"Master Taizu, Master Shizong!"
Zhu Youjian walked quickly, saluted the two Ming emperors respectfully, and then said: "Two ancestors, Zhou Kuinai is the father of the queen. Although he is greedy for money, his crime will not lead to death, and he still hopes for dignity..."
"Decent?"
Zhu Yuanzhang looked unkind, so he picked up the whip and hit Zhu Youjian with a whip, which immediately made Zhu Youjian feel burning pain: "Both Lao Si and I are good at fighting, and we can handle these civil servants easily. Why did you get here and be kneaded by these civil servants at will?! Could it be that you, Emperor Chongzhen, are made of dough?!"
"You already have dignity, but where is the power of my Ming Dynasty?!"
Zhu Houcong also said to Zhu Cixiang: "Cixang, do you think this person should be killed?!"
Without any hesitation, Zhu Cixiang immediately raised his hands and said: "To Emperor Taizu and Emperor Shizong, although Zhou Kui is a relative of the emperor, his serious corruption and bribery has caused deep resentment among the people. According to Emperor Taizu's law, he should be sentenced to skinning, but The boy is not talented, I think of him as my grandfather, please be Ling Chi to save the body!"
Although Zhu Youjian was whipped by Zhu Yuanzhang, he did not dare to speak. He just looked at his son in disbelief.
He felt that although his father-in-law loved money, he should not be involved in corruption and bribery.
This, why is this? Could it be...
"His Majesty!"
Lu Bing came on horseback and returned to Zhu Houcong. He said respectfully to Zhu Houcong: "According to your order, Jiading Bo's Mansion has been seized, and a total of three million taels of silver, 110,000 taels of gold, 50,000 shi of grain and grass, calligraphy, paintings, and Countless jade stones!”
After hearing Lu Bing's report, Zhu Youjian was stunned.
For a moment, I actually felt a little dazed.
How many?
Zhu Youjian couldn't believe his ears.
Three, three million taels? !
Zhu Youjian was so shocked by this number that he even ignored the gold and grain.
His finances during the Chongzhen period were only one million taels of silver a year!
My good father-in-law had, unknowingly, embezzled three years of financial income!
Zhu Youjian was furious, and regardless of the imperial dignity, he rushed forward and punched Zhou Kui in the eye. At the same time, he cursed angrily: "I, I... I'm not mean to you! I'm not mean to you." !!! Why are you treating me like this! I thought you were a loyal minister and a filial brother, but I smiled knowingly at your stingy and greedy behavior. I, I miss Empress Zhou’s friendship and always...me!"
After dozens of punches in a row, the blood on Zhou Kui's face was already soaring. It could be seen that Zhu Youjian was really angry.
Regarding Wei Zaode, although Zhu Youjian was angry, he could still control himself and let himself kill the dog with a knife.
But facing his father-in-law, Zhu Youjian couldn't even control his emotions and spoke incoherently and nonsense.
"Cixun, take your father down to rest." Zhu Houcong shook his head.
He knew that in just a few days, Zhu Youjian's outlook on life had suffered a huge collapse. The loyal minister and good general he originally thought turned out to be such a virtuous man.
If Zhu Youjian can survive, he will become stronger and become a real and qualified emperor!
If you don't get through it... then let Prince Zhu Cihong supervise the country. Judging from his performance just now, Zhu Cihong performed very well with Zhu Houcong.
"Shen, Shen..."
The bridge of Zhou Kui's nose had been collapsed, and several teeth had fallen out. His nose was bruised and his face was swollen, and his face was covered with blood. He was having difficulty speaking.
Zhu Houcong did not hesitate at all, waved his hand directly, and said in a cold voice: "What are you still doing? Hold on, Lingchi! Since three million taels of silver were found in his home, then chop him with three thousand knives! Let the imperial doctor be there Just wait and see, even if you die on the way, when you face the corpse, I will cut you three thousand times!"
This aura was so powerful that even the guards around him shuddered. When Zhou Kui heard this, his eyesight went dark, and he fainted on the spot, with a strong smell of urine in his crotch.
Jin Yiwei dragged Zhou Kui away, and everyone present became sober.
And Zhu Youjian actually managed to recover with Zhu Cixiang's help!
"Master Taizu, Master Shizong."
Zhu Youjian took a deep breath, tried his best to control his desire to do it himself, and cut Zhou Kui into pieces with a thousand cuts. He said to the two ancestors: "The unscrupulous descendants are here this time because of the affairs of Qin Fan and Jin Fan... …The intruders from the front conquered Xi’an and Taiyuan. Both the Qin and Jin vassals surrendered to the thieves and were taken outside the capital by the intruders. They originally wanted to persuade them to surrender, but were defeated by Wei Guogong. While chasing the intruders, they captured the two vassals. I don’t know what to do. How to dispose of it.”
King of Qin, King of Jin!
Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help but think of his two unfilial sons, and he couldn't help but sigh deeply: "The Nine Great Fortress Kings were supposed to guard the border, why did they become like this?"
"Forehead……"
When Zhu Youjian heard this, he calmed down a lot. He hesitated for a moment and said, "Taizu, the nine great fortress kings are no longer here. Now there are only the vassal kings from various places who cannot leave their fiefdoms."
"Huh?" Zhu Yuanzhang was stunned, "Why is this?"
"After Emperor Yongle's victory in Jingnan, he was worried that the kings would imitate him and rebel, so he used peaceful means to weaken the power of the vassal kings and use the power of the country to support the clan." Zhu Houcong explained.
Hearing Zhu Houcong's explanation, Zhu Yuanzhang frowned and couldn't help but cursed: "What a good boy, our sons will always guard the border, which shows how capable he is! When we enfeoffed the nine great fortress kings, we saved them for future generations." With the intention of our descendants guarding the frontier, the kings divide their territories according to the terrain, so that the enemy coming from the north can be resisted layer by layer. His imperial edict has easily destroyed the defense line for us!"
"Grandfather Taizu, since ancient times, the dangers of mountains and rivers have not been used to strengthen a country. If the dynasty declines, no matter how many lines of defense there are, it will be useless."
Zhu Houcong shook his head, as if he didn't quite agree with Zhu Yuanzhang's approach: "Emperor Yongle swept the world as a vassal king, and naturally he had to weaken the power of other vassal kings; even if Emperor Yongle failed, Emperor Jianwen was also cutting down the vassal, no matter what , your prince's strategy of guarding the frontier is unsuccessful."
Zhu Yuanzhang frowned when he heard this.
Ever since my sister fell ill, no one has dared to talk to us like this for a long time!
"But the solution Emperor Yongle came up with was to provide money and food to the clan." Zhu Houcong continued, "For example, the prince has ten thousand dan per year and the county prince has two thousand dan. Even the lowest-ranking lieutenant of Fengguo has 200 dan. Salary!"
"What's the problem?"
Zhu Yuanzhang's originally angry expression was relieved a lot. Although the fourth child had reduced his brother's military power, he was tens of thousands of times stronger than Yun Wen's grandson.
"If it was only one or two dynasties, then it would be no problem." Zhu Houcong shook his head, "But by the Chongzhen Dynasty, there had been fifteen generations of kings. As more and more vassal kings were born, naturally there were more and more titles. By the time of the Chongzhen Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty clan had more than one million people, and just to support these non-productive royals would cost most of the money!"
"The descendants of the Zhu family at the bottom are earning their salaries while the princes at the top are amassing money crazily. The princes of Henan alone have already occupied one-tenth of the cultivated land in Henan! And sometimes the annual salary of Zhou Fan can reach 600,000 That’s a lot of rocks!”
Zhu Houcong did not hesitate to reveal this bloody fact: "Our Ming Dynasty has difficulties in fiscal expenditure. On the one hand, it is because officials are corrupt; on the other hand, it is because of constant natural and man-made disasters; on the other hand, the army is seriously underpaid; and on the other hand, It’s because these descendants of the Zhu family are like locusts, lying on my body, drinking blood and eating flesh, until they eat and drag down my Ming Dynasty!”
Although Zhu Houcong himself succeeded to the throne as the vassal king,...
so what? The vassal king was indeed sucking blood crazily from Ming Dynasty's body. As a member of the royal family of Ming Dynasty and the emperor of Ming Dynasty, Zhu Houcong had to change this shortcoming!
During the Jiajing Dynasty, he had already reduced titles and encouraged clans to start their own businesses. He even planned to organize the excess clans and be ready to send them out to establish colonies at any time, so that my Ming clan would be on the front line... But now there is this chat group Later, when Emperor Taizu and Emperor Chengzu were present, which clan dared to say that the laws of the ancestors were immutable? Just slash and kill!
Hearing Zhu Houcong's words, Zhu Youjian nodded crazily.
Yes, great grandfather.
You have no idea how serious the problem I am facing!
Zhu Houcong glanced at Zhu Youjian, and Zhu Youjian immediately fell silent and did not dare to speak.
In fact, ten years after Chongzhen arrived, the financial expenditure of the Chongzhen Dynasty's clan was not very high.
After all, the bandits were scattered, and many princes had been killed by the angry peasant army, such as Dai Fan, Su Fan, etc.
"The King of Qin, Zhu Cunji, corrupted the fertile land of Qin, causing public resentment. The bandits attacked Xi'an. This man actually took the lead in surrendering and accepting the official position of the bandits! Instead, Princess Liu of Qin jumped from the city wall and died for her country. And die!"
"The king of Jin, Zhu Shenxuan, had a lot of savings in his palace. When Li Zicheng attacked Taiyuan, he was stingy and did not pay a cent. After the invaders defeated the city, the Jin vassal surrendered on the spot. Later, the Manchus entered the customs, and the Jin vassal joined the Manchus. !”
After hearing Zhu Houcong's words, Zhu Yuanzhang understood everything completely. He couldn't come back to his senses for a long time until he felt a surge of hot blood in his chest and a sweet smell coming from his throat.
"As a vassal king, you cannot resist the enemy with millions of assets; as a royal family, you cannot die for your country in the face of rebellion!"
Zhu Yuanzhang took a deep breath, feeling the smell of blood in his throat, and shouted murderously: "Since the relatives of the country have been punished, how can the emperor tolerate it?! The two kings of Qin and Jin were ordered to kill themselves and preserve their bodies. …”
Halfway through, Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly shook his head, and then said: "Give death, just give death! Save your dignity? If it weren't for my descendants of the Zhu family, I would have skinned them long ago. Now it's just poison to kill them, it's easier for them!"
"promise!"
