The moment Liang Shixian stepped forward, the entire court shifted.
It was not subtle.
Every pair of eyes locked onto him as if an invisible signal had just been triggered, because everyone in that hall knew exactly who the real problem was, and it was not the Emperor, not the tax policy, not even the factories themselves, but this one man who had started everything from nothing and then calmly set the rules of the game.
He had built the first fertilizer plant.
He had proposed the value-added tax.
He had willingly earned less money just to force the entire system to pay the state.
In the eyes of the officials, this was not normal behavior, this was madness, the kind of madness that only existed in loyalists who did not understand how the world actually worked.
Or worse, the kind of madness that came from someone who understood the world too well and decided to break it anyway.
In an instant, the officials mentally repositioned themselves.
Not as colleagues.
Not as neutral observers.
But as enemies.
They were already preparing arguments, counterarguments, rhetorical traps, and if necessary, even physical confrontation, because the Ming court had never been a place of pure words and calm reasoning, and a fistfight in front of the throne would not even rank among the strangest things that had happened there.
Liang Shixian, however, stood there as if none of it mattered, his expression relaxed, almost amused.
"Gentlemen," he said, smiling lightly, "you claim that this tax policy is competing with the people for profit, but what you are actually doing is competing with the state treasury."
A chorus erupted immediately.
"I am not!"
"That is not what we mean!"
"You are twisting our words!"
Liang Shixian waved a hand as if brushing away dust, his tone casual but his words sharp enough to cut through the noise.
"There is no need to argue further. Even if I explain it, you will deny it, and each of you will continue pretending to be loyal officials while calculating your own private gains."
On the throne, Zhu Youjian nearly teared up.
That line had landed exactly where it needed to, and it felt like someone had finally said out loud what he himself had been thinking but could never articulate in front of these thick-skinned men.
However, everyone in the hall also knew that truth alone would not win this battle.
Logic did not defeat men who had already decided on their positions.
Liang Shixian raised a hand and pointed directly at one of the officials in the front row.
"I know you," he said calmly. "You paid a high salary to poach a blue-hat technical director from my factory. His surname is Zheng. With his help, you built a fertilizer plant in Tianjin."
The official did not look embarrassed.
On the contrary, he looked proud.
"That is correct," he replied with a smirk. "He was underpaid with you, so I offered him ten taels a month and he came to me. If you are unhappy, you are welcome to offer him more and take him back."
Liang Shixian chuckled.
"Do you believe that if I say a single word, he will resign from your factory and return to mine?"
The official almost laughed out loud.
He had seen the man's loyalty with his own eyes, had seen him work tirelessly to establish the factory, had watched him accept the salary with gratitude.
There was no way such a person would walk away just because someone said a sentence.
"I would very much like to see you try," he said coldly.
Liang Shixian turned and pointed at another official.
"And you," he continued, "you hired a technician surnamed Li from my side and built a steam textile machinery plant."
"That is right," the second official replied without hesitation. "I have money, so I hire talent."
Liang Shixian nodded, as if agreeing.
"He became your chief manager, handled your steel supply chain, and brought a technical team to solve your engineering problems."
The official smiled wider, thinking this was praise.
"He is indeed capable, which only proves you failed to retain him."
Liang Shixian's smile deepened, and for a brief moment, something almost playful flickered in his eyes.
"Have you ever considered," he said, "that he was not poached by you, but sent there by me?"
That sentence landed like a stone in water.
The official froze for a fraction of a second, then immediately dismissed it.
"Impossible," he said. "He came for the salary."
Liang Shixian laughed, not loudly, but enough to make the tension shift.
"Believe whatever you like."
Then, without warning, he turned toward the throne and bowed deeply.
"Your Majesty, I propose that five days from now, if these officials still oppose the value-added tax, we should abolish it entirely."
Zhu Youjian nearly jumped from his seat.
"What are you saying? That cannot be done!"
Liang Shixian looked up, blinking once, his expression calm and almost reassuring.
"In five days, they will change their minds."
The officials erupted again, voices overlapping, dismissive, confident, even mocking.
"Ridiculous!"
"Nonsense!"
"Delusional!"
Liang Shixian did not argue further.
Instead, he offered a simple suggestion.
"When you return home today, you might want to check your factories," he said lightly. "Make sure your technical managers are still there, because without them, your factories will not run."
The officials scoffed.
They did not believe him.
Not truly.
Yet even as they dismissed his words, something small and uncomfortable settled in the back of their minds.
The court session ended.
The officials dispersed.
One of them, who had established a factory in Shuntian Prefecture, had barely stepped into his residence when a servant rushed forward, breathless.
"Master, something terrible has happened. The manager of the new factory has resigned."
The official froze.
"What do you mean, resigned?"
"He left without explanation, returned all the money, and walked away."
Panic surged instantly.
The factory was new, the technology unfamiliar, the entire operation dependent on that one man who understood how everything worked.
Without him, the factory was nothing more than a pile of equipment.
"Take me there," he said immediately, rushing out.
As he reached the street, he saw another official running out of the house across from him, equally frantic.
Their eyes met.
No words were needed.
Both understood.
Their managers were gone.
More officials appeared along the street, one after another, all moving in the same direction, all wearing the same expression of disbelief and rising fear.
"What is happening?"
"My manager left during the court session."
"Mine too."
"How did Liang Shixian do this?"
"He was still arguing with us in court, so how did our people resign at the same time?"
The questions had no answers.
They rushed to their factories and found letters.
Simple letters.
"I am returning home for personal matters. I will come back in five days."
Five days.
The same number Liang Shixian had mentioned.
Understanding dawned all at once.
This was not coincidence.
This was control.
If they backed down in court after five days, the managers would return and everything would resume.
If they continued to resist, the managers would never come back, and their factories would collapse before they could even stabilize.
"Damn it!"
Curses filled the air, loud and unrestrained, but anger did not solve their problem.