"Your Majesty, the minister thinks that Zheng Gong's words are reasonable, and the reform of the clan should be considered in the long run, but the ancestors should not be chaotic, and the vassal king's clan should not stay in the capital for a long time, otherwise I am afraid that the disaster will be not small, and now the important thing is that the princes have reached adulthood, and they should set up the East Palace as soon as possible, divide the princes, and make them leave Beijing quickly to become a vassal."

At this time, Li Ke also echoed Chu Liangcai in the matter, in his heart, he actually didn't care about the reform of the clan, and even didn't care about the people in the clan.

After all, for the clan, if the Ming Dynasty really died, he would naturally have nothing to do as the Zhu family, but for the civil officials, it is not terrible that the Ming Dynasty is gone, and it is a big deal to be the ministers of the new dynasty again, and the terrible thing is that the vassal kings are stranded in the capital and cause the world to be uneasy, and may even seize the power of their civil officials to rule the world.

Zhu Houzhao didn't expect that he would mention the reform of the clan, but he was led to the matter of the crown prince by the courtiers.

Zhu Houzhao glared at Chu Liangcai: "What I am talking about now is the reform of the clan, not the matter of the crown prince, and the political words are not right, Meng Chun, how did you choose the officials of the ministry, and you were dismissed!" ”

Chu Liangcai regretted his words, accidentally touched His Majesty's brow, and was dismissed on the spot.

Zheng Yue, the secretary of Dali Temple, was also a little cramped and uneasy, but he thought that what he said was right, and it would be unruly for the vassal king not to stay in the capital.

Zhu Houzhao just glared at Zheng Yue, didn't say much, he didn't want to waste time fighting against these pedantic civil officials now, he only asked Zhu Taihan's name, surname, title, age, etc., and then nodded and said:

"It's rare that you can have this proposal, I think it's feasible, according to what you said, the Zongren Mansion will be knighted in accordance with the regulations, the prince is limited to five sons, the county king is limited to three sons, the auxiliary general is limited to two sons, and the auxiliary general is limited to only one son, and the son who exceeds the limit will not be given a knight, but only a crown and a glorious body!"

Zhu Taihan didn't expect Emperor Zhu Houzhao to accept his proposal so easily, and he was also excited for a while, and he completely forgot how dangerous his current situation was, and he had a mentality of great ambition, so he only continued:

"Your Majesty, the minister believes that the Reformed Sect should not only limit the number of its lords, but also have the following strategies:

The first is to limit the number of concubines;

The second is to open the ban on the practice of the clan, just like the ban on the four people, allowing the clan to engage in agriculture, commerce, craftsmen, and scholars, so that it can be beneficial to the community;

The third is to strictly investigate the counterfeit clans, and prohibit the indiscriminate collection of children and the unauthorized marriage;

The fourth is to stipulate that a certain proportion of the imperial court's expenditure on the support of the clan is permanent, no matter how huge the number of clans in the future is, only according to this proportion of the distribution of clan expenditures, if the clan is too large, and the proportional increase in clan expenses is not large, then the clan's income will be reduced evenly, so as not to favor one over the other, if the future income of the imperial court increases according to the proportion of the amount of clan expenditures increased by a large amount, then all the clans can also be added equally! ”

After Zhu Taihan finished speaking, Zhu Houzhao smiled.

However, the faces of some courtiers and clans darkened even more, and it was obvious that Zhu Taihan's several suggestions based on his own experience in clan life could effectively change the problem of the imperial court's large expenses for maintaining the clan.

In particular, Article 4 is of the greatest significance, limiting the expenses of the clan to a certain percentage, which undoubtedly makes the burden of the imperial court to maintain the clan to a certain extent.

In this way, even if the number of clans continues to increase in the future, the burden on the imperial court will not increase, and of course, this will also be equivalent to a disguised reduction in the treatment of the clan in the future.

It's just that in the eyes of many courtiers, these suggestions for clan reform are fine if they are put forward by Wenchen, but if they are put forward by a vassal king, they are inevitably a little inappropriate.

At least that's what Meng Chun thought at this time, and he couldn't help but stand up and say: "Your Majesty, the minister thinks that what King Fenglin said is insightful, and it is really fortunate that the country has such a virtuous king, but it's a pity that he is not the crown prince of His Majesty." ”

Zhu Taihan was also very happy when he saw Meng Chun, the secretary of the ministry, praising himself, and he felt that this was an affirmation of himself by the imperial court.

However, Zhu Houxi couldn't help but smile slightly at this time, he knew the world and the hearts of the people better than Zhu Taihan, and he had to admit that Zhu Taihan, as a classmate who had studied with him in the palace for several years, although he had more thoughts about seeking for the country, he was obviously more bookish.

Zhu Houxi believes that Zhu Taihan's behavior today has obviously made many courtiers dissatisfied, after all, how can a vassal king be blind in this kind of thing, isn't this tantamount to slapping the civil officials in the face, nor is it the same as waiting for the civil officials to say that they have ambitions.

Zhu Houxi knew that Meng Chun seemed to have praised Zhu Taihan, but he was really praising Zhu Taihan, and the most taboo in the imperial court was that the vassal king was more virtuous than the emperor and the crown prince, and now Meng Chun said this, which naturally made some courtiers who were afraid of the vassal king even more dissatisfied with the sharp Zhu Taihan, and also made Zhu Houzhao's princes dissatisfied with Zhu Taihan.

"Uncle Wang, is this Zhu Taihan really as virtuous as Meng Tianguan said?"

The second son of the emperor, Zhu Zaiyi, asked Zhu Houxi beside him.

Zhu Houxi said with a smile: "Your Highness, I don't know about this Uncle Wang, Meng Tianguan said that he must be a virtuous king." ”

"The Emperor seems to be pleased with his proposal."

Zhu Zaiyu said a word, Zhu Houxi only smiled at this, he knew that the next fate of his former classmate Zhu Taihan would definitely be more auspicious, and he couldn't help but feel a little sorry for Zhu Taihan in his heart.

As for the reform of the clan, Zhu Houxi himself naturally knew that the reform of the clan was necessary, but he knew that as a vassal king, no matter how he changed, it was better for him not to participate.

Zhu Houzhao could hear what Meng Chun meant, and knew that this Meng Chun was killing Zhu Taihan, but he was not afraid of Zhu Taihan's intentions, after all, Zhu Taihan's opinion was really good, but Zhu Houzhao could feel that the pressure of the reform clan was not from the vassal clans, but from these civil officials in the court.

"Passing the decree, Zhu Taihan served as the Zongren Decree of the Zongren Mansion, Xingwang Zhu Houxuan served as the Zuo Zongzheng, and the emperor's eldest son Zhu Zailei served as the Right Zongzheng, responsible for the reform of the clan, and the corresponding reform matters were prepared and submitted to the Cabinet, and the cabinet resolution, and the Master of Ceremonies drafted the decree of the Ministry of Rites, and then from next month onwards, it will be submitted as an example!"

After Zhu Houzhao said, Gu Dayong took the order and left, preparing for the officials of the celebrant to appoint Zhu Taihan, Zhu Houxi and Zhu Zailei as officials of the Zongren Mansion.

But Zhu Houzhao's will still made the ministers quite stunned and difficult to accept, because Zhu Houzhao's doing so meant letting the children of the clan participate in politics.

Zhu Taihan was surprised and happy at this time, surprised that he was a county king who was directly appointed by His Majesty the Emperor as the Zongren Order of Zhengyipin, and he was happy that His Majesty let him preside over the reform of the clan, obviously to reuse his own meaning.

Zhu Taihan hurriedly accepted the order, unlike other vassal kings, he was still very willing to do something serious.

Zhu Houxi was surprised at this time, he didn't expect that he would be so low-key, and he would still be named by His Majesty, and let himself serve as Zuo Zongzheng to assist Zhu Taihan in carrying out the reform of the clan, isn't this roasting himself on the stove.

Zhu Houxi stood up with some hesitation: "Your Majesty, my younger brother has been in poor health recently, and I wanted to ask for a decree to return to Anlu Prefecture to recuperate, but now Your Majesty has asked the minister to serve as Zuo Zongzheng to assist King Fenglin in reforming the clan, and my younger brother may not be competent." ”

Zhu Houzhao showed displeasure on his face, he naturally knew that Zhu Houxi was definitely not Zhu Taihan, as a scheming emperor who became an emperor in the original history and manipulated hundreds of officials in applause, how could he be willing to be his own pawn and be used by himself.

However, it was precisely because Zhu Houzhao knew that Zhu Houyu was quite strategic and better at fighting with civil officials, so he asked Zhu Houyu to serve as Zuo Zongzheng to assist Zhu Taihan, because Zhu Houzhao could see that Zhu Taihan was an ideal theoretician, and if he wanted the reform of the clan to succeed, he must have a doer who was good at fighting against opponents and was at ease, and Zhu Houyu was obviously the most suitable candidate.

"You are assisting King Fenglin, and there is the eldest son of the emperor to help you, and you are not letting you lead the troops to the battle, it is not tiring, as the prince of the court, and you have been cultivated by the royal family for so many years, why, you are not willing to contribute even a little to the Ming Dynasty?"

Zhu Houzhao asked in a somewhat serious tone.

"Father is right, Uncle Huang, your health is not bad, but now you are a little physically exhausted, maybe you are taking pills to eat bad, now is a good time for Your Majesty to share your worries and contribute to the court, why should you refuse, and you can do things with your little nephew, why not!"

Zhu Zailei said a word, so that Zhu Houzhao could hear that the relationship between Zhu Zailei and Zhu Houyu was not bad, but what surprised him even more was that Zhu Houyu in this era did not become an emperor and still liked alchemy.

"Lei'er is right, as the Great Ming Sect and King Xing, you must not indulge in the art of alchemy too deeply, if you are really interested in the art of alchemy, you can try to refine new chemical things, it is naturally a good thing to be able to benefit the people and strengthen the country."

Zhu Houzhao also persuaded at this time, he knew that although Zhu Houxi in history was well versed in the emperor's mind and was independent, he did provoke palace changes because of his addiction to Taoist alchemy, and even because of his addiction to Taoism, the court spent a lot of money.

Now, Zhu Houyu is just a prince, but he is still addicted to it, and obviously wants to live forever, but even if he is the emperor, he can't restrict Zhu Houyu's freedom to pursue immortality, so after a few words of persuasion, he didn't persuade more, but continued to ask: "Do you still want to go back to Anlu Prefecture to recuperate and cultivate?" ”

Zhu Houxi admits that he does believe in Taoism, but only he knows that he does some ridiculous things under the guise of cultivating Taoism and refining pills to protect himself, after all, the identity of the vassal king has always been very sensitive, and if he doesn't have a hobby of not doing his job, it will be difficult to stay in the capital.

But now, Zhu Houxi also knew that if he refused the emperor again, he was afraid that he would really be demoted to the prince and return to Huguang to be a Taoist priest, and he refused politely at the beginning to show the civil officials and princes of the dynasty, so that these courtiers and princes knew that they were different from Zhu Taihan, and that they had no ambitions, let alone ambitions.

"Now that I am forced to accept the appointment of the emperor again, the civil officials and princes should not have any guilt for themselves", Zhu Houxi thought so, and then arched his hand and said: "Thanks to Your Majesty's favor, the emperor's eldest son respects, although the courtiers are dull in qualifications, but they are also willing to serve the court!" ”

Zhu Houzhao nodded when he saw Zhu Houxi's promise, and the emperor's eldest son, Zhu Zailei, also smiled slightly and glanced at Zhu Houyu meaningfully.

Zhu Zailei also accepted the order, and he could feel that among these royal clans, the imperial uncle beside him was obviously not simple.

Meng Chun wanted to say something, but he didn't dare to say it, he didn't believe that Emperor Zhu Houzhao didn't understand the meaning of his praise of Zhu Taihan just now, but he didn't expect His Majesty to really reuse Zhu Taihan and let him serve as the sect commander of Zhengyipin! Preside over the reform of the clan! Meng Chun was really worried that the clan lords would rise because of this, interfere in the government's politics, and squeeze out the ruling power space of the civil officials and scholars.

Zheng Yue, the Zhengqing of Dali Temple, also had this idea at this time, and stood up directly

"Your Majesty, the affairs of the clan have already been managed by the Ministry of Rites, and now the officials of the Zongren Mansion are rashly appointed, and the Zongren Mansion is ordered to manage the affairs of the clan, which is undoubtedly to make the clan participate in politics.

"The clan's participation in politics is not in charge of the army, the consequences are not as serious as you think, in the Ming Dynasty, except for the Ming Emperor who has the right to dictate as stipulated in the outline of the Constitution, no one can dictate power! If there is a monopoly of the clan in the future, it must be the emperor's own reason, and the clan may have exclusive power, is it impossible for your courtiers to have the exclusive power of the ministers? ”

Zhu Houzhao asked coldly, and said: "No one can foresee the future, but at least for now, the reform of the clan must be carried out, you are the Zhengqing of Dali Temple, and your duty is to review judicial cases, internal affairs, no need to say more." ”

"Yes!"

Zheng Yue saw Zhu Houzhao say this, so he had to reply curtly, he couldn't help but glance at the cabinet ministers, he didn't understand why the cabinet scholars didn't put forward their opinions.

In fact, Zhang Xuan didn't want to put forward opinions, he just felt that he had nothing to mention, because the emperor let Zhu Taihan be responsible for the reform of the clan but still let the cabinet make decisions, obviously still regarded the cabinet as the highest decision-making place in internal affairs, and as the head of the cabinet, why bother, and as His Majesty said, whether it is the dictatorship of the clan, the dictatorship of the ministers, or the dictatorship of eunuchs, it is all related to the emperor, as long as the emperor is competent, these things will not appear.

Zhang Xuan is only observing the emperor's eldest son Zhu Zailei now, he really wants to see if the emperor's eldest son Zhu Zailei can play his talents in this participation in the reform of the clan, if he can give full play to his talents, he really wants to ask the emperor from the hundred officials to propose the emperor to establish a crown prince as soon as possible, but if not, he still has to think carefully about the ability of the prince and the Confucian etiquette.

Xia Yan and Wang Shouren are also the same as Zhang Xuan, both looking at the emperor's eldest son, Zhu Zailei.

"The realm of these courtiers is different, this lowest level is useless except to make money, a little better can still do things, and then a little far-sighted, such as Zheng Yue of Dali Temple, can also think that the clan will be politically divided into their civil power, the most far-sighted can think of this prince to come up, no wonder Zhang Fujing They can be cabinet ministers, you see they are only staring at the emperor's eldest son now."

Xu Jie secretly scolded a few words at the bottom, as if he had already understood what kind of realm he was.

Yan Song happened to turn around and see Xu Jie at this time, and saw a smile flashing at the corner of Xu Jie's mouth, and couldn't help but think: "This person is standing under the steps where he is, but his eyes are fixed on the position where the ministers are standing, I don't know if he is fearless or has a heart?" ”

Xu Jie also noticed Yan Song, he knew that Yan Song had made a great contribution to solving the famine problem, but he didn't think that Yan Song would one day be able to turn himself into the head of the cabinet by promoting sweet potatoes and potatoes.

Zhu Houzhao naturally didn't know what the courtiers were thinking, and now his mind was still on the reform of the clan, although he knew that the courtiers' minds were actually still on the matter of establishing a prince, but Zhu Houzhao himself knew that if the system was not changed, even if he chose a virtuous prince to take the throne, it would be useless.

"Now that the reform of the clan is on the agenda, let's talk about the specific question of how to change it, for the clan, I think it is not appropriate to go out of Beijing to become a vassal again, and those who have already become a vassal outside the country should no longer stay in the field, the reason does not need to be said much, you yourself know how many things you have done to deceive the people and bend the law in your own domain!"

As soon as Zhu Houzhao said this, the clan and civil and military officials below were all shocked, and they couldn't help but whisper.

Zhu Houzhao knocked the bell chime: "Quiet! If you have any opinions, put them forward directly, and then there are whisperers who will be punished for the crime of disturbing the court! ”

The clan and civil and military officials all fell silent.

"Your Majesty, it is the ancestral system to make the vassal king a vassal domain, and the ancestral system cannot be changed.

At this time, Cao Huai, the left attendant of the Ministry of Rites, stood up and said a word, and cried bitterly as he spoke, trembling constantly, as if he was afraid that his words would make Emperor Zhu Houzhao angry, but he couldn't make a vegetarian meal, so he crawled on the ground for a while.

"I have already said that if you follow the ancestral system, then the vassal king should also be in charge of the military power, it is because of this that I reached a consensus with the secretaries, the ancestral system also has an inopportune time, when the change is changed, the constitutional outline also has this provision, the emperor and the ruler should keep pace with the times, dare to innovate, and must not punish the law changer with trumped-up crimes, and now you are talking to me about the ancestral system, saying that leaving the vassal king in Beijing, for fear of causing chaos in the world, then I ask you, King Anhua and King Ning did not stay in the capital, why do they still rebel?"

When Zhu Houzhao asked, Cao Huai did not answer again.

At this time, Zhang Xuan stood up and asked: "Your Majesty, the clan's stay in Beijing naturally involves the issue of migration. ”

"All of them are converted into silver dollars, so that the local government clears the acres of land, and the ones that belong to the clans are converted into silver dollars to the clans, and if they are robbed by these clans, they will be forcibly returned to the people", Zhu Houzhao said this, Zhang Xuan did not say more, he knew that this would definitely harm the interests of the clans, because these clans occupy a lot of land, and they are all tax-free, and the annual income is not small, and now all of them are sold to the imperial court at a discount, obviously the clans have suffered a great loss.

"This is the land given to us by the previous emperors, Your Majesty, you can't take it back!"

At this time, a prince stood up, said very indignantly, and directly moved out the previous emperors.

"The whole world is mine, do you want to agree if I want to take it back, tell me your title and name", no way, the Zhu family has too many relatives, and Zhu Houzhao doesn't know all the princes and princes, so after seeing this clan standing up to express his opposition at this time, he asked.

"Zhu Xin, King of Jin", the vassal king replied.

Zhu Houzhao nodded: "Decree, Zhu Xin, the king of Jin, despises Tianwei, disobeys the king, dismisses the prince, and demotes him to a concubine!" ”

Zhu Xin was stunned for a while, suddenly slapped the table, and pointed at Zhu Houzhao: "You deceive people too much!" Is this to force us to rebel?! ”

"You're going back to rebel!"

Zhu Houzhao said a word, and gave Qi Jingtong a look, Qi Jingtong walked over to Zhu Xin, Zhu Xin was just about to ask Qi Jingtong what he wanted to do, an embroidered spring knife pierced his abdomen, and blood suddenly splattered out.

The clan and civil and military officials present were all pale with fright, and they didn't expect that His Majesty the Emperor would suddenly kill this King of Jin directly.

Zhu Houzhao suddenly seemed to be fine, and asked: "Is there anyone else who threatens me with rebellion?" ”

All the vassal kings bowed their heads.

Imperial power is greater than the sky!

No one dares to offend!

Zhu Houzhao smiled coldly, and only said one sentence: "Zhu Xin, the king of Jin, threatened to rebel and was suspected of rebellion, so he was executed!" ”

As he spoke, Zhu Houzhao only continued to command: "Cabinet! ”

At this time, Zhang Xuan, the first assistant of the cabinet, Xia Yan, the second assistant, Wang Shouren, the third assistant, and Wang Tingxiang, the fourth assistant, all stood up: "The minister is here!" ”

"Tomorrow, the next decree will be in the provinces to care for the officials, and order the provinces to immediately clear the land of the clan, and the governors and historians of the provinces, all the clan land will be converted into silver dollars for the clan's own use, and all the fields will be included in the official land, and the ancestral grave will be specially managed by the division, and the price shall be subject to the local Zhengde 30-year market price, and the guards of the royal palace shall all be managed by the Zongren Mansion, and the court shall pay for it, and the clan shall not raise private individuals! Hired domestic servants must be registered with the Zongren Mansion. ”

After Zhu Houzhao finished speaking, the cabinet and other officials accepted the order.

And the rest of the clans all looked shocked, saying that it was naturally impossible to have no complaints about Zhu Houzhao, but the blood of Zhu Xin, the king of Jin, was still flowing on the ground, and they didn't dare to say anything.

Zhu Houzhao didn't feel how ruthless this was, nor did he feel sorry for the Jin Dynasty, he clearly remembered that in history, the Jin Dynasty's family surrendered when Li Zicheng invaded Shanxi, and finally surrendered, and was nourished by the Ming Dynasty with the hard-earned money of the Han family for so many generations, and he didn't even have the courage to hang himself.

Zhu Houxi didn't sleep well all night, and he couldn't help but secretly congratulate himself that he was lucky today and finally agreed to the appointment of His Majesty the Emperor, otherwise it would be the same fate as the King of Jin.

But Zhu Houxi had to admit that His Majesty the Emperor is a real iron-blooded king, and since he returned to Beijing, he has executed two princes in a row, thinking about himself even if he is a prince, he is still cheap in front of the emperor, His Majesty the Emperor has the legislative and judicial powers, and also holds military power, and has the support of the people, and it is just a matter of one sentence to kill himself.

Zhu Houzhao knew that if he did this, he would definitely make more people below fear him in his heart, and he would even wish for his own life, after all, as long as an iron-blooded king like himself was alive, they would tremble for a day.

But what Zhu Houzhao has to admit is that as a person in power, sometimes he has to be iron-blooded and have to kill people, because people are really willing to choose compromise only when their lives are threatened, and it doesn't make sense to put facts and reason.