Again, the impact of reorganizing the military settlements is far beyond the implementation process. When Yu Qian left the capital this time, he held the emperor's will in hand, and everyone bowed his head wherever he went. Even these clan lords also respected him.
There is no way.
However, this does not mean that they will really swallow this breath. This time they came to Beijing to make it clear that they were here to complain.
Therefore, when the topic was brought up, the faces of the vassal kings present were quite excited.
Seeing this situation, King Zhou frowned slightly and raised his hand slightly, forcing all the kings to calm down.
Then, facing the expectant eyes of everyone, King Zhou said.
"I told His Majesty the situation you mentioned when I entered the palace yesterday, and Your Majesty's attitude is very clear. The rectification of the army is a major matter of the imperial court, and it cannot be changed easily. The country is in difficulty, and the purpose of rectifying the army is to boost the war between the officers and the army.
We must use our strength to relieve the pressure on the national treasury. This is to consolidate our Ming Dynasty. As royal relatives, you should serve the country's interests. You must not be limited to selfish interests and obstruct the imperial decree."
These words were righteous, but obviously not what the kings present wanted to hear. Therefore, after King Zhou finished speaking, the hall became more and more silent, especially the kings of Yi, Zheng, and Ning.
Yu Qian dealt with the ruthless vassal king, and his face became even more ugly.
However, King Zhou did not change his attitude because of this. Instead, his tone became more serious, he scanned the crowd and said.
"Yesterday when I entered the palace, Your Majesty said something to me. This country belongs to the Zhu family. Therefore, it is up to us, the Zhu family, to guard it. Emperor Taizu divided the kingdoms among the kings, and this is where the feudal kingdom belongs."
"I know that no one will be willing to take things out of their pockets. However, your majesty is right. This country belongs to the Zhu family. Therefore, for such things that are beneficial to the country and the country,
, If we, the Zhu family, are not willing to do it ourselves, then who can we expect?"
Ah this...
The kings present looked at each other for a while, and looked at King Zhou in a strange way.
This week, the prince... must have been fooled by the emperor.
Yes, everyone can talk about the truth, but it's just some fields. This is what everyone does in normal times, so the court is still doing well.
Why is it now that I suddenly can’t hold on any longer?
Don't think they don't know that in the past two years, the national treasury's annual income has been more than in previous years due to the gains from the mutual market.
What, if we don’t take food from their mouths, the country will fall?
Everyone disagreed for a while, and after pondering for a moment, King Yi said.
"Brother Zhou Wang, what your Majesty said is of course reasonable. If we are to contribute to the country, we will naturally not be stingy with money and land."
"However, now in the court, it is clear that some people see us, the clan kings, as easy to bully. They took advantage of the fact that His Majesty has just ascended the throne to deceive the king and target the clan members."
"Not to mention anything else, there are many officials and officials from high and low in the court who are involved in the occupation of military camps. However, they have never been seen to investigate themselves. Instead, they are holding on to us. Isn't this a plan for the country?
?”
"In my opinion, this group of people headed by Yu Qian is deliberately trying to suppress the clan."
Therefore, King Yi has made some progress during this period of time.
At least now, he is much more restrained than when he first entered the capital.
These words made the atmosphere in the flower hall relax slightly, and then King Lu, who also had gray hair, also spoke.
"A few days ago, King Min wrote to me, saying that the imperial court intends to rectify the affairs of the clan. This time when I came to Beijing, I heard some rumors. It is said that when Hu Hu from the Ministry of Rites came out of the palace the day before yesterday, he had invited the Ministry of Husband to Shen Yi went over to discuss it, thinking that the necessary regulations are almost in place."
"You also know about this, right?"
When he said this, King Lu raised his head and looked at King Zhou, with a look of calmness and authority on his face.
Seeing this situation, King Zhou couldn't help but sit up straight, nodded thoughtfully, and said.
"knew."
"Now that I know it, can I mention this matter to His Majesty when I entered the palace yesterday?"
What is different from others is that King Zhu Zhaohui of Lu is of the same generation as King Zhu Youjuan of Zhou. They are both grandsons of Taizu. In fact, in terms of age alone, he is several years older than King Zhou.
However, because the lineage of the King of Lu that Zhu Zhaohui inherited was the throne of Zhu Tan, the tenth son of Taizu, and the line of King of Zhou was the throne of Zhu Ji, the fifth son of Taizu, there was a difference in ranking.
Of course, this is only a superficial reason. King Lu's lineage has rarely visited Beijing in recent years. There are two reasons.
The first is that Zhu Zhaohui himself does not like secular things, believes in Buddhism, and is very indifferent to clan affairs. The second, and most important reason, is because Zhu Zhaohui's aunt is the daughter of Tang He, the founding hero of the country.
Tang He's reputation is well known to everyone. He is a founding hero comparable to Xu Da and Lan Yu. He is also one of the few ministers in the Hongwu Dynasty who was able to die a good death.
Because of this, Zhu Zhaohui was much more cautious than other vassal kings. Unless necessary, he basically stayed in his fiefdom and stayed away from the world.
However, no matter how indifferent people are, they still have things they care about.
Different from other vassal kings, Zhu Zhaohui's father, Zhu Tan, committed suicide at a young age because he liked to take gold and stone medicine. Zhu Zhaohui was the only descendant of this lineage.
Therefore, Zhu Zhaohui attaches great importance to the matter of his son's interest.
In his whole life, he had six sons and five daughters, and as for his grandchildren, there were even dozens of them. If the other vassal kings came here to pay attention to the military settlement, then his visit to Beijing at an advanced age this time was for the sake of the clan. It came from the feudal reform.
After all, in terms of age, Zhu Youjuan is several years younger than Zhu Zhaohui. Therefore, when facing Zhu Zhaohui, Zhu Youjuan's tone became more measured and said.
"I did mention it a few words, but His Majesty said that the Ministry of Rites just had an idea about this matter, and the specific regulations have not yet been submitted, so he didn't say much."
King Lu was obviously not satisfied with this answer, he frowned and said.
"So, are the rumors true? Is the Ministry of Rites really trying to embarrass us and other clan lords?"
this……
King Zhou was a little hesitant. The question was so straightforward that he didn't know how to answer.
Then, King Lu's face darkened and he said.
"Let's not mention the military affairs. Regardless of whether the ministers in the DPRK are doing it under the banner of serving the country or sincerely serving the country, the clan system was decreed by His Majesty Taizu. When will it be the turn of these people to discuss it?
?”
"Even if it is to be changed, isn't it a good thing that my Zhu family has a long lineage? How did I hear that the Ministry of Rites will make a fuss about this matter this time?"
As he spoke, King Lu's eyes flashed with a hint of coldness, and his tone became somewhat mocking as he continued.
"...Since ancient times, no law has been prepared before Cheng Zhou. The fifth generation of the Zhou family has been exempted. Yan Hui has no chance to compete with him, and Qingwen has no chance..."
"Strict security, careful marriage, establishment of worry system, severe punishment..."
"These people are so brave!"
These words were obviously repeated, but the calm tone could not hide King Lu's suppressed anger.
Seeing this situation, King Yi took the opportunity to speak and said.
"Brothers Zhou Wang and Lu Wang are right. If it is really for the sake of the peace of the country, as a clan member, it is okay for me to make a slight concession. However, the people in the court today may not really consider my Zhu family. First of all,
He organized the military camp, used stories to cause trouble, bullied our clan, and now he wants to change the clan system. It is just a desire to gain power."
"Your Majesty is young and devoted to the country. Although he loves his relatives deeply, he will inevitably be deceived by the courtiers. If we give in here, then you will definitely get worse in the future. By then, the clan will be bullied and controlled everywhere. How can we talk about vassalage?
Ping Sheji?"
This time, King Zhou did not refute again.
On the contrary, a trace of thought flashed across his face. What no one expected was that he did not answer the words of King Lu and King Yi. Instead, he turned sideways to Zhu Yinqi and asked.
"Yinqi, what do you think of what Brother Lu and King Yi just said?"
Seeing this situation, several other vassal kings immediately set their sights on Zhu Yinqi, even Prince Xiang was no exception.
Prince Zhou brought Zhu Yinxi over, and it turned out that he was not just asking him to sit and listen...
Facing the gazes of all the uncles, Zhu Yinqi pondered for a moment, then stood up and cupped his hands, saying.
"Uncle Wang Mingjian, I think what Uncle Lu and Uncle Yi said are reasonable. It's not that we are unwilling to do our best for the Ming Dynasty, but if someone wants to use the excuse of the country to bully the clan and commit transgressions, then I will
Naturally, we can’t give in again and again.”
These words expressed his attitude so clearly that all the feudal kings were a little surprised.
You know, at this gathering, they specially selected King Min to preside over the religious examination, and King Dai was called into the palace for a talk.
The reason is because, in the matter of military settlements, both King Min and King Dai took the initiative to donate many of the fields they had occupied under their names.
In other words, at least on this matter, these two vassal kings were not of the same mind as them.
However, now it seems that this is not the case.
As the crown prince of the Min clan, Zhu Yincheng was brought here by the King of Zhou. What he said can basically be regarded as the attitude of Min King Zhu Huixun.
You know, this is not a casual occasion. There are so many vassal kings present, and there are also vassal kings with high qualifications such as King Zhou and King Lu. Listen, if Zhu Yinqi changes his tune in the future and is inconsistent, then
, and his reputation was completely ruined.
The clans of the Ming Dynasty could make many mistakes. Most of the provisions of the Ming Dynasty Laws, except for the ten evil crimes, were basically for show.
However, the various clans do not offend each other very much. In other words, whether Zhu Yinzhen's move was intentional or not, since he has spoken, it means that he is standing with them.
At this time, King Zhou continued to ask.
"Well said, our Zhu family has a noble status. We can't just let others bully and suppress us wantonly. At a small scale, this is a mistake. At a serious level, some people are deliberately suppressing the clan. This is destabilizing.
I am the Zhu family."
"Now that you understand this, what do you think we should do now?"
This is a sharp question.
The kings looked at each other and saw the surprise in each other's eyes. They originally thought that the reason why King Zhou brought Zhu Yinqi here was because he received some instructions from the emperor after entering the palace, so they changed their minds and came to persuade him instead.
them.
But now it seems that is not the case...
However, even when faced with such a straightforward question, Zhu Yinqi just pondered for a moment and then said.
"Of course I'll ask Your Majesty to make the decision."
After saying this, King Yi and others who had been looking forward to it couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. Let's not talk about the military camp. Just the matter of clan affairs. Judging from the tone of King Zhou just now, the emperor obviously wanted to avoid it.
To talk.
As expected, after saying this, King Xiang beside him couldn't help but say.
"Your Majesty, please make the decision?"
"Now that Your Majesty has listened to the words of Yu Qian and others, what's the use of us going to speak to His Majesty? By the way, Prince Min has been visiting the palace frequently recently. How about letting Prince Min go to speak to His Majesty? After all, this sect order
, you can’t take it for nothing, right?”
This tone is obviously malicious.
Zhu Yinqi's face also turned slightly cold, but in front of everyone, he did not have an attack and just smiled.
"Prince Xiang, don't worry. If your father needs to come forward and give advice, he will naturally not refuse."
With these words, the choked Prince Xiang suddenly lost his temper, turned his head angrily, and said no more.
Therefore, Zhu Yinqi calmed down his expression, turned to King Zhou, cupped his hands and said.
"Uncle Wang, Your Majesty has always valued family ties, so I believe that as long as we clarify the truth to Your Majesty, His Majesty will not allow these courtiers to bully the clan in this way."
Saying this is the same as not saying it.
Seeing this situation, King Yi was about to speak, but Zhu Yinxi turned his head and looked at King Ning, King Zheng and others aside, and continued unhurriedly.
"Of course, you have to be careful about how you say it."
"Your Majesty is the king and father of all peoples. Although he values his family ties, when it comes to national affairs, it is naturally impossible for him to listen to one side or not, let alone favor us unconditionally."
"For example, Uncle Yiwang brazenly intercepted an imperial envoy outside Beijing just before. It was a blatant act of impulsiveness."
"Also, what King Zheng and King Ning said just now cannot be supported by me. I am bold and want to ask you two questions."
"If His Majesty really ordered that the things you just mentioned be investigated in detail, can you two guarantee that you are not in the wrong?"
Ah this...
The question left King Zheng, King Ning and others speechless.
Even though they said Yu Qian seemed arrogant and domineering, they knew the actual situation best.
The rectification of the military cantons was a major policy approved by the emperor. Many of their actions were actually blocking or even resisting the rectification of the military cantons.
The reason why Yu Qian dared to use some tough measures in their fiefdom was because he held the handle for their substantive confrontation in his hands.
Therefore, if this matter really breaks out in front of the imperial court, they will suffer a loss.
Because of this, they only dared to say that Yu Qian's methods were excessive, but they remained silent about what they had done.
Seeing this situation, Zhu Yinqi smiled, looked at King Zhou and others again, and said.
"Uncle Wang Mingjian, the military garrison incident is indeed a move that benefits the country, and it was promoted by your majesty. Although the ministers in the court are under the banner of your majesty, after all, we have made mistakes. If there is really a quarrel, I'm afraid
Can’t take advantage.”
"So, if we want to reason in front of His Majesty, we have to have hard reasons. Otherwise, His Majesty will probably have a hard time doing it, right?"
