Wang Xijue glanced at Zhu Minchun, the king of Jin, and then at the old princess Li, and said with a smile: "What are you doing?" His Majesty is not only the son of heaven in the world, but also the patriarch of the Zhu family, how can he let the Jin Mansion do anything. ”

"Before the minister came to Taiyuan, His Majesty personally summoned the minister."

"Your Majesty said to the minister, you can ask for anything in the Jin Palace, and Your Majesty is willing to do your best to meet the requirements of the Jin Palace. Everyone is a descendant of Emperor Taizu, and what His Majesty can do must be done. ”

Whether it is Zhu Minchun, the king of Jin, or the old princess Li, they don't take this seriously, whoever takes it seriously is a fool.

"We are all courtiers of the Ming Dynasty, and we are also Your Majesty's courtiers, how can there be requirements, Your Majesty's words are your will." The old princess Li hurriedly spoke, her expression serious and serious.

Although this is some unnecessary nonsense, both sides understand in their hearts what is going on. But this must be said, and this will be in the history books in the future, which is the keynote.

This is also the tone of external propaganda, the emperor is benevolent, the vassal king is duty, and the monarch and the minister are harmonious.

There are no doubts in this, and there is no difference in the pool, Wang Xijue heard the old princess Li say this, nodded with satisfaction, and then said: "Someone in the imperial court proposed to His Majesty to demote the lord. ”

Here it comes!

As soon as they heard this, both the old princess Li and the Jin king Zhu Minchun knew that the drama was coming.

That's the point!

Although he wants to rectify the royal family, Zhu Yijun will not kill the vassal king with a rod. In fact, Zhu Yijun's strategy is to be close to the distant sect and use the distant sect to restrict the prince.

The policy of the vassal kings of the Tang Dynasty was of reference to some extent, the prince was restricted, but the distant sect could be used.

If the Ming Dynasty is given the throne by a Yuanzong, then the Ming Dynasty is estimated to be finished, just like Han Guangwu Zhongxing, only if there is a great chaos in the world, Yuanzong will be able to get the throne.

When it really gets to that point, it doesn't really matter.

There are many successions in history, but there are very few successful cases of rebellion by vassal kings, of course, the chaotic period of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms is not counted. To limit the vassal king, you must also use the vassal king.

Now that the nobles are erosive, they need some people to support themselves on the scene, and the royal family is a good choice.

Although there are many wastes, they can't stand the number of people, and how can there be two generals in the stalk. If one generation can't work, there will be two generations, and there will always be a few decent ones.

Degraded to a knighthood, Zhu Yijun is ready to use it in titles other than the prince.

Now that the Ming Dynasty still has a hereditary reckless prince, if all the clan relatives are turned into degraded lords with one sword, it will be a mess. First put the matter of opening the ban on the feudal domain settled, and then you can slowly clean it up, step by step.

Not making a mess is the premise, Zhu Yijun thinks very clearly about this.

When the ban on opening the feudal domain is completed, Zhu Yijun will cooperate with other systems to restrict the prince. The vassal kings and clans want to be restricted, and the feudal ban must be opened, but they cannot be completely abolished. This is an era of etiquette, and although many people do dirty things in private, etiquette is indeed something that everyone must follow on the surface in this era.

Zhu Yijun is not only the son of heaven of the Ming Dynasty, but also the patriarch of the Zhu family.

If you are too harsh on your clansmen, you will really be poked in the backbone, although Li Shimin killed his brother and imprisoned his father, he was still very good to his other brothers, and he was given enough treatment or something.

Because it's not just your family matter, it's not just a political matter, it's also a matter of etiquette.

For example, in the United States in later generations, family will always be the main tone, and loving and caring for one's family is politically correct. In Daming, since you are the patriarch, you are responsible for all the family members and take care of the descendants of the family, which is also politically correct.

Not to mention the emperor, even if it is an ordinary people's house, the long house is harsh on other rooms, and it will be poked in the backbone.

Zhu Yijun, as the Son of Heaven and the Lord of the World, should set an example. At that time, Zhu Yunwen's methods of cutting the feudal domain were so drastic, which made him very unpopular, which had a lot to do with this.

Of course, if the vassal king rebels or is guilty, that's a different story.

Demotion to attack the lord can be implemented, but it cannot be implemented on vassal kings, especially the few vassal kings left by Emperor Taizu. That's the Taizu personal seal, you have lowered the title of other people, what do you want to do?

Before Wang Xijue came, he had a detailed discussion with Zhu Yijun, and Zhu Yijun couldn't carry this pot, and he Wang Xijue couldn't afford it.

"Your Majesty means that the prince is not downgraded, and all from the prince down to the prince." Wang Xijue looked at Zhu Minchun, the king of Jin, and said in a deep voice: "I don't know what the king of Jin wants?" ”

The prince will not be demoted, to put it bluntly, it is to tell these vassal kings, don't worry, your title will not be demoted.

However, your branch will be demoted, except for one of your sons who will inherit the prince's title, the other sons will be crowned the king of the county, and the grandson will be the general of the Zhenguo, and the next generation will be demoted.

After the sixth generation, it was no different from the people.

The current Daming Sect uses a downgraded attack, although they are all downgraded, but this is very different. If Zhu Minchun has three sons, the eldest son will inherit the title of King of Jin.

Then the remaining two sons will be crowned two county kings, and the titles of these two county kings will exist.

When it came to Sun Tzu's generation, in addition to inheriting the titles of the two Jin kings, he also had to seal out a large number of Zhenguo generals. The sons of each generation of Jin kings will be crowned county kings, and basically the number of births will increase the number of county kings.

After the king of the county was the general of the town and the branches were scattered, each prince's mansion was a knighthood production machine.

If it is changed to a downgraded lord, although Zhu Minchun's son is still the king of the county, his grandson will inherit the title of the prince of the county, but the title of the general of the Zhenguo, and after the sixth generation, this title will disappear.

Although it will be produced every year, a batch will disappear every year, which can keep the Ming clan's value constant. Maybe there will be more births over the years, more births, fewer births, then less, but there will always be a constant amount.

Once the demotion raid is launched, the lieutenants of Fengguo, who are now at the bottom of the title, will soon have a large number of commoners when they inherit it.

The Ming Dynasty has been established for more than 100 years, and it is really a succession of countless Fengguo lieutenants. Just the Jin king's lineage, dozens of county kings, and a lot of Zhenguo generals and auxiliary generals, if you don't clean it up now, the population explosion of the clan is about to come.

Of course, Zhu Yijun gave the prince the treatment of not being demoted, and he did not have the idea of using them to suppress other clans.

For example, the Jin king's lineage, there must be someone to lead it, if the Jin king is demoted, then what will Zhu Minchun do to deter others? When the time comes, if you have such thoughts, and I have such thoughts, it will not necessarily cause any trouble.

Keeping the title of the prince can deter these people and suppress them, which is very important.

Hearing Wang Xijue say that he was demoted to attack the lord, Zhu Minchun, the king of Jin, and the old princess Li were all nervous, and they were relieved to hear that the prince's title was not within the scope of the demotion attack.

At the same time, I also heard the meaning of these words, this is to ask the Jin Wangfu to support the demotion of the lord, and help suppress the other Jin king's lineage. For example, those county king's mansions, those town generals' mansions, and so on.

It's a bad decision!

On the one hand, it is its own interests, and on the other hand, it is the interests of all the clans, or the interests of the Jin Dynasty. At the same time, because he was the first, he made a start for other vassal kings.

Zhu Minchun, the king of Jin, and the old princess Li both complained in their hearts, and they felt that the conditions were good before, but now it seems that it is really a big pit.

You must know that Zhu Minchun is not very old, many of those county kings are his uncles and uncles, if Zhu Minchun really agrees, it is estimated that those people dare to point at Zhu Minchun's nose and scold.

To say that there is no sinister intention of the one in the palace, Zhu Minchun, the king of Jin, does not believe it.

Wang Xijue was not in a hurry, he took a sip of the teacup, in fact, the matter has come to this point, it is not a question of whether the Jin Wangfu agrees or not, but the Jin Wangfu must agree.

The first knife to open the ban is in the Jin Palace, if this knife can't be cut, what will happen in the future?

The atmosphere here fell silent, and in another room of the Jin Palace, Zhang Chao looked at the two eunuchs in front of him, and said lightly: "The meaning of the palace has been made clear by our family." ”

"Godfather has something to explain, this time I have done things well, and I can give you a chance."

These two eunuchs are the two eunuchs in charge of the Jin Palace, one is Yang Qi, the head of the Internal Affairs Office, and the other is Miao Sheng, the head of foreign affairs, both of them are not young, more than fifty.

Although they are not young, in the face of Zhang Chao, the two of them still dare not make a mistake. Zhang Chao sits, they stand, Zhang Chao speaks, they listen.

"You have been working in the Jin Wangfu all these years, how much you have taken, the godfather will help you cover it up, and he will not pursue you, but the premise is that things are done beautifully." Zhang Chao continued: "When the matter is over, the palace can allow you to return to your hometown to retire. ”

For the old eunuch, returning to his hometown for the elderly is a very good treatment.

Unless it is a big eunuch like Zhang Whale Xu De, it is unavoidable to return to his hometown to retire, inherit the incense from a son from the clan, and live for a long time.

Especially eunuchs like Yang Qi and Miao Sheng, they have taken a lot of benefits, and they have returned to their hometowns safely, which can be regarded as a good death.

Yang Qi and Miao Sheng also understood that the capital was not Taiyuan, and once the vassal king entered Beijing, the capital would definitely have to rearrange the manpower, and they would not be trusted by the capital.

"Back to Grandpa Zhang, we know how to do it!" The two of them hurriedly bowed and said.

Things have come to this point, if you don't know how to advance or retreat, it is a toast and don't eat and eat the penalty wine, and the Dongchang cup of penalty wine is not delicious. In addition, Zhang Chao said that this is the meaning of the palace, so you have to think about it, who means it in the palace?

No matter who it means, neither of them dares to die, and obedience is the best choice.

Zhang Chao nodded, and then said with a smile: "Organize a copy of the palace's property as soon as possible, and our family will use it when the time comes." ”

Of course, sorting out a copy is not for embezzlement, and they don't dare to take this silver. Although the vassal king is not treated by the emperor, it is definitely not that these eunuchs can afford to provoke.

Especially in such a big matter as the opening of the feudal ban, if you embezzle the property of the feudal king, you really don't know how to die.

Zhang Chao didn't make the slightest wave on his side, and the conversation on the side of Zongshen, the waiter of the Ministry of Rites, didn't take much effort. These subordinate officials of the palace are not stupid, and some of the northeast should be let go.

After receiving Zongshen's assurance, they also expressed their obedient acceptance.

In the evening, the three of them returned from Xin to discuss together, and Wang Xijue told the attitude of Zhu Minchun, the king of Jin, to the two of them. Zhu Minchun, the king of Jin, said that the stakes are very high and needs to be carefully considered.

Wang Xijue was not worried about the outcome of King Jin's consideration at all, he knew that King Jin Zhu Minchun had no choice.

In the back house of my palace, Zhu Minchun, the king of Jin, drank the wine in the cup with a wry smile, looked at his mother Li and said, "Mother, what should we do?" To say yes or not to agree? ”

At this time, Zhu Minchun had no one else to discuss these things.

Those subordinate officials and masters in the palace, or those eunuchs and attendants, at this time, none of them can be trusted. In fact, Zhu Minchun is still angry in his heart, can it really be like this?

The old princess Li glanced at her son and said, "What do you want if you don't agree?" ”

"Look at who is coming this time, the waiter of the Ministry of Rites, the cabinet scholar, and the celebrant Although the master of ceremonies is only a eunuch in the hall, he is the godson of Zhang Whale, the prince of Dongchang Factory."

"All this shows that the emperor must move us."

"At this time, learn to be well-behaved, and you can get a lot of benefits, if you don't behave, I'm afraid you will be beaten up." Speaking of this, the old princess Li sighed and said, "Tell Wang Xijue tomorrow that our Jin Wangfu has promised them." ”

Zhu Minchun nodded, he doesn't have any good choice now, what can you do?

The conditions in the palace are good, you want to have an industry, you want to have a status, and the prince's title is not downgraded, if you don't know each other, it is estimated that it will be a good thing.

What is the benefit of opening the ban on the feudal domain by making it yellow? Not at all!

As for their own children and grandchildren, anyway, it is enough to hold the title of a prince, and let them go with the rest! After Zhu Minchun thought about it, he became less depressed, and bowed to the old princess Li and said, "Mother rest early, and the child has retired." ”

Li nodded and said in a deep voice, "Okay, let's rest early!" ”

The next day, Wang Xijue learned the news that the Jin Wangfu had agreed, which made Wang Xijue breathe a sigh of relief and completed this matter, which was the first step to be taken steadily. The next step is the difficult one, and that is to level those county kings.

Compared with the prince, they are the most difficult group of people to settle, the prince is just one, but the county king is a lot.

However, Wang Xijue also knows that as long as these county kings are settled, there will be no obstacles in the future. Once the county king is settled, then the others are not a problem, but it is precisely these people who are the most difficult to settle.

Unlike the prince, although he has been demoted, the prince of the lineage is still there.

Degrading the lord is different for the county king, and their next generation will not inherit the county king, only the title of the general of the town country, which is not so easy to accept.