Outside Zhengyang Gate, which was originally one of the nine gates in the capital and was bustling with people every day, there was silence at the moment.
With the ceremonial guard from Prince Min's Palace approaching, the people who originally gathered not far away to watch the excitement were dispersed 300 steps away by the accompanying Royal Guards.
Although there is a strong north wind today, the sun is still hanging in the sky, and the snow is gradually melting, making the originally frozen hard land become a little muddy.
A group of officials in green robes were kneeling on the ground. Their robes were stained with mud and their knees hurt.
No one thought that an ordinary greeting would suddenly become so tense.
The old prince didn't even enter the city gate. He just asked such a sharp question, and the target of the question was the dignified seven ministers.
King Min's tone was harsh, but Hu Hu was not afraid. He still bowed respectfully and answered.
“Your Majesty, Your Majesty, has a message. He is newly enthroned. He misses his clan members, and out of the friendship between cousins, he summons all the clan members to the capital.”
"Although it does not conform to the rules of the emperor's ancestors, he still has a close heart. How can I dare to persuade you?"
“If Prince Min feels something is wrong, he can present it to His Majesty when he enters the palace. The Prince is an elder, and Your Majesty will listen with an open mind.”
These words were obviously respectful, but secretly they were a soft nail, which immediately made the old prince frown.
At this time, there was another noisy sound not far away, and it seemed that there was another large group of people coming this way.
The old prince's face turned dark. He waved his hand and ordered the people to lower the curtain and said coldly.
“In this case, I will go to the palace in person and ask Your Majesty.”
“Get out of the way and let me enter the city!”
Hu Hu and others retreated to both sides, but no one dared to get up.
King Min never mentioned this matter from beginning to end, as if these people should have been kneeling in front of him.
It was not until the long royal guard of honor had all entered the city that Hu Hui and Yang Shan straightened up. The other officials also stood up with a sigh, looking at the mud spots all over their bodies and smiling bitterly.
Had I known it earlier, I should have taken leave today...
Shu Liang moved forward and came to Hu Hui's side. He also smiled bitterly and said.
“Uncle Zong, this Prince Min is really...unique!”
After thinking for a long time, Shu Liang couldn't find the right words, so he could only say this.
In contrast, Hu Xi's face was still calm and calm, without any anger after being made things difficult and humiliated. Looking at the driver disappearing in the city, Hu Xi shook his head and said.
"This Prince Min came from the reign of Taizu. At that time..."
As if remembering something, Hu Hu sighed and said.
“Prince Min was dealt with by Emperor Taizong several times at the beginning, and he was much more restrained than before.”
Shu Liang was secretly stunned. Is this considered a restraint?
At the gate of the city, an important minister of the Seven Ministers was questioned in public.
From beginning to end, the officials present were asked to either bow or kneel on the ground to answer.
This is called convergence?
Have you been dealt with by Emperor Taizong several times?
Shu Liang sighed secretly.
He really felt sad for the elders of the Taizu Dynasty...
Hu Hui patted the non-existent dust on his body, and said with an unknown smile on his lips.
“The ancestral precepts of Emperor Ming?”
“It is also written there that kings over fifty are not allowed to visit the capital. If he had followed the instructions of the Emperor Ming’s ancestors, this Prince Min would have returned home long ago.”
As Emperor Taizu’s admonitions to the clan, Huang Ming’s Ancestral Instructions had a very powerful effect for a long period of time.
Of course, it mainly refers to the time when Emperor Taizu was alive.
This classic stipulates in detail the treatment, behavioral norms, rights and obligations of the clan and other aspects.
Due to Emperor Taizu's character of protecting his own family members, this ancestral instruction of the Emperor Ming Dynasty basically contains provisions that are beneficial to each clan and vassal king.
Although there was a small amount of caution against the vassal king, in general, Emperor Taizu still trusted his own family.
For example, there is a clear and clear statement in the ancestral precepts of Emperor Ming Dynasty that whenever kings live on the border, if there is no police, they will come to court as scheduled; if there are police, they will follow the rules, regardless of the court date.
There is another article that says, if there are no honest ministers in the government and there is evil in the government, then the prince will train the troops and be on standby, and the emperor will give secret orders to the kings and lead the troops to bring peace.
At the beginning, Emperor Taizong relied on these two items to train the army with the support of Emperor Mingzu.
The former gave the vassal king, especially the border vassal king, the right to enter the capital at any time, as long as "there are police officers" confirmed, while the latter gave the vassal king the power to lead troops into the capital, as long as "there are no honest ministers in the court and there are evildoers".
The famous saying "The King of the Qing Dynasty" comes from the instructions given by Emperor Taizong when he raised an army and swore an oath to the army. His original words were...
The ancestral teachings say that if there are no honest ministers in the court and there are evildoers in the government, we must train troops to fight against them and clear away the evildoers on the emperor's side.
Although a few words have been modified, the general meaning is the same, and the soldiers can't tell the difference anyway.
It can be said that these provisions gave the feudal king great power and freedom.
In addition, there are various preferential treatment. Kings can train soldiers, reward troops, inspect troops, intervene in civil affairs, and judge officials.
Kings who break the law are not allowed to behead, torture or use poison. They must be taken to the capital to be tried and punished by the emperor himself, and at most they can be treated as common people.
It was because of this ancestral instruction that the vassal kings had too many loopholes to exploit. Therefore, after Emperor Taizong came to power, he made decree after decree to completely close all the loopholes in the ancestral instruction.
To this day, this so-called Huang Ming Ancestor Instructions has long been thrown into the pile of old paper like Da Gao.
Only people like King Min, who came from the era of Emperor Taizu, would hold on to it.
Shu Liang also smiled and said: "No, I just don't know what happened to make Prince Min leave in such a hurry..."
Hu Hui also had a smile on his face. Just as he was about to answer, he saw another group of people slowly appearing in the distance.
So the old man pursed his lips and said:
“Eunuch Shu, the answer is here!”
Shu Liang looked into the distance in confusion. At a glance, he could feel that this team was larger than King Min's team before, with nearly 400 people.
However, there are still differences.
Among King Min's team, there was only one luxurious carriage for King Min to ride in, and the rest of the carriages were used to carry things.
There are nearly two hundred people in the two escort teams, one in front and one in the back. They are all well-trained sergeants. There are only less than a hundred servants in the actual service.
This team is completely the opposite, with seven or eight carriages inlaid with gold and jade, followed by twenty or thirty large carts.
However, among the people accompanying him, there were only a few dozen people who looked like guards, and the rest were all servants and maids.
Although theoretically speaking, as long as the official escort force does not exceed the quota, it is up to the clan members to decide how many attendants they will bring. After all, they are the ones who provide the money themselves.
But since you are going to Beijing, you have to keep a low profile. Therefore, even if most of the clan members have the money, they will consciously keep their tail between their legs.
In front of me, I saw a King Min with more than 200 escorts, and now I saw another with more than 300 servants.
Shu Liang felt that his horizons had really been opened today.
But soon, he discovered that he was wrong.
When the team got closer, he discovered that in addition to the messy imperial flags, Qingdao flags, Baize flags, and golden drum flags, there was not one royal flag that really symbolized the identity of the visitor, but four.
These four royal flags are embroidered with King Zhennan, King Guangtong, King Yangzong and King Jiangchuan respectively.
In other words, this is not the team of one prince, but the team of four princes combined. No wonder there are so many people.
In the Ming Dynasty's title convention, a single character is a prince, and a double character is a county prince.
It can be seen from the titles that these four people only have the title of county king.
These four titles sounded familiar, but Shu Liang couldn't remember who they were. Is this the answer that Uncle Zong said?
How can the four princes allow Prince Min to make way for them in a hurry?
A trace of suspicion flashed across Shu Liang’s face.
If he remembered correctly, the clans of the Ming Dynasty today are all, without exception, the juniors of Prince Min, right?
This chapter has been completed!