Chapter 141: The Crisis of the Vassal King

"And the descendants of the vassal princes are endless, such as the Jin Domain, which has been four generations now. The number of county kings is several times that of princes. Decades later, I am afraid that Shanxi's taxes will not be enough to support the three feudal kings. ”

"And the important land on the nine sides depends on the north and the land of Shanxi, if all the grain here is used to feed the vassal king, then how to raise the army?"

Hu Hu actually has a bit of a meaning to change the topic. However, for this question, it is also very sharp.

The twenty-seven princes did not consume all their annual salaries and ten thousand stones.

If you count the county king, what kind of lieutenant of the town country, you can count it, let alone more than one million stone of grain, it will be enough to support.

But according to the reproduction rate of the Ming royal family, I am afraid that it will double in a few decades. And after that, the rate of doubling will get faster and faster.

And, there's another reason that people have to pay attention to.

That is, the food in the north is very scarce. The imperial court had to transport four million stone of grain from the south every year to supplement the lack of grain in the north.

and use the method of opening the middle to support the nine-sided grain.

But in the northwest mountainous land, there are several princes. These princes' salaries were directly spent from the treasury of various places, that is, the provincial-level warehouse.

This is even worse for the northwest, which lacks food.

Yang Shiqi coughed and said, "Lord Hu, the imperial court has its own laws, don't forget the way of kissing." ”

Yang Shiqi didn't know that the feudal king had caused a financial crisis, but he had priorities.

After three generations of Yongle, Hongxi, and Xuande, the power of the vassal king has been completely reduced. Even if there were only a few princes with guards, such as the King of Chu, under the wrist of the Empress Dowager, the three guards were moved elsewhere.

In this case, the vassal king is only rich and noble.

If you force it too much, the appearance of the court will be too ugly.

Moreover, the vassal kings of the world, such as Qin, Jin, Chu, Shu and other large domains, even if they do not have military power, the latent power is not to be underestimated. Therefore, you can't act in a hurry, and now you are talking about it in the court, and within ten days, the so-called vassal kings in the world will know.

This is an added factor of instability.

"Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager. The minister thought that what Master Hu said was very true. Liu Zhongfu said: "The ministers are in charge of money and grain, and the country is still rich, especially the nine-sided degree, when the emperor was the first emperor, he made winter clothes for the nine-sided soldiers, which cost 200,000 taels, which was originally a subsidy, but now it has become a fixed expense." ”

"The previous military department moved the text, saying that there was a shortage of food on the nine sides, and it should be allocated from the household department, and the annual grain was four million stones, and every expenditure had a name, so where did the minister give birth to a sum of money and grain out of thin air?"

"Elsewhere the vassal kings, the provinces can still afford it, but the northwestern vassal kings have become the largest expenditure in the provinces. It is difficult to transfer grain in the northwest. In the opinion of the minister, if the kings of the northwest were allowed to receive the money in Nanjing, the minister agreed. ”

"The vassal king's lawlessness." Immediately, Wei Yuan, the secretary of the Criminal Department, also came out, and in one go, several princes were implicated.

Zhu Qizhen also knew that the virtues of the Ming prince were all beasts, and that was to scold the emperor himself. But to say that they are all beasts is not true.

For example, Zhu Zhi, the king of Liao, and his two sons were incompatible, one reported to the court that the king of Liao was plotting rebellion, wanting to kill his father, and the other wanted to kill his son.

When the king of Liao died, neither of his sons went to mourn.

Filial piety was a big festival in ancient times.

With such unfilial piety, Emperor Xuanzong demoted the sons of King Liao to concubines. The throne of the Liao king also hung empty.

As for bullying men and women, there are countless things.

If it really comes according to the meaning of the Criminal Department, nothing else will be said. First check all the princes of the Ming Dynasty. It is better not to cut the feudal domain than to cut the feudal domain.

It's just that these crimes can't cost them their lives.

After all, intimacy is different.

These crimes are not enough to die 10,000 times in the next life, but in this era, the identity of the prince is at most forbidden by high walls.

There is no way, this is the norm of behavior in this era.

Zhu Qizhen was helpless.

"Your Majesty, most of what the Criminal Department says is rumor. But when it comes to the reputation of the Heavenly Family, it is still necessary to send the imperial history to verify it. Yang Shiqi said with a calculation in his heart.

Zhu Qizhen was suddenly a little confused in his heart, and said secretly in his heart: "This Yang Shiqi just said that the court is friendly and friendly. And now how to be ruthless. However, Zhu Qizhen quickly understood Yang Shiqi's thoughts.

Yang Shiqi continued: "The minister thinks that the clan is the son of the Heavenly Family after all, and the imperial history alone cannot serve the public, so he asks the vassal kings to be the heads of the clan and work with the imperial history to strictly investigate the illegal children of the domain. Give an explanation to the people of the world. ”

When Wang Wen heard this, he was annoyed in his heart and said, "Yang Shoufu, aren't you letting the thief catch the thief?" ”

Yang Shiqi said: "Lord Wang, after that, the official believes that the princes still know right from wrong. ”

Zhu Qizhen secretly said in his heart: "Good hand and mud." ”

The Ming Dynasty has only been established for about 70 years, although the population of the vassal kings is large, but it has not yet reached the five costumes, they are all a big family, and the vassal kings are here, so this disposal is naturally not much heavier.

As for the extent of disposal, it depends on the fighting method between the imperial history and the vassal king who went out to patrol.

If there is really a royal history who dares to come with iron and honesty, these vassal kings may not dare to do anything?

Zhu Qizhen also realized the second meaning of Yang Shiqi's doing.

This is the stability that the Empress Dowager has been emphasizing since she came to power. I don't want to set off a big case. The internal and external cooperation between the Empress Dowager and Yang Shiqi is more of a political and conceptual fit.

Now the south is fighting, and the north is sitting. Cutting the dead branches for the vassal kings in various places, Yang Shiqi didn't mind, but he wanted to set the tone for this matter.

That is, the court has no intention of cutting the domain, but some people are too troublesome, and the court sends people to clean up the mess. The court is not concerned with itself.

Zhu Qizhen immediately thought: "What to do, it is the most beneficial for me." ”

This time, Zhu Qizhen invited the Empress Dowager to finalize the matter of King Xiang's sealing of Luchuan, and King Xiang was naturally the chief military leader when he arrived in Luchuan, with at least three guards and more than 15,000 soldiers. Plus toast from all over the world.

This was a major change in the policy of the vassal king.

Therefore, before the change, it is better to appease the group of vassal kings. According to this policy shift, the feudal lords will also become a new political force in the future. And not the small transparent that is now. Perhaps, Zhu Qizhen still has the problem of using their power to impact the great expansion of the power of the civil officials of the Ming Dynasty.

As for them, there are really those who are inferior to beasts, and they will naturally have time to clean up in the future. And now is not the time.

As soon as I think about it, understand this. Zhu Qizhen said: "Well said, I also believe that all of you Uncle Wang are sensible people. Speaking of the way of kissing, I remember that it seems that the Qishu people, the Gushu people, the Hanshu people, the Jianshu people, etc., are still enclosed within the high walls, and there is a way to kiss. ”

"I am ready to grant amnesty to this generation and order Yousi to give land to resettle, but these people are either ruled by Taizu, Taizong, or Emperor Xian."

"I dare not disobey. Since they thought they were commoners, let them settle in the local area. Since then, I can't help but be in a hundred industries, if I am a good student, maybe I can still see my clansmen in the Golden Palace. ”

"Your Majesty's benevolence will surely be able to feel the heavens." Yang Rongxian said.

was robbed of the head by Yang Rong. Immediately, some people echoed it, and for a while, there was a large number of voices of praise in the Wenhua Palace.

Zhu Qizhen's move is too much in line with Confucian values, and naturally no one opposes it. But some people see Zhu Qizhen's hidden scheming.

This actually gives the way again.

Therefore, the Daming Sect will definitely not go on like this in the future, and there will definitely be a considerable number of clans that follow the path of these people, that is, to give up their identity as clansmen in exchange for the power to serve in the imperial examination.

For some people, it is naturally good to bear the title and lead the court, but after all, it has been more than 70 years since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, and many distant clans, relying on that little money, are actually not much different from ordinary rich families, and they have to bear all kinds of restrictions.

It's better to give up the identity of the clan. Rely on your own ability, or the imperial examination or the army, and work hard for a world.

In the Ming clan, there are actually still talents.

"Your Majesty, although the matter of the vassal king is big, it is only a long-term disaster, but if the intention to expand the territory is endless, it is a near-term harm. Taizu limited the mountains and the sea, listed the fifteen countries that were not conquered, and the descendants were peaceful for generations, so that they would last for ten thousand years. Chen Wen said.