Gao Huan led Li Wu and others into the living room, and Gao Youcai sat on it while drinking tea.

"Father!"

"master!"

Gao Huan and his group greeted Gao Youcai.

Gao Youcai raised his head, a little surprised. He didn't expect Gao Huan to bring so many people in. However, when he thought about it, he understood Gao Huan's intention and waved his hand and said, "Sit all!"

Gao Huan sat down and saw that Li Wu and others were still standing, so he deliberately said, "My father has spoken, so he sits!"

Li Wu and others sat down on both sides, but they were both sitting, but there was a little difference. Li Wu and Li Pingyuan sat down, while Yang Shulin and others were a little embarrassed, so they sat halfway, which was even more uncomfortable than standing.

A hint of unaware anger flashed across Gao Youcai's face. In just a moment, Gao Huan had repeatedly demonstrated to him.

A small landlord family actually has a hint of imperial family and a scent of intrigue.

Gao Youcai glanced at everyone, his eyes fell on Gao Huan, and said in a deep voice: "Father knows that you are coming tonight. Tell me what you think, and see if I can speak up as Father."

The thirteenth year of Chongzhen had reached a very critical time point. The Songjin Battle, which lasted for two years outside the pass, kicked off, and the surging refugee uprising inside the pass would also sweep across the Central Plains and develop to a point that the Ming Dynasty could not control.

"Okay! I'm showing off!" Gao Huan looked at Gao Youcai and said, "I think the Ming Dynasty is almost over. Now Gao Laozhuang must protect himself!"

Gao Youcai raised his eyebrows and said anger: "Your child, Zhuangzi has never even been born, and he doesn't even know what it looks like outside. How can he make such a crazy statement and assert that the Ming Dynasty will perish! Do you think that everyone in the world is foolish, and you can do it?"

A child who has been growing up in a small village for more than ten years and has never been to the county town, but has asserted that a dynasty that has lasted for 270 years is about to perish.

This is something that no one can easily accept, and it looks like a joke no matter how you look at it.

Gao Huan said in a deep voice: "Although I have never left a farm, I often talk to passers-by and listen to them talk about something outside, so my father should not doubt my understanding of the world."

Gao Youcai sneered, obviously not believing it, "Okay, I'll listen to you today."

Gao Huan stood up, and there was no way. He had been waiting for ten years and was waiting for this day. Standing up and talking would help increase his momentum.

From today on, I will show off and I will not hide my weaknesses. I, Gao Huan, are not a fool, but the chosen son of God, and an absolute genius.

Gao Huan stared at Gao Youcai and said, "Father, I feel that the conclusion next time is based on my understanding of the world. This is not to say that people in the world don't understand, but they just understand that people's butts are not willing to say it clearly, or that some people don't want them to say it."

"You're not a little breath, please continue!" Gao Youcai said coldly, but his body seemed to lean forward, wanting to hear more clearly.

Gao Huan said: "If a court wants to maintain it, the most critical issue is taxation. With taxation, the court can give salaries to officials, pay salaries to soldiers, provide relief to disaster victims, and maintain the operation of the court."

Gao Youcai raised his eyebrows and felt a little shocked. Seeing this was better than 99% of the people in the village.

Gao Huan continued: "Like all dynasties have developed to this day, the Ming Dynasty will have problems of land annexation and tax reduction. However, the problems of the Ming Dynasty are even more serious. The land in the northern provinces are mostly occupied by vassals, especially in Henan, where half of the land belongs to vassals. There are no vassal kings in the southern provinces, but most of the land falls into the hands of the gentry! And these two forces almost never pay taxes to the court!"

When Gao Youcai heard this, he was not only frightened, but also frightened. He even wondered if Gao Huan had eavesdropped on his conversation with others at some point.

"As time passed, these two forces had seriously affected the collection of taxes by the imperial court. The knowledgeable people in the court also saw the problem. So, our Gao family's Duke Gao Wenxiang, as well as Zhang Juzheng and other ministers launched reforms!" Gao Huan said while paying attention to Gao Youcai's expression fluctuations. "Since the Jiajing Dynasty, ministers have settled the accounts of the royal family for the emperor. However, the emperor of the Ming Dynasty did not take the imperial family's attacks on the gentry and wealthy families, and used a strong government to implement local reforms, clearing the land and acres, forcing the Southeast wealthy families to bleed greatly and collecting the taxes."

Gao Youcai's mood fluctuated a little. In his early years, he inherited the political views of Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng factions, cracked down on the gentry and levied more taxes for the court.

As for why they didn’t attack the vassal kings, who were royal and attacked the old Zhu family, they still wanted to become officials. Didn’t they see how many vassal fields Wanli granted to King Fu?

Gao Huan continued: "If Zhang Juzheng's reform policy could continue, the Ming Dynasty could at least collect taxes from Jiangnan to prosper the Ming Dynasty. However, the dynasty has developed for more than 200 years, the class has long been solidified, and the gentry and tyrants have already controlled the imperial examination road. This is destined that Zhang Juzheng's reform will be counterattacked by the gentry and tyrants!"

Gao Youcai was in agitation, and Gao Huan's words aroused his past and experiences, and he nodded and said, "No, right! The court did not move the vassal kings, but attacked the gentry and wealthy families. They naturally felt unfair in their hearts, so when Zhang Xiang left, they began to counterattack. The gentry and wealthy families were in charge of the imperial examinations. The officials in the court were not children of aristocratic families, but also had a relationship with the gentry and wealthy families, and it was difficult for the poor families to have noble children. These officials who represented the interests of the gentry and wealthy families would naturally implement policies that benefit the gentry and wealthy families. Emperor Wanli believed their words, which led to Zhang Xiang's achievements being lost. In just a few decades, various taxes in the southeast changed from millions of taels to hundreds of thousands of taels! The court still had money to make trouble in the Wanli Dynasty, but the Chongzhen Dynasty could not even pay the salaries and military salaries."

Gao Youcai's identity determines that he is actually very entangled. On the one hand, he once supported reforms, and on the other hand, he also had sympathy for the gentry of the same class. When he said this, he couldn't help but sigh, "I also wanted to rely on the eunuch party to change the situation in the southeast and collect taxes. However, the gentry in the southeast was too powerful, and the emperor did not move to the vassal state and set an example, and eventually he could only suffer a more fierce counterattack from the gentry."

Gao Huan shook his head, "For the sake of their own interests, the gentry and tycoons in the southeast did not care about the interests of the court. The emperor of the Ming Dynasty was also selfish and collected taxes from the gentry and the people. However, the vassal kings did not pay taxes to curb private annexation, but they had to use tens of thousands of hectares of land to reward their sons, consuming the strength of the court. The Ming Dynasty became like this now, and there were no innocent gentry, emperor, and vassal kings."

Gao Youcai nodded slightly and recognized Gao Huan's words, but then said: "I didn't expect you to know so much. However, with this, you mean that the court is about to perish. Can't the court reform again?"
Chapter completed!