Why did the emperor rebel?

Chapter 828 Yu Shaobao's Fox Tail
In the capital city in May, it is already summer.

The days are getting longer and the heat is rising. From the court officials to ordinary people, they all put on light and thin robes, but standing under the sun, the top of their heads can't help but sweat.

The emperor has always been sympathetic to the ministers, so these days, the time of the morning court is also well controlled. The court rises at sunrise, and when the weather is a little hotter, the court will disperse.

This is naturally a good thing for most courtiers, but for a workaholic like Minister Yu, it is inevitable that there is not enough time.

and so……

"I have seen Your Majesty!"

In the Hall of Martial Heroes, Zhu Qiyu looked at Yu Qian who had just turned up and handed over a sign to see him, and Shen Yi who was obviously reluctant but was forced to come over in a rather speechless manner.

"The two gentlemen are diligent. They just got off the court in the morning, and they didn't have time to rest for a while. They are so anxious to see you. What's the rush?"

Nothing urgent, I want to rest too...

Shen Shangshu really wanted to say that, but, feeling Yu Qian's warning gaze beside him, he had no choice but to cup his hands.

"Your Majesty, the matter of rectifying the military colony has made a lot of progress. There is not enough time in the morning court to report in detail. Therefore, the minister and Yu Shaobao hurriedly came to see His Majesty after the morning court to discuss the next measures."

Well, Yu Qian gave him a good look, and regardless of whether the emperor wanted it or not, he stepped forward and said to himself.

"Your Majesty, for the past month, the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Households have transferred documents to various prefectures and counties according to the field records submitted by each prefecture, inspected the censors, and ordered them to check in detail. At present, there is no big problem. In and out, but during the inspection, some fields that were still hidden were found, and in many places, when these fields were confiscated, they encountered resistance."

"In addition, the clearing of fields and acres in various places has been started one after another. The first border areas have basically been cleared. This is the detailed data. Your Majesty please read it."

While talking, Young Master Yu took out the memorabilia that he had prepared in his sleeve with ease, and stuffed it into the hand of the servant beside him without any explanation, and then passed it to the emperor.

Seeing Yu Qian's appearance, Zhu Qiyu couldn't laugh or cry, but the memorial had already been handed over, so he gathered his energy and began to read it.

Of course, as a caring emperor, he still ordered people to give Yu Qian two seats, served tea, and enjoyed several plates of pastries.

This considerate behavior made Shen Shangshu, who had been standing for more than half an hour and was already quite hungry, almost burst into tears of gratitude.

People in their position are actually much more casual in private situations, and Shen Shangshu is indeed a little hungry, so he ignores etiquette, taking advantage of the time when the emperor is reading the memorial, he picks up A piece of pastry is about to be delivered to the mouth.

"absurd!"

When Shen Shangshu's pastry just reached his mouth, he was so surprised that he almost fell onto his robe. Fortunately, his hand was still steady, otherwise, if he crushed the pastry and sprinkled it on his body, that would be a big deal.

With lingering fears in his heart, he put the pastry back on the plate, Shen Yi secretly took a look at the first emperor, but saw that the old man was slightly angry, but his gaze was still on the memorial on the imperial case, obviously he didn't notice his little gaffe .

Dissatisfied, he glared at Yu Qian, who was next to the old god, what was written in the memorial, and he didn't make it clear when he was pulled over, which was frightening...

Seeing that the memorabilia is not too thin, the Son of Heaven probably won't be able to read it all in a short time. In order to appease his frightened heart, Mr. Shen touched the teacup beside him. Well, the servants in the palace have winks and warmth. just.

Picking up the teacup, blowing it gently, the fragrance of the tea overflowed, and taking a sip, the wrinkles on Shen Shangshu's face stretched a bit.

The tea is good, I will think of a way later, and see if I can get a few cans from His Majesty...

Taking another sip, Shen Shangshu satisfactorily put the teacup back on the table beside him.

"Bullshit!"

There was a muffled sound, which meant that Shen Yi's hand was less than half an inch away from the table, otherwise, this fine porcelain would definitely be broken.

However, even so, the sound of the teapot colliding with the table still echoed in the Hall of Martial Heroes, attracting the attention of the first emperor.

Shen Shangshu withdrew his hand silently, making up his mind that he would not touch anything like food and drink in this palace from now on...

Seeing that the Son of Heaven was furious, but he obviously planned to continue watching and did not intend to speak, Shen Shangshu felt that he could no longer sit still.

If you scare me twice, why don't you retire early?
So, taking another look at Yu Qian, who had become extremely calm and calm, just caring about the performances on the ground, Shen Yi had no choice but to bite the bullet and stand up, saying.

"Your Majesty calm down and take care of the dragon's body."

"Your Majesty is terrified. I don't know what happened in Shaobao's memorial, which made His Majesty so angry?"

"See for yourself, sir!"

The Son of Heaven was obviously in a bad mood, so he casually handed the memorial to the servant beside him, and then passed it to Shen Yi's hands.

With a curious attitude, Shen Shangshu opened the memorial, and at a glance, the front was still normal. Yu Qian reported the detailed data of the military settlement during this period.

As Yu Qian said, the clearing of the border has basically come to an end. According to the latest official document sent back, a total of about [-] hectares of hidden fields have been found in various places on the border.

During this period of time, under the leadership of Chengguo Mansion, Changping Hou Mansion, Fengguo Mansion, Jing'anbo Mansion and other honorable nobles, more or less nobles from each family have sent gifts to the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Households. According to the field records, the total amount is about [-] hectares.

After removing this part, the remaining [-] hectares, about [-] hectares, are under the names of local gentry, and there are quite a few, which are owned by border generals or middle-level generals who have served on the border, and military officials. Portions are huge, but also very scattered.

The last [-] hectares are very concentrated, but they are the most troublesome, because these fields are all under the name of the clan.

Moreover, of the [-] hectares of land, [-] hectares are concentrated in the hands of a few vassal kings. The thirteen kings established by the Taizu were either abolished or moved inward, and now there are very few left.

However, after all, there are still some. Now King Qin is in Xi'an, and King Jin is in Taiyuan. These two prefectures are considered to be close to the border. They can barely be regarded as King Sai, but they are not very close to the border.

For these two prefectures alone, the military settlements occupied by the borders each have [-] hectares.

In addition, there are King Qing in Ningxia and King Dai in Datong. The land occupied by these two prefectures has reached a terrifying [-] hectares.

You must know that among the fiefdoms of these vassal kings, there are fields granted by the imperial court, if it is calculated according to this amount.

Even with a conservative estimate, the total land controlled by these palaces is at least close to, or exceeds tens of thousands of hectares!
Tens of thousands of hectares, millions of acres...

What a terrifying number!
Even because of the frontier fortress, there is more wasteland available for reclamation, but this figure is too scary.

So, Shen Yi finally understood what the emperor's phrase 'absurd' just now meant.

As a member of the royal family, a vassal of the imperial court, worshiped by all people in the world, with a respected status and a good life, he already enjoys inexhaustible glory and wealth, but he is still so greedy that he stretches his hands into the military camp.

Now except for the border, the Qingzhang in other places has just passed the stage of investigation, and the official Qingzhang is not long. Therefore, no specific figures have been presented yet.

However, if the situation at the border is not an isolated case, but a general situation, then the fields occupied by the clan and vassal alone account for more than one-third of the total number of military settlements.

You must know that according to the data calculated during the Qingzhang period of the Hongwu period, the number of military settlements in the Ming Dynasty should account for about a quarter of the total number of fields in the world.

Calculated according to this data, that is to say, a full [-]% of Daming's current acres of land are occupied by dozens of vassal kings from various places.

This is such a chilling conclusion, no wonder the emperor was so furious.

However, this is not the only thing that makes people feel angry.

Reform has always been difficult. Logically speaking, for such a big matter as rectifying the military settlements, it is necessary to goug out a large piece of meat from these people, and there will inevitably be constant troubles and obstacles.

Shen Yi has long been aware of this point, but in fact, from the beginning of Qian Qian patrolling the frontier to do the preliminary investigation, to the formation of a new military team, the formulation of detailed regulations, and the promotion of the regulations through the court meeting, until the actual dispatch Officials were sent by imperial envoys to various places to clear Zhang.

After such a long time, although he encountered many difficulties, compared to Shen Yi's original preparations, it was still much simpler.

Especially the gang of the most difficult nobles, in the hands of the emperor, they are simply flat and round, just for such a mere duke's mansion, obediently spit out tens of thousands of hectares of land.

During this period of time, the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Households were busy, but the real difficulties and resistance were not great.

But now, the real challenge is coming!
Following the boring but shocking data, the main points of Yu Qian's memorabilia gradually came.

"The county magistrate of Luoyang said that on the seventh day of April, when the officials of the imperial court cleared Zhang's field, they were beaten by the servants of Prince Yi's mansion. Three people were killed and seven people were injured."

"On the [-]th, Henan Dao Xun went to Luoyang according to the censor Zhang Feng, and personally presided over the Qingzhang. The thugs fled into Yiwang's mansion under the watchful eyes of everyone, and then the mansion sent word to the county government, but no one was seen."

"On the 25th, King Yi hosted a banquet for Zhang Feng. During the banquet, there were several servants who looked no different from those who attacked the thugs in the field. According to Zhang Feng's report, during the banquet, King Yi threatened him to leave Luoyang within ten days. I will lose my life..."

King Yi, whose fiefdom is in the ancient city of Luoyang, is notoriously difficult to mess with.

However, Shen Yi did not expect that this King Yi would be so domineering.

Openly blocking Tianmu Qingzhang, instigating mobs to attack court officials, and sheltering criminals, that's all. How dare he even dare to entertain Zhang Feng after the attack and let the attackers serve him.

This is just so insane...

No wonder with the emperor's calm personality, he couldn't help shouting 'nonsense' angrily.

Of course, it wasn't just King Yi.

Yu Qian's memorandum is very detailed. Basically, the officials sent by the imperial court to Qingzhang Tianmu in various places have been obstructed to varying degrees.

Although they are not as unscrupulous as King Yi, each has its own way.

Bribery, intimidation, closed doors, ordering people to beat Qingzhang's officials, and even sending people to guard the fields, anyone who approached would be beaten severely, on the surface, secretly, relying on the name of the royal vassal Now, all kinds of methods have almost made it difficult for officials sent by the imperial court to the localities.

But here lies the crux of the problem. These vassal kings have too high a status. With the instruction of the emperor's ancestors, the local officials have nothing to do with them.

But, if you want to clean up the land and clear up the army, the last thing you can't get around is this group of people...

After reading it, Shen Yi breathed a long sigh of relief, seeing the emperor's furious look, he couldn't help but get serious, and said.

"Your Majesty, I have the guts to act like this. The actions of the feudal kings, especially King Yi, are defiant and blatantly offensive to the court. If they continue to be indulged in this way, and other places follow suit, the imperial government's policy of rectifying the army will definitely come to a standstill."

After the words fell, Yu Qian stood up and followed closely.

"However, King Yi's seniority is too high, his status is respected, and he has been in the feudal land for many years. It is almost impossible for ordinary officials to promote Qingzhang in his feudal land!"

"Also, even if what King Yi did is so obvious, if it is true that he is guilty, there is no way to catch him. There is no evidence to prove that the person who attacked Zhang Feng was King Yi."

"Those who hid in Prince Yi's mansion, as long as King Yi refused to hand them over, no one would dare to force their way into the mansion. As for the words that threatened Zhang Feng, they might have been 'nonsense for a while' after being drunk."

"For this matter, let His Majesty issue a decree to reprimand a vassal, what is the respect for the family?"

I tm...

Shen Yi turned around and glared at the sarcastic person in front of him.

Obviously you handed in the memorandum, so Lao Tzu is helping you, you know?

Why, let you say all the good and bad things by yourself?
Why didn't he realize before that Yu Qian's thick eyebrows and big eyes turned out to be this kind of person!
However, regarding Shen Yi's dissatisfaction, Yu Qian was indifferent, he didn't even bother to give him a look, but calmly looked at the emperor above him.

In front of Zhu Qiyu was the memorial that was taken back by the servant, and after a while, he finally spoke and said.

"Mr. Yu is right. After all, King Yi is my uncle's generation. Without proof, it's not good to criticize the clan vassal without reason, so..."

At this point, he stopped, and looked at Yu Qian with the same interest.

Unexpectedly, this Shaobao didn't have the slightest thought to be exposed, and he was ashamed to be exposed, so he continued the conversation as a matter of course, said.

"Therefore, the imperial court should send important officials to Luoyang to preside over the Qingzhang in person. Only in this way can King Yi be afraid and dare not act rashly."

"Your Majesty, the matter of King Yi is of a bad nature. If it cannot be properly resolved, the clans all over the country will follow suit and fight against the great government of the imperial court."

"Therefore, I am willing to go out of Beijing to Luoyang to preside over Qingzhang. I must firmly press down on this sign!"

(End of this chapter)