Outside the Zhengyang Gate, which was originally one of the nine gates in the capital and was bustling with people every day, there was silence at the moment.
The people who originally gathered not far away to watch the excitement were dispersed three hundred steps away by the accompanying royal guards as the honor guard from the Min Palace came over.
Although there is a biting north wind today, the sun is still hanging in the sky, and the snow is gradually melting, making the originally frozen hard land become a little muddy.
A group of green-robed officials were kneeling on the ground, their robes stained with mud, and their knees hurt.
No one thought that an ordinary greeting would suddenly become so tense.
The old prince didn't even enter the city gate. He just said such a sharp question, and the target of the question was a dignified official of the Seventh Qing Dynasty.
King Min's tone was harsh, but Hu Xi was not afraid. He still bowed respectfully and answered.
"Your Majesty, your Majesty has something to say. I have recently ascended the throne. I miss my clan members, and out of the friendship between my cousins, I have summoned all the clan members to the capital."
"Although it does not conform to the rules of the emperor's ancestors, he still has a close heart. How can I dare to persuade you?"
"If Prince Min feels something is inappropriate, he can present it to His Majesty when he enters the palace. The Prince is an elder, and Your Majesty will listen with an open mind."
These words were obviously respectful, but secretly they were a soft nail, which immediately made the old prince frown.
At this time, another noisy sound came from not far away, and it seemed that another large group of people was coming this way.
The old prince's face darkened, he waved his hand and ordered someone to put down the curtain, and said coldly.
"In this case, I will go to the palace in person and ask His Majesty."
"Get out of the way and let me enter the city!"
Hu Hu and others moved away to both sides, but no one dared to get up.
King Min never mentioned this matter from beginning to end, as if these people should always kneel in front of him.
It wasn't until the long guard of honor for the princes all entered the city that Hu Hui and Yang Shan straightened up. The other officials also stood up with a sigh, looking at the dirt all over their bodies and smiling bitterly.
If I had known earlier, I should have taken leave today...
Shu Liang moved forward and came to Hu Hui's side. He also smiled bitterly and said.
"Uncle Zong, this Prince Min is really...unique!"
After thinking for a long time, Shu Liang couldn't find the right words, so he could only say this.
In contrast, Hu Hui's face was still calm and calm, without any anger after being made things difficult and humiliated. Looking at the car disappearing in the city, Hu Hui shook his head and said.
"This Prince Min came from the reign of Taizu. At that time..."
As if remembering something, Hu Xi sighed and said.
"Prince Min was dealt with by Emperor Taizong several times back then. He is much more restrained than before."
Shu Liang secretly gasped, is this considered a restraint?
At the gate of the city, an important minister of the Seven Ministers was questioned in public.
From beginning to end, the officials present either bowed or knelt on the ground to answer.
Is this called convergence?
Was he dealt with by Emperor Taizong several times?
Shu Liang sighed secretly.
He really felt sad for the elders of the Taizu Dynasty...
Hu Xi patted the non-existent dust on his body, and said with an unknown smile on his lips.
"Huang Ming's ancestral teachings?"
"There is also written there that kings over fifty are not allowed to visit the capital. If he had followed the instructions of Emperor Ming's ancestors, Prince Min would have returned home long ago."
As Emperor Taizu's instruction to the clan, Huang Ming's Ancestral Instructions had a very powerful effect for a long time.
Of course, it mainly refers to the time when Emperor Taizu was alive.
This book stipulates in detail the treatment, behavioral norms, rights and obligations of the clan.
Due to Emperor Taizu's character of protecting his own family members, this ancestral instruction of the Emperor Ming Dynasty basically contains provisions that are beneficial to the clan kings.
Although there was a small amount of guarding against the vassal king, in general, Emperor Taizu still trusted his own family.
For example, there is a clear statement in the ancestral precepts of the Emperor Ming Dynasty that all kings who live on the border will come to court as scheduled if there is no police;
There is another article that says, if there are no honest ministers in the dynasty and there is evil in the government, then the prince will train the troops and be on standby, and the emperor will give secret orders to the kings and lead the troops to suppress them.
At the beginning, Emperor Taizong relied on these two items to train his troops with the support of Emperor Mingzu.
The former gave the vassal king, especially the border vassal king, the right to enter the capital at any time, as long as it was confirmed that "there are police officers", while the latter gave the vassal king the power to lead troops into the capital, as long as "there are no honest ministers in the court and there are evildoers".
The famous phrase "Qingjunzi" comes from the instructions given by Emperor Taizong when he raised troops and swore an oath. His original words were...
The ancestral teachings say that if there are no honest ministers in the court, and there are evildoers in the court, we must train troops to fight against them, so as to clear away the evildoers on the emperor's side.
Although a few words have been modified, the general meaning is the same, and the soldiers can't tell the difference anyway.
It can be said that these provisions gave the feudal king great power and freedom.
In addition, there are various preferential treatments. Kings can train sergeants, reward troops, inspect troops, intervene in civil affairs, and judge officials.
When kings break the law, they are not allowed to behead, torture, or use poison. They must be taken to the capital to be interrogated and punished by the emperor himself, and at most they can be treated as common people.
It was because of this ancestral instruction that the vassal kings had too many loopholes to exploit. Therefore, after Emperor Taizong came to power, he issued decree after decree to completely close all the loopholes in the ancestral instruction.
To this day, this so-called Huang Ming Ancestor Instructions has long been thrown into the pile of old papers like Da Gao.
Only people like King Min, who came from the era of Emperor Taizu, would hold onto it.
Shu Liang also smiled and said: "No, I just don't know what happened to make Prince Min leave in such a hurry..."
A smile appeared on Hu Hui's face. Just as he was about to answer, he saw another group of people slowly appearing in the distance.
So, the old man pursed his lips and said.
"Eunuch Shu, here comes the answer!"
Shu Liang looked into the distance in confusion. At a glance, he could feel that this team was larger than the previous team of King Min, with nearly 400 people.
However, there are still differences.
Among King Min's team, there was only one luxurious carriage for King Min to ride in, and the rest of the carriages were used to carry things.
There are nearly two hundred people in the two escort teams, one in front and one in the back. They are all well-trained sergeants. There are only less than a hundred servants in their service.
This team was completely the opposite, with seven or eight carriages inlaid with gold and jade, followed by twenty or thirty large carts.
But among the people accompanying him, there were only a few dozen people who looked like guards, and the rest were all servants.
Although in theory, as long as the official escort force does not exceed the quota, it is up to the clan members to decide how many people to serve. After all, they are the ones who provide the money themselves.
But since you are going to Beijing, you have to keep a low profile. Therefore, even if most of the clans have the money, they will consciously keep their tail between their legs.
In front of me, I saw a King Min with more than 200 escorts, and now I saw another with more than 300 servants.
Shu Liang felt that his horizons had really been opened today.
But soon, he discovered that he was wrong.
As the team approached, he discovered that in addition to the messy command flags, Qingdao flags, Baize flags, and Golden Drum flags, there was not one royal flag that truly symbolized the identity of the visitor, but four.
The four royal flags are embroidered with the names of King Zhennan, King Guangtong, King Yangzong and King Jiangchuan respectively.
In other words, this is not the team of one prince, but the team of four princes combined. No wonder there are so many people.
The Ming Dynasty's title convention is that a single-character title is a prince, and a double-character title is a county prince.
It can be seen from the title that these four people only have the title of county king.
These four titles sounded familiar, but Shu Liang couldn't remember who they were. Is this the answer that Uncle Zong said?
Can the four princes allow Prince Min to make way for them in a hurry?
A trace of suspicion flashed across Shu Liang's face.
If he remembered correctly, the clans of the Ming Dynasty today are all, without exception, the juniors of Prince Min, right?
