In the 14th year of Zhengtong, Zhu Quan died of illness, and Zhu Mianpei, who was only 31 years old, inherited the throne as his grandson.
However, the grudges between Ning Wang Zhu Quan and Yan Wang Zhu Di did not end there.
Although Zhu Quan had no intention of fighting for power, his descendants felt that they had suffered a great loss, and the seeds of revenge were sown. From then on, generations of King Ning took rebellion as their mission.
This rebellion had been planned for three generations. It was not until the Zhengde period that the fourth generation King of Ning, Zhu Chenhao, finally couldn't bear it anymore. He raised an army of 100,000 and fought all the way to Nanjing. As a result, the imperial court's counter-rebellion troops were suddenly attacked before they arrived.
Wang Shouren showed up and was dealt with.
At this time, Zhu Mianpei did not have a strong desire to rebel, but he was ambitious.
He was unwilling to be a captive idle king, so he instilled the idea of rebellion in his descendants and finally put it into action.
However, times have changed.
Zhu Qizhen had no intention of raising these vassal kings like pigs, because...it was a waste of food!
In the Ming Dynasty, the prince's salary was very high, with the prince receiving 10,000 shi, the county prince 2,000 shi, and the general holding the country a thousand shi.
This is only on the surface, and the benefits behind it are even more immeasurable.
Even if the princes behave themselves well and do not compete with the people for profit, they have nothing to do at home, so they give birth to sons all day long, and these sons will have more sons. In the end, half of the Ming Dynasty will be raised.
Eaten by them!
Rather than letting these princes waste the food, why not spread it out... and let it go pasture?
I will give you money, food, soldiers, horses, weapons and equipment. Which land do you like? Go and conquer it yourself!
Defeat it and bring it into the territory of the Ming Dynasty, and you will take charge personally.
In this way, the vassal king is no longer a title, but a feudal state again.
Within a feudal state, the vassal king is the emperor.
Of course, there are hidden dangers in doing so, because since the Jingnan period, it has become an ancestral motto for the vassal king not to command troops.
However, Zhu Qizhen is not worried about this. If he wants to avoid the disaster from happening again, it is very simple. He just needs to be strong enough.
If you want to rebel, come on, as long as you can withstand the bombardment of cannons, you can do whatever you want!
If you are ambitious but don’t dare to rebel, then I’ll choose a place for you to vent your anger!
Of course, the places chosen for these princes try to avoid friendly neighbors, such as North Korea, Ryukyu, Ezo and other loyal brothers.
As for the Japanese country, they still have to pay military garrison expenses to the Ming Dynasty on a monthly basis, and they cannot do anything about it for the time being.
Ning Wang Zhu Dianpei saw everyone watching and was the first to become unable to sit still.
His ancestor was only one step away from becoming an emperor. Now that he has the opportunity, how can he let it go?
However, he had more than that on his mind. There were rich and poor lands outside the Ming Dynasty. It was first come, first served. If it was too late, it would be gone.
If you want to occupy a good place, you can't let others grab it first.
"Why don't you calm down and think carefully about what the emperor's intention is?"
After hearing this, King Xiang Zhu Zhanyi was dissatisfied and said: "Why don't you, King Ning, tell me first, what do you mean by these words?"
Among all the princes, except for Zhu Qiyu, the King of Xi, who was far away in Luzon, the King of Xiang, Zhu Zhanxuan, and Zhu Qizhen had the closest blood relationship. He did not want to hear anyone speaking ill of his eldest nephew, so he stood up.
Among the crowd, Zhao Wang Zhu Zhanyao said: "Everyone, please stop making noises. This matter is indeed a bit unusual. We should not speculate randomly about the holy will. Why not go with us tomorrow and ask the emperor for clarification in person!"
King Xiang Zhu Zhanzhen nodded and said: "That's good, it saves you the guesswork, we can just ask directly!"
Ning Wang Zhu Mianpei looked around and said: "It's okay to go, but you must make complete plans. No matter what the emperor says, everyone must leave a way out for themselves, right?"
King Zhao asked: "Don't be too pretentious. What do you want to say? Be more straightforward!"
Prince Ning took a slow sip of tea, and then said: "The affairs of our Lao Zhu family are not a secret. Let me tell you, the most important thing is to save your own life. Don't wait until something happens and you don't know about yourself."
How did he die?"
King Xiang sneered but said nothing.
Prince Ning continued: "Don't laugh, I'm telling the truth. If everyone wants to go out and have a try, and the emperor supports it, it is naturally a good thing. However, what if the emperor is a drunkard who doesn't want to drink? The vassal king doesn't control it.
Soldiers are the ancestral teachings, but you all here want military power. What are your thoughts?"
King Xiang immediately retorted: "King Yin has just led his troops to capture Annan and is now guarding Luzon. If the emperor is really suspicious, why doesn't he issue an order to recall King Yin?"
King Ning shook his head and said: "How do you know that the emperor has no suspicion of King Yin? How do you know whether King Yin is leading the troops outside and has second thoughts? Taking a step back, what is the relationship between the Holy Emperor and King Yin today, and what is the relationship between him and us?
What's the relationship? Brothers fighting tigers, father and son fighting in the battle. You, Prince Xiang, are just an uncle to be honest, how can you compare to my brothers?"
The two argued endlessly, and King Zhao intervened again: "There is no point in fighting. Why don't we reach an agreement. In front of the emperor, no matter what the outcome is, we must advance and retreat together. Even if the emperor has any ideas, we must
Consider our opinions, what do you think?"
After hearing these words, everyone nodded.
In any case, as long as all the vassals unite, the emperor will definitely think carefully before making a decision.
Prince Ning said: "Then let's make an agreement. When I get in front of the emperor, I won't rush to express my position and let's see what the emperor's plan is."
At this time, King Zheng asked: "If the emperor still asks about today's events, how should we answer?"
Prince Ning thought for a while and said, "Just think carefully."
King Zheng added: "Your Majesty, you have to say that the lands outside the territory of the Ming Dynasty are not something we can go to if we want to. If this thing is true, first come, first served, I am afraid that those who follow will not even be able to drink the soup.
."
Prince Ning was a little panicked in his heart, but he was very calm on the surface. He shook his head and said, "Don't agree easily yet. See clearly the emperor's intention. It's not too late to make a decision! The first come, first served thing is purely for us people to see." King Zheng thought for a moment and said, "Well, I'll do as you say. Do you have any opinions?"
Now that things have happened, everyone has chosen to support it. After having enough wine and food, they went back to rest.
Zhu Qiyong came to his father's bedroom and asked: "Father, when we left Xiangyang, didn't you also say that we would wait and see? Why do you not agree with King Ning today?"
"Humph!"
Zhu Zhanzhen snorted coldly and said: "My father said it, but I just can't stand the look of Prince Ning!"
"Then when we go to see the emperor tomorrow, should we..."
"Don't rush!"
Zhu Zhanzhen waved his hand and said: "The matter is still unclear. There is no harm in waiting and seeing. If these people want to conquer the emperor's army, we can consider siding with the emperor."