Why did the emperor rebel?

Chapter 1041
In the Wenhua Palace, a group of vassal kings were suddenly a little dazed.

The Son of Heaven's speech is full of twists and turns, and it is simply reversed and reversed, so it cannot be finished in one breath.

He slandered secretly in his heart, and then looked at Zhou Wang and the others, but saw that they also had helpless expressions on their faces, as if they were saying that they didn't know what the emperor was thinking about.

Therefore, Zhu Qiyu handed over the memorial of the Ministry of Rites that he had just shown to Zhou Wang and others, and asked the kings to read it again.

Zhu Qiyu said after the memorial returned to the imperial case.

"Today, I summoned all of you to come here for this memorial."

"This performance has not yet been submitted to the court, but there has been news in the capital for a long time, and everyone should have heard it. We are all members of our own family, so I will speak directly."

"The ministers in the court have many criticisms of the clan and vassal kings in various places, thinking that the clan's salary is high and the population is increasing, but it is useless to the country and is a drag on the court, so there is this memorial."

As soon as these words came out, all the vassal kings were immediately pulled back because they were stunned because they saw the specific content of the Ministry of Rites' memorial.

Young people like King Qin and King Ning almost turned against each other.

Relatively speaking, King Min and King Xiang, who are a little older, or who have stayed in Beijing long enough, are much calmer.

There are some words in this imperial court, just listen to them!
Of course, these words are not those private discussions, but the words of the emperor.

Whether there are any discussions about the vassal king in the court, of course there is, but such words as being useless to the country and being dragged down by the court are extremely taboo even if they are said in private.

You must know that the system of enfeoffing the kings was established by the Taizu, and even the Emperor Taizong did not really shake it.

Anyone who dares to categorically say that the kings are useless is either alluding to the wiseness of Taizu, or weakening the princes in Hansha Taizong.

Therefore, although everyone knows that the kings now only have the privilege of protecting the body and have no substantive power, but whether it is publicly or privately, it must be said that the vassal king protects the country , guarding one side.

Among other things, at least King Xiang has been in the capital for so long, and I haven't heard of that person who is brave enough to say bluntly that the feudal king is useless.

If you really meet such a person, no matter whether you are an imperial official or not, even if you just twist his head, you should be punished.

This is not an exaggeration, Huang Ming's ancestral precepts are clearly written, arrogance, contempt, false comments on vassal kings, death penalty!

Therefore, what the emperor said was clearly nonsense.

But the problem is that the person in front of him is the emperor, and if he says it is, then it is!

From this point of view, they hope that this is really the group of ministers who are talking about life and death.

Because if these words are false, then, very likely, it is not the courtiers who think so, but... the emperor!
Of course, the group of ministers below probably don't have the guts to talk about it, but I'm afraid they have the same thoughts in their hearts.

But then, the emperor changed the subject and said.

"There are a lot of inaccuracies in these remarks. I naturally know that the protection of the country by the vassal is the foundation of the country, but because of this, I feel that the vassal king should do his duty to protect the peace of the people."

A group of vassal kings looked at each other, the emperor said so directly, obviously there was only one meaning, that is, if they want to prevent the reform of the suzerain vassal, then they have to play their own role, and they can't do nothing like usual Do it, but the problem is...

King Min and King Xiang looked at King Zhou and the others almost at the same time. At the same time, King Zhou and Prince Lu looked over, and they exchanged glances in the air, and they had a general understanding of the situation.

I'm afraid, before they came, King Zhou and King Lu had already persuaded them.

After pondering for a moment, Min Wang Zhu Huixun said.

"Your Majesty, I know what Your Majesty means. In recent years, the clan's population has been increasing, and the national treasury has been strained by various affairs. At this difficult time for the court, as the clan, I should indeed contribute to the country. I am willing to cut my salary One thousand stones, put into the national treasury, to do my best."

As soon as these words came out, the faces of the other vassal kings were a little ugly.

You know, unlike Zhou Wang and others, Zhu Huixun resigned from Suilu.

Zhou Wang and others don't care if it is five thousand shi or [-] shi, but that is a one-shot deal, but Zhu Huixun asked for a salary reduction every year, who can bear it? .

And more importantly, because of the deeds of the old Min King when he was young, Min Fan's annual salary has never been high, only [-] shi.

That is to say, the annual salary has been added twice in the past few years. One was when the old Min King took over Dazong Zheng, adding [-] shi, and the other was when Zhu Huixun succeeded the Min Fan, adding [-] shi. , Minfan's annual salary is five thousand stones.

However, compared with Zhou Fan and Qin Fan, who spend tens of thousands of stones, there is still a big gap.

Zhu Huixun's making such a fuss can be regarded as putting the rest of them on the fire, especially the newly-appointed vassal kings like King Xiang and King Zheng, whose annual salary starts with ten thousand stones.

Therefore, their losses are the heaviest, how can their faces look better.

However, fortunately, after King Min finished speaking, before they had any 'expression', the emperor shook his head and said.

"The annual salary of the Min Fan is five thousand shi, which is not too much. Moreover, when the Min King's uncle inherited the throne, I just gave the Min Fan a salary. At this time, the uncle's resignation is a shame..."

The little joke made the atmosphere relaxed.

King Min said repeatedly from below.

"I dare not..."

The other feudal kings laughed in response to the occasion.

Logically speaking, the emperor's tone was still revealed. Min Fan was not accepted by the court because of his low salary, so it was like the kind of ten thousand stone salary. In fact, please resign, and the court reluctantly accepted it.

Therefore, at this time, the more appropriate approach is actually that those princes who are a few years old should consciously come forward and ask for resignation.

However, no matter whether it is ten thousand stones or more, no one thinks they have too much money. If it is five hundred stones and one thousand stones, that is money.

Therefore, although the kings smiled approvingly, but no one really stood up to keep up...

Seeing this situation, Zhu Qiyu didn't care. He glanced sideways at Wynn beside him. The latter immediately understood, took a small step forward and said in a low voice.

"Your Majesty, Eunuch Wang Cheng is already waiting outside the palace, but Eunuch Song is in the outer house today and has already sent someone to summon him."

Hearing this, Zhu Qiyu frowned.

Of course, theoretically speaking, although Song Wenyi has a title in the palace, but he is on an errand, so he is not in the palace on a daily basis, but in the outer house, it is understandable that he came late when he was summoned temporarily.

However, this is only in theory. As an eunuch, the emperor summons him, and it is a sin for him not to meet in time.

After pondering for a moment, Zhu Qiyu was about to call Wang Cheng in first, but saw the little servant at the side stepping forward and whispering something in Wynn's ear.

So, Wynn hurried back to the imperial case and said in a low voice.

"Your Majesty, Eunuch Song has arrived and is waiting for orders outside the palace."

Seeing this situation, Zhu Qiyu nodded and said.

"Okay, let's call in!"

Huai En received the oral order, went down from the side and led people in. At the same time, Zhu Qiyu turned his eyes to several vassal kings again, and said.

"I know what everyone is worried about. Whether it is donating food or resigning from the annual salary, it is the wishes of the elders. I know it well, but these are all palliative measures. If you want to make the voice of the court go away, You have to start from the ground up.”

"Since everyone is here today, I will introduce two people to everyone."

After the words fell, two figures in eunuch robes appeared outside the palace gate. Under the leadership of Wynn, they came to the palace quickly, knelt down on the ground, and said.

"Slaves wait to kowtow to the emperor."

Two eunuchs?

The kings couldn't help frowning, their faces were a little surprised, and even King Zhou and others were surprised for a while.

When they heard the names of these two people just now, although they were unfamiliar, they only felt that they were unfamiliar ministers of the DPRK and China.

But I never thought that it was two eunuchs.

If it is said that the ministers of the court are worthy of respect for the feudal lords, then ordinary eunuchs like this are actually slaves and servants, and they are not worthy of their attention at all.

Of course, big pengs like Shu Liang and Wynn are not included, but they are just a little higher.

Therefore, seeing that the emperor summoned two eunuchs, the kings couldn't help being a little surprised, wondering what kind of medicine was sold in the emperor's gourd.

"Get up..."

Zhu Qiyu waved his hand lightly, motioning for the two to get up.

Therefore, Wang Cheng and Song Wenyi stood up cautiously, but they didn't dare to lift their heads at all. Before entering the door, they had already learned from Wynn's mouth that there were people in this hall. It is not an exaggeration to say, All of them are honorable.

Although the two of them can be regarded as big pengs, they are not people who serve the imperial court after all, so they naturally have to be cautious when facing these vassal kings.

However, Zhu Qiyu didn't care, but turned to the princes beside him, pointed at Wang Cheng and Wang Cheng, and said.

"Eunuch Wang Cheng, eunuch of the imperial eunuch, and Song Wenyi, eunuch of mining tax. Although these two have titles in the palace, they are actually away on errands. Wang Cheng is in charge of the imperial store, and Song Wenyi is in charge of the Huangzhuang. In my internal treasury, most of the annual income is now. It all comes from here.”

Royal store?Huangzhuang?
Several vassal kings present sensitively captured these two words, especially Dai Wang, Min Wang, Xiang Wang and others, and their eyes immediately focused on Wang Cheng.

However, most of the people are still confused.

Seeing this situation, Zhu Qiyu explained again.

"Before the border mutual market was opened, in order to prevent the enemy's agents from mixing in, private merchants were not allowed to participate in the trading tools. The imperial shop purchased various goods from the capital and transported them to the border to trade with various ethnic groups. This matter has always been managed by Wang Cheng. "

"As for the Huangzhuang, the capital turned around before the age of the year, and the evil gentry and merchants took advantage of the situation to annex the land. Therefore, I ordered Song Wenyi to buy it back at a fair price and use it as the royal farm for renting."

As soon as these words came out, everyone's eyes lit up, and their eyes became a little hot when they looked at the two of them.

Although they are not familiar with the identities of the two, they at least have some understanding of the political affairs of the imperial court.

They may not be clear about the Huangdian, but they are not unaware of the mutual market.

When the emperor wanted to open a mutual market, there were a lot of discussions from the ruling and opposition parties, but after the mutual opening, these voices basically disappeared.

The reason is that no matter how much they don't want to admit the huge income brought by the mutual market, there is no doubt that in the past two years, the imperial court has built many projects and held many ceremonies without wasting money. , Many of these expenses come from the mutual market.

Moreover, when the emperor mentioned this, they also remembered that one of the reasons for the courtiers' opposition at the beginning seemed to be that once the border was opened, fish and dragons would easily mix together and hinder border defense. Therefore, although the mutual market opened, it has always been controlled by the court and has not Private merchants are open.

In other words, the ordinary-looking eunuch in front of them is holding the big pen of the entire mutual market in his hand. You must know that with such a large trading volume every year, a little bit exposed between the fingers is enough to feed the people below. full.

At the same time, King Zhou, King Lu and the others exchanged glances, but they were still a little surprised.

Could it be that the emperor really intends to let them participate in government affairs, isn't this a temptation?However, from the standpoint of the imperial court, there is no reason to do so...

Just when they were confused, Zhu Qiyu spoke again.

"The situation of the Huangdian, I think you all already know about it, but what I want to talk about today is Huangzhuang. Although Song Wenyi is in charge of Huangzhuang now, it was Wang Cheng who was in charge before, so I called them The two came here to tell you about the current situation of Huangzhuang."

After the words fell, all the kings were a little disappointed. They thought that the emperor would let them get a share of the royal store, but they never thought that it was just the royal manor.

Isn't it Grange?Everyone has it. How can this Huangzhuang be any different?

Of course, since the emperor opened his mouth, he still has to give face. Although they were not very interested, they still turned their attention to Wang Cheng and Wang Cheng.

Compared to Song Wenyi, Wang Cheng was obviously much calmer. After receiving the order, he saluted first, and then said.

"My lords, Huangzhuang was originally a private field outside the suburbs of Beijing when His Majesty hid in his residence. After His Majesty ascended the throne, he handed it over to his servants to manage it."

"After the servants took over, according to His Majesty's will, the scattered fields were sold and integrated, and many fields were connected to one place to build Huangzhuang."

"This Huangzhuang is different from ordinary farms in a few ways. First of all, these Huangzhuangs are tens of hectares in size, and several hectares in size.

"Secondly, if the farmers around Huangzhuang are willing to be tenants of Huangzhuang, they will be registered and recorded, and half a bucket of rent will be reduced or exempted. If they are not willing, the internal treasury will allocate money to buy back the houses of the farmers around Huangzhuang, and the residents will move to other places. , and its private houses are used for the tenants of Huangzhuang, and now half of the tenants of Huangzhuang are the original farmers, and half are the refugees who have gathered around the capital in the past two years."

"For the tenants who rent and plant in Huangzhuang, the internal treasury is still allocated money to provide grain, cattle, iron plows and other utensils, but they are not allowed to take out of Huangzhuang, and they will be returned when they are used up. The elders and the farmers discussed and decided together..."

(End of this chapter)