?!

"Zhuge, you old thief! What are your intentions!" The Duke of Ying, Zhang Jing, was so angry that his beard trembled. He pointed at Zhuge Huaijin's nose and cursed loudly, "That is royal property! It is His Majesty's face! You, as a minister, actually dare to covet the Emperor's money. Are you trying to rebel?!"

Zhang Jing's words were high-sounding, full of claims of acting for the Emperor, but in reality, his heart was bleeding: My dividends! Hundreds of thousands of taels of silver in dividends every month. If you take away fifty percent, what will I use to support my concubines?

Zhang Wuji was even more heartbroken. The finger he pointed at Zhuge Huaijin was trembling: "Zhuge Huaijin! You are shameless! Are you doing this to enrich the state treasury? You are just jealous! That is competing with the people for profit! The common people bought these stocks with real gold and silver! That is all their hard-earned money! You open your mouth and demand fifty percent? Why don't you just go be a bandit!"

"Hard-earned money?" Zhuge Huaijin suddenly stood up and shot back without backing down, "Vice Grand Councilor Zhang, the common people you speak of is yourself, isn't it? Your Zhang family annexes land and extorts the people's wealth, and you call this hard-earned money? Today, this old man is going to turn your hard-earned money into life-saving money for the common people of the world!"

Seeing that the physical brawl that had just subsided was about to be staged again, Wang Hao sat on the dragon throne, desperately suppressing the upward curve of his mouth, pretending to look extremely troubled.

"This... My beloved subject Zhuge, isn't fifty percent a bit too much? My Inner Court also needs to operate, and there are so many mouths waiting to be fed in the harem..." Wang Hao deliberately showed weakness, muddying the waters even further.

"Your Majesty! You absolutely must not agree to this old madman!" The nobles and aristocratic officials knelt down in a large swath, wailing and crying to the heavens, as if Zhuge Huaijin was about to dig up their ancestral graves.

Inside the Hall of Supreme Harmony, the battle had reached a fever pitch.

On one side were the old noble hooligans led by the Duke of Ying, Zhang Jing, and the Duke of Ding, Xu Chengzuo, along with the aristocratic families led by Vice Grand Councilor Zhang Wuji. These two factions had fought in the court for hundreds of years, but today, in order to protect their shares and dividends in the listed royal enterprises, they miraculously formed a united front and stood tightly together.

But old man Zhuge was definitely not fighting alone.

"Hard-earned money? Lord Zhang, you really have the nerve to say that out loud!"

Only a roar like muffled thunder was heard. Minister of War Tie Zhan stepped out of the ranks with the vigorous strides of a tiger. He rolled up his sleeves, revealing his thick arms, and his large, bell-like eyes stared fixedly at Zhang Wuji and Zhang Jing.

"You people eat delicacies and drink fine wine in the capital, hugging your concubines and counting your stock dividends, and you call this hard-earned money?! Bah!" Tie Zhan spat, his saliva almost flying onto Zhang Wuji's face. "It was the money borrowed by the Grand Secretary and the Ministry of War that finally paid off the back pay of the soldiers in the Nine Border Garrisons! The northern barbarians are eyeing us covetously, and the soldiers under my command don't even have a decent winter coat! If you don't pay taxes, fine! Tomorrow I'll return all the memorials from the Nine Borders and tell the soldiers that the imperial court has no money, so go take your swords and rob for yourselves! When the barbarians break through the passes, you can use your stocks to smash them to death!"

Tie Zhan's roar, carrying the heavy murderous aura of the battlefield, made the eardrums of Zhang Wuji and the others ache, leaving them unable to squeeze out a single word for a long time.

A mutiny if military pay wasn't given—who could withstand that?

"It's not just military pay! The state treasury doesn't even have a single copper coin right now!"

Qian Shoucai, the Minister of Revenue, fully embraced his inner drama queen. Without any regard for his image, he plopped his backside onto the ground, pulled a few account books from his robes, and began wailing loudly while slapping the floor.

"Your Majesty! This old minister can no longer continue as the Minister of Revenue! The Ministry of Revenue is currently borrowing money just to survive; I have become a laughingstock in the thousand-year history of the Great Zhou! Right now, we still owe the civil and military officials a year's worth of salary. I am truly ashamed to face my colleagues! Lord Zhang, My Lord Duke, tell me, where is this money supposed to come from? How about this old minister pawns this official uniform to get some money for you? If any officials starve to death, aren't you afraid of ghosts knocking on your doors when you sleep at night?"

Qian Shoucai cried incredibly miserably, his face covered in snot and tears.

With this, the nobles and aristocratic families were completely thrown into a passive position.

Zhuge Huaijin, Tie Zhan, and Qian Shoucai—the three-pronged attack formed by these three men delivered strikes that were each more ruthless than the last.

One seized the moral high ground to crush others with righteousness; one wielded the heavy club of a potential military mutiny as a threat of force; and one cried about poverty and played the victim, using the lives of all the officials as leverage.

In this era that highly valued benevolence, righteousness, and morality, no matter how much the nobles and aristocratic families wanted money, they absolutely dared not say treasonous things like "what do I care if the soldiers live or die" or "the officials deserve to starve" right to the Emperor's face.

Zhang Wuji was sweating profusely from anxiety. He knew he could not let the humble-born faction continue this onslaught. Once the Emperor used this momentum to agree to a fifty percent tax rate, the financial avenue the aristocratic families had painstakingly transitioned to would be completely cut off.

"Your Majesty!" Zhang Wuji kowtowed fiercely, his voice shrill. "It is not that this old minister disregards the greater good! But a fifty percent tax rate is simply unheard of since ancient times! This is killing the goose that lays the golden eggs! If the royal enterprises siphon away half the profits, the stock market will inevitably crash, merchants all over the world will fear for themselves, and the commercial foundation of the Great Zhou will be ruined!"

The Duke of Dingguo, Xu Chengzuo, quickly echoed, "Indeed, Your Majesty! We can pay taxes, but fifty percent is absolutely unacceptable! This will drive everyone to their deaths!"

On the dragon throne, Wang Hao watched these old foxes being forced into a corner, finally willing to relent and say "we can pay taxes," and he breathed a sigh of relief in his heart.

"Sigh—"

Wang Hao let out a long sigh, a sigh filled with helplessness, compassion, and inner conflict.

He slowly stood up, his deep gaze sweeping across the entire hall.

"My beloved ministers, stop arguing. Hearing this makes my heart vexed, and it also makes my heart ache."

Wang Hao's voice was not loud, but it echoed throughout the hall. The entire hall instantly fell silent. Everyone held their breath, waiting for the Emperor's divine judgment.

"My beloved minister Zhuge is right. Every commoner shares the responsibility for the rise and fall of the world, let alone Us? The empire of the Great Zhou is Our empire, and the people of the Great Zhou are Our subjects. The soldiers are starving and freezing at the borders, and the officials are still owed their salaries. If We were to stubbornly cling to those few dividends inside the imperial palace, would We still be fit to be the master of this world?!"

As soon as Wang Hao said this, Zhuge Huaijin trembled with excitement. "Your Majesty is brilliant! Your Majesty is an eternal benevolent ruler!"

The hearts of Zhang Wuji, Zhang Jing, and the others, however, sank to the bottom of the valley. It was over. The Emperor was willing to bleed heavily just to drag them down into the water!

However, Wang Hao changed the subject, and his tone suddenly softened.

"However, We have also taken the words of Vice Grand Secretary Zhang and the Dukes to heart. Commerce has just begun to rise. If we immediately impose a heavy tax of fifty percent, it would indeed be like a tiger or wolf devouring people. We fear it would break the hearts of merchants across the world and cause the shareholders who support the royal enterprises to lose everything. When the water is too clear, there are no fish. We understand this principle."

Zhang Wuji and Zhang Jing abruptly raised their heads, the flames of hope rekindling in their eyes. Is His Majesty... protecting us?!

Standing with his hands behind his back, Wang Hao tossed out his final decision, enunciating every word clearly:

"Therefore, We have decided to compromise. Starting today, all listed royal enterprises and all profitable workshops of the Inner Court shall pay a monthly commercial tax of twenty percent, to be merged into the state treasury! No one is allowed to obstruct this!"

"Twenty percent..."

The entire grand hall seemed to freeze for a second.

Immediately following that, Zhang Wuji and the nobles exhaled a long breath of stale air, as if they had just walked back from the gates of hell. Although twenty percent still made their hearts bleed with pain, compared to that old monster Zhuge's psychotic fifty percent, twenty percent was simply a vast imperial grace!

"Your Majesty is merciful! We kowtow and thank Your Majesty for your profound grace! A twenty percent tax rate both enriches the state treasury and preserves the ways of commerce. Your Majesty truly considers the greater good!" Zhang Wuji quickly kowtowed, terrified that the Emperor might go back on his word and that Zhuge Huaijin might jump out and bite them again.

The Duke of Yingguo, Zhang Jing, also felt a massive weight lifted off his shoulders and shouted loudly, "Your Majesty is brilliant! We are willing to follow your lead and fully support the twenty percent commercial tax!"

Zhuge Huaijin seemed to want to argue further. "Your Majesty, is twenty percent too..."

"Grand Secretary!" Wang Hao interrupted him sternly, his eyes turning very cold. "The matter is settled! We have already made a sacrifice, and the aristocratic families and nobles have also taken a step back. As the Grand Secretary, are you still going to be aggressively overbearing and force the court into turmoil?!"

Zhuge Huaijin opened his mouth, but ultimately lowered his head in resignation. "This old minister... obeys the decree."

No one noticed that in the instant he lowered his head, the corners of Zhuge Huaijin's mouth curled up madly, almost making him laugh out loud.

And on the dragon throne, Wang Hao was laughing even more wildly in his heart.

These idiots!

They thought they had protected eighty percent of their profits and were still shedding tears of gratitude toward him?

In reality, these royal enterprises belonged to Wang Hao in the first place; it was merely passing money from his left hand to his right. But through this two-man act, he forcibly turned taxing enterprise workshops into an ironclad law of the Great Zhou!

Since even the Emperor's enterprises and the stocks bought by the top dukes and heads of aristocratic families paid a twenty percent tax, which local tyrant or wealthy household would dare say they wouldn't pay taxes?

Whoever dared not to pay, Zhuge Huaijin would have absolute legal justification to directly dispatch the army to confiscate their properties!

Not only did Wang Hao legitimately secure a staggeringly massive commercial tax revenue, but he also personally handed this sharp blade of tax collection over to Zhuge Huaijin, while the aristocratic families and nobles actually kowtowed and thanked him willingly.

Being sold out by someone and still helping them count the money—this was the true art of the Emperor's mind!