There is a prince in Shandong who is plotting rebellion. Let alone Wang Yuan, even Zhu Houzhao doesn't believe it. Otherwise, how could Wang Yuan be allowed to investigate?
Wang Yuan did not dare to neglect and went straight to Yanzhou overnight, taking Xingtai with him to prevent this newly accepted disciple from hearing what he should not hear.
After riding through the blocked river section, everyone dismounted and boarded the boat. Wang Yuan asked: "What happened? Tell me in detail."
Eunuch Wen Xiang replied: "Liang Gu, the head of the Ministry of Personnel, received a secret report from his fellow villagers Qu Ang and Xifengzhu, saying that Zhu Dangqian, the king of Guishan, was planning to rebel. Chief Liang reported the matter to Yang Yiqing, the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, and Yang Shangshu reported it Report this matter to the Ministry of War. Although the Ministry of War does not know whether it is true or not, in order to prevent unexpected events, it ordered the sergeants of all the guards to move to Jinan."
"That's it?" Wang Yuan smiled.
Wen Xiang added: "If it were just like this, no one would believe it. But after the army moved to Jinan, King Lu also reported to the court that King Guishan intended to rebel."
King Lu is the biological father of King Guishan!
When a father reports his son for treason, who dares to choose not to believe it?
Wang Yuan didn't believe it, and neither did the emperor.
Not only did Zhu Houzhao not believe it, but he especially admired Zhu Dangqi, the king of Guishan.
Because Zhu Dangqi is not a loser, but a prince who is skilled in archery and horsemanship.
Last year, the rebels attacked Yanzhou with more than 400 cavalry and thousands of infantry. Zhu Dangqi led his entourage to the city tower and personally used his bow to shoot at the rebels. He did not wait for the reinforcements from Jinan and Jining to come to rescue him, but he killed the rebels himself. He was beaten away.
Zhu Houzhao was very happy when he heard this and even ordered to reward Zhu Dangqi.
The lineage of King Lu is relatively long-lived. When it comes to the royal family’s seniority, Zhu Dangzhen is still the emperor’s uncle!
Wang Yuan asked again: "What special decree does your Majesty have?"
Wen Xiang smiled and said: "Your Majesty doesn't really believe it. He thinks this matter is too ridiculous, so he asked Academician Wang to find out the truth."
Wang Yuan said: "Does Dali Temple need to take action?"
Wen Xiang replied: "Wang Chun, the young minister of Dali Temple, and Han Duan, the commander of Jinyiwei, are afraid that they have arrived in Jinan now, and they plan to bring an army there."
"What nonsense!" Wang Yuan immediately ordered the ship to speed up.
We took a fast boat south to Jining, then continued eastward, arriving at Yanzhou Prefecture that afternoon.
Wang Yuan took a eunuch and more than ten guards in royal robes and came directly to the gate of the government office and shouted: "Where is the prefect of Yanzhou?"
Jin Yiwei's clothes were a sign, and there was no need for Wang Yuan to produce documents. Tong Xu, the prefect of Yanzhou, came out in a panic to greet him.
The prefect Tong Xu, who had been working as a doctor in the Ministry of Household Affairs, naturally thought of the powerful Wang Erlang. After seeing Wang Yuan, Tong Xu was surprised and said: "Xueshi Wang, why did you come to Yanzhou?"
Wang Yuan said: "According to your Majesty's decree, we are investigating the rebellion of King Guishan. You should summon the government officials to arrest the people and cooperate with the Jinyi guards to surround the palace of King Guishan!"
Tong Xu did not dare to slack off at all, and immediately gathered the officials from the city and personally guided Wang Yuan to the palace.
Halfway through, Wang Yuan asked: "How does King Guishan behave on weekdays?"
Tong Xu replied: "King Guishan is usually quite honest and doesn't bully the people very much. He only likes to dance with swords and sticks and make friends with brave people among the people."
Wang Yuan asked again: "Do you think he will rebel?"
Tong Xu sorted out his words and said: "It's hard to say. Although he doesn't bully the people, he may be trying to build his reputation, making friends with warriors or recruiting followers."
Wang Yuan asked again: "Where is King Lu? He personally denounced his son this time."
Tong Xu suddenly became angry: "King Lu lives in seclusion and is rarely seen. But his cronies are so domineering that they make Yanzhou Mansion very restless!"
The contemporary King of Lu is very cowardly. Ever since the multi-person movement in Prince Lu's Mansion was reported decades ago, this King of Lu has stopped. He stays in the Prince's Mansion all day without going out, and he doesn't know what he is doing. But he gets more and more. If he doesn't care about worldly affairs, his confidants will be left unattended and he will do a lot of messy things.
As for King Guishan, he is the youngest son of King Lu.
According to the Ming system, no matter whether they were princes, princes, or dukes, they could only enjoy nominal fiefdoms. They could not govern the people in the fiefdoms, and were not allowed to own fiefdoms. After Zhu Dangzhen was named a county prince, he still lived in the fiefdom. In Yanzhou City, he lived on a salary of two thousand dan per year (the prince's annual salary was 10,000 dan).
How did the princes of the Ming Dynasty get their land?
All are rewards from the emperor!
It’s still the same trick as asking for land: Wow, Your Majesty, there is a large piece of wasteland there. It would be a pity not to grow food. Please give me the wasteland, Your Majesty, and I will definitely send people to cultivate it.
Historically, Prince Fu, who was caught making soup by Li Zicheng, had numerous properties in his name. Most of these properties were given by Emperor Wanli. Wanli wanted to pass the throne to Prince Fu, so he was angry with his ministers and refused to go to court for decades. However, the inheritance system of the eldest son could not be changed, so various rewards were given to King Fu, and coupled with the invasion and occupation by the King Fu family for many generations, it finally became what it was like in the late Ming Dynasty.
…
"Your Majesty, it's not good!"
A royal eunuch hurriedly rushed into the martial arts arena.
There were so many eunuchs in the Yuan Dynasty that even local powerful men bred eunuchs on a large scale. Most of them were from the palace and could not enter the palace to serve the emperor, so they took the initiative to seek refuge with local powerful families.
Zhu Yuanzhang promulgated the edict banning castration. Firstly, it completely abolished the punishment of castration. Secondly, it prohibited private ownership of eunuchs as slaves.
However, the noble class can have eunuchs. Zhu Qiyu and Zhu Qizhen also castrated the number of eunuchs that the nobles could use.
However, only eunuchs in the imperial palace and palaces can be called eunuchs and eunuchs (at first they could not be called eunuchs, at that time eunuchs were still honorifics).
The eunuch shouted as he rolled into the martial arts arena and lay down: "Your Majesty, it's not good, the royal guards have surrounded the palace!"
"Why did the Jin Yiwei surround the palace?" Zhu Dangzhen sheathed his sword. He still didn't know that he had been betrayed by his own father.
The eunuch cried sadly: "I don't know!"
Zhu Dangqie quickly took people out to check the situation. Halfway through, he bumped into Wang Yuan.
Zhu Dangqi raised his hands and asked, "Don't you know the imperial envoy's surname?"
Wang Yuan returned the courtesy and said: "Wang Yuan, a bachelor at the Hanlin Academy."
Zhu Dangqi was very happy: "It turns out to be Wang Erlang, who killed Liu Liu and Liu Qi in formation. I have admired his name for a long time and have long been looking forward to meeting him in person. Bachelor Wang, please come in quickly!"
Wang Yuan said to Wen Xiang, "You can tell me."
The eunuch immediately said: "King Guishan, we are here to investigate the prince's rebellion under your majesty's order."
"rebellion?"
Zhu Dangqie was confused, and then he was shocked: "You mean, I want to rebel? This is ridiculous. I am a county prince and I don't even have a palace guard. What can I do to rebel?"
Wen Xiang asked: "Then why are you hoarding fame and popularity and retaining followers privately?"
"How can I accumulate fame and support my reputation?" Zhu Dangzhen was extremely depressed. "Does it count as raising my reputation if I want to harm the people in the fish and meat village? This lieutenant, I am really not a good person. I have also invaded the people. It’s just that I don’t have as much land as my brothers. If you don’t believe me, you can go and investigate. I definitely can’t be a virtuous king who is seeking fame and fortune.”
Wang Yuan couldn't laugh or cry. It turns out that being a good king is also a sin.
Wen Xiang asked: "What about the private retainers? Where are Yuan Zhi and Zhao Yan?"
Yuan Zhi and Zhao Yan were both brave men, and they were also the palace retainers who were reported for this rebellion.
Zhu Dangqi immediately called the two men over and explained: "Zhao Yan is an official of Guishan Palace, and Yuan Zhi is just an ordinary warrior from a military household. What kind of disciples are they? Even if they are disciples, should I take them two with me?" A rebellion?"
Wang Yuan and Wen Xiang looked at each other and both felt that this rebellion was a false accusation.
As Zhu Dangqi said himself, he didn't even have a palace guard. How could he lead his officials and slaves to rebel?
This is still possible in remote areas, but in Shandong it is pure nonsense.
Due to the raging rebels in Shandong, a large number of soldiers were stationed in Jining, and there was also a deputy envoy of Shandong military preparations. Once Zhu Dangzhen rebelled in Yanzhou, the deputy envoy of Shandong military preparations immediately mobilized troops and took a boat to fight to the city in half a day!
Wang Yuan sighed and said: "Your Majesty, I have an order to search the palace no matter what."
Zhu Dangqie said helplessly: "You can search."
Wang Yuan reminded: "If you have weapons and armor, you can hand them over yourself first."
Zhu Dangqi's face instantly turned pale, and sweat broke out on his forehead: "Well... I do have six sets of armor in my house, but this is not because I intend to rebel, but because I like military affairs. These armors are all used for collection and reward."
"You are confused!" Wang Yuan scolded.
It's okay to have swords and weapons in the palace, including strong bows and crossbows, but armor is a forbidden thing, and there are six fucking pairs of them.
Wen Xiang reminded: "Search out the prohibited items first, and then start hearing the case after Wang Shaoqing and Commander Han arrive."