Daming: If I find a great-grandson, I will teach an emperor through the ages

Chapter 248 What I do will never be destroyed or established!
The atmosphere in the hall became heavier and heavier, as if it was about to solidify, and there was a feeling that a storm was about to come and the whole building was filled with wind.

The maids and eunuchs standing around were all trembling with fear, while the chief eunuch lowered his head and leaned towards Zhu Xiongying.

In the sleeve of the chief eunuch, he held a porcelain cup. This was to prevent the kings from committing crimes and to notify the guards who were ambushing around to rush in as soon as possible.

Zhu Xiongying glanced at the vassal kings in front of him, and when he saw their unkind expressions, he knew that it might be difficult to be kind today.

Zhu Xiongying said nothing, and neither did the kings. The two sides seemed to be engaged in a silent confrontation.

Finally, King Qin Zhu Xi couldn't help but spoke, with a forced smile on his face.

"Your Majesty, I don't know what your Majesty is thinking, why you suddenly want to take back the royal power in our hands. If there is anything we have done wrong, your Majesty has the right to tell us first so that we can make corrections. Isn't this the best of both worlds?"

After hearing this, Ning Wang Zhu Quan also echoed and said: "Yes, China's royal power system has a long history, and it has been the same in all dynasties. Your Majesty's sudden restructuring will completely abolish the princes. Doing so will probably be difficult for the Ming Dynasty. I hope Your Majesty will think twice about the estimated impact."

Zhu Xiongying was neither impatient nor impatient. After listening to what they said word by word, he slowly shook his head and said firmly:

"The system of kings must be changed!"

"I once calculated an account. Do you think this is correct? According to the current Ming Dynasty law, the prince's annual salary to support the royal family is fifty thousand dan, and the prince's annual salary is 5,000 dan."

"Then, the next generation is the third generation. Presumably we are no longer alive by then, but the problem gradually becomes apparent."

"Of course, this is nothing. After all, the annual salary of a hundred county princes is less than half of the annual salary of twenty princes."

"That's right, there are only twenty-four of us in total, and it only costs 1.2 million dan a year. How can we do this..."

"But, you are only the first generation of the royal family of the Ming Dynasty, what about the second generation?"

"Still according to the increment of five children, the third generation of the royal family will have more than 600 people."

At the same time, they also couldn't figure out why Zhu Xiongying was so determined to reform?
Min King Zhu Xi rolled his eyes and asked:
"Your Majesty, if you want to restructure, it is equivalent to stealing our family property. What is the reason for doing this? You must tell us, even if it means death, let us die clearly."

Hearing this, more and more people had disdainful smiles in their eyes.

When the kings heard this, they were obviously stunned for a moment. They had not calculated carefully. Suddenly, they heard that the number of members of the Ming royal family had increased to 600, and their hearts jumped.

"I have also thought about this restructuring for a long time, for the sake of the Ming Dynasty three to five hundred years from now."

Although these words were unpleasant to hear, there was a certain truth to them. Several other vassal kings nodded silently.

Zhu Xiongying thought about it and thought it would be a good idea to talk about it, so he said:

"Since you want to know, let me tell you."

Zhu Xiongying ignored it and continued:

When Zhu Ping heard this, he laughed quite disdainfully,
"What do I think is the reason? It turns out that His Majesty is reluctant to part with these stipends. Now the Ming Dynasty has opened the sea and captured the Ottoman Empire. We don't believe that the imperial court doesn't even have such a small amount of money. Your Majesty's reason is unavoidable. It’s a bit far-fetched.”

"You are right. Now there are only twenty-four of you princes in the Ming Dynasty. Your combined annual salary is only 1.2 million."

"Let's calculate based on the fact that you kings have five heirs under one family. In the second generation, the Ming Dynasty will have twenty-four princes and ninety-six county princes."

Zhu Xiongying's eyes turned cold, and his tone lowered once more, "Listen to me."

Zhu Xi curled his lips and sneered a little, but said no more. Zhu Xiongying continued.

How much salary does a county prince have per year? Is it necessary to abolish the feudal lord system for this? Isn't this making a fuss? You can simply say that we are unhappy and want to reduce the vassal state, which will make it easier for people to accept it. It is annoying to be so secretive!

His firm and unquestionable tone caused the vassal kings to frown deeply again. They saw Zhu Xiongying's determination to reform.

"The annual salary of twenty-four princes is 1.2 million, and the annual salary of 600 princes... is 3 million."

Everyone's hearts gradually became heavy, so the annual salary of the prince and the king added up to four million.

They can say that one or two million is nothing, but to say that four million is nothing is to deceive themselves and others.

Zhu Xiongying saw the changes in everyone's faces, but he had no intention of letting them go. He pursued the victory and said:
"This is only the third generation, and the fourth generation, you might as well do the math for yourself, how many relatives are there in the Ming Dynasty royal family?"

Then the kings began to calculate in their minds, but at the end of the calculation, their expressions changed greatly, but not a word escaped their lips.

The faces of the feudal lords who looked disapproving just now all changed. This scene made Zhu Xiongying feel a lot happier, but there was no expression change on his face. This incident was not funny at all.

"It seems that you have calculated that the fourth generation royal family members total more than 3,000 people!"

"Based on the calculation of three thousand county princes, their annual salary is as much as fifteen million!"

Zhu Xiongying's voice did not rise and fall too violently, but it was extremely harsh in the ears of the kings.

Zhu Xiongying narrowed his eyes and said: "This is only the fourth generation of the Ming Dynasty royal family. The four generations only last for three hundred years! Three hundred years later, just supporting the royal family will consume a year's worth of imperial finances. Fifteen million!”

"Uncles, I'm here to ask you, what should the imperial court do when it faces such a huge financial gap?"

They couldn't speak or answer. They were just princes of the Ming Dynasty. They had never cared about the government's finances.

"Such a huge funding gap will definitely bring down the entire court, and even the entire Ming Dynasty, so I must reorganize the system!" Zhu Xiongying reiterated his request again, hoping that the kings would understand.

"The world of the Zhu family is not only mine, but also belongs to all the uncles, as well as their descendants. If the Ming Dynasty dies and is destroyed, everyone will not end well. In comparison, it is still the friend of all the uncles." It is more appropriate to use the royal power in your hands."

After Zhu Xiongying finished speaking, the vassal kings exchanged glances with each other, obviously still unable to accept the loss of royal power.

"Your Majesty's words certainly make sense, but you don't have to be so decisive. We can find a way to resolve the financial gap. The worst is to cut the annual salary in half." Chu King Zhu Zhen said, and everyone nodded again and again.

When Zhu Xiongying saw that they were not getting enough food and salt, he felt very angry in his heart. After saying so much, don't they understand?

It's not that the kings don't understand, they just don't want to accept it. As long as they have royal power in their hands, they will have endless glory and wealth, and the court can accept even a smaller salary.

Even if Zhu Xiongying didn't give them any salary at all, they would still have countless sources of income in their fiefdom. Just like King Zhu Fan of the Jin Dynasty, his fiefdom was in Taiyuan, where there were countless coal mines. The coal and coal essence produced in a year made him extremely rich.

In name, they are the vassal kings of the Ming Dynasty, but in their respective fiefdoms, they are no different from the emperor. If they lose their royal power, they will lose everything.

"Uncles, don't pretend to be confused here! Regardless of whether they are princes or princes, all the kings are not engaged in childbirth, but sit on their free wages and lie on the mountains and rivers of the Ming Dynasty sucking blood. You know this better than anyone else!"

"You!" When the kings heard Zhu Xiongying's unkind words, they glared at him!

Zhu Xiongying glared back without showing any signs of weakness. The emperor is not angry but is proud of himself!
"You are talking about cutting the annual salary in half, but that is only treating the symptoms but not the root cause. As long as the number of royal family members in the Ming Dynasty increases and they are eating empty wages, the Ming Dynasty will never get better!"

"Whether you agree or disagree, I must change the system!"

King Zhu Su of Qi sneered: "We really underestimated Your Majesty. We never thought that His Majesty, at such a young age, would have such a determined heart and completely disregard the life and death of us uncles."

As he said that, he took a step forward and said, "Your Majesty wants to change the system, so go ahead! Anyway, we are in Yingtian, and everything is not decided by Your Majesty. It's just that within our fiefdom, I'm afraid some people won't agree with Your Majesty." The decision-making will not look good if it makes a big fuss!"

They are all vassal kings of the Ming Dynasty. They are under one person in Yingtian, but in their own fiefdom, they are the uncrowned kings! How could he be so arrogant and arrogant that he could be easily captured?

Facing this hidden threat, Zhu Xiongying was not afraid and responded with a sneer.
"Ha! You don't have to worry about this, Uncle Wang, I have my own way of dealing with it! As long as I have Grand Master Cao in charge, I will have thousands of troops, so what do I have to fear?"

Hearing Cao Wei's name, everyone's expressions turned uglier. As long as Cao Wei is there, the court will have the most advanced weapons. The absolute suppression of weapons can make the court invincible!
In fact, the kings did not really want to rebel. They just wanted Zhu Xiongying to surrender. Unexpectedly, their threat was easily resolved by Cao Wei.

"Your Majesty, are you really going to fight us to the death?" Prince Zhu Xi also took a step forward and asked aggressively.

Zhu Xiongying clenched his fists, "This is not because I am forcing you to wait, but because I cannot stand without breaking, I must do this!"

Under the fierce momentum of many feudal kings, even Zhu Xiongying felt a little nervous, let alone the eunuch chief standing by.

Seeing Prince Zhu Xi approaching, the head eunuch felt that nothing could be done. He immediately raised his hand and dropped the cup in his hand to the ground the moment Zhu Xiongying finished speaking. There was a shattering sound!

Suddenly,

"Hurrah!"

At the door, window, and back door of the study, countless soldiers wearing armor and armed with guns poured in instantly.

When the kings reacted, they saw the cold light shining in front of their weapons, and Zhu Xiongying who was protected by the imperial guards.

Zhu Xiongying glanced at the chief eunuch aside and saw that his whole body was shivering, and his face looked as if it had just been washed and was covered in sweat.

In fact, Zhu Xiongying and the kings have not yet reached the moment of real quarrel, but since everything has happened, there is no need to be upset. Maybe this can make the kings in front of them calm down.

"Your Majesty has really made all the preparations, I admire you!" King Qin Zhu Ping has never been a kind person, so he sneered at Zhu Xiongying without hesitation.

Although the situation at the scene was controlled by the guards, the kings all knew that Zhu Xiongying would never kill them.

Zhu Xiongying stood up and did not respond to Zhu Ming's words. Instead, he shook his head with cold eyes.

"I have said everything I should say, and that's it. If you uncles don't agree, I have no other choice but to make you feel aggrieved."

Then Zhu Xiongying waved his hand and ordered: "Take all the uncles down, don't be lazy."

"promise!"

The soldiers came forward to tie up the kings and carried them to the door. Zhu Xiongying heard someone among them say something.

"Your Majesty is not afraid of being laughed at by everyone in the world for using such shameless means, hahahaha."

When the study room became empty again, Zhu Xiongying felt tired. He had just faced the twenty-four princes of the Ming Dynasty who had overwhelming power and many soldiers. Even Zhu Xiongying was under a lot of pressure.

Zhu Xiongying sat down again, stretched his neck, and breathed a sigh of relief.

He really had no choice. Both sides had already met each other. They must not let these vassal kings return to their fiefdoms, otherwise the situation would be even more difficult.

If you control them at this time, even if there are soldiers and generals in the territory of these feudal kings, they will be leaderless and just a loose sand, which is much easier to deal with.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty." The chief eunuch came over tremblingly.

Zhu Xiongying looked at him in confusion, only to find that he was staring at his hands. Zhu Xiongying also looked over, only to realize that he had clenched his fist too hard just now, and there were four holes in the palm of his hand that were squeezed to pieces. , the injury was not deep, but it looked a bit scary.

"Slave...here, go and call the imperial doctor," the chief eunuch said, turned around and walked out.

Zhu Xiongying waved his hand again, "You all can go down too."

The palace maids and eunuchs who were already standing unsteadily around them responded respectfully and hurriedly retreated. Several of the palace maids' faces were as white as paper.

Zhu Xiongying was the only one left in the room. He sat on a chair and meditated. For a long time, he muttered to himself:
"It's a bit difficult, but Grand Master... I've done it, hahahaha. As long as I keep going, I can truly extend my life for Ming Dynasty for five hundred years..."

the other side,
Zhu Yuanzhang was sitting upright in his palace, waiting for his servants to convey the news.

This time, Zhu Xiongying must face the twenty-four vassal kings of the Ming Dynasty if he wants to reorganize the system. Zhu Yuanzhang knows how difficult it will be.

As long as Zhu Yuanzhang came forward and stood with Zhu Xiongying, the vassal kings of Zhu Feng would definitely not be so unscrupulous today, but he did not do this. He chose to let Zhu Xiongying bear the pressure.

This was his test for Zhu Xiongying, because Zhu Yuanzhang's time was running out and he could not always stand by Zhu Xiongying's side.

Sooner or later, his eldest grandson will provoke the entire Ming Dynasty by himself...

Of course, Zhu Yuanzhang didn't just ignore it. He was more prepared, but Zhu Xiongying and the vassal kings didn't know it at all.

After a while, a figure came in from outside and knelt in front of Zhu Yuanzhang.

"Report to the Supreme Emperor..."

(End of this chapter)