The most reckless man in the Ming Dynasty.

Chapter 251 King Lu
Yanzhou Prefecture, Shandong Province.

It covers 23 counties in four prefectures: Jining, Dongping, Cao, and Yi.

Compared with the Song and Yuan Dynasties, Yanzhou's status has been greatly improved, and it has become the seat of Yanzhou's government, which governs four states and 23 counties. This is closely related to the fact that Yanzhou is a fiefdom of King Zhu Tan of Lu.

Zhu Tan was the tenth son of Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang. He was born in the third year of Hongwu. He was named King of Lu two months after he was born. Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang liked this little son very much. After he was made Queen, he sent people to Qufu to worship Confucius. At the same time, he also performed sacrifices on behalf of the infant Zhutan to report the mountains and rivers of the state of Lu.

But Zhu Tan was a short-lived prince. He went to Yanzhou to join the vassal state at the age of 15 in the 18th year of Hongwu. He died at the age of 19 due to "eye injuries caused by the poison of bait, gold, stone and medicine". This made Zhu Yuanzhang both sad and angry. To posthumously call him "King of Huang" is to detest his absurdity.

Subsequent dynasties of Lu kings all began their lives of debauchery in their fiefdoms.

According to the Ming Dynasty system, the prince is the highest-ranking nobility. In his feudal kingdom, the prince's status and authority are supreme. The place where the prince lives is also called the Imperial Palace. In addition to the eunuchs and maids, there is also a huge The "Chang Shi Division" of the Yamen has more than a dozen agencies under it, which are responsible for all aspects of the palace from food, medical care to ceremonial security. There are more than 30 high-ranking officials, as well as several thousand craftsmen and guard sergeants. many.

However, in order to maintain a prosperous life and support the economic foundation of this huge group, the palace has a large amount of property.

Prince Lu's Mansion has thousands of hectares of land, distributed in southwestern Shandong and even counties in Henan and Jiangsu.

No taxes are paid on the land of the royal palace. In addition, all royal members have different salaries according to their rank. Moreover, during festivals, birthdays or weddings and funerals, the court will receive rewards and local officials will receive tribute.

Especially this damn Marquis of Zhongshan, who staged a good show not long ago. He chased the so-called rebels and slaughtered all the Zhili gentry. Even if Zhu Yangzhu was facing this person at this moment, Even the God of Killing couldn't help feeling fearful and frightened.

So Prince Lu's Mansion started a desperate path of crazy annexation of fields!
Speaking of which, this was because the imperial court was becoming increasingly decadent and dark, and various social contradictions accumulated over a long period of time were gradually revealed and intensified. The royal family, relatives, vassals, dignitaries and bureaucratic landowners took advantage of various political privileges granted by the court to intensify their annexation, plunder and exploitation of peasant land. For example, most or half of the farm land in Yanzhou Prefecture, Jiyang, Zouxian and Wenshang counties belonged to the royal family of King Lu. The peasants' corvee burden was also extremely heavy. To build palaces, dredge canals, build mausoleums, and other unprecedented projects, tens of thousands or even millions of civilians were mobilized at every turn.

"Yes." Tang Hao chuckled and said, "I have heard that Zhu Dang, the returned king of the Lu clan, is brave and good at fighting. Can Prince Lu invite him to the banquet with us?"

"You can do anything!"

There are eight levels of royal family members in the Ming Dynasty. The prince's annual salary is 10,000 shi, the prince's annual salary is 2,000 shi, the general of the country is 1,000 shi, the general of the auxiliary is 800 shi, the general of the country is 600 shi, and the lieutenant of the country is 400 shi. The lieutenant of Fuguo has three hundred stones, and the lieutenant of Fengguo has two hundred stones.

The second is the Kong family in Qufu City. He is a descendant of the most holy master. As long as he has a noble status, there is nothing more to say. Emperors and generals of all dynasties, including Jurchens and Mongols, have to pay tribute. These Kong clan members have a lot of face, and it’s best to win them over if you can.

Zhu Yangzhu immediately came up with an idea. As long as the Marquis of Zhongshan is willing to reward him, let alone asking his son to accompany him for wine, even if he is the princess... ahem, the Marquis of Zhongshan seems not to be a womanizer.

How should I put it, he just stopped by to see what kind of person this fourth-generation King Lu was who was famous in history for gathering people for lewdness.

Although the Zhu Yangzhu in front of him is a little ridiculous, he has a pretty good reputation in history.

"Prince Lu, there is no need to be polite."

Yanzhou Prefecture is a canal fortress. What happened?

In November of the 16th year of Chenghua, 33-year-old Zhu Yangzhu and Princess Zhang were drinking at the same table with outsiders, and the men and women mingled together. When they were drunk, the palace servant Zhu Huarong had an affair with the soldier Yuan Bin and Princess Lu's brother Zhang Shiju, which was shocking. Called large...

After the Ming Dynasty, both common people and gentry voluntarily donated land to the Lu Palace in order to avoid increasingly heavy taxes, which also made the Lu Palace the largest landowner.

Hearing this, Zhu Yangzhu immediately felt relieved, but when he noticed Tang Hao's terrifying figure as burly as a mountain, his heart still lifted.

Historically, Liu Liu and Liu Qi led their troops to besiege Yanzhou. King Zhu Yangzhu of Luzhuang personally led his clan to the city to defend it. King Guishan of Lu Mansion was extremely strong and brave, and was good at shooting. He seized the bows and crossbows from the guards and climbed to the city to shoot around. After killing many people, the rebel army failed to capture Fucheng, and then turned around and captured Jining Prefecture City.

"Tang Hou, you have worked hard to suppress the rebellion. Please come in and talk about it."

Emperor Taizu Gao Zhu Yuanzhang established the clan system, based on the small peasant idea of ​​"the emperor builds the country, and the princes build their families", and the treatment given to the vassal kings was quite generous.

Each feudal king was granted his own territory, and could build his own army within the territory, with three exclusive guards. This controlled the local military power in disguise, and formed a clampdown with the local officials who held the power of local governance. This prevented The vassal king rebelled.

Although it is said that the ranks are reduced one by one, the emperors of all dynasties will have heirs, which causes the number of clan members to continue to grow, and even increase by leaps and bounds!

"I just stopped by for a visit, I have no other intentions."

Then the matter was reported by Zhu Yangzhu's sister, Princess Qixia. Zhu Yangzhu was reprimanded, two-thirds of Lumi was expelled, Princess Zhang was stripped of her concubine title, Yuan Bin beheaded in public, Zhang Shiju and Zhu Huarong were sentenced to hanging, and the rest were sent to serve as border guards. The army had a long history and was wrongly convicted, and the entire Prince Lu's Mansion also suffered a fatal blow.

There is no way, the shadow of the famous tree, in this world, there are really few people who are not afraid of this cruel eagle dog.

That's because in the later period of his term, the court was corrupted and officials were in chaos, which led to social and economic decline, people's lives were difficult, social conflicts intensified, peasant uprisings surged, and the rebel army surrounded Yanzhou's capital several times. King Luzhuang personally went to the city and mobilized the officers and soldiers from all the prefectures and palaces to hold on to the city, so that the solid Yanzhou city was not captured by the rebels.

After such a calculation, the dragons, dragons, and grandsons added together, there are fifty-eight members of the clan recorded by Emperor Hongwu alone. Each of these fifty-eight people will have two or three children, and the second generation will have There are three to four hundred people, and then the number will double in the third generation...

Well, generally speaking, people who can leave comments such as "gathering people together for lewdness" in official history are definitely not simple things.

The people's transportation along the canal was miserable.

In addition, the emperor's daughter, that is, the princess of the imperial court, although she has not received a title, can still enjoy the same salary as the county prince, that is, an annual salary of two thousand dan. The princess, the daughter of the county prince, enjoys the same salary as the general of the auxiliary country. The annual salary is eight hundred stone.

Moreover, this surname is Zhu, not the Zhu of the royal family, but the Zhu of the clan, specifically referring to King Lu!

However, the evil deeds this guy has done behind the scenes are indeed quite a lot. He is careless about human life and extravagant. Anyway, he is just a standard Ming prince. There is nothing much to say.

Speaking of which, the people of Yanzhou Prefecture have indeed suffered eight lifetimes of bad luck!
The first one is the Palace of Prince Lu. From the first generation of Prince Lu, he was famous for being ridiculous. Then, the second generation of Prince Lu acted like a normal person and left a virtuous name in history. After that, each of these became more and more famous. Play, at least fine clothes, fine food, large-scale fornication and other activities are indispensable.

Without him, the man in front of me was none other than the Grand Marshal of the Suppression of Bandits this time, the Marquis of Zhongshan of the Ming Dynasty, Tang Hao, who commanded 30,000 soldiers of the Beijing Army!

In this extremely dangerous social environment, King Luzhuang, his clan, and the officers and soldiers of Yanzhou Prefecture stood firm in the city, actively cooperated with the court, and tried their best to maintain the stability of Yanzhou City, which fully demonstrated the political relationship between King Luzhuang and the court. Maintaining a high degree of consistency is what makes it highly rated in Zhi Shu.

Zhu Dangqie?
That traitor who only knows how to play with swords, guns and sticks?

According to the clan system of the Ming Dynasty, the first-generation prince, the second-generation eldest son succeeds the prince, and the remaining children are named county princes. After the third generation of princes, there are three levels of generals. After the generals, there are third-class lieutenants, from top to bottom. Everyone can receive a salary.

"The roads are full of people picking up packages, dragging people along, and the night is endless. The people are extremely trapped, and the houses are almost empty."

Zhu Yangzhu eagerly pulled Tang Hao into the lobby, and then ordered someone to invite Zhu Dangqi. Even the prince Zhu Dangqi was not qualified to attend the banquet.

Tang Hao looked at the fourth-generation King Lu who was about to die in front of him with a strange expression.

The royal court has given less money, but the living conditions of Prince Lu, as well as the treatment of the concubines and clan members of Prince Lu's palace, cannot be reduced!

At this moment, Zhu Yangzhu, the fourth generation King of Lu, looked at the person in front of him with a pale face. Not to mention maintaining the dignity and dignity of Prince Daming. If the person in front of him hadn't taken the initiative to stop him, he would have even wanted to kneel on the ground and kowtow to him. Got it!

"Xiao Wang learned that Marquis Tang was coming to visit, so he specially prepared fine wine and delicacies..."

Therefore, in Yanzhou Prefecture, there are almost only two possibilities for fields, either with the surname Zhu or with the surname Kong.

Although Tang Hao is not proficient in mathematics, he still has some common sense and can still do simple calculations.

In other words, if the clan system of the Ming Dynasty is not reformed, sooner or later the Ming Dynasty's finances will be dragged down by clan members!
After eight or nine generations, the number of clan members skyrocketed to tens or even millions. Even if the lowest-level Lieutenant Feng Guo was given two hundred shi, the court would have to allocate several million shi of food and grass to these clan members a year!

How much food did the Ming Dynasty's fiscal revenue collect per year?

People's livelihood is not developed?

No more rations to the soldiers?
Officials no longer receive salaries?
The imperial court had more places to spend money and food.

As a result, the bulk of the money has to be used to support these fat-headed and big-eared clan members who are not engaged in childbirth. Even a fool can imagine the ridiculous and ironic sad scene! If it really comes to this point, the Ming Dynasty is not far away from collapse!

In fact, the royal family of the Ming Dynasty was famous for being a blood-sucking family. At the beginning of the founding of the country, Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang entrusted his descendants to various places, "initially ennobling forty-nine princes, princes, and generals." However, under the stimulation of policies, by the end of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang's descendants have multiplied to millions of people!
The royal descendants of the old Zhu family enjoy special privileges and are not subject to ordinary laws and are not subject to the control of local officials. The palaces, clothing, and military cavalry of the kings are as good as those of the emperor. Not only do they not need to pay taxes, they can even collect taxes, fish courses, and salt shops in local areas. There are also a few clans that use their privileges to bully local officials.

Zhu Yuanzhang, a grassroots emperor born from a poor peasant, paid more attention to blood ties after he became emperor, so he treated his descendants extremely favorably and set a generous salary standard. In the ninth year of Hongwu, Prince Lumi received 50,000 shi per year and 25,000 guan in banknotes. Later, There has been some reduction.

In order to allow the royal family to fully enjoy happiness, Zhu Yuanzhang stipulated that the royal family did not have to engage in any profession. All consumption needs of each royal descendant were borne by the state. This kind of meticulous "care" was so unique in Chinese history that people in the Ming Dynasty couldn't help but sigh, "The kindness of my relatives is indispensable, and it is far more generous than that of previous generations."

However, the result was that in order to ask for more salary from the court, the princes started a competition to have babies. The children of the royal family launched a fierce reproductive competition. For example, Qingcheng Wang Guang had more than 100 sons, and even more daughters. There are countless of them, and all of them must be supported by government funds.

With the rapid increase in the population of the clan, the total amount of salary and salary received by the clan was huge. The total amount allocated by Lumi far exceeded the annual grain supply to the capital in various parts of the country, and the country also shouldered a heavy burden.

This amount of money is not much when divided into each person's hands, but when combined, it is a huge expense. Since the rise of civil servants and gentry after the civil war, the country has been short of money, which must be used for border defense, suppression of rebels, and the support of these clans. It is conceivable why the Ming Dynasty has been in decline. It is not as good as every year. one Year.

It's a pity that the government and the public are unaware of this, and even think that raising these blood-sucking insects is a matter of course.

The problem is that not only do they suck blood, they also suck marrow.

Not only did he annex the fields and exploit the people in the fiefdom, but he also asked the court for money, food and salary. His life was richer and more abundant than the emperor's, but he didn't have to do anything.

Tang Hao, the Marquis of Zhongshan in the Ming Dynasty, couldn't bear it now.

Taking a look at the delicacies on the table, Tang Hao was not polite. He should eat and drink when he should, but it would be wasted if he didn't eat it anyway.

During this period, Zhu Yangzhu and Zhu Dangqi's father and son toasted many times, and Tang Hao also gave them enough face. It can be said that they did not refuse anyone who came.

For a while, the guests and hosts enjoyed themselves while drinking and drinking.

Zhu Yangzhu probably drank too much, so he couldn't help asking in a low voice: "Marquis Tang, I heard that the rebels in Nabazhou have surrounded Qufu City!"

"Looking at your posture, it seems like you didn't go..."

"Oh!" Tang Hao chuckled, "What nonsense does this Lord Guan do!"

"They are going to kill the Kong family, so just kill them. I am too busy drinking and eating meat to pay attention to them!"

As soon as these words came out, Zhu Yangzhu couldn't help but take a breath and looked at the person in front of him in disbelief.

That is Kong after all!
Those are the blood descendants of the most holy master!

How dare you, Tang Hao, to indulge the rebels deliberately...

"Tanghou, we can't make this decision easily!"

"Those who are the descendants of the Holy Master after all, how could they just be like this..."

Tang Hao spit out the bones in his mouth disapprovingly, then grinned and said: "What, is the prince also a disciple of a famous religion?"

Zhu Yangzhu immediately retorted: "Marquis Tang, please don't accuse someone of innocence out of thin air. I am a serious royal prince, and all the bullshit famous disciples are just those Confucian officials and scribes trying to put money on my face!"

In order to clear up the relationship, Zhu Yangzhu did not hesitate to angrily scold the famous disciples.

Zhu Dangqie heard this and sneered disdainfully.

The Marquis of Zhongshan may not know, but doesn’t he, his son, know?
In order to maintain his reputation, his father is an arty person. He likes to entertain some famous scholars when he has nothing to do, as if he is also a cultural person.

Zhu Dangqie's disdain fell into the eyes of Zhu Yangzhu and Tang Hao.

When Zhu Yangzhu saw this, he wanted to slap him and teach his evil son a lesson, but Tang Hao reached out and stopped him.

"Are you Zhu Dangqie? King Guishan of the Ming Dynasty?"

Zhu Dangqie was stunned when he saw this, but he had not yet reacted.

However, he was a newborn calf who was not afraid of tigers, and he drank some wine, so he answered directly and unceremoniously.

"I am the king of the county, and you are just a prince. You should address me as prince. How can you call me by my first name like this?"

As soon as these words came out, Zhu Yangzhu was so frightened that his liver and gallbladder almost burst. He hurriedly got up and slapped Zhu Dangqi on the forehead, and then shouted in a low voice: "You damn fool, why don't you apologize to Marquis Tang!"

"If he wants to kill us, you and I will die without a burial place!"

Hearing this, Zhu Dangqi was also a little dumbfounded and scratched his head subconsciously.

However, he was proud of being a member of the Ming Dynasty clan, but he refused to bow his head to Tang Hao to apologize.

Again!
I am the king of Ming Dynasty!
You bastard is just a Zhongshan Marquis!
Why should I, a prince, bow to you, a marquis?
"Hahaha..." Tang Hao couldn't help laughing loudly, his tone full of joy.

This Zhu Dangqie was exactly the goal of his trip.

Zhu Dangqi, the seventh grandson of Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang, was a strong man by nature and liked to dance with guns and sticks.

In the seventh year of Zhengde in history, more than a thousand "thieves" (Liu Liu and Liu Qi) came to Yanzhou from Zouxian County, camped outside the east gate, and attacked the city gate.

Zhu Dangqi led his men to defend the city and shot back the attackers with flying arrows, for which he was praised by King Lu.

From then on, he became more interested in practicing martial arts and became famous at that time for his bravery and bravery.

This is undoubtedly outstanding and extremely rare among the drunken Zhu Ming royal family.

If he uses it well, this guy might become a famous general!
But the premise is that Zhu Houzhao agrees to let him lead the army!

This involves the current vassal system of the Ming Dynasty.

Tang Hao was very confident, enough to make Zhu Houzhao change his mind and make reforms to the vassal system!
"Zhu Dangqie!"

"If you have the guts, don't pretend to be a county king and go out with me to practice!"

Young people can't bear to be provoked most, so Zhu Dangzhen fell into the trap.

When he came back with a bruised nose and a swollen face, he looked at his biological father Zhu Yangzhu and burst into tears.

"Father, this thief is not a human being. He is just waiting for me to go out and beat me up!"

Zhu Yangzhu: "..."

(End of this chapter)